Kaidan Game Train: Abide Rule or Die!
Chapter 713: The Moving Wax Figure

Chapter 713: Chapter 713: The Moving Wax Figure

Jie Ling took out a string of illuminating props.

Behind the wax figures was the official gallery, but the first room that appeared was likely just a part of it; it wasn’t more than a couple hundred square feet. Wax figures in various walking poses were evenly distributed throughout the room, varying in age and attire, though some were covered with white cloths.

Xu Ruosi reached out and pulled off a piece of white cloth, examining it she said, "There’s no difference from the other wax figures."

Xu Huo and the others also checked the wax figures in the room one by one, dismantling what they could; there was no possibility of hidden bodies.

Next, they moved to the second room, which was much like the first, illuminated only by a few small lamps in the corners, each a different color, creating a repressive atmosphere. But as Jie Ling shone her props, the whole room brightened.

Like before, the room was filled with wax figures in various styles, but this time they were either kneeling or lying prostrate, with their limbs and expressions indicating pain. Some had severed hands and feet scattered about the floor.

"Have you noticed that these wax figures are the same as the ones in the previous room?" Jie Ling swallowed hard and said, "The clothing and number all match up."

"More than that," Xu Ruosi said, "The ones in this room with severed parts are the same ones we broke earlier."

The wax figures were hollow, and most could be judged by their weight that it was impossible for them to contain anything, so not all were dismantled for inspection.

But who could have anticipated that the wax figures they had broken in the previous room would also appear likewise damaged here—and in the exact same places?

Long Aotian crushed one of them underfoot, "There’s no sensor inside."

"So how exactly were these wax figures broken?" Jie Ling looked at the others with shock and suspicion, "Could there be a ghost in the Wax Figure Gallery?"

The group gave her a silent glance before Bai Wenxian said, "Rather than worrying about ghosts, it’d be more practical to consider if there are other players here. The fact that we met no one on our way in doesn’t mean no one came before us."

"I have a question," Long Aotian said. "Even if there are players hiding here to scare us, they would need to know which wax figures we destroyed, right? No one approached us."

"It might not be people," Xu Huo stepped over to a wall to examine it, and then pried off the baseboard to find the wiring inside. From the setup, the wires appeared to be connected to the bases of the wax figures.

They lifted a wax figure that had been half-crouching with an outstretched arm begging for help to the side. As soon as the figure was moved from its original position, it slid toward the gaps set by other figures, eventually coming to the broken pieces and began tapping with the lifted arm.

"The bases of the figures seem to be connected to sensors beneath the floor," Xu Huo explained. "When we damaged the wax figures in the front room, the figures here automatically broke the same ones. The locations seem identical, but they are just approximately the same."

"The beauty of this method is that it’s not easily discovered. Theoretically, it only takes one wax figure to trigger the action," he continued.

"But looking at the wiring underneath, I think other wax figures could also move."

"With wiring beneath the ground, could the bodies be buried there?" Bai Wenxian said as he pried open the floorboards. He took out something resembling a thermometer, inserted it into a groove smeared with paint, and after a brief moment, the device beeped twice. He stood shaking his head.

"There are wires everywhere underground. It’s not feasible to hide a person in such small gaps." Long Aotian approached, "Can your device detect anything beneath the surface? Maybe the bodies were buried in the dirt during reconstruction."

"That’s highly unlikely," Xu Ruosi remarked. "The disappearances didn’t all happen at once; they were gradual. If they were burying people during reconstruction work, it would be too conspicuous. Besides, Museum City can’t have construction all year round, let alone excavations. These areas would be the first to be searched."

"Actually, I wanted to say earlier that disappearing doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a body," Jie Ling said.

There are too many ways to destroy a body.

"If we can’t find the body, the means of death could be diverse, and with such a high frequency of disappearances, it doesn’t seem like the work of a serial killer," Xu Ruosi said.

"It’s possible," Long Aotian added. "The person who constructed Museum City had a genetic disease; there’s a high chance his son might have it too. If the father dared engage in human experimentation, what would stop the son? Just not as brazenly."

"In that case, the bodies are more likely to be concentrated in one location instead of scattered throughout the city," Bai Wenxian said. "Otherwise, it’d be too risky and expose them easily."

"What if there really are no bodies?" Jie Ling asked. "I feel like, if it were me and I had a precedent, I’d definitely find a way to prevent others from finding any evidence."

"What do you think?" Bai Wenxian asked Xu Huo, who hadn’t spoken.

"I think both possibilities are on the table," Xu Huo replied. "Whether there are bodies, and whether they’re hidden in Museum City is uncertain. It’s not hard to remove a body when Museum City is open."

"Instead of searching for bodies, we could focus on the reasons for the disappearances."

"The primary reason for the disappearances should be human experimentation," said Jie Ling. "With a background in genetic disease, it’s unsurprising for the son to follow in his father’s footsteps, possibly even using living people as test subjects. But the mystery of the disappearance doesn’t seem to refer to this."

"The reason behind the disappearances is definitely worth digging into, but I don’t think it’s necessarily the work of one person," Xu Ruosi offered her opinion. "Frequent disappearances would attract some people’s attention. In a place shielded by a big boss, a tourist destination with high people turnover, it’s quite misleading—it’s not impossible for those with criminal intentions to choose this location."

"The mystery of the disappearances mentioned in the clearance task might encompass a variety of factors."

"If that’s the case, then we might indeed find a body," Jie Ling said.

"Anyway, a body would provide the most direct evidence. Let’s continue the search and keep an eye out for other things," Bai Wenxian suggested.

"I think the ’Ghostly Night Talk’ is next to the Wax Figure Gallery, so let’s check this place out before heading next door. When we leave, we can search the shops too," Long Aotian proposed.

After a brief analysis, they continued to the next room. The third room was much like the first two, but the wax figures were all in "death" states, each covered with a white cloth and lying on the ground. Upon lifting the cloths, the bodies revealed details like livor mortis.

"These are eerily lifelike," Jie Ling commented, squatting down for a closer look.

Just to be safe, they inspected each wax figure thoroughly before moving on.

The next room had been directly arranged into a mourning hall, with dozens of coffins neatly laid out, each occupied by a wax figure with a smile on its face and rosy cheeks, dressed uniformly in funeral clothes and caps, with wax wreaths and other items beside them.

The air conditioner hummed along, and cold air blew from underfoot.