The Hand of Confession – Chapter 157

Volume 6: Days of Being Zapped in the Lab

Red Eyes

Shen Maomao, are you straight or gay??

The line kept moving forward, and soon it was Shen Maomao’s turn. She put her hand into the machine, there was a click-clack sound, and a badge [or tag] fell into her hand, marked with a capital C.

            

Shen Maomao took her badge and deliberately slowed her steps on the way out. Before she had taken two steps, Lou Jingmo caught up, dangling her own badge right under Shen Maomao’s nose for a look.

It was also a C.

Shen Maomao showed hers to Lou Jingmo as well.

            

Clutching their numbers tightly, the two exited the room through another door, finding themselves in yet another corridor with a distinct metallic feel.

Several other young people, looking just as bewildered as they were, stood in the corridor, all holding number badges.

“Keep moving forward,” Lou Jingmo stated, eyes fixed ahead. The two maintained blank expressions, acting as if they didn’t see these other people.

            

However, some people can’t simply be ignored just because you want to. A man reached out a hand to block their path, asking softly, “You’re Players too, right?”

Unsure of Lou Jingmo’s thoughts, Shen Maomao didn’t take the initiative to speak.

Lou Jingmo glanced at the man, then flicked her eyes towards the walls on either side, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            

The man said, “There’s no surveillance here, you don’t need to put on an act…”

Lou Jingmo directly pushed his hand away and walked deeper into the corridor.

Shen Maomao quickly followed, still able to hear the man’s companion consoling him— “Just two little girls, so impertinent​¹, don’t bother with them.”

            

Besides them, many other people were lingering in the corridor. As she walked, Shen Maomao observed those she could see. Suddenly, on the wall next to one person, a flash of red flickered past.

She didn’t stop walking but craned her neck, staring hard at that spot. After staring for less than two seconds, the red mark appeared again. From a distance, it looked like a red circle…

Shen Maomao immediately snapped her gaze away.

            

What red circle? That was clearly a red eye!!!

No wonder Lou Jingmo had ignored that man. It turned out that although this place looked like it had no surveillance, they were actually under constant watch.

Was the eye some new kind of high-tech, or… some new kind of monster?

            

Shen Maomao felt a chill shoot up from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head​², making her scalp tingle; she shuddered involuntarily.

After walking a short distance, they arrived at a fork in the path. The route split into three different directions, each with a door marked A, B, or C respectively.

The two headed towards the door marked C. Without much discussion, they prepared to go through, Shen Maomao first, followed by Lou Jingmo.

            

Shen Maomao stood beside the exceptionally thick, heavy metal door and pressed her number badge against the card reader.

With a Beep, a green light flashed, and the massive door slowly slid open to either side, leaving just enough space for one person to enter. Beyond the door lay another long corridor, leading to an unknown destination.

The gap between the two door panels… seemed excessively sharp, making Shen Maomao think of some rather unpleasant images.

            

She glanced back at Lou Jingmo, who nodded at her.

Shen Maomao lifted her foot and stepped through the doorway.

After her other foot had also crossed the threshold, the heavy iron door slammed shut behind her with a BANG, incredibly fast and deafeningly loud.

            

Shen Maomao was startled, giving a violent shudder; her legs went weak, and she almost collapsed onto the floor—if she hadn’t pulled her foot back quickly, that door probably would have sliced her heel clean off.

Anyone trying to follow closely behind the first person would likely be instantly sliced in half by the door.

She couldn’t help but gasp out a couple of shaky breaths, still shaken.​³ She turned to face the door, waiting for Lou Jingmo.

            

A few seconds later, the door opened again. Lou Jingmo walked in quickly, seeming to leave something in the door gap as she lifted her foot.

Before Shen Maomao’s eyes could even focus, the door had slammed shut again. The object caught in the middle was instantly sheared in two. Lou Jingmo yanked Shen Maomao aside as something flew past their heads, landing on the floor several meters away.

Just as Shen Maomao was about to ask what it was, she noticed another red eye had appeared above them. She quickly shut her mouth, averted her gaze, and walked forward.

            

The red eye glanced at them once, then disappeared. Shen Maomao blinked and walked onward, side-by-side with Lou Jingmo.

She got a clear look at the object that had been sent flying—it was a small stone with a neat cut through it.

Lou Jingmo kicked it with her left foot, sending the stone clattering—tang tang tang tang—forward. Shen Maomao’s gaze followed the stone, noticing that scarlet eyes opened up one after another on the floor wherever it passed.

            

The pupils of those eyes darted left and right, as if trying to locate the source of the noise. Seeing nothing, they shot the two of them an unwilling glare before closing their lids and vanishing.

Shen Maomao was baffled. Who did I provoke now??

It seemed these eyes appeared in response to sound, but normal footsteps, the beep beep of the card reader, and the bang of the closing door didn’t trigger their alert.

            

Walking further ahead, they could faintly hear the sounds of people talking. It seemed their destination lay ahead. The two quickened their pace, and after turning a corner, the view suddenly opened up.

