by N. Heller
The road was empty and devoid of pedestrians. The mountain on the left was nowhere to be seen, and there was only a flatted land in her sight. Half of the road sank into darkness. It was as if something was blocking the sun.
Lin Sanjiu turned around as she allowed her gaze to travel out. Then, she found the mountain.
The mountain had crushed all the houses around it. It looked like a massive lump that appeared out of nowhere and shrouded everything around its perimeter in its huge shadow. Its foot was deeply rooted in the ground and its edge fused with the asphalt. It looked as if it had grown out of there and was always part of the town.
The town was quiet. There was nothing to be heard but the wild m.o.a.ns and whistles of the wind coming in from the distance. It felt like a dead town.
Slowly and cautiously, she walked a few steps forward and found that there were patches of blood, now black instead of red, underneath the ruin in front of her.
Lin Sanjiu quickly rushed forward, crouched down, and used her remaining strength to lift the half-destroyed beam up from the ground. She lowered her head; she was so shocked by the scene that greeted her eyes that she almost dropped the beam back onto the ground. She stared at the spot, disbelief filling her eyes.
There was a little of what she presumed to be the brains of a human, but she couldn't be sure.
She intuitively stood up and stepped back.
A mountain had invaded the town, laid waste to rows of houses, and killed possibly half of the population, but why did all the townspeople remain so quiet?
Lin Sanjiu's brain was buzzing. She couldn't figure out what was happening, and when she turned around, she almost freaked out.
The window on the opposite house was half-curtained. On the uncurtained side, there was a pair of spectacles floating amidst the deep darkness that stared straight at her. The pair of glasses was gleaming with a strange light, and Lin Sanjiu could neither see the wearer's expression nor his full body, which was immersed entirely in the darkness.
"Rise and shine, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!"
The sudden broadcast made Lin Sanjiu jump. A layer of sweat oozed from her back as she listened. "It's now 6 o'clock in the morning, and a brand new day has started. Under the guide of Mayor Orlean, today is another positive day full of vim and vigor!"
The voice of the broadcaster she heard from the radio last night came from the speakers that were installed on the poles along the road. Lin Sanjiu was certain that these poles did not exist last night, but things were volatile and highly susceptible to change in the dream. Hence, she thought it was a normal thing.
As if they had received some kind of order, every door to the houses on the street was pushed open from the inside and people came out one after another.
The bespectacled neighbor came out of his house as well. He was all spiffed up and had his briefcase ready by his side; however, he had been sitting silently behind the window as if he were waiting for the broadcast. He gazed numbly at Lin Sanjiu, turned around, and walked towards the mountain as if he was going to work.
Didn't anybody see the mountain? Didn't anybody realize a mountain had crushed part of the town and killed tons of people? Could it be that they were all blind or something?
Then, she realized she was wrong.
Every resident saw the mountain just fine. Since it blocked their way, residents that came out from behind the mountain turned en masse into a small path when they arrived at the foot of the mountain. Lin Sanjiu was started and looked fixedly at them. It was not long before she snapped out of her trance and followed their example.
They all trailed along a path into a street, none of them speaking. Whenever Lin Sanjiu raised her head and turned around, she would see the mountain behind her, standing silhouetted against the sun.
There weren't any greens or trees on the mountain; its body rose and fell lightly as if it was breathing.
Lin Sanjiu had no idea why, but the amicable townspeople of Peanut Town suddenly changed their attitudes and became unresponsive. No one chatted along the way and nobody smiled at her. They did not even greet each other. Following the group of people, Lin Sanjiu turned left at the right corner and found that they'd made a circle and come to the other side of the mountain.
There was another group of people that had arrived at the base of the mountain much earlier than them. Lin Sanjiu wondered when they had arrived and what they were doing here. She turned her head around to see that there was a long stream of people behind her; their heads were small black dots in her sight as they all walked in this direction. The people in front of her were split into four lines. The lines kept growing longer and longer until they turned a corner and disappeared down the street.
