Earth, Shanghai, Jiangkou District, Tianxin Street.
It was already evening. When one looked up, the faint outline of a fluffy half-moon could be seen hanging in the sky.
It was currently the evening rush hour. Traffic on the roads was especially congested, with office workers weaving through the jammed lanes on their electric scooters, drawing curses from car drivers.
The sound of honking never stopped. Everything seemed no different from before the anomalies began.
Earth had indeed been invaded by bizarre creatures.
The government had already made official announcements through various channels. While there were occasional casualties caused by bizarre beings, their numbers remained low.
Most of the bizarre creatures that had appeared so far were relatively weak, mostly at the Wandering Soul level.
Therefore, for ordinary people:
After the initial period of fear toward the unknown, once the government officially confirmed the existence of bizarre creatures and released the shockingly low casualty statistics, most people realized that the death toll didn’t even match the number of deaths caused by traffic accidents on a daily basis.
All worries gradually faded with time.
It was true that bizarre creatures appeared at night, but people still had to work overtime, still had to earn a living. If someone refused to work night shifts out of fear, they might end up starving to death before any bizarre creature even found them.
Under this kind of mindset, students continued going to school, office workers kept working, and society maintained a strange sort of stability.
Of course, there were still some changes.
In addition to the government-established organizations that never stopped researching, after it was publicly announced that silver had a clear suppressive effect on bizarre creatures, large amounts of silver were quickly bought up by people with a sense of crisis.
Even with macroeconomic controls in place, the market price of silver continued to rise rapidly, soon reaching a level comparable to gold.
“Hey, do you think I should sell my gold early and buy a couple of silver accessories instead?”
On the pedestrian street leading toward Shanghai University, three girls of similar age walked side by side after finishing their shopping, arm in arm on their way back to school.
The girl on the left side shook the golden bracelet on her wrist and asked her two best friends beside her.
“Silver prices have been skyrocketing lately. I haven’t seen many people wearing gold on the streets anymore. If this keeps up, won’t gold prices drop too?!”
Hearing this, the girl named Ning Ning frowned.
“That’s not a good idea… Xiao Tong, didn’t you say that gold bracelet was left to you by your grandmother who passed away when you were little? If you sell it, you won’t be able to get it back.”
It was a rare weekend. From how the three of them had spent the entire day shopping, it was clear that the times were changing. Whether it was the scattered Zhou Shengsheng stores on the streets or the precious jewelry counters on the first floor of the mall, all of them were packed with people.
However, unlike before when customers were eager to buy gold, what people were now frantically purchasing was silver.
All because of the so-called claim that “silver can suppress bizarre creatures.”
Still, Ning Ning believed that while silver could be bought with money, it absolutely shouldn’t be purchased with money obtained by selling a family member’s keepsake.
However, the other girl, named Yi Ya, had a different opinion.
“I actually think you should exchange the gold bracelet for silver,” Yi Ya said, noticing both of them looking at her. “Setting aside whether silver prices will keep rising and gold will slowly fall — after all, Xiao Tong isn’t doing this for investment purposes.”
“I think when your grandmother left you this gold bracelet, she must have wanted to protect you, so that you wouldn’t have to struggle because of lack of money after growing up, right?”
The girl named Xiao Tong nodded.
“When I was little, Grandma always urged me to eat. She was most afraid of me going hungry.”
“Exactly. But now it seems that if you ever unfortunately encounter a bizarre creature one day, silver would be far more likely to save your life than gold! Grandma loved you so much. I believe that if she were still alive, she would definitely support you doing this.”
Yi Ya tapped her finger.
“There’s a saying, isn’t there? Grandma loves you, so rather than you constantly thinking about her, she would rather you live well and stay healthy!”
“Mm… I understand now.” Xiao Tong smiled freely. “Then can I trouble you two to come with me to the store to sell the bracelet and pick out some silver jewelry?”
“Huh?” One of the girls glanced at the sky, looking worried. “But it’s going to get dark soon. Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”
She wasn’t referring to dangers like murder or robbery — after all, this was a lawful society, and the police presence in the bustling city center of Shanghai was more than sufficient. It was still very safe.
However, according to the official announcement, bizarre creatures would appear once night fell. If they really ran into one, the police wouldn’t be of much help.
“That’s the kind of stupid decision you only see in horror movies. Of course it’s dangerous! I meant we should go tomorrow during the day.”
Just as the three girls turned the corner and stood in front of the crosswalk waiting for the traffic light, they simultaneously noticed something in a small park not far away from the corner of their eyes.
Two figures — one adult and one child.
A little girl who looked around nine years old was sitting on a swing in the park, gently swinging back and forth. Beside her, a middle-aged man with a bulky build and a sleazy smile was bent over, his actions suggesting he had some kind of ulterior motive.
Xiao Tong subconsciously frowned, feeling a wave of instinctive disgust.
“Look over there. Is that a lolicon creep harassing that little girl?”
“You can’t say that so confidently,” Yi Ya said as her gaze swept around the park. She didn’t see any other adults nearby. “Logically speaking, at this hour, most adults wouldn’t leave a child alone in the park.”
Moreover, the little girl was chatting naturally with the middle-aged man, with no trace of panic on her face. She didn’t look like she was facing a stranger at all.
“Although they don’t look very similar, he could also be an uncle or something taking his little niece out to play.”
Just then, the traffic light turned green on time.
“Ah, let’s go, let’s go! If we don’t leave now, we won’t make it back to school before it gets dark!”
Unwilling to get involved, Ning Ning dragged the other two girls across the crosswalk while they kept glancing back. Their figures gradually disappeared at the end of the street.
……
……
Inside the park, the swing swayed gently. The iron chains creaked with every movement, the sound of metal rings rubbing against each other making one frown.
Looking down at the petite little girl with an adorable, childish face sitting in front of him, the middle-aged man’s eyes lit up with a glint. His pig-liver-colored tongue licked his dry, cracked lips.
Top quality!
There was no mistake. This was a true top-tier loli!
“Hehe, little sister~ It’s already so late. Why are you still playing alone in the park? Where are your mom and dad? Where are your little friends?”
The little loli raised her delicate little face and blinked her big eyes curiously.
“Uncle, are you a lolicon?”