chapter_002 : The Cat's Eye

"Violet, you can help look into the person named Gary. I'll go to the outskirts to find Mr. Neil with Jane."

Early that morning, Orion woke up very early and even dressed up and groomed himself. He even, quite unusually, put on a tie. Violet thought he was going to attend some formal banquet. But when she heard that he was going out with Jane, she immediately said with a grin, "Brother, you used to call her Miss Parker. Why is it 'Jane' now?"

"Mind your own business... It's your brother's right to call her whatever I want! Alright, I'm counting on you. If you have a premonition, tell me immediately. Hmm... right, to prevent what happened last time, how about we set up a code word? When you talk about the premonition, you must first say 'Black Peak', and then mention the time limit."

As soon as Violet heard this, she immediately remembered what had happened last time. She shuddered all over. Thinking that the thing that had pretended to be her had once entered their home, she couldn't help but feel a chill. So she nodded hurriedly.

Before leaving home, Orion specifically told Violet, "Remember, Violet, you're only responsible for providing me with time data. Absolutely, under no circumstances, should you get involved in any specific actions. I'm really worried about you. For the past seven years, I've been doing everything I can to protect you."

Protect you... Keep you alive... Violet looked at her brother's extremely determined expression and seemed to understand something. She nodded.

When he came downstairs, Jane's car had been waiting there for a long time.

"Sorry, Jane, I'm a bit late, right?" He opened the car door as he apologized. Jane didn't seem to mind much. Instead, she was in high spirits. "It doesn't matter... Today, we can meet the third person on my father's list. I originally expected it to take about another year to find him. Just think about it. It took me three years to find you two siblings."

Three years...

Orion suddenly felt that this was a terrifying coincidence.

Jane's mother was attacked and killed by a ghost three years ago, and he and Violet moved to this city three years ago. The timing was so coincidental. Could it really be just a pure accident? After Jane's father disappeared, her grandfather bought her a house in this city...

Could it be that everything was being manipulated by some force? Was his encounter with Jane not an accident? He couldn't help but recall what had happened at her house a few days ago.

"I was too naive after all. Scarlett's death proved that we can't rely on our meager supernatural abilities to fight against those vengeful spirits. With our mortal bodies and wisdom, we'll just be toyed with by them, and in the end, the premonition will still come true. So, improving our supernatural abilities is an urgent matter. I'll take you to the basement." Then, Jane took Orion to the basement of her house. It was incredibly spacious, about two - thirds the size of a football field. There were various rooms in the basement. Some places were filled with strange instruments, while others had many medicines and reagents. The most exaggerated was a room with mirrors on all four sides. There, no matter where you looked, you could see countless reflections of yourself. According to Jane, if one day her supernatural ability reached a considerable peak, she could see something among those countless selves. It sounded really creepy.

"The construction of this basement was partly based on my father's notes and partly on the materials I collected. But most of the research hasn't yielded results yet. In the past three years, my supernatural ability hasn't improved significantly. But you're different. Your physique is innate, so you might be able to develop it better than me."

First, they entered the room filled with what seemed to be chemical drugs. There were test tubes, beakers, and alcohol lamps everywhere. It looked like a chemistry laboratory. In a cabinet on the side, many chemical drugs were locked up. "This is the potion I made," she picked up a test tube and said. "I've already taken it. It's a drug that can enhance supernatural abilities in a short time, but the effect isn't very obvious. I don't know how it will work on you. The principle is to stimulate the body's latent genes through the drug, gradually developing the abilities that haven't been tapped in your physique... In fact, it's based on science. Whether it's really effective for the mysterious existence of supernatural abilities remains to be verified, but so far, there are no side effects. Do you want to consider taking it? This is a relatively quick way, but it might have side effects on you."

Orion frowned, looking at the tube of green liquid. A feeling of nausea welled up. Hearing her tone, he wasn't sure what the drug would do. He immediately shook his head. "Forget it. Quick - fix methods often come at a high cost. Let's start from the basics."

"Okay... But you have to be prepared."

Then, she led Orion into a room. There was almost nothing in the room except for four corners, where there was a doll made of plastic, it seemed. The doll looked rather rough, completely expressionless, and they all looked alike. "I originally thought about using wax figures, but they were too expensive, so I used dolls instead." She brought a chair and placed it in the center, then said to Orion, "This method is from my father's notes. First, you sit on the chair, and then I'll lock the door. The light switch of this room is outside. Once I turn off the light, you'll be in complete darkness. Then... you have to sit here in this position, without eating or drinking... until you can hear a sound in the room. Once there's a sound and you confirm it comes from the corner, you shout loudly because I've installed a bug in this room. If, after turning on the light, you find that the position of the doll has moved, it means your supernatural ability has started to be activated."

