Translator: Xena
【Don’t you want to know why the anomaly is affecting your neighbor?】 Qin Zhuo’s voice was emotionless. It just reached out and hooked a strand of hair on the back of Jian Xie’s neck, entwining it with It’s fingertips. 【He probably has to relive the day before his death every day. This building is full of trapped vengeful spirits.】
The neighbor was driven by the anomaly and had been terrorizing the residents who had long been burned to death. But at the same time, his heart was filled with endless fear of death. He was also trapped in this building and became one of the long-term nutrients for the anomaly.
“…You knew this all along?”
Jian Xie didn’t want to ask It why It didn’t tell him because he had no right to accuse an evil god of not empathizing with humanity’s plight.
But every time he felt that the other party could be trusted and wanted to let down his guard, It always showed inhuman indifference and cruelty, reminding Jian Xie all the time that the difference in their identities was like a deep abyss between them.
This kind of inexplicable favoritism and preference, unique among billions of people, was not something that he, a naturally suspicious and unapproachable person, could accept.
【In the past year, I’ve even hidden myself from you.】 Faced with this sudden cold attitude, Qin Zhuo did not move away from his body, but instead said in a light tone, 【Doesn’t this prove something? I only hoped that you could recover. 】
【For you, to return to your original state. The life and death of others does not matter to me.】
This was human nature.
It didn’t hide it, and instead revealed It’s true self directly, stripping away the deceptive disguise and exposing all It’s true thoughts.【You don’t like this about me because you’re not bound to go to hell. But I’ve been in hell since I gained consciousness, so I can only hold on to the only thing in my hand, and that is you. 】
That fire would burn everything to ashes; to love and possess something meant it was rare.
“……”
【Whether you want to believe it or not.】 Qin Zhuo followed It’s heart and didn’t bother to cover up It’s bad side. 【Because I care about you, I won’t pretend to be someone I’m not.】
Doing whatever It pleased.
If it were any other human being, he would not even bother to utter a word and would just take action directly.
It’s power was overwhelming. Long ago, It’s name was meaningless to It because It never felt the need to communicate with humans, so even if someone called It’s name wrong, forgot It’s name, or even worshipped It on their own initiative, It did not care.
But now It had a name known only to one person.
Qin Zhuo thought lazily that this might be a fatal and special curse.
The evil god, who has always been flamboyant and reckless, actually endured being questioned again and again by him. This kind of concession…
Jian Xie felt his heartbeat accelerating uncontrollably.
“……”
“Have you ever heard of question and answer?”
After a moment’s silence, he whispered, “Qin Zhuo, we’ll make a deal.”
The hand hanging at his side raised at some point, the little finger bent.【Since you’ve already said ‘we’, then no matter what we encounter in the future, we can no longer hide it from each other. And I promise you that I will not try to change you, but understand you——】
Before he could finish his words, the other party grabbed his hand and stopped him from finishing his words.
【I understand, but—I don’t need you to agree to anything for me.】 Qin Zhuo said in a strong tone, and then It suddenly laughed and raised It’s eyebrows. 【And when have I ever hidden anything from you? Haven’t I always been playing this game with you? 】
Jian Xie: “…”
He could feel the warmth creeping onto his face again.
After thinking about it, he found it to be true… Qin Zhuo would always tell him everything It knew as long as he asked the question.
It often just watched from the sidelines and never took the initiative to bring up the truth that was not related to Jian Xie. It was completely aloof and omnipotent, a deity who looked down on everything. This was one of It’s bad little habits, but if Jian Xie showed interest and wanted to know the reason behind something, It never hesitated to answer.
Seeing that Jian Xie stopped and did not move for a long time, Xu Yujin could not help but stand there as well.
Did he discover something?
Then he noticed Jian Xie finally move, walk past the stairs and go straight to the elevator at the end of the corridor.
——That was the anomalous object that directly swallowed multiple investigators!
Before he could utter the warning in his throat, Jian Xie had stopped in front of the elevator, staring at the elevator door that was sealed tightly with yellow tape. He then shifted his gaze to a yellowed piece of paper stuck to the wall on the left, reached out, and tore it down.
Xu Yujin was stunned for a moment, then followed with a bit of hesitation.
“We saw it the last time we came here,” he said, pointing to the worn out piece of paper. “We checked it out, and it has nothing to do with the supernatural.”
