Chapter 52: She Heard “Self’s” Voice
“Five roasted pig trotters, right?”
“Mhm!” Gu Qiqi nodded, her eyes slightly brightening.
Lu Xianbei rubbed her slightly swollen brow, exhaling a long breath, and said, “Okay, I’ll go buy them for you later.”
It took her quite some time, and finally with the help of her mobile phone, she managed to understand what Gu Qiqi was talking about.
The entire process was not much simpler than figuring out what a pangolin had said.
“However, after I go out later, no matter who knocks on the door, you mustn’t open it, understand?” Lu Xianbei instructed.
Others can’t see you. If you foolishly run to open the door, it might scare others… Lu Xianbei thought.
“Mhm!” Gu Qiqi nodded, and then as if recalling something, she picked up the mobile phone that Lu Xianbei had given her and began typing.
[If it’s you knocking, should I open the door?]
After reading what Gu Qiqi had typed, the corner of Lu Xianbei’s eye twitched, and she said unkindly, “Except for me, don’t open the door for anyone! Do you understand?”
After saying that, she rolled her eyes at Gu Qiqi, waved in the direction of the bedroom, and her coat flew over with a swoosh, wrapping around her body.
With a squirm, the coat quickly transformed into a simple white T-shirt paired with denim hot pants.
During the coat’s automatic outfit change, Lu Xianbei put the Ling Tai Purification into her backpack, grabbed a handful of small change for buying groceries from a small plate on the shoe rack, and stuffed it into her pocket.
Although mobile payment has become quite popular, Lu Xianbei still preferred to carry some small change for buying groceries.
Ever since she overheard the elderlies in the courtyard discussing how a certain lady selling groceries had her payment code bound to her little son’s phone, meaning she couldn’t get any cash, she developed this habit.
Once she was ready, she was about to ask Gu Qiqi for her phone back and head out when she saw Gu Qiqi hand her the phone again, the screen displaying the newly typed text.
[Why are you suddenly so nice to me?]
In Gu Qiqi’s mind, calamities were notoriously cruel, so Lu Xianbei bullying her should have been the norm. Therefore, readily agreeing to buy her roasted pig trotters after accidentally hurting her was very unusual.
Five roasted pig trotters are quite expensive!
Just for the ingredients, the braised pig trotters would cost nearly a hundred yuan, which was equivalent to her entire day’s wage for a part-time job.
Moreover, part-time jobs aren’t available every day; on average, it would take her two to three days to earn a hundred yuan.
“Why?” Lu Xianbei blurted out, “Because you’re…”
Halfway through, she remembered that Gu Qiqi was the childhood betrothal set up by her father, and Lu Xianbei’s cheeks flushed a bit, abruptly stopping her words.
You think I want to be this nice to you?
Isn’t this all because of the tricks my old father played?
If it weren’t for the engagement, I would have kicked you out a long time ago!
Lu Xianbei thought, turning her face away and curling her lip, “Where does so many whys come from? If you don’t want to eat, then I won’t go!”
She didn’t dare to meet Gu Qiqi’s curious big eyes. Those eyes were as pure and innocent as a newborn baby, making it difficult for anyone with a bit of conscience to lie to them.
Gu Qiqi looked at Lu Xianbei, whose face was full of insincerity, hesitated for a moment, buried her head in the phone to input a message, handed it to Lu Xianbei, and then quickly dashed to one side, holding up a cushion from the sofa to hide herself, revealing only her pair of eyes to secretly observe.
[Want to eat!]
Heh, so silly!
Seeing the text on the phone, Lu Xianbei chuckled lightly to herself, then turned to Gu Qiqi and reminded her again, “I’m going out, remember what I told you.”
Seeing Gu Qiqi timidly nodding, Lu Xianbei put away her phone, opened the door, and walked out.
————
“Bang——!”
With a muffled sound, the entire house fell silent again.
Gu Qiqi stared at the direction of the door for a long time before finally lowering the cushion in her hands, slumping down on the sofa, squirming like a maggot.
