Yu Jian's home was no different from when
To further convince Nurse Yu, Chen Ge produced the compiled materials, which included Yu Jian's file from the police station.
"Police officers will be coming tomorrow. Tonight, I want to perform a simple treatment on Yu Jian. You can stand outside the door and watch, but please don't interfere."
Chen Ge only had four nights left. He had to resolve Yu Jian's matter tonight.
"Alright." Nurse Yu nodded, her eyes full of worry. "Will the police take Yu Jian away tomorrow? His body can't handle much strain. I'm afraid something might happen to him on the road."
"Don't worry. The police will certainly be more thorough in their considerations than you could be." Chen Ge glanced toward the bedroom. The plate on the floor hadn't been touched — Yu Jian still hadn't come out. "Tonight at midnight. Once he falls asleep, the treatment begins."
"Why so late?" Nurse Yu had known Chen Ge for less than twenty-four hours. While she didn't think he would deceive her, it was impossible for her to place complete trust in a stranger just like that.
"Because I can only treat him after he's asleep." To make sure Yu Jian would have a good night's sleep, Chen Ge had even prepared a bottle of sleeping pills in his backpack.
They talked until half past eleven. Chen Ge borrowed a key from Nurse Yu, walked to Yu Jian's door, and stopped.
"Not going in?"
"Keep quiet." Chen Ge pulled the manga from his backpack and secretly summoned
Yu Jian was already asleep. Now he just needed to wait until midnight.
Yu Jian's personality was the closest to Ming Tai's among all the children — he was also the only one who had willingly accepted Ming Tai. He should have been Ming Tai's best choice. What Chen Ge couldn't understand was why they had ultimately fallen out.
What Fang Yu lacked was memory. The other children were missing senses like smell and hearing — their defects were all immediately apparent. But Yu Jian was different.
Physically, this child showed no deficiencies at all. What Ming Tai had taken from him was likely something far more important to a human being — perhaps a certain emotion, perhaps his humanity, or perhaps love.
At the stroke of midnight, Chen Ge opened the bedroom door and saw Yu Jian huddled against the wall corner, draped in a thin blanket.
His head hung low, and beside his bed stood a blood-red door.
The door was almost entirely consumed by blood-red threads. Thick, vein-like lines surged across its surface, appearing almost alive — it looked even more grotesque and terrifying than a true blood door.
"What is that?!" Nurse Yu cried out involuntarily. Although her voice was quiet, it still disturbed Yu Jian.
Chen Ge didn't hesitate. He knew that if Yu Jian woke up, the door might vanish. He charged forward decisively.
Hefting his backpack, he pushed through the blood door alongside the many Red Wraiths.
Thick, viscous blood enveloped him — it felt as though he had stepped into empty air and plunged into a pool of blood. Chen Ge couldn't breathe. His hands flailed desperately, and a powerful sensation of falling gripped his body.
His eyes wouldn't open. In the darkness came the sound of pages turning, as though countless things were crawling onto his body.
He couldn't see what they were. They seemed like droplets of blood that had frozen solid, and in the end all of them converged behind him.
"Why did you come to me..."
An unfamiliar voice whispered in his ear. Chen Ge felt a pair of hands grip his shoulders, and the sensation of falling slowly faded. He snapped his eyes open.
"Who are you?!"