From this angle, the two of them couldn’t see the electronic screen in front of the main teaching building. Broadcast Guo Wei didn’t give them the opportunity to come face-to-face with the two of them.
The student phantoms stumbled through the broken entrails and supported a blood-stained projection screen. The shaking images showed Broadcast Guo Wei sitting in front of the table they were familiar with.
Guo Wei’s appearance had changed. His eyes were completely cloudy, and the bulge at his temple had broken off, with a familiar red rope poking out of the flesh.
It was exactly the same rope as the one at Huang Jin’s feet just now.
Sure enough, half a year later, Guo Wei’s sudden hatred and malice were inseparable from the source of corruption of an Evil Force.
Guo Wei’s mouth was full of blood, and a wound extended from under his clavicle to his waist and abdomen. It penetrated his flesh and bones, misplacing his heart and lungs and almost causing them to flow out of the fissure.
Guo Wei played with the black ballpoint pen in his hand with a smile so wide that it was abnormal. His appearance was indistinguishable from a fierce ghost.
“You have not successfully left the school. Teachers and family members, please choose someone to exclude from the quota.”
Clang. The familiar pistol hit the concrete floor of the roof and fell between Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo.
Zhong Chengshuo picked up the gun.
“Where’s Huang Jin?” In the headset, Lu Xiaohe asked anxiously. “How is it that half the team is already gone?”
“He was attacked by an unknown mental ability, so we knocked him out.” Yin Ren covered the two cocoons behind his back as he explained concisely. “I felt a strong Evil Force, similar to that of Bai Yongji’s coin.”
Lu Xiaohe sounded like she almost choked. “A source of corruption from an Evil Force?”
What’s going on with Unit 9? How was it that there’s now an Evil Force when they entered the Archive?
She really didn’t want to snatch away “The Best Bad Luck Award” from Unit 7.
Lu Xiaohe accelerated her talking speed. “The Archive may have been invaded. Be careful! Ghosts are obsessed with contracts. Try to stabilize Guo Wei and stall for Minister Fu!”
“Understood,” Zhong Chengshuo answered cleanly.
Boom, boom, boom, boom. The earth trembled like a sticky heartbeat.
Countless rotten hands protruded from the internal organs of the courtyard, scratching frantically.
“Please choose to exclude someone from the quota.” On the bloody screen, Guo Wei’s smile deepened, and the corners of his eyes kept twitching. The red rope pierced his temple and twitched, disappearing at the edge of the screen.
Zhong Chengshuo picked up the gun and raised it naturally to his own head.
In the night, the man’s gaze behind the lens was calm and firm.
“I’ll protect you,” Yin Ren stated solemnly after witnessing Zhong Chengshuo’s actions. “Don’t worry.”
King Yama actually trusted him so readily? Was this a mutual understanding*?
*The legendary heart has a soul (的心有灵) Idiom refers to hearts being connected so that you understand each other’s mind.
“No, I’m worried,” Zhong Chengshuo replied calmly. “The situation is complicated, and it’s impossible to judge.”
Yin Ren: “?” The harmony in his heart was about to keel over.
Yin Ren’s emotion and fighting spirit were suffocated by this guy’s words. Perhaps Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t focusing on <The Art of Communication>. Rather, he should write a book called <The Art of Rejection>.
“…So I’ll see it with my own eyes.” Seeing Yin Ren’s expression like he was choking on a fishbone, Zhong Chengshuo spoke with a smile in his voice.
He hooked his finger and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The action was so natural, like picking up a water cup, that Yin Ren couldn’t even react for a moment.
“Bang!”
A torrent of color spurted out from the side of Zhong Chengshuo’s head.
Crystal rain beads splashed everywhere; a gentle candle fire on a birthday cake, and apples that were an attractive color were cut in half. They collided in mid-air and exploded into bright, gorgeous light. The cheese potato chip package and the rose tea were entangled endlessly. Little wing balls floated up like soap bubbles.
After the familiar memory collapsed, a black umbrella stained with water fell to the ground.
This person’s movement was so sudden that Yin Ren’s hair stood up straight in shock. He hurriedly pulled the umbrella back into a cocoon and, at the same time, condensed his hair, ready to stun Zhong Chengshuo. However, as soon as the hair drew close, it was grabbed firmly with one hand, not allowing them to advance any further.
Zhong Chengshuo grabbed the twirling hair. His complexion was normal, and his breathing was steady.
This guy even had the leisure to take out a small notebook, read it carefully for more than ten seconds, and put a checkmark on one of them.
“Here.” Zhong Chengshuo tore off one of the pages and blocked Lu Xiaohe’s communication. “Help me get rid of it.”
“There are some of my memories missing. I don’t seem to like you for the time being. Other than that, there are no adverse reactions.”
Yin Ren looked down at the piece of paper—
[Good memories that may be affected (test backup)]
[1. Apples, a delicious fruit and good for your health.]
[2. Cream cake, you can eat it on your birthday. Don’t eat too much usually.]
[3. Cheese potato chips are relatively high in calories. It tastes good.]
[4. Yin Ren, an evil being with good combat abilities. I like him very much.]
The box that was ticked had “Yin Ren” written on it.
