Chapter 83: What Have You Done to Me!
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
After an intense and prolonged gaze at Gao Ming, a voice, weary and old, emerged from within the large canine form: “I presume this is your first visit to this mysterious shadow city, isn’t it? This place is a mirror image of our tangible world, yet it’s filled with the forgotten remnants of human memories and their darkest nightmares. Joy, happiness, and light are foreign concepts here. What prevails instead is an unending cycle of despair, death, and impenetrable darkness.”
Gao Ming inquired with puzzlement, “But why does this justify you in capturing and holding people against their will?” He had begun to suspect that the blind man, despite his sensory limitations, possessed an extraordinary understanding of their bizarre situation.
“The moment any creature is tainted by the shadow, upon awakening, they are instilled with a singular purpose by this world,” explained the dog, settling onto the ground. “This shadow city is on the brink of collapse. We need more living souls here. Only when the living outnumber the ghostly inhabitants will this calamity cease, and entities like me might find true liberation.”nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.
“The living must outnumber the ghosts?” Gao Ming questioned, scanning the seemingly deserted city. “How many would it take? Hundreds? Thousands? The city doesn’t appear to be overrun by ghosts.”
“You are blinded by hope. Only eyes clouded by despair can see the true extent,” the dog responded, its jaws opening once more. “Do not resist; allow me to assist you.”
As the dog’s massive maw engulfed Gao Ming, he was enveloped in a bone-chilling sensation.
What terrors could a person who lives in a world devoid of sight and sound experience? No imagery, no hues, no auditory stimuli – just an endless expanse of darkness and sudden, overwhelming despair.
Gao Ming felt himself sinking deeper into this nightmarish abyss, eventually reaching its darkest depths. This darkness seemed to serve as a conduit to another realm.
Sharing his perceptions with the blind man, their heartbeats synchronized. They opened their eyes simultaneously, and Gao Ming was struck by an astonishing transformation.
The once desolate shadow city had morphed into a chaotic landscape overrun by rampant nightmares, echoing with shrieks and moans of agony.
A thick black fog shrouded the horizon, from which dilapidated structures and tombstones emerged, symbolizing memories long abandoned.
Within this tumultuous fog, a colossal whale bore an island composed of skeletal remains, attracting every flawed soul in this world, desperately clawing their way onto it.
In the distance, a city drenched in blood loomed, making Gao Ming feel inconsequential, a mere speck in comparison.
“Have you discerned the true number of ghosts here?”
Spewed out by the dog, Gao Ming sat on the ground, his mind still reeling from the horrors he had just witnessed.
“Is that the true essence of the shadow world?”
It was only after witnessing the shadow city’s inner horrors that Gao Ming understood the profound exhaustion Xuan Wen experienced the night she escorted him home as if she had been drained of life just by traversing the city.
Gao Ming examined a talisman, finding it strikingly similar to those in the Sishui Apartment. “Could Situ An be responsible for these? Why would he send children here?”
Unable to decipher the talismans’ text and the air growing increasingly thick with the scent of blood, Gao Ming soon stumbled upon the first corpse.
It was an investigator from the Queen’s Investigation Bureau, reeking of Mothballs, metal piercing his ears, and his eyes void of color.
“Mothballs? Was this investigator lured away by the jacketed man instead of following the stench?”
The darkness he had navigated earlier was fraught with unseen perils. A misstep could have led to catastrophic consequences.
Regardless, the large dog was an ally of the shadow world and unlikely to show mercy to living intruders.
Rounding a corner, the complexity of the talismans and wall patterns increased, seemingly depicting scenes of ancient blood sacrifices.
“It seems Situ An set this up long ago. Was he attempting to enlist the blind man’s aid through these means?”
The number of corpses in the passageway grew, each meeting a different end: some beaten to death, their bloated bodies exuding a sweet osmanthus scent; others burned, carrying the smell of fire; and some who took their own lives, reeking only of decay.
Initially, Gao Ming believed the blind man to be compassionate and inclined towards Buddhism, reluctant to leave the cellar for revenge. But these discoveries led him to reconsider. The blind man’s kindness was reserved solely for the person who ultimately saved his “mother.”
Reaching the cellar’s deepest point, Gao Ming shone his phone light across the space. Numerous people stood in the excavated underground area.
Most were motionless, their pale eyes trembling, trapped in illusions.
One figure, however, stood out. Qing Ge, brandishing a knife in each hand, his eyes shut. Within a five-meter radius around him lay only butchered corpses.
Unsure of Qing Ge’s actual state, Gao Ming directed his phone’s light towards him, only to witness an even stranger occurrence. Still clutching his knives, Qing Ge began moving towards the light with his eyes closed.
“Is he really ensnared in an illusion?”
After a brief contemplation, Gao Ming reached a conclusion. Regardless of Qing Ge’s actual condition, he could not be allowed to leave alive this night.
“Missing this opportunity would make it challenging to find another.”
Gao Ming flicked his phone, attracting Qing Ge like a moth to a flame.
