619: 10.14 Give Up

10.14 Give Up

Christian became slightly dazed when he looked at that smile.  0

Leonard already had an extremely attractive face to begin with. Sharp brows, piercing eyes, prominent nose bridge and thin pale-colored lips, he looked like an aristocrat who should be sipping on a glass of high-quality wine in a rose garden instead of squatting in the most notorious prison. All this while, he had always put on a cold and irritated face, giving off the impression that he should not be approached or else there would be dire consequences. But now when he was showing such an enchanting smile…

Christian felt his throat run dry. An unfamiliar kind of urge overwhelmed him from head to toe, compelling him to take a step forward. His voice was barely a rasp as he tried to taunt the other. "So, is this really a split personality?"

In front of him, Leonard tilted his head in a seemingly innocent gesture, still with that sweet smile on his face. It was so different — too different from the image he had always portrayed. Christian became even more excited. He must be right! He had grabbed hold of this person's weakness!

Leonard crooked one finger at him. "Come." His voice contained such a powerful allure that Christian was helpless but to comply.

***

On the other hand, as soon as Lu Yizhou stepped into the cell, he keenly sensed the shift in the air flow around him. It was so sudden that he was taken by surprise. 

He turned around but did not see Christian anywhere. Instead, there was only a door that was wide open as well as a completely empty hallway. The space which was supposed to be crowded with prisoners became as quiet as a ghost town.

Lu Yizhou's mind turned sluggish at that moment. He felt like the scene in front of him was very familiar, but he just could not put his finger on it. Something seemed to struggle to break through the surface of his consciousness — he could not tell what it was — and it was not until he heard the male voice singing did he finally snap out of his stupor.

That's right! Last night, when the lights went out, he had also experienced something like this! Lu Yizhou was shocked when the memory rushed back to him like a tidal wave. He could not believe it, how could he forget what had transpired last night just like that?! Was it really memory alteration just like he had guessed? 

However, if he was not wrong, the simulator was supposed to offer some kind of shield to the patients' mind so that their identity as a transmigrator would not be discovered. But this incident had clearly exceeded the scope of the simulator's authority! Lu Yizhou tried to reach 666 in his mind and as he expected, his voice was akin to stones sinking into the deep sea. Unheard and unnoticed.

"Give up." A melodious voice, belonging to none other than the person who had been singing to Lu Yizhou's ears all this time, sounded vividly behind him. No longer was it hazy and came from all directions. "Once you step into the elevator, there's no turning back anymore."

Lu Yizhou's entire body froze. Slowly, he turned around to see someone standing in the middle of the empty hallway. It was a youth no more than eighteen years of age. Due to the prolonged lack of sunlight, his skin was as pale as porcelain and his hair was so long that it almost reached his ankles. He had a pair of lovely golden eyes, but it was a pity that what remained within was only bone-deep coldness, despite the bewitching smile that stretched on his lips.

If 666 was present right now, it would definitely testify that this was the exact same smile that had appeared on its Host's face both in the dining hall and the tailor room earlier!

Lu Yizhou let out a shaky exhale as soon as he took in the appearance of the youth in front of him. 

His mind automatically drifted to what had happened last night. 

He stepped into the elevator that would bring him to the Z-level where Pandora was. As he had guessed, what welcomed him as soon as the door opened was a boundless sea of darkness, so dark that he could not even see his hand in front of him. Humans always feared the unknown, and darkness was a perfect medium to amplify the fear. Yet Lu Yizhou unhesitatingly left the bright elevator and walked into the darkness, getting closer and closer to the source of the voice that had been beckoning for him.

The air that rushed to Lu Yizhou's nose was stale and compressed as if it had been a long time since someone had stepped into this place. Weird, he'd thought, how could there be no traces of life around when Pandora had been living here for almost a decade? 

Lu Yizhou's eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and he gradually registered the sight in front of him. There was only one huge cell in the entire level. It was modeled after a massive cage with black steel bars which had rusted over by now. Thick dust accumulated on the ground, and every step Lu Yizhou took caused it to fume in front of his face. He covered his nose and mouth, coughing once in a while. Again, he could not help but wonder exactly how someone could live in this kind of place. It was simply too… horrible!

Alas, it was not until he arrived in front of the cell that he knew where the source of the incongruity came from.

Countless metal chains hung from the walls and ceiling. They were used to apprehend a single person inside the cell. However, what remained of that person… were only bone skeletons. 

Maybe Pandora was really the sole survivor of the tragedy ten years ago. Or perhaps, it was all misinformation from unreliable sources and the truth was that everyone had died back then. However, Lu Yizhou knew one thing for certain. 

—Someone had indeed been detained in Z-level, and that person had died a long time ago. Alone. In this hellish place that was not suitable for any living beings.

He stood frozen in front of the cell, staring at the bone skeletons that emitted a faint light. The heavenly voice he was hearing came from it and as if knowing that Lu Yizhou had discovered its presence, the voice turned louder and louder until it felt like someone was singing right beside his ears. Then, as if Lu Yizhou's body was controlled by an invisible force, he reached out to crush the padlock on the door. It broke into pieces easily in his hands, having weathered a long passage of time.

The rusted gate slammed open with a loud bang and after that, his vision went black. The next morning when he awoke, Lu Yizhou had forgotten about what he had done in the Z-level.

Lu Yizhou's mind returned to the present. The youth who stood in front of him right now should be the bone skeletons in Z-level. Because of Lu Yizhou's act, the cell door was opened and he was set free from that abhorrent place. Right now, he no longer bothered to think logically as to how a person who had clearly died a long time ago would appear in front of him in the form of a living person. He knew deep within his soul… he had finally found his lover.

Drawing in a steadying breath, Lu Yizhou's lips parted to ask, "Are you… Pandora?"

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