Xiao Jinyu immediately grasped Su Jiuzhou’s hidden meaning.
Having only half of each of the two back molars was indeed peculiar. To verify if the individual was Zhang Haixiang, they would only need to check these molars. If an impersonator could notice and replicate such a specific injury, then even a DNA test might not be effective.
According to the information from Zhongdu, the faceless man was wrapped in white skin from head to toe, with his bones presumably unharmed.
Without delay, Zhao Hen immediately contacted Wang Tao.
But as soon as the call connected, Wang Tao spoke in a stern voice, “…His right back molars are indeed half missing!”
Zhao Hen was taken aback, instinctively responding, “Captain, don’t you need to check further?”
Wang Tao explained, “After rescuing the faceless man from the warehouse, I immediately checked his entire skeleton. His skin provides no useful information because it’s all white and smooth, like newly grown. What could serve as reference data to identify him are his height, bone structure, and internal organs.”
Wang Tao continued calmly, “Zhao Hen, give me the height data for Zhang Haixiang!”
“Okay…”
“Captain Wang, around 165 cm tall!” Xu Qi snatched Zhao Hen’s phone, his expression serious as he spoke loudly into it.
Wang Tao replied, “The faceless man is 162 cm tall, not ruling out the possibility that his height has decreased due to extreme thinness and spinal curvature.”
“Do you need his weight?”
“No need, he’s very thin, almost emaciated. Apart from his distinctive dental structure, has he suffered any other injuries?” Wang Tao asked decisively, “We’re on our way to the institute now. I only roughly felt his skin, which revealed the missing teeth. Once we’re at the institute and do a CT scan, we can discover more physical characteristics, like whether his lungs or kidneys have been damaged.”
Xu Qi pondered for a while, “That’s all for now. Captain Wang, this person is closely related to our Haidu City’s prison escape incident. I’m heading to Zhongdu now to bring him over!”
“Sounds good.”
The communication between the two was brief, and the phone call ended quickly.
However, no one expected that Zhang Haixiang would be found this way!
Although it was impossible to test the DNA of the faceless man, the unique dental structure almost certainly indicated that he was indeed ‘Wind Blowing Fart‘ Zhang Haixiang, with a 99% probability.
Xu Qi’s face was grave as he immediately made a call to his team leader. Upon connecting, he quickly reported the situation on his end.
On the other end of the call, there was a brief silence.
“Zhang Haixiang, suspected to have been locked in a warehouse in Zhongdu City two months ago?”
“Yes, Captain, I am heading to Zhongdu City right now to bring him back!”
“No need.”
“Captain?”
“I will go personally.”
“Click—”
The crisp sound of footsteps suddenly echoed. Everyone followed the sound and looked towards the woman who had appeared at the top of the spiral staircase without their notice.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Ktf Ggfjwfg lr eqrajlgr. Cr obg ktb atf ‘Itjcu Ljlzljcu’ lc atf mbooff rtbq gfjiis lr…
“I leave it to you.”
…
Who is Zhang Haixiang?
If this question was asked half a month ago, Xiao Jinyu would have quickly answered –
C1744 Zhang Haixiang, a second-level user with the ID ‘Wind Blowing Fart‘. This serial killer accidentally killed the ‘Meat King’, exposing his crimes, revealing the truth, and leading to his capture.
If this question had been asked a week ago, Xiao Jinyu would have provided another answer.
But now, he has a third answer.
The faceless person locked in Contamination Zone 132 in Zhongdu City must be the real Zhang Haixiang. Then who was the “Zhang Haixiang” he saw in the coffee shop a month ago, on November 12th, 2046?
This “Zhang Haixiang” not only used the logic skill ‘Wind Blowing Fart’, but he also managed to tell such a colossal lie in front of a sixth-level user, without being discovered.
Could he really just be a second-level user?
No, it’s impossible that he was only a second-level user.
Xiao Jinyu’s mind flashed back to a sunny afternoon. The gentle and elegant sound of wind chimes mingled with the rich aroma of coffee and the soft melody of light music, creating a calm and soothing atmosphere.
He pushed open the door of the men’s restroom.
Bizarre scenes flashed before his eyes.
Wind blades cutting through the air, a sleazy, short middle-aged man.
And then, a bullet about to pierce through time aimed straight at his eye!
Followed by a hand, catching the bullet.
…
The world suddenly plunged into chaos, with countless black and white fragments and rainbow beams spinning dizzily before his eyes. Images shattered and forcefully reassembled in an instant, accompanied by the crackling sound of breaking in his ears. The “Zhang Haixiang” in front of him was speaking. Shackled to the cold steel legs of a table, he was huddled up like an injured, frightened quail.
– He told the first lie.
It was like a drop of red blood falling into the pristine white snow, too glaring to miss. He spotted that drop of blood immediately.
– Then he told a second lie.
“Zhang Haixiang,” with a hoarse voice, every cell and bone in his body desperately screamed a torrent of the will to live.
But he picked out the odd grain of sand in that vast ocean.
– Next, he told a third lie.
He had thought that this was the final lie of the other party, but he never imagined that from the beginning, everything was enveloped in a colossal, catastrophic lie.
Light swirled, and a million voices whispered and screamed around his ears.
The coffee shop, Zhang Haixiang, the bullet that was about to pierce his eyeball…
And that warm hand that brushed past his eyelashes and caught the bullet…
…
“——Have you ever had a dream?”
