In the dead of night, under a moonless sky, Hai Lin International School seemed completely powerless, swallowed in darkness.
Twenty minutes passed silently, shadows flickered across the campus as if by prior arrangement, and not a sound was made. If one listened closely, under the stillness of the night, the sound of chains rubbing could be heard near the staircase of the first teaching building.
A man walking nearby turned his head towards the staircase, a bloody axe in his grip. He moved slowly towards the corner under the first-floor staircase. As he approached, the sound of the chains became clearer. Entering the corner, he saw a chain hanging in mid-air. Before he could react, a knife plunged into his wrist, the axe dropping with a thud to the ground.
“Hold off on killing him,” a voice came from the corner.
“Understood,” replied a woman with red hair, bending down to pick up the axe and heavily chopping it down onto the man’s knee.
The man’s legs buckled, and he fell to the ground in confusion, glancing around in the darkness. A pair of delicate white hands slipped the chain around his neck and fastened it tightly.
“Ah! Why did you lock it? Can you get it off?”
The woman tugged at one end of the chain to ensure it was secure and nonchalantly said, “Just chop off his head.”
“Shh… how twisted!”
“Alright, chop now, before others are drawn here.”
“Got it!”
With her axe raised and a bright gleam in her eyes, the woman brought it down, blood spraying onto her pristine dress.
“Wow!” Xu Junyue exclaimed, licking the blood that splattered near her mouth, “No wonder my dad said killing is addictive. Blood splashing on you feels just like rain.”
A bloody head rolled to the ground, and the body, now headless, collapsed.
“Take it easy, we’ve still got a heart patient here,” Tong Yang said.
Xu Junyue shrugged, “Him? Bet he wouldn’t blink even if we exploded right here.”
“Forty-nine attackers remain.”
Just then, an announcement echoed over their heads.
Tong Yang and Xu Junyue exchanged glances.
“Is it done?”
“But how do they know the attacker is dead?”
Tong Yang pointed towards a spot on the wall where a faint red light blinked, “There are about six cameras in this area, broadcasting everything.”
“Is that so?” Xu Junyue murmured, walking to the wall and smiling faintly at the hard-to-spot light, “Parallel worlds, so disgusting! Wait and see, one day I’ll slaughter all of you.”
Tong Yang removed the chain from the man’s neck, a rare type of lock that was difficult to unlock unless the head was chopped off, allowing the chain to be slipped over.
“Let’s move on, find someone else.”
“You guys go,” Ye Huai spoke in an even tone, “I’ll wait here.”
His constitution couldn’t handle too much exertion, to avoid any confrontation if others came, it was better to hide somewhere secure.
Tong Yang nodded, “Then, take care of yourself.”
“Come on, let’s not worry about this sickling, let’s find some excitement!” Xu Junyue urged.
Ye Huai’s spot was a dead angle beneath the staircase, dark and narrow—a place no one would go unless lured there on purpose.
“Forty-eight attackers remain.”
As the pair stepped away from the staircase corner, the broadcast sounded again.
Xu Junyue, carrying the axe, walked beside her, her lips curled in disdain, “I thought we could score all the points.”
Tong Yang glanced at her, “Lure them.”
“How?”
“I’ll wear the chain and run, you chase me. Try to find someone isolated.”
“Can I actually chop you?”
“Try it.”
Xu Junyue pouted, “Just kidding, I kinda like your twisted side.”
Tong Yang was speechless, “Don’t you think you’re the twisted one?”
“Ah? Really?”
Ignoring her, Tong Yang, with the chain hanging from his neck, ran up to the second floor.
Xu Junyue paused, then chased after him, their chain clanking and footsteps echoing in the corridor, drawing the attention of several people.
The chained ‘victim’ dashed along the corridor and eventually hid in a classroom. Those who had been aimlessly searching on the balcony immediately pursued into the room, followed by another attacker with an axe, who then slammed the door shut, blocking the others from entering.
Those locked outside hammered on the door and windows with their tools, while the axe-wielder drew the curtains and said, “No rush, you’ll get your turn soon.”
Tong Yang used a fruit knife to secure the body on the table, then removed the chain and looped it back around his neck.
“Xu Junyue, your turn,” Tong Yang said.
“Are you not doing it?”
“Better to keep the points to one person.”
“Understood.”