Lord Ghost King was a little moved for a moment, but seeing the first three contents, he was a little moved again. After all, this thing was really like a recipe, and his appearance in it was truly abrupt.
…And this person’s good memories were too limited!
Just as Yin Ren was burning the paper speechlessly, Zhong Chengshuo turned to Guo Wei. “Choose someone to exclude from the quota, play out the best memories, and stay here. I did all that. Are there any issues?”
Zhong Chengshuo repeated Yin Ren’s initial words with the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.
Broadcast Guo Wei twisted his rotten, congested eyes.
“No problem,” he replied stiffly. “It’s almost over anyway.”
This time, Broadcast Guo Wei’s image did not vanish.
Guo Wei stared at the two people on the roof. He leaned forward, revealing half of his body out of the white screen, and his internal organs fell out of his chest. “The game continues. Hurry up and escape for me.”
His tone was soaked in hostility, and his desire was extremely cold.
Boom, boom! Boom, boom! Boom, boom!
Yin Ren listened. The unknown pulsation became stronger, and the ghostly presence enveloped the campus like amniotic fluid.
At the beginning, only the campus gates and walls were damaged, and this consciousness operated as usual.
Then, when there were less important teaching buildings and bathrooms, the consciousness gradually fell into chaos. Chaos quickly spawned madness, and madness induced more chaos.
This was excellent nutrition for the growth of evil spirits.
Except for the main teaching building, which stood upright, the rest of the buildings were like cream under high heat, softly melting into a pile. They fell in the direction of the main teaching building, as if trying to crush it.
However, amidst the trembling earthquake, the main teaching building was as solid as a rock. Internal organs all over the yard twisted into whips and lashed out, attempting to violently beat the roof.
Yin Ren hugged Zhong Chengshuo and flew past the attack, with the cocoons following them closely.
Yin Ren’s trajectory wasn’t smooth. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was dragging too many people, but compared to his last flight, his movements became stagnant.
Zhong Chengshuo observed without blinking.
From time to time, Yin Ren skimmed the roof of the main teaching building, touching the ground with the tips of his toes or hair, leaving some traces that Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t understand. Those traces were obscured by the night, as inconspicuous as dust.
Guo Wei didn’t care about Yin Ren’s little movements. He stared intently in the direction of Class 2 and 3 of the teaching building. The windows of that classroom were plastered with spirit bombs, which stood out.
“You obviously know how to escape, so why don’t you do it?”
Guo Wei stared at the windows, sneered, and pressed the black ballpoint pen in his hand.
Click, night fell outside the campus.
The campus was once again surrounded by monsters from the outside world. With the sound of crunching and cracking, some small monsters from the outside world fell in, and excitedly went on a rampage on the campus.
Just like outside the school, the place where they collided became more distorted and deformed.
But this still didn’t include the main teaching building.
The ghostly presence was raging, and the scenery was cracking. This fierce ghost couldn’t wait to be born, but it couldn’t destroy the ordinary building no matter what. It guarded Guo Wei’s broken consciousness, and it seemed indomitable.
Guo Wei became more anxious.
The entire campus shook frantically. In the middle of the sky, Guo Laifu’s face twisted violently. Pomegranate flowers fell to the ground, and the playground fence flew into the air. The blood-stained uniforms were connected into ropes, and the deformed phantoms gathered into a torrent. Centered on the main teaching building, all illusions gradually merged into a huge vortex.
“Do it quickly!” Guo Wei roared frantically. “Destroy it!”
“Hold on!” Lu Xiaohe shouted into their ears. “Wait a moment. Minister Fu’s side is almost ready!”
The ending of this crappy escape game was doomed from the start. It was only a matter of time before the building was destroyed.
Yin Ren looked at the only remaining teaching building in the night. He shuttled dexterously in the air, once again avoiding the strangulation of dozens of small ropes. Through the gaps in the tape, he took the last step on the roof of the main teaching building.
“Zhong Chengshuo.” Yin Ren didn’t disconnect the headset communication with Lu Xiaohe.
“Hmm?”
“There’s still a little time left, and I plan to do something ‘superfluous’. You are temporarily in charge of guarding Huang Jin and Ge Tingting.”
“Okay.”
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
“I wouldn’t like a man that didn’t surprise me.” Zhong Chengshuo landed on the ground. A pair of black cocoons floated behind him. “As I said, I want to witness it for myself.”
Yin Ren swallowed back his words.
Above Zhong Chengshuo’s head was a deformed giant human face, and around his body were strange phantoms of fused limbs. He lost his best memory, and he no longer liked him, but he wasn’t the slightest bit different from before.
The pouring rainy night, the quiet living room, the noisy night market, the abandoned amusement park… The treacherous and terrifying spiritual world.
Zhong Chengshuo would always be like that, like an eternal beacon, exuding a wonderful sense of stillness.
People couldn’t help but look at it.
Yin Ren took a deep look at the other party. The ends of his hair curled slightly around Zhong Chengshuo’s chest. He had a vague feeling that he couldn’t describe, but at the moment of such a big event, he suppressed that emotion.
The next moment.
Yin Ren stepped onto the ground. He traveled through layers of attacks and hovered in front of Guo Wei’s projection screen.
They were only five steps apart.
“Guo Wei, before leaving here, I want to ask you two questions.”
