After leaving the town, Manny walked westward along the only road outside the town. Manny did not see any people or animals on the way. It seemed that it was not just that town, the whole world had become a dead place.
'Maybe this is another trick of the Central Curtain...' Manny couldn't help but think, but she felt it was impossible. She was not the chosen one, so how could the Central Curtain open up a world for her alone.
With this thought in mind, Manny walked forward for more than half a month.
Although no people or animals were seen along the way, the world was still full of vitality, and the beautiful scenery quietly improved Manny's mood.
On this day, Manny chose to set up a tent on the roadside as usual, but not long after the tent was set up, the ground began to tremble slightly.
Manny was startled and thought it was an earthquake, but after a while the shaking disappeared. It came suddenly and disappeared a bit inexplicably.
But immediately afterwards, an abnormal phenomenon still appeared.
Manny frowned and looked into the distance. At the sunset, something like a white curtain seemed to rise up, and the overwhelming posture was like a tsunami.
Tsunami?!
When she thought of this, Manny panicked. She immediately put the things around the tent into her bag, then carried them on her back and ran towards the road.
No matter what, we must first find a place that can withstand this "tsunami".
Manny remembered that there was a hill not far away. Although it was not high, it was the best choice.
I ran all the way to the vicinity of the hill. When I turned back, the tsunami-like white color of the mountain had swallowed up half of the world. The road gradually disappeared and the tent had long since disappeared.
Manny looked at the scene in front of her, her heart was filled with despair, she gritted her teeth, and finally let go of her hand helplessly, closing her eyes and waiting for the moment of death.
However, when the white color hit Manny's body, Manny realized...this was not a tsunami at all, and the apocalyptic disaster similar to that in "2012" had not yet come.
When I opened my eyes, everything seemed hazy.
Is this fog!? Super dense fog with visibility less than two meters!
But...why does thick fog appear in the evening?
Manny didn't have the answer, but she didn't bother to think about it. After all, the world was full of weirdness and mystery. If she struggled with every question, she would be embarrassed by herself sooner or later.
Since it was fog, Manny was relieved, but she was at a loss as to where to go next. After all, the visibility was so low now that Manny couldn't even see the main road near the hill.
Fortunately, her memory was pretty good, so she got back on the road by groping.
With her excellent sense of direction, Manny did not turn back even in a foggy world. However, the fog still caused her a lot of troubles. One of them was that Manny could not be sure that this was just a simple matter.
A fog, and maybe some other things came along with the thick fog.
When she thought of this, Manny couldn't help but recall an old movie she had watched called "The Mist"... Not to mention the ending, those monsters alone made Manny feel uncomfortable.
Now that I am in the fog, this discomfort is even more intense.
Fortunately, fate did not intend to torture Manny, and the fog was just a fog, without even the slightest strange sound.
The only difference is that Manny can no longer enjoy those beautiful scenery, and the journey has become much more boring.
At nightfall, Manny found her tent on the side of the road.
When the heavy fog came, it only blew away some newspapers used to start the fire outside the tent, and the others escaped with Manny.
Exactly the same.
Manny thought for a while and decided to move on during the day and stay on the roadside tonight.
But this night, Manny took out her precious batteries and set up a camera outside the tent.
After everything was settled, Manny sat at the entrance of the tent and stared at the camera for a long time. She wasn't sure what she was worried about, but she always had a bad feeling... This thick fog was by no means as pure as it seemed.
.
…
Day 27
At midnight, Manny suddenly frowned in her sleep, and her expression became much more painful.
Outside the tent, the camera had stopped working at some point, and there were still a few sporadic firelights from the fire beside it flickering in the thick fog.
…
"What age are you in! Are you still making a wish on a shooting star?!" The sloppy uncle looked at the little boy beside him speechlessly.
The boy ignored him, closed his eyes tightly, and whispered: "Please, fulfill my wish! Let me find my mother as soon as possible!"
The voice was very low, but the sloppy uncle still heard it. He was holding a beer can and looking into the distance.
After a while, the boy's wish was over. He sat up, rubbed his hands, and carefully picked up the grilled fish on the side. As soon as he took a bite, he showed a disgusted expression and said: "Eh! Lin Zai, your craftsmanship is so good."
It’s getting worse!”
When the sloppy uncle heard this, he immediately slapped the boy on the back of the head and said at the same time: "You brat, how many times have I told you that you want to see my father, or my father! Who allowed you to call me Lin Zai!"
The boy didn't feel any pain, he was laughing and joking: "But Lin Zai's scream is so smooth!"
