Free Web Novel"Mom! This... what's going on? Is this Lu Ming he's talking about the Lu Ming I know?"
Lu Yibei was completely dumbfounded. When the dream memory first appeared in her mind, she once thought that the Old Dad in the dream memory was just a figment of her imagination due to a lack of paternal love in her childhood.
She never expected that Gu Xinian's family had actually been in contact with her own Old Dad.
Through the experiences of the past two days, she could confirm that Gu Xinian was indeed a person from this world, and he was also a member of the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society, which was a cult organization established to pursue the so-called "real" world.
If Gu Xinian hadn't written these diaries while mentally unstable, then they might have truly gone to the "real" world and met Lu Ming and Gu Qianqian there.
Under the intense mental shock, Lu Yibei's brow throbbed slightly, and her whole body felt like it had been electrocuted, with waves of numbness.
"But, if Gu Qianqian is a person from the real world, why would she appear in my house? Why would Old Dad seek them out? And even say he wanted to help them..." Lu Yibei murmured.
Driven by intense curiosity, she composed herself and focused her attention on Gu Xinian's diary.
【April 14th
A man named Lu Ming came to the house.
He said he could help us.
Father didn't quite trust this strange man and politely declined his offer.
The man named Lu Ming smiled and didn't insist, only leaving a contact method and the words, "If you have trouble, contact me anytime." Then he left.】
【April 18th
I've been here for so long, and I still haven't gotten used to it.
It's much more terrifying than I imagined, not beautiful at all.
Last night, I didn't turn on the light and was crouching under the curtain by the bed to find an outlet to charge my phone, when a hand actually reached out from behind the curtain and grabbed my wrist...】
Lu Yibei, "..."
Are you writing a horror novel here?
Complaining inwardly, she quickly flipped forward a few pages, skipping the creepy stuff Gu Xinian wrote.
【April 30th
Father was attacked by the Night Watch again and was seriously injured.
But Mother was worried that the Night Watch had informants in the hospital and didn't dare send him there.
I originally thought that when we escaped that fake world, we unexpectedly gained some special abilities and were already very strong, but I didn't expect the Night Watch to be so terrifying.
Hopefully, things will get better in a while!】
【May 2nd
Yesterday, the Night Watch came to our door.
In our panic, we left Gu Qianqian behind...】
Seeing this, Lu Yibei frowned slightly.
The handwriting in this diary entry was a bit messy, and the content was just a single sentence. It was clear that Gu Xinian's family was in a very dangerous situation at that time.
Thinking about it this way, could it be that Gu Qianqian accidentally ended up here because she was looking for them? Lu Yibei wondered.
【May 12th
Father's health is getting worse day by day, and I haven't had a single night's restful sleep for almost a month.
During this time, the damn Night Watch has been chasing us like wild dogs, constantly biting at us. They really want to kill us!
Why can't they just leave us alone?
...
I couldn't sleep at night, and I kept thinking about Gu Qianqian.
I wonder how she's doing now.】
【May 17th
Father was injured again, and he finally chose to contact Lu Ming, but he only told him our approximate location, not the specific one.
That man is truly terrifying.
After receiving Father's call, he actually traveled over two thousand kilometers in less than a day and found us in the vast crowd based only on the approximate location.
Father took Lu Ming to the cottage next door and talked privately for a long time.
After Lu Ming left, Father told Mother and me that we were going home, and Lu Ming's way of helping us was to send us back.
In that instant, I completely forgot about my sister and Gu Qianqian, who might have been wandering the streets, and only felt a sense of relief.】
——————
"May 17th, this date..."
Lu Yibei mumbled, repeating the date of the diary entry, as if a memory had been triggered, and she frowned, lost in thought.
She tried hard to search her memory for anything related to her own Old Dad.
After a long time, her mind suddenly cleared, and she said to herself, "Could it have been that time?"
Lu Yibei vaguely remembered that when she was in roughly the fourth or fifth grade of elementary school, also around May or June, Old Dad suddenly closed the store for three or four days and went on a long trip, saying he was going to meet an online friend for a blind date.
Hearing that her Old Dad had finally given up on fencing with Shui Ge, Lu Yibei was naturally very happy and even personally saw Old Dad off in the car.
