The light that rekindled after the darkness illuminated a somber painting: a decaying human hand, twisted and grotesque, reaching out from the parched earth, its bare, skeletal fingers reaching high towards the indistinct, murky sky. Even a
fleeting glance conveyed an overwhelming sense of despair.
When the light vanished, a wave of heat washed over them. In the distance lay a cluster of detached houses, scattered across an area of several miles, behind which stretched a dense, expansive forest.
What should have been a vibrant, bustling place was instead an eerie, deathly stillness.
All the houses were tightly shut, covered in dust, the windows choked with grime, making the interiors appear pitch black from the outside, like entrances to hell.
The group observed in silence for a while until Luo Jin shuddered and stammered, "I feel like there might be something bad in this painting..."
"Has anyone seen the painting's name and artist?" Wu You asked anxiously.
The veteran members already had a tacit understanding: usually, the art designer Wei Dong, the sharp-eyed Ke Xun, and the rational and objective Zhu Haowen were responsible for looking at the painting itself; Shao Ling, who worked with text, and the meticulous Qin Ci were responsible for reading the text annotations; Luo Jin would look at whatever he could see; and Mu Yiran was in charge of the overall picture.
So after Wu You asked, Shao Ling and Qin Ci answered her separately:
"The painting is titled 'Restart'."
"The artist: Abel."
Wei Dong asked doubtfully, "A foreign painting?"
"Could it be that the incident involving the painting also involves foreign countries?" Wu You asked nervously, "If that's the case, how long will it take us to find the clues? The global scope is too vast..."
Mu Yiran shook his head slightly: "I've had my people and friends in the industry keep an eye on the activities in some foreign art museums. So far, we haven't found any signs of any related incidents involving the painting. We don't know yet whether this painting is by a foreign artist. Even if it is, it may only have the ability to expand into a world within the painting because it's exhibited in this art museum. In short, this is not important for now. We shouldn't be distracted. Let's put the overall clues of the incident aside for now. The most important thing right now is to find a way to get out of the painting."
"Yiran is right," Ke Xun said. "Restart means restart. Let's look for clues from the painting's title and the image."
Shao Ling looked at Mu Yiran: "Have you ever heard of this painting or its artist?"
Mu Yiran simply uttered two words: "No."
"The title and the image don't seem to be related," Zhu Haowen picked up where Ke Xun left off. "A rotting hand is struggling to reach for the sky, seemingly desperately trying to survive."
"But if the hand is that rotten, it should be dead, right…" Luo Cheng shuddered.
Qin Ci said, "I also glanced at the image. Indeed, only a dead person would have that level of rot."
"And the hand is coming out from underground," Wu You said. "It's definitely dead. Could this be… a zombie?!"
He and Luo Cheng shuddered together after saying that.
"Your analysis of the painting might be a bit too simplistic and crude," Wei Dong said. "For a painting, what you see doesn't necessarily mean what you get. Perhaps the rotting hand is just a symbol and metaphor. Although stylistically it does lean towards realism, a quick glance isn't enough to be certain. Maybe it's symbolism."
"Explain symbolism," Ke Xun said.
"It uses symbolism and allegory to create a fictional world in imagination, expressing one's own insights, philosophical reflections, or understanding of the world," Wei Dong said. "This school of painting emphasizes subjectivity and individuality. The composition is suggestive and symbolic, and what it depicts isn't necessarily what is actually seen. Unlike realism, it expresses one's ideas and spiritual world through imagined scenes."
"So, the rotting hand in this painting might just be a symbol and metaphor for the painter's ideas. It might not actually be a real hand, right?" Ke Xun asked.
Wei Dong nodded: "If this painting is in the Symbolist school, it's very likely like this, but if it's in the Realist school, we'll just have to hope for the best..."
"Then what do you think? This hand is reaching towards the sky, and the painting is titled 'Reboot,' could the reboot button be in the sky?" Wu You tried to think outside the box.
Everyone subconsciously looked up at the sky; the hazy sky made it difficult to determine whether it was morning, afternoon, or evening.
Ke Xun took out his phone; the time showed 7:20 AM, which was different from when they entered the painting.
He casually tried a few more phone functions, finding that the lighting and camera functions still worked, but the communication and internet functions were, as always, unusable.
"So, should we go to that residential area to look for clues first, or wait until everyone arrives?" Shao Ling asked for everyone's opinion.
"Let's talk once everyone's here," Qin Ci said. "According to convention, if not everyone is here, important clues won't be triggered, and even if we search now, we probably won't find anything useful."
"While everyone's not here, let's think about the meaning of this painting and the direction for searching for clues." Ke Xun said, taking off his coat. "It's only seven in the morning, and it's already this hot?"
"What season is this painting depicting? I feel like it's summer." Wei Dong also started taking off his coat; he was wearing the thickest one. "I'm sweating inside."
