就在陈路人的身体无法动弹的时候...
'砰...'
一声巨响传来.
一道红色的身影重重的从屋顶摔到地面.
"小丫头,不要..."
"年纪轻轻,犯了罪..."
"唉...可惜了."
楼下,一大滩血迅速蔓延开来,浸湿了地面.负责维持秩序的警察立即用黄色警戒线封锁了现场.医护人员也迅速赶来,对她进行"抢救".
片刻之间,女孩的父母和亲属从楼道里冲了出来,直奔尸体而去.四周传来阵阵悲痛的哀号声和周围人群的怜悯之声.
但这惨烈的一幕,在陈路人的眼中,却显得阴森恐怖,仿佛真的踏入了一个陌生的世界.
他看到的不是哭泣的父母或亲人,也不是旁观者脸上怜悯的表情.
反而...跳起来的女孩,从地上站了起来,然后,仿佛被什么东西操控一般,一步一步地走向那辆幽灵般的花车.
这一幕,陈路人浑身颤抖得更厉害了,他的直觉告诉他,轿子里的那个人正直直地盯着自己.
当女孩靠近轿子时,原本茫然的脸上突然闪过一丝生气,她一边走,一边依依不舍地转身,目光直视着陈路人,那眼神,仿佛在无声地求救.
陈路人一瞬间头皮发麻,他能感觉到轿子里的人对女孩不悦——而这股怒气,正是源于他.
"妈的,我就看看而已!不用不用!"
"你是来参加婚礼的,关我什么事!"
陈路人深吸一口气,努力控制自己的身体,但毫无作用.轿子里的东西太可怕了,比他在襄阳桥下见到的水鬼还要可怕,轻而易举地就吞噬了他的身体.
更糟糕的是,他感觉到一股极其邪恶的力量在牵引着他,仿佛要将他拖入那诡异的境界.他浑身颤抖,冷汗直流,无助感袭上心头.
就在他精神濒临崩溃的时候,一只手搭在他的肩膀上.
"小伙子,你不舒服吗?"
"你看起来不太舒服.我们要带你去医院吗?"
这声音似曾相识,陈路人顿时愣住了.随后,那些恐怖的画面消失得无影无踪.鬼魅般的新郎,跳楼的少女,甚至连抬轿的小鬼,都消失了.
取而代之的是悲痛的家人,警察,医护人员和围观的民众.而且,随着幻觉的消散,陈路人意识到自己又能动了.
他大口喘息着,终于松了一口气.
"年轻人?嘿,你好吗?"他身边的老人——大概六十多岁——仍然叫着他,手仍然放在他的肩膀上.
陈路人定了定神,转身的时候,脸色变得复杂起来,这个老者,并不是陌生人.
这便是先前在青龙湖公园骗取中年妇女的那个巫师.
"主人,您也来了?"
"您不是已经走了吗?"
Chen Luren blurted out instinctively.
"Ah... what master?"
"Pfft, so it's you, kid! I thought you looked familiar."
Evidently, the fortune-teller recognized Chen Luren as the guy who'd been snooping around the park in the afternoon. Now that he was identified, an awkward grin spread across the old man's face.
Meanwhile, seeing the shaman's embarrassment, Chen Luren felt a strange hunch creep up.
"Odd. He should've pulled me back from that weird world just now."
"My intuition also felt something off about him in that moment."
"Why is he acting like this now? Was it a 错觉 (delusion)?"
"Is he not actually some high-level expert?"
Chen Luren's thoughts raced. The earlier experience had felt utterly real, yet he couldn't find a single flaw in it.
"Master, did you see anything just now?" he asked instinctively.
"Sure did," the old man replied. "That little girl was such a pity—so young and already giving up on life. Sigh... Young man, don't follow her example. People who die violent deaths might not even get a chance to reincarnate, you know." The shaman spoke earnestly, clearly... on a completely different wavelength.
Chen Luren wanted to talk about the ghostly groom's wedding procession, but the shaman kept harping on the suicide.
"Um, master, that's not what I mean," Chen Luren said. "I'm asking if you saw anything... sinister. Like, a ghostly wedding procession?"
He probed again.
"What ghostly wedding? You think that's why she jumped?" The shaman clicked his tongue. "Young man, believe in science... It's 2023! How can anyone still buy into this stuff? Were you that scared just now? I suggest you get checked at a psych ward—don't let the shock mess you up."
The shaman rambled on, and Chen Luren sighed. "Forget it, you wouldn't understand. It's late; I should head home."
He turned and walked away.
On the way back, Chen Luren replayed the day's events in his mind. Before he knew it, he found himself near Footbath Street. He'd formed a "conditioned reflex" lately—every night, he'd swing by here to grind for experience, even after his Mind Level had risen. After all... even a mosquito's leg is still meat.
So there he was, strolling from one end of the street to the other under the scorching gazes of scantily clad women, like a king choosing his consort.
[Congratulations! You steadfastly resisted the 'love' that costs only 50 ghost coins, successfully preserving your yang energy. Survival Experience +2.]
As expected, after reaching Mind Level 3, the experience he gained here had dwindled again. The system kept reminding him that this strange instance was no longer dangerous and that he could "have fun" here personally. But Chen Luren, who lived by the creed of "play it safe," had no intention of risking his neck. The true horror he'd just witnessed—the images from that weird world—had dealt an unimaginable blow to his mind.
After finishing his round on Footbath Street, Chen Luren was about to head to the next stop to wait for the sinister midnight bus. But the moment he moved, a familiar figure caught his eye.
"Him again?"
"Damn, what's this old shaman doing here at night? Getting a foot massage?"
Like discovering a new world, Chen Luren's curiosity piqued. He had a hunch that this old man was hiding some big secret.