Zhao Xin was a girl of graceful appearance, with a demeanor and demeanor that were gentle and always accompanied by a polite smile.
However, when she stood firmly in front of the door, she exuded the boldness of an ancient gatekeeper. She was soft yet strong. She couldn’t protect Liu Tianqiao or Liu Xiaotao, but she would protect this place, holding onto her last hope.
She raised her head slightly, looking at Shen Ling. “Doctor Shen, please give me an answer. I don’t need any promises from you, just one answer. I beg you to save Tianqiao; he’s too lonely. He has never had a smooth moment in his life. I want to pull him out of the mire. Please help me; I implore you.”
She placed all her hopes on Shen Ling, a tremendous pressure that was hard to resist.
Shen Ling had been silent, but when he glanced at Zhao Xin, his eyes were clear and calm.
Shen Ling: “He has had smooth moments; the smoothest was when he met you.”
Zhao Xin: “…”
The girl’s pupils contracted slightly, her eyes starting to redden at the corners, gradually spreading to her entire eye sockets.
Shen Ling continued, “Director Zheng said that both those possessed by relatives and chosen sacrifices gradually forget their identities and sever all connections with everyone around them. Remembering him is not easy. You’ve worked hard, Zhao Xin.” The black-haired youth’s eyes softened slightly, and with his gold-rimmed glasses, he looked as gentlemanly and courteous as ever. “But, I’m sorry. If I have to choose between the two, I will choose Liu Xiaotao.”
Zhao Xin was taken aback for a moment. She wiped away her tears and said solemnly, “Doctor Shen, perhaps my words were too subtle. I think I need to express my intentions clearly. I am not threatening you, but if you don’t agree to save Liu Tianqiao, I will release the monsters inside. They are the monsters created by Tianqiao absorbing the madness of others, far more terrifying than Xu Lu, whom you have seen.”
Shen Ling remained unmoved by this. “I’m sorry, but even so, I would choose Liu Xiaotao over Liu Tianqiao.”
After a moment of silence, Zhao Xin asked softly, “Can you tell me why?”
Shen Ling said, “Because Liu Xiaotao means a lot to me, and I promised you that I would adopt him, take care of him, and cure his illness.”
There was a moment of realization in Zhao Xin’s expression. She seemed to see another person through Shen Ling. She smiled, and the gloom between her eyebrows vanished instantly.
“You’re a very good person,” she said after a moment, repeating, “A very good person. You made the best choice.”
Shen Ling frowned, asking her, “Why?”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to test how much you care about Liu Xiaotao. You passed the test. Tianqiao wants Xiaotao to grow up like a normal child, healthy and happy. That’s also my wish. Please follow me.”
With a “beep,” she swiped an ID card, and the gate in front of them opened. She led Shen Ling and the others inside.
The corridor was particularly gloomy.
Han Qianqiu huddled close to Shen Ling, whispering, “Could there be monsters attacking us at any moment?”
Xia He said, “Doesn’t seem like it. I guess because we made the right choice. Wow, Ling Mei is so reliable.” She whispered, “If it were me, I would have chosen Liu Tianqiao. That girl’s eyes just now were really scary, way too serious. It felt like if we didn’t choose Tianqiao, we’d be in for a world of hurt.”
Halfway there, Zhao Xin suddenly stopped and turned to Shen Ling. “One day before, you unfortunately suffered madness. That night, Xiaotao secretly absorbed the madness from your body without telling Director Zheng. The next day, he was whipped by the director because he thought you were not a qualified sacrifice, and absorbing your madness would affect Xu Lu.” She paused and added, “But you might not see those wounds. After turning into a monster, Xiaotao’s wounds always heal very quickly.”
Shen Ling said, “I saw them.”
He whispered, “Those wounds, I saw them.”
The corridor twisted, leading to an unknown end where something seemed to be waiting for them.
As the people around them grew fewer, Shen Ling walked alone on the corridor, the walls on both sides becoming more and more dilapidated, with dust flying everywhere. At the front was a door that had been sealed for a long time, and he stopped in front of it.
The door was open, and he pushed it open with his hand.
A warm yellow light shone out, and sitting on the hospital bed was a slender, fair-skinned young man.
He was looking out of the window, his expression focused, with sharp contours on his profile, exuding warmth in the morning light.
Sensing someone’s arrival, he turned his head and looked over, his eyebrows slightly raised, smiling, “Come here, big brother, Xiaotao.”
When Shen Ling opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a hospital bed in the hospital.
Seeing that he was awake, Liu Xiaotao giggled, “Big Brother Ling, you slept so soundly. I couldn’t wake you up at all. Several nurses came to secretly take pictures of you sleeping just now.”
Shen Ling looked around in confusion. The last scene he remembered was Zhao Xin opening the door to the 6th floor of the ward, and they were about to go to the end of the corridor to find the monster and help Liu Xiaotao absorb madness with the flute.
And then his head felt murky for a moment, when he came to, he realized he had fallen asleep here.
All memories were restored, many details reminded Shen Lin that he had clearly broken free from the temporary madness of amnesia.
