IWOL Chapter 119: I Trust You

Wang Que tried to open her mouth and found that she could finally talk. The terror of falling from the roof just moments ago seemed like a dream. Now, when she tried to recall it, it was blurred out, just like Tan Qiuyu’s face.

“My name is Wang Que,” she said and propped herself up. She originally wanted to remain sitting, but when she saw the strange and disgusting insects on her body, she immediately stood up and stepped to the side.

The injuries from the long fall, along with the blood on her body, had disappeared.

Wang Que inspected herself from head to toes, feeling that it was quite novel. She raised her head and saw that there was no one on the edge of the roof, but the iron railing hung on one side, faithfully telling her that everything was real.

What was going on?

As if hearing the doubts in Wang Que’s heart, Luo Yan laughed. Her laughter was as crisp as a bell, revealing a youthful vitality. With a light wave of her hand, the blood and the insects disappeared.

“As you can see, I can control the power of dreams.”

“So everything just now was a dream?”

“Yes, but not really. Dreams are, in a sense, a reflection of your deformed memory. Just now, what happened was your real memory.” Luo Yan snapped her fingers, and the school building, the rooftop, and the sunset disappeared in a flash, replaced by a grassy riverside at night. There was a small wooden boat on the bank, and the river reflected the night sky, it’s gurgling flow washing the stars into the distance.

The memory of what happened in the Pure White Realm after her death also returned to Wang Que’s mind.

She remembered the uncertainty she’d felt the first time she entered a box. She remembered the shame and the pain of being persecuted. And, she remembered how touched she’d felt when everyone in the Wonton Insurgency took care of her.

Luo Yan pulled Wang Que into the boat, and they began floating along the river. Luo Yan stretched out her hand to stroke the clear water with her fingertips, saying, “I’ve been observing you for a long time, and I could sense that what happened just now had always been on your mind, right?”

Wang Que was silent for a moment, before she nodded and softly said, “Even though I’ve been here for a long time already, I thought about what happened countless times, wondering if I really did do something wrong. From the beginning, if I took more care with Tan Qiuyu and noticed the resentment in her heart, if I learned to cover up my edges a little bit more and played down my achievements that many others wouldn’t be able to replicate, would everything be completely different from how it is now?”

Luo Yun listened patiently to her. The boat drifted with the current. On the riverside were large swaths of white flowers, like a guiding path leading toward rebirth.

“Later, I finally understood that it wasn’t me who was wrong from beginning to end. I lived at my own pace. I didn’t take the initiative to show off, and I didn’t intentionally stimulate anyone. Her sense of injustice, her crazed jealousy, only proved that she was a narrow-minded, two-faced, and extremely egotistical villain, nothing more.”

“From the beginning to the end, I was the most innocent one.”

As her voice fell, Wang Que finally couldn’t maintain her calm anymore. She pressed her lips tightly together, yet they kept trembling. Her eyes became wet, but she managed to hold back her tears.

If things had gone according to plan, she would be sitting in the most prestigious school for domestic arts, exactly where she yearned to be, pursuing her long-cherished dream.

But now, she didn’t even have the courage to pick up a paintbrush again.

Luo Yan listened quietly. Faced with Wang Que’s intense and fluctuating emotions, she did not try to comfort her but said, “Did you know? I used to be teammates with A’Zuo, Fu Zhe and Uncle.”

Wang Que’s head snapped up. She stared at Luo Yan closely, her eyes full of disbelief.

“They hadn’t told you these things yet.” Luo Yan smiled and said, “Eight years ago, we were in the same team. The team was called the Afternoon Tea Party, and Fu Zhe was the captain.”

Wang Que said, “I knew the three of them were teammates, but I’ve never heard of other members.”

“Because this is a secret.” Luo Yan’s soft voice reached Wang Que’s ears. “We used to be the most powerful team in the Pure White Realm. Strong pilgrims, as we all know, as long as they can reach the end of the pilgrimage and make a wish in front of the queen, they can return to the real world.”

“But up until the very end, we never realized that all of this was a lie.”

Wang Que was taken aback. Her eyes widened, and she listened carefully to the next important words.

“The queen didn’t want anyone to leave at all. She used points and the Blood Night as intimidations to force pilgrims to enter boxes again and again, so as to provide her with the desperate emotions she needs most to survive.”

“We were pilgrims who knew the truth and so she wanted to kill all of us. But, at a critical moment, the five major forces of the Pure White Realm selected each of us and saved our lives.”

