Tomber amoureux du diable

Chapitre 2

Date: 2008-03-09 19:52:00

Another strange thing happened: Old Deng found an unknown number of corpses in the lake area. These corpses did not appear to have drowned recently. Old Deng pulled one up for a closer look and found that the head of the corpse was very strange. It had been neatly cut off from the bridge of the nose, and the contents of the skull had solidified into a black lump of flesh that smelled terrible.

The Xin'anjiang Reservoir was completed in 1960, which submerged 49 villages and towns and displaced more than 290,000 people. Twenty-five years later, a body found that had died a violent death was discovered. Moreover, Lao Deng said that there was definitely more than one body underwater. They found many bodies floating in the water, covering a large area. The two of them discussed it and concluded that the bodies were definitely not decapitated by fish. This could only mean that a horrific murder had occurred in the empty house below!

The matter was too big for anyone to leak. After reporting to the military region leaders overnight, the superiors allowed them to bring back a corpse for research. However, the clothes on the corpse were so soaked in water that they were unrecognizable. It took a lot of effort to figure out that it should be the corpse of a soldier. Strangely, it was wearing leg wraps. Judging from the rusty small ornaments such as collar insignia, it should be the remains of a soldier of a local warlord during the Republic of China period.

Chapter 4 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Chapter 4 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Author: Ghost Grinning

Date: 2008-03-09 20:13:00

After Lu Tongchun finished speaking, we were all very surprised that there were the remains of soldiers from the Republican era and the Beiyang warlords in the reservoir.

How could that be? This isn't some desolate wilderness; it used to be a village or town. If there were a large number of corpses, wouldn't they have been discovered long ago? How could they have been preserved until now? And why are they floating out now, suspended in the water?

I glanced at Lu Tongchun. He was staring at us without moving, his face shifting between light and shadow, as if he were deep in thought. This immediately made me suspect that he was hiding something from us. But he was an official; it was just a lie to fool us lowly fry!

I said to Lu Tongchun, "Then, could you let me see where the body is?"

Lu Tongchun helplessly spread his hands: "It won't work, the corpse was too smelly, so we just burned it last night."

That's when I realized the source of the stench last night. This guy was actually burning a corpse in his own home. How despicable!

Seeing my angry glare, Captain Luo quickly said, "Why did Old Deng come back so late last night, almost at dawn? And where are the people who went with him?"

Date: 2008-03-09 20:33:00

Zheng Jian interjected, "I know that. It was my men on guard duty. Just before dawn, they saw Lao Deng sneak in alone without saying a word, then he drove off straight towards the dock. The other guard reported this to me, and I quickly grabbed Lao Gu and we went out together. When we got to the dock, all we saw was Lao Deng's jeep, sitting there empty. There wasn't a single boat or person on the dock. I still don't understand what happened! If Lao Gu hadn't seen the footprints on the ground, we might not have found Lao Deng."

I was stunned and forgot about this: "Captain Luo said that when he found Lao Deng, he was crouching in the bushes, looking up with his neck tilted back. Did your soldiers search the surrounding area for any clues? It's impossible that Lao Deng came back in the middle of the night, got in his car, and drove to the dock just to go up the mountain and get dizzy?"

Zheng Jian shook his head: "There are no clues, and nothing unusual!"

Everyone was scratching their heads, unsure of what to do.

Lu Tongchun continued, "Old Deng has been admitted to the hospital, and we don't know the reason yet. Fortunately, Comrade Huang Ning is an excellent swimmer, so we can still go to the scene to investigate. We need to complete the mission as soon as possible so that we can give Old Deng and the missing comrades an explanation. What do you all think?"

I pondered for a moment and said, "How many times did Lao Deng go in total? Besides the bodies, did he bring back anything else? Since there were military secrets on the crashed plane, let's not worry about that. Is it enough to just find the black box to complete the mission?"

Lu Tongchun thought for a moment and replied, "Well... I guess so. Although the crashed plane did carry military secrets, we have been ordered by our superiors not to pay attention to them. The only thing we must find is the black box. So I think we should try to avoid touching the bodies as much as possible. Of course, if conditions permit, we can retrieve them and dispose of them properly. After all, this is a reservoir, and it would be bad if we frightened the people. Besides, it would pollute the water."

Date: 2008-03-09 20:50:00

I looked at Lu Tongchun, wondering what he was up to. He spoke so ambiguously, just like that other guy, making us, the people below him, have to guess what he was doing in order to get things done. Isn't that a sure way to make mistakes?

