Translator: CinderTL
After the Curator disappeared, the sculpture transformed into his likeness, as if it had consumed him.
The sculpture's twisted face, contorted in extreme agony, made one wonder what terrifying sight he had witnessed before his death.
"The Curator was targeted by the sculpture first, then killed," Fatty concluded after analyzing the situation. The bronze-colored face at the window immediately brought this to mind.
That eerie sculpture was the origin of this series of supernatural events.
"Besides those three, has anyone else gone missing?" Jiang Cheng asked, looking at the projection on the wall.
Huai Yi flipped through the printed documents in his hands. "The information doesn't mention anyone else, so probably not. This supernatural event was contained very quickly after it occurred and was confirmed, before it could cause more widespread harm."
"Moreover, there's no sign of it spreading. The supernatural event is confined to this Folk Museum."
"But for safety's sake, people living near the museum have been evacuated. Our operations won't be disrupted," Huai Yi said. His preparations were thorough; after all, this was a matter of life and death, and no one dared to rush in recklessly.
"This is the assessment of this supernatural event," Huai Yi said, clicking the remote. The image on the wall changed.
"Code Name: Fengcheng Museum Half-Human Statue Incident"
"Supernatural Incident Level: C-Class"
"Threat Level: ☆"
"A single star for the threat level... it shouldn't be too difficult," Fatty said, his complexion improving noticeably. His voice now carried a newfound confidence.
Following Jiang Cheng's instructions, Huai Yi explained the difference between Supernatural Incident Level and Threat Level to Fatty and Lin Wan'er. "The Supernatural Incident Level reflects how tricky it will be to resolve this event, while the Threat Level considers the potential danger to the world as a whole."
"Because this supernatural event was discovered early, the confirmed victims are limited to three, and it was contained before causing greater harm. But that doesn't mean it will be easy to solve," Huai Yi said seriously. "Those are two separate issues."
"Continue," Lin Wan'er said from the sofa.
Jiang Cheng had asked Huai Yi to prepare three supernatural event files for comparison, hoping to identify one suitable for them to handle.
The form of the Nightmare was changing, invading the real world in an eerie way. The barrier between the two realms was gradually breaking down, and that was far from good news.
Jiang Cheng had no interest in the grand feat of saving the world. The only reasons he was doing this were Lin Wan'er and the Wu lurking within him.
Nothing could unravel the mysteries of the Nightmare World better than personally resolving supernatural events. He had to find a path to survival through this, for Lin Wan'er and himself.
Crimson, the Night Watcher, the middle-aged man standing behind Xia Meng, and the Supernatural Website—Jiang Cheng had a vague premonition that a storm was brewing, and he had unknowingly found himself at its eye.
"Doctor," Fatty asked, concern etched on his face, "are you alright?"
Jiang Cheng's complexion was unusually pale, as if his body had been drained of energy.
"I'm fine. Let's continue," Jiang Cheng replied, looking up at Huai Yi. The latter immediately opened the next supernatural event, and the image on the wall changed once more.
This time, the photo was incredibly clear, depicting a vast lake surrounded by breathtaking scenery. Distant mountains were shrouded in mist, while lush trees lined the shore.
Yet, as everyone stared at the lake in the photo, an indescribable sense of dread suddenly washed over them.
"This is the second supernatural event," Huai Yi said in a low voice. "The Lake Kosner Ghost Ship Incident."
"The Supernatural Incident Level is also C-Class, but the Threat Level is rated at three stars."
"That high?" Fatty asked, surprised.
"Mm," Huai Yi said without hesitation, introducing the wall to the group. "This all started half a year ago with an accident. A tourist boat packed with passengers capsized and sank in the lake. The incident happened so suddenly that there were no survivors."
"Look at this photo," Huai Yi continued. "It was taken by a forest ranger on the nearby Mountain two weeks after the accident. He happened to capture it by chance."
The photo was blurry, clearly taken at night from an overhead perspective.
That night, there was no moon, only faint starlight. A massive ship sailed across the pitch-black lake, completely dark with no lights on board.
"The sunken tourist boat?"
"That's right," Huai Yi said, adjusting the remote and tilting his head. "After comparing the photo, we've confirmed it's the sunken tourist boat."
A sunken ship resurfacing at night and sailing across a pitch-black lake—it sounded unsettlingly eerie.
"There's another strange thing," Huai Yi said with a peculiar look in his eyes. "After the tourist boat sank, regulations required us to salvage it, recover the victims' remains, and investigate the cause of the accident. But strangely, when the search team dove down, they couldn't find the boat."
"Not only did the boat disappear, but so did the victims' bodies."
It truly was a Supernatural event. Otherwise, how could such a massive ship simply vanish without a trace?
This was a lake, not the ocean.
"According to the records, a team that approached the Ghost Ship mysteriously disappeared. Before their disappearance, they left behind a video."
The video was incredibly shaky. After watching for over ten seconds, Jiang Cheng and the others finally made out a speedboat speeding across the pitch-black water. Besides the person filming, two figures sat at the front of the boat.
Both wore identical black outfits, similar to diving suits, with leggings tied around their calves, each carrying a sheathed dagger.
Rain fell from the sky, and the water was choppy. Dark waves repeatedly crashed against the speedboat, and the inky surface of the lake created a palpable sense of dread for those watching the video.
It felt as though something unknown lurked beneath the dark waters.
"It's here! It's here!" a deep male voice shouted from the video, barely audible above the wind and waves.
Suddenly, the camera swung around to reveal a colossal vessel silently gliding across the lake, perhaps a few dozen meters away.
The massive black shadow seemed to have emerged from another world.
It's that missing tourist boat!
A bolt of lightning flashed across the night sky, revealing a chilling scene. The deck, the cabin, even the windows were packed with people!
Their skin was pale, their bodies soaked, and water dripped constantly from their clothes.
But what was truly unsettling were their faces.
They all wore the same rigid, uniform smile, as if carved from a single mold.
At the same moment, a strange sound emerged from the recording.
It was a chilling, unnatural laughter mixed with the sound of a woman wailing over a grave.
The two sounds blended together in an indescribably eerie harmony, like a person standing beside you, laughing and crying at the same time, the sound almost within reach.
(End of the Chapter)
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