Chapter 47: 013

When he woke up again, Wu Cisheng was lying on a soft large bed. For a moment, he thought everything before had been just a dream.

But soon, he found himself in a half-awake state, meaning his consciousness was awake, but his limbs had not yet awoken.

Wu Cisheng continued to keep his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep, his mind racing as he gathered all the clues he could:

First, he was lying on a bed; the bedding gave off a warm scent, and the material was exceptionally soft, the same brand as the one at home.

Was he in his own bedroom?

Not right.

The entire room was oppressively quiet. Wu Cisheng could hear his own faint breathing, even the thumping sound within his eardrums, but he could hear no outside sounds at all— not even the wind or birds he usually heard.

He might be in a sealed room.

Basement?

Suddenly, a rustling footstep sound came again. He subconsciously held his breath, his ears straining to catch the source of the sound.

The sound got closer and closer. He could feel as if something was slowly moving, and a sudden sinking sensation came from the bedside.

A familiar yet unfamiliar scent lingered at his nose. He knew someone was at his bedside. That person did not speak, just sat there quietly gazing at him.

After a while, the person who had been silent finally moved. A warm sensation touched Wu Cisheng’s face.

His fingertips gently stroked Wu Cisheng’s cheek, then lightly held his hand, kissing the ring on Wu Cisheng’s left hand finger again and again.

Wu Cisheng guessed who it was.

He remembered this ring was given when he confirmed the relationship with his “partner.” At that time, Wu Cisheng was mostly in a daze, controlled by an invisible force and accepted the ring.

Back then, his “partner” was very happy, kissing the ring on his finger every morning upon waking, and would be delighted for a long time each time he saw it.

The two lived day after day of uneventful days, until that message appeared and shattered Wu Cisheng’s “peaceful” life.

Past events surfaced one by one: his “partner” was detained on multiple charges.

When Lucas came to pick him up, he had mistakenly thought the red veins in his eyes from lack of sleep were from grief, and said a bunch of incoherent nonsense. His gaze even swept over the ring on his finger several times, subtly hinting he should throw it away.

At that time, Wu Cisheng said something meaningful: “Take a closer look.”

By then, Wu Cisheng had already discovered the ring could communicate, and wanted to probe Lucas for more clues.

Unfortunately, the Sentinel at that time didn’t get it at all, interpreting Wu Cisheng’s behavior as if he really liked the ring, and then extending that to him liking the person who gave the ring, with a weird tone of voice.

“I think this ring is not that great, not pretty, the material looks cheap, not worth much.”

After a string of disparaging remarks, the Sentinel added, “If you like it, I’ll give you a prettier ring…”

“Why would you give me a ring?”

Wu Cisheng casually brushed it off, not paying attention to what the Sentinel said afterward.

While resting alone at the hotel, he devoted all his energy to studying the strange sounds emanating from the ring, trying again and again to communicate with it.

Later, that sudden incident occurred, but it was when Wu Cisheng forcibly recalled the Little White Weasel that he clearly heard a response from the strange voice in the ring.

After a crisp “Binding successful,” Wu Cisheng’s consciousness fell completely into darkness. When he woke, his first reaction was to check the ring.

Yes, still there.

Wu Cisheng could clearly feel a faint warmth inside the ring, and even the garbled codes that were previously inaudible became clearer.

His mind felt like a thick dossier had been stuffed inside. The fragmented, blurry dreams of the past gradually became whole and clear at this moment.

Even the young man whose face he could never see clearly— Wu Cisheng finally saw his appearance and recalled his name.

Because the memories were too clear, Wu Cisheng, having fully remembered, could no longer treat those images as a dream; they felt more like a past life he had personally experienced.

Perhaps because of the so-called “binding,” the strange voice in the ring no longer had crackling static, and it was clearer than before.

【You said earlier you wanted my help…】

【…】

【You can communicate with me through thoughts in your mind, just silently think of my code 0255 before speaking to me…】

While Wu Cisheng was conversing with 0255, he clearly felt the blanket over him being lifted by someone, and that warm touch winding from his Adam’s apple down toward below his navel…

The clothes on him were no longer the ones he wore outside, but had been changed into a loose set of home clothes he usually slept in.

