In the silent hotel, He Ao looked up at the giant eye in the sky, radiating a blood-red glow and 'replacing' the sun.
Telephone rings still rose and fell throughout the city, but they were usually hung up almost as soon as they started.
This mysterious 'call' altered the user's cognition, making them believe their deceased relatives and friends were still alive, causing them to answer naturally.
He Ao had already tested this at the airport terminal. The process could be interrupted, and those who answered the phone initially retained autonomy—they could hang up on their own.
So after he led the gendarmerie through the city and kept everyone informed via broadcasts, especially after most people saw those who refused to believe vanish the instant they answered, the entire city quickly quieted down.
However, the calls would not come only once. Based on the information gathered from Enke City so far, the calls would come again at intervals under the blood-red light, each time from a different name.
Cutting the signal or turning off the phone could not stop the calls from coming through.
The called person's self-awareness would also weaken as the calls came more 'frequently,' making it increasingly difficult to resist the 'temptation' to answer.
Thus, on one hand, He Ao had Jamie collect as many phones as possible to prevent ordinary people from coming into contact with them.
On the other hand, he was urgently evacuating Enke City's residents under the disaster management regulations, sending them south as much as possible.
Enke City lay at the edge of the blood sun's illuminated range. Walking roughly ten kilometers south would take them beyond its light.
He Ao had sent people to test it. For those who had already been illuminated by the blood sun, the calls would not