Chapter 117 - The Sixth Sense

The perilous night concluded with the piercing cries of innocence from the thin lock picker and the fat chef as they were being apprehended by two police officers.

The pair had abruptly regained consciousness when the officers grabbed them. They stood frozen for three seconds, staring in disbelief at their surroundings and the tools of their misdeeds in their hands.

Only when silver handcuffs were slapped on their wrists did they spring to their senses, wailing desperately, "Help! Why are you arresting me? Why are you cuffing me?! I'm an impeccable citizen who doesn't even use additives in my cooking!"

"I protest! Let me go! This must be a sleepwalking episode, or I was under some sort of control! I always secure unlocked doors when I see them on the streets; how could I possibly break into someone's cell and hurt them under so many watchful eyes?!"

"Injustice! Injustice! I, a chef, am more wronged than Dou E from ancient times! I just met this person today and don't even know his name. Why would I break into his room in the middle of the night to kill him?

This is a miscarriage of justice unparalleled in history! Honorable judges, please vindicate me!"

Each cried louder and more tragically than the other. Even Chen Shi Jin, who could only faintly hear them, sensed the shrillness of their cries.

He washed the apples that the duo had smashed, carefully removed the damaged areas with his feline claws, and began crunching away on the fruit with his cat, Lezi.

Indeed, after such intense exertion, it was necessary to eat something to replenish energy. It also helped soothe his pounding heart.

Despite his inability to sense his heart's pulsation.

With this unexpected turn of events, Chen Shijin slept soundly throughout the night, believing that every awake officer in the department must now be focusing on him, countless pairs of eyes fixed unwaveringly upon him and everything around him.

Thus, despite the sleepless night, he still managed to get a decent rest on the fifth night.

Opening his eyes marked the start of the sixth day.

There was no more sense to lose; his sensations were similar to the previous day. However, his vision had turned bleak, and he could no longer perceive light. Even with the aid of hearing aids, he could no longer hear any sound.

Chen Shijin was unaware of the time, how many people were around him, or watching him. He realized that the fifth day had been relatively lenient. When all five senses vanished completely, it felt like being trapped in an endless, pitch-black box devoid of any sound. There was no way to know how to find an exit, as he could neither see, hear, smell, nor touch.

Half an hour passed with Chen Shijin sitting in bed with his eyes wide open. For a brief moment, he began to doubt whether he still existed without his five senses.

"Hisss, Brother Wang, what's up with this kid? He's been sitting there for at least half an hour, motionless. Why isn't he doing anything?"

Sitting there motionless like that, it was eerily peculiar."

The young officer in the monitoring room couldn't resist rubbing his arms.

Especially when he saw the black cat on the young man's lap tapping its claws against the youth's face, arm, stomach, and thigh, all without any response from him, the young man seemed more like a living corpse.

"Bro, did this guy really come from the hospital? Is he really not sick?"

The other officers in the monitoring room took turns smacking his head. "Don't blabber nonsense if there's nothing wrong! Can't people just be deep in thought?"

The young officer: "..."

He had truly never seen anyone so engrossed in thought.

"Don't bother him, just keep a close eye on him. We've interrogated the locksmith and the chef overnight, and we've confirmed that they have no connection or conflict with that Chen Jin. It's highly unlikely that either of them would harm him in the middle of the night."

"So... there might be something off about this 'accident' the young man mentioned. Orders have been given to keep a tight watch on this person, not to miss any suspicious characters around him or any of his actions.

Either we ensure that no such accident can happen again, or we get to the bottom of what exactly this so-called 'accident' was."

"In short, he's now under close watch. All we need to do is keep an eye on him."

The young officer nodded.

Then he observed the other four detainees being escorted out one by one, leaving the youth sitting motionless on the bed alone in the detention cell.

For some reason, as he gazed at the young man, he suddenly felt an eerie sensation, as if the world had forsaken – even turned against – him.

The youth, who had kept his eyes open, gradually closed them at this moment. He appeared genuinely engrossed in deep thought.

The black cat, which had previously been rubbing against him, after gazing at the young man silently for a while, slowly walked to his side, curled up next to his leg, and remained still, close to him.

However, from time to time, the cat would lift its head and, with its deep blue eyes that occasionally shimmered with an amber-red hue due to the light, coldly surveyed its surroundings.

Indeed, the cat was a protective companion, fierce as if ready to take on the world.

"...Such an odd man and cat."

"I hope nothing peculiar happens tonight."

The young officer muttered softly under his breath.

Yet inwardly, he couldn't shake the feeling that matters wouldn't be so straightforward.

Sharing the same sentiment, though more convinced that worse was yet to come on the sixth and seventh days, was Chen Shijin, who sat calmly in meditation.

He had spent ample time accepting the harsh reality of his powerlessness, trapped in a state where all five senses were utterly severed.

Should a peril similar to the previous night occur now, he doubted he would sense any forewarning. It was highly probable that anyone approaching him could easily end his life.

Thus, at present, it seemed he could only rely on the police at the station.

Following the unexpected incident from last night, they should now be on high alert and closely monitoring everything around them. It is highly likely that accidents will be difficult to occur during the daytime.

Yet, even that could not guarantee his absolute safety, for at night, the police themselves might become one of the unforeseen elements.

According to the rules established since the world's inception, he only needed to survive safely within it for seven days to complete his survival quest and depart from the world. In other words, the total lockdown on power within this world would last no more than seven days.

Thus, on the remaining sixth and seventh days, the Spider Demon and the Big-Eyed Monster would undoubtedly employ the most shameless and relentless tactics to take his life.