Here, there were row after row of double seats, mostly occupied. The occupants were both male and female, but without exception, everyone was seated next to someone of the same sex.

Shen Maomao scanned the walls but found no eyes—it appeared speaking was permitted in this area.

            

She let out a long sigh of relief and immediately started rattling off questions like a machine gun: “Lou-jie? Should we find a place to sit too? Which cage are you in? Did you find anything? Your number is 287, what’s mine? This must be a laboratory, right? Are we going to be experimented on now? Honestly, I’m a bit nervous. Are they going to make us drink weird stuff, or give us some kind of shot?”

Lou Jingmo: “…You must have been holding that in for a while, huh?”

Shen Maomao couldn’t help but laugh, the tension she had painstakingly built up vanishing completely. “I’m just nervous!”

            

They found seats near the back and, like everyone else, began talking softly.

Lou Jingmo: “Yours is 289, two away from mine.”

Shen Maomao: “I’m 289, the one opposite me is 290… does that mean you live right next door to me??”

            

“Yes,” Lou Jingmo nodded, then added, “If my senses aren’t mistaken, it should already be the morning of the second day.”

Then they’d really gotten screwed! Locked up for a whole day knowing nothing, and now they were going to be experimented on first thing in the morning without even breakfast?

It was fine not knowing, but the moment she thought about it being the next morning, Shen Maomao’s stomach immediately started growling noisily.

            

Two men were sitting next to them, also whispering secrets—the ear-to-ear kind, so she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

After whispering for a short while, the one with more delicate features suddenly threw himself into the other’s arms, bursting into muffled sobs, crying wuwu. The other man quickly patted his back comfortingly, murmuring things like “don’t be afraid” and “it’ll be okay.”

Shen Maomao found it a bit odd. Mimicking their posture, she leaned close to Lou Jingmo’s ear and whispered, “Lou-jie, don’t you think they’re acting kinda gay-ish?”​⁴

            

Lou Jingmo: “…” It’s not just ‘kinda,’ they clearly are.

Shen Maomao glanced around and was surprised to find that all several dozen people here, regardless of gender, seemed strange. The men were acting gay-ish, the women were acting… tangerine-ish​⁵, only she and Lou Jingmo seemed completely normal, like two emotionless assassins.

After a while longer, a door at the front of the seating area opened, and eight White Coats​⁶ filed in one after another.​⁷ They dispersed among the seats and, ignoring the cries and struggles of some, ordered people to seize several pairs of men and women.

            

Shen Maomao watched as they were dragged through the main door, their faces etched with terror. The murmuring among the crowd died down. Some more fragile individuals had already begun to weep; she even saw several men weeping silently.

The atmosphere grew heavy. Gradually, everyone stopped talking.

Shen Maomao leaned against Lou Jingmo’s shoulder and slept like a carefree idiot.​⁸

            

Lou Jingmo: “…”

Wave after wave of people went in, but no one ever came out. Before long, one of the White Coats zeroed in on the two of them. He tapped his right hand in the empty air, effortlessly deciding their fate.

Two powerfully built men​⁹ stepped forward and first hauled up Shen Maomao, who was like a dead dog.

            

Shen Maomao: “Zzz—Zzz—ZZZZZ—”

Lou Jingmo: “…”

The two were dragged through the main door, stripped off their outer clothes, and strapped onto two identical machines.

            

Their limbs were secured. A total of four clamps were attached to their fingers and toes—one on the top, bottom, left, and right side. Ice-cold chips were affixed to their temples, over their hearts, and on both wrists.

The eyes of these White Coats held no emotion as they looked at them. To them, two naked​¹⁰ girls were no different from two hundred jin​¹¹ of pork.

Lou Jingmo had already guessed what was going to happen next.

            

Meanwhile, Shen Maomao, having been jolted awake by the clamps being attached, opened her eyes to find herself in this state of wearing basically nothing. She couldn’t help but yell, “Wait? What’s going on? You’re doing an experiment, fine, but why do you have to strip people’s clothes off too? This is indecent assault!​¹²“

She twisted her head left and right, trying to see her surroundings, only to immediately catch sight of Lou Jingmo’s nearly perfect body.

“F%ck…” Shen Maomao shifted self-consciously, choosing to present the back of her head to Lou Jingmo.

            

Lou Jingmo: “…” What on earth is going on inside Shen Maomao’s head?!!!

No one paid any attention to Shen Maomao’s insignificant resistance. A White Coat pressed some button, activating the machines. A line graph resembling an ECG​¹³ appeared on a computer screen, fluctuating rhythmically up and down.

A panel flew up before their eyes. The next second, a photo of a beautiful, alluring woman, partially obscured, appeared on the screen.

            

Shen Maomao: “Awooo!! I’m just looking, just looking at a pretty older sister!! Why are you shocking me-me-me-me!!”

Lou Jingmo: “…??” Shen Maomao, are you straight or gay????

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The author has something to say:

            

Worried this chapter won’t pass review.

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