ATFBETIBM Chapter 718

“Doctor?” Bai Lixin suddenly looked behind Cao Lin.

Cao Lin subconsciously glanced back, but there was nothing behind him—no doctor in sight.

“There’s nothing…” Thinking Bai Lixin had been scared silly, he sneered and turned his head back to laugh at the turtle caught in the jar.

Just as he began his mocking, his forehead suddenly felt a scorching heat, and then his entire head felt as though it had been drenched in boiling oil.

Cao Lin let out a heart-wrenching scream and his snake-like head rushed back from the crack in the door.

Outside the door, his screams echoed like a butchered pig, along with his furious roars: “Bai Lixin, I will kill you! I will kill you! Not only will I kill you, but I’ll kill your entire family, your cousin living with you, your classmates, your teachers, your neighbors! I curse you! I curse everyone you know to suffer because of you!”

“A plague, you are nothing but a plague!”

The hospital room door was flung open.

The usually good tempered young man stood with a cold expression, glaring at the ghost outside.

Cao Lin’s forehead still had remnants of golden runes. He was in pain, but it didn’t stop his curses.

“If this is a provocation, then congratulations, Cao Lin.” The young man’s sinister expression was even more terrifying than the evil ghost outside. He stepped out of the room chanting dark words under his breath, his fingers forming intricate gestures.

Cao Lin who was standing in the corridor laughed wildly. “I don’t know where you learned this stuff, but those childish tricks won’t kill me. That hospital room is your safest place, and now you’ve left it!”

He laughed hysterically and waved his hand, and dark shadows began to gather around.

In the dim corridor, countless ghosts swirled in the air, blocking the overhead lights.

Their wailing was relentless and piercing, as if drilling into one’s eardrums.

The young man frowned.

Cao Lin laughed maniacally within the thick shadows and stepped closer to Bai Lixin. “This time, you’re dead, Bai Lixin.”

An indescribable fury and resentment brewed in Bai Lixin’s chest.

He felt like a mayfly in the ocean, trying hard to survive, yet wave after wave of obstacles kept crashing down on him.

Every time he tried to rise, an invisible force pressed him back down.

Was it that he hadn’t tried hard enough?

Was it because he was a vicious person?

No, it wasn’t his fault.

The fault lay with those wielding great power, who recklessly imposed misfortune upon him.

Not content with harming him, they wanted to hurt everyone around him.

They truly deserved to die.

The rushing shadows surged towards the young man.

Suddenly, he reached out, grabbed one by the neck, pulled it close, and bit into it.

The shadow immediately let out a sharp scream.

The other shadows froze upon hearing it, and paused their frenzy.

Even Cao Lin was stunned.

A cloud of dark mist swirled around the young man. His gaze was like that of a ferocious predator, glaring fiercely at Cao Lin as he swallowed the ghost.

If good couldn’t subdue evil, then he would fight evil with evil!

As he consumed each ghost, the dark mist around him grew thicker and thicker, transforming from a haze into solid form.

The black mist became black tentacles, flailing wildly in the air and ensnaring one ghost after another.

One by one, they shoved the ghosts into his mouth.

At first, he took several bites per ghost, but soon, he only needed to open his mouth to inhale them in.

The more he consumed, the denser the black mist behind him grew, and its solidity became more and more pronounced.

The situation shifted in an instant. The ghosts’ gleeful laughter turned into anguished wails.

They fled down the corridor, and even Cao Lin, who was trapped in the middle, was panicking.

Desperate, Cao Lin tried to escape, but a huge black tentacle stretched out from the darkness, wrapped around his waist and pulled him toward the young man.

Cao Lin stared blankly at the young man.

He no longer looked like a human, but like the king of hell crawling out of hell.

Terrifying, powerful, fearsome, fearless.

Cao Lin pleaded anxiously.

“I was just lying to you!”

“My curse is useless, I wouldn’t hurt your family. I was wrong.”

“I apologize. I was just kidding. It was just a joke, don’t take it seriously.”

“Can’t we talk this out?”

“A joke?” The young man sneered. “Joking with the lives of those around me?”

“Why don’t you joke about yourself?”

