King's Hometown

October 15, sunny.

In the bright morning sunlight, Jiang Hou walked unhurriedly beneath the shade of the trees, a black shoulder bag slung over his back. At a glance, he looked like an ordinary high school student.

Zhang's death had served as a warning. In the face of modern firearms and heavy weaponry, he was still very weak.

For now, he did not know whether the "state" knew about the ruins, or how much it knew, nor what its attitude was toward those who had gained Extraordinary Power.

With so much unknown, Jiang Hou had to be careful not to bring deadly disaster upon himself, Qin Siyu, and the others.

Besides that, he was somewhat interested in Zhang's weapon.

Unfortunately, the Enforcers had surely taken that thing away. It might already have been lying on an experimental table in some research institute.

Thinking of that, Jiang Hou recalled the videos he had searched for last night. Most of them had started with a single image, with the rest made up entirely through fabricated stories.

The occasional video that looked somewhat real felt fake instead because it was too exaggerated.

Moreover, many of the comments beneath those videos praised the uploader's editing, saying it looked realistic and that they were looking forward to new material next time.

By the time Jiang Hou came to his senses and turned back to watch those videos a few more times, he found that their links were gone.

Even from his viewing history.

It seemed as though an invisible hand was hiding something. Thinking back to the comments beneath those videos, they also felt like they had deliberately been meant to confuse the public.

"The waters run deep in this world."

Jiang Hou's gaze darkened. This seemingly peaceful modern society was clearly far from as simple as it appeared.

Wing City Third High School was not far from Jiang Hou's home, only about a twenty-minute walk away.

By the time Jiang Hou arrived at school, the roads ahead and behind him were filled with students on their way to class. Some walked like him, while others rode shared bicycles, chatting and laughing with youthful energy.

"Youth really is wonderful." Jiang Hou sighed. Compared to the simple, relaxed atmosphere of campus, society was an entirely different world—complicated and full of pressure.

Not to mention that other world, oppressive and dim.

Jiang Hou entered the school and soon arrived at Class Two, Senior Year Three, on the third floor.

Most of the students were already in the classroom. About half lived on campus; some were organizing worksheets, while others huddled together and whispered.

Some were also playing on their phones.

Jiang Hou walked into the classroom and headed to the last row. His seat was by the window.

Last row by the window, the King's Hometown. Of course, Jiang Hou was not that cringe. He sat there only because the school regularly changed seats.

To ensure every student's learning efficiency, Third High School rotated seating arrangements every semester.

"You're here, Jiang Hou." The boy beside him looked up and greeted him.

"Morning." Jiang Hou nodded, stepped around him, and sat down. He casually took out a pink lunch bag and placed it in his desk.

Ever since entering his senior year, Jiang Hou had kept most of his books at school. He usually carried only pens, ink, and similar items, so there was not much in his bag.

Seeing the lunch bag Jiang Hou had placed in his desk, the boy beside him looked envious.

"Jiang Hou, I want an adorable, capable little sister too, someone who makes delicious food for me every day."

Jiang Hou glanced at him and said lazily, "First, Siyu isn't my little sister. Second, if you want good food, it's simple. Order takeout."

The boy beside him shrugged. "Right, not your little sister. She's your childhood sweetheart who grew up with you."

Jiang Hou shook his head, too lazy to pay him any attention. He knew that if he kept talking, this guy would change the subject and show off the love letter he had just received.

Jiang Hou's deskmate was named Zong Zheng Nanmo. It was a nice-sounding name.

And he himself was even prettier than most girls—beautiful, even. He had refined features and shoulder-length hair, though the ends were golden.

Combined with his height of 1.75 meters and gentle scholarly air, he had been surrounded by girls as soon as he enrolled.

Over the past two years of high school, Jiang Hou had often seen this guy pull love letters from his desk. Sometimes, after returning from the restroom, there would be an extra envelope on his table.

This made the other boys in the class both envious and jealous, and so they excluded him.

