Fear of food

Chapter 88 The eagle catches the chick

Chen Qi searched the two of them for a while, but found nothing on the candy, but found a cell phone on the chili.

However, this phone is very special; it's a model that Chen Qi has never seen before, and it's thicker and heavier than most mainstream phones these days.

After examining it, Chen Qi discovered that the phone didn't have a fingerprint unlock function at all; it required both a password and facial recognition to unlock.

Unable to unlock the phone, Chen Qi didn't throw it away; instead, he carried it with him.

We must not give up on any possible clue!
"Are those two guys really dead?"

Chen Qi's gaze swept back and forth between Chili and Gummy. Chili had avoided Zhui Feng's needle in the last moment before she died. Could someone with such a strong sense of self-preservation really die so easily?
Chen Qi said to Zhui Feng, "Brother Zhui Feng, can I use that thing you have?"

Zhui Feng asked, somewhat puzzled, "What do you need this feather duster for?"

Chen Qi didn't explain further, and Zhui Feng still handed over the things in his hand.

However, Chen Qi glanced at the gleaming needle and carefully avoided it while holding the syringe.

His cautious demeanor seemed somewhat strange to others.

Chen Qi's subsequent actions were beyond what "strange" could even be described as such in the eyes of Coffee and the others.

Chen Qi was seen taking a feather duster and poking at the two corpses on the ground.

Zhui Feng couldn't stand it anymore: "Biscuit, what grudge do you hold? We were teammates for a while, why are you still rubbing salt in the wound?"

Chen Qi remained silent. In his eyes, he had merely used the needle of a large syringe to prick the two corpses a few times to ensure they were truly dead.

Coffee, looking worried, warned, "Biscuit, be careful about the loss of humanity."

Chen Qi was taken aback, and after reflecting on his behavior for a moment, he felt that there didn't seem to be any major problem.

However, when he made eye contact with his teammates, he always felt that they seemed to have a hint of wariness towards him, though he didn't know if it was just his imagination.

After inserting several needles, Chen Qi stopped when he saw no movement from the two corpses.

He abandoned the bulky rifle on the gummy bear and took a pistol from the chili pepper.

Zhui Feng didn't take the syringe back, so Chen Qi held the syringe in his left hand and a pistol in his right, ready for both ranged and melee combat.

With his weapon in hand, he caught up with his teammates and headed towards the corridor on the first floor of the hall.

"What's next?" Zhui Feng asked. "Both officials are dead. Should we still go and save that girl?"

“Of course, we should give it a try, for our own safety as well,” Coffee said without hesitation. “But before that, let’s think about how to get out of the illusion.”

Chen Qi was slightly taken aback, but after a moment's thought, he understood. In his view, it was just a localized cognitive distortion, but in the eyes of Coffee and the others, the weapon in their hands had suddenly turned into something else, and they must have thought they had fallen into an illusion.

Gan Shui said, "So, does that mean the two officials aren't necessarily dead? They just died in the illusion, but might still be alive in reality."

Zhui Feng agreed, "That's possible. The parasite in the illusion was killed before, and it was only injured but not dead outside."

Coffee said, "We are different from the parasites, so we still need to protect ourselves. Based on previous experience, we can only escape the illusion by leaving its area, but not within the illusion itself, but in reality."

Chen Qi remained silent, walking at the very back of the group, quietly observing everyone in the team.

Currently, all of the teammates, except for the one who drank swill, are more or less suspicious.

Swill appears the most normal, but among a group of abnormal people, the only one who looks normal may have the biggest problem.

Coffee turned to look at Chen Qi and said, "Biscuit, you're the only one among us who truly experienced the illusion. Do you have any thoughts on that?"

Although the pancake and swill had briefly entered the illusion before, they only stayed for a short while.

Only Chen Qi could be said to have explored the illusionary realm.

Chen Qi hesitated for a moment, then suddenly took a quick step forward and rushed towards Zhui Feng, who was closest to him.

The large syringe in his hand moved forward with him, the gleaming needle less than ten centimeters away from Zhui Feng.

Chen Qi observed Zhui Feng's reaction and found that he did not instinctively retreat or dodge, and his eyes and expression were not unusual.

It must be a genuine distortion of perception, not an act... Chen Qi breathed a slight sigh of relief.

He pretended to be nonchalant and said, "I feel that this may not be an illusion."

Faced with his teammates' questioning looks, Chen Qi raised the syringe in his hand: "To you, this is a feather duster, but to me, it is still a syringe."

"You mean you weren't affected by the illusion?"

“I said, this may not necessarily be an illusion. It could just be a partial distortion of cognition. Your cognition has been distorted, but mine has not.”

At this point, Chen Qi smiled and said, "If you don't believe me, someone can come and let me give you an acupuncture treatment."

The group looked at each other, then Gan Shui gritted his teeth, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Let me give it a try!"

Big Pancake gave a thumbs up: "Ah Gan, are you serious?"

Chen Qi didn't stand on ceremony. He inserted a needle into each of the four limbs. Apart from a little pain, it wouldn't have any major impact, and they would basically recover after a while.

So he swiftly inserted the needle into the swill-soaked arm.

The needle pierced the swill's skin, but the swill remained unfazed: "Did you prick me? I didn't feel anything."

Chen Qi looked doubtful, then applied more force, inserting the needle further in, deeper into the needle.

But the swill still shook his head: "It doesn't hurt, I don't feel anything."

The expressions on Chen Qi's and his teammates' faces became subtle.