Cao Lin stared at the young man in horror. Suddenly, his eyes shifted to behind the young man, and as if spotting his savior, his eyes lit up. “Doctor, Doctor, save me, please!”

“What doctor? Trying to fool me with my own words—you think I’ll believe it?” The young man didn’t even look back. The tentacles behind him sharpened into points and closed in on Cao Lin.

Cao Lin grew more desperate. Though ghosts shouldn’t sweat, his head was drenched, his gaze fixed on something behind Bai Lixin.

Just as the tentacles were about to pierce Cao Lin’s body, a large hand suddenly reached out from behind and gently covered the young man’s eyes.

Bai Lixin froze, and he heard a familiar, gentle voice, “Close your eyes.”

He felt a firm, warm presence at his back, and a subtle, elegant scent like fresh leaves filled his nose.

The words seemed to carry some magical power, calming his restless heart.

He closed his eyes obediently, and the shrill cries of the ghosts echoed around him.

Amid the wails of the ghosts, he vaguely heard Cao Lin’s voice.

He was screaming, begging, struggling, dying.

Gradually, Cao Lin’s voice faded, and soon, the other ghosts’ cries disappeared as well.

Finally, there was complete silence.

The hand remained over Bai Lixin’s eyes.

Warmth seeped from the slightly rough palm.

The man seemed to be whispering in his ear, but he was too drowsy to understand.

…

In a daze, he dreamed of that ancient dream again.

He saw Marquis Haitian barging into the emperor’s chambers with a sword. He wasn’t sure what happened inside, but blood seeped from under the man in the golden-robe, who looked pained.

The man’s lips moved as though speaking to Marquis Haitian.

But Marquis Haitian didn’t listen, and turned to leave with an air of defiance.

The scene shifted, and the silver-haired Marquis Haitian stood by the sea.

He lowered his head, unmoving.

Something seemed to emerge from him.

It was a blue, translucent form, and it dived into the water.

Then, a black mist rose from Marquis Haitian and dispersed into the air.

Later, several people dressed as soldiers found Marquis Haitian on the shore, and they fell to their knees with sorrowful expressions.

Although he couldn’t hear any sound, Bai Lixin thought this must mean Marquis Haitian was dead.

He suddenly wanted to see what Marquis Haitian looked like.

As he approached that strong, upright figure, his consciousness was suddenly swept away by a gust of wind.

The wind lifted Marquis Haitian’s hair, revealing a familiar face that wasn’t too old…

In a panic, Bai Lixin reached out, and a scream jolted him awake.

He found himself lying on the hospital bed, his hand still gripping the wrist of a nurse doing rounds.

He quickly let go and apologized.

The nurse glared at him, “You almost scared me to death.”

Bai Lixin felt even more embarrassed.

“Where is Dr. Dijia?” Bai Lixin wanted to clarify a few things.

Nurse: “He has a long surgery scheduled today and won’t be done until afternoon. You’re here for gastritis, so you’ll need two IV drips today. The gastroscopy and colonoscopy are scheduled for tomorrow morning, and you can likely be discharged the day after.”

The nurse carefully reviewed his details, “Now that you’re awake, let’s check your blood pressure.”

Bai Lixin was sure last night wasn’t just a dream.

After his soul left his body and he was attacked by Cao Lin, he wasn’t sure why he’d gone berserk and devoured so many ghosts, but the person who showed up afterward was definitely Dr. Dijia.

After following the nurse’s instructions obediently, he called Song Yuantian as soon as she left.

The moment the video call connected, there was a shout from the other side.

“Bai Lixin, you ate little ghosts?! The ghost energy around you is so intense!”

Bai Lixin: “Yeah, will that be bad for my health?”

Song Yuantian stared at him for a few seconds, and his voice rose sharply: “You really ate them?!”

Bai Lixin: “Uh… yes.”

“What happened?” Song Yuantian suddenly became serious.

Bai Lixin immediately recounted last night’s events to him.

After listening, Song Yuantian studied him through the screen, “Do you feel any discomfort?”

Bai Lixin hesitated slightly, “I feel a bit…full?”

“…You are awesome. I told you to go to the hospital to find food for your ghost husband, but you went and had a buffet yourself. And you feel a bit full? Did you have to go all the way until you were full?”

