Chapter 62 Circle (10) Inferiority Complex.
When the creature on the ground opened its eyes, the edge of the entire world began to emit a strong, blinding white light, as if some obvious truth was slowly seeping in. Xia Zhu stared intently at it until the body slowly faded away in the white light.
“Liang has been in my dreams for hundreds of times. I guess he’ll be waiting for us in the real world.”
Feng Feng was analyzing Xia Zhu's words word by word. She had just woken up from a nightmare, and the memories were brutally drilling into her mind, making her thinking ability seem sluggish at this moment.
What does it mean to wait for them in this world?
Before she could think clearly, everything went white before her eyes. Her consciousness faded again, her body went limp, and she fell backward onto the cold floor. She tried to open her eyes, but felt a white film covering her pupils. She tried to move her fingers and touched something soft. Her conditioned reflexes immediately commanded her limbs; before her brain could process what was happening, her upper body had already sprung up from the ground, a sharp pain shooting through her head.
"Where is this?" Weren't they in a guesthouse at the foot of Tiansun Mountain before they fell asleep? As their vision gradually cleared, she found herself lying on the floor of an unfamiliar rented room. Her companions were also lying in different corners, gradually waking up.
Feng Feng shifted her body, and her hand, which was supporting her on the floor, touched something soft again. Following her fingertips, she saw in the dim light that there was a pile of animal fur scattered on the floor. The fur had been peeled off in its entirety, and the pink inside was still stained with dried blood that had not been washed off.
"What is that? A modern-day hunter?"
"He's probably a perverted and cruel executioner."
Feng Mian's cold voice came from behind.
“I felt something was wrong the first time I encountered that Frankenstein’s monster. What kind of person’s desires and obsessions could be such a mixed bunch of creatures?” Feng Mian stood up and began to cautiously survey the room. “Maybe it was fear.”
Feng Feng sniffed. "Can you smell anything?" There was a faint fragrance in the air, smelling like some kind of air freshener. Beneath the sweet fragrance was a dizzying chemical reagent and an indescribable metallic smell.
"It smells of blood." Ying Ya reached out his good hand to Feng Feng, who was still sitting on the ground, trying to pull her up. Although the smooth floor tiles looked very clean, and the rented room could even be described as spotless, seeing Feng Feng's bare ankles pressed against the tile and her body surrounded by a pile of animal fur made him feel dizzy, hot, and furious.
This place is definitely not simple, at least not as ordinary as it looks. Besides the smell of blood, he also smelled a distinct stench of rotting flesh, which clung to every piece of furniture in the room. The gray curtains, the glass of the coffee table, and even the legs of the dining table—he knew this smell all too well; for a time, it had enveloped him like an invisible net, day and night.
"So, shouldn't we be at Tian Sun Mountain?" Feng Feng stood up with Ying Ya's help.
"Is this Liang's home in the mortal world?" Ji Wuchou asked, standing by the window with her eyes lowered as she looked at the ice crystals that had formed in her palm.
Seeing this, Feng Feng quickly took out a seed from the cloth bag at her waist and pinched it between her fingers. Under her chanting, the seed quickly broke through the shell and sprouted.
"The power has been restored!"
The group of six felt a bit cramped in the small rented room.
The living room and dining room are connected, with the kitchen next to the dining room. There's another door to the right of the entrance, perhaps leading to the bedroom. Xia Zhu gripped her sword and walked towards that closed door.
The door wasn't locked, and it opened easily with a gentle press. This room was indeed the owner's bedroom; the curtains were half-drawn, and it was still late at night outside. The faint moonlight filtering into the room only made it seem darker and more oppressive. Compared to a typical bedroom, this one seemed rather small. A narrow single bed stood by the window, with a wooden bookshelf and a small desk at the foot of the bed.
The air inside the room was stuffy and stagnant. Xia Zhu frowned and stepped into the bedroom.
Ying Huo followed him in without making a sound.
The books on the bookshelf suggested the bedroom's occupant might be a medical student, and the various medals on the desk indicated he was an excellent student. Xia Zhu recalled that the person looked to be in his early twenties, perhaps still in school.
"Is this room even fit for a human?" Ying Huo strolled to the bedside with his hands in his pockets, casually looking at everything in the room with a contemptuous smile on his lips, as if he were seeing the world of ordinary people for the first time.
He saw Xia Zhu turn to look at him, her eyebrows slightly raised, and her back gently leaning against the wall.
"To be honest, I can hardly breathe, can I?" He pulled out one hand, bent his fingers slightly, and tapped the wall with his knuckles.
The wall made a hollow sound.
"Living in a place like a rat hole, you might learn some burrowing skills."
Xia Zhu realized that the wall might be hollow, so she quickly went to the wall and glanced at Ying Huo beside her. The latter tactfully moved aside, thinking that he was not suited for physical labor.
Xia Zhu felt along the wall and finally found a tiny crack in the white textured wallpaper, which slid down the wall to behind the bedside table. She held the small sword in reverse and moved the bedside table aside with both hands, revealing the wall that had been hidden there. It seemed that a door was hidden under the peeling wallpaper.
She hesitated for only a second before using her sword to slice through the entire wallpaper, exposing an invisible door to the air. It was clear that the door was frequently opened and closed, which was why the user had cut extremely fine slits in the wallpaper along the door seams for both concealment and ease of use.
The commotion attracted the attention of several people outside the door.
"This is truly remarkable; there's even a secret room hidden here." Feng Feng approached the door with great interest, pushing Ying Huo further away.