Gu Qiqi, oh Gu Qiqi, how can you be so degenerate?
You actually came back for food and drink again; that’s one of the factors of the world’s destruction, Calamity Witch!
She’s in a good mood now, giving you a bite to eat, but if she gets in a bad mood later, she might just eat you. It’s all a sugar-coated shell, do you understand?
Gu Qiqi scolded herself in her mind, mimicking the system’s tone.
And then…
There was nothing after that.
Since she already felt guilty, if she couldn’t get the roasted pig trotters, wouldn’t it be a big loss?
————
After leaving the house, Lu Xianbei walked on her way to the vegetable market. Before leaving the faculty staff courtyard, she sensed something odd and stopped to look around.
The bright sunlight at nine or ten in the morning shone down, casting mottled shadows on the courtyard streets through the branches of the sycamore trees.
The wind blew, causing the tops of the trees to make a rustling sound, and a few withered leaves fell gently.
The surroundings were quiet, and there wasn’t a single person on the empty old road. Only the sound of the wind blowing the leaves echoed in the familiar street.
“Strange, where did everyone go?”
Although the faculty staff courtyard was eerily quiet today, it was already past the rush hour, and with no one hurrying to work, send children, or buy groceries, it was somewhat normal for it to be quieter.
Lu Xianbei murmured softly to herself before quickening her pace.
There were very few pedestrians and vehicles on the street, and it felt dead. Even when a few pedestrians passed by, they seemed hurried as if they had something on their minds, leaving Lu Xianbei no chance to strike up a conversation, so she could only lower her head and head toward the vegetable market.
After exiting the faculty staff courtyard and walking about two or three kilometers south, passing through a small alley, she arrived in front of the vegetable market.
This vegetable market had been around for quite some time, built around the same time as the staff courtyard, initially just a gathering place for small vendors. It was only with the passage of time and government planning that it turned into a proper vegetable market.
Surrounding the market were residential neighborhoods, and even if it were past the morning and evening peaks, it usually bustled with noise, with the sounds of bargaining echoing from afar.
But today…
Lu Xianbei stopped in front of the vegetable market, staring at the rusty iron gate ahead, her brows furrowed.
No noise was emanating from behind the gate; through the slightly ajar crack, she could vaguely see a few stalls, all empty.
“…”
Something seems off?
It was understandable that the faculty staff courtyard had become quiet after the morning rush, but at this time, it should be when nearby small restaurants were procuring ingredients; the vegetable market shouldn’t be this quiet.
d*mn it, it’s eerie. Let’s go in and take a look. If something is wrong, retreat immediately!
I can’t risk my life just to buy a few pig trotters, Lu Xianbei thought.
Once inside the gate, the narrow path, wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side, was smeared with stains, making it sticky underfoot. The stalls were arranged neatly along the sides.
Lu Xianbei couldn’t shake the feeling that the ground of the vegetable market was stickier than usual today, almost like stepping on some kind of gelatinous substance.
Frowning, she continued forward until she reached the entrance of the alley, and her coat began to squirm uneasily again, unsure if it was excitement or fear.
Lu Xianbei frowned, gently stroked the coat, and whispered, “Did you notice something?”
The coat, “…”
Seeing that the coat didn’t respond for a long time, Lu Xianbei raised her head and looked around.
In this familiar vegetable market, there wasn’t a single person to be seen.
It felt like an illusion as she heard faint sounds like the gnawing of bones, sending chills down her spine.
But when she stretched her ears to listen closely, the sound vanished.
The entire vegetable market was silent.
Those who used to come to buy vegetables, those who sold them, those who delivered… All sorts of people seemed to have vanished without a trace.
The murky air was filled with the smell of rotten tea leaves and raw meat, vaguely hiding a scent of decay.
Although there were no pedestrians in sight, Lu Xianbei felt an overwhelming sensation of crowding.
It felt as if she were surrounded by people. She couldn’t see or touch them, but they felt palpably real.
As her gaze fell on a corner of the vegetable market, where dirty iron cages holding domestic animals were kept, Lu Xianbei suddenly shivered.
