Love, death, and false man

Chapter 46. Chain Reaction
【Never go to the lakeside park!】

Index cards, shorthand, killing catalog, syringes, hemostatic forceps, and tarot cards refute, argue, dismantle, reconstruct, stitch together, hysterically, words and codes, and cyclical assumptions and absurd fables, and the gaze of the beast in the mirror and the confrontation of angry stares, and iron shackles and circular time.

Illusions, madness, delusion, cult, Aleph, mirror, labyrinth, eternity, fiction, endless torment.

The sands of memory burst their banks, overflowing the brain, churning and indexing the lost, implanted devices, tearing, revealing, an astonishingly voracious cook, devouring his own mind.

The icy sea, more desolate than the night itself, rippled with waves. Rusty deep-sea fishing vessels rocked and swayed, while the high-lumen fluorescent lights that attracted squid cast an exotic, eerie green hue over the entire vessel, reflecting off the menacing, pale faces of the fish.

His neck was locked by the rough arms of another crew member, and a sharp squid-killing knife was pressed against his eye.

"Anyway, it's just the rest of my life. Rather than continue to suffer in this hell, I might as well die sooner."

They were about to give up the fight.

"I trust you……"

10/5—12:30
Like an eel or snake crawling through the cerebral cortex, spiraling along its folds into the center of consciousness.

A thunderclap startled everyone awake.

The flash of lightning illuminated the room for a fleeting moment.

Fang Yan suddenly woke up and sat up. The nightmare was too terrifying. Sweat soaked the bedding, and the sweat seeped into the wound on his shoulder where he had been cut by a tactical knife, causing him pain as if it were corroding with sulfuric acid.

"Having a nightmare?"

Xia Bing, dressed casually in a leather jacket, shorts, and lipstick, leaned against the door frame, drinking coffee. She had woken up quite early. Fang Yan needed sleep and had slept for about twenty hours after collapsing into bed. He came over to check on things when he saw the commotion.

When the law of causality is violated and the characteristics of the soul fire are activated by conscious awareness to do work on the process of the universe, it will increase the entropy of consciousness and induce various kinds of chaos.

Since we are collaborators, we should pay attention to each other's mental state.

"Hmm, it's strange. I haven't dreamed for a while, but today's dream felt longer than any of my previous nightmares."

Fang Yan rubbed his head, as if a box of thumbtacks had been sewn into his head and was being pulled and shaken violently.

Do you remember what it said?

"The content is very vague. There are polygonal scalpels and saws, tire pumps, pipe wrenches and screwdrivers performing delicate neurosurgery on me. There are also many fragmented images, but I know where it is. It is a greenhouse, a greenhouse with walls and ceiling made entirely of glass, and outside is a mountain of flowers. I am having surgery there."

"Putting aside the pipe wrench, the environment is at least beautiful, like a luxurious sanatorium built by the rich in the mountains and forests, peaceful and comfortable."

“It’s raining outside…” Fang Yan looked at the raindrops on the window, which were either swollen or thin and cracked like earthworms, the occasional rumble of thunder, and the gloomy sky. “Won’t your girlfriend come to stay? I’m afraid it will cause misunderstandings.”

"This place is actually a work residence, and it has a certain degree of danger."

"Really? I should find a place to live too."

Fang Yan believed that there should also be a base, not only because of the danger, but also because there should be enough space to store military equipment. Xia Bing had all kinds of equipment and spy tools. As a private first class, he felt that he was too unprofessional.

"Actually, you can just stay here. I'm currently embroiled in scandals, and since I've already established social connections, I can't waste them. They'll be there to help me with anything."

"You're absolutely right..."

Fang Yan couldn't refute it and felt extremely uneasy. He felt as if some kind of chain reaction had begun, and he was completely detached from his former life.

But after thinking about it more deeply, I still felt something was wrong.

"Let's forget about it. There's an urban legend circulating among the universities in Binhai. It's quite eerie and very dangerous. The schools are not peaceful, and people die every now and then."

Fang Yan said this, even though he was the one who killed the previous person.