Just as Lin Sanjiu was busy figuring out what was going on with the townspeople, a dull, almost imperceptible sound along with rhythmic gurgles came up from the mountain and slid into her ears.
Lin Sanjiu did not join the line but instead stood by the roadside and looked blankly at the mass of people at the foot of the mountain.
The first people on each line knelt before the mountain with their heads bowed low. The ones closest to her were a young couple. Both of them had jet-black hair, and similar to the other people at the forefront of the line, their bodies were curled up like frozen shrimps as they held their heads tightly against the mountain. The husband was mumbling something, but Lin Sanjiu couldn't hear it. She walked closer and then felt the people's eyes, dense and silent, fix on her.
Even as a veteran who had gone through countless battles, she still felt uncomfortable.
Be that as it may, she did not turn her head around. She continued to walk forward and stopped several steps away from the couple.
"After completing the routinized registration at the town hall," the husband's eyes were tightly shut and he stuck his head so close to the mountain, it was as if he was a humanoid lump that grew out from the mountain, "I went home at 9:45 pm. Josephine hadn't come home yet, so I decided to switch the TV open and watch Mayor Orlean's speech while waiting for her. After a while, she returned. The first sentence she said to me when she came into the house was 'It's too cold outside', to which I replied, 'I don't think it's that cold…' At around 10:30 pm, I talked to Josephine again, 'I'm sleepy, do you want to go to bed now?'..."
'What the hell?'
Lin Sanjiu felt that she was witnessing something scary, but the scene before her eyes was too confusing that she couldn't understand a thing that was happening.
The black-haired wife, who should be Josephine, began speaking after her husband finished his part.
"I stepped into my house at 10:00 pm sharp. I said 'It's too cold outside' and Mudi replied, 'I don't think it's that cold…' This part and the conversation that took place at 10:30 pm are correct, but my husband forgot to report a detail. When I arrived home at 10:00 pm as I previously stated, he was sitting on the couch with the remote controller in his hand."
Like her husband, her eyes were closed and she was mumbling to the mountain.
"I don't know what happened to him, but he was behaving strangely last night. He was watching Mayor Orlean's speech, and then he wanted to switch the channel!"
Neither of them spoke, nor did they rise to their feet. The townsfolk behind them suddenly took a step back to keep a distance away from them.
Lin Sanjiu was all at sea. Then, she saw the mountain suddenly crack asunder, and a deep hole appeared on its body. Losing his only support, Mudi fell forward. He was enwrapped by two pieces of protruding parts that looked like lips and vanished into the hole. He did not even get a chance to scream.
"The first glorious patriot of the day has been born! She is the mistress of Oak Lane No. 128, Josephine Lull."
A congratulatory voice rang out from the speaker and a great round of applause spread across the mass of folks.
Josephine remained frozen in her position. She looked surprised as a red blush crawled up her neck and to her cheeks. Nevertheless, her joy was short-lived. As a munching
and gurgling noise rang out from the mountain, all color drained from her face and she looked visibly frightened.
Lin Sanjiu forced down the gastric juice that was throwing a tantrum inside her stomach. Her shirt was drenched with the sweat that oozed out profusely from her back and she shivered when an eddy of wind blew through. Her brain became fuzzy and her thoughts thoroughly derailed. She did not know what the mountain was or where the posthuman that dreamed of it was.
It was at this time that several police officers opposite the road realized her strange behavior.
"Hey, you!" A female officer that was in her mid-thirties yelled. "What are you doing there? Get in line!"
Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath and nodded at them. She dragged herself towards one line and queued up behind an older man. Only then did she feel their hawkish gazes move away from her.
The line advanced slowly. She followed the line for a while before suddenly realizing something. Time in the dream moved in a saltatory manner rather than by gradual transitions. That's why so many things in Peanut Town could change in one night.
'So what will happen next?'
