Thick darkness obscured all vision; Li Xin felt like he was falling.
The threads wrapped around his body pulled at him incessantly. The pain was rhythmic and repetitive; he could even clearly feel the entire process of his body being torn apart, filled, and healed over and over.
This was a torture session, yet he had to stay conscious. Once he lost awareness, these seemingly docile threads would devour him without hesitation.
This process felt like it lasted a long time, yet also like a mere flicker of an instant. Li Xin could no longer perceive time; he had even lost the reference of his own pulse and heartbeat.
However, even so, he still had a landmark.
The blue gemstone that always hung by his ear radiated a pure, profound light amidst the darkness.
The pale halo of light displayed no aggression, but it firmly encased his spirit, isolating all the threads from touching him.
The threads were unwilling to give up, but the gentle radiance made them recoil in fear.
It was a proclamation from a superior being, declaring its ownership.
A physical body could crumble and be reshaped by new power; it could generously concede its outermost shell.
But the spirit and the heart—the symbols of thought and connection—were not to be tarnished.
Li Xin did not know what this power was, but he could feel a familiar aura that he remained unable to recall.
The bone-eroding pain gradually diminished. When the recurring contamination fell completely silent, the light of the earring faded away. Before Li Xin could even react, his soles were already stepping onto solid ground in the void.
All around was still pitch black; he couldn’t even see himself here.
He tried to touch, but only encountered flowing black particles.
“No physical form,” Li Xin mused slightly, recalling what Yu Suheng had once said.
[They have no physical form; they are composed of pure power, and all external manifestations are comprised of mimicry.]
“Mimicry…” he pondered the word, closed his eyes, and issued a command to the surging black threads.
The black threads gathered rapidly at his call. They coiled and wove together, reshaping themselves into a human shell.
Li Xin reached out to touch the gemstone by his ear. For the first time, he felt the restraints of a human body.
At that moment, he heard a voice from the depths of the darkness.
[Congratulations, you have completed the first step of this transaction… and the most difficult one.]
Li Xin instinctively turned back, but there was only darkness before him. He tried to ask a question, but couldn’t make a sound.
[Shh… don’t ask. He will discover you. Now, you should close your eyes…]
Accompanied by the illusory voice, Li Xin’s consciousness began to sink from that moment on. A second later, he opened his eyes sharply in reality.
Black threads intertwined before him, slicing the entire Dean’s office into layers.
The switch he had pressed at the end had completely sealed off the entire building; everyone was trapped in the positions they were in at that moment.
The school doctor had already fainted under the impact of the contamination, while Yu Suheng, closest to him, was entangled in the surging waves of pollution.
The unconscious man didn’t seem to be having a pleasant dream.
Li Xin walked over to his side. The tightly wound threads began to fall away the moment he approached.
Losing their weight-bearing load, Yu Suheng’s body slid down, only to be caught steadily by Li Xin in the next instant.
Soft hair brushed against his cheek. Li Xin lowered his eyes to look at this face, which remained sharp and fierce even in sleep, and scooped him up, placing him on the sofa nearby.
It was a soft leather sofa. Li Xin’s movements were gentle enough, yet the moment his body made full contact with the sofa, Yu Suheng woke up.
He grabbed Li Xin’s collar and pulled him down toward himself.
Li Xin didn’t have time to retreat and could only maintain the posture of leaning over to look at him.
The man’s thinking was still chaotic; his normally clean and neat clothes were disheveled, and there were faint red marks left by the threads on his neck.
This was likely a rare moment of vulnerability for him. Li Xin looked at these marks, though it was difficult to tell whether he felt happy or unhappy about it.
Logically, the contamination should have dragged Yu Suheng completely to the edge of madness; even Li Xin hadn’t expected him to be able to wake up again through sheer willpower.
A trace of surprise flitted past. He softened his tone and whispered, “Why not sleep a little longer?”
His tone was practiced, like a routine morning inquiry; he knew how to make people feel at ease.
However, he failed again this time.
Yu Suheng didn’t relax his spirit as suggested, and the depths of those azure eyes became even sharper.
This time, Li Xin finally became convinced that there was nothing he could do about him.
The familiar feeling grew stronger, yet he still couldn’t recall a single thing.
The mask of feigned gentleness was torn away, and that exquisite, beautiful face finally wore a genuinely joyful smile from the heart.
He smiled and stroked the man’s cheek, letting only himself be reflected in those sharp eyes.
“You’ve seen through my disguise again.” Li Xin sighed, suppressing a laugh, his beautiful brows and eyes filled with an ambiguous tenderness: “What should I do? I think I might like you a little.”
Yu Suheng just looked at him, unswayed by this passionate confession of uncertain authenticity.
“Don’t look at me like that, I’m serious.” Li Xin reached out, feeling rather hurt, and twirled the end of his hair. His fingertips touched the cool side of his neck, and he suddenly asked: “Have we met before?”
“No.” Yu Suheng denied it decisively, making it impossible for Li Xin to distinguish truth from lie.
“Alright, no.” It was unclear how Yu Suheng managed it, but even in this state, his hand remained very steady, making it difficult for Li Xin to break free.
Having no choice, Li Xin sat on the edge of the sofa and leaned on one hand. He could see the hidden interrogation in Yu Suheng’s gaze and was very interested in hearing it:
“You’re angry. Do you have something to ask me?”
Interrogation was one thing, but if reality allowed, Yu Suheng would much rather beat this little brat up.
However, the ideal was full, but the fact was that this body had been severely eroded by the contamination.
Finally, Yu Suheng narrowed his eyes and said with absolute certainty, word for word: “You intend to replace the Dean and restart this project.”
