NOVPUB78: Chapter 78: Abnormal World_1
78 -78: Abnormal World_1
“Alright, let’s move forward quickly.”
Wu Feng dusted off his clothing, shifted his backpack to his back, and urged them to move on.
As they entered the core area, Qi Xiaoshuang was astonished by the spherical space made of emerald gems before her eyes.
In the space floated a semi-transparent circular platform, connected to the entrance by a green light bridge that extended from beneath their feet to the platform.
Aloft the platform hovered a gigantic spherical emerald, wrapped with an abundance of metallic ornaments.
Rings of runes revolved around the gemstone.
Feng Yuan clutched the sickle in his hand, staring intently at the enormous gemstone.
Before he could say anything, Wu Feng, spear in hand, stepped onto the light bridge and charged toward the massive gemstone.
A ring of bright yellow light radiated from the gemstone, forming patterns that, from the perspective of the onlookers, appeared like horizontal circles.
At the center of the formation, twelve bright yellow orbs hovered, casting an ominous change over Feng Yuan’s expression.
Without hesitation, he reached out and grabbed Xiao Ji, who was hiding under his hood.
At that moment, the twelve orbs emitted a blinding white light.
“Where is this?”
“Dudu?”
Qi Chen looked around at the familiar surroundings and gently opened the door, only to see his young parents.
He didn’t know what to say.
Upon seeing Qi Chen, his mother, somewhat surprised, asked,
“Are you going somewhere with your backpack?”
“Dudu?!”
Ah Mu emerged from the backpack somewhat perplexed.
Qi Chen picked up Ah Mu and quietly sensed its presence before asking,
“Who are you?”
“What’s happened to you?”
Watching his mother approach with a worried expression, Qi Chen stepped back a few paces, rushed into his room, and locked the door.
Leaning against the door, he ignored his parents’ questions from outside and looked at Ah Mu,
“Who exactly are they…
Why…”
Qi Chen walked over to the desk, looked at the familiar objects, and laughed in nostalgia, telling Ah Mu,
“This seems to be how it was when I first started high school.
Look here, and there— you hadn’t arrived yet, so you wouldn’t know~”
“Dudu~”
Ah Mu listened with interest as Qi Chen narrated, until after a while, Qi Chen pointed to an empty spot and said,
“That’s where Xiao Shuang insisted on…”
“Dudu?”
“No, that’s not right!
Where is it?
The handmade item that Xiao Shuang hung there!
I remember it was only taken down last year after Feng Yuan accidentally broke it!”
“Dudu?!”
Qi Chen, shocked, looked around carefully and after a meticulous search, said,
“No, that’s not right!
Everything related to Xiao Shuang is gone!”
With that, Qi Chen went to the door, listening for any sounds outside.
He quietly opened it, stealthily making his way to Xiao Shuang’s bedroom door.
Taking a deep breath, he opened that door.
“How can it be…”
Seeing the clutter behind the door, Qi Chen found it unbelievable.
Slowly entering, he looked around and whispered,
“It seems to have turned into a storeroom…
What has happened…”
“Dudu?”
“Is this really a Mirage?
Why does everything feel so real…”
Qi Chen caressed the cabinet softly then suddenly struck it fiercely, creating a dent with a loud thud.
After a while, his mother’s perplexed and worried voice came from outside the door,
“Are you alright?
Is that Moomoo sprite in your arms your friend?”
“Friend…
that’s right, Feng Yuan!
That guy shouldn’t be manipulated by the Mirage!”
As if reminded of something, Qi Chen turned and dashed out of the room, running to the front door of the house.
He burst out the door, and looking at his worried mother, he didn’t care that it was already nighttime.
Holding Ah Mu in his arms, he sprinted toward the bus stop, muttering as he ran,
“At this time, Feng Yuan should be in the dormitory.
I remember he said that no Mirage can use his image, so if what he said is true…
as long as I go to school, to the dormitory, there must be a flaw in the Mirage.”
At the bus stop, Qi Chen held Ah Mu with growing impatience while waiting for the bus, which Ah Mu tried to alleviate with its tendrils by gently wiping Qi Chen’s sweat.
Looking down at his body, reverted to his high school years, Qi Chen said in confusion,
“What exactly is this power…”
On the bus, Qi Chen clutched Ah Mu tightly, watching the passing scenery to calm his nerves.
Upon arriving at the dormitory entrance, he took a deep breath and nervously walked in.
“He definitely won’t be there…”
Qi Chen nervously pulled out the keys from his pocket and opened the door.
“Eh?
Is that you, Qi Chen?
Did you forget something?”
