When the street lights went out one after another and the surroundings became dark, Shang Jianyao raised his right hand and pinched his temples on both sides.
He lay down completely and closed his eyes.
…………
This time, the place where he appeared was not the "Hall of Stars", but the illusory sea of flowing shimmering light.
In front of him was a small island, the soil was dark brown, the rocks were jagged, and there was no trace of life.
This is the first island that Shang Jianyao encountered after entering the "Sea of Origin".
According to antiquarian scholar Du Heng, this corresponds to the fear hidden in everyone's heart, and the number of "islands" encountered by different awakened people will never be the same, and the same is true for the number.
Shang Jianyao has been staying here for many days, but he still hasn't been able to defeat this "island".
There are no monsters on the island, but there is an extremely harsh "natural condition".
Once Shang Jianyao climbed up, all the light in front of him would disappear, and there would be no more sound in his ears.
On the island, he seemed to be in a dark, closed, and strange room, not only could he not see his five fingers, but he could not even hear his own voice.
This made Shang Jianyao unable to even feel the passage of time, only to feel that the darkness and silence seemed to have turned into substance, slowly eroding his soul.
He couldn't stay on the island for long each time, always quitting because of a nervous breakdown, extreme fear, bordering on madness.
If it weren't for the antiquarian Du Heng talking about the meaning of the "Sea of Origin" and different islands, Shang Jianyao would definitely have given up trying and instead looked for other islands in the boundless sea.
He believed that bypassing here meant that he was defeated by his inner fear, and there was a high probability that the Awakened Ability's abilities would no longer improve or change.
After staring at the island for a while, Shang Jianyao lowered his head according to the predetermined plan and looked at himself looming in the illusory water waves.
He hesitated for a few seconds, his eyes gradually deepened:
"They are employees of 'Pangu Bio', and I am also an employee of 'Pangu Bio';
"They are young, and I am young;
"Their parents are by their side, so ......"
Shang saw Yao for a moment and replied himself:
"So, my parents are also by my side."
A smile gradually appeared on his face, a soft, reassuring smile.
Without wasting any more time, Shang Jianyao grabbed the rocks on the edge of the island with both hands and climbed up directly.
Because the "Sea of Origin" is illusory in nature, his clothes did not become wet, and there were no water droplets on his hair.
As soon as Shang Jianyao's feet landed, his eyes suddenly became pitch black, and he could no longer see anything.
This not only gave him the feeling that the space was narrow and could touch the edge at any time, but also inexplicably feared the unknown dangers hidden in the depths of darkness.
"Hey! How are you?" Shang Jianyao tried to speak loudly, but he couldn't hear a sound.
At this moment, he seemed to have been abandoned by the world and thrown into a place of extreme horror that no one cared about.
Shang Jianyao took a tentative step, using walking to resolve the fear and uneasiness that gradually arose in his heart.
However, no matter how much he tried to soothe himself, the "darkness" was still slowly and uncontrollably eroding his mind.
Shang Jianyao shrank back, as if he had found a little support in the silent and uninhabited dark place.
This made him hold on longer than usual, but later, the fact that there was only air around him still made him feel lost, his heart beat faster, and his expression gradually wavered.
"Fake ......" Shang Jianyao suddenly whispered.
Cold sweat quickly flowed from his forehead, his knees slowly bent, and he squatted down and hugged himself.
…………
In room 196, Shang Jianyao opened his eyes.
He gasped and looked around.
The room was dark and silent outside.
Shang Jianyao hurriedly took out his flashlight from under the pillow with his backhand and pushed the button.
A pillar of light shot out and shone on the opposite wall, illuminating the clothes hanging on the expansion screws and the sink next to it.
Looking at this yellowish light, Shang Jianyao's breathing gradually stabilized.
After almost a minute, he turned off the flashlight, pulled up the quilt, and fell into a deep sleep.
I don't know how long it took, but Shang Jianyao was awakened by a knock on the door.
The knock on the door was repeated three times and gradually faded away.
Shang Jianyao knew that this was a member of the "Life Sacrifice" Order telling him that the meeting time was approaching.
——For members who do not have a watch and are far away from the wall clock on the street, the "Sacrifice of Life" Order will send someone who can keep track of the time to remind them.
As for the reluctance to get up after hearing the knock on the door, or not wanting to attend this party for various reasons, it is my own business.
If you have already made a decision not to attend in advance, or if there are guests at home who are inconvenient to know about similar matters, just wipe off the chalk graffiti under the door before turning off the lights, so that no one will knock on the door.
Shang Jianyao quickly turned over and got out of bed, washed his face, and brushed his teeth carefully.
Then, he put on a dark green cotton coat, held a flashlight, and went straight to the nearby public toilet for convenience.
After doing all this, Shang Jianyao followed the familiar road to Li Zhen's house at No. 35 in Area A.
