The God of Malice is Watching the Land: Chapter 13 Lost Dream
“…”
Hua Qiling slowly opened her eyes. In the haze, she saw that the surrounding scenery was a dilapidated ruin from the past.
“What’s going on? Where… is this?”
Hua Qiling looked around blankly. Continuous but dilapidated bungalows came into her view.
But shouldn’t she be in Yan City?
Even if Yan City turned into ruins… it shouldn’t look like this…
At this moment, she felt an unbearable sharp pain in her head, and a strange falling sensation inexplicably arose in her heart.
“Wake up, wake up…”
A strange yet somewhat familiar voice called out to her. Hua Qiling reached out, trying to grab something in this gradually darkening vision to stop the falling sensation.
“Wake up!”
The voice instantly became clear.
Hua Qiling suddenly opened her eyes.
A girl whose appearance she couldn’t see clearly stood before her, and she was lying on a simple bed.
She only felt dizzy, unable to remember anything, only a faint impression of her own name.
Besides that, it was like a blind man touching an elephant, ignorant. The deeper she probed, the more blankness she encountered.
“Today is ‘Redemption Day.’ If you sleep any longer and delay Mrs. Natalie’s affairs, you won’t be able to bear the consequences!”
Everything about “Redemption Day” appropriately appeared in Hua Qiling’s mind. She nodded, stood up, and said,
“Understood, understood… I’ll go to the manor right away to prepare…”
Prepare what?
The memories in her mind became turbulent again, and the falling sensation returned. She seemed to be on some kind of journey.
Memories were fragmented, scattered in unknown corners, mixed with some inexplicable memories.
Things that instinctively felt absurd, yet possessed a strange harmony…
A dream.
Yes, this was the feeling of a dream!
But even though Hua Qiling realized it, her dream continued, moving deeper.
In the blink of an eye, Hua Qiling had arrived at the square of a small church filled with gray mist, and standing before her was still the girl whose face she couldn’t see clearly.
“Everyone is ready, it’s your turn to pray to the Gods.”
The girl said, taking Hua Qiling’s hand.
Hua Qiling couldn’t think of resisting and was led by the girl, jogging towards the church.
She took the opportunity to look around at the nearby scenery.
Many human figures condensed within the gray mist, all kneeling on the ground.
Before she could think further, the resounding bell tolled, spreading throughout the small town.
At the same time, the mysterious girl pulled her into the small church.
—But what entered her eyes wasn’t the interior of the church.
It was a long dining table.
The bizarre dream didn’t follow any rules of reality; she was completely lost and submerged in it all.
The mysterious girl walked to the dining table and sat down, taking the seat next to the head.
On the other side, next to the head seat, were several colored pencils, and at the head seat hung a crimson strapless evening gown.
This scene felt familiar, but Hua Qiling couldn’t remember it, only a faint ripple in her heart telling her of the danger.
Just then, the mysterious girl laughed.
It was strange. Hua Qiling clearly couldn’t see her face, yet she could feel her laughing.
“Miss Luo Yan, why haven’t you come over yet? Mrs. Natalie and Little Tini… are waiting for you.”
The mysterious girl spoke, her words shocking Hua Qiling, but what terrified her even more was that the mysterious girl’s voice… was her own!
Hua Qiling looked down and saw a simple, coarse cloth dress, and cascading silver-white hair.
In this endlessly looping dream… she was Miss Luo Yan.
If she was Miss Luo Yan, then the mysterious girl in front…
Finally, the girl, as if shrouded in a mysterious veil, revealed her face, and Hua Qiling’s memory exploded at this moment.
All the scattered fragments of memory instantly converged. She remembered everything, and recognized this mysterious girl.
It was Hua Qiling herself!
…….
Hua Qiling opened her eyes, her back drenched in cold sweat, sticking to the bedsheet.
This time, what she saw was finally the real ceiling.