Xu Junyue moved efficiently, her knife flashed and the body was decapitated.
“Be careful not to cut the chain.”
“I know.”
“Forty-seven attackers remain.”
“Let’s go, next one.”
They collected the chain, planning to repeat their tactic on the next target, but just then, noises came from the balcony.
Tong Yang pulled her aside, opened the curtains, and saw a bloody arm thump against the window, leaving a streak of blood and flesh on the glass.
“Save me… save me…”
“Save me, please…”
An odd creature was pinned to the ground, an elderly person lifted a hoe and smashed it down forcefully, then switched to the blunt side to bash the creature’s face.
The creature’s whimpering ceased, its body twisted beyond human shape.
Meanwhile, similar brutality occurred on the other side of the second-floor corridor. A woman grabbed a contorted body, cutting it mercilessly with scissors as blood flowed freely from the gaping wounds, the victim unable to even beg or choke.
“Are these things human or ghosts? They look so weird,” Xu Junyue wondered aloud.
Tong Yang, eyes downcast, said, “For us, it’s just a life-threatening game, but for them, it’s part of their daily life.”
“Is it like this in all parallel worlds?”
“For the very few in the upper class, probably not.”
“Then since we can come to a parallel world, why can’t they enter the real world?”
“They’ve already been there.”
“Really?” Xu Junyue looked skeptical, “Dr. Wu said it’s because of scarce resources that they play these games. If they all entered the real world, wouldn’t that solve it?”
Tong Yang fell silent, “Then before long, we’d end up just like them.”
The outside quieted down, and they left the classroom.
At this time, the second-floor corridor was littered with several bodies, most twisted beyond recognition, barely distinguishable as human or ghost.
By now, attackers would have found hiding places early, to avoid having the lowest score. Some naturally chose to attack weaker beings, but among them were psychopaths who ended the lives of others as their final act.
Tong Yang suddenly thought, “It’s not that they are terrifying because of their powerful weapons, but in such an environment, these beings have become accustomed to slaughter and numb to death, whether their own lives or others.”
“They’ve entered the real world not just to seize resources or replace someone from another world, but to savor the prey’s fear of death.”
After all, in a parallel world, fear is a rare commodity.
“There’s someone.”
After killing several attackers in this manner, Xu Junyue pointed to a dimly lit women’s restroom door.
Soft cries mixed with the sound of trickling water could be heard.
Moonlight spilled onto the floor, and a short-haired figure squatting under the sink, facing the wall, sobbed, shoulders shaking, hands covering its face.
“You’re in the wrong place; this is the women’s restroom,” Xu Junyue remarked.
Tong Yang thought the person was missing the point, then scanned the area to confirm no one else was present.
“I’m waiting for my mom…” the creature sobbed strangely.
“I’ve been waiting so long, and mom hasn’t come out yet,” it seemed to sigh.
“You mom doesn’t want you anymore,” Xu Junyue blurted out.
Tong Yang: “…”
Xu Junyue’s brain definitely had some issues.
“Sister… my mom is inside… can you help me check on her…” the creature’s cry was weird, like a deflating balloon.
“Do I look like the kind-hearted type?”
Tong Yang listened to their exchange and felt a headache coming on. He checked the stalls and found it looked like a pipe had burst; the place was flooded with water mixed with blood, no place to step.
“Sister… I want my mom…”
The creature’s crying grew louder, piercing and irritating.
Xu Junyue dug in her ear, gestured towards Tong Yang, “Alright, alright, she’s your mom now.”
“I’m your mom,” Tong Yang glanced at her.
“My mom died early, will you die early too?”
“Mom?” The creature seemed not to hear their arguing, slowly turning its head, revealing a bloodied face, sniffled.
“Mommy… hug…” The creature reached out its twisted hands towards Tong Yang, pitifully looking at her, tears mixed with blood.
“Ah, what a poor thing!” Xu Junyue teased like she was coaxing a dog, turned to see Tong Yang’s emotionless face like a machine, “Don’t you have a bit of motherly love,
such a cute big baby is calling you!”
“Then you hug,” Tong Yang scoffed coldly, “Let me see how motherly you are.”
Not to say the environment was bizarre, but the creature looked as if it had been soaked in sulfuric acid.
Xu Junyue showed a regretful expression, “I wanted to see your tender side.”
Tong Yang gave her a look that was not quite a smile, without saying a word.