“The queen had no choice but to cast a curse on us. As someone selected by the power of time, Cui Zuojing’s time was frozen forever on that day. Fu Zhe, who was selected by the power of space, was trapped inside the ancient castle and could never leave. Uncle became a cat and, as for me, my body dissipated, and I could only shuttle between dreams.”

Just like everyone else when they first heard the truth, Wang Que was shocked speechless.

After a long time, she managed to say with difficulty, “So everything is a lie? No matter how hard we worked, we can never go back to the real world?”

If so, then what was the use of her working so hard now?

She did her best just so she could go back, go back and avenge the girl whose everything had been destroyed. But, in the end, it was all impossible?

Luo Yan shook her head. “Not exactly. There is a pilgrim who has successfully left by your side.”

Wang Que was a clever girl. She thought and immediately guessed who it was. “Brother Cui?”

“Yes, despite the curse, he and Victor successfully left the Pure White Realm eight years ago. But, in the end, A’Zuo still chose to return.”

Wang Que muttered, “The frozen time must have caused him a lot of trouble. Otherwise, why would he return to this nightmare place?”

“To many people, his choice is an opportunity.” It was unclear where the boat was drifting to. The white flowers gradually disappeared, replaced by lush, primitive forest on both sides of the river and from time to time, came the distant calls of wild animals.

Luo Yan said, “In the past eight years, I have shuttled through the dreams of many people, spying on their memories. I finally found a way to successfully kill the queen.”

Seeing Wang Que’s inquisitive look, Luo Yan smiled. “But it is not convenient to tell you right now. You just need to know that there will be a way out. Never give up the hope in your heart. A’Zuo and the others will do their best.”

Wang Que nodded. Then, she pressed her lips together and asked, “Why are you telling me all this?”

Luo Yan said, “Fu Zhe and A’Zuo still have their doubts. When they’re sure that everyone else could be trusted, they won’t keep it a secret anymore. But through the power of dreams, I can enter people’s memory, and I’m certain that you can be trusted. Just like how A’Zuo trusts Dong Zheng, I also trust you.”

“I’m very sorry for spying on your memory without your permission, but time is running out. Everyone needs to act as soon as possible.”

Maybe it was due to Luo Yan’s gentle and sincere attitude, but Wang Que didn’t feel much anger at having her memory spied upon. She said, “What do you need me to do?”

“Be prepared, always pay attention, and don’t miss Mr. Bunny, who will lead you to the rabbit hole. Also, don’t tell the others that you’ve seen me.”

It was as if the vegetation on the both sides of the river were wiped away with an invisible hand. Everything became blurred, and the river reflecting the night sky suddenly became turbulent. It formed a vortex and, before Wang Que could react, she and the boat were swept into it.

“If it’s hatred that sustains you, then just stick to it, just like us.”

In the end, the voice echoed in her ear, “How long has it been since you last picked up a paintbrush?”

“Bang!”

A loud pop exploded in Wang Que’s ear, and she jerked awake.

Cui Zuojing was standing in front of the sofa, his arms folded across his chest. Seeing that she was finally awake, Cui Zuojing raised an eyebrow and said in a sincere voice, “Just how tired are you? You can fall asleep among such loud noises?”

Wang Que rubbed her eyes and stood up. She knew why she’d been so sleepy for so many days; it was Luo Yan calling her.

She adhered to her agreement with Luo Yan and didn’t tell anyone about her dream. “I’m sorry. Maybe, I’m just really tired. I won’t be like this in the future.”

Cuo Zuojing looked at her for a few seconds and waved his hand. “No need to apologize. If you’re really tired, go and take a rest. After all, you should relax when you’re not in the box. The intensity of this training is indeed a bit too high for you.”

Wang Que knew that Cui Zuojing was well-intentioned and that he was just speaking the truth, but it made her a little uncomfortable.

Even after having joined the team for so long, she had been dragging her feet and wasn’t really of any help at all.

Although no one said it, Wang Que still felt useless.

It stood to reason that, with her ability, she should be able to do many things.

Wang Que lowered her head and agreed in a muted voice.

Cui Zuojing didn’t know what he’d done to make the young woman in front of him instantly unhappy. He touched his nose and no longer asked questions. He patted her on the shoulder and turned to look for Dong Zheng.

With her head full of Luo Yan’s words, Wang Que no longer had the mind to go back to training. After staying for a while, she left the practice room and walked to the living room. Fu Zhe and Dong Zheng were sitting on the sofa and looking at the table, which had Fu Zhe’s key and a brush.

