chapter_008 : The Horrifying Corpse and the Plan

No wonder Alex's parents went crazy.

The pixels of the photos were very high, and they were extremely clear. In the huge living room, a distorted human figure was terrifying.

Needless to say, this person was Alex. His limbs and neck were all stretched to about four or five meters long and were tied to the furniture in the room!

His left and right hands both looked at least four meters long and were twisted. The left hand was coiled and connected with an ornamental plant on the left, tied in a knot. The right hand was wrapped around a lamp protruding from the right - hand wall about three times. His two legs hung on the ground and were also stretched to four or five meters long. The most horrible thing was his head. His neck was stretched about two meters and wrapped around the electric fan on the ceiling. Just the neck part was wrapped five times (so the pixels were high enough to clearly show how many times it was wrapped), and the head was also twisted, looking like a twist, making it impossible to tell what he looked like.

The next few photos were of the body taken from other angles. These photos could no longer be described as shocking. No wonder the police didn't publicize the body photos and the specific cause of death. No wonder the neighbors said that a big truck came to carry the body that day... This was definitely not something a human could do! A person's body was not like flour. How could it be stretched like this casually without the limbs and neck breaking? Moreover, there wasn't a single drop of blood at the scene, and there were no traces of a fight. And all the neighbors of Alex's family said they didn't hear any screams at night. Was it possible for a normal person not to let out a single scream when their limbs were being stretched?

Orion also took out the forensic report in the envelope and read it. He was surprised to find that the bones and muscle tissues of the deceased had also been stretched accordingly! All the organ tissues on the body were normal, and everything in the body had changed accordingly as the limbs were stretched, as if Alex was born with such a body, and even the length of his clothes had changed...

Then... his speculation could be confirmed...

Orion quickly put the photos back into the envelope and then said to Jane, "It's better to burn them. If these photos get out, the consequences will be unimaginable."

He felt his throat a bit dry. No, extremely dry.

What on earth... was he facing? Just like those three claw marks that killed his parents back then, they were all existences that didn't belong to this world...

Scarlett, sitting in the back seat, was shaking like a sieve at this time. Her head was always bowed, not daring to lift it. Thinking about the scream she heard from Cassius before and then his disappearance from the room, it was simply unimaginable!

"It was my carelessness. I should have always watched over them," Jane seemed very annoyed at this time. "It's rare to find you two to form a complete prophecy... It seems we have to wait for the fourth person to appear and then think about it. As for the fourth person..."

She winked backwards. Orion also understood very clearly at this time that Scarlett might very well be the fourth person.

"Is she safe for the time being?"

"Well... Your sister's shortest distance to sense the time of death is..."

"Generally speaking, she can sense it at least twenty - four hours in advance. There has never been a precedent for her to sense the time exactly within hours in the past seven years. It's the same for me. I can't sense a person who is going to die in less than twenty - four hours. Considering this, Scarlett is 'safe' for the time being."

"I, I'm still safe?" Scarlett felt a bit relieved when she heard this, but still asked nervously, "Are your premonitions really accurate? Like in Cassius's case..."

"Actually, my sister has already sensed that he would die today. Isn't it past midnight? That is to say, within the death date sensed by my sister, there is a threat of death every minute. Miss Scarlett, you have to be mentally prepared. Maybe you'll be the fourth person. If you want to survive... try to follow Miss Jane's instructions as much as possible. She knows more about this than I do. As for the premonition, I can't guarantee Miss Jane's, but at least the premonitions of my sister and I have always come true in the past seven years... You don't need to doubt."

In fact, Scarlett didn't dare to doubt anymore. She had completely believed that there were really ghosts in this world. Now... the only people she could rely on were these two. She regarded Orion and Jane as Taoist priests who could exorcise ghosts and ward off evil spirits. Little did she know that these two were just ordinary people, only with slightly different physiques.

Jane drove back to her home. She planned to temporarily arrange Scarlett to stay at her house and try to find some clues before the premonition of the fourth person occurred. Scarlett was extremely exhausted at this moment. When she arrived at Jane's house, thinking it was a safe place, she fell asleep peacefully.

"The advantage of a big room is that it's okay to have one more person."

After closing Scarlett's door, she returned to the living room. Looking at Orion, who was deep in thought, she leaned against the wall and asked, "What are you thinking about? Let me guess... You're full of doubts about me, about what my father said, and about the root of your fate, right?"

