Chapter 1417 - Vivian Is Missing (2/2)

Everything was so messed up.

Finally, Hao Ren saw ordinary humans.

On a street that barely retained its original appearance, Hao Ren and Lily saw a few familiar faces. They were the neighbors living in Southern Suburbs.

A small grocery store facing the street had just opened its door for business. Zhao, who ran the store, laboriously pushed the old rolling door open. Sometimes the rolling door would be stuck halfway. Wu, the owner who ran a shop selling cooking oil and salt next door, helped out Zhao with the old door.

“Should have replaced the goddamn door,” Zhao said, shaking his head.

“You said that last year,” Wu retorted while rubbing his hands.

“I also said that two years ago. But what could I do? My wife said it was a waste of money. Rolling this thing up is hard work, but hey, even thief would find it too troublesome to break in.”

A few Spartans stood by the two store owners, wearing only a pair of leather pants. But strangely, the Spartans and the store owners seemed to not see each other.

Hao Ren and Lily quickly went up. They looked inquisitively at the Spartan warriors who stood, almost naked, in the cold wind. They then looked at Zhao and Wu, who seemed to be normal, trying to find some clues.

When Zhao saw Hao Ren, he said, “Hao Ren? Do you want anything? First, let me tidy up the storefront a bit. I am running a bit late today.”

The wrinkled face of the store owner still had the same smile. It seemed that nothing was wrong about him.

Zhao remained normal although a group of Spartan soldiers stood nearby, a sphinx was not far away, the jungle had swallowed half of his store at the rear, and a creature that looked like a wild boar was growling on the roof of his shop.

Lao Zhao seemed to turn a blind eye to all this.

“Uncle Zhao…” That was how Hao Ren used to address the elderly store owner as a sign of respect. Hao Ren was observing Zhao, but he did not show it on the face. He turned on his side and pointed at the Sphinx not far away. “What do you think of this sphinx?”

He suddenly felt everything around him stuck for a brief moment like a rusty gear, and then the store owner, Zhao, still with a familiar smile on his face, said to Hao Ren, “Hao Ren? Do you want anything? First, let me tidy up the storefront a bit. I am running a bit late today.”

Hao Ren again looked at the familiar old neighbor. He had observed that behind his bright smile, there was a stiffly and unfeeling scent as if a puppet. The old man that Hao Ren knew for over twenty years now appeared like a holographic image. Each strand of hair was as real as it got, but Hao Ren could sense an inorganic sense of incongruity.

Hao Ren took Lily and quickly left the place.

“Mr. Landlord, what is going on?” the husky maiden asked, feeling a little scared.

“What a shame to claim that you are a writer. Where is your imagination?” Hao Ren said without looking at Lily. “It is apparent that the real person has been replaced. Now I am afraid that except for us, some projected images have replaced these people.”

“What about the ancient people and buildings?” Lily asked as she looked around. A flying white horse was just flying past at low altitude, riding on it was a heroic Valkyrie. “And these guys from the mythology?”

“They are also a projection—with a material body,” Hao Ren said with a frown. “But I think they are more than mere projections. Have you discovered that there are more and more things like that in this messed-up space and time, while the real things are getting fewer and fewer? When we passed by a while ago, there were still a few pedestrians wearing modern clothes on the streets. But now, there are only a bunch of Ancients and monsters roaming around.”

Lily shrank her neck and stuck out her tongue. “It just so happens that Battie has also gone missing. Does all of this have something to do with her?”