Yin Ren looked directly at the hate-filled eyes on the screen and then swept his eyes to the red rope in Guo Wei’s head. His expression was serene and solemn, as if he were looking at an ordinary child opposite him.
“Why didn’t you say, ‘Destroy this place’ at first?”
The rules given by Guo Wei were too broad and vague. He should know that without clear guidance, they would waste unnecessary time investigating.
“…What are you looking forward to?”
Yin Ren asked without the slightest aggressiveness. Guo Wei seemed to be deeply burned by this question.
“Shut up—!!!”
Black and red blood flowed down the corner of Guo Wei’s mouth as he let out an unsteady scream. There were traces of cuts in different shades on the surface of the boy’s skin, with pale bones appearing in the crimson flesh.
As if perceiving something, the red rope passed through his temples, twisting frantically, and the ghostly presence on the campus rose up.
Guo Wei hugged his head in pain.
“Welcome to, come, come to, to Qianjinag No. 16 High School.” In the projection screen, Guo Wei kept vomiting out fragments of internal organs as he repeated in a daze. “Welcome to the last day of my life.”
Through the blood-stained cloth screen, Guo Wei raised his eyes and looked at the main teaching building in front of him again.
Two streams of pus and blood dripped from his corrupted eyeballs and slipped a little along his fleshy cheeks.
“No… No.” He murmured intermittently. “Welcome… Welcome to the last day of my life.”
It was instantaneous.
The jumping abnormal phantoms no longer moved; the monsters paused, and the melted buildings froze in the air. The main teaching building shook constantly as countless debris-like images gushed out, circling the small campus.
……
“What? Your dad asked you to transfer now?” Li Xiaoya scratched her head. “That’s too much.”
She hesitated for a while before taking out a brand-new pen from her stationary box.
“It’s so sudden that I didn’t have time to prepare a gift. Some time ago, I watched you practice calligraphy with a copybook, but your pen isn’t very good… I’ll lend you this one. Good luck on your college entrance exams!”
It was a neat and beautiful gel pen, and the workmanship was quite exquisite. Guo Wei glanced at his pen wrapped in scotch tape, blushing and hesitating.
“I’m just lending this to you. You have to give it back.” Li Xiaoya grinned. “Either way, after the college entrance exam, you can go back to our class and attend the graduation party!”
“Da* Guo, you have to get a good score on the exam.”
*(大) When added in front of a name, it’s a sign of respect, but in this case, it’s more like she’s jokingly saying it too. (She respects him because she knows he’s smart but also jokingly as they’re friends).
……
The girl he quietly liked said “later”.
A sharp blade slashed Guo Wei’s abdomen, causing blood to pour out like a spring. He originally held the pen tightly in his hand, but in the overwhelming fear and pain, he failed to grasp it firmly.
The gel pen rolled to the ground as Guo Laifu stepped through a pool of blood. With a click, the sound of something breaking sounded at the bottom of his feet.
The exquisite pen turned into sharp plastic fragments.
He could no longer return it to her.
……
“You don’t have much stuff. We’ve packed it up for you, so you can get out of here earlier.” Guo Wei got out of bed on the upper bunk.
“Lao Si, let’s take a picture of us. Lao Da* hid his phone just so we can take a picture.” He shook a phone in his hand. “Come on, come on. The schoolmaster in our room, leave us some memories so that we can gain good luck next year.”
*Old/Big Boss; Most likely a nickname for one of the four roommates.
“I don’t have a phone…” Guo Wei said it in a daze.
“We can go to the kiosk to color print it!” “Isn’t it kind of lame to print photos on paper, ah?” “Then what can we do about it?”
There was a lively quarrel in the bedroom.
“Three, two, one—don’t blink!”
“At Lao Si’s level, sooner or later he’ll own a phone. Save the pictures, and we’ll send them to him later.”
……
His friends said “later”.
When the knife fell, Guo Wei saw his own flesh and blood on the blade.
His luggage was scattered haphazardly in the grass, and the snacks his roommates stole rolled into the weeds and were covered with dirt. The photos printed on paper fell to the ground and quickly sank into a pool of blood.
Guo Wei on the screen didn’t smile. Someone quietly put his hand behind him and made a “V” at the top of his head.
The bright colors were all swallowed up by crimson.
He should’ve smiled.
……
In the evening, the setting sun leaked into a field of red haze. There were only Lei Xiurong and Guo Wei in the office, and the acrimony on Lei Xiurong’s face was gone, leaving only a little sadness.
“Teacher, I don’t want to go.” Guo Wei stood at the table, looking at the ground as he spoke in a dry, hoarse voice.
“I advised your father. You’re only a sophomore in high school, and if you change schools, you’ll have to adapt to it. It’s better to take the exam with us.” Lei Xiurong sighed helplessly. “Your dad won’t listen. There’s nothing I can do.”
Guo Wei was silent.
“Alright, find a chair and sit for a bit. Teacher will talk to you for a while.”
Lei Xiurong pulled a chair for him. “I won’t comment on your dad. You don’t like being manipulated by him, do you? Then test well and go far.”
“You’re not dumb. Getting an undergraduate degree should be no problem. When the time comes, find a good job and eat whatever you want.”