Dong Dong Dong, Shang Jianyao knocked on the door three times.
Soon, a deliberately suppressed voice came from the door:
"Life is the heaviest."
Shang Jianyao responded very skillfully:
"New life is like the sun."
In the slight movement, the door quickly opened back, and the dim yellow light inside flowed out.
Li Zhen, who raised the corner of his eye slightly, glanced at Shang Jianyao, smiled and said:
"Come in."
She quickly stepped aside and let Shang Jianyao walk into the room.
"You can tell us about the real appearance outside later." Li Zhen opened the door and smiled and greeted each other.
"Okay, Aunt Li." Shang Jianyao was very polite.
Li Zhen pointed to a position casually:
"Sit down, it's almost starting, you're a little late."
She just said it casually, without any intention of blaming, after all, it wasn't really time for the party yet.
Shang Jianyao explained seriously:
"I brushed my teeth first."
"......" Li Zhen smiled slightly stiffly and nodded, "Okay, very good."
Shang Jianyao walked towards the small bench and sat down.
The bench is short, and for a person of his height, he has to curl his feet as much as possible to keep his buttocks intact.
Seeing that his sitting posture was obviously uncomfortable, Shen Du, who had already arrived, stood up:
"Let's change positions."
"Thank you, Uncle Shen." Shang Jianyao was not polite.
After sitting down again, he looked around and greeted the other members.
He had attended similar Order meetings several times and was no stranger to all the members of the floor.
After waiting for a while, the "guide" Ren Jie came out of the room leading to the inner bedroom and walked between the big bed, wardrobe, and cabinet.
"Xiao Shang is back?" Ren Jie, who was wearing a polyester shirt, nodded lightly and greeted with a smile.
Shang Jianyao immediately replied:
"Praise your tolerance!"
"......" Ren Jie was stunned for a few seconds before she understood what Shang Jianyao meant, thank you for your patronage, and finally returned safely.
She smiled reluctantly:
"No need to be so formal, just a normal chat."
Without waiting for Shang Jianyao's response, she said with a solemn expression:
"The sermon will officially begin, and today's content is death.
"Life will eventually pass, just like leaves will always turn yellow and fall to the ground......"
Shang Jianyao suddenly raised his hand.
"What's the problem?" Ren Jiepo asked a little worriedly.
She thought Shang Jianyao had found something unusual.
Shang Jianyao stood up and said:
"The leaves of many trees do not turn yellow......"
Ren Jie's facial muscles twitched and interrupted his statement:
"It's just a metaphor.
"Wait until the sermon is over to ask similar questions, listen carefully, don't speak."
"Hmm." Shang Jianyao sat down with a little disappointment.
After that, he listened to Ren Jie's sermon with a very focused expression, but his eyes seemed a little empty and lacked focus.
It didn't take long for Ren Jie to finish the sermon and said to all the members present:
"Next is the talk stage, where you can tell your brothers and sisters about your worries and draw strength from them......"
When she said this, she stared at Shang Jianyao and suppressed this guy with her eyes to prevent him from speaking.
She remembered the first time she said something similar, when Shang saw Yao coldly, she interjected:
"Not only brothers and sisters, but also uncles and aunts."
When he finished speaking, he was sure that Shang Jianyao could no longer interject, and Ren Jie quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
In the next second, Shang Jianyao took the initiative to raise his hand and share his inner troubles:
"I'm a little hungry now."
"Next." Ren Jie responded without hesitation.
A woman in her twenties pursed her lips and said:
"Wang Yafei, the director of our 'supply market', has been supporting the establishment of a 'fertility center', believing that this can reduce the excuse for female employees to take leave, and that it can make the relationship between husband and wife better.
"I know this is my personal opinion and can't represent anything, but I can't help but argue with him, and he, and he actually made an excuse to transfer me from my original position and put me in the hardest cleaning ......"
After listening quietly, Ren Jie raised her arms and made a shaken baby shape:
"God will punish sinners."
She didn't say any more and said to Shen Du:
"It's your turn."
Shen Du scratched his hair:
"My child is becoming more and more disobedient......"
Next, the members shared their troubles such as the death of a loved one, the rude husband, the cold wife, the naughty children, and the unhappy work, all of which were comforted by others.
In the end, Ren Jie returned to her original position and said to the members of the order:
"Now, partake of the sacrament."
Shang Jianyao's back suddenly straightened up, and his eyes were bright.
Soon, Ren Jie and Li Zhen came out of the inner room, one holding a cylindrical translucent container and the other holding various tableware.
The container was filled with white, viscous liquid.
Ren Jie was the first to come to Shang Jianyao and scooped a spoonful of liquid into the lunch box in his hand:
"This is today's sacrament, yogurt."
Shang Jianyao took a light breath and responded extremely religiously:
"Praise your tolerance!"
PS: The third time I asked for a monthly pass~
(End of this chapter)