“Am I okay like this?” Bai Lixin rubbed his stomach through his shirt, “I mean, physically…”

Song Yuantian: “If anything, you’re healthier now. Or, you could say that it was a blessing in disguise. Eating those evil spirits actually filled the gaps in your soul.”

Bai Lixin: ?

Song Yuantian: “What I mean is, congratulations, your three souls and six spirits are now complete.”

Bai Lixin was even more puzzled. “But what about the soul I lost?”

Song Yuantian: “Let me put it this way. Imagine a complete soul as a lump of clay, of which the main soul is responsible for the mind, that is, the one soul and two spirits you remained with. It is the core in the middle of the clay and other parts contribute to the stability of the soul. As long as the main soul is intact, a person isn’t completely lost. But if pieces are torn away here and there, that clay gets smaller and becomes unstable, right?”

“Normally, each person has their own piece. If you lose a soul, you must recover that same piece to stabilize it.”

“But you’re unusual. After consuming those evil ghosts, you somehow absorbed them and filled in your own voids.”

Bai Lixin: “Is that good or bad?”

Song Yuantian: “Both good and bad.”

“The good news is that your soul is now stable.”

“The bad news, well, there’s a risk. If you open the floodgates, you might absorb the surrounding ghost energy uncontrollably, and over time, you could burst from it.”

Bai Lixin was speechless.

So, he had to choose between starving and bursting?

“Do you have some free time to see me?” Song Yuantian’s eyes sparkled. “Let me study you, I’ve never seen anyone like you.”

Bai Lixin: “Fine, I’ll come find you when I’m discharged.”

After hanging up, Bai Lixin began to think about Dr. Dijia and those two consecutive dreams.

The dreams felt too real, less like dreams and more like memories.

Was he dreaming about Marquis Haitian’s memories?

Marquis Haitian and Dr. Dijia looked identical. Ever since Dr. Dijia told him that peculiar gossip, he had been dreaming about Marquis Haitian.

Was Dr. Dijia a descendant of Marquis Haitian?

Was he dreaming of Marquis Haitian’s memories?

Not only were Marquis Haitian and the Dayan Emperor not lovers, but they were also enemies?

Did Marquis Haitian wound the Dayan Emperor?

Why try to assassinate the emperor? Was it for that young eunuch?

And what were those two entities that emerged from Marquis Haitian at the end?

What about the young eunuch?

Did he die?

Though they were only fragments, Bai Lixin quietly pieced together what he thought was a coherent storyline.

Marquis Haitian, having subdued all four corners of the land, made great achievements. He attended a banquet in the imperial palace, where he became interested in a young eunuch.

Later, something must have happened; it seemed the young eunuch died, probably at the hands of the Dayan Emperor.

Marquis Haitian entered the imperial city with a sword, injured the Dayan Emperor, and returned to his post.

If the story went like that, then Marquis Haitian and the Dayan Emperor were not only not lovers but were more like enemies.

But…

How did Marquis Haitian survive after injuring the emperor?

The amount of blood loss seemed big.

Until Bai Lixin completed his colonoscopy and gastroscopy, the ghost husband hadn’t appeared again, and even Dr. Dijia was nowhere to be seen.

For the next few nights, he was restless and haunted by bizarre dreams.

One moment, he was the young eunuch in Marquis Haitian’s story; the next, he was a player in some strange, horror game.

He dreamed of many unfamiliar faces, but also of many familiar ones.

Xia Chi, Song Yuantian, Zhou Guang, Li Cancan, Tan Yue, Hongyue…

In the dream, he seemed to be constantly searching for something. It seemed to be many people, or perhaps just one person.

It was as though he’d fallen into another world, with every brick and tile in the dreams feeling so real, as if that were the true reality.

A voice echoed persistently in his mind.

Wake up.

Wake up.

Wake up.

…

The test results came back. They said he only had minor gastroenteritis, everything else was normal.

When Bai Lixin was discharged, the sky was dark and overcast, as though a storm was brewing.

He glanced at the weather forecast: B City, clear skies.

He overheard the nurses chatting nearby.

