“By the way, Doctor,” Fatty asked, “How did Chen Xiaomeng find us?” He blinked and probed, “Did Pi Wan sell us out?”
“No.” Jiang Cheng explained the situation to him. Things were not that complicated.
“Then, Chen Xiaomeng’s background is quite complicated.” Fatty grumbled sadly, “If I knew that, we shouldn’t have tricked her in the nightmare. Now, she is coming after us with her people.”
Jiang Cheng showed two fingers. Fatty pouted, “The Doctor, you can just say it. The girl is already in our territory. Why do you still have the mood to lecture me?”
“First, we didn’t actively trick her. She was the one who wanted to scam us first.”
Regarding this, Fatty had no issues with it. If not for the Doctor’s suspicious nature, they would have died with Sister Nuan and Man Li in the first mission already.
“What about the second point?” Fatty asked curiously.
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” Jiang Cheng glanced at Fatty, causing the latter to shiver. “If she just wants to deal with me, she doesn’t need to do so many things. I suspect Chen Xiaomeng…”
“Doctor,” Fatty interrupted him, “If you wanted to say Chen Xiaomeng did this because she likes you, I’d advise you to save your breath. I saw everything earlier. If you were not an orphan, I suspect she would have dug up your ancestral grave.”
The leather shoes tapped cleanly across the floor. The new arrival took the seat at the couch calmly. Fatty looked at the guest with an open mouth.
“Continue,” The middle-aged man with a scar on his lips took a light sip of the water. “I can wait.” He was the middle-aged man who followed Chen Xiaomeng.
Fatty’s eyes exploded with fear. He saw this man being hauled away by the police not too long ago. The Doctor had just been released. How did he…
The next second, he turned to the door. Thankfully, he didn’t see the others. Chen Xiaomeng and the other young people didn’t show up.
Different from the flustered Fatty, Jiang Cheng didn’t show much reaction. He looked at the stable middle-aged man and asked, “Where is Xia Meng?”
“She didn’t come with me.” The man answered, “I have locked her in the car or else things would spiral so quickly.” The man looked into Jiang Cheng’s eyes, “How come you don’t look surprised?”
“I am surprised. You came here earlier than I thought,” Jiang Cheng replied.
“Is that so?” The man chuckled. Hearing the chuckle, Fatty broke out in goosebumps. The middle-aged man was a serious person. Once he smiled, it tore at the scar on his lips. It made him look scary.
“Tell me your conditions.” Jiang Cheng picked up the files that had scattered to the floor and patted away the dust. Then, he placed the files back.
“She’ll be entering another nightmare soon. I hope you can accompany her,” The man said succinctly.
“Yes.” The middle-aged man nodded, “I need you to protect her.”
“What benefits will that get me?” Jiang Cheng asked.
The man put down the glass. He growled with impatience, “I won’t kill you.”
“You sure are generous.” Jiang Cheng glared at him.
“That is my bottom line.” The middle-aged man nodded.
“Since you’re so amazing, why don’t you go with her?” Jiang Cheng challenged.
“There are too many people who know my face. We need a new face.” The man didn’t hide anything. He straightened himself like a spear. Then, he said, “You are the perfect fit. Your body and brain are just right enough.”
Jiang Cheng hugged his arms and narrowed his eyes. “It looks like you’ve been targeted.”
The middle-aged man didn’t speak.
“Who is the other party?”
The man leaned back on the couch. The sun was setting but the room had no light. Everything was enveloped in a dim light. This made Fatty nervous.
“Have you heard of… Deep Red?” The man’s tone shifted.
For some reason, when the man said those two words, fragmented memories appeared in Jiang Cheng's mind. There was a door made from mirrors… that suddenly shattered. Then, everything dissipated like the mist.
“No.” He calmed himself down.
The middle-aged man sighed. He didn’t see anything that made him wary in Jiang Cheng’s eyes. That was the thing that worried him the most.
“They are all insane.” The middle-aged man leaned back in his memory.
“The nightmare realm doesn’t lack crazy people.” Jiang Cheng countered. “Only the insane can survive the nightmares. They are forced to be crazy.”
The man shook his head. “It’s different.”
“You said they. It sounds like Deep Red is an organisation.” Jiang Cheng scratched his chin. “And it has many members. Plus, Deep Red has a bad history with you.”
“I don’t know how to describe it. However, the term organisation… is too concrete.” He looked at Jiang Cheng. Their eyes met, but no one looked away, “From my understanding, Deep Red is more like a consciousness. Its members are all recruited by this consciousness.”
“The consciousness of destruction, madness, violence, berserk, murder…” The man paused before adding, “They are the product of all the negative consciousness.
“For those in the nightmare, Deep Red represents despair.”
“You’ll die once you encounter them,” Jiang Cheng frowned, “Is that it?”
“Death is the best ending,” The man sighed, “They like to hunt and torture others in the nightmares.” He paused to think about something. Then, he added in a whisper, “In manners you can’t even imagine.”