27 Chapter 27 (Two in One)
◎ Flying heads? Realistic drone show◎
Darkness enveloped the entire mall like thick ink, and the bright lights from the shops along the street seemed to be blocked by an invisible curtain, unable to shine far away.
Human figures stopped under the lights, stopping in every corner within sight.
Beside the flower beds, at the entrance to the escalator leading to the mall, on the pedestrian street, in the small square, and even between the store shelves. Even deep inside the mall behind the shops, there were figures standing stiffly.
The cleaner is still holding the broom, the clerk is still counting the goods, the workers are walking around with safety helmets on, and there are customers holding shopping bags... Their postures are different, as if the pause button was suddenly pressed, frozen in a moment, performing a silent pantomime.
But, someone has no head.
Some people had nothing on their necks and stood in the crowd, but no one screamed in surprise or even took a second look.
No one answered Ye Ping'an's question, and they suddenly looked up at the sky.
His head tilted back, revealing a shadowy crack on his neck. The skin on either side of the crack was stretched and stretched, trembling as if on the verge of breaking. A faint trace of bright red seeped through the crack, but not a drop of blood escaped.
No matter what they were doing, they all leaned back to look at the sky in unison.
The consistency is so eerie and strange.
Their bodies were still standing in the same place, their necks twisted and turned, their horns arched, their heads almost turned back and twisted themselves.
A chill spread across the intersection, an almost suffocating pressure pulling at people's heads. Those with their heads tilted back turned at ever-increasing angles, their pale faces staring intently at Ye Ping'an, as if waiting for her to align with everyone else.
Ye Pingan:?
What's going on? Is it money falling from the sky? Why are you looking at it so seriously?
The car stopped at the intersection. Ye Ping'an looked up at the sky and saw only a filament net and a dark shadow like a curtain.
You know what, the scenery in the mall is really expensive.
The expressionless faces gradually widened into a vicious smile as she raised her head.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Ye Ping'an lowered his head and stared at them again.
The corners of the pale-faced crowd's mouths drooped instantly, and they looked at her blankly.
Click, click.
The bones beneath the skull crackled, as if trying to break free from the neck. The lines on the skin, like the twisting, wriggling red earthworms, became particularly pronounced. But the crack in the neck that should have split remained firmly closed, and no head floated up.
In the surging coldness, the person closest to Ye Ping'an opened his mouth slowly, his face distorted by the taut skin, revealing a strange smile.
“You…saw…”
The faint, cold voice seemed to be squeezed out from a suffocating throat, and as soon as it sounded, it was drowned out by Ye Ping'an's voice.
Ye Pingan exclaimed in admiration. "The new mall's opening is quite grand! They even have a performance art show. The moves must have been inspired by acrobats, right? So professional! Amazing!"
Look at how serious this actor is. He can hold his head up like that without falling. His core strength is incredible. His neck has developed wrinkles from training. He's much more dedicated than actors who use body doubles.
Unfortunately, Ye Ping'an is a vulgar person and has no artistic talent.
The art that I appreciate the most is banknote design!
At first glance, Ye Ping'an thought they were a group of lunatics, and his neck twitched.
What is the meaning of this performance? Does wealth in the 21st century make people's heads empty?
Don't understand, but respect.
With all the pouting and glaring, and not even a soundtrack, Ye Ping'an couldn't say enough about the performance. The mall owner must be out of their minds; the opening performance they chose was too niche.
Look how big the actors’ eyes are and how excited they are when they see new guests!
Now that the actors have started asking, then...
As the only audience member, Ye Ping'an suppressed his impolite thoughts and gave warm encouragement with apology.
Snap, snap, snap! Quack, quack!
The loud and sincere applause echoed in the silent streets, sounding extremely harsh and weird.
The "actor" stared at Ye Ping'an blankly, opened his mouth for a long time, and seemed even more blank, and his joints that had been making sounds paused for a moment.
Ye Pingan was quite enthusiastic. "Not bad, not bad. This light strip set, these mannequins, this atmosphere created, the performance is great! Just this fully blackout stage effect must have cost a lot of money, right?"