Lin Sanjiu thought for a second, but nothing concrete came into mind.
'If I could meet up with the posthuman who dreamed of this mountain, then…'
As she walked past a house, the voice of an impassioned speaker wafted from the TV to her ears. She turned her head around and, she saw a posthuman on the TV.
Chapter 755 - Three Dreams
It only took her a glance to know that the man on the TV was no ordinary man she might come across in a dream—he was a posthuman.
He stood on a podium and there was something dangerous in him that made him give the vibe of somebody who had soaked in numerous bloodbaths throughout his entire life. Compared to the rank of senators, he looked like a drop of black ink in a glass of milk. When the camera zoomed in, Lin Sanjiu saw something she was very familiar with.
A scar. A large, deep knife scar that slid from right to left on his forehead.
'Could it be that this guy replaced Mayor Orlean in my dream after our librettos connected?'
Mulling over the possibility, Lin Sanjiu glanced behind her and was taken aback.
During the period of time she had been staring at the TV, time had leaped forward again and tremendous changes once more took place in Peanut Town.
Be that as it may, it seemed that all the townsfolk in Peanut Town had to report to the mountain at 6 o'clock in the morning and register at the town hall at 9 o'clock in the evening every day, no matter how much time had passed. They were still queuing in line, heading towards the mountain. All of them, be it men or women, were dressed in matching outfits, with the only difference being the color, which was so bright it hurt her eyes.
There was bright pink, deep blue, and neon yellow, just to name a few. Their faces looked pale in contrast with their vibrantly colored clothes. Standing next to Lin Sanjiu and behind her was still the same group of people. It was just that they all looked puffier right now, with a great wealth of double chins piling on their c.h.e.s.ts. The weather was cold, and despite the chill encapsulating them, all of them were sweating profusely.
Lin Sanjiu was the thinnest among them. Even a seven years old kid was chubbier than her.
'Kid?'
The moment she saw the kid, she realized there was a ridiculous amount of kids in the crowd. The kids were slaloming in and out between the a.d.u.l.t's legs like huge rolling balls. Similar to their parents, their faces were ruddy and their breaths were puffy and fast.
She raised her head and looked ahead.
The sky was still as blue as always, but the black, balding mountain had grown at least a dozen meters taller. It cast a circle of shadows around its perimeter, consuming everything in its proximity in darkness, and any townsfolk who walked into it would be engulfed by the shadow, rendering Lin Sanjiu unable to distinguish their shirt's color.
Similar to many years ago, the air was rented with a perpetual gurgling noise, and the townspeople pressed their foreheads closely to the mountain.
There were even more police officers right now. All of them were patrolling by the roadside as they stared daggers at the residents.
Lin Sanjiu scanned the surroundings, trying to look for a way out. She was now in a dream and her abilities had become extremely unreliable. As such, she was certain that she wouldn't stand a chance against their firearms if she went off the deep without a thorough plan. She did not know what would happen to her body in real life if she was fatally injured in the dream, but she reckoned it wouldn't be something good.
"Today's breakfast is a feast." Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat when she heard the voice. She followed the voice and soon found a black-haired woman standing in line—Josephine Lull. It took her some time to recognize her, as the woman had aged a little and her body had become so rotund that she was scarcely recognizable as the woman she once was. Her green shirt was completely soaked with sweat and adhered to her fleshy back as if it were glued there.
"Thanks to Mayor Orlean, we can have such a rich life. It's really a blessing to have him as our mayor!" She wiped the sweat off her face as she talked to the man next to her. "I bet we'll be feeling hungry once we finish our report. What do you want to have for lunch? We still have seven meals to go, so we have to plan it properly… Ah, how about another feast of fried bacon and omelet?"
She was the only one speaking. Even though she was talking in gasps and with short-windedness, her voice was clear and loud. Her new husband, who had jowly cheeks, quietly listened to her blabbing without giving any positive response. Similar to his wife, he was broad in the beam.