The animals with sharp beaks had begun looking toward her all at once, silently, without making a sound.
Their murky, lifeless eyes held an inexplicable malice, as if they were watching Lu Xianbei and something else invisible that only the n*ked eye could not see, sending chills down her spine.
“…”
What is this? What is going on? This is broad daylight, am I seeing ghosts? Lu Xianbei thought.
“Bang!”
Suddenly, a muffled sound broke out, as if something heavy had fallen to the ground.
Lu Xianbei instinctively turned her gaze toward the direction of the sound, and as her surroundings shifted, a powerful wave of discomfort surged in her eyes.
Her eyes felt as if they had ignited in an instant, a severe burning sensation radiating from within.
Her vision blurred, the light distorted, making it hard to discern whether the lines before her were reality or illusion, swirling chaotically.
Seconds passed.
As the discomfort in her eyes gradually faded, a strange and twisted scene slowly unfolded before Lu Xianbei. What met her gaze was a dark red hue.
Quickly, she saw a group of “people.”
In a daze, the sky darkened from a distance, and everything in sight turned a yellowish hue, as if it had suddenly shifted from noon to dusk.
In the dead vegetable market, dark red mist seemed to seep from nowhere, filling every corner.
Through the hazy fog, one pale-faced, blank-eyed “person” after another filled the entire market.
Some were acting as if they were calling out to sell, some were carrying vegetable baskets, and others were bent down picking fresh produce… Without exception, they were frozen in certain actions, unmoving.
It was as if they were lifelike wax figures, or perhaps their time had halted, frozen in a certain moment.
Thin, translucent threads made of semi-illusory dark red flesh hung down from above, like tentacles, attaching themselves to them, burrowing into their heads, freely moving between their eyes, ears, mouths, and noses, as if greedily absorbing nutrients.
With each movement, the figures of those “people” faded a little more, some reducing only to blurry outlines, almost as if they would dissipate in the wind.
Wasn’t this the same dark red flesh that she had seen at the lime factory in the west city?!
Seeing this, Lu Xianbei’s heart tightened. She followed the direction of the threads of dark red flesh and quickly raised her head, her pupils abruptly constricting.
The heavy dark red mist was accumulating at the roof of the vegetable market, and within the dense fog, a massive entity, straddling between illusion and reality, was lurking, nearly covering the entire roof of several thousand square meters.
Its irregular form kept surging, momentarily changing into various biological tissues and organs, only to disperse in an instant.
“Boom—Boom—!”
The ground suddenly shook, and the earth beneath began to rupture inch by inch.
As dirt and stones flew, that texture resembling liver and a type of fungus-like dark red flesh burst from the ground, blooming like a flower of flesh rich with implications of desecration.
The splattering flesh, upon hitting the ground, gave birth to numerous slender, elongated, shapeshifting tentacles, swarming like a pack of ruthless hunters, swiftly crawling out of the vegetable market, quickly disappearing from sight.
Only then did Lu Xianbei realize why she felt today’s market floor was unusually sticky.
With the dark red flesh erupting from underground, the entire market’s floor was layered with a viscous fluid resembling decayed bl**d plasma.
The roof draped with a massive living entity, the dark red flesh moving all around, the ground covered in decayed bl**d plasma…
Being in the middle of it felt akin to being inside the torso of some bizarre creature, evoking thoughts of unspeakable narratives.
“Ugh… Ugh…”
Lu Xianbei snapped back to reality, gagging a couple of times before covering her mouth and hurriedly fleeing toward the market exit.
Despite having experienced many bizarre and terrifying events in her dream memories, the nauseating scene and the foul stench hanging in the air of the market were unbearable.
Having run out of the market to the street, Lu Xianbei took several deep breaths, greedily filling her lungs with air.
At that moment, the sound reminiscent of gnawing on bones echoed back into her ears.
“Creak, creak, creak…”
This time, after listening closely, Lu Xianbei discovered the source of the sound.
It was coming from her body, to be precise, from her b*tt.