Old Gu said, "Deng Tou went three times in total. The first time he went into the water for a longer time. The second time he only stayed for half a day, pulled up a body and rushed back. Yesterday was the third time. He couldn't wait for you and Comrade Ding Gen. He insisted that there was trouble and he had to go and solve it as soon as possible. He took a boat and seven or eight people and went in a panic."

I couldn't help but slap my thigh. Sigh, if only that letter hadn't been delayed on the way, I would have come already! A day earlier, I could have found out what trouble Old Deng had run into. Look at the mess this has made now. Ding Gen is really outrageous. The old leader specifically wrote a letter to call him over, but he still hasn't shown up. Where has he been? I remember that after Ding Gen retired, his demobilization unit wasn't far from here.

Date: 2008-03-09 21:33:00

Lu Tongchun clapped his hands and said, "Alright, alright, I think we should go again today. Although Deng Tou is in the hospital, doesn't Lao Gu know how to get there? Comrade Huang Ning, you and Lao Gu lend a hand, and Zheng Jian should send more men to follow along. Let's strive for a swift success!"

Zhang Liheng quickly stood up and said, "I want to go too!"

Lu Tongchun waved his hand impatiently: "No, no, this is a matter for the military. If you local comrades can't handle it, we'll have to take care of it ourselves!"

Zhang Liheng was displeased: "If something happens to the Xin'anjiang Reservoir, our unit can't be unaware of it. Besides, I wasn't sent here to sit here and listen to reports."

Lu Tongchun simply disagreed. Zhang Liheng, a young woman in her mid-twenties, was also quite stubborn: "Comrade Lu, don't forget who ordered you to bring me here. Should I call and tell him?"

Lu Tongchun hesitated for a moment, seemingly wary of the person the girl mentioned who had given the order. After a brief standoff, he had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Date: 2008-03-09 22:17:00

By then, it was already broad daylight. We packed our gear and boarded the ship to set off.

This reservoir, though described as inland, is surprisingly vast, dotted with numerous islands of varying sizes. There are few plankton in the water, making the lake appear incredibly blue. We traveled in four boats, enjoying a very pleasant ride.

The entire lake area is divided into five major lake areas: northeast, southeast, northwest, southwest, and center. It is about 150 kilometers long, more than 10 kilometers wide at its widest point, and more than 100 meters deep at its deepest point. Its area is more than 100 times larger than West Lake in Hangzhou, and its water storage capacity is more than 3,000 times larger than West Lake, covering nearly 600 square kilometers, almost the size of Singapore.

Sitting at the bow of the boat, I had no interest in appreciating the beautiful lake view. The shadow in my heart lingered. What were military planes doing on this inland lake? Why was the black box moving so slowly? Had it been eaten by some big fish? But I remembered that black boxes were always red or orange-red, with solid outer shells. The one on this military helicopter was at least as big as three or four bricks stacked together.

Could there be such a large, foolish fish that swallowed a red metal lump and still swims around so leisurely? If it wasn't a large fish, what could be the reason? Could it be related to those corpses?

After the plane crash, the black box had a locating beacon, essentially a radio transmitter, that could automatically emit a specific frequency to help rescuers locate it. But I saw Zheng Jian's soldiers carrying many sacks onto the boat, some clearly containing heavy weapons, and a young girl named Zhang Liheng bringing a number of instruments I couldn't identify. It was like we were going to war; the soldiers were all fully armed. Yet, no one mentioned which instrument was specifically for tracking the black box.

Chapter 5 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Chapter 5 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Author: Ghost Grinning

Date: 2008-03-09 22:37:00

After traveling for almost half a day, around four or five o'clock in the afternoon, our boat gradually slowed down.

Old Gu ran over to me and said that when he first came in with Deng Tou, they stopped their boat at this very spot. There were two rather large rocky islands standing upright in the water. After going around them, Old Deng said that there were too many small islands inside, and the waterways were interconnected, making it very easy to get lost, so they didn't go any further in.

I looked at these two large rocky islands. They were both oddly shaped and stood menacingly over the water. They were bare and without any trees, a stark contrast to the green islands we had encountered along the way. This old man is indeed a qualified fisheries inspector. He has an excellent memory for waterways. He didn't get lost on the vast expanse of water and led us directly to our destination. He's quite capable!

With an hour or two left before dark, I packed up my diving gear, intending to go underwater and familiarize myself with the situation.

Zheng Jian stopped me and said, "No! Comrade Huang Ning, you were a veteran, and I shouldn't stop you, but before we set off, Commander Lu told me to be fully responsible for your personal safety. It's getting dark, and my troops have only just begun to deploy and haven't been on guard yet. You can't go into the water!"