“What to do?” Xu Junyue asked seriously.
Tong Yang made a throat-slitting gesture, simple and clear.
Xu Junyue nodded in agreement, “Since this thing isn’t human, I also want to chop off its legs first like that old man…”
Xu Junyue got more excited as she spoke, “What do you think?”
Tong Yang was silent for a moment then asked, “Does your family have someone in the underworld?”
“My mom and my uncle, but they’re probably on the eighteenth level.”
“Let them wait a bit longer; good days are coming.”
Xu Junyue didn’t understand, “What?”
“Tomorrow Mr. Yanwang is retiring, and you’re taking over.”
“That’s great! First, give my mom and my uncle a hundred lifetimes as maggots gift package.”
Tong Yang couldn’t help asking, “What kind of grudge do you have against them?”
Xu Junyue blinked her invisible right eye, “Look! They did this.”
“Your sister too?”
“Yeah, but I don’t get along with my sister. She always complains why I’m only blind in one eye, and my dad won’t let me talk back, worried she’ll get hurt,” Xu Junyue shrugged indifferently, “After my sister disappeared, my dad thought I was jealous so I lied, which is crazy, I told him but he didn’t believe.”
“Your dad’s suspicions are not unreasonable.”
“Hey! I’m telling you this because I consider you a friend, don’t undermine me!”
As they spoke, the creature they were teasing at the wash basin could no longer bear it and rushed at them with a jar in hand.
“Sulfuric acid,” Xu Junyue sniffed the air.
Tong Yang quickly threw the chain, knocking the jar from the creature’s hand with a scream as the acid splashed over its foot.
Tong Yang fastened the chain around its neck, gave Xu Junyue a look, and she understood immediately. Without a change in her expression, she delivered the fatal blow.
“Damn, I didn’t use enough force; didn’t chop it off completely.”
The creature’s head dangled by some skin on its chest, Xu Junyue’s white dress was soaked as if it had been dipped in blood. She lifted her skirt, took out a fruit knife pinned inside, and finished the job.
“Do you want it?” Xu Junyue teased.
Tong Yang looked at her with disgust, “I don’t.”
Xu Junyue frowned, “Alright, me neither.”
“Twenty-nine attackers remain.”
Using this method, they killed 9 more people, scoring 900 points, but it was uncertain if others had scored higher because killing 90 attackers could also yield 900 points, and the deaths of twelve attackers were unrelated to them.
They continued searching for new targets.
Tong Yang was strong and ruthless but lacked professional movements, while Xu Junyue was not only strong and ruthless but also skilled and professional. Aside from not being as smart as Tong Yang, she was the perfect enforcer!
After a while, Xu Junyue held the lives of a dozen unidentified beings, covered in blood, while Tong Yang, like nothing was wrong, commanded operations, leaving all the dirty, exhausting work to Xu Junyue.
She didn’t complain and just did it.
When only ten attackers remained, they returned to the original staircase area.
Thinking to check on Ye Huai, Xu Junyue peeked and said, “Tong Yang, your sugar daddy seems to be gone.”
Tong Yang paused, “Gone?”
“Yeah, disappeared.”
Tong Yang looked and saw only a decapitated body under the staircase; Ye Huai was clearly no longer there.
“What do we do?” Xu Junyue asked.
Tong Yang said, “There’s no sign of a struggle here; if he left on his own, he probably knows what he’s doing.”
If Ye Huai was unlucky enough to have died here, finding Ye Wen later would have to start by ensuring his parents were persuaded to pay up, considering how much Ye Tianlin valued him, it wouldn’t be a stretch to ask for ten million.
“By the way, after this is all over, aren’t you going to give me a share?”
Tong Yang eyed her, feeling it made some sense. Xu Junyue had indeed been helpful, although Tong Yang could have managed alone.
“Share, I’ll give you five hundred.”
Xu Junyue nodded, “That’s also fine.”
“How much is the sugar daddy giving you?”
“One million.”
“One million?! He’s giving you a million and you’re only sharing five hundred with me?”
“You joined in halfway, getting a share at all is already good, and I have to split half of it with someone else.”
“Damn! But four hours for five hundred bucks, I can barely accept it. Next time there’s a chance to make money, can you bring me along?”
