Phi-Fic Chapter 393 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (4)
Chapter 393 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (4)
Lu Liruan felt an almost burning desire welling up inside her, so much so that her vision seemed to be distorted.
The scattered, dim light, like arcs of light shooting out when blacksmiths are forging iron, spreads out in all directions.
My head is spinning...
At the entrance of the residential area, there are two huge, dark green trash cans, each about half the height of a person.
The man walked over, raised his arm, and threw the two black plastic bags inside.
"Bam—"
It was too far away to hear anything, but Lu Liruan felt that she heard a dull thud.
Then the figure walked back.
Lu Liruan hid almost on her stomach behind the dark flower bed.
Mosquitoes swarmed onto her soft skin, sucking her blood, while the edges of leaves scratched her skin, causing a stinging, burning pain from the sticky sweat.
But Lu Liruan was completely unaware of it.
One street lamp, two street lamps...
The sense of frame drops became even more unreal. Lu Liruan stared at the black figure for so long without blinking that tears welled up in her eyes...
Until that person walked back into the stairwell.
The motion-activated lights on the second floor turned on.
When Lu Liruan stood up, one of her legs was numb, but she walked very quickly.
With the sudden flow of blood to her numb leg, every step she took brought a tingling, itchy sensation that made her feel weak, but she still walked quickly onward.
It's as if the brain doesn't have control over the body. The nerves that sense sensation are still connected and transmitting normally to the central nervous system, but when the brain issues a command, the connecting synapses have already malfunctioned.
What is controlling my body?!
Lu Liruan's mind seemed to be split open, with only a small part still containing doubts and thoughts, as if watching her body move forward from a detached third-person perspective.
Like a walking corpse...
Even as she reached the trash can, a faint thought lingered in Lu Liruan's mind: "Something's not right...something's really not right!"
Why go through someone else's trash?
What will be found?
What is he doing?
doing what?
I want to know...
When Lu Liruan stepped onto the edge of the tall flower bed behind her, ignoring the strong, rotten smell emanating from the trash can in the summer, she peered inside.
That last thought vanished as well.
The garbage truck came to collect it once in the evening. There isn't much garbage inside now. The two black bags are very conspicuous and quite dark.
Lu Liruan's arms trembled as she pushed deeper inside.
I can't reach it.
The fingertips were about half an arm's length away from the black bag.
After trying twice more, Lu Liruan even considered jumping in directly.
But the pungent stench made her nasal cavity sting, bringing Lu Liruan back to her senses.
Lu Liruan looked around and picked up a dead branch from the flower bed.
He bent down again.
If someone were to pass by here right now, they would definitely be startled.
A woman in a white nightgown, in a posture that requires a lot of balance, almost folds herself in half, stuffing her upper body into a trash can.
That's enough!
But the bag's handle is underneath... and its weight is far beyond what a tree branch could support.
Then break it!
What's inside?!
Lu Liruan strained, trying to puncture the bag with the twig!
After countless attempts, finally, the tip of the twig pierced into the black bag!
Lu Liruan used a lot of force, and after piercing the plastic bag, she felt a soft yet resilient texture.
The branch seemed to sink into something with a dull thud.
What is it!
what!
Lu Liruan stared wide-eyed at the trash can, her pupils dilated and trembling slightly in her eye sockets.
But the light here was so dim that Lu Liruan couldn't see anything.
A surge of inexplicable anger welled up inside her. As if venting her frustration, Lu Liruan forcefully poked the tree branch up and down, stabbing it hard at that unknown soft touch!
Once, twice...
Suddenly, Lu Liruan remembered that she had brought her cell phone with her.
Taking her phone out of her skirt pocket, Lu Liruan felt her palms were sticky, probably from the sweat she had produced while nervous. She subconsciously wiped them on her skirt.
I turned on my phone's flashlight.
"..."
The moment the light came on, Lu Liruan felt as if someone had grabbed her throat, and the bones in front of her trachea made a hard, gurgling sound as she opened her mouth.
Blood!
There's blood everywhere!
I don't know how many times that branch poked at it, or how many holes were pulled out of that black bag.
The dark green inside of the trash can was covered with black and yellow stains, now splattered with bright red blood.
The bag was of good quality; it wasn't torn. Only through some gaps and holes pierced by branches could one vaguely see a soft, pink and red mixture...
