Song Wen's background was too strong, she could act arbitrarily regardless of what others said. Her decisions never changed and she never made unnecessary explanations. She brushed off all the contestants' protests with a cold smile, "If you have any objections to the result, you can quit the competition directly. We will not persuade you to stay. The show will go on as scheduled. As for whether Fan Garo deserves to be first place, you will know by then, and so will the audience. We don't need to do anything foolish that would damage our reputation for the sake of ratings."
"I want to see the playback of Fan Garo's sea selection. Can't you meet this request?" Chongming spoke up.
"Yeah, let's see the playback! We want to see the playback!" Everyone joined in, not caring if it would disrupt the control room's equipment.
Song Wen waved to the director, and the LED screen on the wall began to playback Fan Garo's performance. His depiction with closed eyes left everyone speechless; this was beyond just spiritual connection, it was like he was a god?
"It's fake! The program team surely reached an agreement with him in advance! He must have known which photos you'd pick, he must have known!" Chongming shouted with his eyes red. Living in the Cloud Capital for a long time, he had a narrow perspective and a narrow mind, and he grew up under the constant praise from fellow cultivators. He knew only himself and refused to acknowledge the excellence of others.
With his outburst, the other contestants also believed that this video was fake.
Song Wen couldn't be bothered with these people and simply opened the door to the recording room, driving them away, "If you don't believe, you can leave. I won't say it twice."
Thinking of the prize money, Chongming's eyes couldn't help but reveal greed and struggle, and the others hesitated as well.
Just then, Fan Garo looked up, his gaze fixed towards the group. Afuo and He Jingliang held on to his sleeves, issuing warnings:
"Don't go, he exudes a strong dark aura, he's a monster!" Afuo's definition of monster wasn't a literal one, but simply a way to classify bad people: a petty thief smells like a bad egg, a big villain like a beast carries a strong fishy smell, and those who are extremely evil exude a fog that smells like the dark night, something indescribable that could permeate the brain and every nerve, awakening every nightmare.
This was the second time he had encountered a monster. The first time, he was six years old, and everyone in their village died at the hands of that monster, but no one believed him at the time, thinking that either he had a broken nose or a broken brain.
Afuo was terrified, but still grabbed onto Fan Garo tightly, holding on strongly. If he were a big dog, his tail might have been broken from the shaking of his legs.
"Don't go, he is an abyss." He Jingliang's face was paler than ever before. Even though they were separated by four or five meters, the man's cold aura penetrated through her, stealing away all the warmth from her body. He stood in the elevator, turning the narrow space into a dark abyss, attempting to devour any prey that came near.
Song Rui could hear the words of the two, but his smile remained gentle and inviting as he held down the door button, politely and persistently waiting.
"Come in?" He didn’t even look at the two young men, just staring at Fan Jialuo.
"Okay." Fan Jialuo shook off the two men's pulls, walked into the elevator neither fast nor slow, nodded at the door, "See you next time.”
"Hey, Fan Jialuo, don't go! He's a big villain! You have to believe me!" Ahuo lay on the already closed elevator door and wailed.
He Jinglian stiffly looked around, then quickly ran to Ahuo and showed a extremely uncomfortable but had to endure expression.
As the elevator slowly descended, Fan Jialuo looked up at the ceiling, his eyes shining with delight until Ahuo's wailing completely disappeared above, then he lightly laughed, "Very interesting two little friends. However," he lightly laid his palm on Song Rui's back, his voice instantly becoming much deeper, "You should stop, you are destroying yourself."
Song Rui subconsciously tensed his body, but did not feel the expected pain. Instead, the light touch took away all the discomfort. A cool sensation slowly flowed into his wounds, then up to his scalp, soothing every nerve and every cell.
He took a deep breath secretly and asked, "I have always wanted to know, what do you see of me? Am I truly a bottomless abyss of darkness in your eyes?"
Fan Jialuo only glanced at him casually but somehow suddenly fixed his gaze, his thin lips slowly pursing straight, showing a rare puzzled expression, "I don't know how to describe it, the darkness still exists, but there is light, a very faint one, fluctuating, like…"
He brought his fingers together and lightly touched the underside of Song Rui's jaw, making him turn his face completely towards him. He stared earnestly and carefully, then pondered, "Like a star has lit up."
"A star?" Song Rui was stunned, repeating, "Are you sure it's a star?"
Fan Jialuo looked straight into his fluctuating eyes, assuredly said, "Yes, it's a star. A star has lit up in the abyss, it's really unimaginable!" He seemed to find it very interesting, so his smile became much brighter, showing a bit of innocence, like a carefree youth.
Song Rui guessed that he must be quite young, at least much younger than the body he currently had, so he also smiled along.
Song Rui was only troubled by curiosity for a few seconds and suddenly whispered, "Yes, there is indeed a star."
Fan Jialuo looked at him in surprise, "Do you know what it is?"
"I do," Song Rui nodded with a smile but refused to say more.
Fan Jialuo restrained himself, but couldn't help it, so he asked, "What is it after all? I'm very curious."
Song Rui's smile became more sincere, "I'm curious about it too. When I truly understand it, I will tell you."
Fan Jialuo looked at him fixedly for a few moments and realized that he was really going to keep this secret, so he waved his hand, wrinkled his nose, and left in a somewhat disappointed manner.