As for why she remembered it so clearly, it was probably because after Old Dad left, Shui Ge turned into a "resentful woman."
Every day after school, she would see a man dressed in a particularly flashy manner standing at the door of her house, gazing into the distance like a 'waiting stone.'
As soon as he saw Lu Yibei, Shui Ge would come over and keep muttering, "Say, when is your dad coming back?", "What blind date with an online friend! The internet is all virtual, unreliable!", "He's going alone, won't it be dangerous? What if he runs into a kidney-snatcher later!"...
Of course, Lu Yibei wouldn't let Shui Ge torment her like this. She would say to Shui Ge, "You're not young anymore, why don't you find a partner?", "If you can't find a partner, then quickly get rich, stop coming to my house for free meals!", "I've seen the photo of Old Dad's online girlfriend, you can't beat her in terms of beauty!"...
Thus, the two of them would spray each other like two perpetual talking machines, turning Su Mi, who had happily come to Lu Yibei's house hoping for a free meal, into an innocent victim on the spot.
At that time, Lu Yibei thought Shui Ge was just envious and jealous that Old Dad could finally escape singlehood.
Now, seeing this diary entry, she realized that Shui Ge's behavior was likely due to concern for Old Dad's safety.
After all, helping Gu Xinian's family would likely involve secretly opposing the Night Watch without revealing his identity, which was quite risky.
Of course, this doesn't change the fact that Shui Ge is gay!
If {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} you care about your brother, you can go with him!
Wouldn't it be better to leave me some more pocket money so I can have a couple of peaceful days by myself? Lu Yibei thought.
————
【May 20th
We followed Lu Ming back to Hua City, and the journey was safe.
It's strange to say, but ever since Lu Ming appeared, the Night Watch people have never shown up again.
Could this be a trap set by Lu Ming?
Didn't Father suspect him?】
"Mhm, I think it's a trap too!" Lu Yibei nodded, agreeing with Gu Xinian's point of view.
She knew her Old Dad well; he was so cunning that it made people just want to sing a song about being messy.
What normal person would secretly feed their child rice boiled with ghost peppers when the child was disobedient?
Couldn't he just give them a beating?
Although the result was the same, her butt would hurt for a long time...
【May 21st
We're really back!
Until a few days ago, I thought we would never be able to return.
I didn't expect that the place where Half-Mountain Apartment was located in the real world was actually an abandoned elementary school.
Lu Ming took us to the abandoned elementary school and led us to the classroom at the end of the top floor of the school.
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That classroom was very strange. Almost all the desks and chairs were damaged and piled up in disarray, but there was one chair that was completely intact, and on it lay an old photo album.
He carefully took out half a photo from his inner pocket, opened the photo album, and took out the other half of the photo from the interlayer of the photo album.
It was as if an earthquake had suddenly occurred. The moment the two incomplete photos were joined together, the entire building shook.
In the violent shaking, we were thrown into the sky, our bodies spinning rapidly, and everything in front of us became blurred.
Then...
We saw the strange and wonderful scene we had seen on the way here.
The old banyan tree was inverted, and clods of earth flew backward into the sky.
Stars floated beneath our feet, and the city drifted in the sky.】
"This..." Lu Yibei's eyes suddenly became serious.
Although Gu Xinian only simply recorded the scene he saw, it stirred Lu Yibei's memory.
The scene described in this diary entry was something she had seen in Half-Mountain Apartment. Almost every household had a painting depicting similar content.
She had also been to the abandoned elementary school mentioned in the diary, seemingly to look for someone.
However, she tried very hard to remember, until her brow ached, but she couldn't recall the person's name, and finally had to give up.
【May 24th
That man Lu Ming, as expected, had ill intentions. He helped us for a purpose!
The price for sending us back was actually to have Gu Qianqian betrothed to his son!
Despicable, shameless!
...
However, perhaps this is also a good thing?
This way, Gu Qianqian won't be left alone and helpless, right?】
"???"
After reading this diary entry, Lu Yibei immediately had three question marks in her mind.
She had thought that her Old Dad's disappearance for those few days was under the guise of a blind date with an online friend to help Gu Xinian's family, but she didn't expect that Old Dad actually went on a blind date, but not for himself, but for her.
