Chapter 331. Change
Home? I'm home? Charles wondered in astonishment as he stared at the door before him that was adorned with an upside-down Fu character, a traditional symbol of fortune hung in reverse.
With a soft click, the heavy security door swung open on its own to reveal the cozy little living room within. The cacophony of familiar voices echoed from one side of the room; there was someone at home. And those voices were familiar to him, for they belonged to his family members.
As his heart pumped in excitement, Charles stepped inside and immediately caught sight of his family. They were lounging on the sofa; the television was turned on while his sister was playing games on her mobile phone.
The first to notice Charles was Gao Suling. The young girl's gaze shifted away from her phone screen and locked onto Charles. Her large eyes widened. But there was no trace of joy; instead, they were filled with terror as though she had seen the most horrifying thing in the world.
"AHHHHHH!" Gao Suling screamed hysterically, her cries echoing through the room. She clutched her head and scrambled toward the balcony in panic.
His parents, who had been watching TV, stood up in alarm. As soon as they caught sight of Charles, deep fear painted their faces.
They stretched out their arms and stood before Gao Suling to protect her. At the same time, they frantically threw their phones and the TV remote at Charles as they shouted at him in an attempt to drive him away.
"Dad, Mom! It's me! I'm Gao Zhiming! What's wrong with you all?" Charles pleaded desperately.
Just then, he suddenly noticed a full-length mirror by the side. The reflection was that of a grotesque, deformed creature covered in sticky, dark brown muck. Tentacles with triangular eyes jutted out of its body and were writhing haphazardly. Its limbs were also twisted and contorted, protruding and retracting intermittently.
What struck terror into Charles's heart was that those triangular eyes on the tentacles were also staring right back at him.
Charles stumbled as he took a step back; the creature in the mirror mirrored his movement.
"No...impossible. I'm not a monster! I'm not!" Trembling uncontrollably, Charles looked down at his own body to realize that he had somehow transformed into the very monster reflected in the mirror.
In a state of panic, he ran and reached out to the nearest phone from the ground, hoping to communicate with his family through text.
However, a scene of despair happened before him. His three family members were already standing at the edge of the balcony; their legs were trembling uncontrollably.
"Don't jump! It's me, Gao Zhiming!!" Charles pleaded as he rushed toward them.
At the sight of Charles charging toward them, the trio leaped off the balcony without a hint of hesitation.
Thud!
Charles' eyes flew open; he woke up drenched in cold sweat. As he gasped for breath, he stared at the ornately carved ceiling of his bedroom in the Governor's mansion.
He was in his disheveled, large bed.
Soon, his breathing gradually calmed down, but his inner turmoil was far from subsiding.
He closed his eyes and turned his head to bury his face into the soft, pale back beside him before taking in a deep breath.
Anna, who had been reading Charles' diary, felt his touch on her. She turned around and gently held Charles in her embrace.
In a soft voice, she asked, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
Charles remained silent, and Anna chose not to press further. She tenderly patted his back and hummed a familiar lullaby.
Charles clung tightly to Anna's petite frame, using so much force as though trying to merge her into his body.
A flicker of concern flashed past Anna's eyes, but she didn't struggle and allowed Charles to do whatever he wanted. Her lips closed in on Charles' ear, and she whispered, "I'll never leave you, my love."
Half an hour later, in the living room of the Governor's mansion, Charles chewed absentmindedly on his raw salad. A bare foot playfully reached out from his left and poked him in the waist.
"You scoundrel, I'm talking to you. Are you even listening?" Anna teased, despite her own attention being on Charles' cellphone.
Charles turned toward Anna and asked, "What did you just say?"
"I said, why don't we send Sparkle back first? Five of your staff here have already fainted upon seeing her," Anna replied.
Just then, the sound of a plate shattering echoed from nearby. Charles' gaze turned toward the direction of the noise. He turned and saw his daughter, Sparkle, hovering in the air. She was using her tentacles to stuff various delicate furnishings into her body.
She wasn't interested in eating the furniture. A few seconds later, she spat them back out onto the floor after she had tasted them. She was much like a human child who wanted to have a taste of anything that they could reach and put into their mouth.
"It's okay. I'll ask the others to leave the Governor's Mansion for the time being. That way, they won't get scared. Sparkle is my daughter; she should be at home," Charles said.
"You are surely considerate of your daughter. When will you ever show me the same consideration?" Anna playfully jibed.
A faint smile appeared on Charles' lips as he gently lifted Anna's chin with his index finger.
"Have I not given you enough attention?" Charles teased before he swiftly leaned in and planted a kiss on her scarlet lips.
Anna pushed him away and rolled her eyes, "Sparkle's here watching. Did you not have enough last night?"
Charles turned to look at Sparkle to see her gelatinous eyeballs quickly averting their gazes. He then let go of Anna and resumed his lunch.
"What are you planning to do next?" Anna asked.
"Nothing. I plan to spend the next few days with you and Sparkle."
"How cheesy. Go and do your work, won't you? Your island is in chaos. At this rate, people might start thinking that I'm some kind of siren that is distracting you from official affairs."
Munching on his food, Charles looked up at Anna in surprise.
"What are you staring at? Have you not seen enough?" Anna's body suddenly split open, and a terrifying tentacled creature lunged at Charles.
Not even the least fazed, Charles popped the last greenish tomato from his plate into his mouth and stood up.
"Alright then, I'll get to work first. I'll settle the urgent matter as quickly as I can and come back to spend quality time with you and Sparkle."
Charles pondered over Anna's words as he made his way toward his office. Anna had been right. Hope Island was in dire need of rebuilding, and he, the Governor, had a pile of official work to deal with.
Battered and chaotic from the aftermath of the war, Hope Island started its reconstruction. The joy from the islanders' battle victory soon slowly faded away to be replaced by a lingering air of sadness.
Despite the Navy and the others' proactive retaliation, the island still incurred heavy damage. There were roughly a few thousand casualties—each a living, breathing individual.
However, life still had to go on. With heavy hearts, the residents started repairing their damaged homes.
Time was the best medicine. A few days later, a new decree was issued: the Governor's Mansion would subsidize the rebuilding of collapsed houses and streets. The islanders finally started smiling.
On top of that, Charles declared a tax exemption for the whole island for the next four months. Everyone's enthusiasm was almost enough to overturn the newly repaired canopies.
The move was as good as handing them money.
The island and its residents were healing swiftly. Following the attack, the islanders' sense of unity and attachment to their home was markedly strengthened.
Now that the citizen's welfare had been addressed, it was time to make a political move.
As the Governor of Hope Island, Charles publicly declared the Fhtagn Covenant as the island's primary enemy and issued a series of retaliatory measures against all Fhtagnists.
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