“……” Guo Wei pursed his lips and clasped his hands on his knees.
“I’m not a good teacher. I have a poor education and a bad temper—nothing worth mentioning—but you’re different. You’re only 17 and have a long future ahead… You can become a much better person than me.”
As she spoke, she tore off a sticky note and wrote down a string of numbers.
“This is my number. I’m still worried about your father. If he makes things difficult for you, or if you encounter something outside, you can call me.”
Guo Wei took the light yellow sticky note with both hands, folded it neatly, and put it in the deepest part of his pocket.
“Check again. Don’t leave anything behind, especially your textbooks.” She waved her hand. “Oh, don’t forget to practice your writing in the future. They really do score that in the college entrance exams.”
“Okay.” Guo Wei stood up and bowed his head deeply.
“Goodbye, teacher.”
“Nn, goodbye.” Lei Xiurong brushed back her curly hair, revealing some particularly dazzling gray underneath.
……
His teacher said “later”.
Under anesthesia, Guo Wei couldn’t move or even scream. He opened his eyes wide and watched as his internal organs were being pulled out by his own biological father. The latter was murmuring something as he raised them to the sky.
The light yellow note was soaked in blood and crumbled into a ball in his pocket, and the number on it could no longer be distinguished.
He hadn’t had a chance to look at it.
He really, really wanted to make that call, at least once.
……
Guo Wei carried his backpack and worn-out luggage bag and waited for the iron gate to slowly pull open. Guo Laifu drove over to pick him up. The car was parked at the intersection, not far away.
As soon as he walked out of the school, Guo Wei couldn’t help turning his head. On the familiar campus, pomegranates were in full bloom, the lawn was green, and there were students from other grades laughing and making noise on the playground.
It was small, old, and very much like home.
Seeing him turn his head every few steps, the gatekeeper smiled at him.
“Young man, when you make a difference in the future, remember to come back and visit.”
“Nn!”
Guo Wei looked for a long time, then finally turned his head and walked in the direction of the intersection.
……
The grandpa gatekeeper, who he had never paid attention to, said “later”.
“I sacrificed my own son!”
In his vague consciousness, Guo Laifu’s roar sounded extremely distant.
“Didn’t you say that sacrificing relatives is particularly effective?! Why don’t they look at me? Why don’t they look at me?!”
Guo Laifu raised his machete high and slashed at Guo Wei’s head as if to vent his anger.
‘I’m dying,’ Guo Wei thought in a daze. He was about to die.
A little reluctance, a lot of anger and resentment were engraved into his bones, and amidst the severe pain was boundless, deep fear.
In his hazy vision, his luggage and backpack fell not far away.
From that day on, he no longer had a “future”.
…But that was truly a good day that he could never forget.
The moment he stopped breathing, in the deepest part of boundless fear, he even had a trace of stupid expectation.
Just like at this moment.
“That person” infused him with more intense hatred and burning malice. That man told him that as long as he gave up this campus, the pain would bring him back to the world and tear Guo Laifu to pieces with his own hands.
“That person” told him that there would be some strange people visiting here. They would definitely enter his school and help him destroy everything. He didn’t need to work hard to do it himself.
“That person” said that this was a deal that wouldn’t fail, as long as they were forced to destroy the building.
But when the four visitors entered the campus, Guo Wei changed the cruel rules he had prepared.
Among the four was a thin girl who was wearing their school uniform. She was the same age as him, with anxiety and longing in her eyes.
Just like himself at the beginning.
[Please try to leave the school.]
Maybe, just maybe, instead of destroying this place, find a way to calm me down and allow me to let you leave.
[Please try to leave the school.]
…Help me.
The long-haired man was still floating in front of him. The other party’s long black hair was scattered, and his eyes were almost gentle.
“I understand.” Even though he didn’t say anything, the man showed him a smile and tapped his headset.
“Xiaohe Jie, we need your support.”
“It’s about to explode. You—”
“You asked us to rely on you more.” Yin Ren spoke confidently. “We won’t hide it from you this time.”
There was a brief silence.
“…Alright, I’ll listen first.” On the other end of the headset, Lu Xiaohe frowned.
It was half past one in the morning, and they still had about half an hour left. She didn’t believe those two could do anything wrong.
“Guo Wei’s contacts—Lei Xiurong, Li Xiaoya, and his three roommates. Give me the birth dates of these five people.”
“It’s very dangerous inside. Don’t involve irrelevant people!”
“I won’t get them involved. It’s just saying a few words. Their phantom is enough. The time is just right at this moment.”
Yin Ren stared at Guo Wei’s slashed face, and behind him, a faint glow radiated from the rooftop.
Just when he “dodged”, the traces left by Yin Ren gradually lit up, forming a magic array.
“It’s a fairly common technique to let the living and the dead communicate in ‘one consciousness’. A science post must have heard of it—”
For thousands of years, the name of this technique had never changed. Whether it was a street scammer or a real metaphysician, whether it was an ancient tome or modern weird talk, it could never be avoided. The basics of the basics.
“—to dream.”
Kinky Thoughts:
What a grisly chapter. Does Nian Zhong have a thing for tortured children? Why does every arc that involves children make me cry? Poor Guo Wei.