Lin Sanjiu did not know what was happening when they were "reporting", but all of them looked extremely exhausted. They all walked with choppy steps and perpetually looked like they were about to tip forward. Their eyes were green with hunger as if they had not consumed any food for days.
Lin Sanjiu glanced at the police officers then the middle-aged woman. She suddenly had a brain wave as an idea instantly took shape in her mind. She threw herself out of the queue, tottering forward, and made herself look as if she was about to pass out. Just as the police officers raised their guns and yelled at her, the middle-aged woman arrived and was already within reach.
Quick as thought, Lin Sanjiu sprang up and pounced forward. She grabbed the kid's collar and pulled him toward her. Her strength fluctuated greatly as if it was playing roller coaster with her. She felt dizzy and her vision went dark for a second. She clutched tightly to the kid and rushed into the crowd.
"If you shoot me, I will kill this kid!" She grabbed the kid's neck and shouted in a voice laden with menace. She tried to activate her Planar World, but unfortunately, she could not do it. The knife just wouldn't appear no matter how many times she tried.
The kid was about one-years-old, but he was unbelievably heavy to carry. He did not struggle, nor did he cry out. If he weren't breathing, Lin Sanjiu might think he was just a doll. Seizing the chance as the group of police officers hesitated, she yelled at the middle-aged woman, "You! Come over here!"
According to her plan, the woman would surely come to rescue her kid and then she would use her as leverage to help her escape from here. However, little did she expect that not only did the woman not come forward, but she took a few quick steps back and took cover behind the police officers.
"If you don't come over here right now, I will kill your son!" Lin Sanjiu shouted again.
The middle-aged woman glanced at the kid in Lin Sanjiu's hand. Her gaze was cold as if she was looking at a fire hydrant on the roadside.
Lin Sanjiu stopped screaming as she realized that her plan had failed. The eyes and the response the middle-aged woman gave suggested that she did not care about her son at all.
"She is not from Peanut Town!" a chubby female police officer's eyes glowed as she shouted. "She must be one of the terrorists! She didn't even know our kids were distributed to us!"
'D
istribute…? Kid?'
However, Lin Sanjiu did not allow her bafflement to affect her too much. She snapped herself out of her thoughts and roared, "I don't care! If you don't want me to kill him, let me go now!"
The police officers looked at each other.
"Mayor Orlean has given out a clear cut order," an older police officer with ruddy cheeks glanced at the crowd and shouted at the top of his lungs, "We must eliminate our enemy, whatever it takes!"
When he looked at the crowd, Lin Sanjiu knew something bad was about to happen. The next second felt as long as an eternity. Several people beside her roared and threw themselves at her. She released the kid, threw him on the ground, and barreled into the crowd.
Then, before she knew it, a furious bout of gunshots erupted in her ears and a rush of a sulphuric smell permeated the air. As Lin Sanjiu ran forward, she lowered her head and realized there was a large patch of blood flowing on the ground. She looked over her shoulder and saw the kid falling to the ground after being shot several times.
The middle-aged woman dashed forward and stared at the kid.
In this critical moment, Lin Sanjiu's body finally awakened. Seizing the golden opportunity, she rammed the people away and rushed out a large distance in the blink of an eye. Through the wind, she vaguely heard the middle-aged woman's voice. "I've raised him for a year. Now that he is dead, will my contribution point still be counted?"
Lin Sanjiu picked up her speed again and left the crowd far behind. As she ran, she looked down the street in the hope of finding an unlocked car. However, to her dismay, she discovered that there was no vehicle in sight despite the road being filled with cars earlier on. It seemed as if every person in this town had abandoned their cars and chosen to walk.
"Hold her down!"
"Stop that intruder! She is a terrorist!"
Distant roars and shouts rolled over from the horizon like dull rumbling thunder. Lin Sanjiu did not turn around but continued to run as fast as she could towards the town hall.