Orion was sitting on the leather sofa in the living room. Jane's living room was really luxuriously decorated. Every piece of furniture was imported. There were also many potted plants, sculptures, oil paintings, and an old - fashioned gramophone in the room, and the handle of a coffee cup was even made of gold.

"You look really like a rich lady... But doesn't your family even have a servant?"

Jane sat opposite him. She idly stood her fingers on the coffee table and said with a hint of melancholy in her eyes, "It's just me. I don't even interact much with the neighbors because they all think I'm a strange person. The family members don't care about me anymore. I take care of all my life by myself."

"What about financially? Did the family members give you some property for your living?"

"I don't care about those. I'm an illustrator, just drawing some illustrations for some novels or encyclopedias. It's a meager job, right? But I'm not interested in finance and investment by nature. So I feel more relaxed without property. I'm just a person who seems to have a good life but actually has suffered a lot in life. The only property I have is this house, and the furniture and so on were all arranged by my grandfather. I'm not interested in a luxurious life. I even think it's a waste of time. The focus of life is to experience, not to enjoy."

Orion didn't expect her to be so good at speaking. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.

"Let's get back to the point... You also said before that you don't want your sister to be involved, right?"

"Yes," Orion said firmly. "This is the biggest prerequisite for my cooperation with you. She doesn't know anything. She's completely innocent and very timid. Exposing her to those things is like killing her."

"That's really a pity... She has a natural spiritual constitution. If cultivated well, her ability won't be worse than yours..."

"About the spiritual constitution... what exactly does it mean for us? Apart from premonition, what other characteristics does it have?"

Jane thought for a while and then began to explain, "As far as I know, there are many types of spiritual constitutions. Most people with natural constitutions will show differences from ordinary people at a very young age. You and your sister's abilities awakened relatively late. It was only when you came into contact with things related to the supernatural that this ability gradually woke up. However, even so, you only have the premonition ability. People with even stronger spiritual abilities should be able to see ghosts that are invisible to the naked eye."

"Invisible to the naked eye?"

"Yes. But there is too little information about ghosts... Actually, 'ghost' is just a general term for those things. Maybe this way of saying it can make people understand their existence most quickly. Because the legend of ghosts has a long history. The general saying is that they are the souls of dead people. But legend doesn't equal reality. Not all ghosts were originally human beings. In fact, most of those things have nothing to do with human beings. They come from an unknown world. There are many such things that can't even be called ghosts. Yes, many are like curses, invisible but real existences, making people defenseless. If the spiritual ability is further improved, one should be able to sense the curse. But all of this is just about 'perceiving'. If you want to fight against it, you generally need post - natal guidance. You're still far from being able to do this."

Curse? Unknown?

There was no way to find out the so - called rules, and he didn't know their forms. Everything was purely unknown. How could he defeat them in the future and find a way to survive? Orion was completely lost in confusion.

Next, he decided to discuss this matter with Jane.

"Alex's body... Well, it clearly proves that this thing can turn a person's body into such a posture. This is the ability of that thing, right? Then, the mystery is why there are no bodies for Zephyr and Cassius."

Jane nodded and put forward her view further. "I think the same as you. I think their bodies do exist and haven't disappeared. They just haven't been found for the time being. To sum up, it seems to be looking for targets aimlessly. The first two victims had nothing in common. Of course, we can't rule out that there is some connection that we haven't discovered. If we think like that, the fourth person may also be another completely unrelated person."

The top priority was, if the fourth person was Scarlett, how to protect her?

"First of all, I can assure you that my father's notes have repeatedly emphasized that the only way to break the curse is to make the premonition not come true. The elements of our three premonitions are a person, time, and a keyword. And the only things that can be changed are the time that your sister can sense and the life and death of the person. So... in terms of the first point, from today on, you have to wear a watch all the time, including when you sleep, and often check the time. The error can't exceed one minute. If you can confirm that the watch you're wearing shows the accurate time, no matter what the occasion, take the time on your watch as the standard."

Just at this time, Orion put forward a question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

"If we kill that person before the premonition time, does it mean that the premonition doesn't come true?"

The living room suddenly fell into dead silence.

The two looked at each other, as if each had their own thoughts.

"I don't know. Maybe it counts. After all, my father didn't write this in the notes. But it's just possible. Do you really want to try? Kill someone to save your own life?"