Tong Yang considered for a moment. Since Xu Junyue had already been to the parallel world and was somewhat more skilled than her, and seemed to be a local from the capital, familiar with the area. If similar events occurred in the future, it seemed like a good choice to have her by her side.
“Okay, starting capital one thousand.”
Xu Junyue looked incredulous, “You mean, not only do I not get any money today, but I also have to pay you five hundred?”
“Think long-term, don’t get hung up on a small profit now, there will be plenty more opportunities in the future.”
Xu Junyue huffed, “Tong Yang, you really are a business genius.”
“Thank you.”
As they searched for the next target and for Ye Huai, it seemed that the sickly boy knew the area was fraught with danger but still left for another location, probably discovered some clue. Moreover, this place also had the parallel world’s Ye Tianlin, so there shouldn’t be a loss of life.
Walking through corridors drenched in moonlight and blood, they surprisingly saw not a single living shadow.
“Where is everyone? Surely they haven’t all been killed?” Xu Junyue grumbled.
“Even if the attackers are hiding, what about the attackers? How come we haven’t seen a single person since earlier?”
Tong Yang furrowed her brow; logically, it wasn’t possible that everyone was dead.
“Is there anyone there? Anyone?” Xu Junyue leaned against the wall, incessantly knocking on the window grilles with her axe, creating a piercing noise in the quiet night.
“You guys are really something.”
After a long silence, Dr. Wu’s voice finally came through the earpiece.
“Dr. Wu? You’re still alive.”
“Where is everyone?”
Dr. Wu replied coldly, “They’re all hiding.”
“Why are they hiding?”
“Because of the good deeds you three did, they thought the higher-ups were coming to exterminate them.”
Tong Yang puzzled, “What?”
“While you were exploiting bugs to kill indiscriminately, that kid Ye Huai sneaked into the control room with a gun.”
“He has a gun?”
“In the parallel world, firearms only exist in the hands of the upper class, these poor kids thought he was one of the higher-ups.”
Tong Yang asked in a deep voice, “Who exactly are you?”
Dr. Wu’s origins were too mysterious, knowing so much about the parallel world.
Dr. Wu chuckled darkly, “Tong Yang, I’ve told you, my identity isn’t important.”
“What are you trying to do?”
Silence for a few seconds in the earpiece, then a low snicker, “What do you think some people live for without any achievements?”
“What’s it to you?”
“What’s the point of their lives? Their existence only meaninglessly consumes the earth’s resources. If those useless people are killed, letting them be replaced by useful ones, resources could be balanced, and everyone alive would be excellent, whether in the parallel world or the real world, and order could be restored normally.”
“What are you babbling about?” Tong Yang scoffed coldly, “Whether the parallel world passively or actively destroyed its own order, what does that have to do with me? What does it have to do with the real world? Why should we kill those you deem useless and share resources with them?”
“This is your experiment’s purpose? You want me to be your executioner? You’re not the real world’s Dr. Wu, you’re the parallel world’s Dr. Wu.”
No normal person from the real world would hold such thoughts.
After a weird silence, the earpiece sounded again, “It’s a pity, I thought our ideas would coincide, you don’t seem to like humans.”
“Whether I like them or not, does it matter? They have to die just because I don’t like them?”
Dr. Wu laughed briefly, then didn’t argue any further.
“Then, I hope the three of you enjoy the victory right before you, and hopefully, next time we meet, you’ll have thought it through.”
After his words, the earpiece fell silent.
“Ah! Why did you annoy him away, how are we going to get back?” Xu Junyue worried.
Tong Yang took off her earpiece and threw it into the classroom, “We’ll go back the same way we came.”
After an unknown
amount of time, with the sky faintly brightening, the game’s end time seemed near.
From Dr. Wu’s words, they found where Ye Huai was and made their way there.
Along the way, they encountered no one else.
In the daytime, under Ye Huai’s guidance, they had visited the control room and soon arrived at its door, seeing it slightly ajar with some blue light spilling out.
Tong Yang used her fruit knife to prop the door open, several bodies lay scattered inside, almost all shot in the forehead.
In front of a huge monitoring display, Ye Huai sat facing away from them, an earpiece and a silenced handgun in front of him.
Before entering the elevator game, Dr. Wu had clearly warned against bringing any electronic devices or weapons, yet he had secretly brought this firearm, indicating he had never truly trusted Dr. Wu.
