Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Why Are the Eyes of This Monster in the Photo Moving?

The daytime of this island metropolis was like a vibrant, unfading scroll of prosperity,

unfurling itself before the eyes of every traveler in a manner that was nearly clamorous, yet perfectly orderly.

Sunlight struggled to pour through the narrow gaps between skyscrapers, spilling onto every street below.

Walking along these streets was like being inside a colossal beehive; the crowds flowed like a tide, yet everyone went about their business in an orderly fashion.

Shops lined both sides of the street, packed shoulder to shoulder,

their colorful signs glittering brilliantly under the bright sun.

Shopkeepers, their faces lit with friendly smiles, warmly greeted every passing customer.

A Sushi Master, fully focused behind his counter, sliced fresh fish with an admirable, practiced skill.

A Barista deftly created latte art, bestowing each cup of coffee with an exquisite and beautiful design.

The air was filled with the aromas of all kinds of food, an inviting scent that made one instinctively slow their pace,

yearning to taste the ultimate temptation for the palate.

’What is this stuff?’

’Did a new store open recently? Is this some kind of huge ad campaign?’

’I’ll go pick one up and see what it is.’

Pedestrians bustling along the street all noticed the photographs fluttering down from the sky.

Many reached out curiously to grab at the falling pictures, while others bent down to pick them up off the ground.

Some passed them to their friends to have a look,

and others huddled together, curiously examining the contents.

"Ah! What is this? It’s terrifying! Is this some kind of prank?"

"Could it be a new horror-themed shop opening? I love this kind of stuff. The design is pretty unique, though."

"Why are the eyes on this monster in the photo moving? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

Numerous passersby were scrutinizing the photographs.

Within the silent, still photograph hid a horrifying image that defied human comprehension.

The face, subtly similar to a human’s yet vastly different, had every line steeped in an indescribable chill.

The muscles around the eye sockets seemed to be dragged down by an invisible, immense force, sinking deep into a dark, nameless abyss.

Inside the sockets, there was nothing—not the slightest glimmer of life.

These voids were darker than the deepest night, colder than the quietest wasteland.

And the mouth was stretched open in a grotesque exaggeration.

The corners of the lips were torn all the way to the ears, revealing a row of uneven, discolored teeth.

This mouth seemed incapable of ever closing. It was screaming silently, as if locked in a ceaseless, sorrowful wail.

Though no sound waves reached the ear, it sent a chill through one’s heart and made the soul tremble.

Every inch of its skin was covered in a grayish-blue sheen,

neither the vibrant liveliness of the living nor the still silence of the dead,

but some bizarre state of existence in between.

Under the bright sunlight, this color appeared all the more sinister and terrifying,

as if it could spread out from the photograph at any moment and contaminate everything around it.

In the air,

an indescribable chill seemed to spread.

It pierced the skin and seeped deep into the bone marrow, making people shiver uncontrollably.

The photograph was like a cursed seal; a single fleeting glance

was enough to awaken the deepest fears and insecurities within a person’s heart.

"Get rid of it! It’s so scary."

"I’m calling the Defense Department. Some bastard must be doing this on purpose to spread panic."

"This face in the photo... I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before, but I just can’t remember where."

Many people were terrified by the face in the picture and quickly threw the photos to the ground.

Some even crumpled them up and tossed them into trash cans, while others pulled out lighters and tried to set them on fire.

For some reason, however, the photographs wouldn’t burn.

Defeated, the person had no choice but to throw it into a trash can.

He didn’t think much of it, just assuming the photo was made of some fire-resistant material.

「On a certain street.」

A few young people who had just gotten off work were excitedly discussing where to go and relax for the evening.

After all, tomorrow was the weekend, so they wouldn’t have to wake up so early.

Their faces were all beaming with anticipation and joy for the coming weekend.

POP!

Suddenly, the head of a young woman walking in the middle of the group exploded.

Shattered bone, spattering brain matter, and sprays of flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Her colleagues, who had been laughing just a moment before, were all frozen in place,

their bodies, clothes, hair, and faces splattered with all sorts of gory substances that assaulted the senses.

The young woman in the business suit remained standing, one hand still holding the strap of her crossbody bag.

"Ah! Jiazi! Jiazi, what the hell is happening?!"

Her colleagues around her only snapped back to reality when the thick, stomach-churning stench of blood hit them.

Fear and devastation were written on every face—anyone would have reacted the same way in such a situation.

You’re walking with your friend, and then their head just suddenly explodes.

The headless corpse is still standing there, blood gushing endlessly from the severed neck.

"Look! Over by the street! What is that thing? A monster! Is it a monster or an Evil Spirit? No, wait! An Evil Spirit is a monster, and a monster is an Evil Spirit!"

A man with a briefcase fell to the ground in terror, propping himself up with his hands, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

He struggled to get up, but his legs refused to obey, and cold sweat streamed down his cheeks.

「Around the corner.」

A slender, lanky, grayish-blue figure stood silently, tightly clutching in its hand

a shattered, blood-drenched head.

The head’s features were still faintly recognizable as belonging to their gentle and lovely colleague, Jiazi.

The beautiful colleague whose gentle smile once lit up the office,

was now just a shattered face, her vacant eyes staring into an endless darkness.

Blood trickled down in thin streams, dripping onto the cold flagstones,

quickly forming a shocking pool of blood that gave off a suffocating, metallic stench.

The air seemed to freeze in an instant, and the faint sound of each drop of blood hitting the ground was clearly audible.

They danced on the ground, spreading,

and eventually merged into a winding river of blood,

flowing silently toward a storm drain at the end of the street with a GURGLING sound.

In the suffocating silence, the grayish-blue figure suddenly moved.

Its movements were lightning-fast, beyond imagination, as if it had crossed the very boundaries of space.

In the blink of an eye, it vanished from its spot.

At the same time, another male colleague, panicked and just about to turn and flee,

met an even more tragic fate.

His abdomen was suddenly ripped open by an irresistible, immense force,

and with a dull tearing sound, his internal organs were mercilessly yanked out by the monster.

They were tossed carelessly to the side of the road, like a useless object being discarded.

With this sudden act of brutality, the entire street was instantly consumed by panic.

The grayish-blue figure darted about like a phantom,

each movement accompanied by a flicker of afterimages, its speed so dumbfounding that its path was nearly impossible to track.

On the street, blood gathered into trickles, then gradually formed a river, flowing slowly toward a nearby drain,

accompanied by a GURGLING sound that seemed to be the quiet prelude to the opening of the Gate of Hell.

The desperate screams and hysterical cries of the people intertwined,

forming a terrifying, apocalyptic symphony.

The night grew deeper, and the river of blood continued its silent flow, carrying a dirge of lost life into an unknown abyss.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and the scent of despair,

as if the entire world had been plunged into a Purgatory of blood and gore, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

Chu He stood at the very top of a building,

looking down on the tragic scene in the street below. He sniffed the air gently. "What a prosperous island metropolis."