Seeing Feng Yuan, who was drying his hair, looking at Qi Chen with a puzzled expression, Qi Chen rushed forward and grabbed Feng Yuan’s arm tightly, looking at him intently and said,
“Who exactly are you!”
“What are you doing!
If you keep this up, I won’t be polite anymore!”
Displeased, Feng Yuan pushed Qi Chen away and pulled out Sickle, pointing it at Qi Chen and said somewhat angrily.
Seeing that familiar Sickle and feeling the familiar power from it, Qi Chen stepped back in disbelief.
Feng Yuan, noticing that something seemed off with Qi Chen, put away Sickle with a puzzled look and said,
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I…”
Qi Chen turned around and sat on the bed, not knowing what to say.
Feng Yuan sighed and sat down on his own bed, quietly watching the distressed Qi Chen and then glanced at Ah Mu, who was comforting him.
After a while, feeling that Qi Chen seemed to have calmed down a bit, Feng Yuan spoke,
“Can you tell me what happened?
I really don’t hope my roommate is a lunatic~”
Looking at Feng Yuan’s familiar smile, Qi Chen didn’t know how to begin speaking.
“Got it~ Mom~ I’m going to rest now~”
Qi Xiaoshuang smiled as she appeased her parents and walked into her room, locking the door behind her.
She sighed and sat on the bed, took out her phone from her purse, turned on the phone and looked at the time displayed, then glanced at the calendar marked with a date from two years ago.
She opened her contacts, found the familiar yet annoying name and chose to call.
To Qi Xiaoshuang’s prayer, the phone was picked up,
“Hello?
Who’s this?”
Hearing the somewhat deep voice of a middle-aged woman on the other end, Qi Xiaoshuang’s heart was filled with mixed emotions.
Although she knew it was unlikely, she still forced herself to speak calmly,
“I…
I need to speak to Qi Chen…”
“Qi Chen?
You’ve got the wrong number, haven’t you?”
Qi Xiaoshuang, devastated, hung up the phone and laid on her bed, looking up at the ceiling and muttered in a low voice,
“It’s highly likely that this isn’t Mirage, I’ll go to the Second High School tomorrow to see if that guy is there…
If I can find that guy…”
“Dammit, why did this happen!”
Qi Xiaoshuang entered her dreams in panic, and in her dream, she seemed to see Qi Chen again, playing with her and her parents in the park.
At the end of the dream, Qi Chen seemed to say something before turning away, and she, in a fit of pique, walked a few steps in the opposite direction, but upon turning around, she could no longer find Qi Chen.
Qi Xiaoshuang woke up startled, rubbed her eyes, and looked at the morning sun outside the window and said softly,
“Even though I really dislike that guy…
why…”
“Is it habit…
or just a hope that family can all be together…”
Qi Xiaoshuang stood in front of the window watching the rising sun.
The sun had just risen, and the pure sky was dotted with a few white clouds.
Qi Xiaoshuang turned around to arrange her purse, took out her phone and checked the family photo, sighed, and with her backpack on, she left the room.
She greeted her mother, who was busy in the kitchen, with a full smile and vibrant energy,
“Mom~ I’m going now, I’ll buy some Xiao Long Bao to eat on the way~”
“Ah!”
Qi Xiaoshuang’s mother came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands, and seeing the closed front door, she helplessly shook her head and said,
“This child…”
Qi Xiaoshuang hurried to the bus station, caught her breath, and looked at the bus stop sign and whispered,
“I remember him saying that that guy often sleeps in, if I rush over now, I should be able to…”
With a nervous heart, Qi Xiaoshuang sat on the bus, watching the passing scenery and occasionally looking up to check the current and next stops.
Arriving at Second High School, she calmed her anxious heart and headed for the male dormitory.
“Are you here to find someone?
Come here to register.”
Qi Xiaoshuang approached the guard, wrote down her information, and after hesitating for a moment, she looked up at the guard and asked,
“Um, I wanted to ask if Qi Chen is here?”
“What Qi Chen?
I don’t know anyone by that name.
There are so many people in the dorm, how can I possibly know everyone!”
Seeing the guard’s impatient gesture, Qi Xiaoshuang sighed and turned to walk to Feng Yuan’s dormitory, hoping maybe Feng Yuan was sleeping inside.
She knocked on the dormitory door vigorously.
“Who’s there!”
A strange male voice came from inside.
Seeing the door opened by an unfamiliar man, Qi Xiaoshuang found an opening and slipped into the dormitory, and on seeing no sign of Feng Yuan in the bed, she inexplicably felt relieved.
