Just as Lin Xian was lost in thought, the scene outside the prison cell changed again.
This time, it was a dimly lit corridor. A little girl, looking no older than three or four, sat quietly on a bench, clutching a faded teddy bear in her small hands.
The bear seemed quite old, but it had been carefully washed and kept clean.
The girl sat with her head lowered, obedient and silent, her small face filled with confusion and fear.
Not far from her, a door stood slightly ajar, revealing an office inside.
"According to the regulations, only children whose parents both have special hardship certificates or severe health issues can be placed in our orphanage. And both parents must be present for the process. Ms. Zhao, your situation clearly does not meet these criteria—"
"Director… please, listen to me," the woman’s voice was laced with anxiety and desperation. She pleaded urgently, "She can’t stay with me. She’ll die… she will definitely die…"
The orphanage director saw the panic in the woman’s eyes and frowned. "Ms. Zhao, I’m very sorry—"
The woman, who had been relatively composed just moments ago, suddenly trembled violently. Then, in a fit of hysteria, she screamed, yanked at her hair, tore at her collar, and—like a madwoman—grabbed a vase from the desk and smashed it against her own head.
The scene spiraled into chaos. Security guards and teachers rushed into the office, trying to restrain the deranged woman.
Meanwhile, the little girl remained seated on the bench in the corridor, her head still lowered. People rushed past her, the noise of shouting and screaming filling the air, but she seemed to have blocked it all out.
No one knew how much time had passed before the room finally fell silent.
A disheveled woman stepped out and stood at the threshold.
She seemed to glance at the little girl—or perhaps she didn’t.
She stood there for a moment.
Then, she turned and walked toward the far end of the corridor, away from the light.
The sunlight cast a long shadow behind her, but her figure blocked the distant glow, making the corridor feel even darker.
"Zhao Enqi, your mom is a lunatic!"
"We’re not like you. You were abandoned by your mother—"
"Your mom hurt the director. She’s going to be executed!"
At some point, a group of children had gathered around the girl. They pointed at her and mocked her, their voices filled with cruelty.
"Zhao Enqi, why are you so naughty?!"
The orphanage teachers appeared as well, their expressions harsh and unforgiving.
"Who taught you to lie? You’ve been a liar since you were little. What will you become when you grow up?!"
"Zhao Enqi! Why did you sneak out again?!"
"Zhao Enqi, you’re just like your mom! Are you a lunatic too?!"
The children and teachers in the corridor had vanished.
He was back in the black prison cell, facing the little girl sitting on the bench.
But now, there were three girls in the cell.
Lin Xian knew—they were all KIKI, from different points in time.
The youngest KIKI kept her head down, her small hands nervously fiddling with the teddy bear.
She simply played with the bear in silence, as if she were just waiting for someone to come and take her away.
"Help you with what?" Lin Xian suddenly changed his approach, no longer asking if she recognized him.
The little girl raised her hand, just like before, as if waiting for Lin Xian to give her something.
Lin Xian frowned. Something felt wrong.
His expression darkened, and his voice suddenly turned sharp.
"Do you want to kill the director? Or those classmates? Or… do you want to kill your mother?"
The little girl remained silent.
Lin Xian’s expression grew serious. A hint of frustration crept into his voice.
"Listen to me. The ones from earlier deserved to die. They had it coming. But your classmates and teachers… they were just—"
His lips were dry. He felt trapped in a logical deadlock. After a long silence, he finally forced out a sentence.
"They were just annoying… but they didn’t need to die."
Everything seemed like fragments of KIKI’s memories.
But for some reason, Lin Xian had an overwhelming feeling—
If all the children, teachers, and her mother were killed…
Then KIKI would no longer exist.
Because he had thought of a word—
Why was he seeing these memories?
Was something happening to KIKI?
"Whether it's what the Phoenix disclosed or the rumors among the wanderers, all abilities boil down to three things—an object, a transformation of the body or mind, or a specific condition."
A chilling sensation ran through Lin Xian’s body. He felt an eerie shiver crawl up his spine and over his scalp.
He suddenly remembered something KIKI had mentioned about the Angel Project.
"Based on the collected cases, evolution isn’t always guaranteed or predetermined. In some cases… evolution goes wrong!"
"KIKI is on the verge of death. Could it be… that her ability is changing?"
"A mutation gone wrong…"
"Something is corrupting her?"
Lin Xian frowned and instinctively took a few steps back.
He recalled the white creature he had seen earlier… and the black ink in KIKI’s eyes. A deep chill spread down his spine.
But why had he suddenly seen that white creature?
"Was it because of that eerie antenna?"
"If that’s the case, then has that thing always been with KIKI, just invisible to everyone?"
Lin Xian stood alone in the black prison cell, his breath ragged, his body trembling. His mind was shaken—had he just glimpsed a forbidden truth hidden in the darkness?
Could it be… that these eerie entities had always been around them?!
Not long ago, he had discussed this with Luo Ye, wondering if the creatures of the night weren’t actually drawn by sound, but by the living.
Whether it was the Pale Giant or the Three-Faced Spider, they always appeared strangely close to Lin Xian, as if…
As if they had been there all along.
The moment this thought surfaced, a wave of dread swept through him.
His body stiffened. He immediately took a step back.
Then, his gaze landed behind the three versions of KIKI.
There, in the shadows, stood a massive black figure.
Inside this black prison, aside from him and the three girls—
Something else was here.
Lin Xian’s pupils contracted. He stared at the dark figure, his entire body tense.
It was staring back at him.
It slowly stepped forward, its ghastly pale face emerging from the darkness.
It opened its gaping maw, as if devouring something.
One by one, the three versions of KIKI—youngest to oldest—began to wither.
Their skin shriveled, their faces twisted in horror.
Their life force was being drained away.
KIKI, with her mind collapsing, was standing on the edge of Corruption!