The Hand of Confession – Chapter 411
by Little PandaEpilogue: The Final Instance
The Girl
Goodbye
The second before Shen Maomao pulled the key out, it spun in mid-air, proving her earlier suspicion wasn’t just her creating something from nothing.1
Police Officer Bai had no idea she’d just escaped a close call. She found nothing under the car, then straightened up to check the back.
From inside, Shen Maomao watched as the car’s dashboard lit up without the engine running. The manual gear stick began to move backward at a glacial pace, inching toward the reverse gear position.
Shen Maomao didn’t know how to drive, but she knew she couldn’t let that thing continue. She scrambled into the space between the driver and passenger seats, grabbing the gear stick with both hands and holding it in the position Police Officer Bai had left it in, preventing it from budging an inch.
A bone-chilling cold radiated from the gear stick, which was wrapped in some kind of unknown leather, making her shiver.
An icy breath whispered past her ear, like a viper’s tongue licking her skin. For a moment, her mind went blank, and she almost let go.
Just then, Puck shouted, “That human is coming back!”
Shen Maomao hesitated for two seconds, then immediately released her grip, tossed the key onto the driver’s seat, and climbed back to sit primly in the back.
Police Officer Bai opened the car door, her eyes immediately falling on the key. “This key…” she said, puzzled.
Puck spoke up. “Huh? The smell of blood is gone! This human is so warm…”
Shen Maomao figured that ghosts were probably afraid of the righteous aura surrounding Police Officer Bai due to her profession. They wouldn’t dare share a space with her.
She began to wonder if she should start hugging a big thigh.2 Aloud, she said, “Teacher said to put keys away properly and not leave them in the lock.”
Police Officer Bai chuckled. “Okay, thank you, little Maomao. But this is a car, and it’s dangerous. If you see something like this again, don’t touch anything, okay?”
Shen Maomao nodded. “Okay, I know.”
Then she asked, “What happened outside just now, Bai-jie?3“
Police Officer Bai picked up the key, sat back in the driver’s seat, and started the car. “I might have hit a small animal, but I didn’t see any blood…”
“Then when are we getting home?”
This puzzled Officer Bai as well. “We should have arrived long ago… Is this road really that long? Today is so strange… It’s still early, so why aren’t there any other cars?”
Visibility was already low in the fog, let alone late at night. The streetlights in the distance blurred into a line of round, yellow halos, like two giant eyes looking down on their tiny car.
Puck yawned and landed on Shen Maomao’s shoulder. “Since the ghost is afraid of this human, you should just stick with her.”
Shen Maomao had the same idea. She moved to the center of the back seat, positioned her pale little face in the rearview mirror, and said in a frightened tone, “Bai-jie, can you please not get out of the car again? I’m scared by myself…”
Police Officer Bai glanced at her in the mirror. The smile on her face vanished, replaced by a grim expression as she slammed on the brakes again.
She spun around, shielding Shen Maomao’s head with her hand as she yanked her halfway into the front. “Maomao, sit up here. And buckle your seatbelt.”
Shen Maomao guessed she must have seen something behind the car in the mirror to have reacted so suddenly.
Watching Police Officer Bai’s tense profile, she said, “I don’t know how.”
Police Officer Bai leaned over to buckle the seatbelt for her, her eyes never leaving the rearview mirror. Once it was fastened, she said in a cold voice, “Sit tight, Maomao. I’m speeding up!”
“You can’t,” Shen Maomao said obediently. “Teacher said you can’t drive too fast. It’s dangerous.”
“You sure know a lot, Maomao.” Police Officer Bai stepped on the gas, and the car’s speed increased significantly.
With her eyes fixed on the fog ahead, she kept one hand on the steering wheel and tossed her phone to Shen Maomao with the other. “Do you know how to use a phone? Dial 110, then press the green speakerphone button in the bottom right corner. Tell them to send someone to pick us up.”
Shen Maomao did as she was told, though she knew the call would never go through.
Sure enough, a cold, stuttering female voice came from the phone. “Sor…ry, the num… ksssh… you have dial… zzzt zzzzt… la la la… zzzt zzzzt… planting the sun～”
The recorded female voice on the phone suddenly started singing 《Planting the Sun》.4 Police Officer Bai was visibly startled, but mindful that Shen Maomao was just a little girl—a flower of the motherland, the hope of the future—she managed to suppress her shock. Her voice, however, was strained. “Maomao, hang up the phone!”
