Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The story ground to a sudden halt there. It was obvious that Cousin hadn’t finished writing; there was still plenty of plot left to cover. For instance, was the face appearing in the cave a Humanoid?

If it was a Humanoid, was it the traveler seeking shelter, the leader, or were they one and the same?

More importantly, where exactly was the Humanoid’s flaw?

Unable to get my fill of the story, I decided to analyze it myself.

Walking into the study, I pulled out the book documenting the Uncanny Valley Effect, flipping through the pages as I pondered.

I had seen videos about the Uncanny Valley before. Most featured robots, dolls, or humans intentionally making eerie faces. However, those flaws were glaring-the kind you could spot at a single glance.

But Cousin’s novel stated clearly that the Humanoid was no different from a human on the surface. That was the strange part.

“If a Humanoid looks no different from a human, then isn’t it just a human!”

I couldn’t help but grumble to myself. Cousin’s story felt like a difficult riddle. Who could possibly guess the answer?

Instead of discouraging me, it only piqued my curiosity further. I had always been interested in these suspenseful, horrific stories and legends; otherwise, Cousin wouldn’t have come over to discuss them with me a few days ago.

“No two leaves in the world are exactly the same. There must be a difference between a Humanoid and a human!”

I decided that before Cousin finished writing, I had to figure out this flaw and tell her immediately. We would see whose concept was better.

Standing up, I reached for something on the bookshelf: a Matryoshka Doll a friend had given me.

Products like Matryoshka Dolls are mass-produced on industrial lines. In other words, aside from their size, they are almost identical.

I took out two Matryoshka Dolls of similar size and placed them on the desk, bringing their faces close together and examining them from every angle.

If these two dolls were currently a human and a Humanoid, and their appearances were identical, then where would the so-called flaw lie?

I stared at them for a long time without finding a place to start. I picked them up, inspecting them top and bottom, only to eventually accept the frustrating truth-aside from size, these two dolls really were no different.

Those two dolls wore permanent smiles that now seemed to be mocking me.

Feeling a bit annoyed, I tossed the Matryoshka Doll aside.

“If even an Ape-man from a million years ago could see the flaw, it shouldn’t be that hard. I refuse to believe I can’t figure it out!”

Wait?

It suddenly occurred to me: since that clever Ape-man was able to see the flaw twice, the flaw must be visible to the naked eye.

I pulled out my phone to check Cousin’s novel again. The reason for a re-read was my belief that there had to be some clue in the story so far.

I quickly found one. The first time the Ape-man recognized the Humanoid was in a dream.

A dream? Logically, that should be impossible. Faces in dreams are blurry; no matter how clear they seem, they can’t be as clear as reality.

Furthermore, it was the first time the Ape-man and the Humanoid had met. He didn’t have any familiar memories of its appearance.

“Right, this is a suspicious point!” I said excitedly.

This plot point indicated that the Ape-man didn’t recognize the Humanoid through careful observation or anything like that. Instead, he discovered the Humanoid’s flaw through intuition and inference.

And when the Ape-man saw that strange leader again, he discovered the flaw almost instantly, which was why he was scared to death.

“Maybe I was wrong from the start. You can’t distinguish them by appearance.”

I nodded with satisfaction. My reasoning seemed correct; appearance was just a smokescreen. The Humanoid’s unique trait lay elsewhere.

I carefully reviewed the story from beginning to end again and finally identified several key points.

Taking a pen and paper from the drawer, I earnestly recorded the clues I had deduced.

First: Humanoids and humans do not differ in appearance. At the very least, no flaw can be seen on the surface.

Second: The Humanoid said even God didn’t know of its existence. There are two possibilities: either it comes from a very distant place, like beyond the universe, or it is a native creature that has managed to deceive every living soul on Earth.

Third: The cheetah did not detect a human scent in the cave. This suggests that Humanoids do not possess human physiological odors. Of course, this is only a temporary hypothesis and has not been confirmed yet.