"So … what happened after you dripped your blood?" Feng Bujue asked.
"I heard the sound of water …" Wang Tanzhi answered.
"Don't tell me that was the sound of you or someone else peeing in your pants …" Brother Jue said.
"Of course not," Xiao Tan said. "I heard something that sounded like a river flowing."
"San Tu River? Yellow Spring? Styx River? "Bao Qing repeated the question three times.
"That, I am not too sure." Xiao Tan shrugged. "But I do know that in many religions and myths, the passage that connects the human world and the underworld is described as a 'river'. I believe … the sound that I heard was the sound of 'that river'."
"Then … what happened after you heard the sound?" Feng Bujue asked again.
"I also saw many fragments, many … memory fragments that did not belong to me …" At this point, Xiao Tan could not help but frown. "Most of them were scenes related to death … like the memory before I was murdered or the moment before I was run over by a train …"
"They did not cause you any mental corruption, did they?" Feng Bujue looked at his brother's expression and asked out of concern.
"Er …" Xiao Tan replied, "Not really … because those fragments were just 'visual' and 'auditory' memories. For me, it was like watching a bunch of unrelated horror movie clips. In comparison, some of the scripts in Thriller Paradise are scarier than this."
"Oh …" Brother Jue heard that and nodded in relief.
At that moment, Master Bao mocked him from the side. "Hmm … When you said 'not really', I thought the second half of your sentence would be 'My mind has been tainted by the super pollution source that is Brother Jue, so I have lost the ability to feel things of this level'."
"Hahaha …" Xiao Tan heard that and laughed happily. "Now that you mention it, that is possible."
"Hey, hey … what is there to be happy about?" Feng Bujue narrowed his eyes. "Also …" He turned to look at Bao Qing. "What do you mean by 'super source of pollution'? How did you define it? "
"It was defined by an expert who has counseled me since I was young," Bao Qing answered.
"Which expert? Tell me the name, "Feng Bujue said.
"For the sake of his or her safety, I think it is better for you to never know his or her name." Bao Qing tilted his head to avoid Brother Jue's gaze. He turned to Xiao Tan and said, "Come, let's continue talking about the fragments …"
"There's nothing else to say." Xiao Tan added, "Then the test will be over."
"Ah?" Bao Qing was puzzled. "That's it?"
"Yes, that's it," Xiao Tan replied.
"Then, what is the meaning of this test?" Feng Bujue asked.
"The purpose of the test is to see how the scale will react when it comes into contact with my blood." Xiao Tan answered. "They have already completed the other tests, such as … what will happen when a normal person's blood comes into contact with the scale? What will happen when a spiritual ability user's blood comes into contact with the scale? What will happen if you hold the scale in your hand while meditating? What will happen if you stay with the scale for a long period of time, etc." He paused for half a second before continuing. "As for me … I am a special case. Section Chief Gu felt that there was a chance that my blood would trigger different reactions, so he arranged for this test."
"But there was nothing special about the results?" Bao Qing asked.
"Yes, at least they told me that there was nothing special," Xiao Tan replied.
"That is strange …" Bao Qing rubbed his chin and pondered. "Since there was nothing unusual during the test, how did the accident happen?"
"Oh … about that …" Xiao Tan answered calmly. "This is what happened … After I completed the test, Detective Zhang led me back to where we came from. At that time, we didn't know that when I passed by the fourth containment area for the first time, I had already triggered a reaction from a certain item that could sense spiritual energy on the shelf … So, when I passed by the fourth containment area for the second time, the item fell down from the shelf due to the 'gravitational force' I generated. Fortunately, the item itself was harmless, but … when it fell, it coincidentally brushed against the 'prank mirror' that was placed at the bottom of the shelf. After the mirror flipped over, the cloth covering it slipped off … Just as the mirror was about to reflect on me, Uncle Zhang Zhiang quickly turned around and pushed me down so that I wouldn't be exposed to the mirror. But … "
"But, he was exposed to the mirror." Hearing this, Bao Qing understood what happened.
"So what if he was exposed to the mirror?" Feng Bujue still didn't understand, so he continued to ask.
"If someone was exposed to the mirror, the 'thing' in the mirror would transform into that person's appearance and escape from the mirror," Bao Qing said. "Then, it would start to 'prank' the person."
