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墨書 Inktalez
"Who would have thought that American Guy has such an appetite for Heimanluo?" Fatty teased without missing a beat.
Indeed, the loud sound of swallowing came from Jack. But I believed it stemmed from fear; everyone just expresses it differently. For instance, I felt my throat go dry.
"Is it coming down?" Jack's trembling voice reminded me of a startled bird.
"Yes." "No."
Fatty and I provided completely opposite answers, leaving the three of us in shock.
"What’s going on?" Jack looked at me with terror and helplessness. He had no hope of getting information from Fatty.
"What the hell is happening!" Like a megaphone, I relayed Jack's confused words to Fatty, though I changed the tone.
Unlike Jack, my disbelief was more about being unable to accept the situation rather than being clueless. Because during my fall, I had seen Heimanluo; it was above me, standing over the abyss and looking down at me, inviting me. There was no way I could believe it would appear below me.
"I need to make sure you really want to know. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t tell a second person even if you killed me," Fatty said, staring at me with an unusual seriousness.
I nodded.
Fatty's face turned towards me as he extended a finger pointing at Jack. "Close your ears automatically."
Jack responded by flipping him the bird.
"American Guy, that finger of yours is broken," Fatty maintained his stance. "I heard you Americans can insure body parts. Did you get insurance for it? If you did, congratulations, you're about to make a fortune."
I worried that Fatty might suddenly explode; he wouldn't hold back against Jack. It wouldn't surprise me if he broke not just a finger but even a neck.
"Focus!" I said in an unusually stern tone.
I noticed Fatty's chest rising and falling significantly, likely taking a silent deep breath. My heart raced in sync with his heaving chest. Whatever was about to come out of Fatty's mouth must be quite intense; I worried about my own heart's capacity to handle it.
"At that moment, I felt the wind blowing on my face, but it wasn't enough to keep my eyes shut. It was as if the wind was cradling my body, and my descent noticeably slowed down. I had no idea how much longer it would last. But I hoped to land in a place where I could survive or at least die quickly. You know, I can't accept a half-dead state. So my eyes stayed fixed below."
"You were looking for a meat cushion," I summarized for Fatty, glancing at Jack discreetly.
Fatty knew that Jack was falling in front of him; the only thing that could serve as a meat cushion was Jack himself. And I believed that under those circumstances, he could only look for Jack as his cushion. A quick death? That was pure nonsense to Fatty. He believed that living poorly was better than dying well; as long as there was a glimmer of hope, he wouldn't choose death.
"Don't interrupt me!" Fatty snapped with an unusual seriousness and intensity.
"My flashlight was still on, shining brightly. I hoped to see the ground before my body hit it. But instead, I first saw Heimanluo. I couldn't see his face; he was maintaining the same posture as me, carefully looking down, as if there was something or someone below."
I was completely bewildered at that moment, desperately holding my breath. It seemed that even the sound of my breathing could attract its attention. From this, you can imagine how close I was to it.
The problem was that it had appeared suddenly. I had been staring downwards, and whether it was dark or hazy in front of me, within the beam of the flashlight, I hadn’t seen anything. Then that creature suddenly emerged right in front of me; the fact that I hadn’t scared it away was a testament to my courage.
At this point, goosebumps rose on my skin. If it were anyone else, like Fatty, I would have probably rolled my eyes and fainted on the spot. Even if they didn’t pass out immediately, there was no way they could remain calm like Fatty did; screaming was inevitable.
While Fatty took a moment to catch his breath, I cautiously asked, “How close were you to it?”
Fatty’s face twitched slightly. “It was as eerie as it gets.”
“Bro, I’m asking about the distance between you and Heimanluo, not anything else.”
Fatty ignored my question and stared directly at me. However, I felt as if he could see right through me; his gaze seemed to focus on the stone wall behind me. I resisted the awkward urge to turn around and instead locked eyes with Fatty’s unfocused stare.
“It was very close; I could reach out and touch it.”
His words nearly scared the life out of me.
“But it also felt very far away—like it wasn’t real. That creature in front of me seemed less like a real thing and more like some kind of three-dimensional projection.”
Fatty’s words made me think his mind was even more chaotic than mine. Regardless of whether what he saw was real or not, he should at least be able to judge the distance; things right in front of you versus those ten meters away should be distinguishable from both a visual and perspective standpoint. There should be no way to confuse near and far.
"The scene I witnessed was quite eerie. I can only describe what I saw and how I felt; don't expect me to explain it, that's beyond my ability. My flashlight was clenched in my mouth, illuminating the back of the person below me. The light did not penetrate that person.
You see, if the person below was a three-dimensional projection, the flashlight would have passed through it.
But strangely enough, I felt as if the flashlight, while not penetrating it, also wasn't shining on it because when the light hit it, it didn't increase its clarity. How could that be?"
Fatty furrowed his brow, the flesh on his face wrinkling in various degrees. It seemed explaining that phenomenon was quite a task for him.
"It was as if the flashlight suddenly vanished before making contact with the person below."
"What exactly did you see? Was it Heimanluo or a person? Your description is very confusing," Jack finally couldn't hold back and asked.
I thought to myself that only I could clearly understand Fatty's words. Jack hadn't seen the moment when Heimanluo transformed into Fatty, so he couldn't grasp that what Fatty referred to as Heimanluo and 'that person' were indeed the same entity.
Of course, I didn't expect Fatty to respond to Jack. I briefly recounted to Jack the last scene I witnessed with Fatty regarding Heimanluo. To help Fatty understand my feelings, I also shared with him what I saw after falling off the cliff—the scene at the cliff's edge where Heimanluo had appeared after he saw it.
Though this might confuse him further, I had to reveal the truth and compile all the firsthand experiences to piece together a true image of the original event.
After hearing my account, Fatty was predictably bewildered.
After a long pause, Fatty shook his hefty head. "Forget it; I can't make heads or tails of this. I'll stick to my own experiences and see if you can uncover any truth from them."
"Was that person or Heimanluo exactly like you?" My explanation did not satisfy Jack; he continued to press Fatty for answers.
"I can't see its face," Fatty said coldly to Jack.
"What about its figure?" Jack exaggeratedly gestured to mimic Fatty's size.
"Exactly the same, even the clothes are identical."
"Alright, you continue." (To Be Continued.)
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