Li Xin’s smile deepened. He lightly tapped the other’s reddened wrist, confirming his statement: “Yes, though I’ve always felt the dungeon was intentionally or unintentionally targeting me. At the beginning, the only task hint I got was the word ‘Teacher,’ and as for how to complete the task, I had no clue.”
“Not until I used the Dean’s authority just now to discover something.”
“What?” Yu Suheng subconsciously chimed in, but his gaze drifted for a split second, only to force itself back to a cold sharpness shortly after.
“It’s my file.” Li Xin was dissatisfied with the man’s attempt to push his spirit to the limit, so he reached out and gently covered half of the man’s face. Long, slender eyelashes brushed against his palm, bringing a tingling sensation.
“My identity has a problem.” He stated softly, “He doesn’t have a dual degree in psychology and philosophy at all; he was placed here by someone.”
“Successive failures caused the reputation of so-called ‘Life Correction Technology’ to continue to plummet, and the sponsors were furious about it.”
Feeling the trembling in his palm gradually fade, he smiled and gave the final conclusion: “The sponsors sent an idealistic medical madman… with the purpose of proving the feasibility of the experiment and clearing the obstacles.”
“Then what? What are you preparing to do?” This was only a lip-syncing breath, but Li Xin understood it.
“Afterward?” He turned his head to look at the unclosed security camera in the room, seeing the aged figure in the hallway.
Soon, a knock on the door sounded.
Li Xin said softly: “Come in.”
The person who entered was the stooped security guard; just a moment ago, he had received instructions from the “Dean.”
Lin Zhuanghong and the others were pushed into the room. Li Feng, the only one who was conscious but still extremely weak, saw Li Xin and widened his eyes: “It’s you?”
Once he saw the situation in the room, he realized something and said in shock: “You’re not an NPC, you’re a player?!”
“Shh.” Li Xin extended an index finger to his lips, “Don’t wake him up.”
Threads surged from all directions and bound Li Feng tightly in an instant. He opened his eyes wide in disbelief, but Li Xin didn’t give him another chance to speak.
The whole room was either fainted or asleep.
They were all test subjects chosen by the new “Dean.” The secrets here were not allowed to be taken away by anyone.
The blinding lights came on again.
The manipulated school doctor numbly picked up the scalpel, repeating all the motions mechanically, like an operator on an assembly line.
And the “finished product” that came off the assembly line was listed in the display cabinet.
The final “surgery” began on the afternoon of the third day.
The bright lights shone on Yu Suheng’s well-defined face, and his steady breathing caused his chest to rise and fall.
Only one person was present for this surgery.
Slender fingertips slid from his brow to his neck. As his gaze fell upon the trembling eyelashes, Li Xin admitted he was captivated.
But he did nothing; he merely hooked a strand of hair from the end and brought it to the tip of his nose, his voice filled with a bit of regret.
“What should I do? I don’t think I can bear to watch you being disemboweled; it really hurts, after all.” Saying this, Li Xin sighed and let go, taking a few steps back.
“You really were sent here to counter me.”
Sensing its master’s mood, a small section of thread hooked his fingertip. Li Xin glanced down, and the thread instantly stiffened.
With an ambiguous chuckle, Li Xin mercilessly pulled that thread out, wrapped it twice, and tied it around Yu Suheng’s neck.
“Perfect.”
Li Xin was in a pleasant mood.
Before leaving, Li Xin completely sealed the room to ensure no one could leave.
…
“Yes, your life is now decided by yourself.”
Overnight, news about Life Correction swept through the entire town; all the streets and high-rises were broadcasting the same image.
In the frame was a sufficiently superior physical appearance, profound and beautiful eyes, a smile that always played at the corners of the mouth, and deep blue earrings that swayed slightly with his movements.
Although this new Dean, who had completely cracked the Life Correction technology, was unexpectedly young, when facing the camera, his words always projected arrogance, composure, and mastery.
At the end of the broadcast, facing a reporter’s question about a spokesperson, he suddenly stood up, cleared the camera, and let everyone see the young man who had walked into the frame.
“My god, is that Chen Dan?” The reporter covered her mouth in surprise.
“Yes. As the first successful case of Life Correction Technology, Chen Dan abandoned his failed life and became the chemist he dreamed of. He volunteered to serve as our spokesperson, promoting us free of charge as a gesture of gratitude.”
The lens lingered on the silent Chen Dan for only a second before returning to Li Xin.
Looking at the hysterical faces below the stage, filled with greed, sarcasm flashed across his perfect smile.
“Life Correction Technology will favor everyone equally.”
He held the microphone casually and gave his closing statement:
“When all obstacles to progress are removed, we will certainly become ourselves!”
Accompanied by the frantic crowd and the never-ending tide, Li Xin tossed the microphone casually into the crowd, admiring this display of the worst of human nature, and closed his eyes lightly.
[Bzz… bzz…
The Life Correction dungeon has ended. The hidden task has been completed. Congratulations to the player for achieving the final ending—”Overture to Madness.”
Settlement phase has begun—
This round is in Versus Mode. Total number of opponents: 6 Number of kills by dungeon NPCs: 1 Number of eliminations by dungeon contamination: 1 (Data anomaly) Number of players achieving “Perfect Case”: 4 Number of opponents directly eliminated by players: 4 (Data anomaly) Total number of opponents eliminated by players in the dungeon settlement phase: 6
Congratulations to the player for achieving a Perfect Clear.
Points settlement has begun—
This round is in Versus Mode. The winning side receives an additional 1/3 of the total points of the directly eliminated opponents.
The player’s total points obtained: 4,356 points.
Other reward settlement—
Obtained ability: Shadow Thread (Level Unknown)]
[Welcome back to the City of Wishes!]