“Rip”
A long, drawn out sound.
It was the sound of a surgical knife being pulled out. You Li trembled and curled himself further inward.
From the corner of his eye, he vaguely saw that the white coat of the person standing in front of him was almost completely covered in bloodstains and streaks.
Unlike last night and the previous few days, this time the other person’s body was truly appearing right in front of him. It wasn’t just a fleeting glimpse or a sudden sensation that vanished completely afterward.
It was like a dream that was gradually becoming more and more real.
The other person crouched down in front of him and stared at him without moving for a long time. His gaze was strange, almost impossible to understand. There was a hint of assessment in it, as if he was sizing him up yet at the same time, it felt like he was waiting for something.
But to You Li, that gaze was nothing short of a death stare.
He had no idea what the other person was thinking. He didn’t know whether the words he had just said had been useful, whether the system inside his mind had analyzed things incorrectly, or whether it was lying to him.
Or perhaps… he had thrown the bone the wrong way. Maybe his method was wrong.
Silence.
A deathly silence.
Unable to bear it any longer, You Li slowly lifted his face from where he had buried it and opened his eyes to look over.
But he immediately met a pair of eyes staring straight at him, as if the person had been waiting like a hunter guarding a trap.
They were cold, amused and unreadable. It was as if the person was thinking about how he should use the knife to cut him apart in the most interesting way possible.
It seemed that the words he had said meant absolutely nothing to him.
You Li stared at the grinning clown mask. Fear tightened around his throat and a suffocating feeling rose up instantly.
The clown reached out his hand toward him.
You Li looked at that hand holding the surgical knife. The blade was stained with blood and even the standard white protective gloves of a surgeon covering his hand had almost been dyed red.
The resistance and fear on his face almost leaked out from his eyes. He looked extremely unwilling.
Like someone waiting for death, You Li slowly closed his eyes.
After a while, he finally heard a loud “clang.”
The clown had put the knife down.
You Li opened his eyes and looked over. He saw the clown taking off the glove on his right hand.
There were two layers in total. The outer one was white, while the inner one was a medical protective glove.
He didn’t look much like a surgeon. Instead, he looked more like a cold, emotionless forensic examiner.
Then, those long, distinct fingers reached toward him.
Before You Li could react, the hand squeezed its way in, slipping between his curled up body and touching the soft flesh of his stomach.
The clown really did touch him.
The voice coming from behind the mask was muffled, as if separated by something. Like fog, it was vague and cold.
“…What do you want to eat?”
You Li froze. It seemed like he couldn’t process what was happening.
His voice came out very quietly.
“…Can I have cake?”
The clown did not respond.
There was no cake in the hospital.
You Li became nervous and quickly explained, “I’ve been in the hospital this whole time. I haven’t eaten it for a very long time, so can I…”
The clown was silent for a moment.
“Fine. I’ll make it for you.”
You Li unconsciously held his breath. He blinked, looking completely lost, as if he was trapped in a dream he couldn’t wake up from.
“Come out.”
You Li didn’t move. He was still cautious.
The clown waited for a moment and seemingly growing impatient, leaned forward, intending to grab him and pull him out.
You Li instinctively shrank further into the corner and tried to hide.
But he failed.
Seeing him resist, the other person only increased his strength.
He was pulled out forcefully, without room for refusal. His legs had no strength left and he could only be dragged forward until he fell against the edge of the wardrobe.
Holding back tears, he supported himself with his arms and looked at the person cautiously.
“I’m hurting… Can you be a little gentler?”
The clown paused.
He lowered his eyes and looked at him.
After a moment, his movements became lighter.
“If you listen obediently, you won’t have to suffer.”
His words were still cold as he warned him.
You Li was forced into his arms. The clown held him with one arm while using the other hand, the one still wearing the glove, to pick up the surgical knife from the floor.
You Li was frightened. He moved the hand near him farther away, keeping his body stiff as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around the clown’s shoulders.
He didn’t understand why things had become like this.
But he was clearly a good child who learned quickly and obeyed well. Following the system’s instructions, he could even draw conclusions from one example.
After a moment, You Li finally gathered enough courage to reach out and touch the clown’s head.
His voice was soft, as if negotiating.
“If you listen to me… then I’ll listen to you.”
His actions and tone were both childish and unfamiliar.
He was clearly pitiful and in front of a murderer who possessed no sympathy or compassion, his behavior even seemed somewhat ridiculous.
Yet strangely, the person carrying him forward did not make him lower his hand.
The clown’s footsteps stiffened for a brief moment.
As if he hadn’t heard anything, he simply carried You Li back to his own hospital room and placed him onto the soft hospital bed.
Before leaving, he repeated once again:
“Don’t run around.”
It was a warning that allowed no resistance.
You Li hurriedly nodded, showing that he wouldn’t run.
Only after the clown had completely left did the breath he had been holding tightly in his chest finally loosen slightly.
His first thought was to escape immediately.
But his wheelchair had been thrown at the entrance of the emergency staircase.
You Li could only sit anxiously on the hospital bed and wait for the clown to return. Nervous, he kept glancing toward the clock.
