Chapter 910: Chapter 907: "Smile (Part 1)
After Su Ming’an left the psychological consultation center, a faint shadow quietly followed him.
This shadow was a member of the Old Day Church, skilled in the art of concealment, able to transform into an almost imperceptible shadow. He had been lurking at the psychological consultation center for several days, just waiting for Dr. Su to arrive. As he saw Su Ming’an about to leave, the shadow quietly followed.
Just as the shadow took a few steps in Su Ming’an’s direction, he suddenly saw a figure cloaked entirely in black.
On a protruding steel bar, the cloaked figure stood silently at the end, like a black crow perched atop a tree.
"Though I don’t know who you are, please stop." The cloaked figure said faintly.
"You can see me?" the shadow asked in surprise. His invisibility spell was nearly unmatched, yet this cloaked figure had spotted him instantly?
"I will guard against any suspicious persons approaching him," the cloaked figure said, "No matter who you are, you must leave quickly."
While the cloaked figure blocked the shadow, Su Ming’an had walked further away, unaware of the commotion behind him.
The shadow was anxious, wanting to leap past the cloaked figure. But the cloaked figure firmly blocked him.
The shadow thought for a moment: "Your voice sounds familiar... Let me think, could you be one of the ’Six Stars’ of the City Guardian Department, Ji Puyu, who is skilled in observation and investigation? This means that the Dr. Su you are protecting... is a high-ranking figure in the City Guardian Department?"
The cloaked figure’s eyes grew cold, a murderous intent emanating from him. The vice minister’s concealed status must remain unknown to outsiders, let alone the shadow directly calling out his identity.
"Haha, I have no malicious intent," the shadow discerned the cloaked figure’s killing intent and waved his hands repeatedly, "I only came following the Vice Sect Hierarch’s orders, searching for a possible ’Exotic Species King’ in the world. I’ve heard that Dr. Su of this psychological consultation center can communicate peacefully with ’exotic species’ and even influence them, so I guessed he might be the Exotic Species King about to awaken. Therefore, I came here to find him."
"He is who he is, not some king of exotic species," the cloaked figure’s voice revealed killing intent.
"I have no intention of acting... I’ll report back to the Vice Sect Hierarch first, see you if fate allows." Realizing the situation was unfavorable, the shadow transformed into a black shadow and vanished.
The cloaked figure leaped from the steel bar, landing on the ground.
He slowly removed the black cloth from his head, revealing semi-long purple hair, and a handsome face full of contemplation.
"Old Day Church... This shadow immediately called out who I am. It seems this place of seclusion for the vice minister is no longer safe; someone has found it," the cloaked figure murmured, "Even though they are humans, they keep searching for the king among exotic species. Even though they are humans, they can establish a base and survive in the black mist. Old Day Church, what is your true intention? Now, you’ve even set your sights on the vice minister..."
The cloaked figure looked into the distance; Su Ming’an’s figure was becoming smaller and smaller under the afternoon sun.
"If not for my protection today, that shadowy figure would have come into contact with the vice minister." The cloaked figure’s eyes flickered, "Even I can’t understand the vice minister now. Why would someone from the Old Day Church call him king? Could the vice minister really have connections with the Old Day Church... No, I must trust the vice minister. Without trust in him, the chances of human victory are slim. The key issue now is not to dwell on whether the vice minister is human, but to draw him to the human side as much as possible."
Having gained nothing from his thoughts, the cloaked figure covered his face again and continued to follow serving as a bodyguard behind Su Ming’an.
...
In the gift shop, Su Ming’an looked at the colorful dolls on the shelf.
Resources were scarce in the city, and the gift shop was already located in the most affluent area, yet Su Ming’an still couldn’t find a Barbie doll. All he could see were rather bulky rough cloth dolls. Su Ming’an tried to choose a cute one, with a pink bow, cream-colored lace dress, and vermilion round shoes, looking quite adorable.
"Tao Meng isn’t here... She usually loves looking at gift shops like this, so where could she have gone..." The sound of a group of girls came from the shop entrance. Jiang Xiaosan immediately spotted Su Ming’an choosing dolls: "Ah! Wensheng!"
