Chapter 43 Blacked Out

Chapter 43: Everything Went Black

Under the lone, ancient tree by the lake, a figure had materialized.

Silhouetted against the light, the person was waving.

Fang Ran took a few steps forward, shielding his eyes with a hand, and squinted until the figure’s identity became clear.

It was that A-class Sentry…

During the chaos of that night, this was the person who had stood guard in front of his tent.

Though he hadn’t been able to prevent Fang Ran’s abduction, Fang Ran felt a debt of gratitude.

He slowly descended the slope, making his way toward the grassy expanse by the lake.

“Sentry Li Zhen.”

He nodded in greeting.

After regaining consciousness, Fang Ran had inquired about this person with Fang Liyu.

Indeed, this sentry, named Li Zhen, had been transferred from the West District Subcenter a year prior.

During the pandemonium that night, while other sentries sustained relatively minor injuries, he was the only one who had fallen unconscious.

Fang Ran paused.

He hadn’t expected to encounter him here.

“Guide Fang Ran!”

The young sentry’s face lit up with surprise and delight, and he strode forward several paces.

“I was just out for a walk—I didn’t expect to run into you.”

His right shoulder and hand were still bandaged, and his complexion remained somewhat pale. Perhaps due to the sudden movement, he winced, reaching up to clutch his shoulder.

Fang Ran hesitated slightly, pointing at the bandage on his shoulder as he asked:

“Sentry Li Zhen, your injuries…”

“Ah…” Li Zhen scratched his head with his uninjured left hand, looking a little embarrassed.

“They’re almost fully healed. Just a couple more days of rest and I’ll be fine.”

Seeing his earnest expression, Fang Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

“That night… thank you.”

“No, no!” The sentry quickly waved his hand. “It was all part of my duty.”

“We sentinels are tough—we recover quickly. Don’t worry!”

Fang Ran nodded, offering a grateful smile.

“That’s good to hear.”

It was nearly noon, and smoke from cooking fires drifted from the camp not far away.

Fang Ran glanced up at the glaring sunlight.

He’d been out for quite a while.

He smiled at Li Zhen. “Sentry Li Zhen, I’ll head back to my tent now.”

But just as he turned to leave, the sentry moved faster.

Li Zhen darted forward, sidestepping to completely block his path.

Fang Ran froze for a moment, his gaze traveling up from the bandage on the other’s shoulder until it met Li Zhen’s dark, depthless pupils.

The sentry’s pale face broke into a smile.

“Guide Fang Ran, I haven’t had a proper purification these past few days.”

“Could I trouble you…”

Fang Ran hadn’t expected this sudden request. Though he himself had only recently recovered, the energy within his Spiritual Sea was still plentiful.

After a moment’s hesitation, he finally nodded and replied, “Alright.”

After all, this person had been injured protecting his tent that night—both out of reason and courtesy, he couldn’t refuse.

Seeing Fang Ran agree, Li Zhen’s smile widened further.

“Thank you.”

The sentry eagerly extended his hand toward him.

Just as Fang Ran was about to raise his hand, he suddenly felt a chilly, sinister breeze brush past his side.

He couldn’t help but turn his head slightly, catching sight of ripples spreading across the water’s surface in circle after circle.

Layer upon layer of them, with numerous bubbles rising.

Despite the bright daylight, a chill seemed to surge up wildly from the depths of his heart, as if carried by those bubbles.

It was as though a voice was warning him.

Something wasn’t right.

Noticing Fang Ran’s sudden pause, Li Zhen frowned slightly, looking somewhat anxious.

“Guide Fang Ran.”

“Even though our compatibility is unknown… we could still attempt to establish a connection first.”

Huh?

Compatibility unknown?

Fang Ran’s heart suddenly raced, his pupils constricting sharply as he lifted his gaze to stare at the person before him.

The sentry’s expression was earnest, but as the curve of his smile grew wider and wider, there was something indescribably strange about it.

A thought suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Last time, it was because he didn’t have all of “Fang Ran’s” memories that he'd blurted out those words.

But Li Zhen had undergone a compatibility test with "Fang Ran," which was clearly documented in the system.

"He"

might not be Li Zhen.

A sense of danger reached its peak at that moment.

Intuition told Fang Ran that he must escape this place immediately.

He instinctively took a step back, hiding his hands behind him, and quickly activated a button on his terminal with a twist of his wrist.

“Oh?” The man opposite raised an eyebrow, as if noticing Fang Ran’s surreptitious movement, but said nothing, merely staring intently at him.

Fang Ran met his gaze calmly while observing the surroundings out of the corner of his eye.

Fu Changzhou’s terminal was connected to his own—he didn’t know if the signal had been received.

If Fu Changzhou couldn’t arrive in time, Fang Ran would have to rely on himself.

Fang Ran's heart raced faster and faster.

The terrain here was high on all sides—he wasn’t confident he could sprint up all at once without being caught.

What should he do?

“Haha!” The “Li Zhen” opposite suddenly contracted his pupils and laughed.

“I didn’t expect you to be so clever.”

The smile on his face gradually froze, and something seemed to writhe beneath his skin, faintly revealing eerie, swirling patterns.

Fang Ran gaped in shock.

Run!

That was the only thought left in his mind.

But as if under a curse, his legs felt as heavy as lead, rooted to the spot and utterly unable to move.

Countless slender branches burst from the ground in an instant, twisting around him.

Fang Ran was completely paralyzed.

He could only watch helplessly as the figure before him advanced closer, the shadow on his face growing larger and larger.

Swirling, tree-ring-like patterns emerged on “Li Zhen’s” face.

His eyes had turned completely black, completely hollow, yet his face still wore that eerie smile.

Suddenly, Fang Ran caught the scent of locust blossoms again.

The refreshing floral scent made him tremble uncontrollably, and a chill surged from the depths of his heart.

What should he do?

Suddenly, the terminal on his wrist vibrated.

Fang Ran’s heart pounded heavily, as if sensing something.

A glimmer of light flashed within his Spiritual Sea, and a surge of energy seemed to cut through space, rushing out wildly.

A burst of flames shot from Fang Ran’s palm, instantly spreading to the roots and branches entangling his feet.

The roots and branches shrank back from the heat, quickly receding into the ground.

Could it be…

Fu Changzhou!?

Just as hope rose in Fang Ran’s heart, another branch erupted from the ground beside him, slamming fiercely into the terminal in his hand. “Bang!”

Damn it!

A sharp pain shot through his wrist, and the shattered terminal fell to the ground in two pieces.

“Too bad.”

“Li Zhen” twisted his lips into a strange smile and let out two creepy chuckles.

“You’re quite interesting.”

The water behind him suddenly began to churn violently, as if a vortex had formed below, something surging upward rapidly.

In the next instant, the entire body of water rose up.

A wall of water towered before Fang Ran, like a giant beast lurking beneath the surface finally opening its jaws.

Phosphorescent waves crashed down, engulfing everything.

“Splash!”

Fang Ran’s vision went dark as he was swept into the lake water.