"Achoo!!"
In the cold wind, Chen Yifei suddenly sneezed.
As a northerner in his previous life, Chen Yifei found the weather here somewhat unbearable—cold and damp. Despite the bright sun overhead, he couldn't feel any warmth at all.
"Make way, make way!"
A lazy voice came from the front, and Chen Yifei snapped back to attention, instinctively stepping aside to the roadside.
At the end of the road, a three-wheeler was slowly approaching. A teenager was riding the bike, with another teenager sitting on the seat behind him, accompanied by two large buckets of salt.
He scooped up salt with a spoon and sprinkled it on the frosty road. As the salt granules fell, the ice and frost on the ground gradually melted.
"Hey, Chen Yifei?" The one sprinkling salt saw Chen Yifei standing by the roadside and raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't expect to see the top student here. Didn't you go to take the Law Enforcer exam? Did you fail?"
Seeing that face, a memory surfaced in Chen Yifei's mind.
His name was Zhao Yi, a child who had grown up on the same street as Chen Yifei since childhood. However, he was naturally envious. When they were in high school, Chen Yifei's grades were excellent, and Zhao Yi's mother often compared him to Chen Yifei, making him dislike Chen Yifei no matter how he looked at him.
"I passed the written test, there's still the physical test," Chen Yifei stood by the roadside and replied casually.
"Hey hey, I wish you good luck on your exam!"
Saying this, Zhao Yi scooped up a large spoonful of salt and vigorously sprinkled it towards the roadside, accidentally hitting Chen Yifei standing by the roadside as well.
The flying salt granules covered Chen Yifei's hair and cotton robe. He never expected Zhao Yi to do such a thing. He quickly used his hand to brush off the salt granules and then turned around to glare at Zhao Yi.
At this time, Zhao Yi was already sitting on the three-wheeler, swaying away... He put one foot on the salt bucket and stuck out his tongue, making a face at Chen Yifei.
As a twenty-eight-year-old adult who had experienced the hardships of society, Chen Yifei felt somewhat annoyed and somewhat amused by such a crude prank...
However, Chen Yifei had no intention of chasing after and beating up that kid. He just silently remembered this matter in his heart. At this moment, he had more important things to do.
Chen Yifei was just preparing to take a step and continue walking when his peripheral vision caught the ground beneath his feet, and he was slightly startled.
The ice and frost that came into contact with the salt gradually melted, leaving a slight white residue on the ground. In that instant, Chen Yifei saw a line of text intertwine and form—
[Audience Expectation: 27%]
Before Chen Yifei could react, the salt granules completely melted away. What happened just now seemed like a fleeting illusion.
Chen Yifei rubbed his eyes hard and muttered to himself,
"This can't be..."
A sense of urgency arose again, and Chen Yifei couldn't help but quicken his pace, rushing straight towards the clinic.
A few minutes later, Chen Yifei pushed open the door of the clinic.
Although it was called a clinic, it was actually just a residential house on Cold Frost Street, two stories high, with a square and earthy gray appearance. It immediately reminded Chen Yifei of his rural hometown's houses.
But such a rough house was already quite decent on Cold Frost Street. At least it had two floors and could block the wind.
"It's you again." Behind the wooden table, a man wearing a white coat slightly turned his body. "Are you here to get medicine for your younger brother again? Didn't he transfer to the hospital in District Two?"
"It's not Muyu this time, it's me."
Chen Yifei's younger brother had been hospitalized here before and was quite familiar with this Dr. Lin. He walked to the desk and sat down, looking somewhat tense.
"Oh? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I... my head doesn't feel quite right."
"Do you mean a physical headache, or..."
"Recently, I seem to be experiencing hallucinations."
"Psychiatry?" Dr. Lin raised an eyebrow, seriously pushing up his black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, "That's my specialty... Tell me about your condition."
"I had a dream last night. I dreamed that I was standing on a stage, and there were many audience members below... I couldn't see their faces clearly, but they didn't seem like humans. I was running hard on the stage but could never find an exit..."
"Dream interpretation isn't within my scope of practice."
"I know." Chen Yifei took a deep breath, "But after I woke up, I always felt like... they were still watching me."
Hearing this, Dr. Lin finally became interested, "You fantasize that you're being spied on?"
"It doesn't seem like a fantasy... They seem to be in my head, sitting in the audience, observing my every move, and I'm just like a forced performer, a tool to entertain them."
"You mean your life is a stage, and you are the only protagonist on it?"
"That's the idea... But not as positive as you put it."
"What about the audience? Besides spying on you, do they do anything else?"
Chen Yifei was silent for a moment, "I don't know if it's just my illusion... They seem to be able to affect things around me."
"Affect reality? That sounds a bit far-fetched." As Dr. Lin said this, he picked up his tea cup and took a sip, then his face suddenly changed!
Puh!!
Dr. Lin spat out a mouthful of crimson blood, which splattered onto the ground.
"Dr. Lin??" Chen Yifei was startled, "Are you ill?"
"...No, that's not it." Dr. Lin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. The blood wasn't his. After pondering for a moment with a frown, his gaze fell on the tea cup at the corner of the desk...
Without knowing when, the tea cup was already filled with viscous blood.
Dr. Lin's face looked somewhat unpleasant. He clearly remembered putting a Pu'er tea bag in it just a minute ago.
During this time, there were only he and Chen Yifei in the clinic. Chen Yifei was always under his watch, so it was impossible and he had no motive to switch the tea. That full cup of blood appeared as if by magic, eerily present in it...
Chen Yifei also seemed to have thought of something, and his face turned even paler.
"Just as I said." He spoke in a raspy voice,
"They... may really exist."
Dr. Lin gazed at the cup of blood for a long time before slowly turning to look at him,
"How long has this been happening?"
"One day." Chen Yifei paused for a moment, "Since I became aware, it's only been one day."
"And before you became aware? What were you doing?"
"I..."
Suddenly, an image of him stumbling through the heavy rain last night flashed through Chen Yifei's mind, "I don't know. I can't remember clearly."
"So, you're not sure if this symptom started last night, and you have no memory before last night?"
"...Right."
"Have you been 'possessed' by a disaster?" Dr. Lin pushed up his glasses,
"Or let me ask in another way, did you encounter the intersection of the Gray Realm last night?"