After destroying the figurine of the past, Gao Ming not only found his true self but also stole the past’s partial faith.
Actually, on the bus to the past, Gao Ming’s soul perfectly aligned with the rules of the God of the Past. It was why the God of the Past didn’t want Gao Ming to die so easily. It wanted to convert Gao Ming into its own loyal disciple. Unfortunately, Gao Ming’s consciousness had reached a phase where fate couldn’t shake him anymore. It tried to split Gao Ming’s consciousness, but even when Gao Ming was separated into many personas, the God of the Past still failed to do anything to him. It was quite a helpless God.
Walking on the bloody path, Gao Ming studied every footprint. They were left behind by different versions of him. In the end, they burned their souls to light the final stretch for Gao Ming. Everything that happened was a real depiction of Gao Ming’s many deaths. Tiny sparks lit up the night sky.
“They are me, and I am them.”
The monsters that hid in the dark did not dare to approach. Gao Ming easily returned to Everlasting Apartment. He paid heavily for each step when he tried to leave, but it only took a minute when he walked the same way back.
“I’m surprised you’re still alive.” Gao Ming looked at the heavily-wounded Xia Yang and He Jing, who was playing dead. While the other Gao Mings used another method to reunite with the normal Gao Ming, the painter Gao Ming was still struggling. As the figurine was shattered, the power of the God of the Past on Gao Ming slowly disappeared. The painter Gao Ming’s face slowly morphed. He ultimately was not Gao Ming.
“Teacher Xia, I know what your goal is. Therefore, I let you out at the last moment before I was oppressed by God.” Gao Ming knelt beside Xia Yang in the school uniform. “I gave you a chance. If you were willing to burn your soul earlier, you might really be able to take over and become the new me.”
Xia Yang looked pitiful. His lips moved, and he cursed elegantly.
“My torture room is inside the heart of the flesh. I hope the God of the Future is sane. If it releases Situ An, it’ll be bad for all of us.” Gao Ming carried Xia Yang and looked up at Everlasting Life Apartments. After the figurine was destroyed, half of the restrictions the two Gods had on the outsiders were gone.
“Everlasting Life Apartments are ruined. If the people inside don’t want to face the mutated monsters wandering around the neighbourhood, there’s a great chance they’ll jump over the wall into Prosperity Neighbourhood.” The wall created two worlds. Everlasting Life Apartments had sunken into chaos, but Prosperity Neighbourhood was shrouded in absolute silence. Many people were still watching.
“When tragedy strikes, the rich and the poor are the same.” Gao Ming picked up He Jing and led him into Everlasting Life Apartments. He Jing, who managed to survive, instantly gave Gao Ming a few kowtows. If the fear of Gao Ming was an illness, He Jing’s sickness was at the terminal stage.
“Fan Li, well done.” Gao Ming looked at Fan Li with admiration.
“I actually didn’t do anything.” Fan Li was embarrassed. He felt like he had done nothing more than follow the group of Gao Mings. Instead of saying he saved Gao Ming, it was more like the group of Gao Ming had saved him.
Gao Ming handed Teacher Xia over to Fan Li and Doctor Lee. He ignored the gazes of the others and came to his corpse. The corpse Gao Ming was the unluckiest Gao Ming. Pain and despair accompanied him daily. The whole world seemed to be bullying him.
“I’ve regained the Heart of God, but my body is still here. Is it because of this death portrait?” Gao Ming picked up the portrait on the corpse’s chest. In the picture, he wore the uniform of the higher-up at the investigation centre. “This picture is so unfamiliar. I don’t think I’ve reached such heights within the rankings of the investigation centre before. Is this really me?”
Gao Ming tied the corpse behind him after he put away the picture. Then, he looked at the Door of the Future. The Doors of the Past and the Present had been destroyed. Only this door radiated an unlucky aura.
“Before I entered this anomaly, I went to find Gao Yun. When I was attacked, he sent me a lot of messages. It’s normal for him to know about these things, but how did Liu Yi know of them? What is she desperately trying to find in the Door of the Future?”
Most of the ‘citizens’ chosen by the investigation centre had some support from mysterious forces. Liu Yi was an anomaly. She was alone and unreadable.
More blood appeared on the door. The divine patterns that represented the God of the Future overlapped each other. Gao Ming was also curious about what was hidden behind this door. The fire spread. A thudding sound came from the elevator well. As Gao Ming tried to open the Door of the Future, a pair of wrinkly hands slowly pried the elevator doors open on the first floor. The grandmother’s mottled face appeared inside the elevator well. She hung upside down with her limbs clawing the walls of the well. There was no humanity left in her eyes. After the figurine of the past was destroyed, her faith crumbled, and she became a monster who only knew how to kill.
“Her existence is to detain the flesh Gao Ming and the mud figurine. Now that both of them are gone, why is she still here?”
Sensing her eyes on him, Gao Ming summoned Fan Li and the rest and left Everlasting Life Apartments. The grandmother didn’t give chase. She howled. She became less and less like a human. Soon, the monster called Future appeared on the first floor. It wandered around the Door of the Future. The blurry face became clearer.
After the Past died, the Future finally arrived.
“Gao Ming, shouldn’t we take this chance to escape?” Fan Li carried the dying Xia Yang, “Your friend really needs medical attention.”
“No need. I trust that he’ll survive.” Gao Ming leapt over the fence and officially entered Prosperity Neighbourhood.
“Can trust heal wounds?” Fan Li and Doctor Lee shook their heads helplessly. There were a lot of investigators and players following them. Everlasting Life Apartments were done for. Compared to the grandmother, it was clearly safer to follow Gao Ming’s group. R̃ÄΝỒΒƐ𝓢