Shen Maomao complied, placing the phone on the dashboard.
Police Officer Bai’s nerves were stretched taut as she focused on the road.
The car sped on, trees and streetlights flying past them, but the scenery remained identical. No matter how long they drove, nothing changed, making her wonder if she was just marching in place.5
After a little while longer, a thick, black fog enveloped the entire car. Even with the high beams on, she could barely see anything in the distance.
As a police officer, Police Officer Bai was naturally an atheist. Though she was only a local cop, she’d seen her share of dead bodies—missing arms and legs, severed heads, people flattened into meat patties by cars…
But what was happening tonight was far beyond her scope of experience, and her worldview was taking a serious hit.
Shen Maomao was still leaning against the window, watching the scenery outside.
The wind rustled the leaves, making the treetops sway. The shadows they cast on the ground bared their fangs and brandished their claws,6 like twisted, vengeful ghosts waiting for an opportunity to act and drag them from the car.
Puck was giving her a live report from her ear. “It went under the car… Now it’s behind… Ah! It’s right next to you!”
The minutes ticked by, and beads of cold sweat multiplied on Officer Bai’s forehead.
She hadn’t refueled when she came back, and after driving for so long, the tank was nearly empty. But the road stretched on with no end in sight. The car was likely to break down in the middle of the road, and she had to consider what to do next.
Finally, she slowly pulled over to the side. After parking, she checked the rearview mirror several times. Seeing nothing strange, she breathed a sigh of relief and said to Shen Maomao, “Sorry, Maomao, I’ve run into a bit of a problem. The car can’t go any further.”
Shen Maomao asked, “So are we sleeping in the car tonight?”
Police Officer Bai thought for a moment and suggested, “How about Auntie takes you out for a walk?”
Shen Maomao refused. “Can we not get out…? I’m afraid of the dark…”
The image from the rearview mirror flashed in Officer Bai’s mind, and she dismissed the idea. “Alright then, we’ll make do in the car for one night. Maybe things will be better at dawn…”
Shen Maomao nodded and said okay. Then she closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
Puck diligently reported the ghost’s position. “It’s still circling… I’m losing track of its position, the whole car has that smell… Doesn’t it get tired?”
Shen Maomao didn’t answer him, but he wasn’t disappointed. He sat next to the teddy bear on the dashboard, swinging his little legs.
Worried she’d get cold, Police Officer Bai draped her jacket over her, then picked up her phone and fiddled with it, her heart not there.7
She wanted to call her family but was afraid the same thing would happen as when she’d tried to call the police. She wanted to get out and find help, but she feared the thing outside would attack.
If I had just gone home normally, I wouldn’t have run into this…
For a moment, she felt a pang of regret. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have managed others’ idle affairs8 after work…
But it was just a fleeting thought. What needed to be done still had to be done.
Looks like I won’t be getting any sleep tonight.
As she thought this, she suddenly heard a loud bang! The entire car shuddered as if something had just jumped onto the roof.
If she could have seen Puck, she would have heard him shouting, “There’s another smell! They’ve surrounded the car!”
Shen Maomao opened her eyes, rubbing them sleepily. “What’s wrong?”
Police Officer Bai’s expression was grave. “I think there’s something out there… We might have to leave!”
Puck shrieked, “Don’t go! The smell of blood outside is so strong! You’ll die if you go out there!”
Shen Maomao quickly added, “Don’t go out! There are monsters outside!”
Police Officer Bai’s eyes widened in shock. “Where? You saw them?!”
Shen Maomao pointed in a few random directions. “They’re everywhere! They’re so scary… Bai-jie, please don’t go out, okay…? I’m so scared…” As she spoke, she hugged her arms and shivered, looking terrified.
Police Officer Bai was torn. “This…”
Before she could think, smack! A bloody handprint slapped against the windshield. Then came a rapid succession—smack, smack, smack, smack—as a whole row of them appeared.
Police Officer Bai cried out, her face the color of earth.9 Her body jolted back, her back pressed hard against the seat. Her worldview, built over thirty years, finally shattered.
More and more bloody handprints appeared, not just on the windshield, but on all four windows and the rear glass. They overlapped, one on top of the other, until they couldn’t see outside at all.
Just then, her gaze fell involuntarily on the rearview mirror.
She clearly saw a dark, sticky thing lying on the back seat. It raised its body in an unnatural posture, revealing blood-red eyes from under a curtain of long, black hair.
