Even the voice was exactly the same.

Except for the skin tone, everything else perfectly recreated the Yingying in Zhou Ze's mind.

No wonder Geng Chen said earlier that the puppets created by this pool had souls.

"Puppets" have always implied imitation and manipulation.

And the ability of this pool allowed what it created to transcend the broad definition of "puppet."

Of course, the use of this pool was very limited. Geng Chen said it seemed to be damaged, but in reality, he himself simply couldn't control or use it.

"Plop!"

Zhou Ze pulled his hand out of the pool.

Yingying, lying inside, didn't melt but continued to be preserved, but she had lost her vitality and was merely floating gently with the liquid in the pool.

Zhou Ze tried touching the pool water again with his hand and deliberately touched Yingying. This seemed to break some kind of balance, causing Yingying's body to gradually dissolve.

He pursed his lips.

Zhou Ze understood roughly.

Since Geng Chen said he saw his "appearance" after entering here, someone must have manipulated this pool in some way before, similar to how he "created" Yingying, creating a version of himself.

Because he hadn't really done a "time" test, but based on the phenomenon where Yingying started to melt after he moved the pool water, he could probably guess that the body could be preserved for a very long time.

If you didn't disturb the pool water, the body would likely remain like this.

Geng Chen approached the pool, and as a puppeteer, seeing this pool was like seeing his faith; how could he resist touching it?

That's why Geng Chen saw his own image, but when Lawyer An and the others came in, there was nothing in the pool anymore.

But in that case, it was difficult to accurately deduce how long ago someone created a version of himself here.

"Do you remember?"

Zhou Ze asked in his mind.

Earlier, Ying Gou was just a simpleton giving online lessons.

"No... have... no..."

"Then just now?"

"Just... knew... how... to... control..."

Zhou Ze nodded; he believed Ying Gou.

If it were really him, he wouldn't need to deny it, much less deny it so repeatedly.

Even if he wanted to hide something, after being asked repeatedly, he would probably choose to shout hysterically, "Watch... dog..."

And wouldn't bother with too many false explanations.

"Boss, that was really amazing just now." Seeing no danger and that Zhou Ze had withdrawn his hand from the pool, the old Taoist dared to approach a little closer.

"Can this pool be moved back?" The old Taoist scratched his head, clearly very interested in it.

Normal people would be interested in this, right?

Although it now seemed that other than creating an inflatable doll of your dreams,

there didn't seem to be any other obvious uses.

Moreover, Zhou Ze himself had sensed that the Yingying he created was just a "toy" that reflected his thoughts and wasn't made of flesh and blood.

The specific material was unknown, but it looked like it was made of chocolate.

But since this pool was so advanced, Zhou Ze felt that creating a body of flesh and blood wasn't impossible, but the prerequisite was to add some special materials.

Boss Zhou wasn't exactly a puppet enthusiast; after playing with this thing once, his interest waned.

He was more concerned about the relationship between this place and Ying Gou.

Standing up, Zhou Ze began to walk slowly around the pool. The surrounding rock walls had no murals but were very smooth. When he touched them, he could clearly feel the coldness.

He searched around but couldn't find anything else special.

It seemed that this was just a "workshop," and the so-called tomb chamber just felt like one.

Zhou Ze simply walked out of the main tomb chamber, and the old Taoist hurriedly followed behind, ready to protect him.

Zhou Ze had skipped the side chambers before without looking closely. This time, he personally lifted a green coffin lid.

Inside,

lay a middle-aged man.

To Zhou Ze's surprise, the man's skin tone wasn't the chocolate color but was the same as ordinary people.

"Is it paint?"

Zhou Ze reached out to touch it, but as soon as his hand touched the man, he turned to dust and became a pile of sand placed in the coffin.

He tapped the coffin wall lightly with his finger. Zhou Ze didn't open any other coffins. After getting up, he wiped his hands with a wet wipe and prepared to go back up.

Really,

what a baffling day.

"Holy mother!"

The old Taoist's scream suddenly came.

Boss Zhou's heart stirred, and then he was overjoyed.

The old Taoist's passive skill—landmine detection,

triggered successfully?

Zhou Ze turned around and saw the old Taoist standing in front of a coffin, staring at the bottom in astonishment.

The coffin lid had been pushed open a little by the old Taoist, revealing only a small section. Zhou Ze walked closer and looked inside through the gap. Inside lay an old man.

His first reaction was that he didn't recognize him because the old man wasn't wearing any clothes.

Everyone lying here wasn't wearing any clothes.

