Jiang Cheng didn't know how to describe his current feelings. He felt like he had entered a dark tunnel, a tunnel that was long, endlessly long, or like he had been thrown into the boundless deep sea, alone, coldly feeling the water pressure and loneliness. Jiang Cheng uncontrollably started to walk, quickening his pace, wanting to escape from here, to escape from this oppressive, maddening feeling. He even wanted to shake off his shadow, to truly live as a complete person.

But the old footsteps still echoed behind him, the muffled sound of his soles stepping on the bluestone pavement like the dying whimper of an old man, closely following him.

In a daze, Jiang Cheng had a feeling that once he was caught up by these footsteps, he would never be able to escape again. He would be grabbed again, tied up in a low, cramped room, living pathetically as an exhibit.

"Tap—"

"Tap—"

…

The footsteps behind him were getting faster and faster, and Jiang Cheng finally realized where the problem lay. This lonely sound of footsteps was not left by him at all, but by another person!

No, how could there be another person in such a world? It should be another thing, perhaps… perhaps something like himself!

Jiang Cheng ran desperately, but all he saw before him was an increasingly thick darkness, a darkness like stirred asphalt. Once you were caught in it, you could forget about getting out.

But even so, he still chose to keep running forward. He didn't know why, but it seemed that there was something in the darkness, and that thing attracted him more than living.

The darkness seemed to be another world, and that world brought him a kind of cold intimacy.

He stretched out his hand, wanting to touch that world before his face felt that strange intimacy. This was completely from his original consciousness, but the footsteps behind him were getting closer and closer, almost sticking to his back.

Just as Jiang Cheng was about to rush into the darkness, a strong arm reached out from behind him, grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him back hard.

Jiang Cheng struggled desperately, but the other party seemed to be in better physical condition than him. For a while, the two were in a stalemate, but a strong attraction also emerged from the dark in front of him, helping Jiang Cheng get rid of the pursuer behind him.

"Doctor!"

"Doctor, wake up!"

…

Familiar voices washed over Jiang Cheng's remaining consciousness like waves. After an unknown amount of time, the world in front of him cracked like a mirror, and then suddenly shattered.

When Jiang Cheng came back to his senses, he was still on that fairly prosperous street, surrounded by shops of all sizes. Although strange events occurred in the city from time to time, life still had to go on.

Seeing that Jiang Cheng had recovered, Fatty finally put his heart back in his stomach. "Doctor, what happened to you just now? I called you, but you didn't respond at all. You just kept walking forward. I thought you had found some clue, but I didn't notice anything was wrong with you until just now. Your eyes were empty."

Jiang Cheng took a few deep breaths to suppress his emotions. He had seen many strange things, but it was rare to see ghosts in broad daylight. He needed to figure out the reason. "When did you notice that something was wrong with me?"

"Just… just now." Fatty recalled, "Not long after we came out of the antique shop, you stopped talking as you walked, and then you walked faster and faster with your head down. I almost couldn't keep up with you."

"Then how did you wake me up?" Jiang Cheng wanted to confirm this.

Unexpectedly, Fatty blinked his eyes in confusion. "It's strange, no matter how I called you, you didn't respond. I tried to pull your arm, but you didn't stop. Finally, I slapped your shoulder hard and pulled you back, and you woke up after a while."

It seemed that it was basically the same as the scene he saw in the illusion. Jiang Cheng nodded and said to Fatty, "Good job, Fatty. I must have been possessed just now. If this happens again next time, slap my shoulder to stop me."

Looking back now, how terrifying was the illusion just now? If he really stepped into the black vortex in front of him, he didn't know what strange things would happen.

But the most urgent task now was not this, but to figure out what he had just experienced, and why he was possessed. They were just walking on the street, and they hadn't done anything.

Jiang Cheng gradually slowed down and began to observe the situation along the street. This street was the main street in the city, relatively prosperous. The vendors were very enthusiastic, and the taverns along the street were still lively. There were also cloth shops, grain shops, and various miscellaneous small shops. It was not easy to have such a prosperous scene in the border area.

But what Jiang Cheng cared about was not this. He walked slower and slower, and an ominous premonition gradually rose in his heart. "Fatty, how long have we been walking on this street?"

Fatty shook his big head and thought for a while before answering, "It's been a long time, at least half an hour."

Now the unease in Jiang Cheng's heart finally turned into reality. Half an hour… and there was also a period of time when Fatty was chasing him. Was this street a bit too long? After all, this was a border city, and a garrison city, not the kind of city that focused on trade. Was it necessary to build such a long commercial street?

Moreover, even if it was built, where would so many people come to stroll on the street?

So this street was fake, and these people… were all fake!

Jiang Cheng originally planned to spend some more time here to see what tricks this ghost was up to, but what happened just now had reminded him that the other party was by no means an ordinary person. Once there was a mistake, let alone him, even whether Fatty could get out would be a problem, although for the time being it seemed that the other party's target was only himself.

After thinking this through, Jiang Cheng stopped at a fork in the road. "Go this way."

Fatty was also on guard at the moment, looking at the road Jiang Cheng was pointing at, and couldn't help but ask, "This is a fork in the road, and it looks relatively narrow inside. If something really happens, I'm afraid we won't be able to move around."

"Listen to me."

After Jiang Cheng finished speaking, he took the lead to walk into the remote fork in the road. As the two figures disappeared around the corner, everyone on the street stopped what they were doing. The waiter who was serving wine, the landlady who was joking with other guests, the pedestrians on the street, the vendors bargaining, the beggars begging at the entrance of the alley… all the sounds disappeared at once, and the whole street was as quiet as death.

A few seconds later, as if a switch was flipped, everyone turned their heads at the same time, their eyes stiffly looking at the alley where Jiang Cheng and Fatty's figures disappeared.

Dozens or hundreds of eyes looked in the same direction at the same time, the scene was indescribably silent and eerie.