Short, Light, Free

Chapter 80: All-seeing Eye (Part 2) II

 

I clicked on the trending page and saw my clip right at the top. It had been viewed and shared over 800,000 times.

Out of the ten most popular threads, five were related to me and they were all negative.

Only half an hour had passed and the incident was already taking over the whole Weibo. I smiled bitterly.

I wanted to get angry but I can’t. The world might not live to see the next day.

I scrolled through the private messages and there were all kinds of comments.

Needless to say, all of them were taunting me.

I saw an official warning stating that I had created panic on the web. They demanded me to release a statement within three hours or my account would be banned.

I continued browsing the pages and noticed even more things.

The whole situation wasn’t something I could control or turn around any longer.

I shut off my Weibo. I understood that there was no way that I could explain this to the people.

Only one thought crossed my mind. I had to see my father.

If the world was going to end, I would rather spend the time to eat my last meal with him.

I flagged down a taxi and headed to Dad’s house.

I had moved to a suburban district a few years ago upon becoming financially secure.

I enjoyed the silence in the suburban area. Why did I even join the television program?

I gave Dad a monthly allowance but went home only during Chinese New Year.

On the road, I asked the driver, “What would you do if the world is going to end within the next twelve hours?”

He stopped at a red light and turned to look at me. “Isn’t this the hottest topic nowadays? Every passenger is talking about it.”

“Is it really that popular?” I asked, smiling.

The driver returned the smile and answered, “I think there’s a fraud making a scene in a television station, predicting that the world is going to end. But, I did think about what I would do.”

“And what’s that?” I asked.

“I thought about spending extravagantly with my family. I would think they’re more important than money.”

I took a look around the cab. There were two kids with bright eyes in the photograph.

“Your children?” I asked.

“Don’t underestimate them. One of them is at Beijing University while the other is in Yale. Their school fees cost a bomb, of course, but it’s quite alright since I’m minimizing my expenses and driving around more. They’re really well-behaved. This little one knows to work part-time while studying. Do you know how many scholarships he’s been offered?” the driver went on proudly.

I smiled before stuffing the photograph back to its original place.

After much talking, he turned over, embarrassed. “Sorry, I’ve been talking too much. What about you? What would you do if the world is about to end?”

“I’ll go home to my family, exactly what I’m doing right now,” I smiled.

“So you’re convinced that the world is about to end? I remember someone predicting the same thing for 2012 over 20 years ago. There was even a movie about it. It’s already 2036 now and history’s repeating itself. I don’t believe it anymore. Plus, I’m still waiting for my children to get married and have children,” he shared.

“I’m not convinced as well but I am still using this as an excuse to visit my family.”

“So you’re escaping work to rush back to your family? Using the end of the world as an excuse? What a good idea! It’s a pity my children aren’t here or I would use it too. It’s been tiring enough today,” he said laughingly.

“Is it? How much do you earn in a day?” I inquired.

“On bad days, 2 to 300, on good days 1 to 2,000. There’s no lower and upper limit. I just work hard every day. Other than driving, there’s really nothing else I’m good at,” he answered.

I took out my wallet. There was 800 in there.

I held onto the bills as I waited to reach my destination.

…

We arrived at my dad’s and the driver glanced over at the meter. “25 please.”

I put 800 on the front seat. “If I were to give you 800, would you go home? Spend time with your family and give your children a call?”

“Are you really taking the news seriously, sir? The same thing happened years ago and tons of money had been wasted. That cannot happen again. Please clear your mind, sir,” he urged anxiously.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m pretty wealthy, 800 isn’t much to me. Isn’t it good for you to end the day a little earlier? You’re already tired, right?” I smiled.

“Thank you then, sir,” he responded gratefully.

I looked at him with my left eye and saw Mom.

I got off the car, shut the door, and walked toward my house.

The familiar neighborhood, familiar stairs.

Familiar neighbors, familiar sunset.

I walked slowly toward unit 402 and knocked on the door.

Dad opened it.

He never remarried after Mom’s death.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“I missed you and wanted to see you.”

I could sense that something was amiss. Dad hadn’t questioned my motive whenever I returned in the past.

“I’m out of soy sauce. Go get me some,” he asked, taking out a folded 10 cent banknote.

It was a rare piece that seldom appeared in this era, yet he was asking me to use it.

“I lost my wallet on the way here, Dad. This isn’t enough for soy sauce, is it? Can you give me more?” I asked, waving the 10 cent bill.

He took the bill and pulled it open.

On it was two messily written words: Run, quick.

I took a deep breath. “I’ll go get the sauce, Dad.”

…

As I turned around to leave, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, the people in the house.

They were in the special forces’ uniform and seemed to be getting ready to make a move.

I quickened my pace and heard them shouting for me shortly after.

Dad blocked the door, trapping them inside the house.

Before I could go far, I noticed that there were more soldiers waiting downstairs.

Over ten of them surrounded the neighborhood.

I stood still, struck dumb.

The soldiers in the house broke free, dashed over and held me against the corridor wall.

My mind was blank. Since when did the government become so efficient? It’s only been half an hour and they’re already lying in ambush?

“I haven’t done anything. Don’t arrest me,” I shouted helplessly.

A soldier spoke up. “We’ve been following you for half a month now. We even disguised ourselves as reporters but were declined.”

I frowned as memories started resurfacing.

Things weren’t as simple. They weren’t arresting me because of the rumor I started.

It was a conspiracy. A premeditation.

I was brought downstairs and onto the street.

There were three military off-road vehicles waiting and I was escorted into the middle one.

Inside the car, there were seven fully-equipped soldiers around me.

Each held onto their guns tightly. They weren’t aiming them at me but it was still a frightening sight.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

None of the soldiers gave me a reply but the person on the front seat opened the separator a little.

I couldn’t see the person clearly but I could hear him say, “An experimental lab about 40 kilometers away from here. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time now, Mr. Lixia, or rather, Supernova.”