90 Confrontation 1 (1/2)

Skin that shined like Gold yet had the texture of a boiled egg, limbs that were far too long and some that were far too short, eyes that were as black as the pits of hell, and features that were blurred and shifting. This was the thing that was walking up to Mao Lu.

\”So what makes you so special that you think you can cut down my pets, hmmm?\” it's voice had the weight of lead yet it droned like a ship horn.

The moment its voice met his ears Mao Lu felt as if his mind had been ripped open. His body trembled uncontrollably. And when his eyes met its eyes, he felt like his flesh was beginning to melt.

Three seemed unaware of the agony its very presence was putting Mao Lu in. One of its extremely long limbs pulled out a notepad from somewhere. It began reading it intensely before glancing up at Mao Lu again.

\”Recently instated Gatekeeper Lu….ahhhh so you're that person. You have been a Gatekeeper for less than a year, and you're the one that's having romantic relations with Chàng Bo the believed intruder into this project. I see.\” Three smirked but Its face was lopsided so the smile came out as a frown, \”I know a Four and a Five that would love to get their hands on you, but lucky for you my sponsors are different from theirs, and mine don't care what Cahir does in the 400 realms, they actually think it's good for the project. Marketing and product testing are all I care about.\”

Three was rather chatty and it's breath smelled of rotting corpses. Every time it opened its mouth the putrid smell made Mao Lu gag. The toxic fumes made him unable to comment even though his mind was going crazy after hearing the names 'Chàng Bo' and 'Cahir' in the same sentence.

Three's leg buzzed and its eyes went hazy for a second, \”Well it seems that my sponsors don't want you harmed…well I guess enough Gatekeepers have been killed for the seeds to be sewn and the Gates have gotten rid of most rotting fruits in this crop and are being recalibrated to await the new Director. Hmmm, so it's best to leave it alone.\”

Three whistled and all the black mist creatures vanished instantly.

\”Big changes are coming to the four-hundred realms, they're coming soon,\” It said excitedly before disappearing like the Creatures before it.

The moment it disappeared, the melting and burning sensations began to fade. Mao Lu was left shaken and fearful. How had all his abilities just stopped? It was as if all the laws of essence and reality in the 400 realms simply didn't apply to that thing.

What had it even been talking about?

With so many questions, Mao Lu knew that there was only one person that could answer them.

He walked up to the large doors and knocked, \”Hello, it's Gatekeeper Lu, Can you let me in?\”

....

[Realm 145, BEIJING]

\”To think they're still doing repairs, you'd think they'd be done by now?\” she mused out loud.

\”That earthquake caused a lot of damage to the city, there are many places that haven't received the repairs they need yet.\” Zhao Detong calmly explained.

\”It feels like just yesterday, that earthquake happened and Frank nearly died in that sinkhole and we were all watching it on the news, but it's been months, more than a half a year.\”

\”Yh.\” Detong agreed.

\”Is it just me or has this city gotten so much calmer, in the months leading up to Frank and Mao Lu's disappearance there was so much going on. There was the large earthquake that pretty much sunk Tiananmen, and then there was that terrorist attack.\”

\”The city hasn't got that much calmer\” Detong argued, \”why this morning there was that news about that flying car, now that was pretty crazy.\”

\”Do you think it's all linked?\” Bing Bing asked

\”What's linked?\”

\”All these weird events, Mao Lu and Frank's disappearance, the earthquakes, the terrorist attack heck even the flying car.\” Bing Bing theorised.

\”Do you hear yourself, I know you are upset about them going missing, I am too, but haven't we talked about this. It's not healthy to keep thinking about this. And you can't blame natural disasters on people. You're making connections out of nothing_.\”

\”Shhh!!!\” Bing Bing interrupted \”Look!\”

\”Look at what?\” Detong asked in exasperation, but his mouth hung open at what he saw.

On the window in front of them, the previously clear glass had suddenly gotten foggy, as if someone was breathing on it.

Then words appeared on it as if someone was writing on the foggy glass with their fingers, but… there was no one there!

What the hell?

In a few seconds, a sentence appeared.

\”Don't make any sudden movements, you're being watched and you're in danger. Follow my instructions.\”

Zhao Detong was staring at this message with a flabbergasted expression, he couldn't make any sense of this. In contrast, Fei Bing Bing was on the edge of her seat in excitement, this was what she waiting for, something, anything to happen. This might lead to the answers that she was seeking.

The message disappeared as if an invisible man had rubbed it out with their hands and soon a new message appeared.