Chapter 73: Grotesque-Side Awakened, Blood Moon
“Seems you were gone for a while. What were you doing?”
A middle-aged man leaned against a wall in a secluded area, casually playing with a lighter in his hand. The small metal object flipped and spun effortlessly, yet upon closer inspection, his fingers weren’t actually touching it.
As if separated by an invisible barrier, a small gap remained between his fingers and the lighter.
“Uncle Shaoheng, it was only a minute, why so strict?”
Cen Xiangyun took off her sunglasses and chuckled, a playful glint in her eyes.
“During a mission, we must maintain focus and discipline, especially when our enemy is the Harbingers,” Li Shaoheng said, catching the lighter in mid-air and putting it in his pocket. His sharp gaze swept over Cen Xiangyun. “You just interacted with someone. I sensed an unusual aura.”
“Just a newbie Awakened One. I tried to recruit her for the Company, but she refused,” Cen Xiangyun said, resting her chin on her hand. “So rare, so rare. Finally found a Grotesque-side Awakened One. I was hoping she could help me meet my quarterly OKRs.”
The image of Luo Ling flashed through her mind. A pretty girl, with the right styling, she could definitely debut… perhaps she really could be a talent scout.
However, more than the girl’s appearance, it was her eyes that had caught her attention.
With her years of experience in makeup, Cen Xiangyun could tell at a glance that Luo Ling was wearing colored contacts, pure black ones… If it weren’t to conceal something unusual about her eyes, she wouldn’t wear that type.
Also, there seemed to be some strange scales on the girl’s temples…
“Hmm?”
Li Shaoheng’s expression turned serious.
A Grotesque-side Awakened One.
This type of Awakened One possessed abilities closer to the paths of Grotesqueries.
Although still on an Awakened path, they leaned more towards the Grotesque paths, their abilities exhibiting characteristics of Grotesqueries.
The members of the Harbingers of Calamity were mostly Grotesque-side Awakened Ones, which was why they could wield abilities that should belong to Grotesqueries.
Although the Harbingers’ methods were abhorrent, their philosophy wasn’t entirely wrong.
The abilities of Awakened Ones, compared to those of Grotesqueries, were indeed lacking. The most crucial difference was that only Awakened Ones who walked the Grotesquery paths could master “Authorities,” powers far surpassing ordinary abilities.
But in return, these Awakened Ones often had “flaws.”
Like Performer’s dissociative identity disorder, Scientist’s missing right eye, Artist’s dwarfism… and so on.
Cen Xiangyun had deduced that Luo Ling was a rare Grotesque-side Awakened One based on her eyes and the scales on her temples.
The known members of the Harbingers of Calamity, Philosopher, Educator, and Historian, all possessed Grotesquery Authorities, allowing them to contend against the powerful Company and other Awakened organizations despite their small numbers.
Therefore, knowing this, major Awakened organizations were actively searching for Grotesque-side Awakened Ones to explore the path to Authorities.
“Did you give her your business card?”
Li Shaoheng asked in a low voice.
“Of course, how could I not? This is related to my year-end bonus. But she didn’t seem interested,” Cen Xiangyun sighed dramatically. “I even revealed my face, and she didn’t even recognize me…”
The reason Cen Xiangyun had concealed her appearance at the shopping mall was because, besides being a Company employee, she also had another, more prominent identity.
—A popular celebrity.
Cen Xiangyun had starred in many popular films, and one of her movies was currently playing in theaters. She was a hot commodity.
Unfortunately, Luo Ling and Su Wan didn’t watch TV, or rather, they didn’t even have a TV or internet access, so… they had no idea who she was.
Their indifferent reaction made Cen Xiangyun wonder if the Company had been paying for fake fans to boost her popularity…
“That’s enough. When she encounters difficulties, she’ll come looking for you,” Li Shaoheng nodded slightly.
“I hope she comes before the end of this quarter… less than a month left.”
Cen Xiangyun scratched her head in frustration. It was all her agency’s fault for scheduling so many appearances.
She had finally managed to sneak away to Jiangcheng County with her uncle, using a Company mission as an excuse, to relax and catch up on her quarterly OKRs… which were directly tied to her year-end bonus.
The Company’s year-end bonus wasn’t just ordinary money; it was a large sum of merit points that could be exchanged for rewards.
With enough merit points, one could even obtain a top-tier Sacred Tool from a High-Risk Grotesquery.
Cen Xiangyun had been coveting a certain hairpin Sacred Tool for a long time, not just for its beauty, but also because it came from the Weeping Snow Woman, a Calamity path Grotesquery of Sequence 172, and would greatly enhance her abilities.
