Trembling in the Skies

Chapter 10: Large Wall Hangings

Just as Li Teng turned to walk out the front door, he glanced back and saw that more than a dozen wax figures had gathered by the doorway. They stood in a tight formation, blocking his path, and all turned to look at him. Some held pastries, others held wine glasses, their faces still bearing the polite yet slightly eerie smiles they’d worn during the banquet. That smile sent a chill down Li Teng’s spine. He felt he shouldn’t have entered this room so rashly, and he certainly shouldn’t have attacked these wax figures without thinking. Everything happening here seemed to transcend his understanding of the real world. It was even more outlandish than the incident where he had inexplicably appeared atop the thousand-meter stone pillar. “Excuse me, excuse me.” Gritting his teeth, Li Teng continued walking toward the entrance. But the wax figures showed no intention of moving aside; they stood motionless, tightly packed together, blocking Li Teng’s path. “Excuse me, everyone. I’m sorry to bother you.” Li Teng walked up to the wax figures, bowed slightly, then wrapped his arms around the waist of one of them, trying to nudge it aside to clear enough space for one person to pass through. But the wax figure seemed to be anchored to the floor; no matter how hard Li Teng pulled, it wouldn’t budge an inch. The other wax figures were equally immovable. The door to this hall opened inward, and more than a dozen wax figures were blocking the doorway, completely sealing it off; without moving them, there was simply no way to open the door. Even if Li Teng tried to climb over them now, it would be pointless; he still wouldn’t be able to leave this room, which was looking increasingly eerie. Forcing his way out was out of the question; it seemed he’d have to try a more clever approach. Li Teng turned around and walked deeper into the hall. After walking for a moment, he suddenly turned around. The wax figures by the door remained completely motionless, showing no sign of moving. Li Teng forced himself to calm down, then surveyed his surroundings. A wax museum… let’s call this place a wax museum for now. Just like in the restaurant, clothing store, and bathhouse, the walls here were adorned with clocks and LCD screens displaying a countdown. It was now 11:15 a. m. The countdown had only about forty minutes left. Li Teng sensed that things weren’t looking good. What exactly would happen once the countdown ended? If he’s trapped here and can’t get out, things could get really complicated. Is this wax museum actually a secret room rigged with some kind of trap? Had his attack on the wax figure triggered the mechanism? He felt that when the countdown ended, it would be better to be out on the street than trapped inside this wax museum. At least there’s room to escape. If he’s trapped here, he’ll just have to wait to die. No matter what, he has to find a way out of here as soon as possible. The hall looked just like a cocktail party, with dozens of guests scattered throughout the room. The tables were set with a variety of drinks, pastries, and cutlery. But apart from the cutlery, the drinks and pastries felt like models—very lifelike ones. Apart from that, what caught Li Teng’s attention were the large paintings hanging on all four walls. When Li Teng first entered the hall, his attention had been entirely focused on the wax figures, and he hadn’t noticed these paintings. Now that he was trapped, he had no choice but to search for the mechanism to unlock the room, so these conspicuous, large paintings naturally caught his attention. These large paintings… looked very much like movie posters. Or rather, movie promotional posters. However, the titles of those movies were all ones Li Teng had never heard of. Take this painting right in front of him, for example. The title was *Raging Tsunami*. Half of the entire image is taken up by a gigantic wave over ten meters high. The other half shows a beach with several men and women. They’re staring in utter terror at the wave sweeping toward them—some are frozen in fear, some are putting on life jackets, and others are running frantically to grab the life ring in the corner of the frame. One of them was facing the camera, shown in a full-face close-up. As Li Teng looked at this person’s face, he felt a sense of familiarity. A moment later, it suddenly dawned on Li Teng, and he quickly turned to look toward the doorway. The man shown in the full-face close-up was one of the dozen or so wax figures standing by the door! They looked exactly alike—the only difference was their clothing. “Is there a connection here?” Li Teng frowned. He glanced at the time on the wall clock, then quickly turned his attention to another painting hanging nearby. The title of the painting on the wall was rather peculiar. It was titled *Hail Swap*. The scene depicted in the painting was somewhat chilling. Countless hailstones were falling from the sky, and there were men and women on the ground. Some were staring desperately at the sky, while others were frantically fleeing into the distance. But one person’s head is struck directly by a falling hailstone the size of a basketball; the entire head is smashed away, and the hailstone appears where the person’s head used to be, with the lower half completely stained red. “This is clearly a head swap—what kind of ‘hail swap’ is this?” Li Teng couldn’t help but voice his criticism as he looked at the painting. In the painting *Hail Swap*, there was also a person facing the camera. Li Teng had no recollection of this person. He turned around and quickly scanned the hall but couldn’t find him. With time running short, Li Teng didn’t dare to search thoroughly, so he hurriedly turned his attention to the next painting. This painting was titled *City of Evil Fire*. The scene depicted the streets of a city engulfed in raging fires. Men and women were frantically fleeing through the streets, and several of them were already on fire. Even more terrifying was the fact that scattered gasoline drums were piled up along the sides of the streets. One woman in particular was unlucky: as she fled, she happened to pass right by a gasoline drum that had just caught fire and was about to explode. The flames from the drum took on the form of a demon, its two sharp claws reaching out to grab the woman. Clearly, she had no chance of escape. The other paintings on the wall were just like these—all depicting various kinds of disasters. Volcanic eruptions, avalanches, plane crashes, earthquakes, and so on. Li Teng soon discovered a common feature in these paintings. Namely, although the figures in these paintings varied in age and gender, there were always exactly eight of them. In some paintings, one person faced the camera in a close-up; in others, two or three people faced the camera in close-ups. Aside from the man from the very beginning, Li Teng also found several other figures among the wax figures who had appeared in the paintings. Another twenty minutes had passed on the countdown; it was now 11:35. There are twenty-five minutes left until the countdown ends. Apart from the fact that there are eight people in each painting, what other connection is there between them? Why did the wax figures in the wax museum move on their own and seal the door? Earlier, while Li Teng was in the restroom, he heard footsteps on the street outside. Before entering the wax museum, he also heard footsteps coming from inside. This suggests that there is not only a motionless wax figure in this room, but also a living person just like Li Teng. If that other living person were a normal human like Li Teng, he wouldn’t be able to move these wax figures. It would be even more impossible to move so many wax figures at once without making a sound. Unless… Li Teng sensed that something was off, and he suddenly turned his head. At that moment, every single wax figure in the room had turned to face him. Some held pastries in their hands; others held wine glasses. Their faces were all etched with that eerie smile.