Tong Yang kicked open the room door and grabbed the handgun from the table, pressing it against Ye Huai’s temple, “What exactly do you know?”
Ye Huai seemed unsurprised by their arrival, his eyes on the monitor above, even with the gun pointed at his head, his expression remained unchanged.
“You didn’t engage the safety catch,” Ye Huai noted.
“Where’s my ten million!” Xu Junyue stepped forward, giving Tong Yang a look.
Tong Yang didn’t intend to harm him, throwing the gun back, “What’s really going on?”
Ye Huai said, “Whether Bureau 749 really exists, I’m not sure, but Dr. Wu is definitely not a member.”
“Hmm? Why? His mirage theories seemed quite profound to me,” Xu Junyue said.
“He’s just spouting nonsense about mirages, it’s all smoke and mirrors.”
Tong Yang followed his gaze to the monitoring display, which showed live feeds from every corner of the school, including the bathrooms, with virtually no blind spots. Next to it was an automated scoring leaderboard, with Xu Junyue’s name prominently at the top.
People remaining in the school were hiding in the kitchen and the sports equipment room. The screen’s time showed 5:47 AM, with thirteen minutes left until the game’s end.
“What are you thinking?” Tong Yang asked.
Based on the current situation, with Xu Junyue ranking first in points, they just had to wait for the game to end to successfully bring Ye Wen back to the real world.
Ye Huai’s actions seemed somewhat redundant.
After pondering for a moment, Ye Huai said, “I’m a bit curious why the parallel world turned out this way.”
Tong Yang looked up at him, asking, “Even if you know, what difference does it make?”
“You’re right, knowing doesn’t change anything,” Ye Huai nodded in agreement, “But, since Dr. Wu can enter the real world and bring us to the parallel world, doesn’t that mean others can do it too?”
Ye Huai’s statement clearly showed he believed Dr. Wu was not from the real world.
“If there’s a parallel world’s Ye Tianlin, then there might be a parallel world’s you and me too. If they enter the real world and replace us, how would people around us tell the difference?”
“Look at them, they kill for resources, then for pleasure, one day the real world will become like the parallel world, all resources concentrated in the upper class, and the rest through this method of self-selection.”
Ye Huai turned his head, looking at Tong Yang.
“Miss Tong, am I right?”
Tong Yang nodded readily, “You’re right.”
Ye Huai pursed his lips, the blue light of the monitor casting a cold glow on his pale skin.
“The parallel world means worlds that exist in different spaces but at the same time, and most of their stories should follow the same path. But here, something completely different from the real world happened, causing the world structure and social system to collapse. Apart from a third world war, the only explanation that makes sense is an attack from another parallel world.”
“What do you mean? Can you simplify that?”
Tong Yang looked down at him. If Ye Huai were healthy, there wouldn’t be anything about Ye Wen.
“Right, because another parallel world replaced thirty percent of their society, mostly the upper elite, causing the current situation.”
Ye Huai’s gaze fell, “Dr. Wu means to leave behind the useful people of two worlds, sharing one world’s resources. In other words, the upper class of the parallel world wants to kill the ordinary people in the real world’s middle and lower classes to avoid further loss of resources.”
“Right.”
“The parallel world has already controlled the method to enter the real world, only restrained by some factor, so it hasn’t caused too much trouble,” Tong Yang said.
“But they can still enter the real world, Dr. Wu is the best example.”
“Right.”
“Then why did they take Ye Wen?”
Tong Yang paused, “Isn’t it this world’s Ye Tianlin who took him?”
Ye Huai shook his head, “No, if he wanted to do something to Ye Wen, he didn’t need to bring him here.”
Tong Yang’s expression darkened, “Then it’s hard to say.”
“What’s hard to say? Are you playing riddles? I don’t understand any of this.”
“If Dr. Wu’s purpose was to recruit us to help implement a resource sharing plan with the parallel world, then blatantly taking Ye Wen might be to attract the attention of the upper class.”
Tong Yang nodded, “If they can take Ye Wen under everyone’s eyes, they can naturally take others. If by this incident they negotiate with the upper class to eliminate the ordinary lower class and share Earth’s resources, there’s no downside for the upper class, and the initiative is entirely in the parallel world’s hands.”
“Hmm, even if we successfully rescue Ye Wen, it doesn’t hurt the parallel world at all; their goal has been achieved.”