That is, if Gu Qianqian wasn't at her house right now, considering how she had bullied Gu Qianqian before, she wouldn't know how to face her.
"Is it fake? My Old Father! How could you take advantage of others' difficulties and abduct their daughter?"
"Even if you're going to abduct someone, couldn't you be more selective? Why choose someone like Gu Qianqian, a high-energy consumption product who eats ten family buckets a day on average? Wait, that's not right..."
"Old Dad said before that I had an arranged marriage, could it be with Gu Qianqian?" Lu Yibei muttered to herself, her eyes gradually becoming serious.
"..."
Thinking about it, Old Dad seems to have gone on more than one blind date in those years, right?
Thinking carefully, it was probably over a dozen times. Could it be...
Impossible, Lu Yibei, you're dreaming!
The more she thought about it, the more terrifying it became. Lu Yibei shook her head hard, shaking off the absurd thoughts that had appeared in her mind.
Who would arrange over a dozen arranged marriages for their child for no reason?
That's too many!
How worried would someone be about their child not being able to find a wife in the future to do something so outrageous?
Thinking of this, Lu Yibei's nervous emotions relaxed slightly, and then she picked up Gu Xinian's notebook again and continued reading.
Although she had only read less than half of this diary, she had already discovered a bunch of incredible things, but the things she really wanted to know, she hadn't seen yet.
For example, why did Gu Qianqian appear in her house?
For example, did the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society really do those horrifying things, and if so, did Gu Xinian participate?
And for example, why were there such monsters in the West City Lime Factory, and the strange flesh that filled the basement and even parasitized the Coat.
Lu Yibei continued to flip through Gu Xinian's diary. For a long time after that, the content of his diary contained no important information.
In his diary, he wrote about the morning dew, the white clouds in the sky, interesting things at school, and the innocent feelings of secretly liking his deskmate.
After returning to this fake Hua City, his life seemed to have returned to what a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy's life should be like.
Until half a year later...
【December 7th
Mother had a big argument with Father today.
Father actually gathered the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society people together again and organized a meeting.
Mother questioned Father why he was still in contact with those people when everything was over, and Father didn't answer. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
...
Waking up in the early hours of the morning, I was startled to see sparks floating on the balcony, and when I came to my senses, I realized it was Father smoking on the balcony, looking troubled.
I asked Father why he was still gathering the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society people. He knew how dangerous the real world was, full of urban legend everywhere, and even if they went there, they would face endless pursuit from the Night Watch.
Father took a deep drag of his cigarette and told me earnestly that a person needs something to live for, otherwise they become walking dead and can't live on.
Pursuing the real world is what the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society people live for...】
【December 22nd
Since returning from the real world, the injuries left on Father by the Night Watch have gradually worsened, eating away at his life.
Recently, various matters of the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society have also kept him busy day and night.
In half a month, he couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed...】
【January 7th
Father passed away.
Before Father passed away, he asked me to find my second uncle, and the two of them talked privately in the room for a long time.
Finally, Father handed the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society over to his second uncle and took his last breath.】
————
Gu Xinian's diary entries ended here.
It was as if his habit of writing a diary had died with the passing of his father, to whom he had given this diary.
Lu Yibei put down the diary, rubbed her brow, and muttered thoughtfully to herself, "So, Gu Xinian's father was the former Chairman of the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society?"
"The current Chairman is his second uncle? No wonder he has a place to stay at the West City Lime Factory."
"It seems his position in the Xunzhen Mutual Aid Society is even more important than I imagined! If I can find him and ask him in person, I'm sure many mysteries will be solved, right?"
As she spoke, Lu Yibei glanced at her phone.
Time, six twenty-two in the morning.
It was almost dawn, and she should prepare to bask in the morning sun and return to her original appearance.
————
Ten minutes later, on the rooftop of the faculty and staff compound.
Looking out, a hint of reddish-purple appeared on the horizon, then gradually brightened, as if the morning sun would appear at the end of the horizon at any moment.
"Gulp—!"
Lu Yibei swallowed, clenched her pink fists, and stared expressionlessly at the morning sun about to appear in the distance.
Soon, the sun climbed above the horizon, and brilliant golden-red light poured down, gradually engulfing her small figure, and then...
And then nothing happened.
Lu Yibei, "..."
It's over, there's a big problem!
