Chapter 172#
The Hunt 23#
The girl seemed to no longer recognize anyone, reacting with extreme terror to any sound. She could only instinctively hide in Yu Feichen’s direction; perhaps because Yu Feichen had just saved her, in her subconscious, that was the only safe place.
Even if the circus could temporarily guarantee her physical safety, in such a broken mental state, she would inevitably meet her death in the subsequent stages.
Xina looked away and glanced downward, her eyes tinged with worry.
Below were the “prey” who had come seeking refuge.
Standing at a height, everyone’s behavior was visible.
Each person stood far apart from the next. Without orders or other tasks, everyone remained on high alert against one another, silent. Though they were members of the same shelter, no sense of solidarity or shared hardship was displayed between them.
Logically, it shouldn’t have been this way. As fellow kind, they should have huddled together for warmth.
But the City of Mists was just such a place; it would subtly influence one’s mind, amplifying chaotic emotions.
It made hunters infinitely insane and drowned the prey in fear.
The crazed, irrational hunters who attacked the circus during the day, and the girl currently collapsing from fear, were both perfect examples.
Moreover, as time passed, this influence would only deepen.
“What should we do?” Xina felt a bit troubled and turned her gaze toward Anfi.
If He went to comfort this girl, it would surely be very effective. Yes, He was already looking at her.
However, she saw the Doctor let out a soft sigh: “As a doctor, I often cannot stand seeing such particularly severe patients…”
The Doctor came up behind Du Sha and pressed the end of an electric wire, flickering with sparks, against the girl’s neck.
Du Sha’s body trembled under the electric shock, seemingly in pain.
Yet, simultaneously, her expression underwent a startling positive change.
From terror to gradual calm.
From scattered to focused.
From collapse to normal.
Her face and body also gradually relaxed.
Those vanishing negative emotions, however, faintly began to manifest on the Doctor’s face.
A few minutes later, the young girl looked at them with a pure smile, seeming like a completely different person, and asked, “Was it you who saved me?”
In the corner, White Pine stared dumbfoundedly and gave the Doctor a few rounds of applause.
Xina, who prided herself on being well-read and experienced, couldn’t help but join in with a couple of claps as well.
In the gaze Anfi turned toward the Doctor, Yu Feichen detected a hint of interest.
The somber expression gradually faded from the Doctor’s eyes. He withdrew the wire and smiled: “This is my ability.”
Hearing the voice, Du Sha turned her head to look behind her.
The moment she saw the Doctor, a look of terror similar to before instantly returned to her face!
With quick hands and eyes, the Doctor snapped her head back forward.
Lingering fear remained in Du Sha’s eyes.
“Doctor’s order number one: after receiving treatment, do not look directly at your attending physician,” the Doctor said gently.
However, just hearing his voice made Du Sha tremble all over, her face pale.
The Doctor instructed his two patients: “Take her further away for now.”
After moving away from there, Du Sha gradually returned to normal.
A momentary silence fell over the high platform.
Then, the Doctor formally introduced his ability.
Before entering the Eternal Night, he lived in a psychiatric hospital.
And this special piece of wire was his method of treating patients.
“Patients don’t develop problems for no reason; there must be some erroneous things interfering with their cognition,” the Doctor said.
Erroneous cognitions made patients full of fear and hostility toward a world that was originally beautiful.
When these negative emotions were directed at oneself, the patient became depressed; if directed at others, the patient became full of malice.
These things made a person go mad, bringing much distress to the patient and their family.
An even more serious situation was: if a person became a homicidal maniac or a dangerous individual due to excessive mental issues, then everyone would feel the distress.
Xina: “You use electric shocks to correct their errors?”
The Doctor replied, “Of course not.”
Adjusting his glasses, the Doctor sighed: “Mental abnormalities have their own causes for everyone; these causes are extremely complex and differ from person to person. If a doctor had to get to the root of every patient’s erroneous cognition and prescribe specific medicine, how would they have time to save all the patients?”
“…”
“So, I created a method.”
“If those negative emotions must be projected onto something, then let them all be projected onto me. That way, isn’t the patient’s problem solved? For a qualified doctor, shouldn’t digesting the patient’s fear or malice be part of the job?”
“…”
“It’s just that there are some issues with this method. First, during the transfer process and for a long time afterward, I will feel empathetic toward the patient’s inner heart.”
