Plague Doctor

Chapter 354: Signal or Illusion

Inside the quiet bedroom, cold sweat slid down Gu Jun’s forehead. The headache intensified as a voice drifted towards him through the darkness. It was staticky like it came out from an old-fashioned radio. It was intermittent. It was a firm male Chinese voice and it uttered evenly, “If you can hear us... We are... innocent...” No matter how hard Gu Jun tried to focus, he could not hear anymore than that... It did not feel like someone was trying to converse with him. It was more like a transmission signal and he was the only one who could tune into it.

“If you can...” The pain reached Gu Jun’s threshold and the voice faded away. His eyes flew open and Gu Jun took gasping breaths. He was exposed to strange voices in his head many times in the past, some came from mental intervention, while others were through the medium of spell or ritual but this time, it felt very unique... His most direct impression was, it was some kind of broadcast signal. ‘But who’d broadcast something like this? What would be the purpose?’

Gu Jun dissected the single sentence.

For one, ‘if you can’ suggested that the other party considered the possibility Gu Jun could not hear him; the broadcast would not be picked up by anyone.

For two, ‘we’ meant an organization. And it was from within the country for the language used was Chinese.

For three, ‘innocent’ signified that the broadcaster wished to persuade the listeners that they were on the same side as them. Considering the signal was received by Gu Jun, it was safe to assume that these people meddle in the supernatural as well. It was the only reason to warn the listeners of their stance. A normal radio channel would not preface their broadcast with such warning. Of course, this could very well be a trap for the listeners to think this way.

Gu Jun looked around him and saw shadows looking back at him. ‘Innocent?’ He had very serious doubts about that. Gu Jun was not sure he was the only recipient or not, but how many organizations within the country could accomplish something like this? It was beyond Phecda and even FBM. He and Dirty-minded Yu successfully transmitted pictures before but it was not even close to the level of something like this. If they were really innocent, with such powerful resources, why didn’t they show themselves after so many tragic incidents? Both FBM and GOA were public organizations now, they could be easily reached.

Gu Jun frowned as another possibility entered his mind. ‘Could it be a transmission from the future or the past? No, it does not feel like it... Or it’s from another dimension like the Dreamlands? ...But then again, I probably shouldn’t think too much of it. It’s most likely the Afterlife Cult’s doing again... It does sound like their modus operandi. After all, they stressed that they were innocent and they only wanted to help usher in a new era.’

“Who are you?” Gu Jun stood up and asked the emptiness around him. He checked for ripples in the air. “Innocent? But innocence is subjective. Your moral compass might be different from ours.” He said as he moved around the room. He pulled out the drawers and opened the dressers. All the while, he maintained this one-sided conversation. “Are you the R’yleh Cult? I know some of you are still alive. The people from Afterlife Cult might have sacrificed themselves but you people are still out there, probably hiding in some mountains, trying to summon Cthulhu with that shaman of yours... Or you’re the Yellow Brotherhood.... Mr. Wang Erde, is that you? You’re not dead, are you?”

These thoughts gripped Gu Jun’s brain and squeezed on it. His heart skipped a beat as his muscle tensed. The symptoms angered him further. Now just the thought of the supernatural could weaken him to this state...

Then some scary images filtered into his mind. Cities crumbled into dust, Wu Siyu’s smiling head stuck on a pike... His heart was lacerated.

“Ah!” Gu Jun groaned from pain. He vented his frustration at the innocent wooden dresser. The dresser shuddered. He took a deep breath and tried to control his emotions... PTSD... He ultimately could not accept this condition. He was deprived of the ability to even protect the person he loved...

“If you can hear me, listen carefully...” He slugged back to the bed. “No matter if you’re innocent or not, I’m already useless. There’s nothing you can get out of me...”

That very thought confused Gu Jun. ‘What is their goal? To push me towards madness? Even though I’m already practically a benched player? Or... was the voice that I heard even real?’ Gu Jun used to be able to identify the authenticity of these voices easily but that ability had deserted him. Then again, this could be the uniqueness of the broadcast. It was extremely random, it had no trigger like Gu Jun’s other illusions. Or all of these were just syndromes of his PTSD...

Gu Jun sat by the bed for a long time before he broke into a bitter laugh. ‘Be thankful, it’s a miracle that you’re still alive. You should be dead from the brain tumor two years ago. You should be thankful for what you have today. I have left Phecda for just one day, it won’t be that easy to revert to normal life. This is common among veterans. Whether they suffer from PTSD or not, there will be an adjustment period... I should heed the doctor’s orders and take my medicine and rest.’

Gu Jun persuaded himself that it was nothing more than his illusion—after all, research showed that 50 percent of PTSD victims suffer from acoasm. Regardless, he gave Elder Tong a call and reported the incident, “It could be someone or some organization broadcasting their signal. I worry this might be their new method of recruitment.” Elder Tong treated it seriously and quickly made an enquiry. The result showed that no one other than Gu Jun had reported something similar.

“Ah Jun, we will follow up on this and we will update you if there’s anything new.” Elder Tong said, “It’s getting late, you should be sleeping.”

It was almost dawn when Gu Jun ended the call. His head was still pulsing. He laid down in bed and took deep breaths. He forced himself to go to sleep.