Su Ming’an turned his head, holding the pink doll, and met eyes with dozens of female students.
They showed a look of astonishment. For a moment, it seemed like both sides were frozen, the atmosphere becoming somewhat stagnant.
Su Ming’an glanced down at the adorable pink doll in his arms, suddenly realizing something.
"...Wensheng actually has hobbies like this," Jiang Xiaosan said, eyes full of shock.
"Did we accidentally stumble upon something?" Jiang Yunmeng whispered, pulling someone else’s hand, "Let’s leave quickly..."
"Oh my, who would have thought Wensheng has a cute side inside," Jojo said, covering her mouth.
Su Ming’an, without a change in expression, paid and walked out with the doll, directly facing the crowd at the entrance.
"What’s going on?" he asked.
"Tao Meng suddenly disappeared today, we’re all looking for her," Jiang Yunmeng explained, yet her gaze remained fixed on the doll in Su Ming’an’s hands. All the other female students were also staring intensely at the doll Su Ming’an held.
Su Ming’an remembered Tao Meng, she was a little loud girl whose voice could be heard throughout the church when she spoke. If Tao Meng went missing, it was likely the work of the exotic species inside the city, as all tragedies in this city stemmed from that exotic species entrenched within.
He proposed to search together. Thus, he was paired with Jiang Xiaosan, and the two of them began searching nearby.
The afternoon sun was glaring, the sunlight on his skin felt slightly painful.
Su Ming’an walked forward in the rubble-strewn area, holding the large pink doll.
Haggard people were eating dark bread. Many still kneeled and dug hard on the ground, moving away bricks from yesterday’s air raid, their ten fingers beginning to break. They kept shouting the names of their relatives, pleading for a response.
"Mom, Mom—are you down there? Answer me, I beg you, I beg you—!"
"Grandma, Grandma!"
"Where are you! Where are you!!"
Street advertisements played luxury goods from large cities, contrasting sharply with corpses of starving people on the streets, the air filled with the smell of rotting flesh, as if this city had died long ago.
Jiang Xiaosan, with her braided hair, walked ahead and helped Su Ming’an move aside any blocking pieces of wood.
"Tao Meng is a very serious person," Jiang Xiaosan said, "Every time she studies, she’s the last one to finish. She also helps me with dictation. In places where I didn’t take notes, I’d look at her notes; they were as good and comprehensive as tutor books. She’s truly dedicated, waking up at five in the morning to study."
"Tomorrow is the college entrance exam, right?" Su Ming’an said.
"Hmm," Jiang Xiaosan said, "Her relatives all died due to the scarcity of resources in the city. I can tell that she wishes more than anyone to take the high school entrance exam. She doesn’t want the tragedy that happened to her relatives to happen again. The exam is tomorrow, and I can’t understand why she suddenly disappeared."
With just a few words, a heavy sorrow was drawn on the girl’s shoulders. Having all her relatives die due to a lack of resources speaks of such despair and powerlessness.
Gazing around at this desolate and miserable city, Su Ming’an observed everything.
What exactly caused all of this?
In a closed-off world, faith became a foundational element, leading to the bizarre phenomenon where "culture determines life forms." It seems unbelievable, yet is also quite logical. People labor diligently to maintain this class differentiation, which is easy to recognize.
This results in—
No matter how many words of persuasion are spoken, they are nothing compared to a decree from a deity.
No matter how many wars are waged in resistance, they can’t match a single glance from a deity.
Those who don’t resist destiny and are fed to the exotic species become prisoners of fate. Nobody cares what you express because, in the eyes of the deity, most people are just apples. An apple can never become a pear. People cannot even choose their own death; it is more accurate to say they are breathing livestock than people.
"Where do you think Tao Meng went?" Su Ming’an asked.
"There were no signs of blood or struggle in her room, so it probably wasn’t done by the exotic species in the city. We suspect she sneaked out on her own," Jiang Xiaosan said. "Did she maybe go somewhere to study? If that’s really the case, it would be great."
Her expression was tinged with a sense of hope, a wish that Tao Meng had only run off to study rather than something bad happening to her.
