The broken red light repeatedly passed through his chest

Those who‍‌⁠‍⁠​​‌​‍‌‌⁠​‍‍‌‍​‍​‍‌​ let go will leave. 

Standing before the carved pillar, An Yu made another wish and, upon opening his eyes, found himself back in the real world.

[Main City, Central Church.]

An Yu stood by the window at the top of the tower. “Poet, can you still see the shattered red light in the sky?”

Eye looked up at the sky through the window. “I’ve always been able to. Over the years, the amount of shattered red light has increased, and the chaotic fluctuations are disturbing. It wasn’t until recently, when the first braking gear appeared, that things improved a bit.”

An Yu asked, “What exactly is the red light?”

“I don’t know,” he paused. “Maybe it’s related to the level of chaos in this world. No matter how humanity resists, the chaos continues to intensify.”

An Yu also looked up at the sky—just like before, he couldn’t see anything.

On a small high table by the window, there was a glass jar with a small goldfish swimming inside.

“There don’t seem to be many animals in the Main City,” An Yu said. “A friend of mine named Yan Xi once said that any animal has the potential to suddenly  mutate, so pets are banned in the Main City.”

Eye dipped his fingers into the glass jar, gently stirring the water inside. “It’s just a normal goldfish. Besides, even a mutated goldfish isn’t a big deal. The infection rate of mutated goldfish is extremely low, and the regular visitors to the church are mostly women and children. Women and children have higher genetic resistance, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

An Yu thought of the 1,200 mutated female corpses buried deep underground in District 84 but chose not to comment.

After a moment of silence, he said, “Poet, I want to listen to some people’s pasts, but I’m always rejected.”

Eye thought for a moment and smiled, “That’s because your listening is perceived as indifference.”

An Yu was puzzled. “So what should I do?”

Yan didn’t answer immediately.

He looked up at the sky, gazing for a while before suddenly tracing something in the air with a confused expression.

“The second braking gear…” he murmured in disbelief, “It seems to be taking shape.”

An Yu was even more confused.

There was nothing in the night sky, making him doubt if he was blind.

Just when he thought the poet wouldn’t answer anymore, Eye suddenly said, “If you don’t experience it firsthand, you won’t understand the pain.”

“Hmm?”

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“First, become them, then reflect on yourself,” Eye pondered. “Not every memory can be traced back; pain is automatically forgotten by the brain, and happiness may not withstand the test of time. I’ve always believed that recalling the past is like mentally rewinding time. Ordinary people can’t control their own time at will, let alone awaken someone else’s memories.”

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“Not just that,” Eye smiled warmly, “I seem to have a sense of things that are about to happen.”

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Eye had held this remarkable number since birth.

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There were too many people and things in the Main City that were unfamiliar to him, but fortunately, his upbringing in the slums had accustomed him to encountering things beyond his understanding.

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“The headquarters of the Huang Group.”

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“What?”

Eye smiled, “I have a feeling that a little loach is about to overturn a dragon”.

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Eye looked up and thought for a moment, “I also have a premonition that the little loach might stumble over something minor.”

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An Yu’s confusion from earlier seemed to be partially resolved but had left him with even more questions.

When the poet escorted him to the church entrance and suggested he spend 800 yuan on the latest book, Prophecy Poems, everything from the earlier conversation seemed very untrustworthy.

Ling Qiu had said that no matter how touching someone’s words are, once they start selling something, you can decisively assume everything before was nonsense.

The words were rough but accurate.

“I really don’t have any money left,” An Yu said.

His fifty-five million was still circling around the carved pillar.

The poet said gently, “I know. But I have a premonition that you will soon become extremely wealthy.”

“……Well, thank you then.”

An Yu ultimately bought the book Prophecy Poems.

Before returning to District 84, An Yu went back to the Spire to get a temporary weapon.

It was a bow and arrow with automatic tracking. It was a fiery red bow paired with snow-white feathers and a fuel propulsion device in the arrowhead, with a range of nearly a thousand meters. This bow and arrow, named [Chasing God], was custom-made for six million achievement points, and its owner was Jiang Xiao.

—So An Yu borrowed it without spending a penny.

The only thing that made him felt off was that Jiang Xiao had locked himself in a room, as if he was doing something forbidden, and only told him the weapon cabinet’s password through the door.

Ling Qiu had said that if someone locks themselves in a room, refuses to show their face, and their voice trembles, you should leave quickly and not ruin their precious experience.

An Yu didn’t understand but he followed the advice.

Before dawn, An Yu returned to District 84 with [Chasing God] on his back.

The officer stationed by the Prayer Lake informed him that the identities of the four missing persons without fishman corpses had been confirmed.

Coincidentally, they were all female workers from the packaging factory in District 84.

Before dawn, the factory had already started operating. The workshop was filled with the buzzing of machines, and the thousands of people on the assembly line were silent, like emotionless cogs.

The workers’ dormitories were similar in size to An Yu’s old quarters, with two people per room, and almost no room for any personal items. A cardboard box was squeezed between two single beds, with a mineral water bottle cut on the middle on top of it.

The water was clear, but there were two dead goldfish floating in it, and at the bottom of the bottle were two coins. These two coins were shinier than the wishing coins and could almost be used like mirrors, as they had no patterns.

In the dormitories of two other girls, An Yu also found the same two coins.