Wu Cisheng stopped pretending to be asleep. He opened his expressionless eyes and asked with feigned confusion: “Who are you? Where is this?!”

The person’s hand was undoing his trouser belt. Because he suddenly spoke, the movement paused for a moment, then a strange male voice, familiar and tinged with excitement, said: “Cisheng, you’re awake? I thought you wouldn’t speak to me anymore.”

“……”

“Are you hungry now? Thirsty? Do you want some water? Should I help you sit up?”

Wu Cisheng was a little thirsty, but he didn’t answer, continuing to feign ignorance: “Who are you? Why am I here?”

The person at the bedside didn’t answer him, but leaned down, intimately resting his head on Wu Cisheng’s chest, the strong ocean-scented perfume on him completely undisguised.

“You don’t know who I am?”

“You’re so smart.”

“You must have known long ago.”

Wu Cisheng’s chin was brushed by the man’s hair, a slight itch rising on his skin. He kept his eyes open, but they were empty.

He could clearly feel those warm hands roaming ambiguously over his lower abdomen, and the burning gaze that was completely impossible to ignore.

“You recognize me, don’t you?”

Wu Cisheng didn’t know which micro-expression on his face had given him away, but the man by the bed’s tone became even more certain.

“As expected, you recognized me.”

Ning Yuan’s breathing grew rapid, his two arms wrapping tightly around Wu Cisheng like vines.

His breath seeped through Wu Cisheng’s clothes into his skin, and his voice was muffled.

“Hello, nice to meet you. Shall we meet at this time tomorrow, okay…”

“What a coincidence, you have an interest in insects? Then next time I’ll bring some books for you to see?”

“I like you…”

“Once your legs are healed, we’ll go traveling together, I’ll push you…”

He repeated these random words in a joyful tone, occasionally lowering his head to lovingly kiss Wu Cisheng’s cheek, like a mental patient hugging his favorite toy.

Wu Cisheng’s brow twitched slightly, but he still didn’t move. He silently listened to the man say things he might or might not remember.

Those blurry dreams he once thought were just that were indeed real memories he had experienced. If life were a game, perhaps they could be called the last run.

“I know you were using me all along, agreeing to be with me was actually just to get me to heal your legs…”

“I know…”

“I know everything…”

“After your legs are healed, I’ll be useless to you, and then you’ll leave me, right?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m willing to stay here for you, not going anywhere, always by your side. Can’t we just be like before?”

“I love you…”

“……”

As if the person being confessed to wasn’t himself, Wu Cisheng listened to his mad ramblings with a detached expression, giving no response.

Only when the man leaned in to kiss him again did he call out the young man’s name in a calm tone: “Ning Yuan.”

The man whose name was called instantly stopped, staring at Wu Cisheng with expectant eyes, waiting for his next words.

“Perhaps I really don’t love you…”

Before he could finish, a pair of hands covered Wu Cisheng’s mouth, preventing him from speaking.

“No— you can’t do this!!”

The man’s voice was emotional to the point of cracking. He repeated over and over, “You’re always like this, you’re always like this. Why can’t you just keep deceiving me?!”

Wu Cisheng couldn’t see what expression was on Ning Yuan’s face, but he figured it was probably similar to the one in his memory: a crazed, possessed look.

“It must be that you didn’t like this script. Then I’ll change it next time, okay? Tell me what kind you like…”

“Next time we’ll try…”

“Do you prefer a daughter or a son?”

“How about one of each?”

“I think I should still take you to my world. Would you like it? Where I live is beautiful, with a huge castle…”

While he was still rambling, a piercing alarm suddenly blared, a cold mechanical electronic voice echoing throughout the space.

“WARNING! WARNING!”

“Intruder detected!”

“WARNING—”

Wu Cisheng had no sight, so he only heard Ning Yuan at the bedside a second ago talking about how he planned to write the next script, and the next second the shrill alarm mixed with his voice.

“Who triggered the alarm system?”

The alarm suddenly cut off, but only for twenty seconds before a continuous rumbling noise sounded from far to near.