Song Rui watched his car drive away, then took out his phone to make a call, which was quickly answered, but the tone sounded despondent, "Why did you suddenly remember to call me? Have you finished the profile I asked you to do?"
Song Rui: "The data has been sent to your inbox, have you found any leads yet?"
Zhuang Zhen: "No, I haven't found any useful clues. The forensics technology at that time and now are incomparable. I can only rely on your profiles to find suspects. But the population turnover here is very severe, people come and go from all over the place, and for a while, we can't find those people from the past. Xiaofei hasn't slept for more than a week. If we can't solve the case, I'm afraid he will collapse."
Song Rui looked towards the exit of the parking lot, where a bright light was shining, driving away all the darkness. He pursed his lips and smiled seriously, "If it's really not possible, I suggest you seek Fan Jialuo's help. He might be your last hope."
Zhuang Zhen questioned seriously, "Why are you also so naive like Xiaofei? How could mediumship be real? People even say you can read minds, why don't you call yourself a medium? I, Zhuang Zhen, will never seek help from spirits in my entire life, it's irresponsible to the victims and their families."
"Well then." Song Rui smiled meaningfully, "Let's talk about something lighter. My cousin has recently filmed a reality show called 'The World of Wonders', and I'm a judge on the show. If you have time, you can watch and relax, help my cousin increase the ratings."
"Huh? You're still doing shows? I thought you hated showing off?" Zhuang Zhen was very surprised.
"The show is very interesting, I had a very pleasant time recording today. You get busy, I'm driving now." Song Rui smiled and hung up the phone.
Fan Jialuo returned to Moon Bay Community close to midnight. The summer wind whistled through the gaps between buildings, making a crying sound, but the crying in Building 1 was even more miserable than the howling of the wind.
On the fourth floor, a woman was being beaten by her family, her incessant pleas sounded as if they were soaked in blood, utterly helpless; the seventh floor was silent, but in the next moment, a loud bang erupted, as if even the walls collapsed. The anti-theft door on the fourteenth floor was cracked and tattered, and the timid owner didn't dare to come back...
When Fan Jialuo climbed to the seventeenth floor, he suddenly stopped and stared at the dim corner where a small beast usually hid. His luminous eyes gradually turned thick and black, absorbing all emotions. He gazed for a long time, standing for a long time, then continued to climb, his originally deft footsteps somewhat heavy.
He lay in the bathtub, soaking in cold water, sinking into a deep sleep. The clear water gradually turned into ink as time passed, and the ink near his skin was absorbed cleanly. After about twenty minutes of sleep, he suddenly opened his eyes, half-sitting up against the bathtub, frowned with delicate brows, pursed with crimson lips, helplessly looking towards a certain corner of the bathroom, a childlike expression showing a bit of helplessness.
"Come." His clear voice was compressed by the confined space, sounding even colder and sharper.
The room was empty, but he stretched out his slender fingertips and pointed to the empty space. A drop of black water stained his pale fingernail, then slid along the graceful curve, not falling, but disappearing at the edge of his fingertip, as if being sucked by an invisible mouth.
A few seconds later, a mist gradually formed, from light to deep, from faint to thick, from gray to black, gradually condensing into a thin and weak human form. The figure had no features, only clutching a pair of short hands, shaking a pair of thin legs, standing in place anxiously. He seemed to want to get closer, but was afraid of the ice-cold bathtub filled with black water.
"Let me see what really happened to you." Fan Jialuo's fingertip still hung in the air.
The misty figure quickly moved a few steps closer and pressed its forehead against it.
Fan Jialuo closed his eyes and felt it, his helpless expression now completely turned into utter indifference. He saw a filthy and disorderly home, with clothes piled up on the balcony, moldy and smelly dishes in the sink, and a mess of chairs and delivery packages on the floor.
A drunken man opened the door with the key, swayed into the living room, but stumbled on a delivery package, almost falling. A little boy hurriedly ran over to help, looking timid, silently calling "dad."
The man glared at the little boy, his crimson eyes flashing with a menacing light. When the boy backed away in fear, he suddenly kicked him hard, cursing, "You damned burden! This home would be better off without you!"
After cursing, the man collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep. As time passed, the boy, who had been kicked in the abdomen, lay on the floor without moving. He didn't have time to shout, to avoid, or to struggle, and silently passed away.
Fan Jialuo withdrew his fingertip and looked at the misty figure expressionlessly.
The misty figure twisted its small body, waved its little hands, seeming to earnestly beg for something.
Fan Jialuo sighed, "Who doesn't want to live? But you are already dead."
The misty figure exhaled a fainter mist, then slipped into the corner between the bathtub and the toilet, sealing itself off.
The wind outside whistled, and the bathroom intermittently echoed with a low sob, restrained yet confused. He was still too young, he hadn't even had a chance to grow up, and he didn't even know what death meant. The desire for life was burning in his soul, always preventing him from dissipating in this place filled with malevolence.
Fan Jialuo covered his aching forehead and lay back in the bathtub, trying to close his eyes, but sat up again after tens of minutes, propping his chin, pondering seriously for a while, and sighing, "In that case, let's try, since I have long since been reduced to mere dust and bones."