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!
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.