Chapter 165#
The Hunt 16#
In the dark alley, in a corner where the light of the fireworks could not reach, the figure in the black raincoat chasing the Doctor’s group slowly came to a halt, staring at the circus gate shaped like a beast’s maw.
The firework display continued. After a brief pause, the figure in the black raincoat turned around and vanished into the night.
Inside the circus, the Doctor finally believed that this place was truly a simple sanctuary, rather than some trap designed to lure prey in and wipe them out.
“It seems my perspective was too narrow,” the Doctor said. “The City of Mist is a place full of love.”
“Hee-hee, full of love.”
“Hee-hee, really?”
The Doctor pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses. “Forgive me, these are two of my patients. They are too ill, so I have to carry them with me for the convenience of treatment.”
These two men in hospital gowns had handsome features and good builds, but their gazes were fixed and staring, and their brows and eyes were always raised with a hint of madness. When they laughed, their stark white teeth were exposed, looking as if they were about to bite someone.
Hina: “What disease are they suffering from?”
“Rabies,” the Doctor said. “But don’t worry, I have experience in raising mad dogs. I’ll give them an electric shock when they have an episode.”
“Hee-hee, Doctor, you’re very confident. Aren’t you afraid?”
“Hee-hee, how fun…”
Not prying into the privacy of others was a virtue of the Landon-Warrens; Hina offered a faint smile.
Yu Feichen looked over.
He had confiscated an item from the youth who had tried to kill Anfei at the department store, which could detect whether others harbored malice.
He scanned the Doctor; the malice was very low, no need to worry about a betrayal. He then looked at the two patients. At first glance, when he met their eyes, there was almost no malice in the two hospital-bound men, but when they looked at the Doctor, the malice on them would suddenly spike to a dangerous level. At those moments, their eyes became frenzied—it was a desire mixed with destruction and possession that Yu Feichen recognized.
Since he was responsible for the mad dogs he raised himself, as long as they didn’t bite others, it was fine. Yu Feichen signaled to Hina that these three were safe.
Hina: “In that case, let us protect this sanctuary together!”
[Brain Surgeon]: Hello everyone, I can testify that the circus is real.
“I don’t believe it.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“I don’t believe it either.”
[Brain Surgeon]: Do not give up on treatment.
Hina: “You really don’t believe it? How sad.”
The Doctor said: “They will come.”
“You know that?”
“Just like how many people claim they might as well die, but in reality, they often secretly go for medical checkups.”
Windsor walked over: “I don’t know if any ‘prey’ will come, but there will certainly be ‘hunters’ lying in ambush nearby.”
Hina said: “Our goal, of course, is to ensure everyone arrives safely.”
The night was still long. They planned to split into two groups to take turns on night watch on the high platform, observing the surrounding streets, clearing out ambushers, and helping those being hunted enter the gates smoothly.
Yu Feichen stated that Anfei needed sleep and would not participate in the watch.
Hina: “…No one said he had to pull a shift.”
Thus, Yu Feichen naturally didn’t take a shift either. After all, he wasn’t exactly “one person” right now.
The malice-detecting item was very useful and needed to be left with those on watch.
Yu Feichen looked over everyone’s condition and found that Murphy’s state seemed exceptionally poor.
It was as if it wasn’t the fireworks shattering in the sky, but Murphy himself.
Recalling what happened this afternoon, during this collaborative battle, Murphy seemed to have been completely useless.
The Goddess of Wisdom didn’t seem to have much use either, but she gained a strong sense of presence through her way of speaking, which made Murphy appear even more detached.
Presumably, the God of Time felt self-reproach due to his own uselessness.
To help Murphy find his place and heal his spiritual trauma, Yu Feichen left the item with him.
Yu Feichen: “I wish you a pleasant night.”
The healing had the opposite effect. When Murphy took the item, he even slowly ground his teeth.
Murphy’s gaze suddenly fell upon the lame rabbit resting on Yu Feichen’s shoulder.
He hadn’t wanted to spare this man even a single glance before, so he hadn’t noticed it.
But now, the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.
