El agente insensato

Capítulo 23

Wang Maoyuan glanced at me, smiled, and said nothing.

“Those men toiled all day in the fields, only to find their women like wooden statues in bed.” Seeing Wang Maoyuan speak so frankly, the woman felt less reserved. “It’s said there are over a dozen families where the wives won’t let their husbands do ‘that,’ causing huge uproar at home. Delin initially said at the factory that the Three Rabbits pattern had a spirit, and later, when the clothes sold well, he said the pattern also contributed. But after that problem arose, people started saying behind her back that the pattern could steal the souls of the female workers; otherwise, why would the factory be so quiet? They said they’d all turn into wooden statues. They even said the pattern could bewitch the souls of the people buying the clothes, which is why they sold so well. People in the countryside believe this, and the rumors get more and more outlandish.”

The woman's voice also softened, indicating that even she wasn't entirely against it.

"Delin held several factory-wide meetings at that time, telling everyone not to believe these rumors, and even gave everyone a 50-cent raise. He wanted to suppress the matter. But soon after, some people developed a strange illness. And it wasn't just one person; I heard there were two or three, all with the same disease."

"What strange illness?" Wang Maoyuan blurted out.

"Yes... I'm not sure of the specifics, but I've stopped menstruating, and the doctor said I can't have children anymore."

I guessed it must be the complete atrophy of the reproductive organs that Zhang Wuyin mentioned.

"As a result, Delin couldn't control the situation anymore. Everyone in the surrounding villages and towns knew that the factory was cursed, and several men even came to the factory to cause trouble. Also, the deputy director of the second workshop, who was originally the most honest woman, suddenly changed her ways and started seducing men everywhere. Later, she was arrested by the township police station, and everyone said she was possessed. After the New Year in 1982, the number of people coming to work in the factory dropped by more than half. They were all afraid to come. Even the female workers who came often skipped work without reason. With such a large factory in such a state, the county and township governments came to take care of it. It seems that in March, the dye used to print the Three Rabbits pattern was found to be problematic. This time, all the accumulated problems came to a head, and Delin couldn't handle it, so he had to resign as the factory director. The township sent a new person to take over. Underwear production was stopped, the trademarks were changed, and a lot of work was done to bring back all the original female workers one by one. From that time on, the Three Rabbits Factory became a lean factory."

"So that's how it is..." Wang Maoyuan said softly after listening to the woman recount the rise and fall of the Three Rabbits Factory more than twenty years ago.

Wang Maoyuan asked for more details, and seeing that the woman could say nothing more, he got up to leave. It was almost noon, and the woman invited us to stay for lunch, but we were too embarrassed to bother her any longer.

After leaving the Yang family's house, we waited on the highway for the bus to Shunchang city. Wang Maoyuan clicked his tongue a few times and said, "It looks like this Three Rabbits picture is the culprit, but tell me, how can a picture be so sinister?"

Wang Maoyuan even used the word "evil," which shows that even this person who has been engaged in criminal investigation for many years was equally puzzled.

“I know that some pictures can make people feel upset and others can make people feel calm, but how can a picture both upset and calm people at the same time?” Wang Maoyuan shook his head repeatedly.

"It seems the female workers at the Three Rabbits factory reacted so strongly because they were in too much contact with the Three Rabbits image, seeing it for over ten hours a day. Normally, the rate of women experiencing strong sexual urges, frigidity, or even reproductive system atrophy due to the Three Rabbits image should be quite low. That's why the British research institution lacked enough subjects, only concluding that the Three Rabbits image could calm people down. But as you said, sexual urges and frigidity are two extremes; how could the Three Rabbits image trigger both simultaneously? It seems…" I left the rest unsaid; it seems this will have to be left to the X organization to analyze.

"If it weren't for the fact that the Eight Immortals Cave was blocked by the earthquake, and my body isn't as strong as it used to be, I really would like to climb into the cave and take a look."

At this moment, Liu Er stopped the passing bus, and the three of us got on. There were no seats left, so we had to stand. Fortunately, it didn't take long.

Liu Er didn't say much at the Yang family's place, just listened, and didn't interrupt when I was talking to Wang Maoyuan. Thinking about it, his fate was actually decided by a small picture of three rabbits.

Without the Three Rabbits picture and Three Rabbits brand underwear, Zhang Jinlong would have graduated from university and married his high school sweetheart, whom he had dated for several years. You Fang would have continued her studies at university and met her Prince Charming. In that case, Liu Er would never have come into this world.

"I'm buying a ticket to go back this afternoon, what about you?" Wang Maoyuan asked.

Us? Of course, we'll go back together.

"I have other things to do and will be staying here for a few days," Liu Er said.

I turned to look at him in confusion, but he just smiled at me.

