hotmtlnovel Chapter 295 Years of Resentment
Chapter 295 Years of Resentment
4:47 a.m.
The command center of the Dragon Kingdom Strange Tales Strategy Team was still brightly lit, the pale, cold light illuminating the entire hall and pinning dozens of busy figures to their workstations.
The air was filled with the strong, almost overwhelming aroma of burnt coffee, mixed with the crisp sound of fingertips tapping on a keyboard.
Team leader Qin Weiguo leaned against the main control panel, his knuckles gripping a glass of iced Americano with water droplets clinging to its walls. The bitter taste shot straight to his head, barely suppressing his weariness.
The large screen was divided into two parts, one of which displayed the old photo from the Republic of China era.
The photo features a man in a long robe, a large but gentle white ape, and a stone entrance partially hidden by vines in the background.
The small, blurred characters on the back of the photo, "[In the year of Bingchen, we offered sacrifices at the mountain, offered prayers to atone for our sins, and sought peace in the afterlife]", have been sharpened.
On the other side of the screen, the scene of Songxi's mutation was simultaneously switched.
"Speak up, everyone. If you have any ideas, just say them directly. Don't beat around the bush." Qin Weiguo raised his hand and took a sip of cold coffee.
There was a few seconds of silence in the hall.
After a moment, the elderly professor of folklore spoke first, lightly tapping the three characters "Bingchen Year" on the screen with his fingertip:
"Qin Group, regarding this era name—let's clarify one thing first."
"In the real world calendar, 'Bingchen' corresponds to 1916, but the timeline of the supernatural world has its own context, and we cannot find a completely corresponding coordinate in real historical records."
He paused, his gaze behind his glasses calm and cautious:
"This photo and this line of text both come from the 'Republic of China' era in the world of ghost stories."
"For us, the significance of this dating system is not in pinpointing a specific year, but in providing a clear time anchor—telling us that this event happened about a century ago."
"This is a clue about the 'depth of time,' which tells us that what we are facing is not an accidental anomaly, but a cause and effect that spans hundreds of years."
He paused, his fingertip moving to the line of small print, explaining it word by word:
"But the core of folk customs is the same. Whether it is reality or ghost stories, 'offering sacrifices to the mountain,' 'offering sacrifices to the spirits,' and 'to bring peace to the underworld' are all ways of worshipping the souls of the dead and praying for their rest. 'Redeeming sins' means atonement for one's sins. The combined meaning is very clear—"
"In the year of Bingchen in the world of ghost stories, someone held a mountain worship ceremony on this desolate mountain, hoping to atone for their sins and appease the souls of the dead by offering 'spiritual objects'."
"As for this spirit creature..." The old professor's gaze fell on the giant white ape in the photo, and his tone became a bit more serious, "It's most likely this white ape."
As soon as he finished speaking, the young researcher in charge of analyzing strange creatures and mutations immediately chimed in. The dark circles under his eyes were particularly noticeable, but his gaze remained sharp.
Quickly bring up a detailed screenshot of the Songsi mutation with your fingertips, and zoom in on the texture of the white fur:
"Team Leader Qin, Professor Wu is right!"
"Look at how Songxi died—she was wrapped in white fur, and the fur had its own consciousness; it could even burrow into her skin, eventually turning her into a white-furred monster. This is directly related to the white ape in the photo!"
"These white-furred creatures are no ordinary monsters. I suspect they are formed from the resentment of the white ape, a part of it, carrying extremely strong obsession and violence."
He raised his hand and tapped the corner of the screen, where two rule clauses were simultaneously highlighted in red and enlarged:
"Look at these two rules, they seem to pertain to the dormitory and the ticket office respectively, but in reality, they both point to this white ape, and they even corroborate each other!"
"Dormitory rule number four clearly states that 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. is the peak pollution period, and getting out of bed is prohibited."
"The essence is to avoid the period when the white ape's resentment erupts—Songxi was entangled by the white fur that turned into resentment precisely because he violated this rule. This is a direct invasion of the white ape's resentment."
"Look at rule number six at the ticket office: refuse to sell tickets to tourists whose entire bodies are covered in white fur, and immediately sound the alarm."