"It should be summer," Ke Xun said, taking off his down jacket and sweater in one go, leaving only a T-shirt underneath. This guy was energetic; at home, he basically only wore a T-shirt and was always running around.
"We physical education students are quite sensitive to temperature, and this painting should depict the height of summer," Ke Xun said. "We've suddenly gone from the dead of winter to the height of summer, and our body temperatures haven't adjusted yet. It'll probably get even hotter in a bit."
"It's strange," Zhu Haowen said, unzipping his jacket. "Although 'The Journey' also allows us to clearly feel the season and climate, the temperature in this painting feels exceptionally real, more so than any other painting I've ever been inside. Have you encountered anything similar with paintings you've been inside before?" he asked Mu Yiran.
"No." Mu Yiran said thoughtfully. "This might be a hint related to a clue. Temperature or climate might be a reference element for the 'painting' to set up a challenge, or for us to solve it."
"This kind of weather is a bit like the smoggy days in B City in summer," Zhu Haowen looked up at the sky, which was a blurry mess of colors. "It's hot and stuffy, and the air isn't very good."
"I feel that this is also a limited-time painting," Qin Ci looked around. "Besides this residential area and the forest behind it, the other directions are all endless wilderness. Obviously, the signature won't be in these directions. I'm afraid we need to go inside the houses to search."
Everyone looked at the dilapidated houses with windows like dark caves, and an ominous premonition rose in their hearts.
"Brother, I don't want to go into those houses…" Luo Yu said to Ke Xun with a bitter face.
"It will be more dangerous outside at night." Ke Xun patted him lightly on the head. "If you're really scared, then stay with me and don't leave my side."
"Brother Xun, please take me with you." Wu You also said with a bitter face.
"Take them in, take them in," Ke Xun said.
Just then, a blinding white light suddenly appeared behind them. The person facing the light quickly raised their arm to shield their eyes. When the light disappeared, everyone first heard a startled shout: "Holy crap! What the hell?!"
Looking down, they saw two young men who had been "teleported" in. Both were handsome and dressed quite fashionably. It was the dead of winter outside, yet these two were dressed rather lightly, one even showing bare ankles.
Clearly, they were the kind of people who prioritized style over warmth.
The two stared at the group in astonishment, their faces blank as they looked around. Everyone remained silent, waiting for them to process what was happening before launching into their usual barrage of questions. Qin Ci had even secretly cleared his throat, preparing to begin his explanation.
"This…is this the world inside the painting?" one of the two asked hesitantly.
Everyone: "…"
Qin Ci: "Yes."
"You were also sucked into the painting?" the man asked again.
Qin Ci: "…Yes."
The man: "Then…how do we leave here?"
Qin Ci: "Find the artist's signature."
The man: "Oh…then, could you guys help us out? We're newbies, we don't know anything, thanks!"
Everyone: "…"
Qin Ci: "…Okay, no problem."
The man: "Thanks, thanks! Um, my name is Xiao Kai, this is my…this is my friend, Tian Yang."
Everyone: "…"
Qin Ci: "…Ahem, okay, let me introduce you, this is Fang Fei, this is Wu You, He Tang, Shao Ling, Mu Yiran, Zhu Haowen, Luo Yi, Wei Dong…"
Ke Xun was standing the furthest away. When Qin Ci turned to look for him, he noticed a strange expression on Ke Xun's face, which piqued his curiosity. Just then… Hesitant to introduce him, Wei Dong saw Ke Xun take two steps forward, then raise his hand and beckon to one of the two newcomers, saying with a strange look and tone, "Hi, long time no see." Everyone was
surprised, but Wei Dong's expression was as complicated as Ke Xun's, and he added, "I really didn't expect to see you here again."
The man named Xiao Kai was also confused. Following Ke Xun's gaze, he turned to his companion standing beside him: "Tian Yang, is this someone you know?"
The young man named Tian Yang's face had already changed. First, he was startled, then his expression became complicated, and finally, he was slightly embarrassed. He nodded and said, "Long time no see, Ke Xun."
"What about me?" Wei Dong called out.
Tian Yang pursed his lips awkwardly and added, "Wei Dong, you're here too."
"Yeah." Wei Dong hummed casually.
"What's going on, Brother Dong?" Luo Yi quietly tugged at his sleeve from the side, "Did you two have a feud before?"
"None of your business, kid." Wei Dong didn't say anything.
"This is Qin Ci, Dr. Qin," Ke Xun said, picking up where Qin Ci had interrupted. He then addressed Xiao Kai and Tian Yang, "We need to wait for one more person. Once everyone is here, I'll explain the details to you."
"Oh, okay," Xiao Kai nodded quickly, while Tian Yang remained silent with his eyes lowered.
The atmosphere seemed slightly stiff due to the awkwardness between the three. No one spoke again, and neither Ke Xun nor Wei Dong glanced at Tian Yang, instead gazing into the distance.