"It sounds like … that 'thing' is a little fairy or something?" Feng Bujue asked.
"No … it should be described as a 'hysterical and unusually cunning monster.'" Judging from Bao Qing's expression, he obviously had a story to tell. "The monster in the mirror is like a manifestation of 'pranks.' It plays pranks on people just for the sake of playing pranks. From its perspective, there is nothing that it can't prank. It doesn't even have the concept of 'consequences,' 'responsibility,' 'guilt.' Although it doesn't have any destructive power, you can imagine … in a place like the 'warehouse,' if it was allowed to roam freely, it would cause a terrible chain reaction. "
"Eh? Master Bao, have you worked in a warehouse before? "Xiao Tan asked." Judging from your tone, you seem to have dealt with this mirror before. "
"That's because … a few years ago, I was involved in the entire process of storing this item," Bao Qing explained. Bao Qing explained, "That day, Corey received a piece of news. A man who had attempted suicide claimed that someone who looked exactly like him was impersonating him … and that someone had ruined his life. No matter how much he explained, no one around him believed what he said.
"This case quickly caught our attention. So, a few detectives and I rushed to the police station to investigate. After confirming that this person wasn't insane and wasn't lying, we took him away and questioned him in more detail.
"After that, I joined the action team and went directly to the man's house to investigate. From there, I discovered the existence of the 'Prank Mirror.'
"After that, we found out that the man had found the mirror in a second-hand shop that was clearing out its inventory. He saw that the mirror had a strange shape, and although the frame was old, the surface of the mirror was still clear. He thought that it was a valuable antique. After some bargaining, he bought the mirror and brought it home.
"Who would have thought … that what he brought home was actually a terrible disaster."
When Feng Bujue heard this, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then, how did you manage to 'store' the mirror and the monster that was hiding in the mirror?"
"Hmm … This needs to be explained properly," Bao Qing said. "It was really difficult to 'catch' the monster because it had the ability to teleport within a short distance. On top of that, it also had the ability to 'read minds.' In other words … when you were near it, it could know what you were thinking. "
"Heh … These are all abilities that are very convenient for pranks …" Brother Jue laughed.
"Fortunately … this monster also has a weakness." Bao Qing did not continue the conversation. Instead, he continued, "In fact, the various characteristics of this monster … were written on the frame of the mirror. However, as it was written in an ancient language, ordinary people would not be able to understand it."
"But you are not ordinary people," Feng Bujue said.
"Yes, we are not," Bao Qing replied. "So, after we took a picture of the words on the frame and sent it back to the department, someone sent back the translation in less than ten minutes." He took a sip of tea and continued, "As for the condition for this' Prank Monster 'to come out of the mirror … The frame only gave us a rough idea, but later on, we obtained more detailed data through experiments. The basic trigger condition is for a' human 'to appear in front of the mirror, even if it is only for 0.01 seconds … That will be enough. As for the limit of this' appearance, 'we tested it out … If the head is reflected in the mirror, then it will be triggered immediately. As for the body parts other than the head … More than 60% of the body surface is reflected in the mirror on a two-dimensional plane, then it will be triggered. "
"Oh … Just like when Detective Zhang pounced on me. His back flashed in front of the mirror for a moment, and then he fell into the trap," Xiao Tan replied.
Bao Qing nodded and said, "And the way to trap the monster is to … let the person who released it appear in the mirror together with the monster. At that moment, the Prank Monster will show its original form and be sucked into the mirror. For the next six minutes, it will not be able to come out again. "
"Wait …" Feng Bujue said, "Doesn't this monster know teleportation and mind reading? Then, how did you achieve this condition? "
"Now, we have to talk about its' weakness. '" At this point, Bao Qing revealed a noncommittal expression. "The monster that lives in the Prank Mirror has two weaknesses. First, it can't be more than 6,666 meters away from the mirror. Second, for some reason, if the mirror is stained with peanut butter, it must immediately come back and lick the mirror clean."
"Huh?" Feng Bujue wanted to complain when he heard the first weakness, but he held himself back. However, when he heard the second weakness, he suddenly felt that the first weakness was quite normal. "Ugh … Why … The peanut butter part made some strange images appear in my mind …"
"I think that's because your mind is too dirty," Bao Qing said calmly. "Anyway … Later, we transported the mirror to a place where there was no place to hide within a radius of a few kilometers. Then, we covered the eyes of the victim and brought them in front of the mirror. We sealed them with peanut butter, then covered the mirror and put it away."
