Lin Sanjiu swung her vibroblade violently. The Garden of Eden Laboratories had specifically designed the knife to be extendable. That swing extended the vibroblade to its maximum length at once. Lin Sanjiu swept its almost two-meter length blade at the creature, yet she felt the blade hitting nothing under the dim light. Lin Sanjiu wasn't sure if she managed to cut that thing.
There was a folklore from medieval Europe that described a tall man without any facial features. Supposedly, there were still eyewitnesses even today; people who had been stalked by him in the forest or woke up seeing him by their bed would disappear forever.
Of course, this was just some ghost story and shouldn't apply to reality.
"Because, in reality, that was not a man per se."
Lin Sanjiu's [Ability Polishing Agent] was lying on the floor, as she dropped it when she got scared. It rolled to and fro on the ground, it's light unstable. Under this unreliable, wavering light, Lin Sanjiu stopped with her knife still in her hands—because the tall man had suddenly disappeared.
With the forest around her and the darkness, the man could disappear into the forest and sneak up on her later at some unknown time. Lin Sanjiu stared in the direction where he disappeared to. Then, she quickly crouched down and reached out for the small bottle of [Ability Polishing Agent] on the ground with trembling fingers. Knowing she couldn't stay, she turned and quickly ran back down the road leading to this forest.
It wasn't that the road leading here was any safer; rather, Lin Sanjiu just happened to glance at the forest on the mountain slope in the distance while the light from her [Ability Polishing Agent] was still wavering. Above each tree was a white circular shape. Despite lacking facial features, those were unmistakably faces—and trees don't have faces.
As far as she could see, numerous tall men stood silently in the mountains, shoulder-to-shoulder, all staring at her.
Her fear intensified the glow of her [Defense Forcefield]. Her upper body radiated light, while her legs remained shrouded in darkness. However, Lin Sanjiu was too panicked to manage the flow of her Higher Consciousness and instinctively maximized her [Defense Forcefield], feeling surges of warmth in her chest as she sprinted forward.
The Bamboo Grove Mountains scenic area connected to the station's public square via a single main road, flanked by most of the hotels and residential buildings. Lin Sanjiu hurried down the mountain road, sprinting past the convenience store without noticing the cardboard standee, and halted just short of her hotel.
Catching her breath, Lin Sanjiu peered into the darkness, vigilant for any abrupt movements. The hotel lights were all out, but the window Douglas had looked from remained open. The room lay in darkness, devoid of any figures.
Old clothes, shoes, Douglas, and countless unseen watchers could be lurking anywhere. In the pervasive darkness, Lin Sanjiu's feeble light from her [Ability Polishing Agent] offered little aid, and a persistent throbbing in her head signaled the near depletion of her Higher Consciousness.
Lin Sanjiu didn't know what she would do without this little protection. She was breathing so hard now that she feared someone on another street would hear her. Yet, other than herself, the things around her seemed to be playing deaf.
"Douglas, I don't know if you have realized this," Lin Sanjiu tried her best to keep her voice steady, taking one step forward, "but you're dead. You died in the electronic store. I-I can give you a proper burial."
Her mind was in such a muddle that she even recited what she heard on TV, "I can give you a proper burial, and I will even burn paper offerings. Can you just rest in peace?"
There was still only silence around her. Lin Sanjiu wasn't sure if Douglas could hear her from the hotel—that's if he was in the hotel. Lin Sanjiu listened carefully.
Darkness clouded everything around her, but she heard nothing. Lin Sanjiu's heart pounded, and she took the opportunity to run and escape this area. However, she slowed down after just a few steps. Not far from her, there was a small little white cloth bundle lying on the floor. When Lin Sanjiu saw it, she instantly felt a burden lift from her shoulders and relaxed.
"Who threw this here?" Lin Sanjiu took a quick gasp of air and quickly bent down to pick up her Teru Teru Bozu. "Never mind; all that matters is that I got it back."
With her Teru Teru Bozu, she was no longer afraid that she would use up all her Higher Consciousness on her forcefield. She suddenly had a destination and dashed toward the train station.
As expected, as she neared the public square outside the station, Lin Sanjiu glimpsed a faint white light emanating from the station entrance. The lights within the train station were still aglow, transforming the station into a solitary beacon amidst the darkness. Attracted to the light by instinct, Lin Sanjiu instantly felt a surge of safety.
After vaulting over the gantry to the platform, she turned off her [Defense Forcefield], mindful of conserving her precious Higher Consciousness to avoid collapsing. The platform remained as she remembered: quiet, spacious, and deserted, with a display screen casting the time in red digits—it was only six in the evening. Pondering where she could find a ladder to hang her Teru Teru Bozu Defense System, Lin Sanjiu noticed something unsettling.
It was not mere paranoia. She turned her head slowly.
Beyond the train station's glass wall, Douglas stood in the darkness, smiling at her. He gestured towards the gantry, his smile broadening as he nodded at Lin Sanjiu and began approaching the platform. His feet were clad in old cloth shoes.
'Douglas is coming! Just like those students!'
Lin Sanjiu's every nerve tensed; she momentarily froze. Then, a peculiar white light illuminated the platform's far end, and suddenly, a loud rumble filled the air. As if aware of her presence, a train emerged from the tunnel, halting at the platform with its doors swinging open. Lin Sanjiu gazed at the familiar interior, the green seats, the harsh fluorescent lighting... and the same cold wind assaulted her.
'Should I get on?'
The thought had barely formed when the gantry clicked. A human silhouette loomed just out of sight.
"I'll board!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Lin Sanjiu darted into the familiar train carriage.
YOU ARE READING
Kisaragi Station || Apocalypse Paradise #3
HorrorHer skin was warm and moist when she was alive, always with a honey-colored tan. It had only been an hour, but her body had stiffened, and her skin was pale white. At first glance, one could even imagine how cold her skin would feel. Her eyes were w...