Xu Junyue’s gaze shifted between the two, vaguely understanding some of it, asking, “But, won’t our country notice, wouldn’t that start a war?”
“We are quite passive, the parallel world’s structure has completely changed, terror is not just a decision of a country’s upper class. But the real world isn’t like this, if our country and the parallel world go to war, guess whether other countries will choose to help us or wait for the final result and cooperate with the parallel world to implement the resource sharing plan?”
Ye Huai nodded, saying, “But, talking about this now is too early.”
“What do you want to say?” Tong Yang asked.
Ye Huai said, “Because of the different living environments, the parallel world can no longer be summarized with normal human thinking. Do you think the two Ye Tianlins, who is more like the person from the parallel world?”
Tong Yang exclaimed, “You mean…”
“According to my mom, the previous White Horse Corporation was just a medium-sized enterprise, Ye Tianlin’s personality wasn’t as extreme as now, until the birth of me, critically ill, requiring costly daily care. After a year, one day, as White Horse Corporation was about to go bankrupt, Ye Tianlin suddenly changed, became irritable and violent, but White Horse Corporation miraculously revived, becoming the multinational it is today.”
Ye Huai paused slightly, asking, “If at that time, they swapped identities under some condition, is that possible?”
Tong Yang nodded honestly, “Yes.”
According to Ye Huai, it’s highly possible that Ye Tianlin, in order to continue maintaining his life, swapped identities with “Ye Tianlin”. This would explain why “Ye Tianlin” treated the two brothers so differently. Because Ye Wen is their son after “Ye Tianlin” swapped identities, he dislikes Ye Huai and Aunt Bai yet must provide medical conditions to maintain Ye Huai’s life.
“Maybe, Ye Tianlin is also part of the parallel world’s plan,” Ye Huai said.
Tong Yang fell into thought; what he said wasn’t impossible. If they let “Ye Tianlin” continue to stay in the real world, he might become a bridge between the parallel and real worlds.
“Do you want to kill Ye Tianlin?”
“Mm.”
Tong Yang continued asking, “What do you plan to do?”
“The reason Ye Tianlin hates me isn’t just because I’m not his biological son, more importantly, I know he’s killed someone.”
“Killed someone?”
Ye Huai moved the mouse, opening one of the monitor screens, a woman with a chain around her neck sat by a classroom window on the fifth floor, one leg dangling, her delicate features visible through the fuzzy monitor.
“She looks a lot like one of my former tutors,” Ye Huai said calmly, “One day after class, I stood at the window to see her off, Ye Tianlin took her to the fountain under some pretext, perhaps lustfully inclined, when things went south, the tutor, about your age, struggled and slapped him, and he pushed her into the fountain, drowning her.”
Tong Yang’s expression darkened; no wonder Ye Huai still talked back to him despite knowing he’d be beaten, and the next day personally sent her away.
“Your dad really deserves to die,” Xu Junyue said seriously.
“I don’t deny that.”
Ye Huai continued, “Later, when the police questioned me, I told them everything I saw, and the result was as expected, the tutor’s death was ruled as accidental drowning, Ye Tianlin compensated with two hundred thousand.”
Tong Yang stared at the screen, seeing the numb expression on the face, she understood what Ye Huai wanted to do.
“Time is up, the game is over.”
“Please proceed to the administrative office, Xu Junyue, ranking first in points.”
The control room, broadcasting room, and administrative office weren
‘t in the same location, Ye Huai killing the people in the control room didn’t affect the game’s continuation.
Accompanied by the two, they headed to the administrative office.
The wide-open door was pitch black; Xu Junyue approached the door, the faint light at dawn barely illuminating the room’s contours, a figure sat behind the desk, hidden in the darkness.
A child lay on the sofa inside, seemingly deep in sleep.
If the parallel world took Ye Wen to attract the upper class’s attention, they would temporarily not harm him, so he was probably just asleep.
Next, they should return to the real world.
Since they could enter the parallel world using the elevator game, naturally, they could use the same method to leave.
As the sky gradually brightened, they tried three times, only on the last attempt did they successfully return to the real world.
At this time, it was nearly 8:30 AM, and daylight had fully broken.
Hai Lin International School was still deserted, Dr. Wu and his assistant were nowhere to be seen.