After praising her, she revealed her true intentions, "After your performance, are you interested in coming to my restaurant for dinner? The group meal package is satisfactory!"
The "actor" stood there for a moment, then slowly turned his head back to its original position, leaned back again, and uttered a faint sound, "You see..."
The coldness surged from all directions, pulling at the "actor's" shaky head and pulling at more heads.
The van's headlights flickered faintly, but no light shone forth. The black liquid surrounding the vehicle's body had completely receded into the car, and the tear-face pattern on the floor of the vehicle became even lighter, shrinking directly under the driver's seat.
The young woman in the car casually stuck her head out and waved enthusiastically to attract customers, without a single crack appearing on her neck.
Her voice was so loud that anyone could tell she had a healthy lung capacity, let alone suffocation.
Ye Ping'an listed the dishes, but no one agreed. He curled his lips in disappointment and said, "...If you don't want to eat, then don't eat. Forget it, it won't delay your performance."
Beep—beep—
Amid the horn blaring, Ye Pingan yelled to the actors who were beginning a new round of performances, "I'm going to drive in and park. Do you know where the parking lot is?"
"Look--" repeated urging voices came out of the "actor's" mouth, but they failed one after another, and the voices became more and more rapid and harsh.
"Okay, then I'll go in and take a look."
Ye Ping'an nodded with a smile, and the car started slowly and drove into the crowd.
The actors stood there motionless, no one moving.
Are they so enthusiastic and don't want her to leave? But they haven't agreed to have dinner yet!
If she's not a customer, how can you expect her to continue praising you?
Ye Pingan continued to honk the horn confidently, "Make way, make way. Stop staring at the sky and pay attention to safety. Give me some way, thank you!"
The car was driving very slowly, but there were many people on the street and the front of the van was about to hit someone.
The woman in front had smudged makeup on her face and stared at Ye Ping'an without moving an inch.
Ye Pingan was a little impatient, "Make way!"
The woman didn't react, and the wrinkled lines in the van's floorboards shrank even smaller.
The hood of the car hit the person, but there was no vibration at all. The black liquid that was huddled in the car squirmed out of the hood. A dark shadow of the road spread out from under the tires, and it pushed away the person blocking the road in front like a bulldozer.
She tilted her head back, her eyeballs bulged upwards, almost popping out of their sockets, and stared at Ye Ping'an.
"Look, even when a car comes, you still have to give way. It's good for both of us if everyone cooperates. Standing outside during rush hour, blocking the road like this, you'd have been beaten up. You're staring at me like this, do you know it's not right? So come and take care of my business."
Ye Ping'an waved goodbye and said, "I'm going to go shopping. Everyone, continue playing music and dancing. Don't miss me too much!"
One person after another was slowly moved to the sides, leaving just a gap in front for them to pass through.
Wherever the van went, people moved there, like Moses parting the sea, with both sides paying homage to Ye Ping'an - a dull, staring version.
The van was moving slowly and rumblingly. Ye Ping'an looked around and only saw a trash can behind the actors when they were almost at the central square.
Ye Ping'an rolled up the leather hanging on the car window and threw it away like a ball of paper.
Empty three-pointer!
Plop!
The squeezed skin bag slammed accurately into the trash can.
The eyeballs disappeared from the smooth skin, and the oil paint used to draw Du Teng's face was almost completely blurred, so only a vague outline of the human body could be seen.
As the car left, the wrinkled leather began to wriggle and stretch, the thin human figure opening and crawling out. The puppet's arms swayed slightly, waving at the vacant figures around it.
Climb, but can't move.
With a wave, snap, the arm was gone.
The wrinkles seemed to be fixed, and as soon as the shadow puppet moved, they began to melt quickly from the wrinkles.
The empty skin was like a water bag with many holes opened, with black liquid overflowing from it. The body melted along with the sticky black water and turned into a pool of sewage, which also evaporated quickly and disappeared.
A head with closed eyes flew in the sky and circled over the sticky trace of a black human figure the size of a palm. Like a vulture that couldn't find its prey, it circled for a while and then floated up again.
Amidst the gazes of countless stiff and chaotic eyes, the van slowly drove into the small square.
