Doomsday Wonderland

When the other Changelings saw Professor Qiao walking with a "Changeling," they would naturally be less wary of Professor Qiao, right? With this thought, Wu Yiliu and the old lady walked towards the parking lot. But he found that it was not his altered face that provided her with much safety; instead, the old lady provided him with almost infinite comfort.

Although there was only one more person on the same path, it was a transformation from darkness to sudden brightness – his breath, his thoughts, gradually stabilized from endless trembling. He had never been so grateful for the old lady's existence.

Since his mouth was in a "disappeared" state, the two could not converse along the way. It was not until the two sat in the ten-year-old Chevrolet and closed the door with a "bang" that Wu Yiliu finally let out a breath.

"Don't take off the adhesive tape yet," the old lady prudently instructed. She carefully looked in the rearview mirror, slowly backed out, and spoke as she drove, "My residence is not far from here; we'll talk once we get inside the house."

Wu Yiliu nodded quickly. Even if he had gone back to get money, he still wouldn't know where to go in the vast world. Meeting Professor Qiao and being taken in was like a life-saving straw in desperate times.

"There are several people around here, all professors from the school," she whispered as she drove into a residential area. "I haven't seen their faces transform, but I still don't dare to trust them blindly. Be careful when you get out of the car; don't let them see you coming to my house."

Wu Yiliu was not planning to return to the school dormitory, so even without Li Bo, other students would begin to speculate what his disappearance meant. He naturally couldn't let others detect his connection with the old lady.

Professor Qiao's home was one in a row of townhouses, not large, and without much decoration; among the books that filled the room, the only ornament was a fresh and abundant bunch of flowers on the coffee table. After the two sneaked into the house like thieves, the old lady locked the door and drew the curtains; Wu Yiliu removed the tape, rubbing the residual glue from his eyelids, and asked, "Professor, you too... When did you notice?"

The old lady held a finger to her lips, signaling him to speak softly. "Quiet, the walls in my house are thin."

After she motioned for Wu Yiliu to sit down, she continued, "Your question, I'll answer it later. What about you? What is your answer to this question about yourself?"

"I think... when I realized it, it might have been several months already," Wu Yiliu said with a bitter smile. "It's hard to say exactly when I noticed something was wrong... It's as if I never paid attention, and by the time I did, the Changelings were everywhere."

This 100% truthful answer inevitably raised doubts: how could someone not notice right away when the faces of those around them suddenly transformed? Sometimes even he was full of confusion when recalling it; precisely because of this, he suspected for a long time that there was something wrong with his mental state.

Hearing this, Professor Qiao did not change her expression, only nodding slowly, saying, "Yes... it's like that."

Wu Yiliu was taken aback.

"At first, their faces did not transform severely, you could hardly call it transforming, only changing," the old lady said, gazing at the pale purple flowers in front of her, speaking in a flat tone. "For example, someone seemed to have lost weight, and the cheekbones stood out a bit; someone seemed to have gained weight, and the eyes looked smaller; some seemed to have tanned... In the beginning, they were all subtle, ordinary changes."

Wu Yiliu had no recollection of these early signs at all. He couldn't hide his astonishment, and the old lady must have seen it. She smiled at him, the wrinkles suddenly deepening and then lightening.

"Yes, I may know a bit more about them than you. For instance, I know that their shape-shifting is uncontrollable, but after a while, when they can take off their faces, they can control their appearance again."

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"Professor, do you know what's going on with them?" Wu Yiliu couldn't help but lean over from her chair. "I only found out today that they could take off their faces—"

He shuddered at this point, and told his entire experience in detail. The old lady only listened silently. Although she had not said anything yet, it was as if years were floating like clouds over her head, casting a shadow that plunged her into an emotion Wu Yiliu couldn't quite touch—she sat like this for a while before slowly sighing and saying, "In this world, who can truly know what's going on with them?"

Wu Yiliu could feel that what she was going to say next might far exceed his imagination—he waited, tightly twisting his hands together, his heart beating faster and faster.

"You young people are braver than I am, actively seeking me out," Professor Qiao said hoarsely. "A few months ago, I noticed you. You always kept your head down, never daring to look at people, trying to avoid contact with others... I saw it all, and I thought that perhaps you were also scared, noticing those Changelings."

Was his behavior that noticeable? No wonder he was targeted by Li Bo.

"Then, Professor Qiao, why didn't you say anything to me all this time?"

The old lady shook her head and said softly, sighing. "I didn't dare. There's too much uncertainty. Maybe you're a Changeling, trying to lure me into letting my guard down, confessing to you, like your class teacher; if you're not a Changeling, you might think I'm testing you, and how you'd react to me is unknown."

She paused before continuing. "There's also a possibility that cannot be ignored: that we both are normal, but... one of us might betray the other to gain the trust of the Changelings."

Before hearing these words, such a method had never even entered Wu Yiliu's mind.

He was stunned for a few seconds before calming down. "Professor, you are too cautious. How could such a thing happen? It's a lose-lose situation."

Professor Qiao smiled faintly, seemingly a bit comforted by his reassurance. "I admire young people like you, with both a heart in the right place and a logical mind."

Wu Yiliu had just begun to feel embarrassed when she continued, "But you don't know... These possibilities are all realities that have happened. I've witnessed them with my own eyes."

"Who was it?" He was taken aback, a series of questions escaping her mouth. "Did it happen at our school? When did it happen? Who was normal and who was betrayed?"

"It didn't happen at this school..." Professor Qiao lowered her eyes, her cheeks faintly visible beneath her sparse white curls. "It was at the university where I taught before."

Wu Yiliu was completely confused. Since he came to this school two years ago, Professor Qiao had already been here—he thought and thought, and suddenly inhaled sharply when the old lady spoke quietly.

"Yes... there's nothing new under the sun. The incident of people's faces becoming distorted, turning into monsters, happened once before, thirty-six years ago."