After an hour and a half, he finally heard movement outside the door again.
It was the sound of a wheelchair rolling, along with those familiar footsteps.
The clown kicked the door open while pulling his wheelchair inside. His appearance was strangely ruined by the fact that he was carefully balancing a small cake in his hand.
He slightly raised his chin.
“Eat.”
Even though You Li had prepared himself, the sound of the door being kicked open still startled him.
He looked at the small dessert in front of him, piled high with cream and stuffed with strawberries. His empty stomach finally reacted belatedly with a quiet growl.
He accepted it and even said:
“Thank you.”
You Li wondered in his heart if this cake was really made by the other person.
He didn’t dare to eat it and wasn’t particularly eager to either.
The smell of cream mixed with the scent of blood created a strange combination that irritated his nose and taste buds.
It made him instinctively reject it.
But he was hungry.
The clown was still staring at him without blinking.
After hesitating for a moment, You Li picked up the fork, scooped up a little cream and tasted it.
The sugar content was a little high because it was meant to replenish his body’s energy but it was just within the range You Li could accept.
Unexpectedly, it tasted good.
It wasn’t overly sweet and suited his taste perfectly.
The clown leaned against the bedside cabinet with his arms crossed.
He didn’t do anything else. He simply watched You Li.
He truly looked like a starving beast that had been hungry for a long time, a wolf or a hyena.
His hidden greed and possessiveness were impossible to conceal, as if he could never get enough of watching him.
He watched him finish the entire piece of cake.
After smelling the scent of blood for so long, You Li had already grown used to it.
The cake was delicious and he was scraping off the final layer of cream.
He clumsily practiced this new skill of “throwing a bone.”
Under the clown’s gaze, he scraped the plate completely clean of the last bit of cream.
The moment You Li put down the plate and fork,
The clown walked over and leaned down toward him, as if he had finally come to collect his reward.
You Li instinctively leaned backward to avoid him.
The clown stopped.
He stared at him.
After a moment, he suddenly chuckled and asked:
“What? You want to use me but you don’t want to coax me?”
“Are you thinking about how to comfort me while also thinking about how to escape?”
Although he was laughing, the vague and youthful voice sounded twisted, carrying a hint of cold mockery.
The other person had seen through him.
Every little movement he made was completely obvious in the clown’s eyes.
You Li’s heart immediately rose into his throat.
The clown and he remained locked in silence for a moment.
Looking at his frightened and guarded posture, the clown suddenly said something strange.
“You once said you would be with me forever.”
“Together forever and ever.”
The clown narrowed his eyes slightly.
“You told me every sweet thing there was to say. You said you never wanted to separate from me in this lifetime, that you didn’t want to leave me and didn’t want me to leave you either.”
His voice lowered.
“You said we only had each other.”
You Li wanted to argue that he had never said such things.
He didn’t remember anything.
But he didn’t dare say it out loud.
He could only watch the other person warily.
Seeing the confusion in his eyes, the clown’s tone became slightly irritated and cold as he repeated it, almost like a warning, making sure You Li understood.
“I was your first.”
That cold clown mask with its wide, grinning smile pressed against You Li’s face.
His wrist was grabbed and pinned behind him, forcing him to lift his face and neck high, like a posture of sacrifice.
The cold sensation moved from his face down to his neck, then continued downward before stopping at his collarbone.
You Li was somewhat unable to process what was happening.
He realized that he was only being hugged.
He looked at the clown pressed against him, seemingly absorbing some warmth from his body.
Then the other person suddenly asked:
“Was it good?”
You Li answered stiffly.
“It was good.”
The clown fell silent again.
He didn’t move either.
You Li felt that every single one of these people was extremely difficult to communicate with.
Their thought processes were completely abnormal.
They were even more like lunatics than him.
He asked softly:
“…Do we know each other?”
The clown seemed completely immersed in his own thoughts.
Seeing that he wasn’t answering, You Li changed the question.
“When did we meet?”
The clown replied without hesitation.
“We grew up together.”
You Li asked:
“…Were we friends before?”
The clown let out a low laugh.
“Yes.”
He imitated You Li’s tone.
“We were each other’s only friend.”
Facing his imitation, You Li felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Carefully, he asked:
“What happened afterward?”
The clown’s tone was eerie and playful.
“Afterward, you locked me up.”
“In a very small place where there was nothing at all. I started waiting there, waiting for the day you would think of me.”
“Later, after waiting for too long, I wanted to come out and see you.”
“When I finally managed to leave… I realized so much time had passed.”
The clown’s voice turned cold.
“You had already forgotten me.”
“That you had erased me from your memory.”
The clown mask pressed even closer against You Li’s face.
The hard, cold touch against his neck felt unbearable, like it was seeping into his bones.
It was as if his throat was being tightly gripped.
There was no trace of pity from the other person.
You Li looked confused.
“I locked you up?”
He couldn’t believe that he could have been so cruel.
He searched for…
As if presenting evidence, You Li asked, “Then where did I lock you up?”
