C18 Old Man
"Welcome to today's morning news."
When Zhang Liang sat down at the table, the TV in the shop rang just in time.
The restless sleep throughout the night made Zhang Liang's complexion not look too good. However, he did not know whether it was because the problem with his eyes that he was so worried about had disappeared or because the Dreamland at the end of the night had touched him. In short, he seemed to be in good shape now, even better than before.
The ten hours of torture had made him hungry. Even though the few years of college had completely worn down his habit of eating breakfast, he still wanted to eat something urgently at this time.
For example...
Sand County's snacks?
Actually, he didn't have much to choose from. If he wanted to eat something better, he could only go near the food street. However, it was too far from the station. Secondly, Zhang Liang really didn't want to go to that place for a short period of time.
He knew that the owner of the bookstore had indeed become a beast, or in the words of the hunters - the Disaster Beast.
The difference was that his TransFur was extremely deformed and incomplete. From the distorted and fragile legs he saw, he could tell that even if the man's TransFur was broken, he could only be considered a disabled wild beast.
If the combat strength of an ordinary Disaster Beast was 500, then this man's combat strength would only be 250.
But no matter what, only Zhang Liang could see all of this.
He was afraid that he could not prove everything he saw to the others. This kind of feeling made him think of those mental patients who tried to explain to the people around him what he saw or something, but in the end, there was no result.
"One serving of stir-fry... Oh, just one serving of stir-fry."
The boss placed the fried powder emitting the aroma of food on the table in front of Zhang Liang and then sat on the chair next to him. He wiped the oil off his hand and watched the news on the TV.
Actually, there weren't many people eating breakfast at this time of the day. People who needed it often came early to visit. Those who didn't need it would probably meet at noon.
"Hey, hey? "The boss suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed as he stared at the television: "Isn't this... the bookstore?"
Zhang Liang, who had caught the keyword, immediately looked up. He even had a piece of fried noodles in his mouth.
The aggressive appetite disappeared in a short two seconds. Zhang Liang looked up at the TV screen and saw the host talking seriously about the strange case of the evil dog destroying the shop and the owner disappearing. For a moment, Zhang Liangxin was as calm as still water. He even wanted to laugh.
"I'm afraid... I'm living in a dream."
...
At one o'clock in the afternoon.
The vibration of his phone woke Zhang Liang up from his short sleep. The rare lazy energy crawled all over his body the moment he opened his eyes.
"I'm shocked, I'm not dreaming." He sighed and stood up facing the afternoon sun.
This hospital was not particularly famous, and there were fewer people who came to visit during this period of time. Therefore, no one came to disturb Zhang Liang during the short 40 minutes of rest time.
"Well, ward 216."
He looked at the room number in his phone's message, turned around, and walked out of the patient's family's rest area.
On the way, he occasionally ran into two caregivers. They looked at Zhang Liang with strange eyes. In their eyes, this person had a pale face and was not in good spirits. A young man with two dark circles under his eyes might be the next patient in the hospital.
In fact, there was a trace of expectation and anxiety on Zhang Liang's face. He did not hide this kind of emotion, so his current expression was very strange.
Special care unit 216.
Less than two seconds after Zhang Liang knocked on the door, he saw Zhao Soongya's face. She seemed to be in good spirits. Her originally long black hair was now tied into a simple ponytail, which was very refreshing.
"Unexpectedly punctual." Zhao Soongya said with a tone that did not know whether she was disgusted or surprised. Then she stepped aside and welcomed Zhang Liang into the room.
"Hello."
Out of courtesy as a junior, Zhang Liang bowed in the direction of the hospital bed. Then, he saw the old man that he had met before.
The moment he saw the old man's image, Zhang Liang felt his brain buzz. Fear and disgust filled his brain and heart at the same time, making him want to run away immediately.
He did not see the old man with a thin body, a bigger head, and a head full of white hair. Instead, he saw a "person" who was as thin as firewood but had a lot of black hair. What Zhang Liang could not bear the most was the old man's face.
If the female passerby he had encountered the previous night had opened Zhang Liang's "door to a new world," then... Then this one in front of me can be considered a flood from the 'New World'.
On the face that was covered in old wrinkles, there was surprisingly a large amount of coarse and exaggerated fur. They were extremely fluffy, wrapping the old man's head like weeds. No, to be precise, they were 'grown' from the old man's body. Zhang Liang had seen this kind of image countless times in Dreamland.
In Yanam, those who were infected by the TransFur Disease would usually end up like this in the end.
"Stay calm, stay calm."
Zhang Liang kept repeating in his heart: "It's just that there's something wrong with my vision... He's actually very normal."
Thinking about it, he glanced at Zhao Soongya, who was playing with her phone. It was not a big deal. Only then did Zhang Liang realize that there were also several tentacles on Zhao Soongya's face. Along with Zhao Soongya's movements and breathing, they were moving back and forth at a unique frequency.
"Oh my, Fxxk."
Zhang Liang's body trembled. This kind of close "observation" of unusual things really did not feel good. One should know that the distance between Zhao Soongya and him was less than two meters. At this time, the light in the room was quite good, so Zhang Liang could even clearly see the twisting and shape of the tentacles.
"Wait a minute, I need to go to the toilet."
In just two seconds, Zhang Liang realized that there were some things that he could not resist even if he was mentally prepared. So he suddenly stood up and walked out of the room.
The old man's laughter suddenly sounded. It sounded like he could not help but laugh. The old man, who had an extremely distorted appearance in Zhang Liang's eyes, waved his hand and said, "It seems that I have found the right person. You have also come to the right place."
"Soongya, go wash your face and rest outside for a while. I will talk to your classmate." The old man instructed. He was not very angry, but his tone was relaxed.
Zhao Soongya glared at Zhang Liang, then walked past him. Obviously, she didn't know why Zhang Liang looked at her with that kind of strange look.
Zhang Liang smiled embarrassedly, turned his body sideways and let Zhao Soongya out. However, when the two passed by each other, a "tentacle" brushed past Zhang Liang's ear.
"F * ck!"
At that moment, he cursed in his heart because he actually felt that kind of cold sensation!
He originally thought that these strange things he could see were just some sort of fantasy or information displayed by things, but he never thought that they actually had a "physical body."
Zhao Soongya naturally did not notice this at all. She casually closed the door and only Zhang Liang and her grandfather were left in the ward.
"Feel free to sit."
The old man pointed to a chair at the side and carefully took out a medicine bottle from under the pillow.
The transparent bottle was filled with white pills. There was not much, only a few digits, and the medicine bottle that contained them was even more special.
The bottles looked clean, but they were extremely old. There were many scratches on them, which could be said to be weather-beaten.
"This is..."
Zhang Liang raised his eyebrows. The shape of these white pills was very familiar. There was a clear difference between them and modern pills. There were no rules and the shapes were flat. They looked more like solid blocks made of powder.
The old man threw the pill into his mouth. Without drinking water, he swallowed the pill.
A scene that was even more horrifying than the old man's appeared. The black fur on his body started to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye, making him look like a sea urchin that was crazily shrinking.
After nearly ten seconds, Zhang Liang was unable to see the black fur anymore. Instead, it was replaced by the old man's original appearance.
"Can I take a look?"
Zhang Liang seemed to understand something and asked.
The old man nodded, then he stretched out his hand and handed the bottle with only a few pills left to him.
He picked up the bottle and carefully looked at the pills through the glass. A strong sense of familiarity immediately hit him.
"An antidote from the Healing Church?"