From this angle, the two of them couldn’t see the electronic screen in front of the main teaching building. Broadcast Guo Wei didn’t give them the opportunity to come face-to-face with the two of them.
The student phantoms stumbled through the broken entrails and supported a blood-stained projection screen. The shaking images showed Broadcast Guo Wei sitting in front of the table they were familiar with.
Guo Wei’s appearance had changed. His eyes were completely cloudy, and the bulge at his temple had broken off, with a familiar red rope poking out of the flesh.
It was exactly the same rope as the one at Huang Jin’s feet just now.
Sure enough, half a year later, Guo Wei’s sudden hatred and malice were inseparable from the source of corruption of an Evil Force.
Guo Wei’s mouth was full of blood, and a wound extended from under his clavicle to his waist and abdomen. It penetrated his flesh and bones, misplacing his heart and lungs and almost causing them to flow out of the fissure.
Guo Wei played with the black ballpoint pen in his hand with a smile so wide that it was abnormal. His appearance was indistinguishable from a fierce ghost.
“You have not successfully left the school. Teachers and family members, please choose someone to exclude from the quota.”
Clang. The familiar pistol hit the concrete floor of the roof and fell between Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo.
Zhong Chengshuo picked up the gun.
“Where’s Huang Jin?” In the headset, Lu Xiaohe asked anxiously. “How is it that half the team is already gone?”
“He was attacked by an unknown mental ability, so we knocked him out.” Yin Ren covered the two cocoons behind his back as he explained concisely. “I felt a strong Evil Force, similar to that of Bai Yongji’s coin.”
Lu Xiaohe sounded like she almost choked. “A source of corruption from an Evil Force?”
What’s going on with Unit 9? How was it that there’s now an Evil Force when they entered the Archive?
She really didn’t want to snatch away “The Best Bad Luck Award” from Unit 7.
Lu Xiaohe accelerated her talking speed. “The Archive may have been invaded. Be careful! Ghosts are obsessed with contracts. Try to stabilize Guo Wei and stall for Minister Fu!”
“Understood,” Zhong Chengshuo answered cleanly.
Boom, boom, boom, boom. The earth trembled like a sticky heartbeat.
Countless rotten hands protruded from the internal organs of the courtyard, scratching frantically.
“Please choose to exclude someone from the quota.” On the bloody screen, Guo Wei’s smile deepened, and the corners of his eyes kept twitching. The red rope pierced his temple and twitched, disappearing at the edge of the screen.
Zhong Chengshuo picked up the gun and raised it naturally to his own head.
In the night, the man’s gaze behind the lens was calm and firm.
“I’ll protect you,” Yin Ren stated solemnly after witnessing Zhong Chengshuo’s actions. “Don’t worry.”
King Yama actually trusted him so readily? Was this a mutual understanding*?
*The legendary heart has a soul (的心有灵) Idiom refers to hearts being connected so that you understand each other’s mind.
“No, I’m worried,” Zhong Chengshuo replied calmly. “The situation is complicated, and it’s impossible to judge.”
Yin Ren: “?” The harmony in his heart was about to keel over.
Yin Ren’s emotion and fighting spirit were suffocated by this guy’s words. Perhaps Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t focusing on <The Art of Communication>. Rather, he should write a book called <The Art of Rejection>.
“…So I’ll see it with my own eyes.” Seeing Yin Ren’s expression like he was choking on a fishbone, Zhong Chengshuo spoke with a smile in his voice.
He hooked his finger and pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The action was so natural, like picking up a water cup, that Yin Ren couldn’t even react for a moment.
“Bang!”
A torrent of color spurted out from the side of Zhong Chengshuo’s head.
Crystal rain beads splashed everywhere; a gentle candle fire on a birthday cake, and apples that were an attractive color were cut in half. They collided in mid-air and exploded into bright, gorgeous light. The cheese potato chip package and the rose tea were entangled endlessly. Little wing balls floated up like soap bubbles.
After the familiar memory collapsed, a black umbrella stained with water fell to the ground.
This person’s movement was so sudden that Yin Ren’s hair stood up straight in shock. He hurriedly pulled the umbrella back into a cocoon and, at the same time, condensed his hair, ready to stun Zhong Chengshuo. However, as soon as the hair drew close, it was grabbed firmly with one hand, not allowing them to advance any further.
Zhong Chengshuo grabbed the twirling hair. His complexion was normal, and his breathing was steady.
This guy even had the leisure to take out a small notebook, read it carefully for more than ten seconds, and put a checkmark on one of them.
“Here.” Zhong Chengshuo tore off one of the pages and blocked Lu Xiaohe’s communication. “Help me get rid of it.”
“There are some of my memories missing. I don’t seem to like you for the time being. Other than that, there are no adverse reactions.”
Yin Ren looked down at the piece of paper—
[Good memories that may be affected (test backup)]
[1. Apples, a delicious fruit and good for your health.]
[2. Cream cake, you can eat it on your birthday. Don’t eat too much usually.]
[3. Cheese potato chips are relatively high in calories. It tastes good.]
[4. Yin Ren, an evil being with good combat abilities. I like him very much.]
The box that was ticked had “Yin Ren” written on it.
