"Da."

"Da."

"Da."

…

The sharp sound of high heels echoed in the empty corridor. A girl with delicate features walked quickly, with a hint of barely perceptible anxiety on her face.

At the end of the corridor was a wooden door, very old in style, with mottled patches of faded green paint.

Without knocking, the girl pushed the door straight in. Inside, the room was furnished in a style reminiscent of the last century. A white-haired old man was inside. The girl's eyes reddened the moment she saw him, and her voice trembled, "Uncle Gong..."

Gong Zhe looked much older than she remembered. His eyes were sunken, and his skin had an abnormally pale, bloodless look. "Little girl, you're here," Gong Zhe said with a smile.

He struggled to sit up from the bed, but failed and fell back. Xia Meng hurried over, helped him up, and propped a pillow behind him so he could sit up.

Looking at Xia Meng, who was trying hard not to cry, Gong Zhe reached out and touched her head, saying gently, "Little girl, don't cry. Uncle Gong knows his own body. I can hold on for a few more years."

Xia Meng gritted her teeth. "It's all those people's fault. If they hadn't begged you to take action, Uncle Gong, how could you have ended up like this?"

Hearing this, Gong Zhe shook his head and glanced at the desk not far away. Xia Meng understood that Uncle Gong was telling her to be careful about what she said here because there were listening devices in the room.

The higher-ups were always wary of people like them, because from the moment they took on the burden of the Door, they embarked on a path of no return.

Especially someone like Gong Zhe, who was likely to be backlashed at any moment.

Gong Zhe was the only person in this building, apart from the necessary doctors and guards.

It was nominally called treatment, but in reality, it was imprisonment.

"That's right." Xia Meng wiped away her tears and mysteriously took a paper bag out of her clothes. After opening the paper bag, inside was a red piece of paper. "Uncle Gong, quickly absorb this contract, and you'll get better." Xia Meng's eyes were full of concern as she looked at Gong Zhe. She had obtained this at great cost.

Seeing the red contract, Gong Zhe's eyes suddenly became intense, even turning bloodshot for a moment, but he restrained himself and forced himself to look away. After a long time, he calmed down again. "Thank you, little girl," Gong Zhe said with a smile. "Leave this contract here. I'm still doing okay and don't need to devour a new Door yet."

Hearing Gong Zhe say this, Xia Meng's heart relaxed slightly. Devouring a new Door, especially a blood-red one, was like drinking poison to quench thirst.

If Gong Zhe's body could still hold on, she wouldn't want him to do this either.

Fortunately, the worst-case scenario she had feared had not happened.

"Uncle Gong, who hurt you like this?" Xia Meng frowned and asked. She didn't know much about the operation Gong Zhe had participated in, but she knew that in addition to Gong Zhe, there were two from the Crimson and many disciples. This was a very powerful force.

After a moment of silence, Gong Zhe exhaled softly. "The Chief Inquisitor, the Torchbearer, and someone else whose identity I can't figure out for the time being, but his strength is very high."

"If it weren't for him, the Chief Inquisitor and the Torchbearer would have had to leave at least one behind." These arrogant words were spoken by Gong Zhe very naturally, as if he was simply stating a fact.

“Someone who can stop you, Uncle Gong, won't be an unknown person. When did such an expert appear among the Night Watchmen?" Xia Meng fell into deep thought.

Compared to the Night Watchmen, their Xia family's intelligence work was a mess. They didn't even know that spies were planted right next to them and needed the Crimson to remind them. Thinking of this, Xia Meng felt angry and wanted to dig up Qin Lan and whip her corpse.

"He doesn't seem to be from the Night Watchmen." Gong Zhe slowly shook his head. After a moment, he pondered, "Perhaps... he's from the Crimson."

"The Crimson?" Xia Meng's eyes paused, and she asked in a low voice, "Uncle Gong, can you recognize who it is?"

"I can't be sure. He was wearing a mask, and I didn't see his face at all. But his ability is very special. Although he hid it very well, I vaguely feel like I've seen it somewhere before." After Gong Zhe finished speaking, he reached out and rubbed the bridge of his nose, then shook his head again. "Forget it, this matter will be cleared up sooner or later. Some people are more anxious than us."

"Didi di."

A sound similar to a warning alarm rang out in the room, and it gradually accelerated.

This was the reminder sound for the end of the visit. Hearing it, a trace of anger flashed in Xia Meng's eyes. "These bastards..."

Gong Zhe didn't care and looked at Xia Meng. "They think my condition is unstable, so it's normal to monitor me. It would be abnormal if they let me wander around."

"Little girl, go back first." Gong Zhe pursed his lips and reminded, "Take care of yourself. When you encounter something, think more. You are now the head of the family, so you must learn to restrain your temper."

"I know, Uncle Gong, you must take care of yourself. When your condition stabilizes, I will come and pick you up." Xia Meng held Gong Zhe's hand, reluctant to let go.

Gong Zhe looked at the girl who had grown up in front of him and smiled as he patted her hand. "Go on."

It wasn't until Xia Meng left the room and the sharp sound of her high heels completely disappeared into the corridor that the life-threatening beeping stopped. Gong Zhe lay back on the bed, turned his head, and stared at the paper bag wrapped in red paper.

His physical condition was worse than he had imagined. He could clearly feel that the thing inside the Door was ready to move. The ethereal Door seemed to be drilling out of his body.

Voices were constantly bewitching him in his ears, tempting him to devour the red paper, so that he would gain amazing power, and nothing could stop him anymore.

Even fate, such an ethereal thing, could be cut off with a single slash.

But what he knew even more clearly was that as long as he did that, the extreme power would expand and gradually devour him. He would completely lose his last shred of consciousness and become a walking corpse that only knew how to kill.

Gong Zhe retracted his gaze, closed his eyes, and in the boundless darkness, the face of a beautiful woman appeared. The woman was smiling at him, holding the hand of a handsome boy.

Two lines of blood and tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, and the blood dripped onto the pillow, burning out black holes like concentrated acid. The room was filled with an indescribable smell.

…

In the studio, the carefree days continued.

It had been almost a week since the last time they came out, and the old bus tickets were still in their pockets, without any movement. Once, the fatty got drunk and actually took out the ticket, clamoring to burn it with a lighter.

Huai Yi seemed to be infected by the fatty's momentum, stepping on the sofa and cheering loudly for him. However, after realizing that the fatty was holding his ticket, the two almost started fighting.