"Then I'll head back first. I still have some things to take care of in Shanghai." Wang Maoyuan assumed that Liu Er and I were both staying, so he didn't ask me any more questions.

Liu Er and I were standing face to face. I stared at him for a long time, but he acted as if nothing was wrong, just smiling faintly.

He had something to hide from Wang Maoyuan.

I'll ask him properly when we're alone later. Did he discover something at the Yang family's house? But even if he did, there's no need to hide it from Old Wang.

I turned my head to look at the scenery rushing past outside the window, and suddenly my heart skipped a beat. I turned my head back to stare at Liu Er, opened my mouth and gasped.

Liu Er's smile deepened. He seemed to know what I had discovered, and he put a finger to his lips.

Wang Maoyuan had already been taken to the train station. Liu Er and I walked side by side. There wasn't a quiet café or teahouse to talk in, so we had to walk and talk. "I remember very clearly that when we were at the Yang family's house, Liu Er didn't go to the toilet, but on the bus, I couldn't find a single fine black hair on his face or hands; he was completely clean."

"When did this happen?" "Yesterday, when you went to see Liang Yingwu, you gradually became aware of it. By the time you boarded the train, you were completely recovered."

"How long is it now?" Liu Er raised his right index finger, and a sharp thorn grew from the tip of his finger, gleaming with a silvery metallic luster in the sunlight. The thorn grew until it was more than twice the length of his index finger before stopping, about fifteen centimeters long.

As I watched the spikes retract rapidly, I couldn't help but think of the liquid gold hyena from the Terminator series.

His incredible abilities have returned.

Will he return forever, or will he be lost again periodically? Was the previous loss to conserve energy for further genetic changes? The human brain consumes a great deal of energy; improving it would undoubtedly require even more. During that time, Liu Er's memory and observation skills improved significantly, and he even gained "intuition."

I had many thoughts, but then I heard Liu Er say, "Besides, I can handle them much more easily now than before. So, I want to go to the Eight Immortals Cave."

Eight Immortals Cave? That's why he stayed.

"Are you coming with me, or going back to Shanghai by yourself?"

“Since I’ve already stayed, I’ll naturally go with you. But I’ve seen what the Eight Immortals Cave looks like. There’s no way to climb down that cliff, and the iron chains are gone. How are we going to get in?”

Liu Er smiled and said, "I think I should be able to handle it."

"Besides, it's inconvenient to go during the day, as the area has become a tourist zone, so you can only go at night."

Are you really planning to go down that cliff tonight?

"It's just going down a cliff. As for going into the cave, it's the same day or night, you'll always need lighting. What, are you worried that I can't keep an eye on your safety?" Liu Er looked at me.

"Isn't the urban legend back? What's there to doubt?" I said, still feeling uneasy. But this wasn't the first or second time I'd taken a risk.

Before dinner, we ran around most of Shunchang city, buying necessities like water, dry food, and ropes. (However, when I bought the ropes, Liu Er seemed rather unconvinced; considering his abilities, he might actually be able to descend the cliff without ropes.) We also got two high-powered flashlights, a bunch of batteries, and, to my delight, two handheld energy-saving lamps. Having experienced the cave incident a few years ago, I knew that flashlights were practically useless in complete darkness, but these two lamps made a difference.

It was completely dark, and there was no wind. Above the South Heavenly Gate, amidst the rushing sound of the waterfall, the intermittent croaking of frogs could be heard.

The beams of two flashlights crisscrossed, and several openings behind the water curtain were faintly visible.

“Three of the openings look so small that no one can fit in. Our target is among the other five.” I said, looking around with the flashlight. “But there doesn’t seem to be anywhere here to secure a rope.”

The beam of light flashed past Liu Er's left hand, revealing his fingers tumbling and leaping in the night.

"What are you doing?"

The left hand suddenly stopped moving.

"It's nothing," Liu Er said.

"You...you're not drawing a picture of three rabbits, are you?" I asked.

"Just some random sketches," Liu Er said after a moment of silence.

"I think I've seen you like this many times."

"So what? It doesn't matter, does it?" Liu Er said impatiently. "Get ready to go down."

"Go down, where is the rope tied?"

"No need for a rope, I'll carry you down. Just hold on tight."

I was startled. He was carrying me? Was he planning to just go down like that?

"I wouldn't joke about my own life," Liu Er said.

"Fine," I said firmly.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and put away my electronic device. Liu Er bent down so I could climb onto his back.

After effortlessly carrying me on his back, Liu Er actually retreated away from the cliff and walked back and forth a few steps.

I guessed he was getting used to my weight, and sure enough, after walking around once, he started trying to jump, easily leaping more than two meters high from the ground.

I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, bobbing up and down with him.

"So, is everything alright?" I asked.