Her mind went numb. Only one thought remained—
Run!
Get out of this car, right now!
With hasty hands and confused feet,10 she fumbled to unbuckle Shen Maomao’s seatbelt, whispering urgently in her ear, “Run… There’s something in the back of the car!”
Shen Maomao looked at Puck.
Puck flew to the back and sniffed. “There’s nothing here… Just the smell of leather… No ghost smell…”
Shen Maomao understood. Police Officer Bai was probably hallucinating.
She flexed her wrist, aimed for the back of Police Officer Bai’s neck, and delivered a swift hand-blade.11
Police Officer Bai’s body went limp, slumping into Shen Maomao’s arms.
With some effort, Shen Maomao propped her up against the steering wheel, draped the jacket over her again, and calmly watched the bloody prints on the windshield.
The thing on the car hopped up and down in anger, shaking the vehicle violently, but Police Officer Bai was unconscious and wouldn’t be waking up.
She picked up Officer Bai’s phone, checked the time, and put it back. It was already one in the morning. In three hours, the sun would rise, and these things would probably disappear.
“Keep an eye out for me,” she told Puck. “If anything happens, shout in my ear.”
Puck tried to bargain. “Then will you let me take a bite of that thing?”
Shen Maomao just stared at him silently.
Puck pouted. “Oh, okay.”
And so, Shen Maomao rested her head against the seat and took a short nap.
When she woke again, the sky was bright. Shen Maomao opened her eyes, her neck aching from the awkward sleeping position. Puck was sprawled on her backpack, sleeping like a pig.
Sunlight streamed through the windshield. The bloodstains and handprints were all gone, as if nothing had happened.
She picked Puck up and gave him a shake. “I told you to keep watch. Is this how you do it?”
Puck woke up in a daze. “Huh? What night? Watch what?”
Shen Maomao sighed.
She knew Puck was unreliable anyway. She had only asked him to stand guard because she was sure nothing would happen as long as they stayed in the car. After scolding him a bit more, she stuffed him back into her backpack.
The dense fog had lifted, and the seemingly endless road was finally revealed in its entirety.
It was actually very short, only about twenty meters long. You could see the end at a glance.
All sorts of vehicles sped past them. Luckily, Police Officer Bai had parked on the side of the road last night, so they weren’t blocking traffic.
Shen Maomao pulled the jacket off Officer Bai and draped it over herself, pretending nothing had happened.
A few moments later, Police Officer Bai slowly came to.
She looked around in a daze for a moment, then suddenly sat bolt upright, her eyes darting around warily.
Her neck was sore for some reason, but she didn’t pay it much mind, instead turning to look at Shen Maomao.
The child was wrapped in her large coat, sleeping soundly against the window.
There was no fog, no blood, and, of course, no gas in the car.
She began to wonder if she had been hallucinating.
She picked up her phone and stared at the screen for a couple of seconds, dumbfounded.
Ring, ring, ring—
Ring, ring, ring—
Her work alarm suddenly went off, making her jump so violently that the phone almost slipped from her hand.
Shen Maomao woke at the sound, rubbing her eyes. “Is it morning?”
Police Officer Bai gripped her phone, turned off the alarm, and asked Shen Maomao, “Did… anything happen last night?”
Shen Maomao’s eyes were wide and innocent. “Huh? The car ran out of gas, so we fell asleep on the side of the road.”
Police Officer Bai rubbed her neck. “Is that… right?”
“Did you sleep wrong, Bai-jie?” Shen Maomao asked.
“I guess so…” Officer Bai murmured, still confused. “Why didn’t I take you to find a place to stay?”
Shen Maomao just shook her head, indicating she knew nothing.
Police Officer Bai was still in a fog, but there were other things to deal with, leaving no time for idle speculation.
First, she called her family to tell them she was safe. Then she called a tow truck company, followed by a call to her colleagues to explain the situation and ask them to send someone to pick them up. Finally, she took her keys and got out of the car.
Shen Maomao followed.
Police Officer Bai walked a full circle around the car but found nothing. Am I losing my mind? she thought. But it felt so much like we ran into a ghost…
Shen Maomao looked up at her. “Thank you, Bai-jie. I should get back to class now.”
“Auntie will take you to get something to eat first,” Officer Bai said. “Then I’ll take you home so you can let your grandmother know you’re safe before I drop you off at school.”