“Second, if the patient’s malice toward the world reaches an unimaginable level…”
As he spoke, the wire in the Doctor’s hand connected to the patient nearest to him. Amidst the harsh sound of current, the patient’s eyeballs vibrated slightly, and his pupils dilated for a moment. Once he recovered, his gaze toward the surrounding world became more normal, while his gaze toward the Doctor became more evil and crazed, as if wanting to tear him apart completely.
“At times like this, even I feel a bit troubled.”
“Third, as I do this more and more, some potential patients with particularly severe conditions will unconsciously be attracted to me, wanting to receive treatment. I think the Black Raincoat might be such a case. So, if you encounter him in the future, you must be extremely careful.”
Xina made a promise: “I will.”
She actually really wanted to know whether the Black Raincoat was friend or foe.
After all, there were currently too few people in the circus who could fight; they had to stay alert against potential powerful dangers.
At this moment, the wooden stairs let out a creaking sound as footsteps coming up were heard. It was Murphy, looking hollow-eyed and extremely sleep-deprived, yet still clutching a blackboard in his arms.
Xina: “Didn’t you go to sleep?”
Murphy said gloomily, “Thinking that you were all awake, I couldn’t fall asleep.”
“You’ve come at the right time. We were just talking about the Black Raincoat. Have you seen him?” the Doctor asked.
“Black Raincoat? I think I saw him near the canal bridge. He chased me for a bit, then left. What happened?” Murphy asked.
Xina made a long story short, introducing the Doctor’s special ability and the Black Raincoat’s pursuit to Murphy, warning him: “So, the Black Raincoat might be a crazed murderer. If you meet him, you must stay far away.”
“Really? I didn’t feel that way when I met him,” Murphy said.
Then, he thought for a moment.
“The Black Raincoat might not be a madman,” Murphy said. “One possibility cannot be ruled out: he is sane but understands your ability and has also detected the City of Mists’ influence on people. He is unwilling to be controlled by the City of Mists, so he has been searching for your trail, wanting to capture you for a rainy day.”
Xina: “?”
This convoluted and bizarre logic faintly revealed a hint of persecutory delusion, making her involuntarily think of another person’s silhouette.
“That possibility exists, yes,” the Doctor said. “But in the Eternal Night, too few people know of my ability.”
“Is it that few? I suspected you were that doctor when we were chatting on the blackboard,” Murphy said.
Doctor: “…?”
What happened to “very few people know his ability”?
“Where did you learn about it?”
“I heard someone mention it.”
The Doctor said, “Who would mention me? I’ve always been low-profile; I don’t seem like a famous person.”
“…If it’s the person I’m thinking of,” a complicated expression suddenly appeared on Xina’s face, “I’d like to call him the Census Officer of the Eternal Night.”
Murphy’s brow twitched as he returned to his small corner to resume his old trade, continuing to draw cards.
From Yu Feichen’s angle, he could just see the face of the card. it was a Princess card covered in purple bows.
What was Murphy doing?
While Yu Feichen felt puzzled, a similarly bewildered expression appeared on Murphy’s face.
The night was beautiful and quiet.
The Doctor went to sleep. He chose a secluded room and locked the door tight, but one patient was currently using a chainsaw to cut through the iron window bars, while the other patient was fumbling with some white powder under the window.
It looked like one was committing a home invasion while the other was poisoning the site, making one involuntarily worry for the Doctor’s life.
Meanwhile, White Pine was reading, Windsor was muttering over an account book, and Murphy was tiredly drawing his cards.
Xina, thinking of who-knows-what, let out a weird laugh.
This scene where everyone was slacking off somehow gave Anfi a faint sense of familiarity.
Vague memories flashed through his mind.
For instance, he was looking at a topographical map concerning some important war, when a voice suddenly piped up beside him: “I have a new inspiration.”
For instance, someone placed something in his hand, saying, “Would you like to see the income and expenditures of the Tower of Creation over the past eon?”
And then he saw a sea of bright red ink.
Vaguely, he recalled a voice with a slight mechanical quality.
“The result of the KW-37314 power structure deduction… Sorry, I’m stuck. I need three minutes to mobilize new computing resources.”
Anfi’s gaze swept coldly, coldly across the people amusing themselves.
A warning bell suddenly rang in Xina’s heart. She lightly placed her finger on the Gatling gun, making a show of aiming at the empty street ahead, pretending to be on guard.
Murphy also straightened up, drawing a relatively normal-looking card, and provided information: “A new danger will approach within five minutes.”