“The weather feels strange lately. The forecast is always wrong, and it looks like it’s about to rain.”

“But the air in the hospital has improved a lot. I used to feel a tightness in my chest during night shifts, like I was being watched by many eyes. That feeling is gone now.”

“You felt it too? I thought it was just me.”

“It must be the hospital’s new purification system working.”

“Technology really changes lives.”

Bai Lixin stepped out of the hospital and stood at the entrance. He was about to hail a cab when a black business car suddenly stopped in front of him.

The back window rolled down, and Bai Lixin’s brows furrowed as he recognized the face inside.

“President Xuan, what a coincidence.”

Xuan Chishui was wearing a white suit with a gray vest, his shirt buttoned meticulously up to the top, and a black bow tie fastened with a diamond clip.

“Well, what can I say? We’re destined to cross paths,” Xuan Chishui waved to Bai Lixin from inside the car. “Where are you headed? I’ll give you a ride.”

Bai Lixin didn’t want any association with this man. “No need, I already called a cab.”

Xuan Chishui: “Aren’t you curious about what Marquis Haitian did to the Dayan Emperor?”

Just as he was about to leave, Bai Lixin’s steps halted abruptly.

He looked at the man inside the car through the car window. The interior was dimly lit, and the man sat in a corner, his red hair striking, his gaze determined.

He seemed confident that Bai Lixin would get in.

After a couple of seconds, the young man smiled, leaned down slightly, and pressed his face close to the open window. “President Xuan, you didn’t install surveillance in my hospital room, did you?”

Xuan Chishui: “Of course not. You haven’t warranted that level of attention from me.”

“I’m curious why you are so invested in me,” the young man murmured. “Marquis Haitian was interested in a young eunuch in the palace, but the Dayan Emperor killed the eunuch. Furious, Marquis Haitian stormed the palace and wounded the Dayan Emperor, yet he didn’t get any punishment. In fact, he was granted land and a title. So, let me ask if my guess is correct—perhaps, it wasn’t that the Dayan Emperor didn’t want to punish Marquis Haitian, but that he simply couldn’t?”

Xuan Chishui: “Ridiculous. the Dayan Emperor was the ruler of an entire nation. Is there anything he couldn’t do?”

“There should be something, right? For instance, perhaps he couldn’t, well… perform?”

Xuan Chishui’s eyes suddenly narrowed and he scrutinized Bai Lixin with sharp eyes.

Bai Lixin continued, “Marquis Haitian cut off the Dayan Emperor’s, um, vital part, so he never had an heir of his own and had to adopt one. Losing such a vital part would be scandalous, so the Dayan Emperor couldn’t make it public. He had to secretly heal, which meant he also couldn’t openly punish Marquis Haitian. Otherwise, what if Marquis Haitian suddenly declared, ‘Guess where I injured you?’ The emperor would lose face.”

“Besides, Marquis Haitian’s military prowess was overwhelming, and the Dayan Emperor feared the military power in his hands, so he didn’t dare take action against him. He had no choice but to swallow his anger and use an excuse to bestow Marquis Haitian with land and send him to a fief.”

After he finished, Bai Lixin looked at the red-haired man in the car. “President Xuan, do you think I said anything wrong?”

Xuan Chishui pursed his lips, and the air inside the car grew oppressively silent.

“If you’re silent, then I must be right. So, let me continue.”

“When that story was told, only Dr. Dijia and I were present—unless, of course, a ghost overheard. You say you didn’t install surveillance in my room, so all this information you have about my whereabouts, you must have gotten it through a ghost, right?”

“The water ghost mentioned before dying that there was a terrifying man controlling it. That was you, wasn’t it?”

“I’ve always wondered why your attitude towards me has been so odd. You say you admire me, but your eyes look like they want to devour me, as if I were your enemy.”

“Until, I finally saw the Dayan Emperor’s face clearly in a dream. And the face of the person in that bizarre game who always tried to cause me trouble.”

“It’s you, Xuan Chishui.”

Xuan Chishui frowned and looked Bai Lixin up and down, a flicker of uncertainty passing through his eyes.