"Even if there were no bloodstains in Tao Meng’s room, it could be that the exotic species in the city had erased her. Perhaps the exotic species only need to attack the brain to kill," Su Ming’an said.
"No! It definitely wasn’t done by the exotic species in the city!" Jiang Xiaosan suddenly raised her voice.
"Hmm?" Su Ming’an was unsure why she suddenly became so agitated.
"Yes, it must be so. Tao Meng once told us that her death was prophesied as dying of hunger at the age of twenty-two. Until then, nothing will happen to her," Jiang Xiaosan said, pausing for a moment and then quickly calming herself, quietly reassuring, "Though I don’t know why she would die of hunger at twenty-two, she’s certainly fine now."
Su Ming’an said, "If she can succeed in the high school exam and leave this city, it seems unlikely she’d starve at twenty-two. Could there be a great famine in the future?"
"A deity’s arranged death... can we defy it? Maybe there really will be a famine in the future," Jiang Xiaosan gave a bitter smile. But unlike the other apathetic residents, her eyes held a fire. That was anger directed at the deity, a latent spark of rebellion despite being too scared to let it burn.
Su Ming’an pondered over humanity’s blind faith, his grip tightening on the doll in his hand.
And at that moment—
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
He heard the sound of the wind.
He immediately grew alert, raising his head to look towards the source of the sound, but then he suddenly saw—
A splash of blossoming blood.
That bright red bloom of blood burst right at the center of his vision, quickly and rapidly descending— a body fell like a flying bird from high altitude, its white garments fluttering like the wings of a white bird in the fiercely dancing winter wind.
Someone had jumped from a building.
The moment he realized this, Su Ming’an was too late to catch the person.
She landed heavily on the ground, and the enormous impact made her bounce a few times on the ground, splattering bright red liquid like a smashed slime, her limbs flailing like a spinning windmill. Then a steel bar on the ground pierced her abdomen, stabbing through her small belly and out her back, the dark red pointed towards the sky like a newly raised red-black flag, and she convulsed for a few seconds like an insect pinned to the wall before completely going still.
Su Ming’an stood stunned on the spot, the deceased so close to him.
A few drops of dark red blood splattered on the back of his hand, sliding down along it.
"Ah, ah...?" Jiang Xiaosan, closer to the deceased, turned around blankly, looking at the body on the ground: "Did someone... jump from a building?"
Her face was dazed, not out of numbness, but because she was too shocked to respond. She had heard of suicides by jumping before, but never imagined witnessing it herself.
There were quite a few people along the street, many noticed someone had jumped, but their expressions shifted quickly from initial shock back to a stagnant pool.
The people digging bricks continued to dig, those carrying goods resumed their steps, and smokers inhaled the intoxicating aroma.
"Suicide is not allowed, and yet someone dares to defy the deity..." was the initial thought people had, not lamenting why she chose suicide.
Su Ming’an did not recognize this suicidal girl; she fell head down, like an insect sealed in amber, impaled on the steel, limbs dangling naturally downward, her black hair draping around the steel, her features obscured.
Why did this girl commit suicide? Was it academic failure, momentary anger, family dying in war, or despair at the future...? Nobody cared. People hastily distanced themselves, as if her suicide would create a detestable sewage pit.
Jiang Xiaosan took a few steps closer, seemingly wanting to look at the deceased’s face, but was pushed aside by fully armed soldiers.
"Another suicide? Move aside! Move aside!" The soldiers pushed Jiang Xiaosan out of the way, dragged the girl’s body off the steel, and shoved it into a sack as if handling a piece of pork, not a human body.
The soldiers carried out their actions with banter, constantly laughing, deliberately cracking jokes to ignore the gory body of the girl.
Because negative emotions weren’t allowed. Only joy was permitted.
Amidst laughter, all that remained on the ground was a pool of blood and the blood-red steel pointing skyward.
As the soldiers rudely removed the body, Su Ming’an finally saw the girl’s face—
She had large eyes, a gentle, pretty face with some freckles, like a very ordinary girl.
She was Tao Meng.