Lord Ghost King was a little moved for a moment, but seeing the first three contents, he was a little moved again. After all, this thing was really like a recipe, and his appearance in it was truly abrupt.
…And this person’s good memories were too limited!
Just as Yin Ren was burning the paper speechlessly, Zhong Chengshuo turned to Guo Wei. “Choose someone to exclude from the quota, play out the best memories, and stay here. I did all that. Are there any issues?”
Zhong Chengshuo repeated Yin Ren’s initial words with the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.
Broadcast Guo Wei twisted his rotten, congested eyes.
“No problem,” he replied stiffly. “It’s almost over anyway.”
This time, Broadcast Guo Wei’s image did not vanish.
Guo Wei stared at the two people on the roof. He leaned forward, revealing half of his body out of the white screen, and his internal organs fell out of his chest. “The game continues. Hurry up and escape for me.”
His tone was soaked in hostility, and his desire was extremely cold.
Boom, boom! Boom, boom! Boom, boom!
Yin Ren listened. The unknown pulsation became stronger, and the ghostly presence enveloped the campus like amniotic fluid.
At the beginning, only the campus gates and walls were damaged, and this consciousness operated as usual.
Then, when there were less important teaching buildings and bathrooms, the consciousness gradually fell into chaos. Chaos quickly spawned madness, and madness induced more chaos.
This was excellent nutrition for the growth of evil spirits.
Except for the main teaching building, which stood upright, the rest of the buildings were like cream under high heat, softly melting into a pile. They fell in the direction of the main teaching building, as if trying to crush it.
However, amidst the trembling earthquake, the main teaching building was as solid as a rock. Internal organs all over the yard twisted into whips and lashed out, attempting to violently beat the roof.
Yin Ren hugged Zhong Chengshuo and flew past the attack, with the cocoons following them closely.
Yin Ren’s trajectory wasn’t smooth. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was dragging too many people, but compared to his last flight, his movements became stagnant.
Zhong Chengshuo observed without blinking.
From time to time, Yin Ren skimmed the roof of the main teaching building, touching the ground with the tips of his toes or hair, leaving some traces that Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t understand. Those traces were obscured by the night, as inconspicuous as dust.
Guo Wei didn’t care about Yin Ren’s little movements. He stared intently in the direction of Class 2 and 3 of the teaching building. The windows of that classroom were plastered with spirit bombs, which stood out.
“You obviously know how to escape, so why don’t you do it?”
Guo Wei stared at the windows, sneered, and pressed the black ballpoint pen in his hand.
Click, night fell outside the campus.
The campus was once again surrounded by monsters from the outside world. With the sound of crunching and cracking, some small monsters from the outside world fell in, and excitedly went on a rampage on the campus.
Just like outside the school, the place where they collided became more distorted and deformed.
But this still didn’t include the main teaching building.
The ghostly presence was raging, and the scenery was cracking. This fierce ghost couldn’t wait to be born, but it couldn’t destroy the ordinary building no matter what. It guarded Guo Wei’s broken consciousness, and it seemed indomitable.
Guo Wei became more anxious.
The entire campus shook frantically. In the middle of the sky, Guo Laifu’s face twisted violently. Pomegranate flowers fell to the ground, and the playground fence flew into the air. The blood-stained uniforms were connected into ropes, and the deformed phantoms gathered into a torrent. Centered on the main teaching building, all illusions gradually merged into a huge vortex.
“Do it quickly!” Guo Wei roared frantically. “Destroy it!”
“Hold on!” Lu Xiaohe shouted into their ears. “Wait a moment. Minister Fu’s side is almost ready!”
The ending of this crappy escape game was doomed from the start. It was only a matter of time before the building was destroyed.
Yin Ren looked at the only remaining teaching building in the night. He shuttled dexterously in the air, once again avoiding the strangulation of dozens of small ropes. Through the gaps in the tape, he took the last step on the roof of the main teaching building.
“Zhong Chengshuo.” Yin Ren didn’t disconnect the headset communication with Lu Xiaohe.
“Hmm?”
“There’s still a little time left, and I plan to do something ‘superfluous’. You are temporarily in charge of guarding Huang Jin and Ge Tingting.”
“Okay.”
“Aren’t you going to ask?”
“I wouldn’t like a man that didn’t surprise me.” Zhong Chengshuo landed on the ground. A pair of black cocoons floated behind him. “As I said, I want to witness it for myself.”
Yin Ren swallowed back his words.
Above Zhong Chengshuo’s head was a deformed giant human face, and around his body were strange phantoms of fused limbs. He lost his best memory, and he no longer liked him, but he wasn’t the slightest bit different from before.
The pouring rainy night, the quiet living room, the noisy night market, the abandoned amusement park… The treacherous and terrifying spiritual world.
Zhong Chengshuo would always be like that, like an eternal beacon, exuding a wonderful sense of stillness.
People couldn’t help but look at it.
Yin Ren took a deep look at the other party. The ends of his hair curled slightly around Zhong Chengshuo’s chest. He had a vague feeling that he couldn’t describe, but at the moment of such a big event, he suppressed that emotion.
The next moment.
Yin Ren stepped onto the ground. He traveled through layers of attacks and hovered in front of Guo Wei’s projection screen.
They were only five steps apart.