She froze for two seconds, then suddenly turned her body to look behind her and saw a tentacle made of dark red flesh attached to her round little bottom, wiggling as if it were a tail, anchored in her back pocket.
Just as she noticed the tentacle, her pocket suddenly squirmed, as if it were slurping up spaghetti, pulling the entire tentacle inside.
Soon after, the sound of gnawing bones resonated from her pocket.
Lu Xianbei, “…”
In silence, she calmly pondered, analyzing and boldly hypothesizing to come to a conclusion.
“Good grief! You actually ate that filthy thing?” she slapped her coat and scolded, “Do you even know what that is? You dare eat anything and are not afraid of getting diarrhea!”
“No wonder you didn’t respond when I asked you earlier; you were busy eating, right?”
“I’m warning you! If you turn into one of those things because you ate too much of that filth, I’ll toss you away, do you believe me?!”
Hearing that Lu Xianbei wanted to throw her away, the coat squirmed anxiously, snuggling up to Lu Xianbei in a cutesy manner.
“…”
Don’t scold me, don’t scold me, oh great witch, I know I was wrong!
(*´Д`*)
Lu Xianbei helplessly rubbed her forehead, “I really don’t know how to deal with you, next time like this…”
“Boom—Boom—Boom—!”
Before she could finish her sentence, a series of loud bangs suddenly echoed in the distance, as if some giant beast was trampling past, causing the ground to shake violently, followed by the sound of car alarms ringing through the street.
A car accident?
From the sound, it seemed quite serious…
Lu Xianbei thought to herself, her expression serious, and glanced back at the market filled with dark red flesh, then at the distant street outside the small alley, took a deep breath, and walked onto the street.
After walking a distance, passing through the small alley outside the vegetable market and reaching the main road, Lu Xianbei stopped by the roadside, realizing that the accident on the street was far more tragic than she had imagined.
The sky turned dark, almost as if it had suddenly shifted from noon to dusk. Shadows twisted and turned in the distant concrete jungle.
On the highway, thick black smoke mixed with a pungent odor wafted through the air.
On the road, dozens of cars were involved in a chain crash, two buses collided intimately, pushing several cars against the walls of nearby buildings, crumpling them like pancakes while the screeching alarms blared.
The road and street were riddled with gaping wounds from flying car parts during the crash.
Damaged fire hydrants spewed water dozens of feet high, and broken power cables lay exposed on the street, sparking and crackling.
Yet, amidst such chaos, not a single person was seen fleeing.
Pedestrians on the street, shop clerks inside stores, passengers and drivers in cars…
Everyone resembled those “people” in the vegetable market; even when severely injured with rivers of bl**d flowing, they remained frozen in place, each covered with semi-illusory dark red flesh.
At first glance, it seemed as if some sort of “error” had occurred in the world, and these individuals were caught in the rift of the error, unable to escape.
“…”
In this wrecked city, with dark red fog ubiquitous, it felt as though she were walking between shadows of illusion and reality…
I feel like I’ve seen this scene somewhere before?
Lu Xianbei thought, her gaze narrowing slightly, and just then, her phone suddenly rang.
“Two tigers love to dance~ Hey! The little rabbit is good and pulls radishes~ Hey! I’m learning…”
Is it Xiao Hua? Or Su Mi? But there was no signal on my phone until before I entered the vegetable market, right?
Lu Xianbei thought, taking out her phone. When she saw the signal interruption icon at the top right corner and the completely garbled incoming call display, she swallowed hard.
“…”
Nothing had been normal since she left home.
At a time like this, a weird garbled call suddenly came through without any signal; whoever wants to answer can answer; I definitely won’t!
If I answer and there’s some eerie voice inviting me to play some mysterious game, won’t I be finished?
Lu Xianbei thought, sliding her thumb over the red button on the screen, disconnecting the call.
Then…
The call went through.
Immediately following that, Lu Xianbei heard her “own” voice.
“Hello? Is this Lu Xianbei? Long time no see! I finally reached you! So, doesn’t the scene you see now look familiar?”
Lu Xianbei, “…”
