Chapter 1356: "Skillful Things"
Zheng Yingxiong opened his eyes, finding himself lying face down on a desk.
He touched the hard, cold surface of the desk, only then realizing he had woken up in the classroom.
He sighed quietly.
He had no idea what had happened, but it seemed everything was starting over again.
In this place of despair, no matter how hard he tried, it seemed everything would ultimately turn to dust in the end.
This time, just like every other time, his deskmate Xu Jiahua would be scolded by the teacher, and in the end, they would become friends for a single day.
What a... heartbreaking... prison cell?
This journey had been far too grueling... Zheng Yingxiong had never felt so exhausted.
In two days, he would experience the earthquake again, get back on his bicycle, leave from "Jade City," depart from that place of despair that had broken his heart countless times, and go searching for a new place of despair.
Could this cycle truly never end?
Before he could even stand up, Zheng Yingxiong was already lying on his desk, quietly sobbing.
A few seconds later, he felt an itch in his nose. He reached up to touch it, and his fingertip came away stained with fresh red blood.
"Hm...?"
Nosebleed...?
He wiped his nose in disbelief and opened his palm. A large patch of slightly dried blood was starkly visible.
He had returned to reality, but he still carried the wounds from the prison cell.
He froze as if struck by lightning, then instantly stood up and looked around.
Only then did he realize that although he was in the classroom, the entire room was eerily silent, with not a single person in sight.
Sensing that something was wrong, he immediately rushed out the door and ran towards home.
What the hell is going on...?
An empty school...?
The heavy sound of his sandals echoed through the hallways, flew down the stairs, and landed on the street.
But he still didn't see a single person.
Zhang Chenze groggily opened her eyes, finding herself in an eerily empty wedding venue.
She was sitting at the head table, where dishes of steaming hot food were still laid out.
Her expression flickered with emotion as she remembered where she was. She turned her head sharply, looking for Xiao Sun beside her.
But the dining tables, the stage, the entire hall—all were completely empty. It had turned into a bizarre, silent wedding with no guests.
Background music played hollowly throughout the hall, and a screen scrolled through photos of the newlyweds, but the world was empty.
This place felt like reality... but then again, maybe it wasn't?
So everything... had it failed again?
But she had done it... She had been in that room, amidst the chaos, while everyone else was panicking, and she had calmly and accurately performed the "Soul Shift" of the Azure Dragon onto a small twig.
So why hadn't it worked...?
This time, the consequences of failure seemed even more severe, even affecting this hollow reality, making all the people here disappear.
But if it had failed... why restore all her memories at the very last moment?
Not only did she remember everything from the "Land of Finality," but she also remembered a promise.
Someone, before everything began, had promised her a better future.
But now...?
In this situation, she could only wake up with an even more profound sense of despair.
She turned her head dejectedly towards the table and noticed a box of wedding cigarettes sitting there.
She pulled one out, habitually walked out the door to the fire escape, lit it, and then crouched down in despair.
This feeling was truly heartbreaking.
If the outcome was still this kind of despair, why give her hope in the first place?
Police Officer Li was pulled by a tremendous force towards a parked car, startling him so much that he stumbled.
He looked up and scanned his surroundings, realizing with a shock that this was the car where he had been staking out Zhang Huanan in reality. But what was happening now?
Where was Xiao Liu, who was supposed to be in the car...? Where were all the people on the street...?
Dazed, he opened the car door, then looked around in confusion.
Qiao Jiayin landed in front of the prison gates. The "Heavenly Action" technique hadn't healed all his injuries, and he was still in some pain.
He was a bit weak, clutching his chest as he looked up. It seemed he had returned to reality.
But where was Gun Youliang, who was supposed to be picking him up from prison...?
In front of him, there was only an old, driverless car. The prison guards behind him were gone, and the brothers in front of him were nowhere to be seen.
Countless empty worlds appeared one after another, and everyone trapped inside them was utterly bewildered.
What was happening?
Before anyone could process it, they felt a strange sensation, along with the earlier force, sweep through their minds again.
Qiao Jiayin clutched his forehead and looked up. In the distant sky, figures began to appear again.
Although he couldn't see clearly, he could roughly make out some people dressed in black leather jackets materializing out of thin air before flying off into the distance.
The world was appearing out of thin air... and so were the people...?
All the newcomers had their memories scanned again. Their own small worlds were constructed from nothing and then connected to the rest of the world.
This interlocking scanning process kept repeating for everyone who appeared. One patch of small world after another was built in the void. Then came a second wave, a third.
Immediately after, a cacophony of voices arose.
In the blink of an eye, Qiao Jiayin saw Gun Youliang appear in front of him, leaning against an empty car and waving enthusiastically.
"Hey, Gun Youliang, Brother Qiao."
Just as Qiao Jiayin was about to respond, he felt his mind being scanned again.
Two immensely powerful forces were mingled together, each scanning everyone's memories.
One force was domineering and arrogant, wildly constructing the worlds from everyone's memories.
The other force was warm and solitary, bringing to life the people within those memories.
Qiao Jiayin couldn't believe it. He clutched his head and slowly crouched down, feeling like he was going mad.
It felt like someone was borrowing his "Conviction."
But this power was very warm, and for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to refuse it.
A few seconds later, the power dissipated. Qiao Jiayin slowly looked up, gazing at the person before him.
But now there were two people.
Another man with tattooed sleeves was lazily resting his arm on Gun Youliang's shoulder for support.
He looked at Qiao Jiayin with a mischievous grin and said, "Our manly man Ah Qiang, how come you came out of the joint as a weakling?"
"Jiu... Zai...?" Qiao Jiayin paused, his voice choking up for a moment.
"Haha, Ninth Brother, don't tease Brother Qiang." Gun Youliang also laughed at Qiao Jiayin. "Brother Qiang, the joint was tough. Let me and Ninth Brother take you out to have some fun."
Qiao Jiayin felt like he was dreaming.
Just a moment ago, there was only one person... How did it change in the blink of an eye...?
This bizarre place... Was it a dream... or reality...?