Wu Cisheng could almost gauge the distance by sound. It got closer, and with a loud “BOOM!”, something heavy seemed to fall, making the ground tremble slightly.

Almost at the instant the heavy object fell, a completely different gust of fresh air rushed into the room.

This airflow carried a hint of coolness, gently brushing Wu Cisheng’s cheek, entirely different from the stuffy, stagnant air in the room.

“Who!”

It was Ning Yuan’s demanding voice.

Wu Cisheng remained motionless, his expression cold. While the “Who” still echoed in the air, a biting wind rushed toward him.

The scorching breath was still on his neck, but the body that had been pressing close to him for a kiss abruptly pulled away. Dull thuds of flesh and the sound of bones breaking exploded in the room, mixed with Ning Yuan’s pained, distorted whimper.

“It’s you?!”

A pale golden Healing Aura flickered in Ning Yuan’s palm. The next instant, three broken ribs in his body were rapidly healing.

However, how could an enemy who had taken the initiative to attack just stand by and watch him heal without doing anything?

The two sides instantly tangled in a fight.

Wu Cisheng lay quietly on the bed. He had no vision, but that didn’t stop him from calmly judging their movements by sound:

Each of Lucas’s attacks was swift and fierce, every punch bringing a crackling boom that tore through the air, as if it could pulverize everything before him into dust.

On the other hand, Ning Yuan seemed to have little actual combat experience, constantly trying to create distance from Lucas.

Strangely, neither of them tried to use Wu Cisheng as a shield in his direction, but instead very tacitly kept him from being caught in the crossfire.

Being a bystander made things clear. Amidst the chaotic fighting, Wu Cisheng was not flustered at all. The Heterogeneous Humans’ superior Five Senses allowed him to clearly capture every whoosh of fist wind, every footstep, including the breathing and heartbeat states of both.

Wu Cisheng might have noticed Ning Yuan’s fatigue in the face of Lucas’s storm-like assault even more than Ning Yuan himself.

Sure enough, after two small consecutive mistakes, due to failing to dodge in time, he was quickly subdued by Lucas who found an opening— especially stepping on the wrist he tried to use to release healing.

Based on the sounds Ning Yuan made, Wu Cisheng guessed that his wrist bone was broken.

A truly one-sided battle.

If Wu Cisheng could see, he would see that at that time Lucas was so relaxed he hadn’t even broken a sweat, but his expression was extremely angry.

The man’s veins bulged, his muscles taut, exuding a chilling aura.

And even then, Ning Yuan still seemed not to have realized how the person in front of him got here.

He panted heavily, his voice trembling with disbelief: “Impossible… The signal here was blocked by me long ago. How did you find it?!”

To this, Wu Cisheng wasn’t very surprised.

He had known all along Lucas would come, after all, he was the one who sent the information out.

Although he knew he would definitely come, he indeed didn’t expect him to arrive so quickly, and not by sneaking in, but by directly breaking the defensive wall and barging in?

What an impatient guy.

Wu Cisheng no longer pretended to be immobile. He slowly sat up, fumbling to smooth the wrinkles in his clothes, while speaking toward the source of the sound:

“You came faster than expected…”

“It led the way.”

A small, petite Little White Weasel, after receiving its owner’s order, darted straight to the bedside, climbed onto Wu Cisheng’s shoulder in a flash, and affectionately rubbed its face against his to comfort him.

From the other person in the room came an incredulous question: “You could move long ago? You’ve been stalling for time?”

He might have wanted to add that signals were blocked outside, and the surrounding environment had been subjected to “Cognitive Distortion”— anyone stepping nearby would have their visual nerves automatically ignore it as an impenetrable wall, never entering.

How could it be found so quickly?

In his expectation, Lucas should have been deceived by the “Human Puppet” he set up for a while. Even if seen through, finding the location should have taken more time.

Wu Cisheng didn’t know what Lucas did, but he felt a fierce wind howl by, followed by a thick scent of blood spreading in the air.

“Wait a moment while I deal with this, it’ll be quick.”

This was probably said to Wu Cisheng, the tone much softer than when speaking to Ning Yuan.

It was hard to imagine it was the same person.