Chapter Three: The First Peek
1
The scales lay quietly in Zhao Yan's palm, cool and slippery, their edges glowing with a faint, eerie blue light, like fish scales hauled up from the deep sea. He clenched his fist, the metallic hardness digging painfully into his palm. The sensation was real, yet the whole thing felt absurdly ridiculous.
The scales of the "Ghost's Eye" could pierce illusions—three chances in total.
Zhao Yan lifted his head, his gaze slowly sweeping over every person in the convenience store.
Old Zhang remained in a fighting stance, his fire axe gripped tightly. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, his eyes fixed intently on the window—he was guarding against the danger outside, paying no attention to the interior.
Ailin had reverted to her usual calm, bordering on cold detachment, crouched on the floor disinfecting herself. When the glass shattered earlier, a small cut had sliced her cheek, blood trickling down to her chin. She'd casually snatched a tissue to wipe it away, her movements as mechanical as handling a lab sample.
Chen Mo slumped behind the cash register, clutching his laptop and shaking like a leaf. Yet behind his glasses, his eyes still instinctively tracked the rolling barrage of bullets across the ceiling, his fingers tapping silently on his knees—the kid was still gathering intel.
Liu Qiang clutched a utility knife, crouched in the corner, his head buried in his knees, shoulders jerking spasmodically. This delivery guy's fear was the most palpable, yet the most useless—all he could do was tremble.
Lisa had reapplied her lipstick and was fixing her hair in the reflection of the broken glass. But Zhao Yan noticed her hand gripping the high heel, knuckles white and tense.
Wang Hu, blood streaking his face, kicked Banruo's corpse in a fit of curses, panting after every two blows. His eyes darted around, clearly drained.
Zhou Ming stood furthest back, his back pressed against the wall. His suit was wrinkled, the glass of his watch cracked, yet he still stood with his back straight. Only his eyes betrayed an unmistakable mix of fear and... a hint of excitement?
The painter Wu Feng had put away his paper and brushes, slinging his roll of paintings back over his shoulder. He now stared out the window at the deep purple night sky, his profile as calm as stone.
Nine people, nine minds.
Zhao Yan exhaled slowly, white mist dispersing in the chilly air. The convenience store's heating had long since shut off, the temperature steadily dropping. Each person's breath formed visible clouds, like a pack of beasts trapped in an ice cellar.
"Three chances," he said, his voice carrying distinctly in the quiet store.
All eyes snapped to him instantly.
"The Blue Lantern said this scale can be used three times to see through disguises," Zhao Yan raised the scale, letting its eerie blue light wash over each face. "Meaning we have three chances to expose the 'ghost' that's been replaced."
The shop fell silent for a long moment.
Then Wang Hu exploded first: "Check them! Now! Dammit, whoever the ghost is, find them and kill them on the spot!"
"No," Ailin immediately interjected.
She stood up, pressing gauze against the wound on her cheek, and walked to Zhao Yan. Without looking at the scales, she fixed her gaze on his eyes. "Three chances are too precious to waste recklessly."
"Waste?" Wang Hu glared. "If we don't look now, are we supposed to wait for that ghost to crawl out in the middle of the night and bite us all to death?"
"What if we look and find nothing?" Ailin countered, her voice eerily calm. "What if the imposter's disguise is so perfect that even these scales can't be broken? What if the scales themselves are a trap, deliberately designed to pit us against each other?"
The three questions left Wang Hu speechless, his words caught in his throat.
"We need to gather more information first." Erin turned to Chen Mo. "Has anyone in the bullet chat mentioned anything about 'Ghost Eyes' or similar items?"
Chen Mo froze, then quickly looked up at the screen in the sky, his eyes darting back and forth."Yeah... lots of people are talking about it. They say the Ghost's Eye is a scale from the Blue Lantern that can see through 'shape-shifting' disguises, but it might not work on those who are 'possessed by others' or have 'replaced memories'... Some also say using it drains the user's mental energy, and if you can't handle it, you might get backfired..."
"What do you mean by backlash?" Old Zhang frowned.
"It means... you might see things you shouldn't, or... just go mad." Chen Mo's voice trailed off as his head dropped lower.
The shop fell silent again.
"So," Zhou Ming suddenly spoke up, his tone laced with deliberately feigned composure, "we're not just betting on whether we can find the right person in these three attempts. We're also betting on whether the person we use will end up okay. Pretty interesting."
He looked at Zhao Yan. "Who's going to use them?"
The words landed like ice tossed into boiling water, instantly causing an explosion.