Doomsday Wonderland

The faint sound of Eight-Heads De's breathing, unconscious and fragile, was the only current flowing through the silent corridor.

As Zhong Qing's words fell, Lin Sanjiu held her breath. Even knowing he wore a mask, her eyes were fixed on him, refusing to blink. She realized she was afraid to ask. Delaying the question meant delaying the answer, right?

It was Hagrid's throat rasping with a sudden "kk-khh" sound that shattered the heavy silence. "I-I didn't..."

"I know," Zhong Qing interrupted, already anticipating his words. He then turned to Lin Sanjiu. "Put him down for now. We need to have a private conversation."

Lin Sanjiu hesitated only for a moment. "No," she said firmly, casting a glance at Hagrid. His belongings had been stripped away by Dreadlocks, but his appearance was still that of an ordinary man. "Whoever caused this can't be allowed to leave."

"Then tie him up and let Dreadlocks watch over him," Zhong Qing replied with a sigh, as if resigned to her stubbornness. The familiarity of that tone struck her like a memory. How many times before had she pushed him to this exact frustration? But who was he?

1

As Lin Sanjiu lowered Hagrid, her peripheral vision caught something. Hagrid still looked like an ordinary man, which meant there had to be something left on him. The only place Dreadlocks hadn't searched...

Her hand swept down Hagrid's face, and with a shimmer, [Planar World] converted and stored a card. When she looked up again, Hagrid's true face was revealed: smooth, featureless, and now twisted in shocked disbelief, unable to comprehend how his disguise had been seen through at the last moment.

"Done?" Zhong Qing wore a 'satisfied now?' expression as he gestured to Dreadlocks, like a commander dismissing a subordinate. "Pick up his stuff and sit by Eight-Heads De. Wait for us."

Dreadlocks, reading the situation perfectly, obeyed without question. Survival in the Twelve Worlds Centrum required a keen sense of judgment. Lin Sanjiu watched them settle near Eight-Heads De, then turned back to Zhong Qing. He walked toward her, tossing the small blue object on the ground. With a simple stomp, he pressed it into the cracks between the bricks and dirt.

The subspace wrapped around them once more, sealing Lin Sanjiu and Zhong Qing inside. Outside, Dreadlocks and Hagrid faded from view and hearing.

"Don't worry, we can still get out," Zhong Qing explained. "One of its functions is creating a temporary private space without trapping us."

"You..." Lin Sanjiu stared at Zhong Qing, words caught in her throat.

"I never expected us to meet again like this after all these years." Zhong Qing said slowly, raising his hand to his forehead. "I had a feeling back then that the dimensional rift wouldn't be your end. Looks like I was right."

As the thin, almost invisible layer of skin peeled away from his face, "Zhong Qing" vanished bit by bit. Under Lin Sanjiu's unwavering gaze, a few strands of smooth bangs slipped down, brushing against the corner of his eye. After all these years, he hadn't changed at all. His features were still refined and gentle, and even his hairstyle remained the same.

She heard herself hoarsely whisper, "Cyrus."

"Long time no see." Cyrus smiled, and for a fleeting moment, the years between them melted away. If Lin Sanjiu turned her head and found herself back in Meat Elysium—starving, drenched in sweat and mud, seeking the next chance to confront or cooperate with Cyrus—she wouldn't be surprised at all.

1

"You've grown so much, changed so dramatically... When Eight-Heads De led you to me, I was genuinely shocked."

In front of Cyrus, she felt like her younger self again, just a child.

Who said time couldn't flow backward? A song, a scent, a familiar face, and she was back in the days that had long since left her behind. The journey through doomsday had just begun, brimming with ignorance, reckless and whole; those were the days before everything that followed.

Cyrus leaned against the wall, hands stuffed into his pockets. His shoulders were relaxed, his soft bangs brushing against his forehead, as if he might smile at any moment and jokingly scold Irezumi about something.

1

'I must be getting old.'

Lost in her thoughts, Lin Sanjiu suddenly blurted out, "If I were as strong back then as I am now, you probably wouldn't have opposed me, right?"

The next moment, Cyrus smiled.

"Even if your strength was the same as it was back then, I still wouldn't want to oppose you."

Lin Sanjiu paused, slightly surprised. "Didn't I ruin your plan? Aren't you... upset with me?"

"Of course not." Cyrus spread his hands, as if she were stating the obvious. "I didn't even know you'd show up here. As for ruining my plan... Honestly, it's not the first time. The moment I saw you, I was prepared for it."

1

Even Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but chuckle. "You make me sound like the Great Deluge."