Until Yu Feichen and Anfei’s figures disappeared into the circus building, Murphy was still using his dazed spirit to recall exactly why it looked familiar.
Gradually, he remembered that fortress.
Gradually, he remembered a certain day in the fortress when Anfel knocked on his door to borrow a small part.
That day, Anfel sat at the workbench in his dormitory, his back turned to him as he tinkered away. He hadn’t seen it clearly, but he vaguely knew that Anfel was repairing the lame leg of a mechanical animal.
On the black stone tablet, which was filled with discussions about the circus, a different kind of message suddenly flashed across.
[Vincent]: Just destroy it all.
[Vincent]: Just destroy it all!!
[Vincent]: Ah!
[Vincent]: Ah!
[Vincent]: Ah!!!!
Amidst the string of question marks in everyone’s replies, even Acri’s tone became cautious.
[Acri]: Darling, what’s wrong with you…?
[Vincent]: Do you know?
[Acri]: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
[Vincent]: Destroy yourselves.
[Vincent]: All of you, be destroyed!!!
After finishing his second bout of madness, Murphy took his hands off the blackboard and curled up in a corner of the high platform, drawing cards one after another.
Looking at the cards scattered all over the ground, Hina cautiously pulled at the sleeve of the Goddess of Fate: “What exactly happened to him, do you know?”
The Goddess of Fate shook her head. Her youthful face always seemed to carry a sorrow like drifting mist; even the motion of shaking her head appeared tragically beautiful.
“If He has found a lover, shouldn’t that be a happy occasion? Little Yu has far too many Bright Ice Stones anyway.” Hina kept her voice particularly low for this sentence, fearing Murphy might hear.
“Besides, Murphy has a ‘darling’ too. I saw the words on the blackboard just now.”
“…Crap, thinking about who that person might be makes me want to go a bit crazy too,” Hina muttered to herself.
“But still, shouldn’t Little Yu put one’s mind at ease? Especially his balance.”
Amidst Hina’s whispers, the Goddess of Fate left her side and slowly approached Murphy.
Her voice was like her persona, like a thin fog over a stream, revealing a faint sorrow.
“But we all know that fate cannot be altered,” she said softly. “Everything is predestined, isn’t it?”
Murphy kept his head down, picking up the scattered cards from the ground, one by one.
The residence Anfei chose was on the top floor of the main building, a beautifully decorated room with an open terrace.
Yu Feichen looked out from the room; their fireworks hadn’t finished yet, and Anfei was watching them by the terrace railing.
The chaos of the day had long since settled, and the night was quiet, like any other ordinary day.
Grey mist seemed to rise around him, and Yu Feichen felt himself suddenly dazed for a moment.
—Another resonance.
Just like before, he knew he had experienced a resonance, but he couldn’t remember what had happened during it.
He recalled the feeling just now like someone waking at dawn tracing back a dream. There seemed to be a high platform there as well, and a sky full of fireworks.
He wasn’t the only person; there was someone else, but he had forgotten entirely. Only a trace of soothing emotion remained, suggesting it might have been a peaceful and beautiful scene.
After a moment of daze, Yu Feichen pushed the door open and walked onto the terrace.
Anfei didn’t speak, only looked at the sky. He accompanied him, watching those meteor-like lights together.
Yu Feichen felt that the peaceful sensation at this moment was far more real than the one in the resonance.
The night breeze grew cool. The fireworks had finished, and Anfei lowered his eyes to look at the city below. The curtain of night masked the things happening in this city, and the widespread lights made it appear prosperous and serene.
What was Anfei thinking?
After losing all his memories, was the Anfei being presented his true nature?
The only certainty was that Anfei did not hate this city. In fact, he missed it.
The pale blue lenses surfaced.
Appraisal Result: This guest seems to be in a state of mental detachment. Does he really not know who he is? Or is he unwilling to remember from the depths of his soul? Sometimes, we fall into such meditations as well.
Yu Feichen didn’t speak; instead, Anfei was the one who spoke: “What are you thinking?”
Yu Feichen: “I might know the reason you lost your memory.”