His little finger felt numb for a moment, and when Shen Lin looked down, he saw Liu Xiaotao tightly gripping his finger.
Liu Xiaotao said, “Big Brother Shen Lin, I dreamt of a big brother who turned into a large bee and flew very high and far, as if he would never come back.”
“I don’t know why, but I feel very sad.”
“When I was very young, there was a big earthquake at home, and the house collapsed. At that time, I was playing with building blocks, and the roof started to collapse, with a lot of dust falling. Suddenly, the whole house started to shake violently. I was buried in a place deep down, where there was almost no oxygen. It was my dad and mom who were piled up together to cover me. When I raised my hand, there would be air blowing into the cracks of the stone pile at high places, making it easier to be found and rescued.”
“I was very scared at that time and always held someone’s hand tightly. I forgot who it was, I only remember that whenever I held his hand tightly, he would hold my hand back tightly. He was a very good brother, but I forgot.”
“I only remember that there were ticking sounds everywhere. He said that was time moving forward, and as long as time reached the end, we could get out.”
“But some people stepped out of time ahead of time.”
He tightened his grip on Shen Lin’s finger and said, “Big Brother Shen Lin, I suddenly miss that person.”
Shen Lin: “…” He hugged Liu Xiaotao and gently patted his back. “He misses you a lot too.”
Liu Xiaotao burst into tears on Shen Lin’s shoulder.
Yanxiuyi, who was silent, leaned against the door and watched them. For some reason, Shen Lin’s mind once again flashed the image of a snowy mountain, still the endless snowfield, as if hooking his finger to Liu Xiaotao was a memory point rooted in his memory. This snowy mountain had repeatedly appeared in his fantasies, disturbing his memory.
Shen Lin, with exceptional memory, remembered things once seen. He had never been to such a vast expanse of snowy mountains. That was a world where humans could never set foot.
He lowered his head, suppressing the complex and indistinguishable emotions in his heart, and cursed under his breath.
Liu Xiaotao’s physical indicators were normal, with all values stable, and he would soon be discharged from the hospital. On the day of his discharge, Shen Lin resigned from his job and brought Liu Xiaotao and a certain shameless security guard who claimed to be fired for helping educate the children back to his home.
The city was bustling with traffic.
Liu Xiaotao did not mention the brother he dreamt of in his dreams, but drew a vague face on a piece of paper hidden in the pages of his favorite fairy tale.
After resigning, Shen Lin found a job as a mental health counselor. One day, a young second-generation wealthy man came to him for consultation, saying that he always felt he had a deeply loved fiancee, and they were about to get married soon.
Sitting across from Shen Lin, the man kept fiddling with the engagement ring on his finger, and the style of the ring seemed very familiar.
The man said, “I feel like I should have a fiancee, but everyone says I don’t, and I can’t remember who she is. I found this ring, but I forgot who it was prepared for… Doctor,” he said in pain, “I don’t know who she is, but I miss her so much, I really want to see her.”
The pen Shen Lin was using to record paused on the paper.
In the corner of the newspaper, it read “The Secret Behind Ward 1024! Reporter: Xia He.”
The most shocking news was that after Zheng De, the son of the director of Ward 1024, was sent to prison, he completed the serialization he had been dragging on for nearly ten years in the closed and strictly regulated environment of the prison, and even finished the new serialization that was ongoing. Congratulations.
The world in the story would continue to exist. Shen Lin blinked, and everything around him changed again. They were sitting back on the bus they had just taken to the mental hospital.
Han Qianqiu sniffed, saying, “Ah… it’s so tragic.”
Xia He also sighed, “Why does the storyline have to be about choosing one and sacrificing the other? Isn’t that making things difficult? Fortunately, Lin did the right thing. What if he made the wrong choice?”
“You guys are unbeatable,” KP said confidently, “Zhao Xin would have taken you to the monster. Your opponent would have been the monsterized Liu Xiaotao, the monsterized Liu Tianqiao, and the monster fused five years ago.”
“Three?!”
“That’s right.”
Everyone: “…”
Xia He asked, “So in the end, did Liu Tianqiao leave with the sacrificial offering?”
“Yes,” KP said, “Human power is impossible to confront with gods. It’s fine with lower servants, but gods are absolutely impossible. This is the most desired ending.”
Several people nodded in understanding.
KP said, “Alright, let’s give everyone the rewards for this room. Everyone didn’t go crazy or get their cards torn apart, which is very rare. If there could be less tricky moves, you’d be perfect players, especially…” He glanced at Shen Lin and Yan Xiu, both of whom had no expression, and his expression seemed to say, “Are you implying your dad?”
He coughed and didn’t continue.
“So, let’s give the MVP Shen Lin a gold coin. Does anyone have any objections?” The crowd cheered.
“Except for Zheng De, everyone else gets two copper coins.”
“Two copper coins?! Why two copper coins?!”
KP said, “Extra rewards for the brave. Don’t glare at me, you picked the wrong side and still want the same reward as everyone else?!”
Zheng De: “………………” Damn, what a loss!