"Hold on tight," he said in a deep voice, and then jumped.

I felt my body sink, but it stopped very quickly.

Liu Er clung to the edge of the cliff with both hands, hanging precariously from the precipice. By the starlight, I could vaguely see that each of his fingers had sharp spikes extending out, like steel claws, digging into the stone.

Steadying himself, he pulled out his right hand and chiseled it into the stone wall below, then pulled out his left hand, causing his body to drop a few feet. He repeated this motion, the sound of metal striking stone echoing continuously, as he steadily moved towards the Eight Immortals Cave.

The waterfall's curtain of water is quite wide, and the mountain wall behind it curves inward, as if bitten by an ancient giant. Half of the eight entrances to the Eight Immortals Cave are located on this side of the mountain wall; one is very shallow, and the other three are our main targets. The other two entrances, large enough for a person to enter, are on the other side of the waterfall curtain, requiring some effort to reach.

Liu Er slowly moved closer to the mountain wall, splashing more and more water droplets on my back; my clothes were already completely soaked.

Less than two meters from the nearest opening, Liu Er pulled hard and jumped in. I watched as the rocks on the cave ceiling rapidly approached, and quickly ducked down to avoid hitting them.

Forget about cursing Liu Er, I surveyed the cave, and after just one glance, I abandoned my plan to jump off Liu Er's back. By the starlight and moonlight, I could vaguely see the bottom of the cave, probably only five or six meters deep. Earlier on the cliff, the angle was wrong, which was why I couldn't see the depth.

The middle cave and this cave are very close, and there is a flat area at the entrance of the cave. Liu Er carried me to the edge of the cave, stuck his head out to look, took a half step back, and jumped.

I heard him suddenly yell "Hey!" and his body tilted to the side. The two people, who were piled up like a human pyramid, slid down rapidly.

The area is shrouded in moisture year-round, and moss grows on the flat ground. Liu Er slipped and lost his footing, falling off the flat ground and sliding down the curved concave wall.

Liu Er frantically grabbed at the stone wall with both hands, sending up pebbles, but his hands couldn't penetrate it. He only slowed down slightly, but it was to no avail.

The thought flashed through my mind: This is it, I'm doomed. But then I suddenly realized that the downward momentum had stopped.

Liu Er hurriedly climbed up and quickly entered the cave. The two of them immediately sat down, panting heavily.

My heart was in my throat. Only after we arrived at this safe place did I realize that my heart was pounding.

Liu Er reached out and took off his sneakers, throwing them out of the cave. It turned out that in the critical moment, the hair on his feet had transformed into steel spikes, embedding themselves in the rock wall, thus averting disaster. Now, the shoes had a large hole in the toe and were unwearable.

The roar of water was deafening, but it couldn't drown out our heavy breathing. After catching our breath for a while, I took out a flashlight from my backpack and turned it on; the hole looked rather deep.

I shone my light inside and sighed. This cave was deeper than the previous one, but still only a dozen meters or so. "I'm sorry," said Liu Er.

"There's nothing to apologize for. If we're going to skip this, we'll skip it together," I said to him irritably.

The two sat silently for a few more minutes before Liu Er stood up.

"Have you rested enough?" he asked.

"You just need to rest, I won't do anything." I stood up, put away the flashlight, and climbed back onto his back.

The other hole was six or seven meters away from this one. Liu Er no longer took the risk and moved slowly over in a similar way to when he came down.

Unlike the previous two caves, this one wasn't flat; it had an upward slope. Learning from his previous experience, Liu Er didn't dare to be careless and continued to hold onto the cave wall, slowly inching his way in step by step.

We walked uphill for about ten meters, and the space became increasingly cramped. The light outside was also very weak. Even though Liu Er's eyesight had become excellent, I still had to take out a flashlight from my backpack to show him the way.

I carefully climbed off Liu Er's back, feeling much more at ease when my feet touched the ground. The ground here was uneven, but my shoes gripped the ground easily, and the slope wasn't a problem. Still shaken, I held onto Liu Er with one hand and took out a flashlight from my backpack with the other, turning it on.

The beam of light caused both Liu Er and I to exclaim in surprise.

Just a dozen steps ahead, the cave narrowed rapidly to a width of over four meters and a height of less than one and a half meters.

There was a stalactite connecting the top and bottom, and at the thick base of the stalactite, which was so thick that it would take one person to hug it, a hemp rope about the thickness of two fingers was wrapped around it.

He bent over and hurried to the rock. When he shone his flashlight on it, the terrain in front of him suddenly dropped, and below was a much wider world.

"Ha!" I couldn't help but chuckle. We must have entered the right cave.

That rope hanging straight down was probably tied by Yang Delin back then.

After so many years of corrosion from moisture, this hemp rope is now covered in crumbs and can no longer be used.