Translator: CinderTL
"There's something else I just thought of," Wang Qi paused, his eyes clouded with confusion. It seemed he hadn't fully grasped what he was about to say.
Jiang Cheng watched him, waiting for him to continue.
"The last painting you showed me..." Wang Qi hesitated.
Raising an eyebrow, Jiang Cheng immediately realized Wang Qi was referring to Lin Wan'er. "What about her?" According to Wang Qi, Lin Wan'er was the creator of Crimson, and they all called her "Teacher."
"Teacher... she's not a bad person. She's been very good to us, just a bit strict." Recalling these memories seemed to cause Wang Qi intense headaches and mental distress, as if some kind of restriction was taking effect. "Please... don't blame her."
Jiang Cheng pressed, "How do you know I'd blame her? What else do you remember?"
Wang Qi clutched his forehead, shaking his head repeatedly. "I don't know. My head hurts so much. It feels like countless needles are stabbing inside. I remember Teacher had a plan. We all followed her instructions. The plan was very secret, even those murderers who wanted us to disappear didn't know about it. Zero, you were at the heart of the plan. And so was 10..."
"What plan? What were you plotting?" Jiang Cheng stepped forward, his voice rising with emotion. "What exactly does Lin Wan'er want?"
A blue vein throbbed on Wang Qi's forehead, twisting his entire face. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, staring at Jiang Cheng like a predator eyeing its prey.
Before Jiang Cheng could react, Wang Qi was struck by an unseen force, slamming into the wall and collapsing unconscious.
Even stranger, the impact produced hardly any sound.
Jiang Cheng turned to the wall. A mottled black shadow clung to its surface, rippling with an eerie black wave pattern. Staring too long, he felt as if he might lose himself within it.
A line of crimson blood-red characters materialized on the wall: "His memory is flawed. Forcing his awakening will backfire."
Jiang Cheng gasped for breath. He sensed that the final truth was close.
He had to know what Lin Wan'er was truly up to.
The shadow on the wall trembled, appearing to Jiang Cheng like a silent mockery. As a part of him, it was incapable of feeling his emotions or even knowing his thoughts.
"Can you just shut up?" Jiang Cheng snapped, his mood sour.
Soon, more blood-red characters appeared on the wall: "No."
The shadow shook even more violently, its mouth widening into a grin large enough to swallow both his and Huai Yi's heads whole.
Wu's stance on Lin Wan'er was clear: it believed she had come to harm him.
Because the woman who created Wu was like this.
It had said more than once that it and Wu were the same.
No matter how much it sacrificed at the beginning, it would always end up the same way: abandoned. Wu wouldn't be an exception.
"Even though I know you have ulterior motives, I still want to thank you for what happened in the Sculpture Hall," Jiang Cheng said, helping Wang Qi to his feet and speaking to the Shadow on the wall.
After helping Wang Qi back to bed, Jiang Cheng kept watch alone.
Huai Yi woke up midway through the night and took over Jiang Cheng's shift. He rubbed his eyes and saw Wang Qi and Fatty sleeping in the same bed.
Jiang Cheng shook his head slightly, signaling Huai Yi not to worry, while also reminding him to stay alert.
"The gate isn't closed," Huai Yi suddenly noticed. It was open about a third of the way.
He went to close it, but as soon as he did, a gust of wind seemed to blow it open again. This repeated three times, sending a chill down Huai Yi's spine. Could the Heart-Corroding Demon have come knocking?
No, that's not right. It shouldn't...
When the gate finally swung fully open, Huai Yi blinked, and a wave of icy air surged from his feet to the top of his head, instantly waking him completely.
A black shadow lingered on the wall outside the gate. One of its hands reached out, as if waiting for Huai Yi to close the gate so it could push it open again.
A pair of blood-red eyes, barely visible in the shadows, flickered in and out of view.
"I'm sorry!" Huai Yi immediately stepped aside and opened the Gate.
He and Wu were old acquaintances, having met during a previous hospital mission, though the atmosphere back then hadn't been particularly friendly.
The Shadow drifted slowly inside, approached Jiang Cheng, and then stopped.
Huai Yi gasped. Before the Shadow entered, Jiang Cheng hadn't had a shadow at all—he'd seen it clearly.
What kind of person has no shadow?
No, what kind of thing has no shadow?
Brother Jiang... Huai Yi swallowed nervously, how many more secrets did he still hold?
11:00 AM.
Huai Yi woke everyone up on time. Actually, he didn't even need to wake Jiang Cheng, because the moment Huai Yi approached him, Jiang Cheng opened his eyes.
He hadn't been asleep.
Lost in thought, perhaps.
When Fatty woke up and found Wang Qi sleeping beside him, he just blinked in surprise, showing no other particular reaction.
Wang Qi, on the other hand, woke up to Fatty's face and looked genuinely excited.
There wasn't much to pack. In an hour, they would face their final mission. After a few minutes to clear their heads, they left the dormitory.
They descended the stairs and entered the first-floor corridor.
The gate to the old man's room was ajar, just as before. The difference this time was that sounds were coming from within.
Fatty, being closest to the door, took a few curious steps toward it. Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm. Wang Qi shook his head at him and whispered, "Getting you all out of here is the priority. Don't stir up any trouble."
Fatty's eyes immediately reddened, his lips trembling as if he wanted to say something. Wang Qi patted him, signaling that he understood.
Just as the group turned to leave, ignoring the sounds, a peculiar noise came from the room.
Jiang Cheng stopped in his tracks.
Splash...
Splash...
The sound wasn't loud, but it came in rhythmic bursts, like someone swimming in a pool, constantly paddling the water with their hands.
There would be a brief pause between each splash, giving the impression that the swimmer had reached the end of the pool, turned around, and started swimming back.
This could be a clue, or it could be a trap.
But Jiang Cheng couldn't ignore it.
He reached for the doorknob, its cold metal sending a chill through his hand. Taking a deep breath, he slowly pulled the door open.
The room was flooded, covered in a layer of murky water about two or three centimeters deep. Its dark, ominous appearance sent a shiver down Jiang Cheng's spine.
The sound of water was coming from deeper inside. This was the gatekeeper's duty room; there was no bed, but a door stood diagonally across the room, likely leading to the bedroom.
Jiang Cheng considered entering with Wang Qi, but worried about Fatty and Huai Yi's safety outside. In the end, Fatty and Huai Yi volunteered to come in.
Wading through the murky water, the group slowly approached the bedroom door.
It was an old, weathered wooden door, its wood grain exposed in places. It was definitely at least twenty years old, and had been painted white long ago.
The door was ajar, and a sliver of light peeked through the crack.
(End of the Chapter)
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