CHAPTER 40

"The Silencers, unknowingly, consumed... people. They became conspirators, these upper-class businessmen, governing officials, and military personnel—those who could enjoy priority food rations. They all signed the Pact of Silence together."

"Later on, they all went mad. They enjoyed it. They started live-streaming us, making us do strange things before consuming us. They would select the ones that pleased them the most and gather together to enjoy... like the Night of Wild Dance, a dance-themed event. I saw them training, performing some strange dance."

It was Li Haohao explained to her what the Silencers were. He Ran observed closely and realized that this was Li Haohao 2.

"What about the so-called... supplementary food supply during normal times?"

"It's for the girls who weren't chosen as the main theme. If they make a mistake, they will be taken to the kitchen for processing."

He Ran didn't ask further. She remembered the transparent person she had k!lled on the train and the responsibilities of 0922. More unease grew within her.

Surprisingly, the journey was uneventful, encountering at most a few passing chefs and camera operators, whom she swiftly dispatched and hid their bodies in various strange places—inside pipes, under stairs, in rooms.

There was one instance when they heard the sound of the patrol team in the staircase. He Ran signaled everyone to remain silent and looked outside through the window. The patrol team didn't notice the existence of the staircase and was leisurely waiting for the elevator. A few of them turned their heads and glanced in this direction, but everyone hid perfectly.

He Ran had already drawn her gun. Throughout the journey, she hadn't used it, fearing that it might not come in handy at this critical moment.

There weren't many bullets in Xiang Chenxi's gun. She had to rely on her knife.

Fortunately, the patrol team seemed to be drunk, with red wine stains on their collars. They leaned on each other and stumbled into the elevator, oblivious to their surroundings. They escaped without incident.

Finally, Li Haohao, who was leading the way, raised her hand, signaling the team to stop.

All the girls remained calm and quiet, as if they were the same person.

He Ran walked forward gently, her boots, Li Haohao 2 returned them to her, making a light, crisp sound as they touched the ground. She saw the door open, revealing darkness beyond.

Suddenly, a light illuminated the darkness, revealing the face of a young Miss.

He Ran approached and held Li Haohao tightly in her arms, gesturing towards the top of her head. Then she stepped forward and, in front of all the Li Haohaos, grabbed the young Miss by the arm and hugged her, giving her the same gesture.

The young Miss lowered her voice. "Let go, I'll lead the way."

"Li Haohao," He Ran held onto her wrist, refusing to let go.

When she first saw the young Miss, she was squatting on the ground without any reference, so she didn't pay attention to the young Miss's height. But after seeing other Li Haohaos of the same height, she realized that the young Miss was slightly taller.

The real Li Haohao, no, the Li Haohao she was familiar with... was the same height as the young Miss.

If there was anyone among the numerous Li Haohaos who could be the original, it could only be this young Miss.

Of course, the young Miss didn't recognize her, but she wasn't here to experience the story of Li Haohao, which might not be the actual situation. She wanted to find Li Haohao, wanted her to release the supply officer, wanted all of this to end quickly and restore normal order.

"I told you I'm not Li Haohao, let go!"

He Ran was pushed against the wall, and all the girls silently followed the young Miss. Several Li Haohaos looked back at her, perhaps because she had hugged them, and a few reached out to support her, thinking she was tired and weak.

She still had it, she could resist a little when pushed, so the supply officer wouldn't be directly hit against the wall.

But...

She caught up with them, and the young Miss held an old oil lamp in her hand, seemingly taken from a warehouse. It was dusty. He Ran grabbed the young Miss's left hand.

The young Miss struggled a few times but couldn't break free, so she let He Ran hold her.

"Li Haohao, I'm He Ran."

"So annoying."

"Why are they allowed them to be eaten but not... no, I'm not saying it should be allowed. I mean, why are you allowing the eating..."

"Shut up."

"What's your relationship with them? Why are you all the same?"

"So noisy."

So noisy. He Ran tightened her grip. This tone and voice almost took her back to the beginning.

Alright, no more talking then.

"Where do we go from there?"

"Don't ask."

"Are you going to go out with everyone too? If you do, can I take you to the outpost to have a look?"

He Ran had never felt so talkative before, but the feeling of finding Li Haohao surged up, disregarding everything else, almost making her ignore that apart from height, there was no other evidence to prove that this was indeed Li Haohao herself.

"Okay." the other person dismissed her, seeming to know that besides constant pleading, she didn't pose any real threat.

He Ran got closer and almost pressed against the young Miss. Suddenly, she felt a punch on her back.

She turned around and saw the indifferent Li Haohao, who held a dining knife towards her. "Don't get so close to her."

"I'm not."

"You're just like those—"

"We're here." The young Miss interrupted their argument and took a step forward, pushing open a door.

Behind the door, an old, dilapidated railway appeared in the dim light, as if a snake lay on the ground.

He Ran tightened her grip, and the young Miss turned her head. "It's only because you're a woman that I allowed you to grab me like this. Let go, we need to go."

"Don't go." she murmured.

The young Miss frowned and struggled forcefully. "We're about to leave..."

"There weren't too many people blocking us along the way, and it felt off..."

He Ran stood in front of the door, extending her arms to hold it, pushing her chest forward to block everyone's footsteps.

"What do you mean?"

"Danger."

The danger lay ahead. But it was already too late.

If nothing unexpected happened, this railway was the same one she started on.

They got on the train in the middle of the tracks, with girls continuously crawling in through the broken windows. 0922 stood guard at the recycling station, watching the girls delivered to their doorstep, wielding a butcher knife.

She should have realized it sooner. The Li Haohao she had k!lled, the two she k!lled as 0922, the ones she dragged and personally brought to the dining table and grill—they were all Li Haohao.

How could she not see it!

