IWOL Chapter 301: Uninvited Guest

The train stopped at the platform in District VII a day later.

Everyone played Fight the Landlord and Monopoly on the train for a day, and no one was tired. Fu Zhe’s castle was like a mobile base, and so unlike other teams, they didn’t carry a lot of luggages with them when they travelled.

District VII was a city that looked as if it was on the verge of being submerged by the sea. It was shrouded in clouds and sea mist all year round. After getting off the train, Cui Zuojing took a deep breath and stretched his body. As the team captain, Dong Zheng went to apply for housing as before.

The other passengers got out in twos and threes. Cui Zuojing roughly counted them. Only half of the passengers woke up, which wasn’t different from when the Afternoon Tea Party crossed that year. It seemed that after so many years, the average quality of pilgrims in the Pure White Realm hadn’t changed much.

District VII was in the shape of a tuna fish, and here, people mostly wore raincoats and boots. On the billboard sign, a mermaid with seaweed covering her most important parts was posing in a sexy posture, and the lamp posts were in the form of fluorescent jellyfishes.

The octopus hanging upside down on the beam issued a booklet to the new pilgrims. The mucus on its tentacles left wet marks on the paper. Cui Zuojing was a bit grossed out and gingerly opened the booklet. It provided a general introduction to the area. Cui Zuojing had been here before so he knew more things than was written in the booklet, but he still read it again to ensure that nothing had changed in ten years.

They were all familiar contents. Very quickly, Cui Zuojing reached the end of the booklet, and his attention was attracted by a legend. Legend has it that in the endless sea that surrounded District VII, there was an eternal concentration of dissipated fog. In the center was a boat that floated in the sea like a leaf, with a lone lamp just bright enough to illuminate a square of ground. The Master of Oblivion wandered endlessly on this boat, and every person that she saw would forever be forgotten by the world.

The Master of Oblivion? Cui Zuojing was thoroughly shocked. He immediately said, “Uncle, look at this.”

Victor frowned after reading about this legend that he’d never heard of before. He had the same thought as Cui Zuojing. “Is it Nana?”

“I don’t know. But no matter what, we’ll have to go and see.”

After Dong Zheng finished all the necessary procedures, they left the station. The streets in District VII were mostly submerged in sea water. A motorboat was the necessary means of transportation, and a ferry-shaped dock was built at the intersection of each street, and motorboats were parked next to it for easy use.

They first went to check out their place of living. Victor had changed into a cat and so six people and one cat sat in two motorboats. The rumble of the engine and the misty breeze on Victor’s hair made him too comfortable.

After waking up on the train, everyone talked about their experiences in their dreams. They had all received an invitation twice. However, except for Cui Zuojing and Victor’s, everyone else’s first invitation didn’t have any contents at all.

The second invitation that followed was received at the time of their original death. Wang Que died after Tan Qiuyu pushed her down the roof, Xia Qiongyun died in an “accident,” Lin Hangzhi, who lost his job due to a medical accident, died on the road when a billboard fell on him, and the two brothers who died in a car accident after Dong Linhai got out of his TOEFL class.

If they guessed correctly, the content of the invitation letter should read:

Dear Mr. So-and-so/Miss:
Please take this invitation letter and go to the Pure White Realm on a certain day. I will await your arrival there.
From: Luo Yan.

This was a hint Luo Yan left them, which helped Victor realize that it was only an illusion.

After Wang Que escaped from her dream with Luo Yan’s help, she lent Wang Que a small portion of her dream power to help her wake her companion. Finally, Worm of Mystery invaded Cui Zuojng and Dong Zheng’s dream, wanting to take this opportunity to swallow them. This caused their dreamland to become chaotic and unexpected. This was impossible for Worm of Mystery to accomplish alone. In other words, if Luo Yan could lend Wang Que her dream power, she could also certainly play a role in this.

Afterwards, Worm of Mystery left the train with spatial power that had a high probability of coming from Cerberus.

Cui Zuojing didn’t want to doubt Luo Yan. But in these past two years, Luo Yan had only met him once in a dream at the beginning. If there were news, she wouldn’t meet him and would instead use Wang Que as the messenger. The girl’s words in Doll’s House echoed in his ears, like the devil’s whisper:

—‌Beware of your friends.

The motorboat docked and they disembarked. Once they found their apartment, they took out the key and walked in. The structure of the house was very different from the previous one. All of their belongings were at the old castle, and the apartment would only be used as a connection point.

“It’s too wet here. And this sun…how long will it take to come out.” Lin Hangzhi opened the curtain of the apartment, but the sunlight was completely blocked behind the clouds. The light outside was dim, and the living room light must be turned on. He even suspected that if he washed some clothes and dried it outside in this environment, it would take forever to dry.

“It won’t come out,” Cui Zuojing spoke from experience. “The weather here is like this. It will always be cloudy and foggy here. If the plan goes well, we’ll only stay here for half a year and then move on to the next area.”

“Let’s go back and rest for a while.” Dong Linhai took out the key and opened the bedroom door. It was dark behind the door, but when they walked in, they returned to the old castle.

Now that they’re returned home again after being gone for two days, they finally relaxed. If there must be a safe place in this world, then would definitely be Fu Zhe’s castle.

