Deceit Tower, unknown city.
Everything in the city gave Wen Xishu a tremendous sense of dissonance.
Enveloped by this dissonance, the sky in Wen Xishu's location always appeared somewhat gloomy.
But under this gloomy sky, everything seemed—strange.
Wen Xishu walked through the city, intending to follow the nearest path to find the boy in the wheelchair, Horn, but with a stroke of bad luck, he passed through the city's red-light district.
This place provided Wen Xishu with an immense visual shock. The world presented to Wen Xishu's eyes approximately looked like this—
A peeling gold-edged sign of "Beauty Spa" had burly men in pink nurse uniforms pushing open the glass doors.
One of them, with a thermos of goji berry tea tucked under his arm and a lopsided lace headband on his crew-cut head, called across the street in a broadcast voice: "Renault! Your technician number 68 has been caught using growth oil again!"
The "Blue Moon Health Club," repurposed from a hair salon, had an acrylic lightbox glowing as a glass revolving door reflected a guard wearing fishnet stockings—
A middle-aged man with a full beard, tucking the cheongsam hem into his belt, his white socks raised from ankle height to the absolute territory of his calves.
The adult store window next door was quite creative—a silicone doll modeled after a muscular man was wearing a Hello Kitty apron and holding up a foam board with "Buy Two Get One Free" written on it.
The owner squatted at the door touching up the makeup of an inflatable doll, nearly stabbing a patrolling officer's chin with his false eyelashes as he looked up: "Officer, the authenticity of this is absolutely beyond the civil affairs bureau standards."
Wen Xishu was left in awe, but everything wasn't over yet.
In the depths of the alley came the mixed smells of grilled gluten and men's cologne.
On the welcoming stand of "Princess Arrives" KTV, a young man in a puffy dress was bargaining with a bald customer.
When Wen Xishu saw the word "princess," the sense of dissonance increased... but whether it was the Prince or the Princess, there seemed to be nothing wrong.
He pricked up his ears to feel some of the sounds around him.
The young man in a puffy dress was saying: "Bunny ears are an additional 50, and speaking in a child-like voice costs extra, including throat lozenges!"
The wheelchair ramp on the corner had been transformed into "Lovely Ladies Academy," with the course schedule written in lipstick on the dressing mirror: 9:00 Orchid Hand Gestures crash course, 10:30 High Heel Obstacle Course, 13:30 Crying Makeup tutorial.
The cleaning uncle was practicing catwalk strides without a care, with an "ultra-thin" label still stuck on his broomstick.
The bus ran over piles of promotional flyers, with an "Easy Hair Removal" ad printed on its side.
The visual and auditory impacts kept Wen Xishu trapped in that sense of dissonance.
He simply felt that his world's dissonance would never drop below eighty. This caused the sky to remain gloomy wherever he went.
Fortunately, this sense of strangeness diminished considerably after passing through the red-light district.
Wen Xishu finally reached the library.
The city center's library had quite a number of people. Wen Xishu had to admit, the initial scene before him was the most normal one at all.
Once he left his home, even the library appeared rather eye-catching.
If not for having just passed through the red-light district and maxed out his resistance, he definitely would have complained about the bizarre art style.
Next to the shelf in the popular novels section, he saw a fitness coach holding a copy of "The Overbearing CEO's Gentler Love," reading it while doing deep squats, with a caliper measuring body fat nestled between the pages.
In the parent-child reading area, a father read "Cinderella's Suitor" to his son. When the suitor put on the crystal shoe and went to find the prince, the father suddenly pulled out a caliper: "Remember, son, size 38 feet with 1.78-meter height is the golden ratio!"
Wen Xishu felt a bit uncomfortable and quickened his pace. Fortunately, at that moment, Horn sent a message—
"I'm at the shelves related to animals and domestic fowl and livestock."
Wen Xishu searched, and it wasn't long before he spotted golden hair, and there was Horn in a wheelchair reading a book.
The art style was normal, yet the book in his hands was a bit off—"Postpartum Care of Sows."
Horn smiled:
"Ability User, Mr. Wen Xishu, thank you for coming."
Wen Xishu intended to say something, but Horn suddenly appeared serious:
"The pleasantry is over. Let's proceed to the main topic. What do you think of this book?"
Horn handed the "Postpartum Care of Sows" to Wen Xishu.
Wen Xishu was sure the other wasn't testing his knowledge of the book's content but wanted him to simply consider the book's title.
Thinking about it, Wen Xishu indeed noticed something unusual.
Suddenly, Horn put a finger to his lips, signaling him to be silent: Shh.
"Don't delve too deep into it, or you'll be watched."
Wen Xishu replied:
"Just tell me your conclusion."
Horn said:
"I have learned what this world has lost, but strangely, knowing it didn't bring clarity."
Wen Xishu was puzzled:
"So, what exactly has this world lost?"
Horn pondered deeply but still couldn't voice those two words. Soon enough, he found another term:
"The opposite sex."
Wen Xishu was slightly stunned. The sky began to darken rapidly.
Horn made the shushing gesture again:
"Divert your thoughts, think about this book. I envy you, Mr. Wen Xishu, you have rich emotions. The flaws of this world discomfort you, make you loathe it..."
"This emotion might be the key to breaking through the shards of Evil Land."
For the first time, Wen Xishu realized he wasn't the calmest one. Horn was even calmer.
Horn said:
"My inability to move my legs is merely the least significant of my bodily defects. I also have an emotional deficiency."