Trembling

The three young men in the car quickly recognized the "thing" that had landed on their hood—a rather large, beautifully colored canary.

Moreover, the canary tilted its head, staring at them through the windshield.

"Damn it, you idiot, get lost!" The young man in the driver's seat rolled down the window and slapped the door a few times, trying to make noise to scare the canary on the hood away.

But the canary was completely unaffected, still tilting its head to look at them.

A young man in the back seat opened the door and got out, yelling at a girl not far in front of the car, "You fucking come here! You smashed our car window, do you know that? What are you standing there for? Come here!"

The young man, still in the back seat, holding the unconscious, disheveled girl in his arms, frowned and said, "I think that girl's acting a bit strange, and so is that bird. Let's get away from here, drive somewhere further away..."

"Damn it, the car windows are all smashed! Do you know how much it costs to replace a windshield?" After confirming that his companions could all see the girl, the young man in the driver's seat realized it wasn't a "ghost sighting" and wasn't afraid anymore. He cursed and muttered, took a half-empty bottle of mineral water from the car, and threw it at the canary on the hood. But before he could throw the water bottle, the canary flapped its wings and flew up, easily dodging the attack, and then landed back down, looking at him with utter disdain.

The young man in the back seat cursed, "Are you fucking stupid? Have you forgotten what's going on in our car? Hurry up and get out of here, I'll pay for the windshield replacement!"

"That girl looked quite pretty, and it seemed like she was alone, or maybe..."

The young man in the driver's seat was speaking when he suddenly heard his companion outside the car yell "Holy crap!" and then shout, "What are those things? Did you see them?"

"What? What is that?" The young man in the driver's seat looked back at his terrified companion below the car, then followed his gaze to the lone girl standing in the headlights ahead, and was stunned.

Although they were five or six meters apart, the girl in front of the car, her eyes, were like a sky brewing a storm, drawing his consciousness into it.

As he struggled to look away, he was astonished to find that his surroundings had suddenly changed. He had been by the artificial lake and the grove of trees, but now all of that scenery was gone, and thick fog was rising everywhere.

Even the beautiful yet increasingly eerie girl ahead was rapidly enveloped and shrouded in mist.

Just as their companion got back into the car and closed the door, a huge figure emerged from the thick fog, passed over the lone girl, and crouched down in front of their car.

The figure was at least four meters tall, with several thick arms like a spider. Its head was covered with countless eyes, and its mouth was wide open, roaring silently at them. Its mouth was almost pressed against the windshield, and its interior was pitch black, as if it led straight to an abyss with no end. Just one look at it would chill one's heart.

"Holy shit!! Holy shit!!! Drive! Drive the fuck away!!!"

"Oh my god!! Mom!!!--"

The two people in the back seat let out a bloodcurdling scream; clearly, they had also witnessed the horrific scene and seen the monster.

The young man in the driver's seat reached for the start button with trembling hands, but just as his hand was about to press it, an image flashed through his mind of being trampled into a bloody pulp by that monster along with the car. His hand trembled, and he dared not press it again.

Looking up, he saw that the windshield was cracked, and the monster seemed about to rush in and swallow his head.

Terrified, he dared not drive anymore, and instead opened the car door and ran back.

But after running only a few steps, he tripped over something and fell to the ground. The surroundings were foggy, and he couldn't see the road or anything else. He also found that his heart was pounding and he was having some difficulty breathing.

A police car drove onto a path with no streetlights along the artificial lake.

"This is police car number **035. We have arrived at the reported location but have not found anything yet... Wait, we have one." The officer in the passenger seat put down his walkie-talkie and looked with his colleague in the driver's eye at two distinct headlights on the artificial lake in the distance, and they could faintly hear screams coming from there.

Both officers were somewhat nervous. They quickly drove up to the car with its headlights on, reported to the command center, and then carefully approached it.

Then they saw a girl standing in front of the car, her body trembling slightly; a young man lying on the ground not far from the car, screaming and talking nonsense; and someone squatting by the lake, holding their head, doing something unknown.

An officer went to check the situation in the car. As soon as he saw the disheveled and unconscious girl in the back seat, he knew that the alarm received by the command center referred to this car. However, what surprised him was that, in addition to the girl, there was also a young man in the back seat with his legs tucked into the seat, curled up and trembling, as if he had been frightened by something.

Another officer went to check the girl in front of the car. According to the information relayed to them from the command center, this girl should be the one who called the police.

But as soon as he reached the car, the officer was blinded by the headlights and shouted to his colleague who was inspecting the vehicle, "Xiao Wang, turn off that car's headlights first!"

Then he realized something, turned to look at the girl beside him whose body was still trembling slightly, looked into her wide eyes, raised his hand and gently waved it in front of her, then said softly, "Little sister, we are police officers. Did you call the police?"

"Yes, I called the police..." The girl's voice trembled slightly, as if she was quite frightened.

The police officer also has a younger sister of similar age who is in high school, so when he saw Little Apple's condition, he felt sorry for her and comforted her in a low voice for a while.

Soon after, more police cars arrived, and an ambulance rushed over. The three young men were handcuffed and put into the police cars, while the unconscious girl was taken into the ambulance.

Little Apple sat in the back seat of a police car. Of course, she received much better treatment. A policewoman sat with her in the back seat, and a female doctor who had come with the ambulance checked on her.

The policewoman, who looked to be in her thirties, asked Little Apple about her previous situation in a gentle voice.

"I went out for a walk, and when I got to this area, I heard some noise from that car over there, so I quickly called the police. But I knew they were doing something bad, so... so I wanted to stop them first, so I picked up a rock and threw it. I don't know if I hit them... and then, and then you guys came..." Little Apple said softly.