“What’s going on, President Xuan?” Bai Lixin voiced his suspicions. “Past lives and present? In a past life, you were the Dayan Emperor, I was the young eunuch, and Dr. Dijia was Marquis Haitian? And before that, we were all in some horror game? I was a player, you were the game’s beloved ‘son’, and Dr. Dijia was a boss monster?”

Xuan Chishui’s gaze flickered. “I’m not too sure either, but I came to find you to clear up any misunderstandings. I think we need to talk.”

Bai Lixin carefully observed the man’s expression from within the car. After a moment, he took two steps back. “Judging by your expression just now, I must have guessed wrong. That is, the horror game is the real world, while Dayan and the present are actually fake?”

Xuan Chishui’s brows furrowed again. He opened his mouth to say something, but an impatient honking and a shout came from behind. “Hey, are you moving or not? Stop blocking the road!”

Xuan Chishui frowned even more, he glanced behind the car and then to the side, only to find that Bai Lixin was already gone.

A yellow taxi had just started up in front of him, and was slowly disappearing from view.

When Bai Lixin arrived home, his mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen, and Xia Chi’s school bag and clothes were placed on the cabinet in the entrance hall.

Hearing movement, Mother Bai Lixin opened the kitchen door and smiled at Bai Lixin. “Xiao Xin, change into your slippers. Tonight, I made your favorite tomato beef brisket. It’s been a while since I made it, so I hope my cooking hasn’t gotten rusty.”

The woman was nearly fifty, with hints of gray at her temples. Her face lined with wrinkles radiated warmth and doting affection.

Bai Lixin smiled back at her. “Alright, Mom. Your cooking is always delicious.”

When he walked into Xia Chi’s room, he saw Xia Chi on a video call with someone. Hearing Bai Lixin’s footsteps, Xia Chi panicked. He scrambled to hide his phone, and pretended to be doing homework.

“No need to hide it, I already saw. Take out your phone. I actually need to talk to Tan Yue.”

Xia Chi was stunned for a moment but still obediently fished his phone out from under his books.

The video call was still open, and on the other end, Tan Yue, who was sporting a buzz cut, looked exasperated. “Xia Chi, can you stop being such a coward?”

Xia Chi glared at him. “Say less, okay? That’s my brother—show some respect!”

Then he looked at Bai Lixin. “Brother, what do you need with Tan Yue?”

Bai Lixin casually pulled over a small chair and sat down. “I wanted to ask you both—do you remember who else participated in the Sun Group’s brainwave experiment with us?”

Xia Chi and Tan Yue both looked puzzled.

Xia Chi: “Sun Group? Brainwave experiment? Brother, I understand each word, but when you put them together, I don’t get it at all.”

Bai Lixin looked at Tan Yue on the screen. “What about you? Do you remember anything?”

Tan Yue stared blankly at the screen, his gaze unfocused.

At first, his eyes wandered as though recalling something, then gradually sharpened, and his expression became steady and thoughtful.

“Bai Lixin?”

Bai Lixin responded with a soft “Mm,” and asked, “Do you remember?”

Tan Yue frowned and rubbed his temples, his features twisting slightly. “Did our consciousness fall into a rift?”

Bai Lixin nodded. “It seems that way. We need to awaken everyone else’s consciousness to escape. I can’t remember exactly who came in with us. Do you remember anyone else?”

Xia Chi tilted his head as he listened to the strange conversation. The more he listened, the more he sensed something was wrong. “Brother, Tan Yue, what are you two talking about?”

Bai Lixin glanced at Xia Chi. “He…”

Tan Yue: “I’ll handle his memory. Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright.” Bai Lixin returned to the main topic. “So far, the people I’ve encountered include you, Xia Chi, Li Cancan, Sun Ning, Zhou Guang, Lin Jue, Emil, Samael, Song Yuantian, and Hongyue. Aside from them, was there anyone else?”

Tan Yue rubbed his brow. “I remember Liang Xi.”

Bai Lixin: “I haven’t come across Liang Xi yet.”

Tan Yue: “What’s going on? How did you regain consciousness?”

Bai Lixin: “I met the Little Overlord.”

“You met the Little Overlord?!” Tan Yue’s voice rose. “Didn’t he die?”

Bai Lixin: “I’m not sure how, but while communicating with him, I suddenly remembered. And Dijia is here too.”