The sloppy uncle rolled his eyes at him, and then tried to grab the grilled fish: "If you don't want to eat it, bring it over!"
The boy dodged it, stepped aside with a smile and said: "If you don't give it, it won't taste good, but in order to fill my stomach, I will forcefully eliminate it!"
The sloppy uncle snorted, his eyes full of doting.
After the father and son had eaten and drank enough, they fell asleep among the rocks, but the uncle did not fall asleep. He kept his eyes open and looking at the sky.
Perhaps sensing his father's strangeness, the little boy said, "Lin Zai...why aren't you still asleep...aren't you still on your way tomorrow?"
The uncle patted his son and said, "It's okay, you can go to sleep first."
The boy pressed his face against his father's arms and said, "But I can't sleep if you don't snore!"
The uncle was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "Really? Let me just say, my snoring is poisonous. Once you get used to it, you can't live without it!"
The boy also laughed, but he smiled and suddenly asked: "Then why did mom leave? Can she... still sleep now?"
The uncle didn't smile either. He clenched his other hand tightly and tried hard to suppress his emotions.
Seeing that his uncle was silent, the boy hugged his father tightly and said, "It's okay Lin Zai, we can definitely get her back! Don't be sad!"
The uncle really didn't know whether to laugh or cry after hearing this, but his hand slowly relaxed.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
"Well, then you don't have to eat my grilled fish anymore!"
The boy chuckled, and after a while, his breathing became even.
…
Manny looked at the father and son in silence, then turned around and looked around.
This mountain is really strange, bare and lifeless, but there is a road, a very wide, very flat road that goes around it. It stands in the center of the sea of fog, looking so abrupt...
…
Day 28
In the morning, when Manny woke up
, the sun is shining brightly, the thick fog has dispersed at some point, and there is a rare breeze, bringing with it the chill of early spring.
Manny bundled up her clothes and came out of the tent with chattering teeth, only to find that the camera had fallen to the ground again, and was still facing the sky.
She looked around and saw that the scenery on both sides of the road was no different from when she came. The scenery was beautiful and pleasant.
but……
Manny pulled her hair back, then picked up the camera and walked aside to sit down.
When I turned it on, I saw that it only used one-fifth of the battery, which means it did not record the entire night.
Not only did this not make Manny feel happy, it actually gave her a creepy feeling.
‘Is it following?’ Manny felt her scalp numb. She looked around cautiously, and then turned on the playback.
Sure enough, the playback time was only one hour and thirty-seven minutes, and the recording time started at 9:11 last night.
this……
Did the machine break?
Manny thought, then picked up the machine and checked it briefly. There was no major damage, and Manny was not very good at detailed maintenance. In the end, she could only accept the facts in front of her and watch the replay first.
It was still 1.5 times faster, but at the beginning, Manny discovered something she hadn't noticed.
That is, another piece of her face fell off at some point. Now only half of her face is intact. The rest of her face is not protected by the skin, and the exposed muscle tissue looks very scary.
Manny tentatively touched the wounds left by the peeling.
hiss……
It hurt, but there was no bleeding.
After sighing, Manny took out the scarf from her bag and covered her entire face, leaving only a pair of eyes.
Continuing to watch the replay, there is no gain in the remaining dozens of minutes. The only thing that is certain is that the machine fell to the ground after it stopped working, not because it fell to the ground.
After confirming this, Manny became even more suspicious of whether "it" was following her.
But Manny also felt that she was hysterical and was scaring herself. After all, it was like Fermi's paradox.
"If it really exists, then...where is it?"
Manny thought for a while, put away the camera, and then decided to continue on her way.
But this time she felt that she had found the direction, which was the mountain that the father and son were climbing that she had seen in her dream last night.
It seems to be on this land, but far away, at least from here Manny has not been able to find it.
But Manny is convinced that as long as she keeps moving forward, she will definitely find the mountain, and at the top of the mountain, maybe that is where the truth lies.
…
Day 39
After resting for a while, Manny wrapped her face again with a scarf and continued walking forward.
After throwing away the backpack, the progress became much more brisk, but Manny's mood continued to worsen, because halfway along the way she found the traces of the bonfire left by the father and son, as well as the half-baked rope that had been secretly hidden by the boy.
fish.
What's even weirder is that it seems like a long time has passed, but the fish has not rotted.
This made Manny start to wonder, was the fish the little boy ate really a fish?
Although there is the sound of water beside me... but at this height, where did the fish come from?
Confusion accumulated in her heart, and Manny's pace quietly accelerated. She was eager to solve all these mysteries, and she even hoped to find someone to talk to her after the thirty-nine days of lonely journey.