Chapter 88: The Terrifying World of the Eyes
I had been silent all along because I had just witnessed an unusual scene that I dared not dwell on. The missing poor people’s belongings, tattered blankets, cracked bowls, and fire pans were still in their original places.
Even on the bedrolls, there were still indentations as if someone had just gotten out of bed a short while ago, with the blankets partially lifted.
But what was unusual was that their bedrolls were all wet. Both the mats and the blankets were soaked through, as if they had just been taken out of water. The already filthy bedrolls looked dark and were still dripping water after being soaked.
But the problem was, if bedrolls were soaked and then picked up, they wouldn’t have such an indented effect as if someone had lain on them. Did someone pour a bucket of water on them? Who would be so bored?
A long, wet mark extended from the river channel to the bedding. It was unclear whether the water from the bedding had flowed back into the river, or if someone had dragged wet objects from the river.
But faced with such strange doubts, Jayad, Bartholomew, and so many people present all remained silent. This made me feel very strange, so I couldn’t help but ask them.
“Wet marks, where are the wet marks?” Bartholomew asked, looking at the ground confusedly. The others also looked at me confusedly.
“Wait a minute, you can’t see them?” I asked, surprised, and then suddenly I realized. Seeing Jayad’s confused expression, I finally understood completely. “I’m sorry, it’s nothing, I made a mistake.”
“You little girl, don’t play tricks on me,” Bartholomew said unhappily. He was already annoyed enough by the inexplicable disappearance of his subordinates.
But I was just as upset as he was. I remembered that earlier, Jayad and I had argued about whether the maggots on my arm were moving, and even earlier, Jayad couldn’t see the blood energy absorbed by the Witch.
Before, when it was just the two of us, there was no reference, and it was impossible to determine who was abnormal. But now, it was confirmed that the abnormal one was me. Everyone else couldn’t see what I could see.
So I immediately shut my mouth. I needed to be calm. If others couldn’t see it, there was no point in talking to them. It would only arouse suspicion or cause trouble.
Seeing this, Jayad pulled me aside and asked worriedly, “Something you can see again? That, did you see the wet mark on the ground just now?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, then said dejectedly, “I might be sick, everything I see is an illusion.”
“Maybe it’s not an illusion, maybe we just can’t see the truth?” Jayad comforted me.
“How is that possible?” I shook my head. Everyone else drunk, only I awake? I didn’t have that confidence.
“Parul, think about it. Yesterday, you said you saw the Red Mist being drawn out of a human body by the Witch, and that’s why you saved me. Although I couldn’t see it, I was saved because of it. Everyone else died. It means that what Parul saw was real, right?” Jayad said.
“Ah, this…” I was stunned. That’s right, if the Red Mist was also an illusion, then people shouldn’t have died.
Unfortunately, even knowing that what I saw was not an illusion, I still couldn’t feel happy. Because when I looked at my left arm, it meant that these wriggling maggots were also real.
At the same time, as Jayad led me up the stairs of the river channel to the workers’ residential area, I suddenly felt that the world was different.
As soon as I came up, I saw a layer of gas, unclear whether it was smoke or fog, covering the blocks. It was light blue and emitted a faint blue glow, clearly not natural fog.
Then, I saw a man sitting and chatting with some workers. Behind him, a semi-transparent woman seemed to be leaning on his shoulder, and he was completely unaware. The workers around were also chatting and laughing, completely ignoring this floating, unknown being in mid-air, be it a person or a ghost.
The man pressed by that thing looked like a worker from his clothing, but his expression was listless, with dark circles under his eyes, and he looked very unwell. He didn’t participate much in the conversation with his fellow workers.
As I looked at them in surprise, the woman’s face suddenly turned towards me. I saw that she had no face at all. Her features were torn into pieces and forcibly stitched together with what looked like nails or thread.
I felt a strong sense of crisis. Although she had no facial features, I felt she was staring at me, observing me. If she found something amiss, she might pounce on me.
I quickly turned my head away, pretending to be just passing by and not noticing her, praying inwardly that this guy wouldn’t target me, wouldn’t come over!
Perhaps my prayer had some effect, as she didn’t come over and continued to lean on the worker’s back. I estimated that this unlucky fellow wouldn’t live much longer.
“Parul, what’s wrong? Your face is so pale. Is it still the after-effects of last night’s nightmare?” Jayad asked worriedly.
“Shh, let’s go over there first,” I said in a low voice. Seeing my serious expression, Jayad didn’t say much and followed me to leave this shanty town.
Walking away, I saw that the ghostly figure wasn’t following us, and I finally breathed a sigh of relief. But then I hesitated whether to tell Jayad, because judging by his previous reaction, he hadn’t seen it, so telling him about things he couldn’t see would be useless.
The rest of the journey was like hell for me. I saw huge footprints on the dirt road in the workers’ shanties, about half a meter long, looking like they were made by giants. The road was cracked, but people stepped over them as if oblivious.
This reminded me of the first night I heard those heavy footsteps. Perhaps it was this.
Not only sight, but also hearing and smell. I heard countless screams and wails mixed together coming from the factory next door, and I smelled a strangely sweet odor mixed with the stench of sulfur.
“Older Brother Jayad, what kind of factory is that?” I asked. Jayad looked over and then shook his head, “I don’t know, but I can inquire about it later.”
Clearly, he couldn’t hear the wails or smell the strange odor. Looking at the tall chimneys of the factory, I even suspected they were burning people there.
It didn’t get any better after leaving the workers’ district. On the road, I saw a well-dressed gentleman exuding a thick blood mist. Approaching him, I felt a chill all over my body. Even more terrifyingly, I saw a bug in a maid’s outfit following behind him.
Yes, it was a bug, and it was a large bug walking upright. Its two robust insect legs were walking, and four insect arms extended from the sleeves of the maid’s outfit, carrying a basket. Two large compound eyes were on its head, and it had a long, straw-like mouthpart. I couldn’t tell if it was a mosquito or a flea.
But no one else found this strange. Some even turned back to look at the maid, seemingly thinking she was beautiful. I wanted to vomit…
When I passed the alley where the murder had occurred last time, I also saw a woman with no eyes staring at me. Her dark eye sockets seemed to be silently telling something.
Even the water tower, which I was very interested in, kept spewing out mysterious creatures made of white mist, flying everywhere.
