This attic must be connected to the main building through some hidden mechanism. As for where that mechanism is placed...
Xiao Bai's gaze fell on a door.
It was the room where the mannequin was placed.
This was also the only spot the participants hadn't thoroughly investigated.
The reason was simple: the room with the eerie mannequin felt oppressive just to approach, let alone search carefully.
Xiao Bai had only figured this out last night.
If the estate's owner wanted to set up a hidden mechanism that wouldn't be discovered, the best entrance and exit would naturally be inside the strange mannequin's room.
Gloomy, bizarre, hair-raising—a room no one wanted to get close to was the perfect place to hide secrets.
Perhaps because the mannequin wasn't there, the room now looked no different from any other. Still, out of caution, Xiao Bai didn't let Chen Cailing follow her inside. Instead, she had her stand at the door and keep watch.
Soon, a mark on the floor caught Xiao Bai's attention.
The room's floor, like everywhere else, was covered with a thick carpet, but one area showed signs of wear, as if something heavy had been pressing on it repeatedly.
Xiao Bai thought for a moment, walked to the side of the wardrobe, and tentatively pushed it.
A noise suddenly came from afar. The wardrobe, which looked quite heavy, moved easily under her push, perfectly aligning with the floor marks.
Click-clack! Another sound came from above. Xiao Bai looked up and saw a square opening appear in the ceiling. A ladder descended, landing on the bed where the mannequin had been placed!
"Xiao Bai, you're amazing! This room really is suspicious!"
Chen Cailing at the door couldn't help but feel excited. Clearly, there was a hidden space in the main building, connected by this ladder, right above the strange mannequin's room.
The dark opening exuded a cold, eerie aura. After a brief hesitation, Xiao Bai gripped the pendant on her chest with one hand and the ladder with the other.
Since she'd discovered the hidden attic, she had to go up and take a look. Of course, she knew well that if the clues to this horror story were hidden up there, the moment they were revealed, she'd face an attack from the story's supernatural forces.
"Cailing, wait down here."
Relying on the special道具 of the spirit-sealing photo, Xiao Bai intended to take the risk herself.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Inch by inch, she finally neared the small opening. A thick smell of dust hit her. Xiao Bai waved her hand, poked half her body through, and surveyed the secret space by the light filtering through the gaps.
Slanted roof, wooden floor—it was indeed the attic she'd guessed. But for some reason, the attic window was nailed shut from the outside with thick boards, as if the owner wanted to hide its existence.
Yet this hidden attic space was built like a playground, complete with a slide, a swing set, and even a three-horse carousel.
The walls were covered in various drawings: a dog smeared with red paint, a doll with a broken leg, a graffiti-like human head... The childish style was clearly a child's work, but the content was utterly eerie!
This... this is...
A thought flashed through Xiao Bai's mind. Could these terrifying drawings be from that child, "Tongtong"?
What kind of child was this real Tongtong, to draw so many frightening pictures?
Looking closer, the play equipment was covered in knife scratches. Among the crisscrossing marks, some words could barely be made out.
Damn devil!
Let me out!
Xiao Bai's heart skipped a beat.
A mechanism that could only be opened from outside, sealed windows—putting these together, could it be...
This place was where the real Tongtong had lived?
Or perhaps, a better way to put it.
It looked like a strange child had been secretly locked away in this unknown space!
But that painter couple seemed to dote on their child. How could they lock him up in this sunless attic?
What secret was hidden here?
This secret must be tied to the core survival path of this horror story. She had to find it quickly!
With that thought, Xiao Bai quickly calmed down from her shock. Her eyes swept the room and landed on a waist-high chest of drawers near the sealed window. A corner of paper peeked out from one drawer.
Could that key be used here...
Just as she thought that, she gave a light pull and found the drawer unlocked, opening easily.
The drawer was cluttered with children's paintbrushes and paper. It seemed Tongtong really loved drawing.
But for some reason, everything he drew was terrifying.
After opening several drawers, Xiao Bai finally found an old album in the last one.
To be precise, it was a photo album.
Opening it, yellowed photos came into view. Xiao Bai quickly scanned them.
After just a few photos, her expression grew serious.
As she'd guessed, this abandoned album recorded Tongtong's growth.
From the smiling painter couple holding a baby to the toddler learning to walk, innocent and cute, the child in the photos grew older page by page.
But the album's tone grew increasingly eerie.
As the child aged, Tongtong lacked the liveliness and cheerfulness of his peers. Instead, he gave off a cold feeling. His pitch-black pupils seemed to stare straight at Xiao Bai through the photos.
At the same time, his behavior grew strange. In several photos, Tongtong gripped a small knife with a bizarre expression, while animal carcasses littered the blank spaces.
This boy with an angelic face gave off a demonic vibe!
Over time, the number of tortured animals in the photos increased. The style grew more terrifying, and even the images began to warp, much like the spirit-sealing photo she carried.
Xiao Bai's heart jolted, and she snapped the album shut.
No wonder this album was hidden in the secret attic. Rather than a record of a child's growth, it was a witness to the birth of a little demon.
This real Tongtong was such a terrifying child!
No wonder the estate's owners, the painter couple, had to secretly lock him in the attic. How could they let anyone know they'd raised such a demonic child!
Their child turning out like this must have been agonizing for the painter couple. Faced with increasingly bizarre behavior, their anger likely turned to fear. To stop the child from doing more evil, they had no choice but to take this desperate measure and secretly lock him in the attic!
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PS: Celebrating the book surpassing 2000 collections. Two updates today. One more after I proofread for typos, posting in 10 minutes.
New author, new book. Please keep supporting me. Asking for ratings and recommendation tickets! (Wuwuwu, do I have to beg for you to vote?)