After hearing this, Orion's face turned almost pale. Isn't this just waiting to see a ghost in a round - about way?

"I say... this is more dangerous than playing Ouija board."

"Then take the medicine I gave you just now. It's a choice between the two..."

Orion looked at this room, not knowing which method was safer for a moment. But then, thinking of Scarlett's distorted corpse and the extreme danger he and his sister might face in the future, he gritted his teeth. At a time like this, how could he care about which method was safer? If he was afraid now, what would he do in the future? He clenched his fists and said, "Okay, I'll stay in this room... But, will the doll really move?" "I've tried it myself. After about twenty - odd hours, I heard a sound, and then I used the key to open the door. As a result, the position of the doll had indeed moved... I'm not lying to you. This is true."

Does that mean that even Jane, who doesn't have an innate supernatural physique, can do it, so there's no problem for Orion? So he decided to accept.

"Of course, I have to make it clear to you. There's definitely a risk. I can't guarantee that you'll survive. If you die here, it means your supernatural talent is just so - so."

Why does this sound so much like the lines in Japanese anime during trials?

Anyway, Orion decided to accept. If he really had supernatural abilities, he should be able to do this.

Locked in this room with dolls on all sides, Orion's heart did skip a few beats at first. But after about half an hour, he gradually calmed down.

There's nothing to be afraid of... He comforted himself like this. In the past, he had just been running away, and that's why he was always toyed with by fate. Now, only by facing it head - on could he have a glimmer of hope.

Yes... only in this way...

Since his phone was taken away, he had no way of knowing the time. The room was built so well that not a single ray of light could come in. So, even after so long, it was still completely dark around him.

Orion's ears were always alert to the surroundings. At this moment, he would notice even the sound of a pin dropping. But, there was only a deathly silence. In a state of complete isolation from the outside world, he unconsciously spent several hours. He even started to feel sleepy. He hadn't eaten or drunk anything, so he was physically tired. Moreover, with the dark environment, his eyelids started to droop.

"How... how could I be so sleepy... Come on, I can't sleep..."

He didn't know that it was almost midnight outside. It would be strange if he wasn't sleepy. Although he tried his best to keep his eyes open and even waved his arms to stay awake, sleepiness was irresistible. Soon, he finally succumbed to the waves of drowsiness and fell asleep completely.

I don't know how long it had passed when he rubbed his eyes and woke up. However...

He felt something pressing on him!

"I really didn't expect you to fall asleep at that time."

On the way to Neil Lawson's house, Jane couldn't help teasing Orion.

"But if you had woken up a few minutes later, maybe you wouldn't be sitting next to me now."

Orion said with a bitter face, "It's so weird... Did you put the doll on me while I was asleep?"

"Are you kidding me? If I did that, wouldn't I be afraid of waking you up? Besides, why would I do that?" Although she knew Orion wasn't being serious, Jane still felt a bit annoyed and amused. Orion felt a bit more relaxed. Looking at the increasingly lush scenery outside the window, he said with emotion, "In the city, there are nothing but high - rises. You can't even see the horizon. It's better here in the outskirts. It hasn't been overly developed, and the air is fresh. Since this city is located on the coast, the fishing industry is very developed. Maybe the farmers here have very fresh seafood. Maybe I can consider buying some and taking it back for Violet to try."

"You really... have no sense of urgency..."

For Jane, finding a partner like him was a blessing... She still remembered that after the experiment in the doll room ended that day, when they were parting, she said to Orion, "There's something I want to ask you."

"What? Go ahead."

"From now on... we're not just partners in cooperation but also comrades sharing life and death. In the future, don't call me 'Miss Parker' anymore. It sounds so distant. It doesn't feel like we're partners. How about you call me 'Jane'? Since my mother died and my father disappeared, no one has called me that..."

"Sure... okay, then, goodbye, Jane!" Orion readily agreed. He now had some understanding of Jane's character and had a good impression of her, so he was happy to call her in a more friendly way. At the same time, they also agreed on the date to meet Neil Lawson. Orion had originally planned to call the other person first, but he couldn't find the paper with the phone number. It turned out that the editor who had told him Neil's address had been transferred to a branch office in another city. So, they could only go and disturb him directly.

Neil seemed to be very interested in people with supernatural abilities. So, he should welcome Jane, right?

Not far ahead, there was the house. After getting out of the car, he suddenly felt something was wrong. The house looked a bit shabby, and the trees in the courtyard had withered. He remembered that Neil was very careful about taking care of these plants. A sense of foreboding began to rise in his heart.

When he walked to the iron gate, he immediately found that the lock had been broken. Could it be a thief? But what was even more shocking was yet to come. He looked down at the ground and was horrified to find...

"How... how could this be..." Jane squatted down, looking at the mark.

