Five hours later.
A party, dancing, candlelight, jewels, people whispering.
Juliet and Romeo fell in love at first sight, their equally beautiful eyes meeting, brimming with more sweet words than they could ever say.
That was how the story was supposed to unfold.
But now, the party where love should have quietly blossomed had become a scene of rampant slaughter.
Juliet trembled behind Wei Yanchi. They were on the mansion's top floor, concealed behind the plants there. Juliet's bulky skirt, which had made hiding difficult, had been stripped away completely. Her desire to survive had reached its peak.
Looking down, they saw a terrifying scene. Those gentlemen and ladies fled like vagrants, while powerful lions surrounded Pearl, who held a steel pitchfork, bearing her up like a queen.
Her voice was unbelievably sweet. "Why are you screaming like that? How disappointing. You should keep dancing. I like dancing."
Despite her words, she hurled the steel pitchfork viciously, impaling a fleeing gentleman. Everyone screamed and ran for their lives.
But humans could not outrun vicious lions.
The entire party had become a one-sided massacre!
Juliet covered her face and wept. "Oh, my Romeo! It's so awful! He's dead, and I had only just fallen in love with him! Why is the world so cruel to me?"
Beiwei and Yue Xiamo stood at the outer edge of the balcony. Yue Xiamo had no patience for Juliet's sobbing, while Beiwei was still looking outside. Then, pale-faced, she said, "It's already night, but Mr. 39 still hasn't appeared. The townspeople turn into monsters every night. It's dangerous outside the party now."
"It's pretty dangerous inside the party, too," Yue Xiamo said coldly. "What matters now is keeping ourselves alive. You know how strong 39 is, don't you? He doesn't need you worrying about him. What do you think, Wei Yanchi?"
Yue Xiamo turned to look at him, only to find his expression just as grave.
"You..."
Wei Yanchi said calmly, "I was just thinking. If there are three players in each screening room, a balanced distribution should put at least one veteran player in every room. There's no way everyone in that fourth screening room we still haven't found was wiped out. There should be a veteran player working through this place. Why haven't we seen that player yet?"
Yue Xiamo said, "Maybe you're overthinking it. He's already dead."
"There's another possibility. Maybe I'm not overthinking it, and he's from the Club." Wei Yanchi's gaze was cold. "I know someone in the Club who has absolute luck and the ability to make others overlook him. No one he deliberately approaches survives more than a day."
Beiwei looked puzzled at that. "That's a pretty powerful ability, then. What kind of organization is the Club? Why do you sound like that?"
"Oh, because I only remembered his ability and forgot his name. He's been saying he'll get revenge and make me remember him ever since." Wei Yanchi's brow furrowed deeply, and he said with mounting irritation, "Mr. 39 might not have made it here because he ran into that guy."
Beiwei's eyes flew wide, and she said anxiously, "Then what do we do? Can Mr. 39 handle him? You! You caused this mess, so hurry up and think of something. That guy you mentioned doesn't sound remotely normal!"
"I know."
Wei Yanchi's jet-black, jade-like eyes turned toward the window, unreadable. The oppressive aura around him turned his spirited bearing into something frightening, making others afraid to approach.
He said calmly and firmly, "I'm going to the Lost Domain."
Going deeper into a dream during deep sleep, or dying within it, would lead to the Lost Domain. Those who entered would lose their memories from before entering and become unable to distinguish reality from dreams.
If that man from the Club really intended to cause trouble for him, he might very well take 39 into the Lost Domain.
The Volga River began to freeze. Winter in the distant Northern Country was cold and long. Snow began drifting from the sky, and coniferous forests were the most common sight across this land.
Bundled in thick clothes, Hu Songlin sat on a bench in the Northern Country with a cup of hot cocoa in his hands, feeling bored.
He casually scratched a lottery ticket. Sure enough, the result was the same: he had won first prize again.
Might as well just throw it away.
The snow seems to be getting heavier. The air is cold and dry. I should head back soon, or I'll freeze.
But whatever. No one cares about me. No one notices me. The Club is full of idiots, too. They don't even know I'm one of them. With a bunch that careless, it's only natural they're getting crushed by the Laboratory.
Actually, that's fine. What I hate most are people who remember my name and then forget it. So annoying.
The hot cocoa cooled in his hands. He tossed it aside and looked ahead indifferently, only for his expression to freeze, a flicker of confusion passing through his eyes.
Someone was actually looking at him.
The snow suited the man before him perfectly. His cool, pale fingers and the tip of his nose had been reddened by the wind.
"Are you... looking at me?"
At his puzzled question, a hint of mockery appeared in the green eyes of the man before him.
"Huh? Do we know each other?"
Before he could react, a Glock was already aimed at his head. The trigger was pulled. The shot went wide, narrowly grazing his cheek. Blood seeped from the wound, but quickly congealed.
Hu Songlin was now certain the man had come specifically to kill him. Yet he did not panic at all. Instead, he laughed.
"Hey, before you kill me, could you answer one question? Do you know my name?"
Xie De could never forget it as long as he lived. What a joke. If it weren't for this guy, would I have ended up like this?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew, and his gaze turned colder and colder. He fired several more rounds from the Glock. This time, they hit, but none struck a vital spot. Damn it!
This damn luck god.
Hu Songlin was still taunting him. "What the hell? You don't even know the name of the person you're trying to kill?"
"Hu Songlin."
Hu Songlin froze for a moment. The assassin pressed his gun straight against his head, his eyes full of suppressed fury. It was as though Hu Songlin had done something unforgivable, leaving such a bitter personal grudge between them that this gentleman simply had to kill him.
"Do we know each other?"
"Heh. It doesn't matter if you've forgotten. As long as I remember," the assassin said.
Hu Songlin blinked blankly. This was a first-the first time he had forgotten someone, rather than someone forgetting him. Life truly was unpredictable. One moment, he had been lamenting that no one remembered him; the next, someone had come up with a gun and enthusiastically demonstrated that not only did he remember him, he could also take his life.
Bang! The gun fired again.
Hu Songlin had been shot twice, but he still ran like a crafty rabbit, struggling into the distance before turning back and shouting, "Wait! Can you tell me your name?"
Two gunshots answered him.
Damn it, damn it! That brat got away again.
Xie De's face was expressionless, but he was mad with rage, viciousness pouring off him.
"455, why can't that guy share half his luck with me? Why?!"
"Don't worry, host. He's barely got any health left. We'll catch up and land the final blow! I refuse to believe he can survive that."
Indeed, they were now in the Lost Domain, though their circumstances were somewhat unusual. Because 455 protected Xie De's subconscious, he had not lost his memory.
In the second dream layer of Juliet and Romeo, he had indeed struck first, but he had underestimated Hu Songlin's Luck Level. In the end, both of them had fallen into the Lost Domain.
As things stood, Xie De had retained his memories and knew exactly where he was, so every scene before him was formed from Hu Songlin's subconscious.
There were only two ways to get out.
The first was to kill Hu Songlin.
The second was for Hu Songlin to kill himself.
Before you continue