Jane's question made Orion unable to answer for a moment. He really couldn't do it. After all, he wasn't a cold - blooded and selfish person. He couldn't do the thing of killing someone. Moreover, this wasn't the only way, and it wasn't even certain whether it was a way to break the curse. So at least for now, he definitely wouldn't do it.

But if it was for Violet, if one day this became the only way, he couldn't guarantee what he would do.

"Don't think about this question too deeply. Actually, even if you want to kill, you may not be able to. It's not that easy to change this terrifying fate. Well, I don't want to discuss such a dark topic with you, and your sister definitely won't agree to it. The next question is... the question of a person's life and death. As long as that person can survive, we can change the curse fate on us. At least, we have to let him live until after the premonition time. Although it's best if they have the ability to protect themselves, even the most powerful warriors in the world can't escape death without spiritual ability. So a relatively ideal consideration is to combine offense and defense. With your current ability, I can only consider 'defense'."

"Let Scarlett run away like my sister and I?" Just thinking about it made Orion feel uncomfortable. Was this the only way? Only passive escape? Aren't there some ways to deal with ghosts in some novels? For example, pouring black dog blood, drawing talismans, and wearing amulets.

"In addition... I have to remind you," as if seeing Orion's thoughts, Jane added. "The methods of exorcising ghosts in novels and movies are all made up to deceive people. Because literary works need the just side to win, so they arrange for humans to have the power to fight against ghosts. But the reality is not like this. Their existence can't be understood by our common sense, and it's even more impossible to find a way to suppress them. Only a very small number of people with spiritual constitutions can sense their existence. So don't expect those unrealistic things."

So the center of the next discussion was how to 'defend'.

"After determining the time, we should first get enough rest. Then, on the scheduled day of death, stay with the fourth person for twenty - four hours. If that person isn't Scarlett, we can also arrest and imprison that person. Alas, I really didn't think it through before. Although it was my first time and I had no experience, I still let Cassius be killed."

"Then what next? If 'that thing' appears, how should we deal with it?"

"This is the map of the city," she pulled out a piece of paper out of nowhere and then pointed to several points on it and said, "See? These are the few relatively good escape routes I've marked out. If we want to imprison that person, we can consider this place. Back then, I told my grandfather my requirements for the house, and I chose a place with convenient transportation. There are many overpasses and subways nearby, and there are also many intersections, so it's not easy to encounter traffic jams. Moreover, because it's a prime location, there are more people. We can also ask many people for help at that time... Of course, all of this is just to delay time. If the fourth person is Scarlett, I've also chosen a location."

Then she pointed to a black dot in the city center, took out a red pen, and drew a circle around it. She analyzed, "This is the memorial square in the city center. Recently, because the holidays are approaching, there are more police officers maintaining order, and there are also more people. And we can choose to stay near the mayor's statue, which is not far from the parking lot. Moreover, this square is open to the public 24 hours a day. It doesn't matter if we stay there all night. There are three roads to choose from outside the square, and each road leads in the opposite direction from the area where Alex's apartment is located."

"Your plan is really detailed..." Orion couldn't help admiring Jane. She had completely familiarized herself with the terrain and considered every factor. Judging from the map, there was almost no sparsely - populated area. And staying near the mayor's statue, there would be many people to ask for help around. Although people are indifferent in modern society and few people will help strangers, if there are police officers, they can't ignore it due to the need to maintain order and protect the square. In short, the more people involved and the more chaotic the situation is, the greater the chance of successfully escaping.

Of course, even so, it can't be considered foolproof. After all, the other side is an unknown non - human being, and no one knows what it will do. Therefore, man proposes, but God disposes. Whether the fourth person can survive this disaster actually depends more on fate. Moreover, there is also a big risk. That is, once it fails and the body of that person appears in front of them like Alex's, it may attract the attention of the police. Maybe they will even be regarded as murderers. Implementing the strategy in a crowded place has advantages, but also has disadvantages.

Now, the question is about the premonition. After Orion senses the fourth person, he has to quickly find out the address of that person before the time limit and then find that person. If this person is Scarlett, it's the best. But if not, it may take some time. If it's a person with no clues at all, the plan may have to be postponed.

However, just at this time, Orion felt an image start to appear in his mind again. The figure and name of the fourth person gradually became clear...