Trembling in the Skies

Chapter 9: Footsteps in the Wax Museum

There were no staff members in the bathhouse—only a vending machine. Just like in the restaurant and the clothing store, there was a wall clock and an LCD screen displaying a countdown. The cheapest bath ticket—which included only hot water, a towel, and a small bar of soap, with a ten-minute time limit—cost just one point. After swiping his card, Li Teng received a coin engraved with strange patterns. Holding the coin, he entered the changing room. After undressing, Li Teng made his way to the bathing area inside. The bathing area consisted of individual, enclosed stalls. When he inserted the coin into the coin slot of one of the cubicles, the door to that cubicle opened automatically. The shower stall was only two square meters in size, and a ten-minute countdown flashed on the screen on the wall and ceiling. Once the ten minutes were up, Li Teng would be forcibly evicted, regardless of whether he had finished showering. Showering is a real hassle for women; generally speaking, it takes at least an hour. It’s different for a man like Li Teng. He can be done in five minutes. Half a minute to get wet, one minute to lather up, one minute to scrub, and half a minute to rinse off. Plus one minute to dry off with a towel. Li Teng finished his shower in just five minutes total, then spent another five minutes lathering up his dirty pajamas and giving them a quick scrub, wrapping everything up within ten minutes. Before the ten-minute countdown ended, Li Teng had already returned to the changing room and changed into the clean clothes, shoes, and socks he’d just bought at the clothing store. Having eaten his fill, taken a shower, and changed into fresh clothes, Li Teng now felt refreshed and invigorated—a complete contrast to the utterly weak man who had been slumped atop the stone pillar that morning. What kind of place was this, anyway? The changing room provided free plastic bags, so Li Teng put the pajamas he’d just washed into one before heading back out onto the street. The streets were still completely deserted. It was incredibly quiet everywhere—so quiet it felt like a ghost town. However, restaurants, clothing stores, and bathhouses were all still operating normally, leading Li Teng to conclude that this place certainly couldn’t be a ghost town. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find a payphone or anywhere to borrow a cell phone. Otherwise, Li Teng would definitely have called the police first to tell them everything that had happened to him, so they could locate him, bring him home, and then investigate which organization had kidnapped him and brought him to the top of Shizhu Peak. For now, his best bet was to find a living soul on this street first. Across from the bathhouse was a public restroom. Li Teng had drunk a lot of beverages and eaten a huge amount of food, so he really needed to use the restroom. The restroom was very clean and nicely decorated. It was fully equipped with hand dryers and toilet paper. There wasn’t a single person inside either. While he was taking care of business in a stall, Li Teng heard footsteps coming from the street outside. Was someone walking by outside? After finishing his business, Li Teng hurried out onto the street. But the street was still completely deserted. If someone had passed by just now, they must have gone around the corner up ahead. Li Teng hurried after them. Sure enough, after rounding the corner, Li Teng spotted two living people. Two beautiful hostesses were standing at the entrance of a store, smiling warmly. Behind them was a large storefront door, left slightly ajar; there was no sign outside, so it was unclear what kind of business operated inside. Li Teng walked quickly over, intending to ask the two hostesses a few questions or perhaps borrow their cell phone to make a call. But when he reached them, Li Teng froze in his tracks. The two hostesses looked exactly like real people, with rosy complexions. However, they stood there completely motionless. Upon closer inspection, Li Teng realized they weren’t actually hostesses. Although both were wearing red, the specific styles of their outfits were quite different. Moreover, they weren’t the kind of formal dresses hostesses typically wear; they looked more like the casual fashion worn by passersby on the street. They were merely smiling—not the welcoming smile typical of hostesses. It felt as if two women passing by had stopped to pose for a photo. “Ladies, you aren’t playing ‘statue,’ are you?” Li Teng tried asking the two women. The two remained motionless, their faces still bearing that eerie smile. Seeing that they showed no reaction to his words and remained completely still, Li Teng reached out to touch them. “Are they wax figures?” Li Teng furrowed his brow. Could this be a wax museum? Li Teng took a few steps back and took another close look at the exterior of the store. There was no sign, nor any words like “wax museum.” Just then, a faint yet distinct sound of footsteps drifted out from inside the store. “Is anyone there?” Li Teng hurried forward and shouted into the store. No one answered, but the footsteps stopped. There was definitely someone inside! Without a moment’s hesitation, Li Teng pushed open the slightly ajar door behind the two women and rushed inside. Upon rushing in and seeing what was inside, Li Teng was instantly stunned and froze in his tracks. Inside was a grand hall, about 200 square meters in size, where a cocktail party was in full swing. In the hall, which was over 200 square meters in size, there were at least fifty or sixty guests. Everyone turned to look at Li Teng by the entrance with smiles on their faces; some were even holding wine glasses. However, the hall was very quiet. So quiet that Li Teng could hear nothing but his own breathing. Everyone in the hall remained motionless, frozen in a certain pose. It was as if… a photograph had been taken—or rather, as if time had suddenly frozen in that moment. “Is anyone alive?” After a moment, Li Teng calmed down and called out into the hall. He had just heard footsteps, which meant there was indeed someone alive hiding in there. If he could find that person, perhaps he could resolve many of his questions. No one answered; everyone continued to stare at Li Teng with those slightly eerie smiles. Of course, they weren’t looking at Li Teng—they were staring toward the entrance to the hall. This was because as Li Teng walked deeper into the hall, their gazes did not follow him. This meant they were all nothing more than motionless wax figures. The wax figures were crafted with such lifelike detail that they were virtually indistinguishable from real people standing still, making it quite difficult for Li Teng to pinpoint the person who had just made the footsteps. “I’m just passing through; I mean no harm.” “I don’t even know how I ended up here.” “I hope whoever knows what’s going on will step forward and explain this to me.” “If you don’t come forward, I’ll have no choice but to resort to extreme measures.” Li Teng shouted a few more times in the hall, touched the wax figure next to him, hesitated for a moment, then picked up a fork from the dining table and suddenly stabbed it into the eye of the wax figure beside him. If a living person were really hiding among these wax figures, this was the only way to force them to reveal themselves. “Damn it!” When the fork in Li Teng’s hand struck the wax figure, it made a metallic clang; several prongs bent instantly, and the arm holding the fork went numb from the impact. The wax figure, however, remained completely unscathed. Is this a wax figure? Are there wax figures made of such hard material? “You guys go ahead and enjoy the cocktail party. I was just passing through; I’ll go check out somewhere else.” Li Teng shook his head and turned to leave through the hall’s door. This place was too eerie—and it signaled unknown dangers. Unless he had been forced to, Li Teng had no intention of making any aggressive moves. Once he’d done so, he’d have to be on guard against retaliation from these wax figures. Li Teng no longer considered these wax figures to be lifeless objects; he had no idea what they actually were. But he got the feeling it was something he couldn’t afford to mess with. Just as Li Teng turned to leave, he froze in his tracks once again.