My Weekly Refreshing Mentor Spirit-Chapter 309 - 289: This Is Hell

A thousand years later, the world that should have drastically changed still appeared normal and peaceful.

Everything functioned as it should, even the manuscript written by the Heart Stealer a thousand years ago, and the overturned hot water remained, leaving no trace of time.

This was the most crucial part. Even more terrifying was that the Heart Stealer actually thought this was normal. Everything now seemed normal to him; he had stayed in another world for over a thousand years, consuming over a billion souls, his daughter was old enough to marry, and yet the water in his house remained warm, which he considered normal.

His perception had been completely twisted, this was a shared thought between Xue Dili and the young officer after exchanging glances.

This Heart Stealer could barely be considered a creature anymore. His perception and instincts were entirely programmed, more like a predetermined program running its course rather than a living being.

Just like how he never questioned the origins of the Divine Tree nor questioned why his home remained the same a thousand years later, this attitude of treating the abnormal as ordinary was what was most twisted.

It was as absurd as someone who clearly killed their own mother yet feigned innocence and asked others, "How is my mother?" like some psychotic breakdown.

Xue Dili immediately put the Heart Stealer back into the book, as his insights and information held no value. Not a single word he said could be trusted, and perhaps nothing in this twisted world could be trusted.

The two of them exchanged another glance, both sensing the peculiarity and distortion of this world, yet neither knew exactly what was wrong.

On the street outside, there was bustling traffic. A young lady who had just finished school seemed to be chatting with an elderly lady about amusing school stories. Merchants setting up stalls lined the road with various goods, promoting their products.

Everything seemed so normal, so normal that it seemed too abnormal.

Originally, they thought this world would be filled with wandering souls and demons devouring each other, or an entirely parasitic world where the Heart Stealers had colonized, engaging in "Pseudo-man hunting ground" activities.

But now, seeing the world exposed so vividly before their eyes, it was more difficult to accept.

"Let’s split up for now and exchange intelligence later," said Xue Dili.

"Alright, use the emergency contact device at the first sign of trouble. I have a terrible premonition," said the young officer, feeling a shiver down his spine, his fear and unease running deep.

"I will."

They agreed to meet up the next morning, double-checking the room and the water glass before leaving.

The warm water had cooled, indicating that the physical constants of the world were at least similar enough; over time, the water temperature would drop, which was normal.

Now, the two began to investigate in different directions, with one heading towards where the sun set, investigating out of the city, while the other headed in the opposite direction, with plans to reconvene the next morning.

Xue Dili began his investigation heading east, stopping to chat with various people along the way.

The people of this world were quite talkative. Xue Dili listened to a street vendor talk about how exceptional her daughter was, her remarkable academic achievements, and her bright future.

Even a tired office worker, out of breath while waiting for a bus, perked up with excitement when discussing the city’s development with Xue Dili, standing tall with enthusiasm.

At a city hall-like area he passed, Xue Dili rummaged through paperwork, finding only stacks of financial spreadsheets and project plans.

The vast piles of city planning proposals were messy and lacked anything of interest to Xue Dili.

There was just one report that perplexed Xue Dili.

"On the Issues of Mass Nighttime Mental Agitation"

This report explained that after dark, some residents exhibited symptoms of mental derangement, characterized by meaningless stress responses and aggressive behavior towards anything around them.

A great number of citizens had been urgently sent to psychiatric hospitals, but the issue remained unresolved. This mass mental disorder drew considerable attention from experts, with many coming to Beifeng City to disseminate findings on mental health.

Reading through this, Xue Dili frowned—could the Heart Stealers suffer from mental disorders? They seemed like logical NPCs, like the Divine King, obliviously overlooking such glaring abnormalities, speaking as if they knew nothing while believing they were correct.

No more valuable information was found, and Xue Dili looked towards the setting sun outside, saying, "The sun is about to set."

...

As the sun set in the west, Xue Dili strolled through a city rife with the scent of Heart Stealers.

He lay in wait for nightfall, hoping to find a triggered Heart Stealer to uncover some clues.

It was at this moment that a large vehicle stopped in front of Xue Dili.

