A slight dizziness and vague sense of disharmony once again washed over her. At the last intersection before home, Heidi stopped, puzzled, and looked back in the direction she had come.

A thin mist covered the street, clouds pressed low on the rooftops, and the streetlights emitted a cold, dim glow. Some shadowy, swaying, and wriggling figures undulated in the fog, occasionally emitting chaotic noises that humans could barely understand, like呓语. It didn't seem out of the ordinary.

She frowned, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw a line of text carved on the wall beside her by some unknown hand. The crooked symbols made her head ache slightly.

Not far away, a stout woman stood in a doorway. Perhaps noticing Heidi standing dazed in the street, the woman cast a curious glance her way. "Good evening, do you need help?"

"...No," Heidi hesitated, then replied, "I'm fine, just a little dizzy."

"You must take care of yourself; dizziness is no small matter," the stout woman said with a kind smile. "If you're not feeling well, you can come in and sit down. I have some hot tea here."

Sensing the woman's genuine kindness, Heidi smiled and waved her hand. "Thank you for your kindness, but I'm much better now."

"Is that so? It seems breathing fresh air really helps. It's a good day today..."

Heidi nodded, thanked her politely, and looked away. Immediately afterward, she saw a stranger in a long blue coat walking out of the fog. He was carrying a package that looked heavy, walking hurriedly with a look of fear in his eyes—as if some terrible thing was chasing him in the fog. He walked while anxiously observing his surroundings, but dared not make too big a movement, as if afraid of disturbing something in the mist.

Heidi frowned instinctively and walked towards the anxious man. "Hello, sir, are you in some kind of trouble? I'm a psychiatrist..."

The man in the blue coat was startled and stopped, staring wide-eyed in Heidi's direction. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then seemed to notice something about Heidi, his eyes suddenly becoming tense and wary. He waved his hand almost rudely and turned to walk into the depths of the mist, without saying a word.

Heidi frowned in confusion, looking down at herself, feeling that she shouldn't have anything repulsive about her.

That slight dizziness and vague sense of disharmony became intense again.

A faint sense of alarm rose in Heidi's heart. Although she didn't know what she should be wary of, her spiritual senses, which had been dormant for so long, seemed to suddenly awaken. In this seemingly normal street, she gradually felt... danger and coldness.

Something... was wrong, right in her line of sight, all around her, but she had been ignoring it... those discordant things...

Heidi quietly retreated to the side of the road, cautiously observing her surroundings while silently chanting the name of Lachem. She let her hand fall, and a sharp golden spike silently slipped into her hand.

But she didn't know what kind of "enemy" this golden spike could be used against... Was there really an enemy?

The pendant on her chest emitted a slight heat, as if reminding her of something.

Heidi's gaze swept past her, and the "graffiti" that someone had carved on the wall once again caught her eye. The crooked lines writhed and trembled, suddenly taking on a readable form: "Waves, death, the temperature of fire..."

Heidi was suddenly stunned.

The roaring reason and memory, like the waves that had once disappeared from her cognition, surged over her, descending on her like death, inevitably. She began to understand, to perceive, to recognize the changes that had taken place in this world, and the panic that had been suppressed for who knew how long almost knocked her down in the first second—but years of mental training allowed her to stand firm. With an adaptation speed faster than anyone else, she forcibly maintained her reason and courage, and looked up at her surroundings.

Dark red shadows like flesh and blood permeated the night, covering all the surrounding walls and roofs. The clouds hung down like another piece of land pressing down from above. The cold light of the World Scar passed through the clouds, turning into shadows of uncertain shape, bizarre and trembling, licking and shifting like living things in the sky above the entire city. And on the mist-covered street, dazed humanoid figures swayed like walking corpses, emitting low murmurs and sobs.

A man in a gray coat walked past, holding a piece of rotten and suspicious material, stuffing it into his mouth while muttering to himself.

A bicycle with no one controlling it walked slowly down the street, the rotten wheels and chain making squeaking noises. On the seat was only a wriggling shadow the size of a human head.

From a house not far away, a huge fleshy limb emerged, the thousands of eyes at the end of the limb blinking in the fog. The horrible mass of flesh turned around, and in the cold night, those eyes looked haphazardly in every direction, but the flesh emitted a human-like voice:

"Good evening... It's a good day today..."