Bai Lixin briefly explained the recent events. After listening, Tan Yue fell into deep thought. “Could it be that we’re trapped in this rift because of Little Overlord?”

Bai Lixin: “Be confident, remove the ‘could it be’. Only by realizing we don’t belong in this time and space can we leave here. So far, only you and I have regained our memories. We need to awaken everyone else’s memory as well.”

Tan Yue: “Are you going to look for them now? It’s raining outside, be careful.”

Bai Lixin gave Tan Yue a sidelong glance. “We live in a modern society. Why would I go out when there are video calls?”

Tan Yue: “…Alright, then give me a few numbers, and we can split up and call them?”

Bai Lixin: “Not only do we have video calls, but we also have group video calls.”

Tan Yue: “…”

‘As expected of you.’

Soon, Bai Lixin pulled everyone into a group video call.

Some of them recognized each other, while others didn’t.

They stared at the round, bobbing heads on the screen, looking puzzled.

Li Cancan: “Xin Xin, what’s going on? Do I need to come to your place?”

Zhou Guang: “Student Bai Lixin, is something wrong?”

Sun Ning: “It’s quite lively. Are we having a meeting?”

Lin Jue: “Why’d you pull me in? I barely know any of you.”

Emil: “You want me, a big star, to video chat with you? I’m warning you—if anyone records this and leaks this online, you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.”

Hongyue: “So you’re the only big star here? I haven’t said anything yet.”

Song Yuantian: “What’s this all about?”

These were all the people Bai Lixin could gather. Samael was now a snake demon and couldn’t be added, but it didn’t matter as Emil was here.

While Bai Lixin was organizing the video call, Tan Yue was not idle, he was on a private chat with Xia Chi.

After more than ten minutes, Xia Chi began to recall his identity.

Bai Lixin wasn’t entirely sure about the mechanism of awakening someone’s consciousness, as even he had regained his memory by mistake.

It seemed that, as he spoke to both Tan Yue and Xia Chi about the situation, Tan Yue recalled immediately, while Xia Chi remained bewildered but soon regained clarity through Tan Yue’s guidance.

These experiences helped him infer a rough pattern.

The speed of awakening varied by individual—those with higher perception and sensitivity might recall quickly. But even if someone didn’t remember immediately, like Xia Chi, they could be awakened later.

He decided to start by awakening as many people as possible, letting the first awakened lead the others, until everyone regained their memories.

“Though it might sound a bit outrageous,” Bai Lixin began, choosing his words carefully, “I need to tell you something. The world we’re currently in isn’t real—it’s a rift in between consciousness. We are companions, our bodies are in the real world but our consciousness is trapped here in this rift.”

“We were all once players in a horror escape game.”

“Li Cancan, you’re a software engineer.”

“Zhou Guang, you are a lawyer.”

“Sun Ning, you have an older brother called Sun Yan. He should be waiting for you to return.”

Everyone’s faces showed a look of astonishment.

“Song Yuantian, you are the president of the Sand Sea Guild, and Hongyue is your lover.”

“Hongyue, you were once the Zombie Queen.”

“Emil, you are a magician.”

Bai Lixin looked at Lin Jue and paused.

“Lin Jue, you… uh, you’re the cool guy.”

Lin Jue was anxious. “? Not fair, you could say a couple of keywords for everyone else, but when it comes to me, it’s just ‘cool guy’? Are we really not that familiar?”

Bai Lixin: “Uh, it’s mainly because you’re kind of mysterious.”

Lin Jue sneered, “Hah, I really appreciate it, President Bai Lixin.”

Bai Lixin avoided the point, “So you remembered! I always said that Lin Jue would never disappoint.”

Lin Jue: “Haha, when did you ever say that?”

Bai Lixin: “I just said it.”

Lin Jue: “You only did this on video call because you’re afraid I’ll beat you up!”

“God Xin?” Li Cancan’s voice sounded a bit unsure, “I think I had a dream.”

Xia Chi poked his fluffy head into the frame, “Sister Cancan! Welcome back!”

“I’m coming to your place right now, I miss you all so much!” Right after she said this, the image of Li Cancan started to shake violently.

