Chapter 6

This night was even more unbearable than the previous one. His cold seemed to be getting worse. For two consecutive days, he hadn't received any interview notifications. By the third day, he had no choice but to attend a lecture.

The lecture started off rather dull, not covering the content he was hoping to hear. It was just a general discussion about the effects and significance of hypnosis. Many people left halfway through.

Xu Mo endured it, persisting until the Q&A session, where he found an opportunity to voice his doubts.

"If I am hypnotized in a very cold place and feel very hot, is this heat real or fake? Are my feelings real or fake?"

The expert smiled and replied, "This statement itself is problematic. Feelings are feelings; there is no distinction between real and fake. If you feel cold, it is cold; if you feel hot, it is hot. For example, if you touch a piece of ice, you will feel cold; if you put your hand in hot water, you will feel hot."

"If one day your sense of heat malfunctions and transmits to the nerve that senses cold, when you put your hand in hot water, you will feel cold. Whether it's hot or cold, it's all your feeling. The reason you feel hot as cold is just that your body has made an incorrect response to this feeling."

Xu Mo thought for a moment and continued, "If I am hypnotized and in a quiet state, and I feel myself moving, will my body really react as if it is moving?"

The expert smiled and said, "Theoretically, yes. It's an incorrect judgment and response by your body."

"Oh!"

Xu Mo hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Can you hypnotize me to let me experience that feeling?"

The expert refused, "Sorry, hypnosis is a complicated process that requires the full cooperation of the person being hypnotized. If you have no other questions, please let others ask."

Ignoring Xu Mo, he turned to the others and asked, "Are there any other questions? Guests can ask freely..."

Xu Mo had no choice but to sit down.

He didn't gain much from this lecture, but at least he confirmed that his theory about static breathing was not just a wild imagination and could theoretically be valid.

When he got home, he had just pushed the door open when he heard a 'clunk.' Something had fallen to the floor.

It was a 32-page blue-covered book, very thin, with the back cover facing up. He didn't know what it was yet.

"Could it be a promotional booklet left by a door-to-door salesperson?"

Xu Mo thought to himself, picked up the book, and flipped it to the front cover. He glanced at it—Book of Revelation.

This was the title of the book, in large red Song typeface. Apart from these four large characters, there was nothing else on the cover.

This is...

Xu Mo's pupils dilated. He understood the meaning of 'Revelation,' but what kind of magazine would have such a strange name?

He flipped through the book out of curiosity. It was full of illustrations, with a variety of content, one item per page.

He turned to the first page and couldn't help but shudder. On the first page was a bus.

The bus was facing forward, and the license plate number was clearly visible—62975, the exact bus that had crashed on the day he went to the factory for an interview.

What the hell! Who put this in my house? How did they know about that accident? Is someone watching me?

He was suspicious and couldn't help but open the door to look outside. The corridor was quiet, with no one around. He went to the window and looked out, but saw no suspicious people.

Is someone playing a joke on me? But I haven't even told Li Qi about that accident. How could this person know? Is it just a coincidence?

He couldn't figure it out and looked down at the book again. Curiosity piqued, he wondered what the other pages contained. The first page was the bus; what was next?

He turned to the second page. It was a black Nissan SUV, which he had never seen before. None of his acquaintances owned such a car.

The car was also facing forward, with the license plate number visible—53317.

What does this mean? Why is the second page a SUV?

He turned to the third page. It was a few green fruits, shaped like dates, covered in fine white fuzz. They were wild fruits, but he couldn't name them.

The fourth page was a person, only the upper body, wearing a white sweater. The hair was a bit long, hanging down and covering half the face, making it hard to see the features. The build suggested a male.

The fifth page was a frozen river, flowing down from a mountain, with many reeds and shrubs covered in snow. Something seemed to be moving under the ice, but it was hard to see through the snow and ice, only a shadow visible, perhaps a fish or something else.

Xu Mo was even more puzzled. What do these three things have to do with me? Why are they after the bus? Could this really be a revelation, as the book's title suggests?

He couldn't figure it out. In the afternoon, he received a call for a part-time job. The caller told him that if he was interested, he could go to Happy Square in the north of the city by 3 PM.

The caller was vague about the job details, but Xu Mo had no choice. He immediately agreed.

Around 2:30 PM, he arrived at Happy Square. There were already dozens of people waiting, mostly young men and women, with more arriving.

At 3 PM, a bus pulled up. A tall, thin man in his mid-twenties got off and spoke. By his voice, it was clear he was the one who had called Xu Mo.

He explained the job: cleaning and setting up rooms in a newly built mountain lodge in the suburbs. The pay was 100 yuan per day, to be settled after completion. The location was remote, about 100 kilometers away, with food and lodging provided, and they wouldn't return at night.

There were a few murmurs of disappointment. Some complained about the distance, others about the low pay.

A man next to Xu Mo, who seemed to know the place, asked loudly, "Are you talking about the 'Shi Wai Tao Yuan' in the North Mountain?"

The thin man was surprised and looked at the man, saying, "If you know the place, that's great. What do you think of it? Is it nice?"

The man shook his head, "I've been there before. There are many trees, and the mountain is quite rugged. The roads are not good. It has just snowed, so the roads are slippery. It's cold, and 100 yuan a day is a bit low."

The thin man smiled, "If you don't run around and just stay inside, how can you get hurt?"

There was a stir in the crowd, and a dozen people left. A few more raised concerns.

The thin man became impatient and said coldly, "If you don't want to do it, leave. Why complain? No one is forcing you."

In the end, only about 40-50 people remained. Xu Mo was surprised to see that the man who had raised the first objection also stayed.

He looked to be around 30, of medium build, and seemed strong. When the thin man said to get on the bus, he was the first to rush on, and the crowd followed.

Xu Mo was pushed by a woman and ended up at the back. By the time he got on, all the seats were taken, leaving him and two other men standing.

The driver looked back and waved to the thin man, saying, "Xiao Chen, these people can't stand. It will be a problem if the traffic police check the bus."

The thin man smiled, "I'll get another bus."

The driver said, "You should have done that earlier."

The thin man patted the driver's shoulder and got off to make a call. He returned to the bus shortly after.

The driver asked, "Did you find a bus?"

The thin man said, "Yes, Old Li's bus. Let's go; he's waiting on Jinxiu Road."

The driver started the bus and drove forward.

The thin man turned to Xu Mo and the others, "Stand for a while. Another bus will be here soon." He laughed, "I don't have a seat either."

This made a dozen people laugh.

Xu Mo laughed too. One of the standing men found a newspaper, laid it on the aisle, and sat down.

The thin man saw this and laughed, "You really know how to enjoy yourself. Do you have more newspapers? Can you share some?"

The man took out half the newspaper from under him and handed it over. The thin man took it and asked Xu Mo and the other man, "Do you want some?"

The other man quickly responded, "Yes."

Xu Mo said, "I want some too."

The thin man gave them a few sheets each, walked a few steps, laid the newspaper on the steps, and sat down, taking out his phone to play with.

Xu Mo laid the newspaper on the floor and sat down in the aisle. He suddenly thought of the illustrations in the Book of Revelation, remembering the green fruits and the river. He wondered: If this book is really a Book of Revelation, could the green fruits and the river be related to the mountain lodge we're going to? But what about the SUV and the person?

While he was deep in thought, the bus stopped. He heard the thin man call out, "The bus is here. Those without seats, get off and take the other bus."

Xu Mo's heart raced: Could it be...

He stood up, leaned forward, and looked out the window. A chill ran up his spine, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

---

PS: The origin of the Book of Revelation will be revealed at the end of the book. It is not a golden finger.