Twisted Dreams-Chapter 174 - 146: Colliding with a Demon
The Changbai Mountain Rice Pot, a small path at the foot of the mountain.
Qian Lele, carrying a backpack and holding a camera, panted as she pushed aside the tall grass.
She slumped to the ground, rested for a while, drank some water, calmed her breathing, and mysteriously spoke to the camera:
"According to a medicine gatherer, there’s been a group of mysterious people frequently appearing at Changbai Mountain lately.
They’re wearing black suits and carrying sophisticated equipment.
I guess they belong to a mysterious department.
When I arrived, I even saw security cars blocking some main roads up the mountain.
If the medicine gatherer hadn’t told me about this small path, I wouldn’t have been able to get here at all.
Audience, can you guess what’s happening at Changbai Mountain?
Adventure female streamer, Lele, continues to report for you."
Qian Lele finished speaking, turned off the camera, swung it back onto her back, and hung a portable recorder on her chest.
This narrative was an exaggerated fabrication.
Some villagers at the foot of the mountain said that deep within the Rice Pot, a dense fog would often suddenly appear recently.
The fog is dangerous and easy to get lost in.
For safety reasons, the security bureau has started to prohibit medicine gatherers from going up the mountain.
Those people in black might be experts who specialize in investigating the fog.
However, one lucky medicine gatherer came back and said that a mysterious figure whose face couldn’t be seen clearly pointed the way for him within the fog, allowing him to safely descend the mountain.
Having experienced several abnormal events, Qian Lele believed the fog might indeed be an abnormal event related to the Spiritual Energy Revival!
Without the internet in the mountains, Qian Lele took out a compass to determine the direction and walked towards where the medicine gatherers mentioned the dense fog.
...
On the other side of Changbai Mountain, several Security Administration vehicles were parked.
"Changbai Mountain safety log, day thirty-eight.
After investigating various parts, no anomalies were found.
Today’s work task is to investigate the fog in the Changbai Mountain Rice Pot.
The fog in the Rice Pot is very suspicious; a new ruin revival cannot be ruled out."
Wei Ming said, holding a recording device.
At this time, an administrator said:
"Report!"
Wei Ming put down the device and said:
"Speak."
The administrator responded:
"Someone has entered the fog area!"
Wei Ming quickly looked at the display screen, which showed drone monitoring footage.
In the footage, a woman with a backpack was walking towards the fog’s densest part.
The woman was already near the edge of the fog. The thin fog seemed unremarkable but blocked the drone’s view.
The more the drone moved into the fog, the harder it was to control.
Wei Ming frowned in thought.
Is this a regular person, or... an Extraordinary?
Wei Ming picked up his elongated leather case and said:
"I’ll drive up there myself. If I don’t return tonight, call the bureau."
Wei Ming intended to risk the danger and check the fog personally.
Earlier, because of the attack on the Safety Management Station and the kidnapping involving the Red Skirt, he had received quite a bit of negative impact; now, he urgently needed an achievement to prove himself.
The administrator grabbed Wei Ming’s arm to stop him, advising:
"Sir, going alone is too dangerous!
Take a few brothers with you!"
Wei Ming shook his head:
"We’re not certain if there are demons in the fog yet. Why bring you along?"
The administrators are prized assets of the Security Administration and cannot be risked casually.
Wei Ming was confident in his ability to retreat safely from dangerous places.
The administrator hesitated:
"What if there really are demons there..."
A trace of resentment flashed in Wei Ming’s eyes:
"If there really are demons here, I’ll slaughter those damn Rat Demons first!"
Those despicable rats had caused him to lose face at the Security Administration; he couldn’t let them go so easily!
...
Qian Lele walked for a long time, and the fog grew denser.
Without the compass, Qian Lele would definitely have lost her way.
Passing by a small stream, Qian Lele sat on a stone at the stream’s edge to rest for a while and washed her face with a handful of stream water.
She didn’t notice that a long black shadow in the stream was quietly approaching.
At this time, Qian Lele saw something, rubbed her eyes.
On a stone in the stream was a banana peel hanging.
Qian Lele pursed her lips:
"Banana peel?
This clearly means someone was here playing.
That uncle was lying, claiming it’s a rarely visited place."
Qian Lele rolled up her pants, stepped into the water, grabbed the banana peel, and said discontentedly:
"Such a lack of public decency! How can you throw garbage in such a beautiful stream?!"
Qian Lele put the banana peel into her portable trash bag.
Her college professor had said that the most important thing for an excellent reporter is civic sense.
So Qian Lele would always take away the trash she creates when interviewing anywhere, carrying a trash bag became a habit.
Due to this action, the long black shadow in the water stopped moving.
Looking into the distance, Qian Lele muttered:
"Is it because I haven’t reached the depths of the Rice Pot yet? That’s why there are traces of tourists here?
I need to push harder. I still have to make it back before dark."
Cautiously, Qian Lele continued heading deeper into the fog.
Just after she left, ripples appeared on the water, and a huge green snake head emerged, flicking its tongue.
Master Liu’s piercing triangular eyes revealed a hint of satisfaction.
This girl is much more courteous than those monkeys.
Suddenly noticing something, Master Liu quickly opened his large mouth, and the dense fog began to disperse.
Up ahead, Qian Lele’s scream was heard.
Master Liu’s mouth curled into a human-like smile and submerged back into the water.
Still shaken, Qian Lele patted her chest; in front of her was an almost imperceptible water pit.
If the fog hadn’t suddenly dispersed, she might have fallen in. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
She murmured to herself:
"Fortunately, the fog dispersed; I must hurry."
...
Who knows how long she walked before Qian Lele reached a large grassy field.
On the grassland stood a large log cabin.
Inside the cabin came the sound of an old man’s chanting and students repeating along.
Qian Lele nearly burst into tears.
Where were the promised demons in the fog?
It was one thing to find signs of tourists by the stream, but after walking so long, she even encountered a mountain children’s classroom?
Is it possible Changbai Mountain really has no demons?
Despite the Spiritual Energy Revival, there’s still a classroom in the mountains of Changbai Mountain!
Isn’t it presumptuous?
This feeling was like an adventurer summoning the courage to explore a deadly cave, only to find villagers drying salted fish at the destination.
Qian Lele sighed, feeling it was a mistake to come to Changbai Mountain.
She picked up her water bottle to take a sip, finding it empty.
"It’s getting late too; I should ask the teacher in the school for some water, then head down the mountain."
Having made up her mind, Qian Lele walked towards the classroom.
Just as she reached the classroom wall, her peripheral vision caught something amiss.
Qian Lele swallowed nervously and cautiously approached the classroom, peeking through the window.
Her eyes widened in fear!
On the podium, an elderly blind man in a long gown was rhythmically reciting:
"The bright moonlight before my bed, perhaps frost on the ground~"
Below the podium, bears, tigers, monkeys, and even a snake coiled around the beams were rhythmically reciting along:
"The bright moonlight before my bed, perhaps frost on the ground~"
Qian Lele quickly covered her nearly screaming mouth.
A demon!
A demon!
She really encountered a demon!
At this moment, the bear sitting by the window turned its huge head, its eyes staring intently at Qian Lele.