After a while, there was a knock on the door.

Xia Chi went to open it, and Li Cancan rushed in with hurried footsteps, immediately hugging Xia Chi in front of her.

“Xia Chi, it’s really you, Xia Chi. You look so young now.”

Seeing Bai Lixin, Li Cancan quickly pushed Xia Chi away and rushed towards him, “Ah, God Xin!”

Hearing the commotion, Mother Bai Lixin opened the kitchen door and looked at the overly excited Li Cancan in the living room, confused.

‘Has this child gone mad today?’

‘It had only been a few days, so why was she acting as if she hadn’t seen them in several lifetimes?’

While Li Cancan was brimming with excitement, the others had their own varied reactions.

Bai Lixin originally thought that maybe only half of them would regain their memories, but to his surprise, after a single video call, they had all recovered.

This left only Liang Xi, who hadn’t been found yet, and Samael, who had turned into a snake god, as the ones without restored memories.

As if facing a formidable enemy, Emil undid the anklet Hongyue had given him in front of everyone.

The next second, a huge monster with a human body and a snake’s tail appeared out of nowhere before Emil.

Emil wanted to explain something.

But Samael, with a human body and snake tail, seemed too furious and his tail immediately wrapped around Emil.

The screen let out a screeching static noise before it went completely black.

Hong Yue was stunned. “Eight-pack abs, a snake tail, and two…I wouldn’t even dare draw that in my doujinshi. Amazing.”

Song Yuantian raised his voice, “You draw doujinshi?”

Xia Chi snorted, “And you’re surprised by that? You haven’t seen the world.”

Hongyue: “You have?”

“Of course, I…” He stopped abruptly, tried to squeeze out a response, but ultimately swallowed his words and muttered, “Anyway, I should have.”

Bai Lixin averted his eyes to the corner of the table, feeling embarrassed.

Of course, he had.

He’d even collected fan art books of him and Dijia, and was their number one CP fan.

Fortunately, Dijia had had the foresight to erase all their foolish escapades from the players’ memories, otherwise, he’d be so embarrassed now.

Leaving Samael’s memory recovery to Emil, only Liang Xi remained.

But where could Liang Xi be?

Tan Yue: “Maybe we can draw a picture of Liang Xi and try matching it on a search engine?”

Lin Jue: “Without even trying, we still ended up gravitating towards Bai Lixin. If that’s the case, Liang Xi should be drawn to him as well. Could it be that he’s appeared but you haven’t noticed?”

Zhou Guang: “Could Liang Xi, like Samael, not be human?”

A cold gust suddenly swept through the room, and outside came the sound of bottles falling over.

This was quickly followed by Mother Bai Lixin’s shout, “Ah! What’s that? Where did this big rat come from?”

The group exchanged glances, and Bai Lixin had a strange feeling.

He left the room and went to the living room, where he saw his mother, with admirable bravery, holding a spatula and fiercely waving it at the base of the cabinet.

In the corner of the cabinet, a plump rat stood on its hind legs, pressed up against the cabinet as if shivering in fear, its paws spread wide in surrender.

Bai Lixin and Xia Chi looked at each other, and the strange feeling in his heart became stronger.

“Mom,” just as his mother was about to land a hit, Bai Lixin stopped her and swiftly grabbed the rat in his hand, “you go back to cooking. I’ll take care of this rat.”

Without waiting for her response, he hurried back to the bedroom.

With Xia Chi closing the door behind him, everyone curiously eyed the rat in Bai Lixin’s hand.

Calling it a rat didn’t feel quite right.

At first glance, it resembled a rat, but upon closer inspection, it looked slightly different.

It was larger, with longer ears, a thicker tail, and a head that wasn’t as pointed, more like a gray-haired squirrel.

At this moment, the little creature in Bai Lixin’s hand revealed a missing front tooth.

“Ehh,” Song Yuantian’s eyes widened, “Bai Lixin, bring that rat closer and let me take a look.”

Bai Lixin moved the creature closer to the screen, and Song Yuantian studied it closely.

“Do you know it?” Bai Lixin asked.

Song Yuantian: “I don’t know it, but I think I recognize its tooth. Check your necklace, doesn’t one of the teeth hanging on it resemble the missing one on this rat?”

