Chapter 13

"Well done!" Number 13 clapped his hands in celebration, his excitement overflowing. "I knew Wu could do it. The Ragpicker is dead, and that Torchbearer definitely couldn't escape. Once we go in to search the mountain, we have to find his body."

"What are you looking for his body for?" Fatty didn't quite understand the point. Now that Wu was back, he believed that there shouldn't be any remnants of the Night Watch in the mountains. Wu's actions always put people at ease.

"Number 10, you don't understand. This Torchbearer has a very high status within the Night Watch, and it's not just because of his strength. The most important thing is that he exists as a link between the Night Watch and the Old President's domain. What we want is the lamp in his hand."

"It is said that the lamp was taken from that car. With that lamp, we can also try to open the Old President's domain." Number 3 explained in detail, and his voice was always calm, making people feel very comfortable.

"The rest is personal grudges. This Torchbearer has blood debts in his hands. Number 11 died at his hands!" Number 13's immature face was filled with ferocity. "Letting Wu kill him with one strike is too good for him!"

If what Number 3 said earlier aroused Fatty's interest, then Number 13's mention of blood debts made Fatty furious. "I have to ask my brother about it later. We can't let this Torchbearer die too easily!"

As soon as he finished speaking, voices came from outside, sounding like someone was questioning. The next second, the tent curtain was lifted, and a figure walked in.

Seeing Wu return, Fatty immediately asked about the Torchbearer, but Wu didn't speak, and his face was a little ugly.

"Where's the lamp?" Number 13 was still gesturing with his hands, "Just... about this big, able to bring the dirty things from the Old President's domain over."

Wu reached into his pocket, took out a handful of dirt, and sprinkled it on the table. The dirt looked like it had been burned by high temperature, black and crusty, and some of it had crystallized. But the moment Lin Wan'er picked it up, her brow furrowed. The dirt was cold to the touch, bone-chillingly cold.

Lin Wan'er put down the dirt and understood everything in her heart. "The Torchbearer escaped. He forcibly opened the passage to the Old President's domain."

Wu neither nodded nor shook his head, seemingly acknowledging it.

"Escaped..." Number 13 gnashed his teeth in hatred. "That old thing, it's too good for him!"

Without Wu needing to explain, everyone could guess the general outline of the situation. The Torchbearer must have realized that all of them combined were no match for Wu, so he left some people to hold them back. The Ragpicker and the remaining people became sacrifices, while he used the time he bought to forcibly open the passage and escape.

"It's okay, you'll definitely be able to kill the Torchbearer next time we meet. There will definitely be a chance." Noticing that Wu's mood was low, Fatty comforted him.

But Jiang Cheng understood that Wu wasn't worried about the Torchbearer escaping. For Wu, whether a Torchbearer lived or died was irrelevant to the overall situation. What he was really worried about was that the people who escaped had gone to the Old President's domain, and Dahe Niangniang, Wang Qi, and Huai Yi were still in the car.

But it was too late to say anything now. Lin Wan'er made a phone call, notifying Number 2 and Number 8 to each lead a team to search the mountains. Number 13 was also sent out to notify some of the Dark Army members left behind, and to give them tasks.

Wu walked to Jiang Cheng's side, his figure melting away bit by bit. With the final step, Jiang Cheng's shadow became solid again.

"Number 10, you go rest first. I have something to say to Zero." Lin Wan'er looked at Fatty.

Fatty left readily. He knew that Lin Wan'er wouldn't harm Dr. Jiang. Yao Shunyu, Li Bai, and the others were even more sensible, standing up and leaving with Fatty.

When the tent was quiet again, Lin Wan'er motioned for Jiang Cheng to sit down. At this moment, only the three of them were left in the room. Number 3, like a dutiful butler, stayed by Lin Wan'er's side. He looked gentle and his expression was calm, as if the loss of the door was nothing to him.

Lin Wan'er poured Jiang Cheng a glass of warm water and slid it across the table to him. "I can feel that you're becoming more and more hesitant. This is a good thing, but also a bad thing. You have your own emotions and attachments, but at the same time, more and more factors can influence you. I'm worried that the Night Watch will take advantage of this."

This was a rare opportunity for him to sit face to face with Lin Wan'er, and the time had come to resolve some of the doubts in his heart.

During this time, the President's face had lingered in his mind. The scariest thing was that he had a feeling that the President's face, which was identical to his, was real, even more real than his own face. And he could completely feel the complexity in the President's eyes when he looked at him.

The President had mentioned that he owed him.

Jiang Cheng covered the water glass with his hand and looked up. "What is the relationship between the President of the Night Watch and me?"

"In a way, he is another you." Lin Wan'er said, "But you are relatively complete, while he is just a defective product."

"I only recently figured this out. Through the seizure of the Night Watch's base, we found some original materials. Everything about you and him is the deepest secret of the Night Watch."

"Unfortunately, the information is not complete, and the insiders of that time were basically silenced, so a large part of what I'm going to say next is my speculation."

Lin Wan'er slowly straightened her body, and her expression became serious. "Many years ago, the Old President opened a passage connecting to another world through his domain, and you are what the Old President brought back from another world."

"It is also because of your existence that the Night Watch decided to implement the Abyss Project. In other words, the entire Abyss Project was created around you."

"At that time, you were extremely uncontrollable and your state was very unstable. Finally, they used some method to strip away a small part of you. The remaining part is what you are now, Zero. They even assigned you a Scarlet team composed entirely of children from the Night Watch's Thirteen Families."

"And the part that was stripped out was relatively controllable, which is the President of the Night Watch who died at your hands."

"You two were cultivated separately. You exist as the key to opening another world, while he leads the Night Watch to carry out the Abyss Project."

"The key to the Abyss Project is to force you into despair at the most appropriate time. Only the most complete despair will awaken that thing deep in your heart."

"I'm still not sure what that thing is. I don't think the Night Watch knows exactly either, but the horror of that thing is obvious to all. After all, the Old President became what he is today because of that one summoning."