Shen Maomao obediently followed her to a nearby breakfast shop, where they got a free meal. While Officer Bai dealt with the tow truck, Shen Maomao waited at the shop for her ride.
A short while later, a police car without its siren on pulled up in front of the shop.
Shen Maomao got to experience a ride in a police car. Police Officer Bai was inside as well, and she drove her all the way back to her current address.
In the game, her home was in an old residential complex. The environment wasn’t great; the security doors on every building were broken, and some didn’t even have doors at all.
Police Officer Bai led her up to the second floor and knocked on the door of apartment 201.
Shen Maomao stared at the door with wide eyes.
Officer Bai knocked again.
Still no answer.
Thinking the elderly resident might be hard of hearing, she knocked and called out, “Is anyone home? Hello?”
After knocking for a long time, the person from the opposite apartment came out first. “Stop knocking. No one’s gone in or out of 201 for days.”
Police Officer Bai asked, “Excuse me, do you know what’s going on?”
The neighbor replied, “I used to see the old lady go out to buy groceries and pick up her granddaughter every afternoon, but I haven’t seen her at all these past few days.”
Then she looked at Shen Maomao. “Hey, aren’t you her granddaughter? You don’t know what’s going on?”
Shen Maomao shook her head. “I don’t know. I don’t remember…”
Police Officer Bai frowned. “Your neighbor has been missing for days, and none of you thought to call the police?”
The neighbor shot her a sideways glance. “Who knows if her son or daughter picked her up? What if nothing’s wrong? Then we’d just be wasting public resources, wouldn’t we?”
Police Officer Bai sighed. “Alright, thank you for your cooperation.” With that, she led Shen Maomao away.
Shen Maomao looked at her and asked, “Did something happen to my grandmother?”
Not wanting her to see something like that, Officer Bai said, “I don’t know, but you need to get to school first. I’ll take you there and have a word with your teacher so you can get some sleep during the day.”
As they went downstairs, she shot a meaningful look at the officers below.
Shen Maomao was obediently taken to school, arriving just as the first period had ended.
Police Officer Bai took out her police ID, explained the situation to the homeroom teacher, told Shen Maomao to be good in class, and then left.
Shen Maomao rested her head on her desk, pretending to sleep, while her mind summarized the events of the past day.
The ones who sought her out were either ghosts or key figures in the game. Perhaps the key to clearing this dungeon lay with Police Officer Bai. She needed to find a way to hug her big thigh.
Puck woke up in the afternoon. Shen Maomao squeezed out his remaining value by sending him to search the area for Lou Jingmo’s scent.
Taking advantage of his invisibility, Puck flew around everywhere. He didn’t return until the second afternoon period. “It’s no use,” he reported. “There are too many people at the school, and the scents are all jumbled. I can’t pick it out.”
“Useless trash,” Shen Maomao said.
Puck said plaintively, “I help you, and you still scold me! Tomorrow, I’ll turn you into a pig!”
Shen Maomao said, “Oh.”
Nothing dangerous happened during the school day, so time passed quickly.
After school, Shen Maomao slung her backpack on and went to the school gate, planning to wait a while and see if she could run into Lou Jingmo. But the moment she stepped out, she saw a familiar figure—Police Officer Bai.
Her presence probably meant something had happened to her in-game grandmother.
Shen Maomao didn’t really want to go over, but Officer Bai had already seen her and was waving.
She had no choice but to walk over. “Bai-jie, what are you doing here?”
Police Officer Bai patted her on the head. “I’m here to take you to my place. You’ll be staying with me for a couple of days.”
“Why am I going to your house?”
“Something happened at your home,” Officer Bai explained. “There’s no one to look after you for a few days, so I offered to take you in.”
Shen Maomao didn’t ask what had happened, only looked troubled. “But I promised a classmate I’d stay at her house. We have to do homework together…”
Police Officer Bai frowned. “This…”
Shen Maomao looked at her with pleading eyes. “Bai-jie, can I go to your house tomorrow instead?”
Officer Bai asked, “Which classmate is it? Where is she?”
“Her last name is Lou. Lou Jingmo. She’s on cleaning duty today, so she’ll be a little late.”
Officer Bai checked her watch. “Alright, I’ll go pick up my son from kindergarten first. If you two are still here when I get back, I’ll give you a ride.”
“No need,” Shen Maomao declined. “We can get back on our own.”