A celebratory platform was set up in the huge atrium, with opening ribbons and small colored lights hanging around it, some of which were hanging in a messy manner and were still flashing.
There were even more people near the platform. Densely packed figures were huddled together, repeating the same movements over and over, moving slowly around like zombies.
Some were waving flyers in their hands, some were squeezing in, and some were arm in arm with their companions, silently "talking" about something.
If the people around me still had their heads on my neck, it would look like a lively opening ceremony. But it was just a silent version.
People's heads kept flying off their necks, like toy dolls that had run out of battery. Their faces were stiff and gray, the result of having been dead for many days. They closed their eyes and flew into the sky.
The van drove into the square. Ye Ping'an looked around. Wherever his sight passed, the head that was flying away from his neck suddenly stopped.
The body stood stiffly in place, holding up the head, with a long crack on the neck, continuing to repeat the same actions stiffly, like a walking corpse.
The pale face closest to the entrance of the small square slowly turned, twisted and leaned back, looking at Ye Pingan, "You..."
There were many people in the square, but the performances were the same as those outside.
Ye Ping'an took a look and lost interest.
There was probably some kind of activity going on at the celebration stage, but since everyone else was there, I went against the flow and went shopping in the mall.
Looking around, Ye Ping'an finally saw a circle of parking spaces marked on the ground on the inner side of the shopping mall near the square, with a few shared bicycles and shopping carts parked sparsely.
Well... it can fit in the van if we squeeze in.
Ye Ping'an turned the steering wheel reluctantly and drove forward, unable to help but glance at the crowd behind him from time to time.
If so many people come to the restaurant to eat, how much money can we make?
Unfortunately, she couldn't afford the advertising fees for the mall's opening ceremony. The large speakers and speakers on the platform were just for show.
The van drove away, and the bent head, which was ignored, stood there motionless for a long time without moving.
The entrance of another pedestrian street far away from Gate 1 of the shopping mall was engulfed in thick black fog.
In front of the door of the underground garage at the shopping mall at the street corner, a middle-aged woman wearing a hood stepped out and squinted her eyes to look up.
The glass dome of the shopping mall was blocked by densely packed black and red "balloons". The sky outside the mall was pitch black, and it became darker as you went higher, making it difficult to see what was up there.
But in her dim vision, the head hovering in the air seemed to be very close and clearly visible.
"Haha, it's so beautiful... I didn't expect the world with normal eyes to be so colorful and clear. Brother Du certainly didn't expect that the first person to obtain divine power would be me, Xu Mei."
The woman let out a suppressed laugh, picked up the wet object in her arms, and placed it in front of her eyes, like a pair of huge glasses.
The blood-red eyeball skin opened only a tiny slit, and it quietly stopped in her palm, looking around along her line of sight.
Whether it was the dim sky, the shopping mall blocked by the reflection of the glass, or the small square far away in front, all fell into her eyes.
She glanced at the sky with a clear purpose, feeling both relieved and sarcastic. "You sent us into a den of evil and then hid yourself. Now you're all dead. If I take over Jiang City, the power of the B-level gods will be mine alone. Haha. Brother Du, have you forgotten? Cowards and incompetents are not qualified to become true spirits. You're useless, not even as good as a sacrifice. It's a waste to give you the power of the gods."
"One, two heads, three heads... Hehehe, a little more, a little more. I want to cure my son's color blindness. I want to see farther, see more..."
Amidst the manic mumbling, Xu Mei paused in her laughter. "Why hasn't the head risen? Have we run out of offerings? That shouldn't be the case. There are still a few people being held hostage by those bastards from the Investigation Bureau in the mall. You little bitch, you're relying on your quick escape. Now that I possess the power of a god, I'll slowly find you... Which little rat is it?"
Following her gaze, Xu Mei soon noticed that there was an extra car in the square.
The van driver seemed to have just entered a ghost town and had not yet figured out the situation. He drove the car away from the crowd in the square.
The man, his head still on his neck, paced back and forth sluggishly, not looking at the van.
"Why aren't you taking action?" Xu Mei was confused and made random guesses. "Maybe it's because I just gained divine power, and the rules within the domain have temporarily stopped?"