“Ghost Town…”
This wasn’t the first time she had such a dream. In this strange dream, her perspective kept changing.
Sometimes she was herself, sometimes she was Miss Luo Yan, or a member of the town’s ghosts…
In short, after leaving Ghost Town, Hua Qiling would occasionally fall into such strange dreams.
This was because the experience of traversing between the spiritual domain and the real world had left an indelible mark on her soul.
Fortunately, it was just a dream. Hua Qiling also had a necklace that could protect her soul, so she didn’t have to worry about further accidents.
Actually, as a “Ruin” level ability user involved in a Calamity phenomenon that even Grifres, a strong “Peril” level ability user, found difficult to handle, surviving was already lucky.
Having some aftereffects wasn’t surprising.
However…
“These dreams have been happening frequently recently…”
Hua Qiling sighed and turned her head to look out the window at the sky.
Although it was still the unchanging, dazzling starry sky, and the bright moonlight gently fell on the desk by her window, it was clear that it was late at night, far from time to get up.
But Hua Qiling no longer had the mood to continue sleeping and could only sit up.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Thinking this, Hua Qiling grabbed a coat and walked outside.
She didn’t have the habit of wearing pajamas, so she didn’t need to change clothes.
“Squeak—”
Although Hua Qiling’s status was Section Chief in the Yan City Calamity Bureau, she wasn’t someone who indulged in pleasure, so she lived in a very ordinary apartment.
However, she didn’t like living on high floors, so she used some small privileges to get a small room on the first floor.
This way, she didn’t have to take the stairs or the elevator to go in and out.
The night in Yan City was very quiet, the night scenery pleasant, and the gentle night breeze brought a hint of chill.
Hua Qiling walked alone on the empty streets, feeling a different Yan City than usual.
There was a saying from the Old Era: when night falls, the city reveals a different side.
To personify it, a city that was refined and gentle during the day might transform into a charming and seductive woman at night, wantonly displaying her nightlife.
However, Yan City wasn’t that kind of mega-city, but Hua Qiling preferred the tranquility of Yan City at night.
The quiet wind blew a few fallen leaves, gently landing on Hua Qiling’s head.
She reached up and plucked off the leaves, her mood inexplicably lightening, the burdens of the past few days seeming to lift at this moment.
“Here…”
Hua Qiling looked up and around. Unknowingly, she had walked to the edge of Yan City.
Ahead was the rebuilding District Two. The entire district had been turned into ruins by the Hyperspace Severance released by the “Ice Coffin Weapon” during the Ghost Town incident.
Nearly two years had passed, but the reconstruction work had been intermittent due to some accidents, always unable to proceed smoothly.
So even today, District Two was still extremely desolate.
Half-rebuilt buildings could be seen everywhere, and the deserted construction sites gave a sense of the end of the world.
…However, the current human world could probably be considered to be in the process of the end of the world.
Thinking of this, Hua Qiling chuckled wryly and stepped into District Two.
But just as she stepped into the range of District Two, a faint melody seemed to reach her ears, as if someone was singing.
“Who?”
Hua Qiling immediately became alert, slowing her steps, her right hand habitually resting on her waist.
Whenever, Hua Qiling always carried a portable spiritual energy pistol at her waist. Her ability, “Eagle Eye,” relied on weapons to exert its maximum effect.
The singing was very soft and faint, requiring careful listening to hear, seemingly coming from the depths of District Two.
But who would be singing in the depths of District Two?
Could it be… a Calamity?
“…”
Hua Qiling took out her communicator, but hesitated for a moment and didn’t dial.
What if it wasn’t a Calamity?
Everyone in the Calamity Response Bureau had been very tired recently. They finally got some rest. Would it be bad to disturb them over a small matter?
This thought flashed through Hua Qiling’s mind and immediately occupied all her thoughts.
Finally, Hua Qiling put down the communicator and instead loaded bullets into her pistol.
At the same time, she carefully followed the direction of the singing, walking step by step.