The Weeping Snow Woman had once caused a five-year blizzard in a region near the equator, making it as cold as the poles. The Company had dispatched two P9-level and seven P8-level specialists to resolve the disaster, a large-scale operation even by the Company’s standards.
Of course, the hairpin Sacred Tool was also very beautiful, which was a bonus.
“Let’s go. The Harbingers have released quite a few of these sand and pebble monsters,” Li Shaoheng’s eyes turned cold. “It’s most likely Artist’s doing, but he should still be in Victoria…”
“Victoria?” Cen Xiangyun was taken aback.
“Pretend you didn’t hear that. You’re not qualified to know such ‘knowledge’ yet,” Li Shaoheng said calmly.
“Oh,” Cen Xiangyun wisely didn’t press further, but then she remembered something and asked, “By the way, Uncle Shaoheng, can ordinary people… see Grotesqueries?”
She remembered clearly that Luo Ling’s sister had seen the fake Grotesquery created by Artist, but upon closer inspection, she had realized she was just an ordinary person.
Awakened Ones and ordinary people were easily distinguishable.
“Of course not,” Li Shaoheng shook his head decisively. “There’s a cognitive barrier between ordinary people, ordinary Awakened Ones, and Awakened Ones who have come into contact with Authorities.
“Ordinary people can’t see Grotesqueries, you can’t see some things I can’t tell you yet, and even I can’t see or perceive some things. Forcibly trying to perceive or understand them will only lead to cognitive contamination… in short, you’ll go insane.
“Like in that psychiatric hospital we went to this morning, some of the patients have been forcibly exposed to Grotesqueries by some entity, causing them to become insane, their perceptions completely distorted, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion.”
“It seems so…”
Cen Xiangyun nodded thoughtfully. She remembered Uncle Shaoheng questioning the director of the psychiatric hospital, the old man lying in bed, about why there were so many such patients in Jiangcheng County.
But the old man had looked confused, not even understanding what Uncle Shaoheng was talking about.
…After all, Jiangcheng County was just a small place, with little history, so there weren’t many Awakened Ones. If it weren’t for the fact that the old man had helped the Company find someone important in the past and had earned some favors, they wouldn’t have come here.
“That’s strange, her sister could see it, but she didn’t go insane…” Cen Xiangyun frowned.
“Perhaps she’s awakened, but too weak to fully perceive it, or there’s some other reason. In any case, although it’s rare… it’s not unheard of. It’s not a big deal, as long as she’s not insane,” Li Shaoheng said. “However, if that newbie comes looking for you, you should warn her.”
“Mm, of course.”
Cen Xiangyun nodded and turned to continue dealing with the wandering sand and pebble monsters.
But after just a few steps, Li Shaoheng heard excited shouts nearby.
“Ah, it’s Empress! Empress is actually in Jiangcheng County!”
“Wow… it really is Empress! I just watched her movie, and now I’m meeting her in person!”
“Empress, can I have your autograph?”
Li Shaoheng turned and saw Cen Xiangyun surrounded by fans, trying to escape.
During their conversation, she had taken off her mask and sunglasses and forgotten to put them back on… And she had run into a group of moviegoers who had just watched her film, quite a coincidence.
“…”
Li Shaoheng twitched his lips and quietly retreated before Cen Xiangyun could ask for help.
“It’s best for elders not to interfere in the affairs of the young.”
…
“Did you hear? Empress is in our Jiangcheng County, right here in the shopping mall!”
“Oh my god, really? Let’s go, let’s go see…”
“A real person! A living person!”
Luo Ling watched as the excited crowd surged towards the direction she had just come from, hearing them talk about a celebrity.
She wasn’t interested, especially since… there was a Company employee there, dealing with a Grotesquery incident.
It was best not to involve her sister in such matters.
Su Wan was curious, having never met a celebrity before, but seeing her sister’s determined grip on her hand, she gave up.
Huolu Mountain was not far from their home, a small, local scenic spot, with many tourists and locals hiking and exercising there every morning and evening.
The sisters had occasionally taken walks there, but they rarely hiked up the mountain.
Because they never had the time.
On this rare day off, Luo Ling had planned…
“I heard the sunset at Huolu Mountain is beautiful,” Su Wan chuckled. “There are even some old legends about couples making vows at sunset, promising to be together forever… I didn’t expect your first time watching the sunset at Huolu Mountain would be with your older sister.”
“It’s quite nice, isn’t it?” Luo Ling said. “Sister and I, we can also…”
“Stop, don’t say it,” Su Wan placed a finger on Luo Ling’s lips, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “I can say it, but when you say it with that serious look… it’s too much for me to handle.”
“…Sister.”