Heidi gasped, a coldness that could almost freeze her lungs sinking deep into her blood vessels.

She suddenly remembered the graffiti and carvings that she had been seeing on the road every day, those inexplicable disharmonies, the anxious and hurried man in the blue coat.

She remembered her mother, who was still at home!

She took a deep breath and turned to run into the misty street, rushing towards home as fast as she could—

Someone seemed to gasp softly in the mist, someone seemed to be calling her name in the distance, and the dark red, flesh-like shadows on both sides of the road writhed, trembled, gathered together, and then slowly separated to both sides in a disgusting way. Gunshots came from the next block, as if someone had caused a commotion in fear. A steam-powered walker with many eyes and mouths staggered towards her, pressure pipes cracking open like mouths, humming a strange and monotonous song.

Heidi seemed not to hear or see any of this. She shielded herself from everything that could interfere with her mind, and just ran through the entire street single-mindedly—through the fog, the light from her doorway finally appeared dimly in her vision.

She grabbed her long skirt and ran the last few dozen meters without any ladylike grace, but stopped for a moment before opening the door. She hesitated, handed the sharp "golden spike" to her left hand, and adjusted her breathing before cautiously taking out the key, unlocking the door, and turning the handle.

The door opened, and the cold, bright light of the living room shone into her eyes. Heidi saw that everything in the house seemed to be the same as usual—although some wriggling shadows could still be seen in the corners, it was at least a million times more "normal" than the street outside.

Her mother was sitting by the fireplace at the end of the living room, seemingly engrossed in reading a newspaper that had been delivered at some point.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the old woman by the fireplace looked up, a gentle smile on her face. "Heidi, you're back—was your house call successful?"

Her mother was still the same as usual, and there were no "invaders" as she had expected.

Heidi quietly breathed a sigh of relief, put away the golden spike, then straightened her face and strode towards the fireplace. "There's no time to explain, Mother. Come with me now. We have to leave this place. This area is not safe. There's something outside..."

As she spoke, she paused hesitantly.

Because her mother just had a gentle smile on her face, without any surprise or questioning—after Heidi hesitated and stopped, the old woman nodded, then got up and walked to the stairs on the other side of the fireplace.

She took out two suitcases from under the stairs.

"The necessities are all here. The shelter has basic living facilities, and the supplies are quite sufficient—Dante Wayne has always done a good job.

"Your 'medical kit' is also packed, on the table in your room. Go and get it yourself; they'll still be useful at the shelter.

"Take your revolver, take a few boxes of bullets—try not to use them, but if you have to, aim carefully. Bullets are still very effective against those fleshy things that crawl around."

As she spoke, the old woman came to the fireplace again, tiptoed slightly, and laboriously took down the old rifle hanging on the brass hook.

With a few clicks, the old woman skillfully checked the condition of the bolt, pushed the bullet into the chamber, then ejected and reloaded it.

"This is all I need. I used this when I went on picnics with your father. This old fellow is reliable, one shot for each cultist."

Heidi stared blankly at this scene, and only then gradually realized what was happening, looking at her mother in disbelief. "Mother, you... have already..."

"They were prepared when they first put up leaflets on the telephone poles. The days that followed were just waiting for you to 'wake up,'" the old woman looked up at Heidi. "It's not too bad, you didn't make me wait too long."

Heidi was speechless in astonishment for a long time, until her mother began to urge her. Only then did she finally wake up, and hurriedly agreed and ran upstairs to her room—she found the small suitcase that her mother had helped her pack on the table, as well as several cardboard boxes next to the suitcase.

Opening the cardboard box, inside were shiny golden pistol bullets—each bullet head was printed with the sacred箴言 of the god of wisdom, Lachem, in special ink:

"Let knowledge enter the mind."

Heidi looked at the golden bullets, calmed herself, hid some of the bullets in several pockets on her body, and carefully wrapped the rest and put them in the medical kit.

Having done all this, she turned and ran quickly downstairs.

"Mother, I'm ready. Let's..."

Heidi suddenly stopped on the stairs.

She saw that the door was open, and a familiar figure was standing at the entrance of the foyer.

Wearing a slightly old but clean woolen coat, wearing a monocle, and holding a pipe in his mouth.

Father was home.