Lu Liruan stiffly shifted her gaze, looking down at herself. Her white dress was splattered with bright red, and there was a patch of red that had spread out... it was the spot where she had just wiped her hands.
My palms, my phone case... were all covered in blood.
Everything was so terrifying it didn't seem real.
Lu Liruan slumped backward onto the edge of the flower bed. The summer night wind blew, making her shiver, just like when she had just taken a shower and her body was still wet.
But now... it's thick blood.
Lu Liruan's mind was suddenly cleared up as if by a gust of wind.
The brain and body are reconnected.
I clearly did what I just did, and I know I did it...
But why did Lu Liruan feel so absurd at this moment? Why did she do that just now?
Now, what's going on?
Lu Liruan stared at the phone screen stained with her own bloody fingerprints, her fingers trembling as she tried to dial "110".
But Lu Liruan eventually gave up.
So weird.
What exactly was in that bag...? Maybe it was just some discarded meat, Lu Liruan told herself, but she didn't have the courage to check again.
Lu Liruan jumped down from the flower bed; there was no one around.
As far as the eye can see, there isn't a single car on the road outside the residential area.
Lu Liruan stumbled and staggered, running towards Unit 5 as fast as she could.
"Da da da--"
She could hear her own footsteps clattering, making all the motion-sensor lights on every floor light up.
Lu Liruan ran to the fifth floor, grabbed the key that was already in my hand, which was so painful from clenching my fist, and pushed it into the keyhole.
Click——
"Bam—"
Lu Liruan slammed the door shut.
She practically stumbled into the doorway, her legs giving way and she knelt down.
But she couldn't calm down at all. As quickly as possible, she took off all her clothes and threw them far away.
Lu Liruan practically crawled to the bathroom and washed the blood off her body over and over again.
She hadn't noticed at all.
When the motion-activated light on the sixth floor came on, it cast a long, dark shadow.
The man in the suit stood between the fifth and sixth floors, silently watching Lu Liruan's disheveled appearance.
After hearing the door close.
He raised his ungloved arm and looked at the old-fashioned mechanical watch on his wrist.
"Twenty-three minutes."
It's 11:44 PM now.
Lu Liruan had no idea how she got into bed or when she fell asleep.
I woke up from a nightmare just as dawn was breaking outside.
Lu Liruan fumbled around and found her phone; it was 6:20 in the morning.
Normally, it would be two days by three o'clock outside, so Lu Liruan casually opened the weather app.
It's cloudy today, and it'll rain this afternoon.
Not daring to sleep any longer, Lu Liruan sat upright on the bed, feeling her memories slowly returning.
The fragmented and terrifying memories from last night caused Lu Liruan's temples to throb.
Lu Liruan got out of bed.
Go into the living room.
The first thing I noticed was the white nightgown she had taken off and tossed onto the floor tiles.
Call the police. I didn't dare to call last night, but I'll call them today. At least let the police investigate whether the blood is human or animal blood...
Thinking this to herself, Lu Liruan walked over cautiously and, as if defusing a landmine, picked up the nightgown with her fingertips.
……
Lu Liruan could hardly believe her eyes.
Nothing.
There is no blood.
Lu Liruan frowned and searched carefully inside and out.
But Lu Liruan knew that something was definitely wrong! Yesterday, the bloodstains on her body weren't just a few drops, but splattered all over!
It's impossible that I couldn't see it!
It's gone...the blood is gone!
Lu Liruan rushed into the bathroom again, trying to find traces of the cleaning she had done there the night before.
But still, there was nothing.
Lu Liruan felt like her cerebellum was about to shrink!
what happened?
Could it be that all those terrifying things, the things I did and saw, were just nightmares?
Do not!
If it's a nightmare, why would clothes be thrown on the floor?
Lu Liruan couldn't find a suitable reason to convince herself.
She realized: something was wrong here.
Lu Liruan was now completely disoriented about where she was.
Lu Liruan sat on the sofa in a daze, looking at the sky outside, where thick, gray clouds had gathered.
I can't die before I even find the target, can I?
If you're dead, that's fine...
Will I have to watch horror movies repeatedly before I die?
Lu Liruan felt utterly hopeless.
The next second, I randomly browsed recruitment apps.
I've applied for a few more jobs that include room and board. Maybe I should try... to escape this situation?