I feel a bit helpless. Why are there people everywhere trying to control me?

Little Zhang Liheng cried out, "Come quick, there's something in the water!"

Date: 2008-03-09 23:22:00

Following the sound, we ran over and saw that right in front of our boat, the azure lake water, though not very clear, still allowed us to see a short distance below. Just below the surface, in the most hazy depths, was a pale, ashen face, floating upside down in the water.

This face looks strange. I rubbed my eyes and was sure it wasn't the effect of the lake water reflecting off it, but rather that the face itself was unusually large, more than twice the size of a normal person's face. Even if a dead person's face was swollen from being soaked in water, it couldn't be this swollen. The proportions were clearly off!

If I hadn't seen the facial features, I wouldn't have believed it was a human face.

Its facial features were also strangely shaped. Its eyes were wide open, staring at me blankly without moving, showing no signs of life. Its mouth was misaligned, with its upper and lower lips not matching. Its flat ears were pressed against its cheeks, and where its nose should have been, there was only a round lump of flesh, like a chess piece placed there. The most strange thing was that the positions of its facial features were all awkward and stiff, as if they had been moved and re-attached.

I looked closely down at the strange face, trying to figure out where the neck and torso were, but the lake water blocked my view. I could only see that the lower part was also very large, and it seemed to be naked.

Zhang Liheng gripped my hand tightly and said, "Look, he moved!"

Date: 2008-03-10

Even without her saying anything, I could already see that strange, large face slowly turning around in the water, as if it were trying to turn its back to us.

I felt a chill run down my spine and unconsciously gripped Zhang Liheng's hand tightly. My palms were sweating profusely. However, I am a staunch atheist and do not believe in ghosts or monsters in this world!

I've encountered all sorts of hardships. Back when Deng was training us, he tied our hands and feet with wire and threw us into the sea, calling it training our survival instincts. He kicked us into the water one by one, giving us only fifteen minutes to climb back onto the boat. His indifference and ruthlessness at the time, his twitching lips, made it seem like he didn't care about our lives.

Sometimes, when I was on a mission at sea, dragging corpses out of sunken ship cabins, the mutilated bodies made me so disgusted that I couldn't eat for days. Some of the innocent children who drowned were so tragic, ugh, don't even mention it! But I've never encountered any evil spirits or zombies. To be honest, those scary things are just made up by the living to scare other living people!

But at this moment, the strange big face in the water slowly turned around, and I felt a chill, because I saw that the back of the corpse's head was not round, but like a thin layer of paper!

His entire head looked like it had been run over by the rollers of a road roller. He didn't look like a human being at all; he was more like a meat pie!

I saw some fish swimming around the meat patty, some even nibbling at its edges. The corpse was gently bumped, swirled slowly in the water, and then sank down. The fish immediately scattered, as if the human flesh had undergone some kind of treatment and hadn't rotted in the water, making it impossible for the fish to bite.

Date: 2008-03-10 0:37:00

We, the few of us clinging to the side of the boat, stared in disbelief, completely baffled. The corpse Old Deng brought back had half its head neatly shaved off, and now this one was crushed into a meat patty. How could there be such a strange floating corpse in the water? Could it be that some ancient tomb had been broken open down below?

Old Gu shook his head: "I don't think there's an ancient tomb. The reservoir is at most a hundred meters deep, about the height of a thirty-story building. These two stone islands were originally just low peaks. All the way here, I've been trying to figure out which territory this place belonged to before it was filled in. It should be within the territory of Jiande City. Although I'm not very sure, these mountains look very much like some of the peaks of Tiemao Mountain. Tiemao Mountain is full of karst caves and underground rivers. There's no way there could be an ancient tomb there."

I know that Jiande City is located southeast of Chun'an County. Tie Mao Mountain is a tourist cave that has been open to the public for a long time. I always thought that our boat was heading southwest. The lake water here is the same everywhere. After Lao Gu said that, I hesitated. I wondered if I had lost my way. But I had never heard of any other peaks in Tie Mao Mountain.

Old Deng said that behind these two rocky hills, there are countless small islands and numerous crisscrossing waterways, which could easily turn into a maze of waterways. Looking at the sky that was gradually getting dark, I shook my head inwardly. It seemed like it was going to rain here, so I decided to skip it for today and not go swimming.

I realized I was still holding Zhang Liheng's hand, so I quickly let go, feeling very embarrassed.

Zheng Jian had a gloomy face and didn't say a word. I walked up to him and asked, "Brother, what are you thinking about? Didn't the higher-ups say our main task is to find that black box? Where's your instrument for searching for the black box signal? Take it out and take a look. Once we've determined a general location, I'll go into the water to retrieve it."