"What? Afraid of getting me involved? Oh... sweetheart."

Xia Bing put on a ridiculously sentimental act, bowing her head and covering her chest with her hand.

"No, it's just that if something unexpected happens and they all die, it would be a real shame." Fang Yan put on his clothes, requisitioned the tactical vest Xia Bing had given him on the plane, put on the satchel containing his MP5, put the fruit knife in his pants pocket, and put on his sports jacket.

"Excuse me for being blunt, but to me, high school students are just a bunch of kids. I'll take care of that for you."

Xia Bing feigned being moved for three seconds before turning expressionless, leaning against the door frame to take a sip of coffee, but still staring at Fang Yan with a wicked sense of humor, wondering how the innocent male high school student, protected by his sister, would react.

"Then I can't stay here any longer. Dealing with 17- and 18-year-olds would be a psychological burden, wouldn't it? It's like only Black people can call someone a nigger. I have to take care of these people myself. See you after my vacation. Bye."

Since they were already somewhat familiar with each other, Fang Yan didn't stand on ceremony and directly requisitioned Xia Bing's umbrella.

Xia Bing was a little annoyed that the effect of not achieving her wicked sense of humor was not what she expected, and this guy said something incredibly cool, is it really okay for a high school student to be such a tough guy?

"and many more."

"what happened?"

"If you encounter a danger that you can't solve, don't try to be brave. Contact me. We are in a state of joint combat and have an unusual social relationship. We are all in the same boat, and you could say we will live and die together."

"Row."

"Have lunch before you leave."

"Strictly speaking, it's breakfast for me. I can't eat too much, so I just eat whatever's convenient."

After saying that, Fang Yan put on his sneakers and left Xia Bing's house.

Xia Bing was quite annoyed. People who were more handsome than her were annoying. She simply took out her phone, rummaged through her messy closet, pulled out a set of purple lingerie, put it on the bed, took a picture, and then sent it to her girlfriend, the lead singer of Soda Revolution.

Since it's a confirmed holiday, I should definitely enjoy it.

[This is for you to wear tonight.]

"It's too hot wearing all this, I don't like it, I have other clothes."

What clothes?

Bondi.

[(Crying emoji) I'm so touched.]

10/5—13:10
Ji Wei realized that she couldn't have direct contact with Fang Yan for the time being. First of all, her social identity was questionable. He probably still thought she was a flight attendant and bartender on Mercury Electric's business jet. If he found out that she was a second-year high school student at Yuanyue Academy, then she would be completely finished.

He himself is the Salvation Army, and he is dealing with the people of the Vatican. So there's no need to guess; it's unlikely that such a coincidence would lead to his being exposed.

I must be going crazy; it was raining heavily at noon.

She stood on the street corner, holding an umbrella. Instead of wearing a pink windbreaker, she wore an inconspicuous oversized hoodie and a black baseball cap pulled low to disguise herself.

I watched Fang Yan enter a convenience store and vaguely saw him picking out bread through the glass window. Was this what he was going to eat for lunch?

Suddenly, Ji Wei was annoyed by all the hidden and roundabout regulations. The [Summit] did not allow confidential personnel to contact each other privately. They could only be bound together when carrying out special missions and large-scale operations. Ji Wei had no idea whether Fang Yan's school had anyone who wanted to harm him or had anyone watching him.

Damn...

Is this rule even applicable in this kind of situation?

No, I have to stop this absurd act immediately. It's too stupid. Not only will it be fruitless, but it will also push me into the abyss. Betraying the [Summit] would have terrible consequences.

Besides... he definitely has no interest in me; he left after saying just one sentence yesterday.

After buying bread, Fang Yan came out and felt a little strange. He scanned the street scene under the rain and mist. He had just finished the time-coordinated operation and killed a senior high school student to create some psychological pressure. He shouldn't be being monitored again so soon, but he instinctively sensed a gaze.

Ji Wei simply tilted her umbrella forward, pretending to be looking at her phone and calling a ride-hailing service. So...so cool!
(End of this chapter)