"Based on Songxi's strange transformation, we can deduce that these 'tourists' wrapped in white fur are not real tourists at all, but rather, like Songxi, humans or monsters who have been corrupted by the white ape's white fur and lost their sense of self!"
"They were controlled by resentment and became henchmen of the white apes, attempting to infiltrate the park to carry out sabotage activities. Rule Six is designed to prevent these controlled individuals from entering."
"These two rules, one to prevent resentment from directly attacking living people, and the other to prevent minions controlled by resentment from entering the park and causing destruction, are essentially defenses set up by the park to resist the resentment of the white ape!"
Everyone nodded, a look of realization flashing in their eyes.
Qin Weiguo tapped his knuckles lightly on the control panel, producing a dull sound.
He stared at the white ape on the screen, which nestled obediently beside the man in the long robe, yet its eyes seemed to conceal a subtle sadness.
In the world of ghost stories during the Republic of China era, it should have been a sacred object of the local landscape, but instead it became a sacrificial offering.
"Anything else to add?" Qin Weiguo's gaze swept over the crowd.
The expert in charge of rule analysis immediately stood up, adjusted his glasses, and created a mind map of all the clues, which he then projected onto the holographic screen:
"Qin Team, all clues point to one conclusion—"
"In this fictional world of the Republic of China, in the year of Bingchen, some kind of extremely terrible disaster must have occurred near this mountain forest. It could have been an epidemic or a natural disaster, which drove the locals to desperation. In the end, they had no choice but to take extreme measures and use the white ape, which was revered as a 'spirit,' as a sacrifice to hold a mountain-worshiping ceremony to atone for their sins."
He paused, his tone becoming cautious and restrained:
"Regarding the meaning of 'to comfort the spirits in the underworld,' a direct translation of the text can be understood as comforting the spirits of the dead in the underworld."
"But we lack specific evidence regarding what kind of spirits they are, where they came from, and what sins the locals committed."
"They could be the victims of epidemics or natural disasters, or they could be vengeful spirits caused by some local behavior."
"The sacrificial ritual itself is the local people's attempt to quell a disaster or curse that is related to them and may involve the dead by sacrificing the white ape."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd:
"But they didn't expect that the white ape was originally a spirit, who died unjustly, and its resentment was hard to dispel. Over the past hundred years, this resentment has accumulated in the world of ghost stories, transforming into eerie power, and finally enveloping this land that has become a zoo—this is the root of all the terrifying phenomena in the zoo!"
The elderly professor of folklore sighed and added:
"In folklore, apes are believed to possess spiritual qualities and hold grudges, especially white apes, which are considered spiritual beings."
"As long as its resentment doesn't dissipate, the strange occurrences in the zoo won't stop. Even if you break down the scattered rules one by one, it's only a temporary fix."
Qin Weiguo stared at the white ape in the old photo from the Republic of China era on the screen, and then looked at the last scene of Songxi transforming into a white-haired monster and leaping into the forest.
The weariness in his eyes was completely replaced by a sharp edge. He abruptly stood up straight and patted the control panel:
"The conclusion is now clear: we have only one core direction—to resolve the century-old resentment of this white ape!"
"Compile all the analysis results immediately!" Qin Weiguo's voice echoed in the hall.
"The background of the mountain sacrifice in the Bingchen year of the Republic of China, the core source of the white ape's resentment in the zoo, and the key to solving the puzzle is to 'dissolve the white ape's resentment' have all been condensed into key information."
"Send it to Lin Feng when he wakes up tomorrow morning! This is what he needs most right now!"
"Also, everyone split into two groups!" he quickly instructed.
"A collection of folk customs related to resolving resentment in the world of ghost stories, including sacrifices, exorcisms, and spiritual comforts. As long as they conform to the logic of ghost stories, they are all compiled."
"Team Two will thoroughly review all the zoo's rules and uncover all hidden clues related to the white ape and the resentful spirit, providing a basis for Lin Feng's subsequent actions!"
"Understood!" everyone responded in unison, and the sound of keyboards clicking rapidly resumed...