"Besides," Cyrus looked at her, as though answering a question she hadn't yet asked, "this wasn't my plan... I was just chosen to carry it out."

1

Hearing that, Lin Sanjiu finally let out the breath that had been trapped in her chest.

Thank goodness. Fortune hadn't abandoned her entirely. After all these years, she wouldn't have to fight Cyrus upon reunion. Though he had always been distant with others, and their time together had been brief, she had come to see him as a friend. She didn't know if she feared more the idea of clashing with a past friend or witnessing a friend become corrupted.

"That's a relief..." she murmured, as though explaining herself. "You've always been decisive and ruthless, but I still couldn't imagine you doing something like this."

Cyrus shook his head with a smile. "Your personality hasn't changed much."

"Who chose you for this plan?" Lin Sanjiu exhaled, and a stream of questions bubbled up. "Was it your organization? What's the plan about? Why are they doing this?"

After asking, she belatedly added, "Can you even tell me?"

"The answer to each of those questions is classified." Cyrus shrugged.

Of course.

"But that doesn't mean I won't tell you."

His words shocked Lin Sanjiu. When she looked up, she found Cyrus's eyes fixed on her, glimmering with a faint, moist shine even in the dim corridor.

"Why?" she asked.

Cyrus wasn't someone who'd reveal secrets just because of friendship.

He stood up straight, walked over to the item that had created the subspace, and looked out at the others. Only then did he slowly speak. "You might remember that tonight, when Eight-Heads De and the others were talking, I asked a question. I said that when identifying the culprit, it was more important to ask about the motive—who benefits from turning ordinary people into mutants?"

Lin Sanjiu nodded. "So you were just pretending not to know."

Cyrus glanced at her. "No, it's actually a question that's been troubling me."

"You— you mean you don't know the motive either?"

"Yes, I don't know." Cyrus furrowed his brows slightly. "I'm no longer the low-level arbiter you first met. Given my current position in the organization, it's extremely rare for me to oversee a major operation personally while being unaware of its underlying cause."

He didn't bother to hide anything; just as Lin Sanjiu suspected, this plan originated from his organization.

"No wonder..." Lin Sanjiu's gaze swept over Hagrid, though perhaps it was no longer appropriate to call him that. "When I caught him, he admitted to being involved in the mutation incident but refused to admit any connection to you."

"He wouldn't dare," Cyrus said flatly. "It's an easy choice: be an enemy to you or to the organization I represent."

"What exactly is your organization?" It was almost laughable. Twice she'd dealt with Cyrus, both times under the shadow of his organization, yet she didn't even know its name. "Back then, neither you nor Irezumi would tell me..."

Her voice faltered. When she mentioned Irezumi, a fleeting expression crossed Cyrus's face, and it seized her attention. "Irezumi... What about Irezumi? Is he okay?"

At least, after escaping the dimensional rift, the tattooed python should still be alive.

6

"He's missing." Cyrus lowered his head as if reaching into his pocket, but his hand came back empty. "It wasn't because of the incident with you... He didn't advance quickly in rank, probably because he wasn't the brightest. Two years ago, he was sent on a mission by his department and never returned. In the world of doomsday, that's not unusual."

Lin Sanjiu studied his expression. "But you think... his disappearance isn't that simple?"

"Your intuition's still sharp." Cyrus gave a smile devoid of humor. "He wasn't quick-witted, but he was reliable. If you told him to keep a secret, he'd never reveal it. If you gave him a task, he'd complete it even if it meant getting hurt."

Lin Sanjiu waited silently for him to continue.

"I think... his disappearance might ultimately be because of me." Cyrus gazed at the people in the corridor, his voice low and contemplative. "For years, I've been tormented by a baseless suspicion... Irezumi was the only one I confided in. He disappeared right after I asked him to handle something for me."

Lin Sanjiu could still vividly recall Irezumi's piercing yellow snake eyes. She opened her mouth but couldn't find the right words. Finally, she asked, "What was your suspicion?"

Cyrus continued to look at the group, or more precisely, at the now beardless Hagrid. He seemed to have made a decision, though Lin Sanjiu didn't yet know what it was. Bending down, he picked up the small blue object and then strode out.

Dreadlocks and Hagrid stared at him in surprise. Judging by Hagrid's expression, he had likely never seen Cyrus's true face before.

"I've long suspected," Cyrus said without turning back to Lin Sanjiu, "that my organization was infiltrated and taken over right under my nose."

2

Whether it was because of Cyrus's face or his words, Hagrid's eyes widened in horror at Cyrus's approaching footsteps. The next second, a flash of blood appeared at his neck.

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