Long Horror Story (3)

Chapter 3: The Sealed Forbidden Zone The red light at the end of the pitch-black corridor was particularly glaring, like a blood-red eye deep within this silent, dead old house. Lin Mo held his breath, cautiously walking towards the end of the corridor, his footsteps so light he dared not make a sound. The walls on both sides of the corridor were covered with old black and white photo frames. The people in the pictures stared ahead expressionlessly, their eyes appearing particularly hollow under the flashlight beam. When he reached the wooden door, he found that the copper lock hanging on it was already rusty and mottled, and would likely fall off with a slight touch. The red light seeped from the gap under the door, accompanied by a nauseating stench. It was not the smell of simple mold, but the foul odor of something organic in advanced decay. Lin Mo put on his gloves, gripped the rusty copper lock, and pulled hard. With a 'click,' the lock broke. He slowly pushed the door open, and the creaking sound made him gasp. The entire room's walls were densely covered with yellow paper inscribed with red talismans, and in the center of the floor, a large, complex formation was drawn with some kind of black-red liquid. In the center of the formation was an exquisite baby crib. Lin Mo summoned his courage and walked towards it, pulling back the worn blanket covering it. What he saw inside made his pupils instantly dilate—it wasn't a baby under the blanket, but a lifelike wooden puppet, and its chest was rhythmically rising and falling as if alive... To be continued