If she hadn't appeared, the young Miss might have already brought the others onto the train, with bl*od splattering in the driver's cabin?

Is this what the real Daomiao City looks like? Is this a true representation here, or a twisted projection, or a tangible manifestation of fear? She didn't know anything, only that everything had already happened, and she couldn't stop it.

Even if she used all ten of her fingers to pry the door and didn't allow any of the girls to pass, she still couldn't change the fact.

The most terrifying aspect here wasn't someone harming her physically, nor the sudden appearance of the camera-headed people, nor even the chef cutting meat.

The most terrifying thing was how she remembered calmly boarding the train, k!lling a girl, putting her in the food cart, and serving her on the silencers' plates as if nothing had happened. And then, she saw so many Li Haohaos, and she helped them walk towards d3ath.

She followed the path of "normal" and walked towards the most normal yet abnormal ending.

"Don't go... please..."

"Are you asking us to go back the way we came? To be eaten? We've already come this far, we're about to get out..." Li Haohao accused her coldly, even trying to rush forward to k!ll her, but the young Miss stopped her and turned her head.

"Let go."

"Li Haohao!" He Ran grabbed the young Miss's shoulder. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry, can you hear me? Please, don't do this, let me leave... I can't, I can't bear to watch—"

The young Miss couldn't understand why she was calling out Li Haohao's name and saying these things. She just called a few girls to take her away.

They walked along the railway, and suddenly, the train arrived.

With a command, all the girls climbed onto the train, showing off their skills. The ones who jumped first pulled the others up from behind. The train was not moving fast, but the girls' movements made it shake.

Everyone entered through the broken windows and saw the bl*odstained driver's seat, causing their faces to turn pale.

The young Miss was no exception, but she walked forward, raising her head calmly and arrogantly. "What's the big deal? Driverless, haven't you seen it before? If you're worried, I'll control the direction."

She sat down and the carriage filled up with the girls, huddling together, filled with fear and unease, yet also a hint of excitement. Their eyes were bright, speaking to each other with joyful glances rather than speaking aloud.

Then, a thud.

Someone turned around in fear, only to see it was He Ran, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

He Ran ran her fingers through her hair, walked to the driver's seat, and looked at the seated young Miss. "Li Haohao."

"I'm not called Li Haohao."

"What's your real name?"

The other person pursed their lips and after a while, smiled and said, "Actually, I'm not the real young Miss either."

"Huh?"

"Like them... the real young Miss died a long time ago. I'm just... selected to be the daughter because the Governor needed one."

"So what's your name then? I..."

He Ran wanted to say something, but the train had already stopped.

The door opened, and first, a girl without any bead strings jumped out. She looked around curiously and saw an iron gate. She pushed and pushed with force, only to find it locked.

He Ran held onto her gun, but the girls didn't need her. They took out a file themselves and quickly unlocked the gate. They opened it and cautiously stuck their heads out.

They had expected patrol teams to shoot at them or camera-headed people watching them, or something else.

However, it was a long, quiet corridor.

On one side of the corridor, there were very old walls, still plastered with posters from "Night of Wild Dance."

At the baseboard, there were little figures indicating emergency exits. They didn't recognize many of the characters, so they gathered together and pieced them together for a while before recognizing those four words.

They didn't know that emergency exits are usually marked in green. Seeing red, they thought it was normal and happily embraced each other.

One after another, they crawled out of the train, looking towards the translucent glass on the other side of the wall.

Even though it was translucent, it let in the light from outside. Everyone forgot that they had come here to escape for their lives. They pressed against the glass, looking outside, seeing the lights, seeing the sign for Daomiao City, and they exchanged words to recognize the characters, seeing the roads and buildings. No one spoke first.

The young Miss was still walking in front, but after a few steps, she turned to look at He Ran.

"Look, you're blocking us... what are you doing?" The young Miss smiled with her hands behind her back, seemingly blaming her, but because the outcome was good, she forgave the unpleasant process.

Perhaps it was because they were too eager to leave, they ignored the various inconsistencies in the process, or... they had never left before, so they didn't know what was reasonable.

He Ran followed behind the girls, thought for a moment, and then hurried a few steps to reach the young Miss. She held her back and said, "Don't go any further."

At this moment, how could you stop me? The mistress lifted her chin and said, "What are you afraid of?"

"Please."

"No."

"Li Haohao!"

"Deception!" The young Miss turned her head, tugged at her silky hair, and suddenly wore an expression that He Ran was quite familiar with. "I need to go."

"Li! Hao! Hao!" She didn't care about the supply officer still bound behind her. She used her shoulder to push the girls back.

But she could stop the young Miss, but not the other girls who had Li Haohao's face. They swarmed past her, rushing towards that desperate dead end covered with thick posters.

"Li Haohao, don't... don't do this."

Her knees bent, kneeling in front of the young Miss, tears not flowing towards herself, but towards the delicate hem of the dress.

"I'm not Li Haohao." The young Miss still denied it.

"I'm He Ran."

"I know, but I... I'm not Li Haohao."

He Ran looked up, the young Miss frowned tightly, bl*od flowing from her eyes. "It's almost over, just about to end."

"No..."

"Aren't you supposed to do normal things? You've tried your best, this is the... presentation of normalcy."

"I have to..."

"Your Li Haohao will appear after everything ends."

"This didn't really happen, right? It's manipulated, distorted..."

A conflicted expression appeared on her face, a mixture of the familiar Li Haohao and the unfamiliar young Miss.

Bl*od dripped onto He Ran's face as she looked up at the young Miss. She had never seen Li Haohao from this perspective before.

"After it's over, I'll take you on a picnic, fishing, whatever you want. Okay?"

"It's almost over." the young Miss insisted on this one sentence.

From the end of the corridor came a desperate scream.

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