Luo Ling’s eye twitched. She also found it cheesy, but it was her sister who always talked to her like this, so she had learned it from her.
However, her sister’s teasing made Luo Ling relax, temporarily putting aside the matters of Grotesqueries.
They walked and climbed, reaching the peak of Huolu Mountain just as dusk approached.
For some reason, there were very few people at the summit today, only Luo Ling and Su Wan, which they were grateful for. No one to disturb their peaceful moment together.
The setting sun painted the sky in vibrant hues of red, a breathtaking sight.
“So beautiful…”
Luo Ling sat on a rock, resting her chin on her knees, gazing at the magnificent sunset.
“Yes, it is.”
Su Wan carefully sat beside Luo Ling, leaning against her shoulder.
She wasn’t looking at the sunset, but at the person watching the sunset, a smile playing on her lips.
Darkness gradually devoured the vibrant red. Nightfall came quickly in winter, and soon, the stars began to twinkle in the sky.
A crescent moon rose, tinged with the lingering red of the sunset.
Su Wan continued to lean against Luo Ling, who didn’t move, content with this quiet moment.
Just then, Luo Ling’s phone vibrated, startling her. She had forgotten to put it away in her hair when she rushed out to find her sister.
However…
Luo Ling glanced at her sister, who had closed her eyes and seemed to be asleep, not noticing the phone’s vibration.
Good, she hadn’t been discovered.
This phone wasn’t cheap, eight hundred yuan. It would be bad if her sister saw…
“Who would message me at this hour?”
Luo Ling wondered, taking out her phone and seeing an unexpected name.
“Seer?”
Luo Ling unlocked the screen and saw a dozen messages from the Seer. Slightly alarmed, she quickly checked them.
“Little Xiao Bai! I remember! I remember everything!”
“I remember where the big mushroom appeared! It was the moon! A broken, red moon! I saw it when I went to pick mushrooms!”
“Wahhhhh… look up! The moon was like this! The big mushroom crawled out from under this moon!”
“Help! The big mushroom is coming again!”
“Eh, the moon isn’t red now?”
“Ahhh, never mind, just run, run, run, run… if you don’t run, the big mushroom will eat you!”
“…”
After a series of nonsensical messages, there was a voice message.
Luo Ling, still in shock, clicked on the voice message. It wasn’t the Seer’s voice, but someone else, a unique voice she immediately recognized.
—Gypsy Girl, that eccentric, rambling woman.
“Sorry, little Bai, the Seer has entered her Premonition state again, but this time, it doesn’t seem good…”
“It seems you don’t like our subtle way of speaking, thinking we’re all cryptic… Don’t worry, this time, your dear Sister Gypsy will interpret this premonition for you and tell you the truth directly.”
“Simply put, this mysterious High-Risk Grotesquery spawns ‘eggs’ under a crescent moon to gather the power it needs to awaken.”
“If you see a red moon, I suggest you leave immediately. It means… a new ‘egg’ will appear where you are.”
“Heh, good luck.”
The moment the voice message ended, Luo Ling didn’t hesitate. She picked up her drowsy sister and ran down the mountain.
Because she had already seen the crescent moon in the sky, the crimson color like the sunset wasn’t an illusion, but a terrifying reality.
The normally pale moonlight seemed to be deepening, a faint, bloody mist enveloping the surroundings, a crimson glow spreading across the ground.
“…”
Luo Ling gritted her teeth. Why did Grotesquery incidents always find her and her sister?
If it were just her, it would be fine, but her sister was just an ordinary person.
Facing the Puppet Ballad, even just one of its “eggs,” could be fatal, or even worse.
Her sister was still asleep, perhaps from exhaustion, or perhaps influenced by the blood-red moonlight.
In her sleep, Luo Ling could hear her soft murmurs,
“Xiao Ling…”
“Damn it,” Luo Ling looked up at the crescent moon hanging in the sky, its crimson hue deepening. “Why haven’t we left the area yet…?”
…What should she do?
Should she call the exchange group?
But they seemed too weak to handle this kind of Grotesquery…
In her panic, Luo Ling saw a business card peeking out from her pocket.
Right, there was still the Company!
The Company could definitely handle this!
Luo Ling immediately took out her sister’s old flip phone and dialed the number on the business card.
The phone rang a few times, then a weak voice answered,
“Hello, who is this? Speak quickly, I’m busy.”
“It’s me… Luo Ling,” Luo Ling whispered. “I’ve encountered a Grotesquery! I’m running!”
Hearing Luo Ling’s voice, the person on the other end seemed surprised, pausing for a moment before replying,
“Huh? My year-end bonus has arrived so soon?”
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