Chapter 272
Chapter 272
They left the psychiatric hospital and found the surroundings shrouded in dense fog. It resembled a man-eating evil spirit, and terrified screams rang out within it from time to time.
They could vaguely make out figures that had been hanged to death beneath human-head balloons in the sky. All of Huicheng looked like the end of the world.
Xiaoshuai tried calling John, but his phone had no signal. A terrible premonition seized him. He instinctively started forward, only for young John to grab him.
“There’s something wrong with this fog. Don’t enter recklessly. We’ll pair up and hold hands, then tie our hands together with our clothes.”
They could not bind too many people together, because a large group would have trouble escaping if they encountered real danger.
But he spoke too late. After he finished, no one answered. He immediately turned and found that Liu Ye and the others had disappeared.
…
Meanwhile, Liu Ye stood holding his own human-head balloon, somewhat stunned. From his perspective, Xiaoshuai and the others had charged straight into the dense fog and immediately vanished.
“Wait for me!”
Liu Ye rushed into the fog. After walking around, he found the familiar streets completely transformed. Ruins stood everywhere, and even the ground had become warped.
Someone could enter one room and emerge to find themselves somewhere entirely different.
It was as if all of Huicheng had been dragged into the Inner World, becoming utterly disorderly and chaotic.
Liu Ye found nothing strange about it. The area near his home was like this too, so he was used to it.
The thought of home made a light bulb appear above his head. He pulled Uncle Bai’s lantern from his bundle.
He removed its outer casing and replaced it with the human-head balloon, entirely unbothered by how horrifying it looked. Then he shouted,
“I want to go to Rose Apartment!”
The human-head lantern instantly illuminated a path, and Liu Ye followed its light.
As he walked, he saw a man slipping his neck into the loop beneath a balloon, apparently trying to hang himself.
“Stop!”
Liu Ye wrapped both arms around the man’s thigh.
“Don’t give up! Life still has so many wonderful things. Why would you kill yourself?”
The man clutched his neck and struggled in midair.
You’re the one trying to kill yourself! I’m being forced!
But he could not speak. He could only reach toward Liu Ye.
Liu Ye seized his hand and said urgently,
“I’m right here. Don’t be afraid! With me here, no one can hurt you!”
The man: “…”
Then save me, damn it!
With his other hand, the man pointed at the loop around his neck and made hoarse sounds.
“What are you trying to say? Go on, I’m listening.”
“Aah!”
“I’m listening. Don’t panic. Take your time!”
“Aah!”
“Stop pointing at your neck… Oh, I understand. Your neck hurts?”
The man nodded frantically. The loop was already making his neck creak.
“If your neck hurts, go to a hospital! Why kill yourself? Are you worried about the cost? It’s fine. I’ll pay for you, all right? I know people at the hospital too. Do you know Director Jia from the old Huicheng Hospital? He used to be my boss. I’ll take you to him. He’s an excellent doctor…”
The man: “…”
Forget it. He gave up. Death was fine. He no longer wanted to look at this idiot.
Seeing him stop resisting, Liu Ye realized the man’s determination to die was truly immense. Today, he absolutely had to save him.
The man’s eyes were already rolling back when a spark suddenly floated from the Liu Ye human-head lantern lying nearby. The moment it touched the balloon, the balloon exploded.
Bang!
The man fell. Just as he tried to clutch his neck, Liu Ye stepped forward and removed both his hands.
“What are you doing?!”
The man shouted hoarsely.
“I was afraid you’d kill yourself.”
“You’re the one trying to kill yourself!”
“If you weren’t, why did you hang yourself?”
“I was forced! Couldn’t you tell?”
“Who could force you if you didn’t want to? There’s no one else here.”
“Just because no one’s here doesn’t mean I can’t be hanged… wait, that’s not what I meant!”
“You still want to hang yourself. Take this!”
Thud!
Liu Ye knocked the man unconscious with one punch. Watching foam spill from his mouth, Liu Ye wiped his brow with satisfaction. He had done another good deed.
“Hee-hee-hee…”
Liu Ye dragged the man into a nearby building. Just as he was about to continue, he heard giggling.
He stepped outside and found the Clown holding a bundle of red balloons. As the Clown walked, he tossed them into the sky.
After flying up, the balloons transformed into human heads and drifted into the distance.
“Hey! Don’t waste those balloons if you don’t want them! Give them to me!”
Liu Ye called anxiously.
The Clown: “…”
He glanced at Liu Ye, surprised that the boy was still alive and dared stand so openly before him.
Giggling, he pulled a deflated balloon from his clothes, placed it to his lips, and blew with all his strength.
The balloon became long and narrow. He pointed at it theatrically, then rapidly folded it until it became a little dog.
Liu Ye clapped excitedly.
“Amazing! Amazing!”
The next instant, a vicious smile spread across the Clown’s face. The balloon became a rotting zombie dog and lunged at Liu Ye with its bloody jaws wide.
Smack!
The wolfhound had barely reached him when Liu Ye slapped it. It exploded, spraying flesh and blood everywhere.
The Clown stared in astonishment. He had not expected his Fiend Art to be broken so easily.
Liu Ye gazed at him in amazement.
“You’re incredible! How did you do that? Can you teach me?”
If he performed this magic trick on his livestream, his fans would shower him with gifts.
The Clown looked at Liu Ye as if he were insane, then smiled again. He clenched his left hand into a fist and blew on it. A long cane appeared in his grasp.
“Aah!”
Liu Ye cupped his face as stars poured endlessly from his eyes. He immediately hugged the Clown’s leg.
“Master! You have to teach me that trick!”
The Clown: “…”
Who was his master?