"Tsk." Ying Huo made a sound of dissatisfaction, only to be met with a disgusted glare from Feng Feng. The implication was clear: "I'm not going to bring up the fact that you followed us into our dreams anymore; if you know what's good for you, just keep a low profile."
To make it invisible, this door doesn't have a handle; you just need to push it in with a little force.
Under Feng Feng's expectant gaze, Xia Zhu pushed open the door, revealing the dark, sunless world behind it. Xia Zhu finally understood why the bedroom was incongruously small.
Because the owner had secretly partitioned off an area to use as his cruel and unspeakable secret base.
Turn on the light switch on the wall, and you'll find yourself in a miniature operating room. A stainless steel workbench stands in the center, and a shadowless lamp hangs overhead. The walls are lined with instrument racks, complete with bone saws, drills, hemostats, and all sorts of other tools. On the sink's countertop sits a transparent disposable cup with a syringe inserted at an angle, the needle still dripping pinkish viscous fluid. Next to the sink, the only power strip is connected to a large freezer.
Besides, the place is eerily clean and tidy, but that's just a facade to cover up the truth. It's like a shiny, bright red apple; once you poke its skin, its soft, brittle surface will reveal rotten green juice mixed with maggots.
A desk and a chair stood against the wall away from the operating table. The wall was covered with countless photos, nailed together with felt. Ji Wuchou walked over, and after seeing the photos, her hands, which had been hanging at her sides, suddenly clenched. Xia Zhu heard her mutter a curse under her breath.
Without even looking, Xia Zhu could already guess how horrifying the photos must be. She went straight to the freezer standing to the side and lifted the door. The freezer had two compartments; she pushed open the left one. The walls were covered in a fine layer of white frost, and inside were neatly stacked various animal carcasses, all sealed in plastic bags and labeled.
Xia Zhu's eyes flickered as she took a bag from the freezer.
Through the cold air and frost, you can vaguely make out that what is sealed in the bag is a light yellow kitten less than a month old. Its brown eyes, like glass beads covered with a layer of white frost, seem to be staring at you with moisture in the movement of light.
Xia Zhu felt as if her throat was blocked by an unknown substance, and she could only suppress the physical discomfort by pressing hard against her palate.
Her gaze shifted downwards and landed on the white sticky note.
Stray Cat #5
The day I picked up this silly thing, it was raining heavily. I dried its fur and fed it some milk, and it started treating me like its owner, following me everywhere I went, like a clump of poop stuck to my heel.
Just then, as soon as I opened the operating room door, it obediently followed me in.
That's really stupid.
Grabbing its thin neck felt like strangling a flexible tube. The little beast thought I was petting it and even stuck out its tongue to lick my hand. So skinny, it would have drowned in the rain sooner or later if I hadn't brought it back. I might as well sew on a big dog's body for it. At least I'd give it a body full of flesh that it'll never grow in its entirety.
The barbs are hurting so much, I might as well just cut my tongue off too.
How stupid.
Xia Zhu's hands trembled uncontrollably as she held the body bag. She recognized the words on the labels, but couldn't understand them when put together. She couldn't believe that such malicious, self-righteous, and condescending words were written by a normal human being. She also couldn't accept that there could be a life in this world that could so despise another.
They even shamelessly compare themselves to the creator, as if sewing together different species after they die is a merciful gift.
"Don't joke around," she stared intently at the words on the sticky note.
It's nothing more than satisfying their twisted desire for control; those fine stitches are merely mending the abuser's shattered self-esteem.
"Humans are so ignorant and cruel." Ying Huo's voice drifted over lightly. Xia Zhu put down the body bag in her hand and turned to stare at him. His gaze lingered coldly over the corpses before finally settling on Xia Zhu's face.
"Isn't that right? Humans are products of their inherent flaws, and hypocritical moral standards only mask their primitive and filthy survival instincts of the strong preying on the weak."
Xia Zhu stared at his face, which was so beautiful it was almost bewitching.
"Aren't you human?"
Ying Huo didn't answer her, but instead curled the corners of his lips into a mocking expression. He hid it very well; for a few seconds, Xia Zhu was almost deceived by his dazzling smile.
But she still noticed that the moment she asked the question, "Aren't you human?" a hidden crack appeared on Ying Huo's perfectly flawless mask.
Xia Zhu slammed the cabinet door shut.
"If you really think that way, then you are just as extreme as those who abuse animals. Everything must be viewed with a critical and dialectical perspective. The essence of human civilization is the never-ending march of fighting against inferiority."
She calls this phenomenon self-correction.
"Indeed, some people are despicable and hateful, and do not deserve to have the right to be human."
Xia Zhu left him with a detached look in the end.
"I don't want to discuss the good or bad of people with you in this place."
Xia Zhu turned her head, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Outside the half-closed hidden door by the wall stood a black figure. It was unknown how long it had been standing there, as silent as a ghost. There were six people in the room, but none of them noticed its presence.
The silvery moonlight couldn't illuminate the shadow cast on the floor. It eerily curled its lips and slowly tilted its neck forward, exposing a mask-like face to the moonlight.
Its eyes never blink, and its black and white pupils are so clear that they seem made of wax and cannot let in a single ray of light.
This is the fully formed spirit, possessing a human body exactly like the dreamer's.
Ji Wuchou was the first to notice Xia Zhu's stiff figure. She quietly held the Ice and Snow Blade in her hand and followed Xia Zhu's gaze to the shadow in the blind spot.
"How rude... entering someone's room without permission..."
An unpleasant sound drifted into the operating room, like the creaking of an old door being blown by the wind.
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Author's note: Finally, I've reached three digits in the number of favorites! So, persistence pays off, right?
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