Early morning.
Wu Heng pushed open the pet shop's front door. The stench of cats, dogs, and birds mixed with their droppings hit him in the face.
It felt like he'd opened the furnace at a crematorium.
"I desperately need an employee. Kirsty, when are you coming?"
Wu Heng muttered to himself.
It took him an hour to finish feeding and cleaning up after the pets. Caring for the little beasts had left even him, now a Cursed Disciple, sweating.
He stared at the animals, frolicking nonstop, scratching at their cages and wagging their tails.
This wouldn't do!
He needed to find a part-timer today to help out.
He went to the desk, picked up a sheet of paper, and wrote a notice to hang on the door:
"Pet shop hiring two part-time workers. If you have hands, you're qualified. From now until closing tonight. £100 an hour."
Ding-ding. His phone chimed.
Wu Heng took it out.
The message was from the detectives who had reported yesterday afternoon that Frank had boarded a plane, then gone missing.
It seemed they'd gotten off the plane with Frank.
But when Wu Heng saw the contents, his expression shifted.
According to the plot, Frank had returned alone to the cabin and opened the box.
But things had changed.
Frank had indeed returned to the cabin in Hatton District, but he wasn't alone. A brown-haired woman had struck up a conversation with him at the airport and gone back to the cabin with him.
The detectives had thoughtfully sent information about the woman:
Giovanna Dursley, an ordinary office worker from Boer City. She'd abruptly quit her job ten days ago and moved to Hatton.
The woman had been loitering at the exit of Hatton Airport, striking up conversations with anyone she encountered. After Frank got off the plane, he spoke with her, then returned to the cabin with her.
Ten days ago—that was when I entered the story! Was it the fat man or the Cap-Wearing Woman?
Wu Heng decided to sneak over and take a look.
*
*
"Boss, I'm here."
Wu Heng looked up at the sound of the voice.
The dark-green curtains on a second-floor window parted, revealing an unremarkable-looking person in work overalls, waving at him.
Wu Heng couldn't help thinking that private detectives really were professionals. The man looked utterly nondescript.
Those movie detectives in suits and trench coats, wearing fedoras and sunglasses and smoking pipes were all fake.
He went inside and walked over to Number 17.
"Give it to me."
Wu Heng pointed at the binoculars in Number 17's hand.
"The woman bought food from Sam's Deli five minutes ago. She exchanged seven words with the owner, then went back inside."
The detective handed Wu Heng the binoculars and reported what he'd seen, eager to prove himself.
Wu Heng looked through the binoculars at the cabin across the road.
The attic on the right side of the cabin's second floor had a shabby curtain covered in cobwebs.
An open suitcase and a pile of clothes lay in a heap on the floor.
Two filthy quilts had been spread against the wall to serve as mattresses. It seemed the two of them were sleeping there.
On the mattress farther inside, Frank, sporting a mustache and a sleazy look, sat leaning against the wall, trimming his nails with a small knife.
The woman carried a bag of food upstairs and entered the attic. She held out a hamburger to Frank.
Frank reached for her, but instead of taking the burger, grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her into his arms.
The woman took a step back and shook off his hand. She tossed the burger at him and pointed at him, saying something.
Frank said nothing. He picked up the burger, cut off a piece with his knife, and kept his eyes fixed on the woman's face as he slowly brought the burger, impaled on the knife's tip, to his mouth.
The woman soon calmed down. She walked over and sat on the other mattress, then started eating her burger while saying something to Frank.
After they finished eating, Frank leaned close to the woman with a strange smile and whispered something in her ear. Then he took out the Puzzle Box and began turning it over and examining it.
The woman's expression visibly brightened at his words. She stood, shut the window, and drew the curtains.
Wu Heng watched closely.
A person could change their appearance, but not their bearing or posture. Most of all, the woman's eyes held an air of superiority.
He was certain this was the Cap-Wearing Woman.
Inside the cabin,
Frank and the Cap-Wearing Woman, Xia Ying, who was posing as Giovanna, sat facing each other on the floor.
Xia Ying was excited.
Frank had just told her he knew how to open the box.
She had entered Hellraiser 1 this time because she'd bought a reliable piece of information from a friend with survival points.
Her friend had spent over a month in this world without gaining anything. In the end, while following a coded message to find the residence of another companion who had entered the world with him, he'd found information about the plot. But his companion had already disappeared.
Her friend had missed his chance back then and had never been able to enter this world again.
Now, she had the chance to enter it.
According to the information, the main item for the plot mission in Hellraiser 1 would arrive from India at Hatton Airport at the beginning. If she lay in wait, she might trigger a prompt for the plot.
And now, the Lemarchand Configuration from the plot mission was right in front of her. She could soon complete Plot Mission One and earn a large number of survival points. Perhaps there were other surprises inside the box, too.
She didn't dare touch the other two missions, but she believed the difficult part of this one was simply finding the item.
As for the two ordinary men who'd entered at the beginning, she didn't take them seriously at all.
Coming back to herself, Xia Ying saw the Puzzle Box slowly changing shape in Frank's hands. The window began to shake, and gray light rose from the bottom of the walls, shining into the attic.
The Puzzle Box kept twisting. A faint current crackled through it as the final piece clicked into place.
A door appeared out of thin air inside the room. A chilling wind howled beyond it, the cold wind from hell worming its way into their bones.
Two chains shot out of the box and hooked Frank and Xia Ying.
Xia Ying was stunned. What was going on?
Why was there a mechanism inside the box? In adventure stories, wasn't it supposed to hold a treasure map or some mysterious cultivation method?
Then countless chains tipped with iron hooks descended from the ceiling. Each hook bore bloodstains and scraps of flesh.
They swung and collided with one another, clanging loudly.
A rack studded with blades rose, spinning, from the crimson floor.
Then, amid Xia Ying and Frank's screams, countless chains suddenly hooked into them.
A torture device fitted with gears suddenly rose behind them, slicing open the bones in their backs. Blood sprayed everywhere.
The chains contracted in an instant, yanking them apart.
Footsteps sounded on the filthy floor. A black figure slowly emerged from the darkness:
A crisscrossing grid of ritual markings had been carved into his head.
At every intersection, a nail had been driven deep into his skull.
A black leather trench coat covered his body, while his ribs showed through, hinting at the price Adam had paid to create Eve. Various instruments of torture hung from his waist. (High Priest Pinhead)
Three figures followed in a row behind him:
The one on the left had shriveled, wrinkled skin and no eyes, just a lipless mouth with two rows of exposed teeth, clacking constantly as he ground them together with a crisp rasp. (Chatterer)
The woman in the middle had nails driven through her nose. Fan-shaped steel wires pierced her collarbone and the side of her neck, and a hole in her throat revealed a bloody, mangled mess. (Deep Throat)
The one on the right was fat, with a round, triangular-shaped head and a pair of tiny sunglasses. He kept licking his lips as folds of fat sagged from his face. A gaping wound ran vertically down his abdomen. (Butterball)
Pinhead, at the front, bent over and gathered a few pieces from the floor, fitting them together like a jigsaw puzzle until they formed Frank's face.
As for Xia Ying, she was a worthless soul and not worth his attention.
Then he picked up the Puzzle Box with practiced ease and turned it gently in his hands. A flicker of electricity, and it was restored to its original shape.
As a Cursed Disciple, Wu Heng had sensed the eerie, chilling presence beginning to spread through the room across the road as soon as they'd drawn the curtains.
It was growing stronger, and he knew the feeling all too well.
The presence of hell!
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