Short, Light, Free

Chapter 79: All-seeing Eye (Part 2) I

 

“Nuts.”

“He’s gone mad, hasn’t he?”

“I thought that he’s good at what he does? It looks like you can’t trust the media after all!”

“All of us are going to die? Ha! He’s a fraud. Why did the program invite this kind of person?”

…

The audience was in disorder.

Worried, the host took over the microphone. “Please be quiet, everyone. We’re going to re-record this segment. Please calm down and pretend that nothing’s happened, alright?”

I looked up at the ceiling, wondering if it was about to collapse and crush everyone, and prove how capable I was at my job and so on…

After a long time, the crowd finally kept their emotions in check and was ready to reroll.

The host started repeating the rules of the game as if nothing had happened before.

I kept my eyes on the ceiling, wondering when it was going to come crashing down.

“… Please enter the room and we’ll begin our first test, Mr. Lixia,” the host announced.

I stood still. The host coughed loudly before repeating, “Please enter the room and we’ll begin our first test, Mr. Lixia.”

Again, I ignored his words. I fished my phone out and directed the front camera at myself.

The crowd started to protest again.

…

“Was he zoning out earlier?”

“Taking his phone out when recording a program?”

“He’s gone mad for real. Why is he here?”

“This is getting ridiculous.”

“Get lost! You’re a scam!”

…

I closed my right eye and saw Mom through the display screen.

The host came over angrily and snatched my phone. “Do you still want to record?”

I put my glasses on and shook my head.

“Get lost then. I’ve hosted programs for eight years now and I have never seen a guest like you. You’re mental,” he yelled into the microphone.

The audience cheered and applauded.

The host calmed down and said, “Please leave, Mr. Lixia.”

I left the stage.

The host took a few deep breaths before continuing, “Next, we have our special guest from Japan.

The host recited his script while all I could focus on was leaving the place as soon as possible.

I was stopped by the director. He shouted furiously, “Have you gone bonkers? Even if you’re fame seeking, that’s not the right way to do it! Telling everyone they’re about to die? You’re not going to get any commission. We’ll cut away your segment!”

“Can I leave now?” I asked, taking off my glasses.

He turned into Mom. I wanted to tell him that he, too, was going to die. However, I kept my mouth shut and just left quietly.

With a wave, the director continued, “I admired you previously since you’re one of the most accurate people around, but your performance today is completely disappointing. People in the audience were snapping videos. Your future will be ruined if those go up on the net. What a madman. I guess you’re betting your life on this but it looks like it’s going to backfire. Good luck.”

I gave him a dull smile before leaving the television station while holding onto my glasses. Everyone looked like Mom and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I thought about what this signified if my all-seeing eye was still functioning.

Was the whole region about to experience an earthquake? One of 11 or 12 magnitude that would leave no survivors?

It was my first time experiencing something like this. First time in 16 years.

I took my phone out and searched for the latest news involving an earthquake.

Nothing. The weather was great and peaceful.

It wasn’t even going to rain so an earth-shattering disaster was even more unlikely to occur.

After some thought, I was convinced that my eye was malfunctioning.

I hoped that was the case since I was on the death list, too.

I thought about Oscar, the doctor, and the veterinarian.

The veterinarian mentioned that Oscar died when he was over ten years old. Perhaps the ability only lasts as long as his lifespan? It’s been 16 years since I’ve had this power.

I searched on the net for a cat’s average lifespan. 13 – 15 years.

If my ability was indeed given by Oscar, what’s going to happen now?

I thought about how Oscar was lying on a corner of my bed when he died. He had probably regarded me as someone close to him.

But I did not die that night!

Could it be that once the power has passed, I’ll start seeing everyone as someone familiar? Just like how I’m seeing Mom everywhere?

I shook my head, dismissing this implausible thought.

Yinuo had been the one to open the door for him so why didn’t he go to her?

I started thinking that this might just be a one-off thing and hoped that it wasn’t true.

To my left eye, everyone resembled Mom to an extent that I would deem dangerous and that they were most likely going to die within 24 hours, or strictly speaking, 12.

On the pedestrian street near the television station, I spotted a television screen in one of the shops.

On it was an ongoing news program and the host looked like Mom as well.

Isn’t this channel from the other region? Were other regions involved too?

I stared bitterly for a moment and the sales assistant came over to greet me.

“Hi, sir! Here to get a television?” He smiled kindly.

“It’s high in definition. Can you switch channels? There’s quite a huge difference between the HD and non-HD televisions, I must say,” I commented, pointing at the biggest screen.

“Our televisions have a built-in pixel converter so even non-HD channels will look better on our TVs as compared to other brands’,” he promoted.

“Can you switch channels then?” I asked.

After a short pause, the shopkeeper took out a remote and changed the channel a few times.

“Switch between the news channels since I usually watch those at home,” I requested.

In every other news channel, the hosts would become Mom when I shut my right eye.

“There aren’t many news channels here, aye?” the shopkeeper mumbled, vexed.

After four or five channels, I became sure that there were only two possibilities.

If my eye was still functioning, the whole nation would soon face destruction.

“Do you have channels from other nations? News channels?” I asked again.

He eyed me up and down. “Are you really here to buy a television?”

“Why? Do you think I’m playing with you?”

The shopkeeper continued mumbling, “If you opt for satellite TV, you can get certain channels that come in different sets. This set comes with the basic package but you can pay 500 more to upgrade it to satellite TV.”

I looked on as he switched to other international news channels. Mom everywhere.

I sighed. “I like the television a lot but not your attitude.”

I walked away and heard him cursing me from behind.

I had no time to worry about that, however.

I opened my Weibo and posted, “The world might be ending in less than 12 hours.”

A few minutes passed and I started receiving tons of messages from over 300,000 fans.

Discussions came flooding in, more so than usual.

(Starting to announce the end of the world already?)

(I’ve seen the clip of you wrecking the television program.”

(Is this some marketing gimmick?)

(Are you really seeing our deaths?)

(Charlatan! Bogus!)

…