Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1600: Someone Else's House

Tapping the thigh with the right index finger.

Tapping the thigh with the right index finger.

Tapping the thigh with the right index finger.

Tapping the thigh with the right index finger.

Wu Yiliu's right index finger, as if pulled up by a string, abruptly rose into the air and gently tapped his thigh. But he knew clearly that he himself had commanded the finger—it was an action executed entirely in accordance with his will.

Glance at the forest on the left.

Glance at the forest on the left.

The pitch-black silhouette of the forest on the left was finely trimmed by the night into various heights of treetops, with a hazy white crescent moon floating in the night sky.

What happened today? If he recalled correctly, he had just dozed off from fatigue and woke to find the cabin extremely quiet—Abby was asleep, Pence and Cuining hadn't returned.

If he remembered correctly, it seemed to be two o'clock in the afternoon.

Startled, Wu Yiliu shivered all over. When he looked again, the night had dissipated: heavy dark clouds gathered over the mountains and forests, suppressing the daylight until it weakened, everything soaked in a dim, cold hue, though dark, it was still daytime.

Why did he see the night sky? Was he hallucinating?

He broke out in goosebumps all over, and couldn't help tightening the blanket wrapped around him; in the pale, incomplete reflection on the glass, a white hand reached up to his shoulder, gripping the edge of the blanket, then froze.

That's not right, he had thrown off the blanket when he got up.

Don't let go, wrap tighter, wrap tighter, don't let go... It's going to rain, it's very cold, wrap tighter.

"It was only then that I heard that voice for the first time, and finally understood why, without knowing, I had put on those women's shoes. I don't know how long it has been ringing in my ears, in my mind, but I know it must have been quite some time," Wu Yiliu said.

Wu Yiliu remained as he was, sitting on the rock, and across from him, Abby did the same, her small, round face pale, looking like a motionless wax figure.

"It seems like others heard the voice too, not just me. Pence asked us while washing his face if anyone was speaking... Clearly, he heard something. After he heard a certain human voice, his next action was to grab the plastic bag with the clothes and hats. Thinking back, it was as if he was persuaded," he continued.

"You used 'persuade,' not 'command,'" Abby said, the frozen silence of the wax figure suddenly animated, startling Wu Yiliu. "That makes me think you're quite spiritual."

With those words, Abby went silent again, like a robot that's been turned off. Rainwater slid into the corner of her eyes, but she didn't seem to mind.

Wu Yiliu felt uncomfortable for her and couldn't help wiping his own eyes, saying, "My experience is still not enough. Honestly, I'm not afraid of you laughing, it was only after we ran into the forest together that I suddenly realized there was a strand of golden hair on the blanket. Before that, my mind was completely chaotic, without a clear purpose for the pocket dimension, unknown reasons for clothing winding around people, and... and people gradually transforming."

Abby opened her mouth, teeth barely visible, saying, "Halfway through the story, I became suspicious. Why would you choose this time, this place, to tell me such a story?"