PFC Chapter 392 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (3)
Chapter 392 "Infecting the World" - Male Mother (3)
"La la la la—" Lu Liruan took a shower in a good mood, humming a song.
As I came out, a cool breeze blew in through the screen window, landing on my still-damp skin, which felt exceptionally refreshing.
"call--"
Lu Liruan dried her hair, then went to the kitchen to find a spoon and ate half a chilled watermelon.
“Click, click.”
Lu Liruan pressed the switch twice, but the kitchen light wouldn't turn on.
"broken?"
Lu Liruan turned on her phone's flashlight, squinted, and looked up at the kitchen ceiling light.
She didn't understand either, and didn't know where the problem lay.
"Why does everything look so old?"
Lu Liruan hadn't been living here long when the balcony light broke. Two of the wooden bed boards were broken, and she had to buy new boards and piece them back together herself.
Now the kitchen light is broken again...
Using the light of her flashlight, Lu Liruan found the spoon, took the watermelon out of the refrigerator, and returned to the living room.
I randomly turn on a variety show and watch it half-heartedly.
The watermelon has a sandy texture and is very sweet.
The wind outside the window picked up a bit, causing the thin screen to bulge forward and backward.
What will the temperature be tomorrow...?
Lu Liruan muttered to herself as she switched to the weather app interface.
Tomorrow's low will be 23 degrees Celsius and the high will be 34 degrees Celsius.
So hot……
How about we stay up all night tonight and then sleep through the night tomorrow?
Lu Liruan thought with a sense of despair.
Or find a shopping mall or a library to enjoy the air conditioning.
Lu Liruan saw another value displayed on the screen.
The current perceived temperature is 28 degrees Celsius.
Lu Liruan shivered as another gust of wind blew...
Where can I find 28 degrees Celsius?
Eighteen degrees is more like it.
Lu Liruan stuffed another bite of watermelon into her mouth. The weather was really strange; it was so hot during the day, but at night it felt like autumn had suddenly arrived.
After eating more than half of the watermelon, Lu Liruan couldn't eat the rest. She covered it with plastic wrap and put it back in the refrigerator.
"Dang——dang——dang——"
The clock struck ten.
The variety show on my phone had just finished airing.
It's getting really cold.
Although Lu Liruan's rented apartment was small, it had a north-south orientation. Tonight, a northerly wind was blowing, and the draft was blowing through the living room to the kitchen, making it increasingly bright.
"Depend on!"
Lu Liruan walked into the kitchen in the dark. Just as she was about to push the window behind the screen window closed, a dark shadow the size of half a palm suddenly flew out from the corner outside the screen window!
Lu Liruan trembled in fright!
It looks like a moth.
Lu Liruan didn't like summer, and she hated all sorts of vibrant insects that roamed around in the summer.
Close one window, and the wind stops blowing.
The kitchen window is close to the range hood. Lu Liruan couldn't see clearly just now and didn't know where she touched. Her palm felt sticky.
very disgusting.
So I quickly went to the bathroom to wash up.
"Hiss—hiss—hiss—"
The sound of friction came from the lower part of the security door.
The sound of rushing water couldn't mask it.
Lu Liruan slammed the tap shut, and the water flow stopped abruptly.
"Hiss-"
The sound rang out again.
"what?"
The variety show stopped playing after it finished, and there was no sound downstairs either. At this time, people who were playing with their children or doing square dancing had all gone home.
It was normally quiet, but Lu Liruan suddenly felt: It's too quiet! How can it be so quiet!
It was so quiet it was like a vacuum had been drawn out!
Today, it wasn't just the sound of friction; the source of the sound seemed to have jumped up and lightly tapped the middle of the door.
"Boom-"
Lu Liruan walked over and kicked the door.
It emitted a dull thud.
Lu Liruan is not a timid person. She started venturing into society at a very young age, so how could she not have some courage?
The burdens of life fell on her shoulders early on. More than fearing the monsters in ghost movies and stories, Lu Liruan was afraid of not having money.
"Go away—don't make a scene at my door!" Lu Liruan shooed them away through the door.
Just like yesterday, the cat was rubbing against and jumping around in front of its own door.
There's nothing wrong with my door, so why does this cat keep coming here every day?
Lu Liruan thought to herself.
If I weren't worried that if I opened the door, the noisy cat outside might rush into my room, which would be even more difficult to deal with.
Lu Liruan wanted to open the door and see what kind of cat it was.
Could it be the one in the bushes?
What, are you following me?
Am I really that charming? I'm like catnip among humans, and now a cat is stalking me...
Lu Liruan was lost in thought, amusing herself with her own amusement.
