"The only god who can give their all to help you is called ’yourself’?"
This statement by Boy Number Two could have been referring to himself, or it could have been directed towards Han Fei, or perhaps even towards Kuangxiao.
Han Fei and Kuangxiao were Twin Flowers grown together; no matter what they went through, that fact could never change. Thus, for them, trusting and relying on each other was the best choice.
"Keep on studying." the boy said, his hands on his thighs, leaning against the back of the chair, his thoughts unknowable to anyone.
As his consciousness returned to normal, Han Fei crouched beside Boy Number Two’s wheelchair, disbelief etched on his face, sensing that the boy’s previous statement was leading him somewhere.
It was known that the boy’s brain was divided into countless parts, and hidden on the 25th floor as a taboo was merely a fragment of Boy Number Two’s memory.
"Talking about Memory Fragments, the first impression Fu Sheng gave me really lacked impact," whispered Han Fei: "True, he probably hasn’t even left Newbie Village at level twenty."
"What were you just saying?"
"Nothing, I was just reminded of an old man named Fu Sheng," Han Fei replied casually.
"I have no recollection of that." the boy shook his head.
"That’s odd. He was an early director at Eternal Life Pharmaceutical, and all the orphaned children’s experiments were likely associated with him," Han Fei wanted to clarify the timeline, but Kuangxiao refused to tell him, and everyone else had forgotten about Fu Sheng’s existence.
"The experiments with children at the beginning were indeed led by a benevolent old man, but he disappeared not long after the experiments began, never to appear again. Later, the person in charge of the experiments was named Fu Tian, same surname but a different given name from the one you mentioned," Boy Number Two unveiled the past for Han Fei, revealing key secrets bit by bit.
"The experimental styles of the two elders differed greatly. The first old man was very cautious with every step, often making dozens of preliminary attempts before allowing the children to gradually approach the experiments. As for Fu Tian, he seemed in a rush and unscrupulous about reaching his aims. To him, we children were more like precious items than human beings."
Boy Number Two’s choice of words was significant; no matter how important, an item was still an item and Fu Tian never regarded them as human beings.
"If you are interested in this, I could take you out for a walk, since it’s already nightfall,"
The boy let Han Fei push his wheelchair, and they left the room together.
Though he was blind, it didn’t hinder the boy, as he had memorized all the passageways of the Welfare Home a long time ago.
As the most intelligent child among them all, he had been attempting escape since an early age. As his age increased, the pressure on the Welfare Home staff from this one child grew ever larger, sometimes even instilling fear in them.
Walking through the deserted hallway, with the lights of the vast underground Welfare Home turned off, there was no light anywhere, nor any sounds to be heard.
"The children live on both sides here, they should all be asleep by now," the boy said, sitting in his wheelchair, guiding Han Fei based on the mental map he had memorized: "I don’t like them much because I feel that the majority of them are just burdens to me."
"I successfully escaped from here six months ago, but leaving alone was not what I wanted," Boy Number Two raised his arm, gently touching the scar on his face as he spoke in a very flat tone: "I was planning to take them all with me."
"That seems like an impossible task, especially since many of these children suffer from severe mental disorders; they were not normal to begin with." Han Fei suddenly understood why Kuangxiao was so impressed with Boy Number Two; through their brief conversation, Han Fei genuinely found Boy Number Two to be a very strong and kind child.
"Should those who are not normal be abandoned?" Boy Number Two smiled: "If I were to say, I would be the most abnormal, given that both my dad and mom are monsters, and I’ve been treated as a monster since childhood."
"Have you seen your dad and mom?" Han Fei asked, a tinge of sorrow in his voice. He had no understanding of his own past; the concept of parents for him still belonged in the Shrine Memory World, something he had experienced through the Divine Spirit’s mother.
"Yes, they are here in this laboratory. Want me to take you to meet them?" Boy Number Two didn’t care about others’ opinions, prompting Han Fei to change direction.
As they left the corridor, Han Fei saw a bedroom door marked with Room Zero.
"All of you children have your own numbers, right? What criteria are used for these numbers?" Han Fei asked a question that had always intrigued him.