In fact, even someone you're very familiar with, when they suddenly appear naked in front of you, you'll quickly feel a sense of unfamiliarity.

After all, except for bathhouse attendants and a few other professions, most people in their daily interactions are facing people who are wearing clothes.

But after this brief sense of unfamiliarity dissipated,

Zhou Ze immediately recognized him.

Lying here,

was the old Taoist!

"Boss... this, this, this, am I dead?"

The old Taoist looked at Zhou Ze pitifully.

As a funeral director, he had heard many ghost stories, especially the cliché about someone who had already died but didn't know it.

"So, Boss, you specifically brought me down here?"

The old Taoist began to imagine things.

How did he die?

Of cancer, right?

Yes, he was already dead.

Zhou Ze ignored the old Taoist's paranoia and turned to find another coffin, forcefully pushing open the lid. Inside lay the naked Xu Qinglang.

Without stopping for too long, Zhou Ze opened several coffin lids in a row.

Lawyer An,

Old Zhang,

Black Xiaoniu,

Even Doctor Lin.

He lingered a little longer at Doctor Lin's coffin.

"Heh..."

The atmosphere was eerie, and the changes were strange, but as an Inspector who had killed a Yama, it was really a bit much to be scared by this "ghost story atmosphere."

These changes didn't make Zhou Ze lose his composure, but he silently lit a cigarette.

As he exhaled a smoke ring,

he looked up slightly,

at the wall above.

Geng Chen had come down and opened the coffin.

Lawyer An had come down and opened the coffin.

He had just opened a coffin.

In other words,

before the old Taoist opened that coffin, the coffins here had been randomly opened three times. In those three times, none of the familiar faces from the bookstore had appeared.

But when the old Taoist opened a coffin,

and he opened coffins continuously,

all the people who appeared were familiar to him.

Could it be that the previous three times were just exceptions?

Too lucky

to not have opened a coffin with a familiar face?

Geng Chen had said something right before: coincidence and accident depend on who they happen to.

Zhou Ze flicked his cigarette ash and casually opened a few more coffin lids. Inside lay Geng Chen, Old Zhang Tou, Feng Si...

Especially Geng Chen,

who was still in the body of an infant,

lying in such a large coffin, he looked so small.

"Boss, what's going on here? Is everyone dead?"

Zhou Ze's gaze swept heavily over the old Taoist.

The scene of the three robed figures committing suicide in front of him reappeared in his mind.

Was it because of the old Taoist?

Ying Gou was very familiar with this place but didn't remember ever building it or even coming here.

Zhou Ze didn't believe that anyone in this world, other than Ying Gou himself, could be powerful enough to change Ying Gou's memories.

Plus, the turning point of both coincidences occurred on the old Taoist,

this place,

was related to the Last Emperor?

But was the Last Emperor so bored that he ran here to create a "puppet pool" that only a great zombie of Ying Gou's level could control?

It didn't make sense,

it didn't make sense...

Thinking often used up cigarettes. Unconsciously, a cigarette was burned down to the butt.

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground.

Zhou Ze suddenly thought of something.

This was the west side chamber. After opening a series of coffins, there were no coffins left.

Zhou Ze walked to the east side chamber. Although the old Taoist was still wondering if everyone was dead, he instinctively continued to follow his boss, to be a bodyguard!

After entering the east side chamber,

Zhou Ze pointed to a coffin in front of him

and shouted to the old Taoist:

"Go push that coffin open."

"Oh, okay, Boss."

The old Taoist immediately walked to the coffin,

feeling a little expectant in his heart.

Who

is lying here now?

"Push!"

Zhou Ze urged.

"Alright, Boss."

The old Taoist started to exert force, but his strength couldn't compare to Zhou Ze's. He struggled hard to push the coffin lid open a tiny bit, but it was enough to see the situation inside.

"Huh, Boss, I don't recognize this person?"

The old Taoist was confused.

"Is it a woman?"

"Yeah."

"Is she very thin?"

"Yeah."

"Does she have a mole on the left side of her lip?"

"Yeah!"

Zhou Ze licked his lips,

walked up to the old Taoist, and pushed the coffin lid open a little further.

Inside lay a tall, thin woman with a mole below her lip.

"Boss, who is she?" the old Taoist asked, puzzled.

"An employee in a milk tea shop not far from our bookstore, I've bought milk tea there."

"Ah?" The old Taoist was stunned.

Zhou Ze took a deep breath.

He was sure,

it had nothing to do with the old Taoist.

Looking around again,

Zhou Ze's gaze became deep.

Something was hidden inside,

and

it could see through his heart!