"Da da da--"
Upon hearing the footsteps, Lu Liruan instinctively sprang to her feet.
I rushed to the door and covered the peephole.
The man upstairs was dressed the same as before, but now he was carrying a black briefcase.
Not only could his footsteps be heard in the hallway, but the sound of a door opening downstairs could also be heard: "Wife, I'm leaving now!"
A man's voice rang out, followed by a series of hurried footsteps.
The feeling that there were other people around made Lu Liruan feel more at ease.
A surge of "what the hell" courage welled up inside me, and I suddenly wanted to ask this person directly what he did every night!
The reason was... that he made too much noise with his footsteps every night, disturbing the neighbors!
Lu Liruan took a deep breath and suddenly pushed the door open.
"Boom!"
Lu Liruan pursed her lips, looking somewhat at a loss.
No... I didn't mean to...
Lu Liruan realized that she had bumped the door directly into the person, causing him to stumble and drop his briefcase.
"Anyone who can be knocked off balance must be a normal person, right?" Lu Liruan thought.
Looking down, I saw the briefcase that had fallen out of the way the object had been hit.
Lu Liruan took a step back.
A folding knife fell out of the black briefcase.
Another folding knife.
There is also a folding knife.
Lu Liruan: ...
Why would you put so many knives in your briefcase?
Brother, what exactly is your profession?
Lu Liruan gripped the doorknob, glancing at the man who had just regained his footing.
The man didn't show any anger after being hit by a door early in the morning.
His expression remained unchanged. He lowered his eyes, squatted down, and began to pick up the things.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" Lu Liruan tried to bend down to help him.
Lu Liruan was initially very wary, but he gave off such a non-threatening vibe.
It even lessened Lu Liruan's fear when she was alone earlier.
"It's alright," he said calmly.
Lu Liruan looked at his black gloves; his fingertips were dusty when he picked something up.
"Let me do it!" Lu Liruan quickly offered her help.
"Are you... going to work?" Lu Liruan asked tentatively.
"Ah."
"Then why... do you carry so many folding knives in your bag?"
Perhaps because of the other party's gentle attitude, Lu Liruan simply asked the question.
Stop and observe the man's actions.
He looked at Lu Liruan with his light-colored eyes, calm and composed.
Only when you see his face clearly can you realize how handsome he is.
"Oh."
He said gently, "Our company makes cutting tools; these are all samples."
Then, instead of taking the knife that Lu Liruan handed him, he used his gloved fingertips to press the hilt and push it towards Liruan.
"I'm a salesman, let me give you one for free."
After saying that, he picked up his repacked briefcase, nodded to Lu Liruan, and continued walking downstairs at a steady pace.
Lu Liruan wasn't sure if she had just heard him sigh softly and wearily.
……
Isn't this just blatant nonsense?
Lu Liruan looked at the folding knife in her hand: "The few that fell out of your bag all have different shapes and brands."
It wasn't until she returned to the house that Lu Liruan realized she hadn't been afraid of him at all.
I should be afraid of him...
This person seems to give off very different vibes during the day and at night.
Not only the people, but the day and night here seem to be completely separate, with entirely different atmospheres.
The days seem to be getting shorter, at least in terms of physical sensation. Lu Liruan wondered if it was because she was too nervous.
After dark, Lu Liruan became highly tense.
If tonight, the man upstairs...
When Lu Liruan realized what she was doing, she was already holding the folding knife that the other party had given her earlier that day, and was on her way to follow him.
Having learned from yesterday's experience, Lu Liruan was quite adept at it today.
Tonight, the night-blooming jasmine in the flower bed where Lu Liruan was hiding has bloomed.
The bright yellow petals opened, and delicate pollen clung to Lu Liruan's body.
The scent makes me want to sneeze.
The trash cans seem even worse than yesterday, filled with a putrid smell...
Lu Liruan took a deep breath, bent down, and with trembling hands, aimed the knife tip at the black plastic bag.
Slide it down.
"what!"
Lu Liruan heard her own scream, the only sound in the eerily quiet night.
The contents of the bag fell out.
It's a corpse.
Good news, it's not a human corpse.
bad news……
Lu Liruan covered her mouth and swallowed the churning sensation in her throat.
It was a limp... gutted cat's corpse.
Blood soaked through the soft fur, and through the bloody mess, Lu Liruan saw the cat's face.