Grace Cooper listened to his words and suddenly replied with a smile, “In a world full of monsters like this, what else can you do but stay calm?”

Chapter Four: A Strange World

Damn, that really makes sense...

If you’re already in a world full of monsters, with nowhere to run and no strength to resist, then what else can you do but stay calm?

Although he still had countless questions in his heart, Henry Bennett slowly gave up the urge to keep asking.

Maybe asking more would just annoy people.

Since she promised to help explain things later, that was enough.

If—if this world really had become a world full of monsters, then what use was it to keep clinging to her?

Dropped off by Grace Cooper at the mouth of the alley, Henry Bennett looked at the empty street and actually felt a slight sense of relief. He didn’t turn to go home until he watched the car’s taillights disappear.

He deliberately avoided the butcher shop that always had the sound of a chainsaw cutting meat, hurried past the house where an old, hoarse record player was always playing, and tensed up as he passed the neighbor’s yard with three vicious dogs. Along the way, it was so quiet he could almost hear his own heartbeat. In the darkness, it seemed like there were always some sneaky eyes quietly watching him, letting out low chuckles.

When he was finally about to open the door, the torment in his heart reached its peak—he was a little afraid to see his mother.

This place was full of evil spirits...

Henry Bennett recalled Grace Cooper’s words, thought of William Carter turning into a twisted monster, and after a long, long time, finally steeled himself and pushed open the door.

What greeted him, however, was unexpectedly warm lighting.

“Back already?”

His mother was sitting on the sofa watching TV. When she saw him come in, she turned down the volume a bit and said, “I’ve told you before, you should go out more often.”

Thinking of how, not long ago when he left, she looked like she was about to chop him with a kitchen knife, Henry Bennett still felt a lingering fear. He just mumbled a response and prepared to head back to his bedroom.

“You brat, you won’t even say a word to me.”

His mother on the sofa patted her own waist and muttered, “I can’t be bothered with you. I made dumplings and put them in the fridge. If you’re hungry, just microwave them.”

“Playing games late every night and not taking care of your health—when I’m old, who am I supposed to rely on?”

“……”

“……”

Henry Bennett paused with his hand on the bedroom door, and replied dully, “Got it.”

As he entered, he could still feel that caring gaze. Thinking of the chilling feeling from just a while ago, he suddenly felt as if he couldn’t tell what was real.

After his parents divorced four years ago, he had always lived with his mother. Later, that sudden panic disorder tormented him so much that he didn’t even take the college entrance exam.

For almost four years, he had just stayed in his room, not even working a single job.

His mother was getting older, but she still took care of him. Although she sometimes complained, most of the time it was still concern and companionship.

But if his mother had also become a monster, were these memories fake too?

Was all of this just an act?

The moment he closed the bedroom door, Henry Bennett’s body couldn’t help but tremble. He raised his hands and rubbed his face hard.

That night, Henry Bennett didn’t dare take off his clothes. He lay on the bed fully dressed, waiting until dawn.

He sat on the bed for a while before getting up. After such a tense day yesterday, he had fallen asleep on the bed without even taking off his shoes, always on guard.

But nothing happened that night—so normal it felt abnormal.

When he tiptoed into the living room, he found the house empty. “Mom” seemed to have already left, and on the dining table in the now old and worn living room, there was breakfast left for him.

It was a plate of pan-fried dumplings and a carton of milk.

Henry Bennett couldn’t help but remember that his mother was a very frugal person. In her eyes, the only irreplaceable delicacy in the world was dumplings.

But she’d been so tired from work lately that she hadn’t made dumplings in a long time.

He hadn’t had a late-night snack last night, so she must have felt sorry for him, but worried he’d be too lazy to heat them up, she just fried them and left them for him before going to work...

But was the person who left him dumplings the same one who, just yesterday, looked like she wanted to chop him up and put him in the dumpling filling?

Staring at the plate of dumplings, Henry Bennett finally didn’t try them. He washed his face with cold water and left the house hungry.

Passing through the small yard full of greenery, he entered the alley. This was a very run-down neighborhood, but compared to the surrounding high-rises, the space here actually felt more open. All around were two- or three-story buildings, or small houses with yards. Clearly, this was in the heart of a bustling city, but compared to the rows of tall buildings nearby, this place felt like a forgotten corner of the city.

Unlike the fear and confusion of last night, this time, Henry Bennett truly saw the world he hadn’t seen in four years—clearer, but also a bit lost.

He saw the neighbor’s three big dogs: one was clumsily chasing butterflies in the yard, one was desperately digging a hole in the ground, and the last was lazily lying there, letting dirt pile up on its head.