“Guo Wei, before leaving here, I want to ask you two questions.”
Yin Ren looked directly at the hate-filled eyes on the screen and then swept his eyes to the red rope in Guo Wei’s head. His expression was serene and solemn, as if he were looking at an ordinary child opposite him.
“Why didn’t you say, ‘Destroy this place’ at first?”
The rules given by Guo Wei were too broad and vague. He should know that without clear guidance, they would waste unnecessary time investigating.
“…What are you looking forward to?”
Yin Ren asked without the slightest aggressiveness. Guo Wei seemed to be deeply burned by this question.
“Shut up—!!!”
Black and red blood flowed down the corner of Guo Wei’s mouth as he let out an unsteady scream. There were traces of cuts in different shades on the surface of the boy’s skin, with pale bones appearing in the crimson flesh.
As if perceiving something, the red rope passed through his temples, twisting frantically, and the ghostly presence on the campus rose up.
Guo Wei hugged his head in pain.
“Welcome to, come, come to, to Qianjinag No. 16 High School.” In the projection screen, Guo Wei kept vomiting out fragments of internal organs as he repeated in a daze. “Welcome to the last day of my life.”
Through the blood-stained cloth screen, Guo Wei raised his eyes and looked at the main teaching building in front of him again.
Two streams of pus and blood dripped from his corrupted eyeballs and slipped a little along his fleshy cheeks.
“No… No.” He murmured intermittently. “Welcome… Welcome to the last day of my life.”
It was instantaneous.
The jumping abnormal phantoms no longer moved; the monsters paused, and the melted buildings froze in the air. The main teaching building shook constantly as countless debris-like images gushed out, circling the small campus.
……
“What? Your dad asked you to transfer now?” Li Xiaoya scratched her head. “That’s too much.”
She hesitated for a while before taking out a brand-new pen from her stationary box.
“It’s so sudden that I didn’t have time to prepare a gift. Some time ago, I watched you practice calligraphy with a copybook, but your pen isn’t very good… I’ll lend you this one. Good luck on your college entrance exams!”
It was a neat and beautiful gel pen, and the workmanship was quite exquisite. Guo Wei glanced at his pen wrapped in scotch tape, blushing and hesitating.
“I’m just lending this to you. You have to give it back.” Li Xiaoya grinned. “Either way, after the college entrance exam, you can go back to our class and attend the graduation party!”
“Da* Guo, you have to get a good score on the exam.”
*(大) When added in front of a name, it’s a sign of respect, but in this case, it’s more like she’s jokingly saying it too. (She respects him because she knows he’s smart but also jokingly as they’re friends).
……
The girl he quietly liked said “later”.
A sharp blade slashed Guo Wei’s abdomen, causing blood to pour out like a spring. He originally held the pen tightly in his hand, but in the overwhelming fear and pain, he failed to grasp it firmly.
The gel pen rolled to the ground as Guo Laifu stepped through a pool of blood. With a click, the sound of something breaking sounded at the bottom of his feet.
The exquisite pen turned into sharp plastic fragments.
He could no longer return it to her.
……
“You don’t have much stuff. We’ve packed it up for you, so you can get out of here earlier.” Guo Wei got out of bed on the upper bunk.
“Lao Si, let’s take a picture of us. Lao Da* hid his phone just so we can take a picture.” He shook a phone in his hand. “Come on, come on. The schoolmaster in our room, leave us some memories so that we can gain good luck next year.”
*Old/Big Boss; Most likely a nickname for one of the four roommates.
“I don’t have a phone…” Guo Wei said it in a daze.
“We can go to the kiosk to color print it!” “Isn’t it kind of lame to print photos on paper, ah?” “Then what can we do about it?”
There was a lively quarrel in the bedroom.
“Three, two, one—don’t blink!”
“At Lao Si’s level, sooner or later he’ll own a phone. Save the pictures, and we’ll send them to him later.”
……
His friends said “later”.
When the knife fell, Guo Wei saw his own flesh and blood on the blade.
His luggage was scattered haphazardly in the grass, and the snacks his roommates stole rolled into the weeds and were covered with dirt. The photos printed on paper fell to the ground and quickly sank into a pool of blood.
Guo Wei on the screen didn’t smile. Someone quietly put his hand behind him and made a “V” at the top of his head.
The bright colors were all swallowed up by crimson.
He should’ve smiled.
……
In the evening, the setting sun leaked into a field of red haze. There were only Lei Xiurong and Guo Wei in the office, and the acrimony on Lei Xiurong’s face was gone, leaving only a little sadness.
“Teacher, I don’t want to go.” Guo Wei stood at the table, looking at the ground as he spoke in a dry, hoarse voice.
“I advised your father. You’re only a sophomore in high school, and if you change schools, you’ll have to adapt to it. It’s better to take the exam with us.” Lei Xiurong sighed helplessly. “Your dad won’t listen. There’s nothing I can do.”
Guo Wei was silent.
“Alright, find a chair and sit for a bit. Teacher will talk to you for a while.”
Lei Xiurong pulled a chair for him. “I won’t comment on your dad. You don’t like being manipulated by him, do you? Then test well and go far.”
“You’re not dumb. Getting an undergraduate degree should be no problem. When the time comes, find a good job and eat whatever you want.”