Noticing the driver looking back at the square as he drove, she smiled again, "Haha... Don't be afraid. Don't leave in such a hurry."
Xu Mei held up her eyes, looked at the driver in front of her, and said a rule that the True Spirit would tell her before participating in the operation.
"I saw you."
The cracks in the eyeballs in her hand opened wider in an instant, and the heads hovering above Ye Ping'an opened their eyes one after another.
The head closest to the person falls first.
Closer and closer.
Xu Mei seemed to see the beautiful scene of the driver being dragged by human heads to become a new sacrifice, with the heads flying up.
"Come, my new sacrifice...let my eyes see further...fly! Fly—huh?!"
A diving human head had already landed in front of the van window. Ye Ping'an had just parked the car when he vaguely heard the sound of wind and looked up, just in time to see the hideous head flying down.
A malicious gaze locked onto her, and an invisible chill spread from around her head.
Ye Ping'an didn't shy away, but watched the head swaying in front of the window with curiosity. "Huh? No wonder there's a headless mannequin up there. Turns out there's also a drone show. The packaging is so realistic. Is the show this big these days? I'm afraid the mall owner also enjoys watching the Blood Festival."
Xu Mei looked at the square blankly.
How was the driver still alive? She'd verified that if the eyes in the Hundred Eyes reopened, they would kill. Could it be that the gaze wasn't close enough, or the number of drops wasn't enough?
Her mind was full of puzzled questions, and she repeated subconsciously, "I saw you."
A strange buzzing sound emanated from his skull, and his mouth vibrated, vaguely sounding the same words. Human head balloons stared intently at the driver, swooping down from all directions like countless vultures.
The first falling head accelerated again and hit the car window.
"So many drones." Ye Pingan excitedly waved his hand. "This performance should be interactive, right? Come on, stop here!"
The falling head hit Ye Ping'an's hand squarely.
It feels cold and elastic to the touch, like a heavy balloon filled with water.
The head's eyes bulged out, nearly popping out. It no longer stared at Ye Ping'an, but instead glanced around, desperately trying to struggle away. Black mist seeped out of the head, but before it could touch her, it completely disappeared.
The sphere struggled to return to its original state, shaking and bouncing, banging against the surroundings, but it couldn't fly away.
"It's quite heavy." Ye Ping'an clasped his five fingers together and held the "drone" like a ball, examining it carefully. "Wow! Such realism, such details! The eyes must be lenses, right? They even move?"
This is much more fun than the silent pantomime performance art out there.
Ye Pingan faced the "camera" with a bright smile, "Hello everyone, I am the owner of Xile Restaurant. I have been undertaking group meals, group building and family banquets for a long time. Welcome everyone. The address is University Town Food Street..."
Ye Ping'an's calculations were clattering.
Drones aren't just for showmanship; they're also great for photography. Those willing to shell out the cash for custom drone packaging will definitely opt for both. Since there's an opportunity for interaction, what if I could sneak in an ad during the opening video? Wouldn't that mean I could get free traffic?
The car body continued to tremble amidst the dull sound of struggle, and the vicious look of the captured "drone" disappeared, leaving only dull eyes.
The other heads that flew down stopped stiffly outside the car, surrounding the van like a group of zombies.
But none of them continued to approach, and none of the fallen heads dared to move away, as if they were afraid of attracting Ye Ping'an's attention.
The heads in the sky opened their eyes, circled and flew away, even the heads on the dome of the shopping mall quietly moved away.
A vast circle of emptiness appeared above Ye Ping'an's head, leaving only the surging black fog. The black fog that enveloped the entire mall expanded and contracted rapidly as if alive, the dark clouds pressing lower and lower.
Xu Mei looked at the driver who trapped Fei Tou with a casual grab. The excitement and pride she felt from gaining the power of [Hundred Eyes] faded away like a tide, and a chill instantly ran from the soles of her feet to her forehead.
That's weird! It's weird enough to kill people at first sight!
Is this something a human can do?!
Her disdain just now seemed like a slap in the face.
The driver's money-grubbing appearance also became mysterious in her eyes.
"No... Impossible! Is there really a master hidden in Jiang City?! No, I can't be caught by the Investigation Bureau. Those hyenas will take away the power of the gods!"
