Chapter Eighty-Two: The Hidden Past

His fingertips, extended toward the books on the third shelf, had already begun to falter.

He had no doubt at all about his judgment: whatever was placed on the third row of shelves.

The first row was the present—the present he had achieved by shedding his filthy past, a refined and unburdened present. Thus the words in those books were calm, close to the tone of everyday speech.

The second row was the past—the past he had already forgotten in that rear chamber. And so the lines describing those bygone days were full of excuses.

Then the third row ought to be an even earlier past.

Trembling, he took those books down.

They were worn and tattered, as if they might crumble apart at the slightest touch.

He slowed his fingers, and every movement became lighter and lighter.

That thin little volume now felt like a heavy burden.

He opened to the first page.

Inside was a story.

...

“Have you prepared everything I asked you to bring?”

The four of them nodded, their expressions both tense and excited.

They patted their backpacks and said to the boy at the head of the group:

“We brought it! All of it! See if it’s enough! The almond water you told us to buy—we got tons of it! Twenty bottles, exactly!”

He listened and nodded, though he did not seem especially satisfied.

“What about the tools?”

“Pliers, a hammer, and two table knives. Everything’s here,” another girl replied.

“And I’m in charge of the flashlights and walkie-talkies. One set for each person, with ten spare batteries.”

“There aren’t enough batteries.”

“But one battery can keep a light on for twenty days! Boss! Are you planning to go on a trip?”

He frowned, but did not agree with her.

“Get more,” he said after a moment’s hesitation, before making his decision at last. “Add more batteries. Increase the number by one for every flashlight and walkie-talkie. If anything breaks, there’ll still be replacements.”

They nodded, apparently unconcerned about the cost.

“Have you prepared the sedatives?”

“The sedatives...”

This time, another boy hesitated.

“No... that stuff is hard to buy. I went to a lot of hospitals. Leaving aside the fact that they wouldn’t prescribe it to us, even the ones willing to do it didn’t dare write such a large dose.”

The boy hesitated and looked toward Chen Qing.

“If there are no sedatives, then we’re not going,” he said, shaking his head with a resolute expression. But as soon as the words left his mouth, the remaining four exchanged glances and turned to him with earnest looks, seeking his help.

“Brother Chen! We know you definitely have a way!”

“Yeah, yeah! Help us out, little Chenchen~”

He smiled wryly and waved them off, shaking his head slightly. “Quit making me sick. I’ll give you a prescription. Take it and get it filled at a few more pharmacies.”

Yet even after saying that, he did not immediately produce the prescription he mentioned.

The others listened with some curiosity.

“Are sedatives really that important?”

He nodded.

“Very important. More important even than flashlights and walkie-talkies.”

He paused before continuing, “In there, anything related to the bizarre or the uncanny will drive you insane.

You’ve seen it yourselves. You know what that leads to.”

They exchanged uneasy looks. “What we’re wondering is... do sedatives really work that well?”

He laughed.

“Do you think too little of what human technology can make? Sedatives can suppress nearly every function in your brain. Insanity? If you can still laugh and joke around, I’ll call you impressive.”

With a smile, Chen Qing let the expression fade from his face and said solemnly, “Still, sedatives aren’t omnipotent. Everything in the Backrooms exerts mental pressure. That pressure is constant. Sedatives can only relieve you for a time. If you take too much, I’m afraid you may never wake up again.”

“Because of an overdose?” The girl tilted her head, curious.

“No. Because when you fall asleep, in the darkness of night, thousands upon thousands of entities will swallow you whole.”

He looked at the four of them and slowly shifted his gaze. “And in your dreams, a living ham might come from the inner thigh of one of your teammates. If you can, you should also prepare electromagnetic induction detectors, radiation detectors, and things like that. They’ll be useful.”

After Chen Qing finished speaking, his gaze drifted slowly toward the window.

“As for me, I still have some other things to prepare.”