"It should... be from yesterday. How could this happen..."

The two quickly pushed the door open and rushed into the room. There was no one inside, but the mark kept leading them. Along the mark, they found its end... or rather, its starting point would be more appropriate. "Look, there's a clear handprint here. Because there's dust all around, only this place has no dust. I also noticed just now that there are a few broken spider - webs from the door to the end of the corridor, and there are footprints on the ground. It's obvious that someone has been here, and it should be very recent. But... this mark... this bloodstain, what on earth is going on?"

The two were now standing in front of the painting at the corner of the stairs. The painting showed a study, and Orion immediately recognized it as a room in this house. In the middle of the study floor, there was a pool of blood that extended to the edge of the painting.

Readers should have noticed something wrong, right? That's right, the female ghost who should have been in the painting... was gone!

But the horror didn't end there!

The bloodstain that extended to the edge of the painting actually spread into reality! The bloodstain started from the picture frame, extended outside the painting, and then followed the stairs, all the way towards the front door! Moreover, the bloodstain faintly formed the outline of a crawling person!

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Jane hugged her head and squatted down. Then she felt a buzzing in her head. Immediately afterwards, the key word that she had a premonition of flashed through her mind.

"Ghost painting... Is 'ghost painting' the key word this time?" At the same time, Gary was at home, boredly eating instant noodles. After going to that strange house yesterday, he still felt extremely uncomfortable. He didn't need to go to the internship unit today, so he was staying at home alone. He was originally a student from out of town, and his parents weren't in this city. He rented this apartment by himself, and his parents sent him money every month.

"Really... I should have known better than to listen to Zach's encouragement to go. He said it was a moment to experience a manly style. Who would be so bored as to go to that spooky house? Manly style... Come on, he just wanted to show off in front of Lily. It's such an old - fashioned trick, even in this day and age!"

After eating instant noodles for a long time, the taste became as tasteless as chewing wax. But for him, living alone in the apartment, this was the most convenient and cheapest food. And he had chosen many brands of instant noodles.

After swallowing the last noodle, he casually threw the instant - noodle box on the ground and then lay down on the bed. This room was really messy, like a pigsty. The floor was covered with old newspapers and napkins, and the bookshelf was in a mess, stuffed with comics and DVDs.

"Alas... It's rare to have a day off, and I don't know what to do. It's too cold to go out, and there aren't any good movies recently." He sighed from time to time, pinching the pile of stinky socks that he hadn't washed for three days on the bed. "Living alone is really inconvenient... I should have found a roommate when I rented the apartment." Gary thought about it. Were there any colleagues in the unit who could share the apartment with him? He remembered that there were several people who were also from out of town and couldn't find a place to live yet. They were still living in the school dormitory. But it was inconvenient to get water and take a bath there, and they had to queue.

At this moment, the phone suddenly rang. He immediately jumped up and looked around. It took him about a minute to find the phone from a pile of yellowed pocket - books.

"Hello? Who is it?"

"Is that Gary? This is Ryan."

"Oh, it's you. What's up? Do you want to ask me to play basketball? Sure..."

"With your height, what basketball are you playing? You can't even catch the ball when it's passed to you. You might even get lost in a crowd..."

Gary immediately cursed into the phone, "Damn Ryan, haven't you criticized me enough last night? If you're just here to talk nonsense, then I'm afraid I don't have time for this!"

"Okay... Just kidding. Don't be so excited. Here's the thing. I might have to work overtime the day after tomorrow, but I've already made an appointment with Zach to go to karaoke. How about you take my place? Don't worry, I won't let you do it for nothing. I'll treat you to a meal afterwards." When Gary heard the words "take my place", he already had a headache. How could he consider it? He immediately refused, "No way. I'd rather stay at home."

"Oh, are you still angry about the joke just now? I'm sorry. Next time we play basketball, we'll call you, okay? I'll treat you to a meal then, and you can order whatever you want. I've saved some money. After all, Zach and I made this appointment a week ago, and we've even booked a private room. It would be a shame not to go. What do you think?"

"Hmph... I'll think about it. I'll give you an answer later."

After saying that, regardless of what Ryan said, he hung up the phone.

Great... They're going to karaoke without inviting me? I won't go. Let's see what they do!

At night, he was awakened by a strong urge to urinate. He rubbed his eyes, stretched, got up, put on a piece of clothing, and walked towards the toilet. After coming out, because he was half - asleep, he was supposed to go back to his room but ended up walking to the entrance. Then he bumped his head against the front door and finally woke up.

Coincidentally, with this bump, his left eye happened to be right in front of the cat's eye on the door.

And the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a scene that made his blood run cold.

In front of his door was a long corridor, and there was a corner at the end where you could go downstairs. Since everyone used the elevator now, few people walked there. It was probably around dawn.