"That's impossible..." Chen Qi couldn't understand. If the large syringe was no longer lethal, why did Chili Pepper avoid it before?
"Am I really hallucinating? Everyone else seems normal, but I'm the only one who's not?"

Chen Qi's teammates were worried about his mental state, feeling that they were only trapped in ordinary illusions, while Chen Qi was trapped even deeper than them.

"Alright, stop thinking about that. Whether it's an illusion or a cognitive distortion, we just need to find a way to escape its influence." Coffee clapped his hands to attract everyone's attention. "Let's think about how to leave first." Chen Qi suppressed his doubts and analyzed, "If it's a localized cognitive distortion, it shouldn't restrict our movement. Just walk out and leave this area."

"If it really is an illusion, then we're in trouble."

Coffee suggested, "Then let's use the cookie method first, treat this as a cognitive distortion, and leave the teaching building first."

"All the abnormalities started after we entered the teaching building. If it's just a cognitive distortion, we should be able to get rid of the influence as soon as we leave the teaching building."

"Let's go then." The group had just entered the teaching building lobby when they turned back.

However, looking out from the teaching building at this moment, the visibility outside has decreased by several levels!
When they arrived, it was pitch black, but there was still a faint moonlight that allowed them to make out the general outline. Now, they can't see anything at all.

It achieved the literal meaning of "so dark you can't see your hand in front of your face".

"Get a flashlight!"

Chen Qi thought that the two of them, Chili and the other person, still had flashlights on them.

"What kind of flashlight is this? It's become an electric shaver." Zhui Feng picked up a flashlight and pressed the switch on it.

Suddenly, a blinding beam of light shone down and shone on his face.

But Zhui Feng faced the bright light head-on without even blinking.

"No, can't you see the light?"

"What light? This thing just buzzes and vibrates when you turn it on." As he spoke, Zhui Feng picked up a flashlight and shone it on his chin. In no time, he had actually shaved his beard clean.

This made Chen Qi even more confused, doubting his teammates and himself even more.

"Use your phone for light. Don't phones have flashlights?" Coffee said.

So everyone took out their phones and turned on the flashlights.

Chen Q took the flashlight: "Let me use it, I can see."

He shone his flashlight across the playground, but it was completely empty; there wasn't a soul in sight, and he had no idea where the head of the teaching department had gone.

The group huddled together and walked into the darkness outside.

Once they entered the dark area, the flashlights on Coffee and the others' phones suddenly proved insufficient; the light was too weak and the illumination range too small, making them incomparable to flashlights.

Moreover, the darkness was like a thin veil that absorbed light, filtering and swallowing the light emitted by their phones, so that they could only see a small area in front of them, and when they looked down, they couldn't even see their feet.

Only the flashlight in Chen Qi's hand could pierce the darkness and illuminate the way forward, but it was only visible to himself.

Therefore, Chen Qi could only take on the role of leading the way, with the others following behind him.

Soon they reached a place a few dozen meters away from the teaching building, and the flagpole was just ahead.

But Chen Qi knew that the perceptual distortion had not disappeared.

Because the light from the flashlight in his hand was still only visible to himself.

Coffee's voice came from behind: "My pistol still looks like a pencil case. Let's keep going and leave Jingquan School to see if it will recover."

Chen Qi thought so too, so he shouted, "Stay close to me, move towards the door now."

At this point, there's no need to climb over any walls; heading straight to the main gate is the closest and easiest option.

There's only one security guard at the entrance; if he dares to block the way, I'll take him down.

Everyone had similar thoughts: they would rather fight the parasites head-on than continue groping in the unknown darkness.

Just then, the slightly nervous voice of the swill came from behind: "It looks like something just went by!"

Chen Qi quickly shone his flashlight around behind him, but found nothing. Then his pupils contracted: "Where's the bread!"

"Huh? Where's the bread?"

The group huddled together, and the light from the four cell phones converged to illuminate their faces: coffee, swill, chasing the wind, and flatbread, but bread was missing!

"I was holding her hand just a moment ago, how could this be..." Coffee frowned.

Chen Qi immediately said, "Let's get out of here first. Only when we're out of the way can we have a chance to save her!"

Coffee nodded: "From now on, let's each hold someone's hand and not let go, so we don't get separated!"

Chen Qi held a flashlight in one hand and a large syringe in the other. He had already tucked his pistol into his waistband and couldn't free his hands, so he said to the swill behind him, "Hold onto my clothes."

So, Gan Shui tugged at Chen Qi's clothes, followed by Coffee, Big Pancake, and Chasing Wind, the five of them forming a string like they were playing a game of tag.

Chen Qi quickened his pace and jogged toward the school gate, with his teammates following closely behind.

In the quiet night, on the empty campus, the footsteps of the five people sounded exceptionally clear, chaotic yet orderly, following a unique rhythm.

Suddenly, Chen Qi's flashlight beam caught something flash by, and he immediately slammed on the brakes, shouting, "Stop!"

As soon as he stopped, his teammates behind him also stopped. Chen Qi shone his flashlight around, but couldn't find the dark figure that had just flashed by.

So he subconsciously continued to walk forward, but slowed down, while turning his head to shine his flashlight behind him.

But upon seeing this, a chill ran through him, as if freezing his spine and spreading all the way to his brain.

There was no one behind him!
Who is that grabbing my clothes?

Chen Qi turned around suddenly, and his clear footsteps immediately echoed across the playground, tap tap!
Then he heard four footsteps, some light and some heavy, some chaotic yet orderly, coming from behind him.

Tap tap, tap tap, tap tap tap...

(End of this chapter)