Cui Zuojing was leaning on the back of the sofa where Dong Zheng was sitting. When he saw Wang Que coming, his eyes brightened and he beckoned to her. “Oh, that’s right. As a matter of fact, don’t we have someone who can paint?”

Wang Que said, “What’s going on?”

“I want you to do me a favor,” Fu Zhe said. “If I remember correctly, Que’er is an art student. If you paint a door, how realistic would it look?”

Wang Que looked at the brush on the table. Her right hand could not stop shaking.

She clenched her hand hard into a fist and once again recalled Tan Qiuyu’s hateful, jealous eyes.

Once upon a time, when she first came to the Pure White Realm, she had tried to pick up the brush again. But every time she did so, she couldn’t help remembering her own death.

When Tan Qiuyu pushed her off the rooftop to her death, did she regard her as a living human being who’d exhausted all her heart to love her and to cherish her own parents?

She dared not think about it.

Dong Zheng saw her hesitation. He connected this with Wang Que’s various reactions to painting since he’d met her. He had a guess in his heart, and he said, “If you don’t want to paint, you don’t have to force it.”

Wang Que immediately shook her head. She didn’t want not to paint!

She pursed her lips and thought why should she give up what she loved most simply because of someone else’s action?

This was her dreaming from beginning to end.

She took a deep breath. Seeming to answer both Fu Zhe’s question and affirm it to herself, she said, “I can.”

She stepped forward and picked up the brush on the table.

An hour later, Dong Linhai and Allen came out of the training room together. Allen moved his arm, which had become numb due to the recoil, and said, “Not bad. You’ve only recently started learning, but your gun is already so stable.”

Dong Linhai laughed happily at being praised and said, “When I hold the gun in my hand, it felt very familiar. Maybe it has something to do with the metal texture?”

Fu Zhe interrupted their conversation, “Linhai, come and do a test for me.”

“What?” After hearing this, Dong Linhai jumped down the last steps in threes and twos. He saw Wang Que sitting on the side with something on her hands. He couldn’t help but give her a silly smile.

Fu Zhe pointed to the black key on the table. “I made a new key. Go and open the door over there. Let’s see if it will have the effect I wanted.”

“Okay.” Dong Linhai took the key and walked two steps in the direction Fu Zhe pointed to. He suddenly said, “Since when is there a door here? Am I remembering it wrong?”

He turned around and saw that everyone’s expressions looked normal. His gaze paused for a few seconds on Dong Zheng’s face. He felt a little relieved to find that everyone wasn’t deliberately trying to trick him.

Dong Linhai looked twice at the key in his hand before inserting it into the keyhole on the door.

Huh? This door…wasn’t quite right?

Even as Dong Linhai was thinking this, his hand had already automatically twisted the key.

As everyone looked on expectantly, the door opened.

Cui Zuojing cheered and said to a smiling Fu Zhe, “This is great!”

Dong Zheng applauded, and Wang Que said, “I knew you could do it.”

Dong Linhai: ????

He was still full of doubts. Just now, he’d seen with his own eyes how the originally flat door had suddenly become three-dimensional right before he opened it.

Finally, Dong Linhai saw the dried paint on Wang Que’s hands.

Suddenly, he understood everything. He stared at the key in his hand, then he looked at the half-opened door, and exclaimed, “No way! This key really has all the functions of SCP-005?!”

SCP-005, the universal key. As a classic SCP project, aside from being able to open all locks, it also had one most important function: perception.

005 could also open any lock that its users imagined. Similarly, if a lock was disguised as something else and the user could not see that it was a lock, 005 would not be able to open it.

“This is a part of the ability I gained after completely mastering the space power that belonged to “Goodwill,” Fu Zhe explained, smiling. He looked at Wang Que and added, “Of course, it was all thanks to Que’er’s painting. Otherwise, how would we create the condition that the key holder firmly believes that there is a lock there?”

“I was tricked.” Dong Linhai rubbed his nose. He closed the door and sat down next to Dong Zheng. He looked at Wang Que for a few seconds and finally couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He said, “It’s so amazing. Since your painting skills are so good, why haven’t you painted more?”

“Since my teacher praised me as a most talented student, how can I not paint well?”

Wang Que seemed to cast aside all the apprehensions that she’d felt since arriving in the Pure White Realm. With a bright smile, she said, “From today onward, you have to be careful not to be fooled by my paintings.”

<<  Previous  |  Chapters  |  Next  >>