Volume Three, Chapter Three: The Theater's Eerie Melody

Zhang Xiaowai stood before the grand, decaying entrance of Ulong City's abandoned theater, clutching the yellowed note that had tumbled from the night market stall owner's pile of CDs. "Theater, underground sound chamber, find the truth," it declared. Around them, neon lights flickered erratically, casting an uneven glow, while the night wind, carrying the musty scent of old buildings, snaked down his collar and sent shivers down his spine. His Ulong Halo buzzed persistently in his mind, as if reminding him: Don't even think about washing your hair tonight.

The theater's outer walls were riddled with cracks, and the peeling, once-golden letters spelling "Ulong Grand Theater" hung precariously on a rusted iron sign. Now, it looked more like an "Eerie Experience Hall." Liu Piaopiao stood beside him, clutching her flashlight, her deer-antler hat swaying in the wind as if ready for takeoff. "The sound chamber is underground, absolutely right! A theater, as a place for sound propagation, makes perfect sense!"

"Sense, my foot!" Zhang Xiaowai shivered, pulling his collar tighter. "This place looks like it's got 'headcount' KPIs."

"You talk too much!" Tang Xiaotang held up her phone, its camera in night-shot mode. "Abandoned theater exploration, full of material! Whether this episode breaks a hundred million views depends on this!"

DJ Xiao K had already tucked his fluorescent floral shirt into his pants, adopting the look of a "professional sound engineer." He carried a portable speaker, humming his self-composed "Soundwave Exploration Tune." "Let's go! Ulong Electro leads the way! I'll set the mood!"

Wang Dazhuang was even more outlandish. Shouldering his police baton, he kicked open the theater's heavy doors. "How can a detective's exploration be without me? Here's a cold joke to embolden us—Why are there no ghosts in the theater? Because ghosts are afraid of my destiny attack! Hahahaha!"

Zhang Xiaowai's expression froze. "Can you guys please restrain yourselves… Seriously, this isn't a tourist attraction."

The theater's interior was as black as the bottom of a pot. The air was thick with the mingled scents of dust, old fabric, and dampness. The flashlight beam swept across the space, revealing broken wooden crates, stage backdrops, and fake swans covered in pigeon droppings on the stage. An ancient chandelier hanging from the ceiling swayed, emitting a creaking sound that seemed to provide a personal soundtrack for the evening's horror.

Liu Piaopiao, stepping on creaking wooden floorboards, held up her magnifying glass, shining it everywhere. "The theater truly has issues. Soundwaves will resonate and intensify in such a spacious area. The sound chamber is highly likely located beneath the stage!"

Zhang Xiaowai muttered under his breath, "Are you here to solve a case or get a PhD in acoustics?"

Xiao K had already bounced onto the stage, waving with the swagger of someone whose "dad is a CD player." "Welcome to the Soundwave Soundcheck Arena! I'm here to test the acoustics!" As he spoke, he played his own electronic remix, but it was so jarring that stray cats came screeching out from behind the curtains. The scene instantly devolved into "Cats vs. Stage Backdrops."

"Holy cow!" Zhang Xiaowai crouched down, covering his head. "Is that your cat-summoning audio?!"

Tang Xiaotang furiously recorded the mayhem. "Xiao K, I love this material!"

Liu Piaopiao suddenly stopped in the center of the stage, gently tapping the floor with her foot. "There's an odd sound here! It's definitely hollow underneath!" She pulled back a tattered rug, revealing an iron cover hidden beneath layers of dust.

Wang Dazhuang exclaimed excitedly, "Open for surprises!" With one mighty swing of his police baton, it hit the cover with a thunderous "clang," sending dust flying everywhere and causing everyone to cough for a full ten seconds.

"Thanks for the dense fog effect…" Zhang Xiaowai covered his face with his sleeve, his tone already one of resigned surrender.

After the hidden door was opened, a narrow stone staircase led down into the pitch-black depths. As they descended step by step, a faint, almost imperceptible melody slowly began to rise, like a low hum emanating from under water. Liu Piaopiao pressed her hand to her racing heart. "This is the Sound of Ulong!"

The underground sound chamber was small, its walls intricately carved with musical notes and strange symbols. In the center, an ancient gramophone slowly rotated, playing its eerie tune. Zhang Xiaowai immediately spotted a wooden box nearby, and inside it, a silver tuning fork lay silently.

"This thing…" Just as he reached out to touch it, the gramophone's melody abruptly changed, becoming a high-pitched, piercing shriek that resonated throughout the entire sound chamber, making it vibrate violently.

"It's going to collapse!" Tang Xiaotang shouted, continuing to film. "This explosive moment is definitely going to trend!"

Liu Piaopiao, however, was as excited as if she'd won the lottery. "The mechanism has been triggered! It really is a sound-controlled trap!"

Zhang Xiaowai tried to dodge, but his own halo betrayed him again—he slipped and collided with the gramophone. The machine instantly sparked with fire, then short-circuited with a "zzz," and the melody abruptly ceased. The chamber returned to silence.

The tuning fork flew out from the impact, hitting a protruding brick on the wall with a "kacha." A row of hidden compartments slid open, revealing a thick stack of yellowed papers, densely covered with names and dates.

Liu Piaopiao pounced, flipping through them. "It's the list of missing employees!"

Zhang Xiaowai collapsed to the ground. "So… I solved the case again?"

DJ Xiao K rushed over, excitedly twirling his floral shirt. "Xiaowai bro is amazing! I'm going to use this tuning fork as the main visual for my next project!"

Wang Dazhuang raised his police baton. "The person of destiny vanquishes demons! Here's a cold joke to celebrate—Why is the gramophone afraid of you? Because you short-circuit it with one bump! Hahahaha!"

Zhang Xiaowai's face was expressionless. "Please… can you just let me do some normal overtime?"

He slumped in the cold, damp underground sound chamber, clutching the tuning fork, his heart pounding like the heavy drumbeats on a theater stage. The list of missing persons felt like a searing hotplate, forcing him to confront the truth behind these events. And his Ulong Halo hummed softly, as if whispering: The theater is just the beginning; Phantom Sound's symphony has not yet concluded.