NOVEL WEB Chapter 74: There is No Soul?
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Chapter 74: There is No Soul?
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At this moment, the sky was caught in the delicate balance between day and night.
According to Haseinberg’s time, during the vernal equinox, the sun would set at six, with darkness completely taking over by half-past six. However, here in Hamilton, situated much farther west, twilight lingered for nearly forty minutes longer. So, even though the sun had just dipped below the horizon, the sky hadn’t yet fully surrendered to the night.
The sun, though hidden from sight, still cast its final rays far off in the distance, painting the clouds with the faintest hint of glowing warmth. The sky above looked like a canvas meticulously prepared by nature’s hand, shifting its palette gradually.
The brilliant blue of the day was steadily fading. Near the horizon, the sun’s last light clung on, as if resisting the encroaching darkness, staining the sky in deep oranges and soft golds. These hues blended together, reminiscent of a gentle fire flickering in the sky, unfurling like a satin ribbon caught in a soft breeze.
Zoe, seated on her sofa, basked in the gentle glow of the evening light filtering through her window. She had just returned home. Earlier, she had passed Benny and Lynette downstairs, laughing and chatting as they said their goodbyes, leaving her with a wave of embarrassment as she stumbled upon their intimate moment. She sighed, pretending not to notice, even as she inwardly cringed at having witnessed it.
As Platinum, her beloved dog, wagged its tail enthusiastically at her feet, Zoe couldn't help but smile softly. At least she wasn’t entirely alone. With a simple thought, she made a tissue float into the air, teasing the excited dog.
The tissue fluttered upwards, then zipped to the side, carried by her mental control, sending Platinum bounding around the room in joyous pursuit.
While keeping the dog entertained, Zoe’s thoughts drifted to the events of the afternoon. She had followed her short-term plan 4.0 and set out to explore the existence of souls.
Yet, after visiting three major hospitals and two care homes, the results were the same: she sensed nothing.
This emptiness gnawed at her, forcing her into deeper thought.
Theoretically, such places were bound to have seen death. Whether recent or long past, there should have been traces. Was her sample size too small? Or was her mental acuity not sharp enough? Or—perhaps—was there truly no such thing as a soul?
Her mind spun with these questions, but Zoe refrained from jumping to conclusions.
If she were more ruthless, she could have conducted experiments with... fresher subjects, much like the mad scientists from stories. But Zoe wasn’t that kind of person. She adhered to her own moral compass: “Harm none unless they harm me, and if they do, leave no stone unturned.” A rather principled young woman.
But for now, her investigation had hit a wall.
Staring out of the window as the sunlight continued to weaken and the sky darkened further, a sudden thought struck her, almost like a bolt of lightning.
She had missed a critical variable.
Light! Yes, it was light!
Her eyes widened as she pieced it together.
In so many films and stories, ghosts typically appeared at night, not during the day. Could it be that souls, much like ghosts, had an aversion to light?
The idea thrilled her, and she couldn’t help but speculate boldly.
If this were true, venturing out now might lead to a breakthrough.
However, she didn’t rush to leave just yet. It wasn’t fully night—only the early hours of dusk. After ensuring that Platinum had fresh water and food, Zoe decided to stick to her plan and complete her evening exercises before heading out. Better to finish her routine now than risk skipping it later.
Her nightly training involved a full-body muscle tremor exercise and refining her mastery of Transparent World 3.0.
The muscle tremors were simple enough—she aimed to complete them three times a day, as consistency was key. As for Transparent World 3.0, it required honing her senses—vision, hearing, and smell—through regular practice to sharpen them with greater precision.
Each sound and scent needed to be clearly identified and stored in her mind’s memory palace, as her mental database could only recognize what she had previously encountered. New stimuli would otherwise be beyond her understanding.
In addition to this, she worked on enhancing the mental aspect of Transparent World. This skill provided real-time data transfer, 3D modelling, emotional sensing, telekinesis, and light and color detection—functions that needed frequent practice to refine.
By midnight, the streets had grown quieter, their usual daytime buzz giving way to a calm serenity.
Few people remained outside.
Occasionally, a car would pass by, its headlights briefly slicing through the darkness before fading into the distance.
Knowing that the subway stopped running at eleven, Zoe had left early, after finishing her exercises and logging her progress. She made her way to Holly Hospital by metro.
Compared to the busy daytime hours, the hospital area, though quieter, was far from deserted.
It wasn’t like her own neighborhood, which would resemble a ghost town by the time the clock struck eleven.
Here, the night was still alive with activity.
The nearby 24-hour convenience stores continued to glow softly, and the inpatient buildings and emergency department of the hospital kept their lights on, casting a gentle illumination over the surrounding streets.
Following familiar paths, Zoe moved quietly, avoiding the gaze of CCTV cameras as she explored the area.
The stillness of the night made her acutely aware of her own heartbeat and the subtle sound of her shoes against the pavement.
Before long, she found herself back where she had started.
As she reviewed the sensations she had picked up along the way, her brow furrowed slightly.
The result of this outing was the same…
Nothing.
Even at night, her perception yielded no different results than during the day.
The hospital was just as it had been: nurses on duty, doctors attending to patients, family members fighting fatigue as they kept vigil beside their loved ones.
No souls. No ghosts.
Perhaps she had simply overthought it. Perhaps, in this world, souls truly didn’t exist.
Still, with her own inexplicable abilities, it was difficult not to question such things.
After all, if she—someone with abilities that defied logic—existed, then the existence of souls couldn’t be ruled out, could it?
It wasn’t that she was determined to find a soul, but rather, she sought to understand the true nature of the world she inhabited.
This knowledge would be critical for making informed decisions about her future.
After a long moment of contemplation, Zoe decided to give it one last try.
At the very least, a night-time visit to a graveyard might offer some clarity.
She summoned a ride through an app, setting her destination near a residential area close to the nearest cemetery, rather than the cemetery itself.
She figured that directly choosing the graveyard as a destination might deter drivers at such a late hour.
Not long after, a sleek black car pulled up before her.
After confirming the last digits of her phone number, Zoe settled into the back seat.
As the car glided through the streets, she gazed out of the window, lost in thought.
Since her body had undergone its transformation, she hadn’t ventured out this late at night—or perhaps, she never had before, not like this.
The city at night was entirely different from the one she knew during the day.
Now, in the depths of night, the city was enveloped in thick darkness. Streetlights were sparse, and only the occasional glow from shop windows broke the monotony, like isolated islands amidst a vast sea of black.
The rustling of leaves in the wind, the distant barking of dogs, the faint sound of stray animals rummaging through bins...
It was quiet, but not lifeless.
This experience was entirely new to her.
There was something profoundly calming about walking through the city at night.
Even for someone like Zoe, who had few real-world worries, the sense of peace was undeniable.
“Perhaps,” she murmured to herself, “I should make a habit of this...”
She rolled down the window, letting the cool night air brush against her face.
For a brief moment, a feeling of contentment and relaxation washed over her.
Soon enough, the car reached its destination.