In the dense morning fog, the three walked out of the school with the unconscious Ye Wen, police gathered around the school approached, medical personnel took Ye Wen to check his vitals.
“Are you guys okay? What took so long?” Officer Lin asked anxiously.
Tong Yang, her eyelashes drooping, “Dr. Wu, he…”
Officer Lin said, “Dr. Wu has already left, he said there’s no parallel world, just wait for you guys to come out.”
“What?” Tong Yang looked stunned at him, “He left? Alone?”
Officer Lin and others looked at each other, “It seems his assistant is indeed missing, what exactly happened inside?”
Tong Yang countered, “How did you know he was from Bureau 749?”
Officer Lin said, “I’m not sure, someone from above sent him.”
Tong Yang’s expression shifted subtly; someone from above sent him? Had he already made contact with someone from above?
Or had he already replaced the real Dr. Wu of this world?
“When did he leave?”
“Two hours ago.”
At the same time, a figure sprinted along the corridor connecting the fifth-floor cafeteria to the teaching building, his nerves on edge, sweating profusely.
“Help! There’s a ghost…”
“Don’t come over! Don’t come over!”
“Ye Huai! Where’s your brother? If you lied to me, I’ll never let you go… never…”
The numb-faced woman approached him with a sharp weapon in hand.
“Where is this? Who are you? Weren’t you dead?”
Startled by his voice, figures hidden in the darkness kept gathering towards him.
“Ye Tianlin… is it you? Why! Why…”
“Help… help me…”
“Don’t come closer! If you come closer, I’ll jump…”
“Bang!”
Suddenly, a loud noise came from the direction of the teaching building.
“What happened?” Officer Lin frowned.
“It sounds like someone jumped…”
“What?”
“Doctor! Someone jumped!”
The crowd suddenly became noisy; police and medical personnel all rushed towards the teaching building.
Tong Yang turned to look at Ye Huai, whose gaze was shallow, unreadable.
Xu Junyue stood between them, puzzled, “Tong Yang, didn’t you say that when people from the parallel world die, their bodies stay in that world?”
Tong Yang watched Ye Huai quietly, “Yes, that means, if someone dies in the parallel world, their body will also return to the real world after death.”
Ye Huai responded calmly, “Maybe I was wrong, he’s not from the parallel world.”
“He hates me, not because I’m not his child, just because I’m not healthy enough.”
Tong Yang just silently watched him.
In the silent standoff, Ye Huai seemed to understand her meaning, saying, “There’s only one Ye Tianlin in the world, and now he’s dead.”
Actually, after they found Ye Wen, they didn’t immediately return to the real world.
After that, they played the “elevator game” three times, Tong Yang and Xu Junyue didn’t participate in the first two.
The first time, Ye Huai left the school and returned to the real world to find Ye Tianlin; the second time, using Ye Wen as an excuse, he took Ye Tianlin into the parallel world, then returned to the school; the third time, they brought Ye Wen back to the real world, leaving Ye Tianlin there.
If he was from the parallel world, either he was killed or he returned to the real world himself.
Tong Yang didn’t care about Ye Tianlin’s life, it had nothing to do with her.
Ye Huai’s answer was telling her that there wouldn’t be a situation where Ye Tianlin was replaced by the parallel world.
That was enough.
But, perhaps from the beginning, Ye Huai’s goal was to kill Ye Tianlin, and those arguments were just to gain the agreement of Tong Yang and Xu Junyue.
“Miss Tong, actually there’s another possibility.”
“What?”
“All resources in the parallel world are concentrated in the upper class, including medical resources, and this situation couldn’t have formed overnight. Sixteen years ago, the parallel world’s Ye Tianlin was just the owner of a small business, he might not have had access to medical resources. To save his critically ill son, he swapped conditions with the real world’s Ye Tianlin, providing him with unknown information to grow his company, while Ye Tianlin maintained his son’s life in exchange.”
Ye Huai took a silenced handgun from his coat lining, disengaged the safety catch, “From today, the true cause of the teacher’s death will be revealed.”
“The money will be transferred to you in two hours.”
He pressed the gun against his temple, his gaze towards the distance, his expression still calm, Tong Yang wasn’t sure what he was thinking.
Mutually assured destruction?
Or, a self-perceived liberation?
“If I die, my body should return to the parallel world, if not, consider it a life returned to Ye Tianlin.”