“Okay then.” After a moment of hesitation, Police Officer Bai agreed. “Be safe. I’m leaving now.”
Shen Maomao waved at her.
After Officer Bai left, she waited at the gate for another hour.
The school had mostly emptied out. She scrutinized every girl who passed by, not even sparing the teachers and parents, terrified she would miss Lou Jingmo.
But unfortunately, after searching for so long, she didn’t see anyone who looked like her.
Soon, the security guard came out with his keys. He must have already checked that the school was empty of students.
Shen Maomao felt a little disappointed, but not sad.
After the guard left, she moved from her hiding spot back to the school gate and sat on the ground, staring blankly at the ants on the road as they moved their colony.
It’s probably going to rain…
She still didn’t know where she was going to run for her life tonight.
Puck sat on her shoulder, having already forgotten the afternoon’s unpleasantness. He drooled as he sniffed the aroma wafting from the malatang shop across the street. “I want to eat malatang, Maomao.”
“I don’t,” said Shen Maomao.
“What about grilled cold noodles, then?”
“No money.”
“You’re lying! You obviously have ten yuan in your pocket!”
“That’s my emergency fund.”
Puck pouted and flew off toward the source of the delicious smell. He wouldn’t get lost anyway, so Shen Maomao didn’t bother with him.
As dusk fell and lights flickered on in every home, Shen Maomao decided to stop waiting.
She stood up and dusted off her pants. Just as she was about to leave, a backpack flew through the air in a parabola and landed with a thud on the ground not far from her.
Shen Maomao whipped her head around and saw a little girl in a school uniform climb to the top of the iron gate deftly and efficiently.12 Then, she leaped from the top, landing lightly on the ground.
The girl lifted her gaze and glanced at her. Her eyes were as cold as if they were covered in ice and snow. Without a word, she picked up her backpack and started walking.
In that instant, it was as if something was caught in Shen Maomao’s throat. She couldn’t get a single word out.
Footnotes
- Hanzi: 无中生有 | Pinyin: wú zhōng shēng yǒu | Context: Literally: ‘To create something from nothing.’ An idiom used to describe fabricating things or making baseless claims.
- Hanzi: 抱大腿 | Pinyin: bào dàtuǐ | Context: Literally: ‘To hug a big thigh.’ A popular slang term for latching onto a powerful or influential person for personal gain, support, or protection.
- Hanzi: 白姐姐 | Pinyin: Bái jiějie | Context: Jie (姐姐) means ‘older sister.’ Adding it to a name is a familiar and affectionate way to address a woman who is slightly older than the speaker.
- Hanzi: 《种太阳》 | Pinyin: Zhǒng tàiyáng | Context: A well-known Chinese children’s song from the 1980s about planting suns to bring light and warmth to the world. A distorted version plays over the phone, creating a creepy effect.
- Hanzi: 原地踏步 | Pinyin: yuándì tàbù | Context: Literally: ‘To march in place.’ An idiom meaning to make no progress or be stuck in a situation.
- Hanzi: 张牙舞爪 | Pinyin: zhāngyáwǔzhǎo | Context: Literally: ‘To bare fangs and brandish claws.’ An idiom describing a ferocious or threatening appearance.
- Hanzi: 心不在焉 | Pinyin: xīnbùzàiyān | Context: Literally: ‘The heart is not there.’ An idiom for being absent-minded, preoccupied, or distracted.
- Hanzi: 多管闲事 | Pinyin: duōguǎnxiánshì | Context: Literally: ‘To manage others’ idle affairs.’ An idiom for being a busybody or meddling in things that don’t concern you.
- Hanzi: 面如土色 | Pinyin: miànrú tǔsè | Context: Literally: ‘Face the color of earth.’ An idiom describing someone who is pale with shock or fear.
- Hanzi: 手忙脚乱 | Pinyin: shǒumángjiǎoluàn | Context: Literally: ‘Hasty hands and confused feet.’ An idiom describing being in a frantic hurry or a state of flustered panic.
- Hanzi: 手刀 | Pinyin: shǒu dāo | Context: Literally: ‘Hand-blade.’ A term for a karate chop, a strike delivered with the side of the open hand.
- Hanzi: 三下五除二 | Pinyin: sān xià wǔ chú èr | Context: Literally: ‘Three down, five divided by two.’ An idiom originating from abacus calculations, it means to do something quickly, efficiently, and decisively.
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