At this moment, he was at his most vulnerable and powerless, seemingly facing an inevitable end.

In this world, there was no absolutely secure haven; anyone could potentially turn into an attacker in the end.

To evade danger and even counterattack, he needed to forge an alternative path.

A path that freed him from the constraints of this world's rules, allowing him to protect himself.

Chen Shijin, exhausted from sitting, suddenly lay down on his back.

With his eyes closed, he seemed to have given up all hope.

Yet, in reality, his mind and spirit were more active than ever. His brain was busy thinking, while his heart was filled with curses and complaints.

Why should he be bound and gradually lose his senses in this world, bit by bit?

Well, it was probably because the combined energy of the two Kings in this realm surpassed his own, thus preventing him from altering the "rules of the world." He had to abide by them and gradually lose his senses.

But why did those two damned individuals have the right to transform into anyone they pleased, and manipulate people's consciousness at night?

In a world where extraordinary energy was forbidden, could it be that the possession of those two fellows at night wasn't considered as such?

Was it possible that this world prohibited special energy yet condoned "being possessed by ghosts"?

If possession was allowed, then he could also have—

Chen Shijin suddenly opened his eyes in the middle of his sarcastic remarks.

At that instant, he found the key to breaking the deadlock.

"Senses, huh... the five senses."

Muttering to himself, Chen Shijin closed his eyes again. This time, he kept them shut until nighttime.

"Goodness, what's going on with him? He's been lying down like this all day, hasn't he? Only got up for a bowl of instant noodles at noon and drank a box of milk tonight. What is he trying to do? Just giving up and waiting to die?"

The police officers monitoring him in the control room were speechless.

This young man was indeed rather peculiar.

"Who knows, they say he has an almost incurable condition similar to ALS, causing him to lose all five senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste... Tsk, if I were in his shoes, I'd probably feel just as hopeless."

"Oh my God, just hearing about it makes me miserable. Wouldn't life be virtually the same as death? Yet, he had that accident..."

The young officer paused, inwardly contemplating that if he were in such a condition, perhaps an accident would be a form of relief.

He wondered if the young man felt the same way.

Forget it, better focus on the monitoring duty.

Observing the young man's passive demeanor, and considering that there was only him, another officer, and the two policemen in the holding cell, it seemed highly unlikely anything would happen tonight.

The young officer glanced at the wall clock; it was already 9 PM.

Although some lights in the detention room would be turned off, four night lamps would remain lit for surveillance purposes.

Everything seemed under control, unless something went wrong with Officer Zhang or Officer Wang, who were on duty.

The young officer shivered at the thought, then chuckled to himself. "How could that be?"

At midnight, everything in the detention room was as it should be.

The young man was still lying down. Brother Zhang and Brother Wang were both in high spirits.

One o'clock in the morning, all was normal.

The monitoring room now had six officers, none of whom left their posts.

Two o'clock in the morning arrived, and all the police were wide awake. Even Brother Zhang and Brother Wang in the detention room paid a visit to the young man, ensuring that the iron door of his small cell was securely shut.

Everyone sighed in relief.

So last night was most likely... just an unfortunate accident, right?

2:45 am.

Bang!

Zzzzzzz!

Boom!

The young police officer was startled awake by an earsplitting buzz.

As he regained consciousness, his first instinct was to check the surveillance camera, and he immediately let out a shocked cry.

"How is this possible?!"

In the footage, the young man who had been lying on the bed all day was somehow already standing on the ground, having skillfully dodged Brother Wang's fierce baton swing with a menacing expression. At the same time, he swiftly lifted his leg and kicked Brother Wang in the stomach, sending him flying backward!

The series of actions were swift and ruthless, something an agile and strong adult could accomplish.

But it was precisely this that astounded the young police officer!

There was no issue with an able-bodied adult executing such moves, but the problem was that the person performing them had been blindfolded the entire time!

Just then, Zhang, the officer who had been initially kicked away, had managed to stand up against the wall with bloodshot eyes. Strikingly, he drew his service pistol from his waist!

As he raised the gun with a twisted expression, aiming its dark barrel at the young man with closed eyes, the six officers in the surveillance room were on the verge of shouting in alarm!

"Stop right there!"

"How can you point a gun at the person we're sworn to protect?!"

In the pitch-black space, Chen Shiming, with his eyes shut, "saw" the terrifying threat that seemed just inches away.

He curved the corners of his lips slightly.

Bang!

The young police officer in the monitoring room couldn't bear to keep his eyes open, unwilling to witness the unbearable scene unfolding.

But in the next second, he heard the excited cries of his fellow officers ringing in his ears, "Damn it!!"

"He didn't hit him!"

"It's not that he missed! He dodged it, oh god!"

"He has his eyes closed! He just tilted his head to avoid it!"

The young officer snapped his eyes open.

Then he saw Zhang's contorted, furious face on the surveillance footage: "Impossible! How could you dodge my bullet?!"

"You should have been completely helpless!"

Deaf, blind, unable to smell, touch, or feel! A person without their five senses is like a living corpse! They wouldn't even dare to take another step forward, for fear of the unknown that lay ahead!

How could such a cripple, someone compressed to their limits, possibly evade a point-blank attack?

Chen Shijin, still standing in place, chuckled at the other man's hysterical outburst.

As his laughter threatened to snap Zhang's already fraying nerves, he finally spoke:

"Although I've lost my five senses, I still possess one more."

That indescribable, yet very real, extrasensory perception that combined all human senses, allowing him to intuit time and space – the enigmatic Hyper-Sense.

The sixth sense.