“Eagle Eye” activated, emerald green flames burning in her eyes, slowly probing towards the source of the singing.
In Hua Qiling’s “Eagle Eye” vision, everything was normal, only the singing remained.
“What’s going on… strange…”
Hua Qiling took a deep breath. At the same time, she had located the source of the singing, it was exactly where Ghost Town had fallen!
But… it had been so long, the Ghost Town incident had long been resolved, and the reconstruction work had been checked many times before, without finding any problems.
Why at this time…
Hua Qiling hesitated, but her hesitation didn’t last long before everything suddenly changed.
The strange singing instantly drew closer, so clear that Hua Qiling could hear it distinctly without even listening carefully, although the swirling ethereal melody contained incomprehensible human chanting.
Hua Qiling’s hair instantly stood on end. She immediately raised her pistol and aimed, but suddenly realized something even more terrifying.
It wasn’t the singing that approached her, but she who approached the singing!
Call the communicator immediately!
Hua Qiling didn’t hesitate this time, took out the communicator, and directly pressed the emergency button.
This button was used in the most critical situations. Once pressed, the central command of the Calamity Response Bureau would receive the message, immediately locate the communicator, and issue a corresponding warning.
However… nothing happened.
The communicator didn’t ring in response, no warning sounded in Yan City, everything was so quiet.
No, something was definitely wrong…
Hua Qiling’s hands trembled slightly. Suddenly, she finally realized what was wrong.
Everything, everywhere, was wrong!
She suddenly looked up, and what entered her eyes was the dazzling starry sky and the bright moonlight.
Wrong!
The dazzling starry sky had been replaced by a gloomy sky a year ago, covered by thick dark clouds that never dissipated, regardless of the weather.
The empty District Two…
Wrong!
Even during reconstruction, District Two was treated as a normal district, and there should be night patrols around.
Not to mention the rest of Yan City. Even during the night curfew, the city guards’ patrol routes wouldn’t change.
But along the way, Hua Qiling hadn’t encountered anyone.
Hua Qiling realized another, even more terrifying possibility.
She was still in a dream, but this dream had deepened to the point where she couldn’t escape.
The singing gradually approached, no, it was Hua Qiling gradually approaching the singing.
Even though she had stopped walking, the surrounding scenery was still moving.
But Hua Qiling’s “Eagle Eye” vision couldn’t see anything, even at the located source of the singing.
If this was a dream, then everything… could be explained.
Hua Qiling gave up struggling. She put away her communicator and pistol, took a deep breath, and started walking.
She walked towards the source of the singing.
Passing through the gaps between several construction sites, bypassing a giant crane, the view before Hua Qiling suddenly opened up.
Even though the scenery was vastly different, she still recognized it. This was the final resting place of Ghost Town.
Specks of starlight scattered across the empty square, reflecting a crimson evening gown, countless eyeballs dangling from its hem.
The strange and terrifying crimson gown had its back to Hua Qiling, the singing emanating from it.
“Mrs. Natalie… no, the Witch of Envy…”
After piecing together her memories, Hua Qiling realized that she was facing the Witch of Envy in her dream, using Mrs. Natalie as an avatar.
The spiritual imprint left in Ghost Town back then actually carried a trace of the Witch of Envy’s aura.
Could it be because of this… so…
The endless nightmares had been haunting her?
Seemingly sensing someone approaching, the singing gradually stopped. The crimson gown paused, then slowly turned around, looking at Hua Qiling.
When Its gaze fell upon Hua Qiling, Hua Qiling couldn’t see anything…
No, it should be said that all of Hua Qiling’s attention was drawn to those captivating eyes. Blood-red eyes embedded with dark vertical pupils filled with an evil aura, yet carrying an inexplicable charm and allure.
No one could break free from the gaze of these eyes.
“…You should wake up.”
A soft, charming voice followed.
Hua Qiling suddenly opened her eyes, her back drenched in cold sweat.