“……” Guo Wei pursed his lips and clasped his hands on his knees.
“I’m not a good teacher. I have a poor education and a bad temper—nothing worth mentioning—but you’re different. You’re only 17 and have a long future ahead… You can become a much better person than me.”
As she spoke, she tore off a sticky note and wrote down a string of numbers.
“This is my number. I’m still worried about your father. If he makes things difficult for you, or if you encounter something outside, you can call me.”
Guo Wei took the light yellow sticky note with both hands, folded it neatly, and put it in the deepest part of his pocket.
“Check again. Don’t leave anything behind, especially your textbooks.” She waved her hand. “Oh, don’t forget to practice your writing in the future. They really do score that in the college entrance exams.”
“Okay.” Guo Wei stood up and bowed his head deeply.
“Goodbye, teacher.”
“Nn, goodbye.” Lei Xiurong brushed back her curly hair, revealing some particularly dazzling gray underneath.
……
His teacher said “later”.
Under anesthesia, Guo Wei couldn’t move or even scream. He opened his eyes wide and watched as his internal organs were being pulled out by his own biological father. The latter was murmuring something as he raised them to the sky.
The light yellow note was soaked in blood and crumbled into a ball in his pocket, and the number on it could no longer be distinguished.
He hadn’t had a chance to look at it.
He really, really wanted to make that call, at least once.
……
Guo Wei carried his backpack and worn-out luggage bag and waited for the iron gate to slowly pull open. Guo Laifu drove over to pick him up. The car was parked at the intersection, not far away.
As soon as he walked out of the school, Guo Wei couldn’t help turning his head. On the familiar campus, pomegranates were in full bloom, the lawn was green, and there were students from other grades laughing and making noise on the playground.
It was small, old, and very much like home.
Seeing him turn his head every few steps, the gatekeeper smiled at him.
“Young man, when you make a difference in the future, remember to come back and visit.”
“Nn!”
Guo Wei looked for a long time, then finally turned his head and walked in the direction of the intersection.
……
The grandpa gatekeeper, who he had never paid attention to, said “later”.
“I sacrificed my own son!”
In his vague consciousness, Guo Laifu’s roar sounded extremely distant.
“Didn’t you say that sacrificing relatives is particularly effective?! Why don’t they look at me? Why don’t they look at me?!”
Guo Laifu raised his machete high and slashed at Guo Wei’s head as if to vent his anger.
‘I’m dying,’ Guo Wei thought in a daze. He was about to die.
A little reluctance, a lot of anger and resentment were engraved into his bones, and amidst the severe pain was boundless, deep fear.
In his hazy vision, his luggage and backpack fell not far away.
From that day on, he no longer had a “future”.
…But that was truly a good day that he could never forget.
The moment he stopped breathing, in the deepest part of boundless fear, he even had a trace of stupid expectation.
Just like at this moment.
“That person” infused him with more intense hatred and burning malice. That man told him that as long as he gave up this campus, the pain would bring him back to the world and tear Guo Laifu to pieces with his own hands.
“That person” told him that there would be some strange people visiting here. They would definitely enter his school and help him destroy everything. He didn’t need to work hard to do it himself.
“That person” said that this was a deal that wouldn’t fail, as long as they were forced to destroy the building.
But when the four visitors entered the campus, Guo Wei changed the cruel rules he had prepared.
Among the four was a thin girl who was wearing their school uniform. She was the same age as him, with anxiety and longing in her eyes.
Just like himself at the beginning.
[Please try to leave the school.]
Maybe, just maybe, instead of destroying this place, find a way to calm me down and allow me to let you leave.
[Please try to leave the school.]
…Help me.
The long-haired man was still floating in front of him. The other party’s long black hair was scattered, and his eyes were almost gentle.
“I understand.” Even though he didn’t say anything, the man showed him a smile and tapped his headset.
“Xiaohe Jie, we need your support.”
“It’s about to explode. You—”
“You asked us to rely on you more.” Yin Ren spoke confidently. “We won’t hide it from you this time.”
There was a brief silence.
“…Alright, I’ll listen first.” On the other end of the headset, Lu Xiaohe frowned.
It was half past one in the morning, and they still had about half an hour left. She didn’t believe those two could do anything wrong.
“Guo Wei’s contacts—Lei Xiurong, Li Xiaoya, and his three roommates. Give me the birth dates of these five people.”
“It’s very dangerous inside. Don’t involve irrelevant people!”
“I won’t get them involved. It’s just saying a few words. Their phantom is enough. The time is just right at this moment.”
Yin Ren stared at Guo Wei’s slashed face, and behind him, a faint glow radiated from the rooftop.
Just when he “dodged”, the traces left by Yin Ren gradually lit up, forming a magic array.
“It’s a fairly common technique to let the living and the dead communicate in ‘one consciousness’. A science post must have heard of it—”
For thousands of years, the name of this technique had never changed. Whether it was a street scammer or a real metaphysician, whether it was an ancient tome or modern weird talk, it could never be avoided. The basics of the basics.
“—to dream.”
Kinky Thoughts:
What a grisly chapter. Does Nian Zhong have a thing for tortured children? Why does every arc that involves children make me cry? Poor Guo Wei.