On the other side, after the Doctor left, Du Sha’s state returned to stability. It could be said that in the entire circus, or even the entire City of Mists, one couldn’t find a person more peaceful and serene than her.
Endless sounds flooded into her mind like a tide, but Du Sha was no longer afraid of them; she could even analyze those sounds and identify their sources.
“Many people are approaching this place, too many,” she said. “How terrifying…”
While saying “how terrifying,” her face wore a peaceful smile, as if she were strolling through a garden.
Yu Feichen: “.”
Du Sha’s current state seemed a bit more terrifying than the enemy.
He also sensed that faint movement.
The daytime enemies had been wiped out in one go, but in the streets masked by lamplight, new enemies were stirring.
With only one night and one day left until the hunt ended, time was running out; those who had been watching from the sidelines were about to make their move.
The daytime enemies were chaotic and irrational, but the upcoming enemies might not be; they had to be prepared to face a coordinated attack from those who came prepared.
Vague codes had already appeared in the blackboard chat. Four of Diamonds and Acri appeared occasionally, fishing in troubled waters.
[Little Frog]: Location WHJ, coming for a meeting?
[Master of Eternal Night]: Talk when we meet.
[Four of Diamonds]: I really want to go play at the circus. I wonder if the maze there is fun~
[Once Cruelly Abandoned by Teammates]: Fun places should obviously be visited in a group. Where do I sign up?
[Once Cruelly Abandoned a Teammate]: Shhh, we’re going quietly.
Looking at the messages on the black stone tablet, then at the people in the circus, White Pine couldn’t help but scratch his head.
After the big battle during the day, everyone in the circus was already exhausted. Can they really resist another wave of attacks?
Although… there are one, two, three… four Priests from the Tower of Creation here.
But they don’t look like they can fight very well!
Mr. Murphy didn’t bring the Arrow of Truth at all, Miss Xina seems to only know how to talk, and the Goddess of Fate’s prophecy count is nearly exhausted.
Brother Anfi isn’t known for what kind of power he wields, but he seems better at giving orders…
White Pine looked at Xina suspiciously and asked cautiously, “Are we… very certain of success?”
“Certain? There should be… some, I guess,” Xina said. “Isn’t Xiao Yu here?”
Xina suddenly felt Anfi glance at her.
Xina quickly changed her tune: “Of course, I don’t mean to make Xiao Yu do all the work alone…”
“Although Vincent and I seem like we can’t help much, for a large company to run, there aren’t just theoretical people like us. Everyone is here; our company’s hired thugs are really numerous…”
“It’s just, I don’t know where they all are right now…”
Seeing Anfi’s increasingly disdainful expression, Yu Feichen kissed his hair.
He said, “Should I go outside? Kill those who want to come first.”
Anfi slowly shook his head.
Yu Feichen suddenly felt the surrounding temperature gradually dropping.
Just at this moment, the demon wings behind Yu Feichen stretched unnaturally, then slowly vanished.
Once the time limit passed, the side effects began to take hold.
Anfi didn’t move, but the Precept Vines on his wrist reached out, gently touching the back of Yu Feichen’s hand.
The temperature had dropped to the freezing point. White Pine didn’t know what had happened, only that Brother Anfi looked exceptionally displeased.
He watched him walk toward the corner where Murphy was.
The black stone tablet beside Murphy was taken away.
Anfi picked up the quill and slowly wrote a few words on the blackboard. He paused, and the information was sent.
At this moment, in the interlacing alleys of the City of Mists.
A figure wearing a black raincoat was writing rapidly on a blackboard while muttering to himself, “The situation is okay for now. It’s not too much to slack off for five minutes, right?”
Separated by a wall, another person dressed similarly was gazing toward the circus. After watching for a while, he muttered, “Since everyone is there, nothing will happen. I might as well slack off for five minutes first.”
Then, he picked up a quill.
A few streets away, another figure in a black raincoat raised his blade and let it fall. After reaping a life, he silently vanished into the shadows of a building, resting inside for a full five minutes.
[City of Mists, I Praise Thee]: In a 007 life, only in this place can one enjoy occasional slacking off.
[Master of Eternal Night]: What time is it and you’re still slacking? Tour group registration, come quick.
Messages refreshed one by one. There was small talk, codes for group attacks on the circus, and some nonsensical gibberish with no nutritional value.
In the midst of this rapidly popping-up trash talk, an inconspicuous message suddenly appeared.
[Goodnight City of Mists]: Are you dead yet? ^ ^