Boom!
Xiao Jinyu felt like he was plummeting into an abyss.
It was as if he was being pierced by a strange and eerie force, his fragile yet strong soul breaking free from his murky body and departing with a roar. He kept falling, deeper and deeper, into an endless, dark chasm. He stretched his hand towards the “body” floating above him, but his fingers just slipped through the fabric of his clothes.
Above the “body” were flashes of scenes.
It was in the coffee shop, where “Xiao Jinyu” was talking with “Zhao Hen” and “Xu Qi.” “He” was continuously exposing the lies of “Zhang Haixiang.” “Su Jiuzhou” stood behind “him,” looking up and staring quietly.
As he fell faster, both the “body” and the “coffee shop” began to fade away.
Suddenly, the world in front of him turned into an endless expanse of pale white.
Thousands of colors withered away in an instant, fading as rapidly as the tide. Excruciating pain, like being burned, shot through his eyes. Xiao Jinyu screamed in agony, his cries echoing madly, but the pain, akin to being roasted in hell, didn’t subside. It felt as if his eyeballs were being gouged out, rough fingers piercing through his iris and lens, the cold vitreous fluid of his eyes mixing with boiling blood, pouring down in an instant.
The touch of that hand was too real.
The coarse fingerprints grazed the sensitive vitreous body of his eyes. He struggled frantically, but the hand showed no mercy, ruthlessly plucking out the entire eyeball…
His retina was torn, and the optic nerves were brutally ripped apart.
The pain was unbearable, a sharp agony reaching deep into his bones.
Suddenly.
A pair of giant arms embraced him, lifting him out of the endless depths.
The giant’s hands gently caressed his dark eye sockets, tenderly and tremblingly touching…
…
“Ha… Ha…”
Xiao Jinyu suddenly woke up from the recliner, his body drenched in sweat as if he had been submerged in water, gasping for breath heavily.
The girl hidden in a black cloak beside him stepped back in surprise, pulling out a rusty old pocket watch from her sleeve, and said in a low voice, astonished, “That was just ten minutes? So quick? Is this a third-level user?”
Xiao Jinyu’s eyes sharpened as he swiftly turned to look at her.
The cloaked girl was slightly taken aback. Her face was obscured by the wide hood, revealing only her delicate chin.
Xiao Jinyu stared coldly at her for a long moment, then his gaze softened, and he restrained his intense murderous intent.
Xiao Jinyu asked, “A77… The Dreamer?”
The girl in the cloak nodded gently, her voice calm, “Yes. I apologize for pulling you into my logic skill without warning, but my skill loses effectiveness if the subject is prepared beforehand.”
Her voice perfectly overlapped with the one from the nightmare that had asked, “Have you ever had a dream?”
Xiao Jinyu’s lips tightened slightly.
The Dreamer explained, “My logic skill can reconstruct every scene a person has ever witnessed, down to the smallest detail. Those scenes are hidden deep within your mind, just waiting to be awakened. However, it also has a side effect; you’ll encounter the thing you fear most in your life. It could be something you’ve truly experienced, or it may never have happened, just a figment of your imagination. But it’s the thing you fear the most in your life.”
After a pause, The Dreamer curiously asked, “What did you see? Your awakening speed is on par with a fourth-level user, but your reaction…” Her gaze lingered on Xiao Jinyu’s tense body and the barely concealed murderous intent, “Such a reaction is rare to see. Was it something terrifying?”
Xiao Jinyu paused for a moment before replying indifferently, “I don’t remember.” He sat up straight.
The Dreamer nodded, “That’s normal; not everyone can remember what they saw in a ‘dream’.”
Xiao Jinyu asked, “Where are they?”
The Dreamer replied, “In the next room. I’ve already entered the dream states of ‘Sexy Samba’ and ‘Elephant Dance’ to review all their memories of the coffee shop. You were the last one since you’re a third-level user, and they’re both fourth-level users. I did my best to ensure your safety.”
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
Remembering the sensation of being torn apart in the dream, he didn’t feel very ‘safe’…
Xiao Jinyu then thought to ask, “What about Su Jiu… Colonel Su?”
The Dreamer, holding the old pocket watch, paused, “Sixth-level users are not affected by the side effects of my skill. He left the dream state in just ten seconds. Now, I will compare the impressions of the ‘coffee shop’ dream scene from all four of you, and probably by tomorrow, I can make a complete one-to-one reconstruction.”
Xiao Jinyu nodded slightly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He was about to step forward when he suddenly stopped and turned back, looking bewildered, “… Elephant Dance? Did you just say that?”
The Dreamer tilted her head, “It seems so.”
Xiao Jinyu: “…”
Oh, I see. A74 – Elephant Dance…
The author has something to say:
Little Goldfish: You two are quite a match, one with Sexy Samba, and the other with Elephant Dance. You could put on a show for the Spring Festival Gala.
Xu Qi: …………………………
Brother Hen (Zhao Hen): …………………………
———
*After A54 on the leaderboard, everyone can see the user ID, like Piggy Shampoo. But they don’t know the user’s real name.
For instance, Xiao Jinyu always knew A74 was Elephant Dance, but he didn’t know Elephant Dance was Xu Qi~
Thank you for the chapter!
I wonder what Xiao Jinyu’s fear is, because I can’t decide whether it’s about his soul leaving/loosing control of his body, or if it’s about losing his eyes.