Translator: CinderTL
The moment the word "Gate" entered Jiang Cheng's ears, something stirred within him. No, not within his body, but deep within his soul.
It was as if something had slowly opened its eyes.
But Jiang Cheng had no time to dwell on this, because the 10th member before him seemed equally startled. He raised his head, staring blankly behind Jiang Cheng.
At the same time, a hand slowly reached out and began stroking Jiang Cheng's back.
Yet Jiang Cheng hadn't felt anyone approach. The person behind him had appeared as if out of thin air.
"Sir!" 10th member exclaimed in shock.
Jiang Cheng's heart skipped a beat.
The next moment, Jiang Cheng felt 10th member turn to look at him, then raise his head again, his gaze firm as he addressed the person called "Sir." "I'm sorry, Sir. It was all my fault. I snuck Zero out. It had nothing to do with the others."
"I just felt sorry for him. If you must punish someone, punish me!"
It seemed everyone held this "Sir" in deep reverence, no one daring to challenge his authority.
Jiang Cheng's body stiffened. He felt paralyzed by the touch of that hand, frozen in place. He struggled to turn his head, even if it meant dying at the Sir's hand.
He feared death, but he feared even more losing the chance to uncover the truth.
His instincts told him that this wasn't a fleeting dream, but rather a different world, distinct from the realm of dreams.
More like a memory.
An Abnormality had pulled him back into a sealed-off memory—the very part that had been missing from his past.
Strange fragments often flashed through his mind: scenes he had never experienced, yet felt eerily familiar.
"Ugh..."
A sharp, piercing pain erupted from his back.
The hand was merely resting on his back, but it felt as if it had plunged deep inside him, churning his internal organs.
The figure was searching for something...
The Gate!
Just as his consciousness began to fade, a crisp sound of a blade being drawn echoed through the air. In the next instant, the hand that had burrowed into his body vanished as if severed, along with the agonizing sensation of his organs being twisted.
Another person had appeared.
He immediately thought of the mysterious Black Clothed Man who had freed him from Room Zero.
No, that wasn't a person. It was more like a force of will.
The gentleman standing behind him was the same.
Now, two forces of will clashed behind him. Even with his back turned, he could feel the intensity of the battle.
But what worried him was that the Black Clothed Man had only appeared at the perfect moment, catching his opponent off guard. In the ensuing clash, he wasn't gaining the upper hand.
In fact, there was a subtle trend of him falling behind.
The gentleman was clearly searching for the Gate within him, and this memory might very well be the reason he'd been brought back.
The Black Clothed Man, on the other hand, was trying to stop him.
Jiang Cheng watched as the two men fought fiercely over him, yet he didn't recognize either of them. This absurd, melodramatic scene was unfolding right before his eyes.
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. Instinctively, he knew that everything that followed would be crucial.
He certainly didn't want the gentleman to win, but he also didn't want the Black Clothed Man to prevail. He hoped they would remain locked in a stalemate, giving him enough time.
His plan was simple: he would use this opportunity to uncover his forgotten past.
With the Black Clothed Man shouldering the pressure, Jiang Cheng's movements were no longer constrained. He raised his arm and clawed with all his might at No. 10's face.
He wanted to tear away the mist obscuring No. 10's face, to see the true face hidden beneath.
"Who are you, really?"
Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth, his face contorted from the strain.
He detected a familiar scent on No. 10, someone who was deeply important to him, yet he had forgotten him.
Crack—
Crack—, crack—
It seemed the battle between the Black Clothed Man and the gentleman had destabilized the fabric of space. Everything before him began to warp in a completely incomprehensible manner.
He stumbled backward, his retreat involuntary.
He grew increasingly distant from No. 10.
First, he retreated into the outer corridor. Then, one by one, the children clutching their gifts began to back out of the Gate, their happy laughter creating an indescribably eerie scene.
But then Jiang Cheng understood: This was time running backward.
Everything that had happened since he arrived in this world was being replayed in reverse, as if some force sought to erase his memories once more.
It's that man!
Jiang Cheng didn't hesitate. If it were the Black Clothed Man, he wouldn't have gone through all this trouble. That guy hated complications.
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A sudden thought flashed through Jiang Cheng's mind.
Finally, before he could forget everything, a blade gleaming with cold light sliced through the chaos in his mind like a blade cleaving through the night.
In the next instant, this world, this dilapidated orphanage, shattered with a deafening crash.
"Hah—"
He snapped awake, as if he'd stumbled into empty space, jolting upright in bed.
"What's wrong?" A face that always made him feel safe and a voice that soothed him met his gaze. Lin Wan'er sat by his bedside, her expression filled with concern. "Did you have a nightmare?"
Jiang Cheng sat up, accepting the water glass Lin Wan'er offered. His fingers trembled uncontrollably, causing ripples to spread across the water's surface.
Lowering his head, Jiang Cheng stared at his reflection in the water, feeling a strange sense of unreality.
"It's nothing," he shook his head, exhaling slowly. "I've probably been too stressed lately."
His peripheral vision caught something amiss. Fatty was gone. His bed was empty.
The sky outside was just beginning to lighten. Given Fatty's cowardice, even if he had the courage of a bear and the heart of a leopard, he wouldn't dare sneak out alone to search for clues—unless...
"The person from the other room just came looking for you. He went to check things out," Lin Wan'er said, a strange expression flashing across her face. She looked Jiang Cheng in the eye and continued, "Your guess yesterday was right. Something did follow us."
Jiang Cheng's gaze sharpened. "Who was it this time?" he asked immediately.
"Fu Fu," Lin Wan'er replied.
"Her?!" Jiang Cheng was surprised. When he first heard about the incident in the other room, his first thought had been Huai Yi.
It wasn't that he didn't trust him, but...
"I'll go take a look," Jiang Cheng decided after a moment's thought. He got out of bed, walked to the door, and pulled it open.
Lin Wan'er watched his retreating back, a complex emotion flickering in her narrow eyes. She slowly extended her arm.
Her sleeve slid down her smooth, pale skin, revealing a slender wrist.
A faint, almost invisible scar ran across her wrist, resembling a thin red thread tied around it.
Turning her head, Lin Wan'er shook out her sleeve and glanced at the wall beside the door. A black shadow had materialized there at some point.
The shadow clung to the wall, its surface rippling with an eerie distortion. Within the ripples, a pair of blood-red eyes faintly stared back at her.
(End of the Chapter)
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