Hong Yue leaned closer, “It doesn’t look like a rat, it’s a yaoguai. But it’s too weak. It’s not like me who has cultivated into a human form and it still looks like an animal.”

She suddenly made a shocking statement, “Could this be Liang Xi?”

Everyone: “…”

The rat seemed to understand them, flapping its arms and squeaking incessantly.

Bai Lixin set it on the table, and it didn’t run but sat cross-legged like an old man.

After rummaging through two drawers, he found the necklace he’d tossed aside and put it in front of the rat. The rat’s eyes lit up, and it scrambled to pry off a tooth from the necklace, snapping it back into its own missing spot.

Perfect fit. Absolutely original.

The moment it clicked into place, everyone was stunned: “…”

It was outrageous.

Song Yuantian: “Uh, I think I need to clarify something. That shaman didn’t scam you. The tooth on the necklace really belonged to a yaoguai, but its power was too weak, so I didn’t notice initially.”

“That tooth was turned into a necklace by the shaman, binding the yaoguai to stay near you. It was meant to protect you, but it was probably so weak that protecting itself was difficult, so…”

Bai Lixin: “So, it was you who knocked over my water cup in the middle of the night some time ago?”

The rat understood what he said, clutching its sides and nodding.

Bai Lixin: “And at Zhou Guang’s place, the fruit in the kitchen—was that you, not Lin Jue?”

The rat nodded again.

Lin Jue: “Hmm? So you suspected me for that, didn’t you? Am the scapegoat, huh?”

Bai Lixin: “Are you… Liang Xi?”

The rat tilted its head and spread its arms, obviously not understanding.

Bai Lixin felt a headache coming on and repeated everything he had just said to everyone.

Before he finished, the rat suddenly let out a sharp squeak, flailed its arms with excitement, and tears even welled up in its eyes.

It poked itself, then gestured on the table with its claws, as if writing.

Bai Lixin handed it a pen and a notebook, and the rat immediately scribbled a few crooked characters:

—God Xin!!

—I’m so miserable!!

—Help me!!

—I’m Liang Xi!!

Everyone: “…”

They could tell it was pretty miserable.

Xia Chi couldn’t help but poke fun at it, “Who told you to always neuter cats? Isn’t this karma, you turned into a rat.”

Rat Liang Xi burst into tears on the table.

…

Although the process was chaotic, the result was good.

Everyone regained their memories, leaving only the matter of finding a way out.

They had initially entered this world because the Sun Group developed a new brainwave project. This project had undergone numerous tests without incident.

Sun Ning had initially invited them to be the first internal testers and gave them early access to the project, but unexpectedly, an accident during testing caused their consciousnesses to fall into a rift.

Their nerves were connected to the main system through skin crystals, and logically, there should have been a virtual control panel in their consciousness that they could use to leave.

However, there was currently no such virtual control panel in their consciousness and the one who understood this project best was Sun Ning.

“I’m really sorry for dragging you all into this,” she said, feeling deeply guilty for trapping them in the rift. “My brother won’t give up on us, so I’m sure the crystals are still linked to our brainwaves. The reason the virtual control panel isn’t showing might be because it hasn’t been activated. If we can find a way to activate it, we should be able to leave.”

Lin Jue: “Get to the point. How do we activate it?”

Sun Ning: “If the activation point isn’t within us, it must be somewhere in this world.”

Tan Yue: “What does the activation point look like?”

Sun Ning: “It should be an energy, and it might appear like a string, such as an electric current or a light wave.”

Song Yuantian: “Could it be a dragon vein? String-like, an energy body, it sounds a lot like a dragon vein.”

Sun Ning: “Where is there a dragon vein?”

Song Yuantian: “There used to be one at your company’s Bihai Bay, but after the water ghost died, the dragon vein started to dissipate for some reason. Now, it’s barely there and probably can’t activate our control panel.”

“The nearest dragon vein is…”

Bai Lixin suddenly spoke up, “The tomb of Marquis Haitian has one.”

Song Yuantian: “Yes, the tomb of Marquis Haitian is a royal tomb, and it has a dragon vein!”