"It might be because of their value," Boy Number Two led Han Fei underground, and after opening a password-protected door, they heard a piercing roar that didn’t sound human at all: "My parents are inside, they were once top researchers, but unfortunately, they were too radical in their pursuit of eternal life and ultimately turned themselves into monsters that people fear."
The metal cage was struck heavily, and Han Fei turned to look. The Welfare Home basement had rows of prison-like rooms, each containing various people.
"Technology, heavy industry, war, virus, seemingly unrelated things that yet appear simultaneously in chaotic times, intertwining and spiraling upwards." Boy Number Two touched the metal door beside him, his face showing no sign of emotion: "My parents are here. Compared to other children, at least I still have family, even though they no longer recognize me."
Han Fei looked through the only window in the metal door, at a young man and woman strapped to a bed, their skin cracked all over, their bodies seemingly constantly shedding.
"Eternal Life Pharmaceutical sure has many hidden secrets," Han Fei looked towards the other cages, but they were pitch black.
"Let’s go, we should head back," just as the boy finished speaking, the underground laboratory’s alarm blared suddenly, and all the buildings rippled as if distorted by some force.
A thick, ink-like shadow crawled out from a corner, coalescing into a monster whose body was assembled from countless limbs, emanating an unspeakable discordance, but his eyes were particularly striking—beautiful, profound, as if seeing the end of the universe, yet also harboring an endless abyss.
"The Director is here, now there’s only one place we can go to avoid him." Boy Number Two was not panicking at all; he still had a smile on his face.
"The Director in your memory is a pseudo-god in my eyes. To dethrone the pseudo-god, we must seek a true Divine Spirit," Han Fei could guess Boy Number Two’s intention; he pushed the wheelchair and immediately turned around, running towards the room labeled Zero.
"The only god who can give all-out help to me is called ’myself.’"
The Director relentlessly pursued them, and Han Fei sprinted with all his might to the doorway of Room Zero.
He had only one chance to make a choice, any hesitation or delay would result in the Director capturing him.
Han Fei grabbed the door handle of Room Zero, he might see the Kuangxiao that was not yet mad in Boy Number Two’s memory.
Pushing the door forcefully, burning heat engulfed his entire body, Han Fei opened his eyes to find he had emerged from Boy Number Two’s memory, he was now standing in a room entirely constructed from children’s corpses.
The children’s bodies were pieced together, at the core lay a piece of blood-red amber-like material, and Han Fei was now gripping the pulsating "Blood-colored Amber."
Kuangxiao had exhausted all his will to successfully seize the "core of the taboo," now it was Han Fei’s turn to make a choice.
"Hand over that child’s brain to me, and I can grant you one wish," a stranger’s voice spoke directly in Han Fei’s brain, an unspeakable aura nearly crushing all his memories: "If you don’t let go, I will kill everyone tied to your fate, lock you forever in this building, and let ghosts torment your body and soul!"
With each word spoken by the man, the blood color on the 25th floor deepened, and Han Fei’s brain seemed to be on the verge of being torn apart by the other party.
"Release your hand, do not commit my taboo here!"
Han Fei’s expression changed, he became afraid, his pupils trembled, his breathing quickened, his soul seeming to curl up, a mere tail-tucking dog in the eyes of the Divine Spirit.
"Can you really grant wishes?" Han Fei seemed not to have considered defying the Divine Spirit at all, his face suddenly revealed an exaggerated smile just as the strange man was about to speak again: "My wish is to take his brain."
Grasping tightly to the "Blood-colored Amber," Han Fei pulled forcefully, a bloody figure also standing firm behind him, neither ever thought of letting go.
Blood vessels burst, and the amber-like brain fragment was pulled out by Han Fei from among the countless children’s corpses!
All light-emitting objects on the 25th floor shattered explosively, as if a wound had been slashed across the eyes of the Divine Spirit.
"Attention Player Number 0000! You have obtained a D-class rare fragment—Brain."
"Brain (D-class Fragment): A fragment of an unspeakable brain, you should be aware that it might still be alive."
This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om