Chapter One Hundred Thirty: The Doll Project

The voice behind you trembled slightly.

“You’d better let me go?”

What a strange thing to say.

The Shadow Soul flamed in your hand, appearing behind you.

The long knife in your grasp was wreathed in cold black flames.

You had a vague sense that the voice you just heard sounded familiar, as if you’d heard it somewhere before.

From inside the cabinet, someone cautiously pushed open the door.

There, by the cabinet, you saw a man with curly hair wearing a hat, adorned with some tools that masked his presence.

His voice quivered, and his eyes remained closed—clearly, he had been startled by you moments ago.

You froze for a moment. You recognized this man. He was the Right Eye Detective you had previously encountered in the Furnace Mountains.

You vaguely recalled him—he had lost to you in a weight-measuring game.

The very same guy who measured weights.

To think you’d meet him here.

What was his purpose in this surgical car?

Chen Qi pondered for a moment. This man was clearly not part of the train staff; his presence here surely meant he was up to something strange.

The Right Eye Detective hesitated briefly, then opened his right eye and looked at you.

“How could it be you!” The detective reopened the cabinet to confirm what he saw before him.

After repeatedly opening and closing the cabinet, the detective confirmed his mind was still intact.

“Traveler... I’m still alive, right?”

You studied the man before you.

The Right Eye Detective hid inside the cabinet, glanced at the cocoon behind you, and gasped.

“You scared me to death.”

He quickly composed himself.

He had initially believed you were the voice of the Cocoon Witch, teasing the treasure hunter trapped inside the cocoon, planning to reveal terror to everyone at the right moment.

But he was a man—he couldn’t be a witch.

Chen Qi was taken aback but deeply curious about what the Right Eye Detective was doing here.

Should you ask for information?

Yes.

You asked why he appeared here.

The Right Eye Detective pressed his hand to his chest, looking at you, his mind racing.

His involvement in unsealing these cocoons had already been uncovered by you—you had leverage over him.

He thought carefully; in the current situation, there was no need to hide his purpose.

The correct approach.

Chen Qi poured himself a glass of water and listened quietly as the detective spoke.

The Right Eye Detective explained that he was a brave and intelligent investigator from New Capital District 2, specializing in probing bizarre disasters and strange occurrences.

He came to New Capital District 8 at the behest of some friends to investigate certain matters.

An investigator from District 2 coming here to look into strange events.

No doubt, this was related to the treasure hunter Kano.

Chen Qi considered this: though the Textile Train was popular, it mostly operated in peripheral regions.

For someone to travel all the way from District 2 to the rarefied lands beyond District 8 showed how serious this matter was.

The detective continued: his investigation focused on two things—the treasure hunter Kano, and recent happenings in Mist City.

Kano was an exceptionally gifted and powerful individual, with a potent lineage and mastery over forbidden techniques.

He had passed the trials and become a judge in District 2, but his friend—the Exorcist—found him strangely off.

According to the Exorcist, Kano seemed to have had a change of heart, appearing far too normal.

He worked excessively hard and seriously, and no longer sought the company of beautiful women...

You faintly heard movement from the cocoon housing treasure hunter Kano.

The detective ignored Kano’s stirring.

Kano had become too normal, so his friend, the Exorcist, reported this to the tribunal.

At first, everyone suspected jealousy, but after professional investigation, they were shocked to discover that Kano, capable of becoming a judge, was actually a mechanical doll—his body entirely constructed of machinery.

The detective pulled out two photos showing the treasure hunter’s internal structure.

His interior was fully mechanized, driven by a strange mechanical heart.

A doll hidden among humans, even rising to their upper echelons.

The revelation caused an uproar in the District 2 tribunal.

A mechanical doll serving as a judge—the absurdity of this was no less than the recent events in Mist City.

A mechanical doll able to deceive so many must be backed by a terrifying disaster force.

The Right Eye Detective said this likely marked the prelude to a horrifying doll-related catastrophe.

This case stirred great commotion within the District 2 tribunal.

But to avoid alerting the culprits, the matter was kept secret, and only a select few with strong investigative skills were tasked with discreet inquiries.

These operatives tracked the treasure hunter’s movements for five years and launched investigations accordingly.

His suspicions proved correct.

The detective had come to the right place, beating others to the scene.

He looked at the cocoon behind you and was now certain that on this Textile Train, the treasure hunter had been swapped by the Cocoon Witch.

Chen Qi rested his chin on his hand, contemplating.

In short, the treasure hunter had been replaced, and this detective was here to investigate.

Yet his earlier fear showed he was no match for the train’s medical practitioner.

The detective forced a bitter smile, still unwilling to leave the cabinet.

“If I could return to District 2, I’d shake everyone to their core, but as it stands, most aboard this train are doomed.”

He confided that he had uncovered the secrets of the train’s medic, who would not spare him.

Soon after boarding, he had been targeted by the medic and had barely managed to reach this spot.

Following the detective’s gaze, you looked at the cocoons suspended from the ceiling.

Rows upon rows of white cocoons hung like strips of dried meat.

If each cocoon represented a person replaced, then in this surgical car alone, there were more than two hundred cocoons—that meant over two hundred people had been supplanted by dolls.

You smiled wryly, clearly aware you had uncovered a dangerous secret.

The detective explained that unsurprisingly, his presence had driven the train medic into a corner.

Among those cocoons were not only gifted prodigies but also train staff.

He had seen scouts responsible for surveying the route enclosed within those cocoons.

Listening to the detective, you reflected for a moment.

You could feel a dreadful conspiracy taking shape, and the appearance of this District 2 investigator had evidently hastened its unfolding.

At present, the entire Textile Train was likely ensnared within the Cocoon Witch’s design.

And after this dark night, the once-feared Cocoon Witch might very well reveal her crimson fangs...

(End of chapter)