"Such a dangerous thing … Is it really okay for you to just cover it with a piece of cloth?" Feng Bujue immediately asked.
"Do you think we want to do this?" Bao Qing replied. "Experiments have shown that, except for linen, all the materials that are exposed to the mirror will be corroded, and the corrosion cycle is unpredictable. The same material can sometimes block the mirror for a week, and sometimes it can only block the mirror for a few minutes. In addition, if we use rope, tape, or something like that to fix the cloth to the mirror, or wrap the mirror with a large piece of cloth, the corrosion effect will be triggered — even if we use linen."
"Oh … So," Feng Bujue said, "we can't put the mirror in a sealed space after covering it?"
"Yes," Bao Qing said. Bao Qing continued, "We tried to cover it and put it in a room by itself. We also tried to cover it and put it in a big cabinet or box. We even tried to put it in a colored ice cube … However, if we do this for more than ten seconds, the mirror will automatically teleport out of the sealed space and appear in a random area nearby." He paused and showed a helpless expression. "Also, it won't work even if you put it in a deserted place. When there are no humans or other things around, it will also teleport. The time and distance of teleportation will depend on the spaciousness of the surrounding area …"
"Countless experiments have shown that this thing can only be maintained in a relatively stable state by piling it together with other furniture and sundries and covering it with linen to ensure that there are frequent human activities around it."
"I also have a question." At this time, Xiao Tan raised his right hand like a child asking a question in class. "Have you tried to destroy this thing? For example, breaking it or melting it … "
"Yes," Bao Qing replied. Bao Qing replied, "During the first destruction experiment, we smashed the mirror with a hammer, but only a small crack was left on it. At the same time, or rather, at the same second … there was a magnitude six earthquake in southern Wales …" Bao Qing paused for a second. "The second time, we changed our position and smashed the mirror with a chisel. So, there was another earthquake in South Africa … Please note that these two events happened on the same day."
"What the …" Feng Bujue was shocked. "This thing is going against the natural order of things."
"After that, we didn't try anything similar again," Bao Qing said. "What if we melted the mirror and caused the volcano under Yellowstone Park in the United States to erupt? Then, we would be in big trouble …"
"Hmm … I see," Brother Jue replied and then looked at Xiao Tan. "Eh? So … the day you went to the warehouse, it ended with Detective Zhang smearing peanut butter on the mirror? "
"No." Xiao Tan shook his head.
"What?" This time, it was Bao Qing who was shocked. "No?"
"Ah …" Xiao Tan looked at Bao Qing and said, "The detailed features of the mirror that you mentioned just now, this is the first time I've heard of it …"
"Then, how did you trap the monster back into the mirror?" Bao Qing asked anxiously.
"Erm … It's like this." Xiao Tan replied calmly. "That day, after the mirror was revealed, I was also confused for a long time …"
"First, I saw a man who looked exactly like Detective Zhang run out of the mirror and disappear in the blink of an eye. Then, I heard all sorts of alarms going off in the warehouse, and the workers were all in a mess …"
"Anyway … Five minutes after the alarm went off, I was brought to a 'safe room'. The police detectives told me to stay there and not move, and then they left.
"In the end, the moment they left the room, I realized … the other 'Detective Zhang' had appeared beside me. He was squatting on the floor … and was secretly tying the laces of my shoes together."
At this point, Xiao Tan chuckled. "So, I told him … 'Can you please stop?' But … he looked at me for two seconds and said 'yes'. He stood up immediately and looked at me nervously and respectfully. I saw that he seemed to be quite obedient … so I tried to ask, 'Can you go back into the mirror and not come out for a while?' He looked like he was about to cry and said, 'Okay', and then disappeared … "
At this point, both Feng Bujue and Master Bao understood what he meant. This situation should be related to Wang Tanzhi's Psionic Power or bloodline.
However, Xiao Tan did not seem to understand the root of the problem. "Now that I think about it … could you have misunderstood the prankster monster? Maybe it was actually quite easy to talk to?"
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