"Pat-pat—" Two more soft knocks. Lu Liruan was leaning against the door and felt the door shake twice.
"Go!" Lu Liruan slapped her twice more forcefully.
"Meow--"
"Meow meow meow--"
Sure enough, there was another meow, a long, angry howl.
This time, we went upstairs and further away.
They won't go and cause trouble at the door of that tired office worker's house on the sixth floor, will they?
Going to work is stressful enough.
We shouldn't scare him, should we?
Lu Liruan subconsciously thought about it, then felt that it had nothing to do with her...
Lu Liruan returned to her bedroom and turned on a variety show, deciding to stay up all night.
Ideally, I can sleep until noon tomorrow, so I can avoid half a day of heat.
The bedroom door was ajar. Lu Liruan wasn't wearing headphones, and cheerful sounds from a variety show were coming from her phone.
She didn't know how long she had been looking at the screen, but the routine she had developed for work made her eyelids start to droop.
"Da da da--"
The sound was so faint, yet it felt like a sudden electric shock to Lu Liruan, snapping the first string in her mind.
Instantly awake.
Lu Liruan had no idea how she stumbled and staggered from the bed to the door.
As if the events of yesterday were playing in reverse, Lu Liruan looked out through the peephole.
White shirt, black suit, black gloves.
He walked down the stairs silently, head down, the black plastic bag in his hand swaying precariously...
The bag seemed heavier than yesterday, and the shoulder he was carrying was weighed down a little.
He was really fair-skinned; the yellow light shining on his skin gave off a cold feeling. He was thin and slender, like he had been cut out of paper.
For some reason, an idea suddenly popped into Lu Liruan's mind.
He always wears this outfit...
Is it because when he was cut out and transformed into a human through magic, this was the outfit he was dressed in?
Shake your head to banish this absurd thought from your mind.
Although she was fully conscious, Lu Liruan was still very sleepy.
So trapped that I didn’t even see him disappear around the corner of the corridor.
"Well--"
Lu Liruan rubbed her eyes hard until they hurt a little. When she looked out again, the motion-sensor lights in the corridor had already gone out.
What on earth did he go to do?
He had already left the house that evening.
What exactly is in that black plastic bag?
When Lu Liruan returned to the bedroom, she did not close the bedroom door.
I didn't continue watching variety shows.
I was thinking of waiting to hear when he would come back.
"Da da da--"
When I opened my eyes again, it was bright outside once more.
Lu Liruan couldn't tell whether she had actually heard his footsteps as he returned.
I dreamt about it.
The rhythm of his footsteps was so regular, it was almost eerie.
The high temperature and brightness of the daytime seemed to mock Lu Liruan's paranoia.
Today's temperature has made the leaves on the trees look oily and even shinier.
Lu Liruan's face was also glistening, and the sweat on the tip of her nose hadn't gone away.
Lu Liruan checked the navigation on her phone, intending to find the nearest KFC or McDonald's to enjoy the air conditioning and solve her meal problem.
But upon closer inspection, the nearest one was over three kilometers away.
Just imagine this weather; riding a shared bike, the wind blowing in your face must feel like the hot air from an incinerator.
Lu Liruan decided to order takeout.
The delivery guy arrived very slowly, even late, but for some reason, the app didn't offer any compensation reminders for the late delivery.
Lu Liruan didn't pursue the matter further; after all, no one has an easy time working in this weather.
When the door was finally knocked on, Lu Liruan opened it and saw the delivery guy holding a food bag in one hand and a piece of cardboard in the other. He was fanning himself with his face flushed red, looking like he was about to suffer from heatstroke.
"Why don't you come in and wash your face?" Lu Liruan felt quite guilty because of his appearance.
"No, it's nothing... Your meal, and this place, why is it so hard to find? I rode my bike around here several times, and I called you several times but couldn't get through..."
"No." Lu Liruan was puzzled. She tapped her phone screen and there really were no missed calls.
She showed the screen to the young man.
The deliveryman was also puzzled: "Is it a signal problem? Yes, it shows that it is dialing, but there is no dial tone at all."
"Maybe……"
Lu Liruan glanced at her full signal and didn't argue.
Before closing the door, Lu Liruan suddenly remembered something and looked down.
The friction marks on that piece of dust have become larger...
Lu Liruan ordered two wraps, one to eat now and the other to put in the refrigerator.
Unappetizing.
Lu Liruan absentmindedly munched on her food while checking the backend of her job search app.
No news.
I submitted several job applications yesterday.
The HR representatives on the other end all showed "read," but none of them replied to me.
"Didn't they say it was open to both men and women...?"
Lu Liruan sighed, guessing that the night shift security guard probably still preferred a man.