The clown slowly raised his head and looked at him. Through the mask, he gently rubbed against his lips.
“Inside your mind.”
You Li couldn’t understand.
He tried to turn his face away to avoid him, feeling the skin of his lips being rubbed until it hurt slightly. The other person’s force was simply too strong.
The clown refused to let him dodge. His voice became even lower, colder and more dangerous.
“You said we would be together forever.”
“You lied to me.”
“…You lied to me.”
The clown repeated the words through gritted teeth, almost as if he was biting them out.
You Li had the illusion that his throat would be bitten through the next second.
His instincts screamed danger and his sixth sense was frantically sounding alarms.
Training a dog was dangerous.
Especially when facing a mad dog that had already lost all reason. At any moment, there was a possibility of losing his life.
You Li tried to break free from the wrist that was being restrained and locked in place but the other person only gripped him even harder.
It hurt.
He wanted to cry but he forcibly held the tears back.
Only afterward did he realize that the person in front of him was a dungeon boss with no sense of reason at all.
Someone who would not have even the slightest bit of pity for him.
There was even a possibility that this person had already killed him once before, causing him to develop a severe walking related trauma response.
You Li wanted to speak.
But the moment he opened his mouth, the clown mask pressed against his lips as if it wanted to force its way between his teeth and tongue.
His teeth were knocked.
Without knowing his own limits, he reached out with his tongue to push it away.
He whimpered.
There was nothing he could do.
He could only use the tip of his tongue through the mask, hurriedly and submissively licking against the person.
The cold clown mask reflected the faint shine of the moisture left behind.
It was all the soft saliva from between You Li’s lips and teeth.
Even the coldness of the mask seemed to have been warmed by his lips, stained with his body temperature.
You Li’s tongue was already sore.
His head leaned backward and just as he was about to fall onto the hospital bed, the clown finally managed to calm down and reluctantly pulled away.
The moment he got the chance to speak, You Li immediately said:
“M my hand hurts. You’re hurting my hand.”
He struggled slightly.
“I moved away because it hurt. I wasn’t trying to deceive you.”
The clown’s attitude shifted uncertainly.
In the end, he slowly released him.
You Li looked at him pitifully.
“I’m still hungry.”
The clown remained cold and motionless.
You Li pinched the edge of his white coat with his fingertips and tugged at it lightly.
The clown took a deep breath, seemingly suppressing something.
Then he stood up, picked up the empty plate and walked away.
Seeing him leave, hearing his footsteps disappear, You Li immediately climbed off the hospital bed.
He reached out to grab his wheelchair and hurriedly moved himself onto it.
The moment he sat properly, he immediately pushed himself toward the door of the hospital room.
But the instant he went outside, his entire body froze.
Because the clown had never actually left.
He was quietly leaning against the wall around the corner near the entrance.
In his hand, he was casually playing with the surgical knife.
Looking at You Li, who had frozen on the wheelchair, the clown slowly turned his eyes toward him.
It seemed like he smiled slightly.
You Li couldn’t even speak.
His teeth trembled.
Inside his mind, he was crying.
“How come he didn’t leave?”
In the end, who was deceiving whom?
The system treated everyone equally.
“The dog was afraid the bone would run away.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Statistically speaking, coffee would be appreciated.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · I have amnesia (1)Chapter 2 · I have amnesia (2)Chapter 3 · I have amnesia (3)Chapter 4 · I have amnesia (4)Chapter 5 · I have amnesia (5)Chapter 6 · I have amnesia (6)Chapter 7 · I have amnesia (7)Chapter 8 · I have amnesia (8)Chapter 9 · I have amnesia (9)Chapter 10 · I have amnesia (10)Chapter 11 · I have amnesia (11)Chapter 12 · I have amnesia (12)Chapter 13 · I have amnesia (14)Chapter 14 · I have amnesia (14)Chapter 15 · I have amnesia (15)Chapter 16 · I have amnesia (16)Chapter 17 · I have amnesia (17)Chapter 18 · I have amnesia (18)Chapter 19 · I have amnesia (19)Chapter 20 · I have amnesia (20)Chapter 21 · I have amnesia (21)Chapter 22 · I have amnesia (22)Chapter 23 · I have amnesia (23)Chapter 24 · I have amnesia (24)Chapter 25 · I have amnesia (25)Chapter 26 · I have amnesia (26)Chapter 27 · I have amnesia (27)Chapter 28 · I have amnesia (28)Chapter 29 · Desert Highway (1)Chapter 30 · Desert Highway (2)Chapter 31 · Desert Highway (3)Chapter 32 · Desert Highway (4)Chapter 33 · Desert Highway (5)Chapter 34 · Desert Highway (6)Chapter 35 · Desert Highway (7)Chapter 36 · Desert Highway (8)Chapter 37 · Desert Highway (9)Chapter 38 · Desert Highway (10)Chapter 39 · Desert Highway (11)Chapter 40 · Desert Highway (12)Chapter 41 · Desert Highway (13)Chapter 42 · Desert Highway (14)Chapter 43 · Desert Highway (15)