Date: 2008-03-10 09:44:00

Zheng Jian glanced at me without saying a word, then lowered his voice and said, "It's getting dark, let's talk about it tomorrow."

The other three boats traveling with us were all soldiers brought by Zheng Jian. As we were talking, they had already formed a fan shape and guarded the waterway between the two rocky mountains. Soon, the aroma of cooked food wafted across the lake.

Nobody was interested in catching a couple of fish from the lake to eat. I was also disgusted by the floating corpses in the water. I ate a simple two bowls of brown rice and then came out to stand at the bow of the boat to think about things.

It seems that among so many of us, including Lu Tongchun who didn't come in with the ship, there should be a headquarters secretly directing this mission. Even Zhang Liheng, this pretty and refreshing-looking girl, has an unfathomable background. She was ordered to participate by her superiors, and she might even be an undercover agent planted in the Fisheries Department.

Never mind them, I need to think about Old Deng, this seasoned veteran in the water, who ended up disappearing with seven or eight people, and then rushing off to get his jeep as soon as he got back. Where was he going? What about his boat?

Chapter 6 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Chapter 6 of "The Empty House in the Abyss (The Salvage Worker's Adventure)"

Author: Ghost Grinning

Date: 2008-03-10 10:06:00

If those two footprints on the roof of the car belonged to Lao Deng—yes, they were Lao Deng's—I remember when he was lifted into the ambulance, he was wearing military boots. I glanced at them instinctively and noticed they were foreign paratrooper boots with hundreds of opposing rubber ramps on the soles, providing excellent slip resistance. If Lao Deng was someone who worked in water, where did he get a pair of paratrooper boots like that? The shoelaces also looked hastily tied. What had happened to him?

Old Deng squatted on the roof of the car for a long time, so I assumed something was forcing him to climb up and hide. Was the thing under the car some kind of animal that couldn't climb up? Or was it someone who hadn't seen Old Deng? When they finally found him, he had run to the bushes on the low hill and was squatting there again, craning his neck to look up. By the way, why did he keep squatting like that?

Let's assume the plane crashed into the lake, smashing some buildings or crushing some islands. These islands used to be mountains. Could it be that something was hidden inside a mountain and just happened to fall out?

But the plane's black box is moving slowly, which shouldn't be the case.

As darkness fell, the expected rain did not come, but a breeze did rise over the lake.

The dark, gaping islands resembled crouching monsters, silently confronting our four boats on the water.

Since I couldn't figure out the reason for all this, I decided to put aside all these complicated thoughts for the time being and chat idly with Lao Gu.

Zheng Jian was fiddling with something in his room and didn't show up after dinner. Zhang Liheng, on the other hand, came out and joined us in chatting.

Date: 2008-03-10 10:56:00

Since the day the Xin'anjiang Reservoir was built and began storing water, there have been many legends and strange occurrences.

Lao Gu told us that in Xinqiao Township, Changshan County, southwest of Xin'anjiang Reservoir, right near the mysterious 30 degrees north latitude, there is a group of caves called Niujiao Caves. According to villagers, there are ninety-nine large halls in the Niujiao Caves, and many of them are still within the present territory of Chun'an. These caves are connected inside, and no one has ever known the exact number of caves.

There are underground rivers in the maze of caves, with water flowing continuously all year round. People pump water out of the Ox Foot Cave, and the water keeps flowing. No one knows where this water comes from or where it goes.

Old Gu had been there before. Drifting downstream, he could go a long way without ever reaching the end. Sometimes, it seemed like there was no way to go, but after diving in, there would be another large hall. Following the underground river inside the cave, Old Gu speculated that it could lead directly to Qiandao Lake. All this water should eventually flow into Qiandao Lake, but the water was very cold, and the underwater conditions were unknown. In addition, there were sinkholes on the nearby mountaintops, so Old Gu didn't dare to try it out himself.

Tiankeng is like a natural alpine lake with a large basin area, estimated to be more than ten square kilometers. It is like a giant bowl with its mouth wide open, placed on the mountain. When it rains heavily, water from all sides of the mountain rushes down and pours into the Niujiaodong cave complex. Such a huge amount of water rushing in does not cause any disaster, which shows that the cave complex is very large and interconnected.

Legend has it that during the Republic of China era, warlord Sun Da'er visited this sinkhole and even stationed troops there to seal it off for a period of time. It is unknown what tricks he did, but later he withdrew all his troops. Some people nearby whispered that they saw Sun Da'er send several opera troupes down into the sinkhole, and they never came out again.

Date: 2008-03-10 11:19:00