The window rolled down, and a student-looking young lady asked, "Hey handsome, we’re planning to go camping at the foot of Beifeng. Would you like to join us?"

Xue Dili suspiciously looked through the glass at the interior of the large vehicle; three men and four women seemed to be waiting for Xue Dili’s answer.

They appeared to be from the same club or class, like they were preparing to go on a trip and rented a large vehicle for the outing.

The girls looked at Xue Dili with fiery eyes while the boys were very wary. Clearly, this travel plan was something they had schemed for a long time; in the remote wilderness, three boys and four girls—if something really happened, probably everyone would be intentionally oblivious.

But Xue Dili smirked slightly. He was just in need of targets for observation and, amidst the "enemy" looks from the boys, quietly said, "Sure."

...

The bus slowly pulled over by a small stream in the suburbs; taking advantage of the sun not being fully set, they took out an inflatable tent and began setting up camp and preparing food.

Xue Dili did not join them; he watched them act like a bystander from beginning to end.

At least for now, they all seemed quite normal. The boys were responsible for setting up tents and making a stove, while the girls handled the snacks and drinks they brought, turning them into a somewhat decent meal.

They chatted and laughed, discussing school matters and talking about their families and relatives. Some of the boys even took the opportunity to show excessive attentiveness to the girls they fancied.

Unfortunately, it seemed their original plans were all disrupted by the arrival of Xue Dili, as the girls’ gazes were all drawn to him.

This made the three boys look at Xue Dili with ill intentions.

"We need to figure out a way to mess with that guy who inexplicably hopped on," said one of the boys gathered together after leaving the campsite.

"Yeah, this was a hard-won chance for a union, and he messed it all up," said another, angrily.

Looking at the sun setting in the distance, he said, "It’ll be dark soon, let’s take the opportunity to push him into the river and then laugh hard at this drifter who’s come out of nowhere."

This plan met with unanimous agreement from the other two.

So they decided to check the riverbank while it was still somewhat light, to assess the feasibility of the plan and perfect their setup.

When the three reached the cliff and saw the steep riverbank several meters high, they immediately started coming up with a string of good ideas.

By then, the sun had fully set, and a scarlet moon hung in the sky.

Suddenly, each of the three pushed the others toward the riverbank, the change was so fast that all three were stunned, not expecting the other two to suddenly reveal terrifying smiles.

The unfortunate one in the middle misstepped and fell into the river, swept away by the current to who knows where, while the other two began fighting instantly.

Their expressions were twisted, mad, as if facing a mortal enemy, biting each other’s ears and noses; blood flowed like a fountain.

Until one of them completely broke the other’s spine with an elbow strike, the bone spur piercing the skin brought forth a wild gush of blood, the heavily wounded one laughed manically, rushing back to the original campsite, seemingly wanting to find Xue Dili.

But there, he only saw five female corpses lying on the ground foaming at the mouth; they had drunk the drinks together, but each had poisoned the others, resulting in each cup containing four poisons, and now they all lay dead in an abstract manner.

Not only were the camping group of three men and four women affected; in a nearby village, a husband drew a knife on his wife, and the son poisoned the drinks.

In the city, the roads were filled with bumper cars racing at hundreds of miles per hour, with fire and thick smoke rising to the sky, debris and limbs scattered everywhere.

The entire world seemed to have gone mad in an instant, everyone turning into violent maniacs with acute stress disorder, all engaging in the most primitive slaughter and cleansing.

...

The young lieutenant, having found no direction in his initial investigation, encountered a kind-hearted old lady.

The old lady asked if he wanted to stay at an inn for the night; the young lieutenant, at a loss for leads, decided to take up the offer to gather some information.

The old lady had a little girl who had just started school; the young lieutenant quietly probed for information, yet found none, only overhearing an offhand "it’s noisy outside at night recently."

However, that night, the young lieutenant suddenly heard heavy bone-chopping sounds coming from the old lady’s kitchen.

He was puzzled—how could the old lady, who seemed so frail, have such strength?

When he peered in to see what was happening, he was horrified to find the little girl’s head placed to the side while the old lady was vigorously chopping the legs of the little body dressed in a skirt.

She looked at him with a smile and said, "Young man, would you like to try some bone soup?"