In two years, Jiang Hou had been practically his only friend in class. Yet Zong Zheng Nanmo was somewhat gossipy and loved to show off, so quiet, gloomy Jiang Hou had suffered for it.

He got rubbed in it every day in all kinds of ways.

This guy had received plenty of love letters, but he rejected every one of them on the grounds that an elder had read his fortune and told him that he should not date in high school. Even now, he did not have a girlfriend.

Though he rubbed it in Jiang Hou's face every day, Zong Zheng Nanmo seemed very envious that Jiang Hou had such an adorable, beautiful childhood sweetheart.

Trying to rub it in again? No chance.

Seeing that Jiang Hou would not take the bait, Zong Zheng Nanmo could only change the subject. "Jiang Hou, why are you wearing a glove on your left hand? Is it cold today?"

Jiang Hou said blandly, "Nothing. I scraped the back of my hand yesterday, so I'm wearing a glove to cover it."

When he got up that morning, Jiang Hou had put on a thin black glove over his left hand, one that exposed all five fingers.

The Inheritance Mark was too conspicuous. He had no choice but to hide it. Wearing gloves just after the start of autumn was a little strange, but it was still better than leaving it uncovered.

Why wear a glove for a scrape on the back of his hand? Zong Zheng Nanmo found it a little odd, but when he saw the teacher enter the classroom, he could only shut up.

"Quiet, everyone. Class is starting..."

The teacher on the podium wore a stern expression as he explained physics, but as Jiang Hou listened, his thoughts gradually drifted out the window.

Outside, leaves swayed in the breeze, several sparrows landed among them and chirped, and students taking PE ran around the field, full of life.

That other world, meanwhile, was dark and oppressive, filled with all manner of dangerous monsters—the complete opposite...

A class soon passed as Jiang Hou sat lost in thought.

During the break, Jiang Hou had just been wondering whether to take a stroll in the corridor when Zong Zheng Nanmo leaned over, his tone mysterious and low.

"Jiang Hou, did you hear that people died last night?"

"A lot of people died? How many?" Jiang Hou's gaze shifted as he turned toward him.

Zong Zheng Nanmo lowered his voice. "My cousin said there were more than ten. It happened at a small factory in the suburbs. Everyone working the night shift last night died."

"The bodies were mangled, as if they had been torn apart or gnawed on by something. The scene was bloody enough to shock even the Enforcers who arrived."

"Besides that, the factory was damaged too. It was a complete mess."

Torn apart, gnawed on. Those two words made Jiang Hou narrow his eyes. With a trace of gravity in his voice, he asked, "...Did they catch the murderer?"

Zong Zheng Nanmo shook his head. "No. The Enforcers aren't even sure whether the killer was human, because the victims' wounds don't look like they were caused by a person."

Jiang Hou thought of the monsters in the ruins.

At that moment, Zong Zheng Nanmo asked in a somewhat nervous whisper, "Jiang Hou, do you think it could be ghosts? Otherwise, how could more than ten people be killed without a single one escaping or calling the police?"

As he spoke, a flicker of fear passed through Zong Zheng Nanmo's eyes.

"...Your family runs a Taoist temple, and you're afraid of ghosts?" Jiang Hou said speechlessly.

"Easy for you to say." Zong Zheng Nanmo scratched his head. "I may have studied Taoism since elementary school, but that stuff is all fake."

"And I..." As he said that, Zong Zheng Nanmo shuddered instinctively.

"And what?"

"N-Nothing. How could ghosts possibly exist in this world? It's all fake." As he spoke, Zong Zheng Nanmo shook his head hard.

Did this guy encounter a ghost last night? Jiang Hou narrowed his eyes, keenly noticing that Zong Zheng Nanmo's reactions before and after were a little unusual.

But whether ghosts truly existed was something Jiang Hou could not say for sure either.

If they did not exist, then he was already someone who had died twice.

If they did exist, then he seemed to have no memory or feeling whatsoever of being a ghost!! Second update. Thanks to Xuebing, West Lake, Flowing Clouds, Chosen One, Internet Addict, and Glutton for their tips and support.