Translator: CinderTL
Suddenly, Jiang Cheng saw Lin Wan'er's body tremble slightly.
The movement was subtle, but he definitely saw it.
He immediately checked her pulse, finding that she was still alive. But what puzzled him was that her pulse wasn't weak at all; it was incredibly strong.
Her heart rate was also much faster than normal.
Jiang Cheng withdrew his hand, his brow furrowed. He hadn't seen the Multi-headed ghoul in the room, and it didn't seem to have fled. So...
He looked at Lin Wan'er, his gaze filled with worry.
Buzz.
His phone buzzed. Before entering the room, Jiang Cheng had switched it to vibrate mode. The screen displayed Huai Yi's name.
"Brother Jiang!" Huai Yi's voice was urgent, as if he were facing a dire situation. "The administrator replied to me. They said a buyer is willing to purchase Miss Lin's red paper for two Lifeline Notes and will also provide a blank check for us to fill out."
As a veteran player, Huai Yi knew how difficult it was to obtain Lifeline Notes.
Two Lifeline Notes meant surviving at least twice alone in a Nightmare after all teammates had died.
Not many people could have done this.
"Brother Jiang!" Huai Yi's voice suddenly rose. "The buyer has upped the ante! They're willing to pay three Lifeline Notes for it! If we agree, we can arrange the transaction tomorrow."
Jiang Cheng's expression darkened further. This wasn't the time for haggling; the item's value had already far exceeded expectations.
And the more valuable something was, the greater the risks that came with it.
"Don't rush to agree," Jiang Cheng said, his voice flat and cold. "Wait a few minutes before replying. Find out what this red paper actually does."
"Let me know immediately if you get any news."
Jiang Cheng hung up the phone. Then, he helped Lin Wan'er to her feet, carried her downstairs, and laid her on the sofa.
After locking the door, he rushed into the bathroom, soaked several towels in water, and began wiping the blood from Lin Wan'er's face, then her arms and legs.
But as he worked, Jiang Cheng realized something was wrong. Logically, with so much blood, Lin Wan'er should have suffered severe injuries.
Lin Wan'er's limbs showed only minor abrasions, with no serious wounds.
Jiang Cheng, holding the blood-soaked towel, couldn't help but glance at Lin Wan'er's upper body.
She was wearing a trench coat over a form-fitting cheongsam, but both were now torn and stained with blood.
He looked at her face—pale and unresponsive.
Slowly, he reached out and began examining her upper body, his movements swift yet cautious.
Finally, he exhaled a long sigh of relief.
Lin Wan'er had no serious external injuries.
He wiped away the blood from any area he could reach, and just as he was washing the towel in the bathroom, his phone rang again.
Huai Yi's voice came through, "Brother Jiang, they won't reveal anything about the red paper."
This was expected.
But given their desperate desire for the red paper, they wouldn't give up on the deal so easily. They were likely to reveal something else related to it.
And indeed...
"Brother Jiang," Huai Yi's tone shifted. "They also said that keeping the red paper is useless for us. Not only that, but it could even threaten our safety. They want us to seriously consider their offer."
"I don't think they're trying to trick us," Huai Yi said, his voice tinged with panic. "And I think the price is already quite high. Three Lifeline Notes and an open-ended check... I think that's more than enough."
"To be honest, the Gate inside me is already showing signs of losing control. If I don't give it more Lifeline Notes to consume, it's going to..."
Huai Yi's final words were almost a plea. Jiang Cheng was Crimson, so he must know how to contain the Gate's corruption.
But Huai Yi couldn't. He was just an unlucky ordinary person.
He'd stumbled upon the Gate by chance, and since then, he'd been burdened by its curse.
"Understood," Jiang Cheng said before hanging up.
"Hello? Hello, Brother Jiang?" Huai Yi shouted into the phone, frantic. "What do you mean 'understood'? Is this a deal or not?"
Jiang Cheng remained silent, and Huai Yi didn't dare make a decision on his own. After all, the Gate wouldn't kill him instantly, but Jiang Cheng could.
Looking at the price offered, Huai Yi's eyes turned red with excitement. He didn't even care about the money; if he truly obtained those three Lifeline Notes, he could hold on for a long time.
A surge of anger coursed through his body. "This is too much! I can't take it anymore!" Huai Yi slammed his fist on the table, his eyes bloodshot. He then packed up his laptop and left the house without a word.
Outside, he hailed a taxi and headed straight for the seaside villa.
He needed to talk to his sisters-in-law behind Jiang Cheng's back. The thought brought a mysterious smile to Huai Yi's face. He tossed the driver a hundred yuan. "Hurry up!"
Jiang Cheng had no idea what Huai Yi was planning, nor did he care. His entire focus was on Lin Wan'er.
The words of the trading partner echoed in his mind: "Red paper is useless to people like us. In fact, it poses a threat to our personal safety."
Now, it seemed those words had come true.
Lin Wan'er was facing this situation: something from inside the Gate had somehow escaped and attacked her.
But Jiang Cheng couldn't understand one thing: if Lin Wan'er wasn't injured, where did all the blood come from?
Could it have been the Multi-headed ghoul's?
Was it bleeding profusely while chasing Lin Wan'er, or had it been severely injured for some reason after escaping?
Jiang Cheng couldn't be sure. What he wanted to know most now was the Multi-headed ghoul's whereabouts.
He carefully searched the room but couldn't find the Red Paper. He suspected the Ghost had entered Lin Wan'er's body.
More precisely, Lin Wan'er had become the Gate's next vessel.
Turning on the faucet, he repeatedly washed his hands with clean water to remove the bloody stench. Standing before the bathroom mirror, Jiang Cheng pondered his next move.
Jiang Cheng had few options left. The first was to seek out Xia Meng's group, who had connections with the Night Watcher and would surely know the origin of the red paper.
The second option was more direct: arrange a meeting with the trading partner, then subdue them. If they were willing to pay such a high price, they must understand the significance of the paper.
Neither plan was foolproof, but if Lin Wan'er remained unconscious, he wouldn't hesitate to take risks.
His peripheral vision caught something. Through the mirror's reflection, he thought he saw Lin Wan'er's eyes flutter open.
But when he turned to look, her eyes were closed. She lay peacefully on the sofa, exactly as before.
Jiang Cheng shook his head, then bent down to splash cold water on his face. The icy water cleared his mind.
As he rinsed his face, the Jiang Cheng in the mirror remained standing, his gaze fixed on Lin Wan'er through the glass. His eyes held a strange, unsettling expression.
(End of the Chapter)
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