But Dong Zheng noticed something unusual. He usually pushes the chair under the table, but now the chair was pulled out. There were three cups of water on the table. If Lillian or Fu Zhe were drinking, at most they would be using two cups of water. This meant that there was a third person here.

“There’s something a bit off.” Dong Zheng looked upstairs, trying to find traces of Fu Zhe. Cui Zuojing lazily lay down on the sofa and asked, “What’s wrong?”

At this moment, a tall man with deep honey eyes walked out of the kitchen, carrying a plate. He raised his eyes and met everyone’s gazes.

Cerberus: ………….

Everyone: ………….

Cerberus?! What was he doing here?

Cui Zuojing immediately jumped up from the sofa, as if he’d seen some terrifying monster. Cerberus slightly tensed, ready to attack at any time. Everyone was shocked to see this uninvited guest. That’s right. Fu Zhe used to sit in the living room, reading a book while waiting for them to come back, but today he was nowhere in sight.

Cui Zuojing’s heart suddenly had a bad premonition. He asked through gritted teeth, “What did you do to Fu Zhe?”

“Why should I tell you?” Cerberus gazed at Cui Zuojing like a wolf who’d seen blood. His chin and sideburns were clean shaven, and he was wearing the simplest white shirt and sports pants with a pair of slippers under his feet. He looked very homely, but he still had the ferocious temperament of a wolf.

“Won’t tell me? Then get out of here!” Cui Zuojing flipped over the sofa with one hand. He picked up the French baguette on the table and rushed toward Cerberus. Cerberus refused to take it lying down. He grabbed the two ribbonfish he’d just taken out of the freezer for Lillian to cook and held them together to face the enemy.

Bang–!

The French baguette and the ribbonfish collided with a dull sound. At Lillian’s screams, Cerberus lifted the kettle in the air with one foot. Cui Zuoing kicked it away and smashed the pot with the French baguette. It landed on the ground and shattered into pieces.

Cui Zuojing grabbed the scarf hanging on the wall and wrapped it around the ribbonfish with a flick of his left hand. Cerberus released the ribbonfish and grabbed the vase on top of the cabinet. He pulled the flowers out and splashed the water toward Cui Zuojing’s head!

Cui Zuojing dodged sideways. Cerberus remembered that this was Fu Zhe’s favorite vase and put it back in place. He held the remaining ribbonfish and thrusted it toward Cui Zuojing’s chest,

The French baguette smashed the ribbonfish aside, and Cui ZUojing hooked his toes on the edge of the litter box. With a fierce force, the entire litter box flew up, and granular cat litter landed all over Cerberus!

Fortunately, Victor wasn’t at home these few days. The litter box was clean. Cerberus raised his hand to cover his eyes and nose. He jumped on the table and kicked out the cup and fruit plates one after another. Every object was turned into weapons capable of injuring people. Cui Zuojing didn’t dare to underestimate the enemy. He slid under the long table, and with a shout, began to flip over the entire table.

“Stop!!!”

Fu Zhe shouted from upstairs. Cerberus stopped immediately. He quickly threw the ribbonfish aside, trying to pretend he hadn’t done anything. The apple Cui Zuojing had thrown arrived with a swish, and Cerberus raised his hand and firmly caught it.

Fu Zhe stood in the hallway upstairs. His hands were pressed on the railings as he looked down at the mess in the living room. He took a deep breath to calm his mood. Then, after several attempts, he finally gave up and shouted, “If you want to fight, get out and fight! Even if you fight for three days and three nights, no one would care!”

Cui Zuojing secretly made a grimace and hid behind Dong Zheng, using him as a shield. Cerberus just stood there and looked up at Fu Zhe, his eyes full of longing.

Fu Zhe didn’t dare respond to the emotions in his eyes. He lifted one hand, and the broken kettle on the ground, the cat litter all over the floor, the overturned table, the tea cups…they all flew back to their original positions. The living room was clean again in just a few seconds.

Those who were standing in the corner, not daring to join the battle, finally moved. They looked at Cerberus vigilantly and exchanged glances. But Cerberus didn’t pay any attention to them at all and was just gazing at Fu Zhe upstairs.

“What’s up with him?” Cui Zuojing asked, pointing at Cerberus.

“Come up and talk,” Fu Zhe said. He seemed unwilling to come downstairs and turned back to his study.

Cerberus grabbed the ribbonfish and turned back to the kitchen to return them to Lillian.

Lillian looked foolish as she looked at the man, her gaze full of astonishment. Cerberus was silent. He picked up the plate that he’d placed on the stove. It had the black caviar that he’d been searching for for a long time at the market. It was the master’s favorite black caviar.

“Go. Go up and rest. Don’t look.” Dong Zheng patted Dong Linhai’s shoulder. Wang Que didn’t hear him, still immersed in her own secret fantasy, having already imagined more than ten books full of passion and drama. Lin Hangzhi touched his right hand with lingering fear, feeling a faint pain there. Xia Qiongyun noticed this movement and bit her lower lip.

They went back to their respective room. Dong Zheng found that there was another room in the building that was being used. It seemed that Ceberus was staying there.

Cui Zuojing and Victor went into the study together. He closed the door, and still minding the sudden appearance of Cerberus, his tone was a little dissatisfied. “Alright. Can you tell me what’s going on now?”

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