Jian Xie ignored him and just looked at the missing person notice in his hand.
There was a name, but he didn’t recognize it.
Although there was a photo on the form, the exact face could not be seen due to low pixel quality and rain. However, The bug in his pocket suddenly became agitated, flapping its wings and buzzing loudly as it collided with the inside of his pocket.
Jian Xie held it down and continued reading.
“You know him?”
Jian Xie replied, “Be quiet.”
Xu Yujin didn’t know who he was talking to, but wisely refrained from asking. He just looked at Jian Xie questioningly. “What did you find?”
After all, investigators tend to be stubborn, so even a slight tendency to talk to oneself seemed very refreshing.
“Bang—”
The moment he finished speaking, the yellow paper seal on the elevator door suddenly tore apart, and several thick tentacles dripping with thick liquid forcibly pried open the gap in the elevator. Countless human faces growing on the tentacles made chewing motions as they attacked the two humans nearby—
Damn, that was too close.
It must be because they smelled the breath of a living person!
Xu Yujin’s expression froze, and he quickly pulled out a forearm-long blade from within his windbreaker and directly cut off the tentacles in front of him.
The monster howled in pain as the remaining half of its tentacle fell heavily to the ground, rolling and ramming around, trying to grab something.
He raised his head and looked at Jian Xie.
If he hadn’t misread the situation in the corner of his eye, when he drew his blade, the remaining tentacles all attacked the one beside him but he stood there like a frightened ordinary person, completely helpless, a target with no ability to fight back…
However, when he saw the scene in front of him unfold, he froze in place.
He saw countless tentacles halt at half a meter, as if their freedom was restricted and they could not move forward at all.
This……
“Come on.” Jian Xie folded the missing person notice and put it in his coat pocket. For some reason, Yu Jin could hear a complicated tone in his voice. “I have never taken the elevator this past year. You’re lucky that you don’t have to climb to the 17th floor.”
Xu Yujin: “…” Is that the point?
It wasn’t until he followed Jian Xie through the elevator doors that had been forced open and stood in the elevator filled with pus that he realized what he had done. His trench coat was covered in the stench, but Jian Xie remained clean and tidy, the contrast made him look like a dirty homeless person picking through trash.
Even though he has always been optimistic, he has never taken such a risk before.
But for some reason, when Jian Xie asked him to do something, he did it subconsciously without considering the reason.
Moreover, he clearly saw that the pus on the wall moved away on its own when Jian Xie approached, as if it had a strong sense of self-preservation. Even the unknown liquid dripping from above defied gravity and slid down in an arc until it ended up sticking to him as if he were the easiest to bully between the two of them.
Even an optimist like him couldn’t laugh anymore.
Noticing that Jian Xie was looking up, he also looked up. Just one glance and goosebumps instantly appeared all over his body.
Several corpses with twisted limbs were seen stuck on the top of the elevator, with pairs of eyes staring dully at them inside the narrow space. The thick tentacles were sticking out from dislocated jaws. The stacked body parts were only a few centimeters away from their heads. They were practically buried in a pile of corpses.
“Let’s go out and take the stairs, okay?” Xu Yujin felt his sanity decreasing. “You don’t want to climb the stairs? That’s okay, I can carry you.”
Qin Zhuo scoffed.
Suddenly, a flash of the blade, and the fingers of the corpse above their heads fell with a thud at their feet.
“I’m not a nervous wretch!” Xu Yujin put away the blade. He explained awkwardly, still looking frightened, “Just, I just felt them moving!”
Although he maintained the dignity of a Special A-level, he was obviously still scared.
In order to salvage his image, Xu Yujin took the initiative to step forward and cut off the tentacles that were preventing the elevator door from closing, and then shrank into a corner.
Jian Xie glanced at Qin Zhuo standing beside him. The culprit curled It’s lips and looked very malicious.
“……”
He silently mourned for Xu Yujin for a few seconds, then stepped forward and pressed the elevator button.
“Are you sure that Yu Jinghe disappeared here last?” Jian Xie asked while watching the rising floors. “Just asking.”
“Yes,” Xu Yujin muttered, wiping his blade with his windbreaker before looking at him, “I’ve been tracking him for a few days, I’m sure of it.”
Jian Xie: “Do you have proof of him leaving?”
Xu Yujin was stunned for a moment. “No… I think.”
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