"You live quite a distance from here. Did you walk all the way here by yourself?" the policewoman asked, somewhat surprised. Little Apple had already told her her name, guardian's identity, address, and other information, so she knew where Little Apple lived.

"I brought my 'guide bird' with me," Little Apple said, unzipping her down jacket to show the policewoman the canary lying in her arms.

"A guide bird? What... what happened to it?"

"It was too tired and fell asleep," Little Apple explained.

The policewoman nodded, gently patted her hair, and said, "You did a great job. Your uncle just called me and he's on his way. Don't worry, don't be afraid. We've already caught those bad guys, and that young lady is alright too. Because you called the police in time, she wasn't harmed."

Seeing the girl whose voice still trembled slightly and whose body was still shaking a little, clearly still very nervous and scared, the policewoman tried her best to comfort her gently.

However, neither she nor the police officer who arrived first after receiving the call knew that Little Apple's continued uncontrollable physical reactions were not due to fear or terror, but rather to excitement.

At the very beginning, when she decided to intervene and stop the three men in the car from continuing to bully the unconscious girl, Little Apple was indeed a little nervous and scared.

But when she suddenly found a new way to "summon" the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster and then, using the special connection with "Gold Glitter," "release" the monster, she suddenly discovered that she could very clearly feel the fear of the three young people who were influenced by her—or more precisely, influenced by the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster.

That feeling wasn't that she empathized with the fear those three people suffered, but rather that, in her perception, their fear had become three information clusters that she could "see" and "discover."

She could not only clearly determine the state and location of the three people, but she could even sense more information about them.

In addition to sound, smell, and touch, she now has a new way of perceiving.

In the "Fear Ocean" created by the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster and "Gold Glitter," she can "see"!

Moreover, the three bad guys who were bullying the girl were completely powerless against the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster" she "summoned".

From birth until now, she has never had such a sense of control over herself, others, and the things around her as she does tonight.

This excited her so much that she trembled with excitement.

Moreover, judging from the police's questioning of her, everything she had sensed before was actually true and not just her own hysteria.

"Uncle Xiang, do I have superpowers now?" she thought to herself. What she wanted to do most right now was to tell Xiang Kun about it, both to share her joy and to ask him questions.

She had previously been able to communicate with the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster" on a conscious level, and even "summon" it to descend. However, she had never actually used it before. She had almost used it when a relative's child came to her house and annoyed her, but she managed to stop herself at the last minute and control the situation.

But tonight, the effects and sensations created by her summoning the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster" were clearly vastly different from before.

Although she was excited about the newfound senses and control, she was also worried. She feared that the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster" was deliberately trying to give her a taste of the benefits, and then gradually influence her mind, turning her into its puppet.

She needs her uncle's help.

She believed that Uncle Xiang must have a way to satisfy both sides.

Not long after, Li Sheng arrived in his car. He chatted with the police officers and the policewoman at the scene for a while, explained some things, and then picked up Little Apple and personally drove her home.

Li Sheng remained silent throughout the journey. Little Apple, sitting in the passenger seat, also kept her head down, holding Gold Glitter, who was lying in her down jacket, and remained silent as well.

The incident occurred not far from Little Apple's home, so the SUV quickly drove into the community and stopped.

After turning off the engine, Li Sheng sighed and turned to say something, but Little Apple spoke first, "Uncle, I was wrong."

His niece's soft, sincere voice, tinged with pleading and grievance, instantly softened Li Sheng's heart. He could only sigh again, then get out of the car, open the passenger door, and help his niece out. He then said helplessly, "You can't go out alone again next time, even if you have a GPS navigator. Also, didn't I tell you to stay where you are? Why did you try to be brave and go throw stones? What if... what do you think we should do? What about your dad? What about me?"

"I was wrong... I promise I won't do it again next time," Little Apple whispered, then couldn't help but add, "Uncle, 'Gold Glitter' isn't a 'navigation bird,' it's a 'guide bird.'"

"Even a missile bird won't do!" Li Sheng glared at her.

But then he couldn't help but laugh, patted his niece's head helplessly, and led her towards his brother's house. He knew he didn't need to say much; his niece was very smart and sensible, and one explanation was enough for today.

When they reached the door, Little Apple whispered again, "Uncle, my dad is probably still sleeping, so let's not wake him. We don't need to let him know about this, right?"

"I won't tell him tonight, but I still have to tell him tomorrow, otherwise he'll find out through other channels and I'll be in big trouble..." Li Sheng said helplessly.

Little Apple nodded in understanding.

After dropping his niece off at home, Li Sheng went to the branch office again.

He had already heard from his colleagues at the branch office that when they arrived, the situation at the scene was a bit strange.

Although the situation of the three suspects was somewhat strange, the police did not ask Little Apple much about her past. After all, Little Apple is blind and cannot see anything, and she has stated that she does not know what happened. Moreover, they have just found the dashcam in the suspect's car and confirmed that the dashcam had been working all along. What happened before can be determined by checking the dashcam.

After arriving at the branch office, Li Sheng found the officer who had been the first to respond to the call and spoke with him.

"The three suspects have mostly recovered. Although they're still listless, they can give normal statements. They've confessed to all their crimes. Of course, their attempts to deny it are useless; the girl's condition, the evidence in the car, and the information from the dashcam are all irrefutable proof." The officer surnamed Han said, shaking his head. "As for why they were in that state when we arrived, they've probably taken illegal drugs. They've already had their blood tested, and we'll know the results soon."