Chapter 308: The USB Drive’s Backlash
Of course, Chen Chen was no stranger to this scene.
In the daytime, he had just seen this scene where a female corpse was hanged in the room. There were a lot of dented marks on the wall. When he had gone to the neighboring room, he saw that the public wall had a deep mark from a significant impact.
That mark was about 20 cm in diameter and about 5 cm deep, which was much deeper than the mark in front of him now. Still, Chen Chen was certain that the source of these two marks was the same.
This was because the deeper dent he had come across appeared to be formed under a long-term impact whereas this mark seemed to be recently made.
‘Coincidence?
‘Or...’
At this moment, he seemed to understand why there were signs that the woman had pressed her ear to the wall in the room where her corpse was hanging and the traces of the wall being hit with a baseball bat.
Perhaps when that woman was alive, on a night filled with despair and darkness, she had also noticed this hollow and strange thudding sound...
A dark light flashed in Chen Chen’s eyes.
He looked around. If there were any people or animals hidden in the room, they would have been noticed when the Black Knight came in earlier. This was because Chen Chen was sure that the thudding had stopped when the Black Knight opened the door.
The teachers’ dormitories were all single rooms. When the door was opened, the entire room could be seen in a glance. If it had been a human or an animal, it was impossible that the Black Knight would fail to notice it.
In other words, that thing was so fast that it could vanish right in this room as soon as the Black Knight opened the door.
With this in mind, Chen Chen came to the rear window of the dormitory again. He touched the window lightly. The window was shrouded in newspaper and it was also locked from the inside. There was no way a person or an animal could have escaped from the window.
Since there was no possibility of a getaway, what was it that could avoid the Black Knight, the thermal imaging vision of the PK Armor or even the detection of an artificial intelligence near the level of Little X?
What was it that would beat against the wall deep in the night?
All of this was almost completely inconsistent with the common understanding of physics. Chen Chen narrowed his eyes and had a vague notion.
“So, I’ve been targeted by a ‘mysterious phenomenon’.”
Chen Chen frowned. He did not expect that, despite the precautions he had taken beforehand, and being so cautious when looking at the information of the doomsday survival squad, he would still be infected with a “mysterious phenomenon”.
What was even more troublesome was that this particular mysterious phenomenon was not in the records of the data. That was to say, Chen Chen needed to personally obtain an understanding of this mysterious phenomenon, sum up its rules, then seek a way out within those rules.
Thinking of this, Chen Chen glanced around the dormitory one last time, then turned to leave and return to the team leader’s bedroom.
He lay down on the bed tiredly again. Although Chen Chen’s brain was still aching slightly, he did not continue to sleep but began to a.n.a.lyze silently.
“X-112, help me record a new mysterious phenomenon.”
Chen Chen said softly, “The name of the mysterious phenomenon is called: Thuds.”
X-112 immediately responded, “Recording has already started.”
Chen Chen nodded. “The information produced by this group is still too general. I think that for a more comprehensive understanding of the mysterious phenomena, at least four categories are needed, namely: phenomenon characteristics, infection symptoms, infection conditions, and danger a.s.sessment.
“The characteristic of the ‘Thuds’ phenomenon is that after a human is infected, there will be rounds of thudding noises next door. And if one heads to the next room at this point, one will not see anyone, only the traces of the physical impact on the wall.”
Chen Chen thought for a while and added. “It’s not yet clear what triggers the thudding sounds, whether it’s triggered by the infected person staying in a room for a long time or by the late night time? Plus, how long will this thudding sound continue and if it lasts too long, and a hole is knocked through the wall, what will happen...”
“What if you change rooms?” X-112 asked suddenly.
“There’s no use changing rooms.”
Chen Chen shook his head. “It can be seen from the room where the female corpse was hanged that the woman had two bedrooms when she was alive. She heard the thuds against the wall of one bedroom. She noticed something was wrong and apparently changed to the other bedroom. However, the thuds began again on the other side of the bedroom wall.”
“No wonder she has dents in the walls of the two adjacent bedrooms...”
X-112 understood at once. “If changing rooms can’t solve the problem, then how should we counter this?”
“I don’t know.”
Chen Chen shook his head, displaying a solemn expression for the first time. “This is something I have never encountered before. In truth, since just now, I have been prepared for death.”
“Sir Commander...”
X-112 had nothing to say.
“It’s okay. There’s nothing much to say to that.”
Chen Chen waved his hand. “I have long understood the truth that the one who wants to wear the crown must bear its weight. If I want to obtain power from the USB flash drive, sooner or later I’ll experience a backlash from it. I just didn’t expect that this day would come so quickly.”
“Maybe this mysterious phenomenon won’t kill you?”
X-112 said persuasively, “After all, that woman died not because she was killed by the thudding noises, but because she hanged herself. That is to say, it’s very likely that the lethality of this mysterious phenomenon isn’t that formidable.”
“That is just wishful thinking.”
Chen Chen retorted, “Perhaps the thuds will last for several nights and the longer it lasts, the more it will shatter the emotions of the infected person, just like the Basilisk pattern. Who knows — the sound itself may be the lethal thing.
“Maybe the power of the thudding sound hasn’t been shown for now, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not a threat. In fact, in my opinion, there’s no logic at all with a mysterious phenomenon like this, so we must not a.s.sess it with common sense. Otherwise, I’ll definitely die a miserable death...”
After listening to Chen Chen’s rhetorical statements, X-112 was completely silent.
“At present, it seems that the characteristics of the mysterious phenomenon ‘Thuds’ have yet to be explored. The symptoms and conditions of infection are even more unknown. We don’t even have leads for the danger a.s.sessment as we lack sufficient clues.”
Chen Chen said, “So, after this, I’ll lie on the bed first to see if there’ll be more thudding noises tonight. If the thuds occur again, it means that they’re related to how long I stay in a room. If not, it means that there’s no connection there.
“I also recall that during the day, other than myself, the three Black Knights also saw the hanged female corpse, so would they also be infected with this mysterious phenomenon?”
After thinking for a while, Chen Chen added again. “X-112, let the Black Knight who is in charge of guarding me go to another dormitory. Just find any room that’s not the one next door. I want to see if the same thuds will occur for him.”
“Got it.”
After X-112 replied, the Black Knight turned around and left.
After watching the Black Knight leave, Chen Chen nodded and asked again, “Didn’t you notice? This kind of mysterious phenomenon is quite interesting and there are almost limitless possibilities we can try.
“For example, if I install a camera next door, what do you think I’ll see? Or if I move to a room made entirely of gla.s.s, what will happen then? And if I stay in a detached room that has no other rooms around it, will the thuds still become knocks on the door?”
As Chen Chen said this, there was a cheerful glimmer in his eyes. “In a nutsh.e.l.l, with this mysterious phenomenon, I can carry out many, many attempts, just like a rigorous experiment. And this is the kind of experiment that I’m best at...”