Chapter 89: Welcome to Your Other Home, Dinner is Ready!
The cold breeze, mixed with the smell of dust and decay, seeped in through the doorway as if carrying bone-chilling coldness, making Coraline shiver reflexively.
The living room was dimly lit, with large sections of wallpaper peeling off, revealing mottled and moldy walls underneath.
All the furniture was covered with a thick layer of white sheets, like silent tombstones.
Countless tiny dust particles, visible to the naked eye, floated in the air, dancing silently like annoying gnats in the faint light filtering in from outside the door.
The entire room gave off a sinister and oppressive atmosphere, as if it had been abandoned for ages.
And in the center of the living room, on the couch covered with a white sheet, a doll wearing a yellow raincoat sat quietly.
It had blue hair, identical to Coraline's, but its face was devoid of any expression.
Two black buttons, sewn on with coarse black thread, replaced where its eyes should have been, hollow and lifeless, staring fixedly in the direction of the door.
As if it had been waiting there for a very, very long time.
"Edward, it's... it's that doll..." Coraline's voice echoed in the Mind Link, laced with uncontrollable trembling and fear.
Edward didn't speak, he just patted her shoulder gently, then took the first step into the cold living room.
His foot landed on the dusty hardwood floor, emitting a faint creak that sounded particularly harsh in the dead silence.
Alan followed closely, curiously surveying her surroundings, her face showing not fear, but excitement.
"This doll feels weird," Alan's voice sounded in the channel, "It seems... empty inside, but there's like a thread connecting to something."
Edward walked to the couch and stopped.
He looked down at the button-eyed doll.
A feeling of being watched came from all directions.
Not through eyes, but through some more eerie and pervasive method.
He knew that the so-called Other Mother, the witch Beldam, was observing them through this doll.
The corner of Edward's mouth curved into an imperceptible smirk.
He didn't touch the doll, but extended his left hand wearing the Oni Gauntlet.
The dark red patterns on the gauntlet seemed to sense something, and their flowing speed slightly increased.
The deep purple gem flashed with a faint glow.
Invisible telekinesis instantly enveloped the entire living room.
"VWOOM—" A barely audible tremor sounded in the air.
The dust particles floating in the air suddenly froze, then scattered wildly in all directions like startled minnows, hitting the walls and the sheet-covered furniture.
In an instant, the air in the entire living room became clearer than ever before.
At the same time, the pervasive sense of being watched was abruptly cut off as if by an invisible hand, suddenly disappearing.
The button-eyed doll on the couch trembled violently.
Its two black button eyes seemed to lose all focus, becoming even dimmer.
"What did you do?" Alan asked curiously.
"Cut the signal," Edward responded simply in the Mind Link, "Now, she's temporarily blind and deaf."
He wanted to make a statement.
He wanted the witch, who thought she was the hunter, to know that what had stumbled into her trap this time was not some ignorant, lost prey.
"Coraline, where's that small door?" Edward turned and asked.
Coraline snapped out of her shock and quickly pointed to a wall in the corner of the living room: "Right there! It's covered by wallpaper!"
The three walked to the wall.
The wallpaper there was indeed unusual; its color was newer than the surrounding area, and the edges were slightly curled, clearly indicating it had been applied recently.
Edward extended his right hand, his index and middle fingers together, and gently traced a line across the wallpaper.
"RIIIP—" The tough wallpaper was cut as if by the sharpest blade, and a neat slice appeared out of nowhere.
He reached out, grabbed both sides of the cut, and tore outward with force.
Large sections of wallpaper peeled off, revealing a small wooden door about three feet high behind it.
There was no handle on the door, only a small, rusty keyhole.
"I don't have a key," Coraline whispered, "The first time I went in, I followed a mouse, and the door just opened by itself..."
"Don't need one." Edward said, pressing his right index finger onto the small keyhole.
Invisible mental force, like the most precise lock pick, instantly surged into the lock mechanism.
"Click, click..." A faint yet complex mechanical turning sound came from inside the door.
A few seconds later, "CLICK." With a soft sound, the lock opened.
Edward withdrew his finger and pushed gently.
The small wooden door silently swung inward, revealing a bottomless tunnel made of some strange, faintly glowing, colorful material.
In the tunnel, a gentle breeze seemed to blow, bringing a sweet and alluring scent.
It was the smell of roasted turkey, cream pie, and hot chocolate mixed together; just smelling it made one's mouth water.
"This is it! This is the passage!" Coraline's voice rang out again.
"Stay close to me." Edward didn't hesitate; he crouched down and was the first to crawl in.
The inner wall of the tunnel was very peculiar, soft and elastic to the touch, like organic tissue.
It was covered with colorful glowing spots that slowly swirled, illuminating the entire passage.
He could feel a faint, seductive mental power trying to penetrate his consciousness, awakening his deepest desires for warmth, delicious food, and comfort.
But this level of mental suggestion, in the face of Edward's immense telekinesis, was like a breeze against a mountain, unable to stir even a ripple.
Alan followed second; she curiously reached out and touched the inner wall of the passage, her face full of fascination.
Coraline was last, clutching Alan's shirt tightly, her body still trembling slightly.
The passage wasn't long; after crawling about thirty feet, an exit of the same size appeared ahead.
Edward was the first to emerge from the exit.
He was met with warm lamplight and an even more intense aroma of food.
Everything before him suddenly opened up.
This was another living room.
A living room identical in layout but vastly different in detail from the gloomy, dilapidated one he'd just left.
Warm flames crackled in the fireplace.
Vibrantly colored paintings hung on the walls, the fruit in them seemingly about to drip juice.
Soft, plush rugs covered the gleaming hardwood floor.
Cute throw pillows lay on the couch, and a glass vase with fresh flowers sat on the coffee table.
The air was filled with the savory scent of roasted meat and the sweet fragrance of desserts, making one's mouth water involuntarily.
Everything here was as perfect as a dream.
A woman wearing an apron, her figure seventy to eighty percent similar to Coraline's mother, was busy in the open-plan kitchen, her back to them.
She hummed a cheerful tune, and the food in the pot sizzled appetizingly.
Hearing movement at the door, she stopped what she was doing and turned around.
Her face bore an incredibly gentle and loving smile, a smile capable of melting anyone's heart.
"Oh, my darling Coraline, you're finally back!" Her voice was as sweet as honey.
"Mother thought you were angry and wouldn't come back anymore. Look, you've brought new friends!" She said, walking over with light steps.
It was only then that the three of them clearly saw her face.
A kind, gentle face.
Except where her eyes should have been, two large, shiny black buttons were sewn.
In the button eyes, the clear reflections of Edward, Alan, and Coraline could be seen.
The Other Mother walked up to Coraline and spread her arms, as if wanting to give her a hug.
"And you two," her button eyes turned to Edward and Alan, her smile growing even brighter, "Welcome to our home, travelers from far away. Dinner will be ready soon—I've prepared the most wonderful feast for you!"
Her enthusiasm, her warmth, combined with those eerie button eyes, created an indescribable, chilling sense of wrongness.
Coraline was so scared she hid behind Alan, clutching her clothes tightly.
Alan shielded Coraline behind her, her body tense like a cat ready to pounce at any moment.
Only Edward still wore a faint smile.
He stepped forward, standing in front of Alan and Coraline, looking directly into those black button eyes.
"Hello, ma'am." His voice was calm and polite, as if he were truly a guest.
"We are indeed hungry. I hope your cooking lives up to the hype."
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