Chapter 559 - 549: Sound Source Pollution 1

Perhaps it was due to her positioning or some other reason, but Moira Lynch’s sudden appearance didn’t attract anyone’s attention. Everyone was busy with their own business.

Customers were shopping, and sales associates were enthusiastically making their pitches.

The scene reminded Moira Lynch of what Caelus was like before the apocalypse, and a long-lost sense of familiarity welled up inside her.

However, she hadn’t forgotten this was a trial from the Cosmic Consciousness, so even in such a familiar setting, Moira Lynch didn’t let her guard down.

After all, danger often lurks in the most inconspicuous places.

Moira Lynch carefully observed her surroundings.

These people looked identical to humans, with no extra or missing features.

Moira Lynch left her original spot and began to wander around.

Since she had to survive here for thirty days, her first priorities were to secure shelter and supplies.

’Patience.’

Moira Lynch called out to Patience in her mind, but as expected, there was no response.

Without Patience, she couldn’t contact Shane Rhodes, Kai York, or Hugh Finch.

Based on her experience with past survival games, as well as her own intuition, the first day should be the safest.

She had to use this time to get the lay of the land and buy some supplies.

This was where the gold bracelet on her wrist would come in handy.

However, Moira Lynch wasn’t in a hurry to sell the gold bracelet. Instead, she feigned nonchalance, blended into the crowd, and started wandering through the mall.

After spending some time in the mall, Moira Lynch’s brow gradually furrowed. She found a random place to sit, pressing a hand to her forehead as an irritated expression crossed her face.

Ever since a few moments ago, a terribly loud noise had been ringing in her ears.

It sounded like thousands of people chattering incessantly in her ears.

It was tolerable at first, but as the noise continued unabated, Moira Lynch found herself growing more and more agitated.

’What in the world is going on?’

She scanned her surroundings, but no one was being particularly loud.

Even so, Moira Lynch decided to leave the crowded area and headed for the less-populated home appliance section.

Business in the appliance section didn’t seem to be doing well; besides the sales associates, there were hardly any customers.

Upon arriving, Moira Lynch instantly felt much better. The pressure on her ears eased considerably.

Just then, a sales associate, seeing a rare potential customer, immediately hurried over with a beaming smile.

"How can I help you? You don’t look very well. Are you feeling alright?"

Moira Lynch, just freed from the noise, didn’t quite catch what the associate said. She looked at the woman and instinctively rubbed her ears.

Seeing this, the sales associate seemed to take the hint. She turned and pulled out a pair of stylish, white cat-ear headphones from under the counter.

"I think you could really use these."

Moira Lynch took the headphones. The packaging read: "The latest in noise-canceling headphones. Fully adjustable noise reduction to give you back your quiet world."

Recalling what had just happened, Moira Lynch thought that even though she didn’t know the cause, she probably really did need them.

However...

Moira Lynch’s gaze discreetly shifted to the price tag.

The headphones were priced at 19,888.

For the currently penniless Moira Lynch, this price was nothing short of astronomical.

Moira Lynch handed the headphones back to the associate with a polite smile. "These are nice, but I need to go find my parents first."

Hearing this, the sales associate understood immediately.

’The girl in front of me looks young,’ the associate thought. ’There’s no way she’d be carrying that much cash.’

Just then, a red-haired woman teetering on sky-high heels walked over and said to the associate, "Get me a red pair of the ones you’re holding."

With a real customer on the hook, the associate instantly forgot all about Moira Lynch and turned to get the red headphones the woman wanted.

While waiting, the red-haired woman started complaining loudly to her companion, oblivious to anyone else around them.

Seeing that no one was paying her any attention, Moira Lynch decided not to leave just yet. She found a spot nearby and listened to the red-haired woman chat with her friend.

"I don’t know what’s going on lately," the woman said. "My ears are always buzzing, like a crowd of people is talking right next to me."

"Same here," her friend replied. "At first, I thought I was just hearing things. I’ve heard a lot of people have been having the same issue, but nobody knows why. Hospital check-ups don’t find anything, either."

Moira Lynch listened to their conversation and gleaned a crucial piece of information: her condition wasn’t an isolated case. Many people here were experiencing the same symptoms.

And what’s more, no cause could be identified.

’There are usually two possibilities in a situation like this,’ Moira thought. ’One, there’s no illness. The sounds are real, but only some people can perceive them.’

’Two, they really are sick, but the local medical technology is too limited to detect the cause.’

Moira leaned toward the first possibility. She knew her own physical condition perfectly; there was nothing wrong with her.

’So, is the key to this game... sound?’

Prolonged exposure to noise can fray a person’s nerves and lead to a breakdown, just as she had experienced moments before.

Certain sounds could even kill a person without leaving a trace.

’If that’s the case, then those headphones are essential.’

’But first, I need to get some money. Without money, I can’t even afford bread, let alone headphones.’

Moira Lynch followed the crowd out of the mall.

The instant she stepped through the mall’s main entrance, Moira’s vision went black, and she nearly fainted.

’It’s just too loud!’

’If I just walk out into this, I’ll probably go deaf.’

At that thought, Moira steeled herself and used her spiritual power to temporarily block her own auditory nerves, inducing a state of temporary deafness.

’Better to take the initiative than to be passively deafened,’ she thought.

After doing this, she stepped out of the mall again. As expected, it was much better this time.

Walking down the street, Moira Lynch scanned the surrounding storefronts, looking for a jewelry or pawn shop.

She had seen people in the mall wearing gold jewelry, and there were counters that specialized in selling it.

However, they only seemed to sell gold, not buy it.

As she walked down the street, Moira Lynch quickly noticed something.

The adults here looked human, but the children had two antenna-like appendages growing from their foreheads. Some even had four: two long and two short.