I'm browsing the page again.
Lu Liruan sent her resume to several milk tea shops today.
Shaking milk tea always smells better than making hot pot.
Lu Liruan leaned back on the sofa, playing a hybrid version of Plants vs. Zombies.
Seeing the zombie with three pea shooters on its head swaying towards it, it was clear that the other zombie was walking towards it.
Lu Liruan angrily closed the game.
Let's play a game.
Not only is the mission making no progress, but there's also no clue as to where the progress is headed.
Lu Liruan had never felt so helpless.
Am I really willing to be a useless person who becomes useless without system prompts?
Yes.
I can't very well go out into the street and hold up a sign that says: "Looking for my long-lost younger brother."
Is this the method you use to find people?
Other people searching for their relatives even have photos, but I only know their names.
It's so hot I want to swear.
Lu Liruan lay on her back on the bed, trying to calm herself down.
At 10 p.m., when the clock struck, Lu Liruan paused in her phone play and subconsciously looked toward the door.
No sound.
After a while, there was still no sound.
Lu Liruan felt that she was being paranoid.
But her idea wasn't finished yet...
"Hiss—hiss—hiss—"
Lu Liruan walked over.
He yanked the door open: "Go!"
She used her foot to block the opening, preventing the cat from jumping in.
But nothing.
Lu Liruan saw nothing.
Ran?
So fast?
Lu Liruan slammed the door shut again, not noticing the few blurry red patches on the outside door, below the knee.
Startled by Lu Liruan closing the door, it slowly...flowed downwards, leaving several winding, viscous streaks.
after awhile.
"Da da da--"
A gust of wind blew in through the window, ruffling Lu Liruan's hair and tickling her neck.
Lu Liruan pulled off her hair tie and casually tightened it again.
He pressed his ear against the door.
I counted them in my head.
He should have left through the stairwell.
Lu Liruan rushed to the kitchen, which had a window facing the yard.
But there was an old-fashioned wooden frame blocking the view outside the window.
Lu Liruan didn't dare to open the window too obviously, so she squinted one eye through the gap in the wooden planks and stared intently.
The man in the black suit finally came into view.
He was the only one in the courtyard.
He carried a black plastic bag, walked out of the halo of a street lamp into the darkness, and reappeared in the halo of the next street lamp, like a fleeting, out-of-frame appearance.
The half-squatting posture made Lu Liruan's legs ache. She always stared with one eye, and when she looked elsewhere, there was a difference in light and dark colors in the field of vision of her two eyes, as if she was seeing different worlds.
The man returned just as Lu Liruan was getting her eyes replaced for the third time.
Once again, like a frame drop, it flashed back from under a few streetlights.
Then "da-da-da-da-"
When Lu Liruan looked through the peephole again, the black garbage bag in his hand was gone.
Lu Liruan didn't know why she was so interested in him.
For a fleeting moment, Lu Liruan desperately wanted to know what was in that trash bag.
The thought, and even now, of going out to rummage through garbage dumps evokes a strange curiosity and fervor.
The 11 o'clock chime sounded.
After the echoes of the bells faded, Lu Liruan carefully and silently pressed the doorknob and pushed the door open again.
There was still a rusty smell in the hallway.
Perhaps it's because the stair railing has been there for too long, the paint on it has peeled off, and you can't help but accidentally get some on your hands or clothes, leaving a reddish-orange smell of rust.
Lu Liruan found that she was spending more and more time thinking about the man upstairs.
Last night, I saw his face in my dream.
When she woke up, it was already noon. Lu Liruan raised her hand and touched the sticky sweat stains on her neck and chest.
No, I want to understand.
I must figure this out!
The daytime seemed to have lost its meaning. Every time she came to her senses, Lu Liruan realized that she was just waiting for the night to end.
When everything happened again tonight, Lu Liruan even felt a little expectant.
Fourth floor, third floor, second floor.
First floor...
Lu Liruan was thinking to herself when she suddenly pushed the door open.
They ran down the road stealthily yet quickly.
She dared not disturb the motion-activated lights on the floors below.
They didn't see the dark red drag marks on the ground.
She stepped on it without even realizing it.
One kick, two kicks.
Red footprints.
Peeking out of the stairwell, the cool, damp air with its plant-scented scent, unique to summer nights, instantly refreshed me.
Lu Liruan saw that the man walked to the second street lamp, and the black bag in his hand turned into two.
One big and one small.
Lu Liruan darted into the sheltered area beside the flower bed in the yard, and stared intently at the man's back through the gaps in the plants.
Peeping, using only one eye.
Lu Liruan heard her own heavy breathing...
I really want to—