「Ten minutes later.」
Four children stopped in front of a hot dog stand on the street, pooled their money to buy two hot dogs, and got them to go.
"Going to give food to Old Jack again?" the young female shopkeeper asked, her movents practiced as she boxed up the hot dogs. She spoke earnestly, "You kids should stay away from that psycho. If he suddenly goes crazy, you’ll be in big trouble."
"Old Jack is our friend. He would never hurt us," a chubby little boy retorted.
"Suit yourselves," the young shopkeeper said with a shrug, not particularly concerned. She handed over the two boxes of hot dogs.
The children took the hot dogs, placed them in their bicycle baskets, got on their bikes, and rode for two blocks until they reached an alley.
Inside the dilapidated gray alley, filthy trash cans by the wall reeked. In the very back was a rectangular box pieced together from cardboard, with an old, black, windproof cloth draped over it. Surrounding the box were various scavenged daily necessities and leftover food.
"Old Jack, we brought you sothing to eat!" a small boy with glasses shouted.
The cardboard house moved. A corner of the windproof cloth was lifted, and the person inside seed to be cautiously observing the outside. A few seconds later, a raggedly dressed holess man pushed aside the cloth and sat up inside the rectangular cardboard box.
His hair was disheveled and his face was grimy. A pair of murky eyes peered out from between strands of hair that looked like wild weeds. His filth-caked face was etched with weariness and the marks of a hard life. A ssy beard grew on his cheeks. The down jacket he wore was exceptionally old, and he exuded a sour, stinky odor, as if he hadn’t bathed in a very long ti. The man was utterly filthy.
Even stranger, he was wearing a silver Tinfoil Hat on his head.
"Old Jack, here’s a hot dog for you." The children ca up to the holess man and handed him the still-warm hot dog.
"Thank you, thank you!" Old Jack giggled like a simpleton and grabbed the hot dog, wolfing it down. Compared to the scraps in the trash can, the steaming hot food was obviously far more delicious.
"Old Jack, we want to go into the forest to look for Allen. Can you co with us?" a skinny, blond little boy asked.
"The forest..." Old Jack paused in his eating and shook his head. "The forest is dangerous. Don’t go there. There are wolves, bears, traps... You shouldn’t go."
"We’ll just stick to the outskirts; we won’t go deep in. Do you rember Allen? He’s the one who brought you cookies and milk. But he was taken by that monster. The adults don’t believe us. You’re the only one who can help," said Jenny, the only girl, speaking earnestly. She was taller than the others and had freckles, appearing more mature than the three boys.
"A monster..." Hearing this, Old Jack trembled, seeming terrified.
"What monster?"
Just then, a stranger walked into the alley. He had a friendly, polite smile on his face and exuded a natural charisma that lowered the children’s guard to a minimum.
But Old Jack reacted as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He instantly snatched his hot dog and retreated into his little house, only lifting a tiny corner of the windproof cloth to peek out in secret.
"Who are you?" Jenny asked warily.
"Soone in charge of handling certain matters," Zhou Chen replied mysteriously. He looked down at the children, his tone gentle. "Things have been unsettled in Akita Town recently, which has attracted the state’s attention. So, they sent to investigate."
"And it seems you clever little rascals know sothing extraordinary, don’t you?"
"An Investigator?" Jenny was taken aback for a mont, her eyes growing suspicious. "Not long ago, soone else ca to Akita Town claiming to be an Investigator. Do you know him?"
"What’s his na?"
"I don’t rember. He didn’t leave much of an impression."
"Then where is he now?"
The children shook their heads again. Jenny even shot him a look like he was an idiot. "We’re just kids. How would kids know about adult business? That’s the mayor’s and the sheriff’s job."
’This girl is way too precocious...’ Zhou Chen didn’t press the matter and changed the subject. "This monster you were talking about, what is it?"
The children looked at one another, and for a mont, no one spoke.
"Then let ask another question." Zhou Chen’s attitude remained gentle. Even though he was in disguise, the high charisma granted by the King of Music’s blessing was still present. Even doing nothing, he gave off an approachable and friendly vibe.
He pointed to Old Jack, who was hiding in the cardboard house. "Why is he hiding from ? Did I scare him?"
"No, Old Jack has... a ntal illness. He thinks satellites and cell phones emit certain wavelengths that control people’s thoughts and subconscious minds—commonly known as brainwashing. That’s why he always wears a Tinfoil Hat. He says the Tinfoil Hat can effectively block the brainwashing electromagnetic waves," the chubby boy explained, glancing back. "He thinks anyone not wearing a Tinfoil Hat has already been brainwashed into a puppet, which is why he’s afraid of contact with other people."
"Then why can he interact with you?" Zhou Chen asked, puzzled.
"He says children have pure hearts and can’t be brainwashed. Old Jack is really friendly to kids, but all our parents tell us to stay away from him," the chubby boy answered.
’So he’s just a paranoid conspiracy theorist with a few screws loose... The Old Era certainly had a bunch of people like that, not the sharpest tools in the shed. They always thought radiation from cell towers would affect their health, that the tal strips in masks were listening devices, or that so evil force was secretly using Brain Control Devices to brainwash the public, and only Tinfoil Hats could resist it... Hmm, the New Era has plenty of people like that too. Guess they just have too much ti on their hands...’ Zhou Chen’s thoughts raced.
The reason he was paying attention to Old Jack—besides the fact that the man had run and hidden in terror the mont he saw him—was sothing else: Old Jack had a clue marker on him.
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