Xu Mei didn't have time to look anymore. She took small steps, leaning against the wall, and moved back to the garage entrance. After confirming that the driver didn't see her at all, she quickened her pace and ran deeper into the garage.
"I can't keep the fragments of the gods I got from my other brothers and sisters. I have to go back. I have to go back and speed up the awakening of the gods! Kill her, kill those hyenas!"
The black fog surged more and more frequently, as if it was also waiting for Xu Mei's arrival.
In the square, Ye Ping'an solemnly delivered a long advertisement for the "drone", smiling as if he had picked up hundreds of dollars for nothing.
The head rested in her hand, its bloodshot eyes bulging and motionless, not struggling for a while.
"It's almost out of battery?" Ye Ping'an shook it, opened the door considerately, put it on the ground, and said hello to the "lens".
"I've put it away. You can come and get it later."
The head fell to the ground, and a wisp of black mist escaped from the broken neck, quickly disappearing along the ground.
Its eyes, which had been open after death, closed again, its hideous face became calm, and it emitted a faint smell of decay.
Ye Ping'an got out of the car with the prepared net bag, and casually pushed away the head drones that were still hovering around him like pushing away the grass.
"We've already seen the show, why are you still here? I know you're interested in my restaurant. Come and eat when you're free. Make way, make way, get out of my way."
With a gentle push, the floating heads spread out to create a path.
As Ye Ping'an walked past, black mist scattered from his head and a huge terror rushed out from behind as if it was chasing him.
Bang! Bang! Snap!
A series of muffled sounds came from behind.
Heads surrounding the van fell like rain and rolled all over the ground.
“???”
Ye Pingan turned around with a dark face and pointed at the ground while facing the camera at the entrance of the shopping mall. "Look carefully, your drone fell down by itself. It has nothing to do with me."
She won't compensate!
Ye Ping'an picked up the bag and left.
The van stopped where it was, the creeping tear-face patterns on the floor crawled up a little, and its slits peered around.
The black slime under the tire stretched out silently, stealthily intercepted a few wisps of scattered black mist, and rolled it away without a trace.
The mall covers a large area and has just opened. Some of the shops inside are open for business while others are not.
Probably to coordinate with the performances outside, headless puppet models can be seen from time to time in the mall. Shoppers and store employees move around in a small area in a daze, without saying a word.
The human head balloon floating on the glass dome opened its eyes, stared down at Ye Ping'an as she walked below, and floated away from her.
As soon as Ye Ping'an entered the mall, his eyes were glued to the glittering and golden jewelry luxury goods counter.
Ye Ping'an moved his eyes with difficulty and immediately saw the flyers blown away by the wind in the corner.
One flyer, one prize draw! More please.
While picking up flyers and finding the map at the elevator entrance, Ye Pingan confirmed that the fresh food supermarket was on the first floor.
The elevator was stopped and she couldn't find the button to open it. Fortunately, she didn't have to climb the stairs.
Ye Ping'an happily ran straight to the supermarket. The sound of footsteps echoed in the silent mall. A figure cautiously poked his head out from the elevator entrance in the basement of the mall. "...Is someone coming?"
As soon as he entered the supermarket, Ye Ping'an saw the big "Selected from Origin" sign.
There are many varieties, and the seasonings are carefully selected.
But... why are the meat and fresh vegetables a bit rotten?! Such a mess right after opening, bad review!
Ye Ping'an pushed a small cart of seasonings and frozen foods, pinching his nose and staying away from the fresh food area.
She didn't buy a single pound of fresh vegetables or meat, but she did learn to remember the origins of several ingredients.
The heads on the ceiling stared at her one after another as they walked away, then scattered and hid in the corners.
The gaze is everywhere.
Ye Ping'an got used to it.
Hey, it’s no big deal, it’s just watching you go!
【Author’s words】
Vitamin deficiency causes neurological symptoms such as head tilt, opisthotonos, and back muscle rigidity. This is actually a disease of ornamental birds, known as "stargazing." "Stargazing bird" is a necessary but insufficient manifestation of Newcastle disease in birds. If you see this bird/person/animal in the wild, stay away.
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