Chapter 955: Re-entering the Archive

By: Sanyin YinyuWord Count: 1241

Chen Ling returned to his room and slowly drew the curtains. He sat down at his desk, his fingertips rubbing the USB drive in his sleeve, his expression appearing somewhat hesitant.

"Are you sure you want to go?" Yao's voice echoed from deep within his mind. "Your memory hasn't recovered. Going back now might cause some trouble."

A month had passed since he last entered the Age Archive, and Chen Ling could certainly enter it again. However, the problem was that Chen Ling's current memory had been replaced. Although he had read all the plotlines within the Age Archive in the script, he couldn't fully match the characters' faces with their names. He knew everyone he had met and what he had said to them previously, but if they truly stood before him, he wouldn't recognize them.

"But being trapped here like this isn't a solution," Chen Ling murmured. "The Silver King's departure from Wuji is a rare opportunity. If we miss it, no one knows if there will be another chance... I've already seen all the plotlines in the script, so even if I can't recognize faces, it shouldn't be a major problem."

Yao's voice didn't sound again, knowing that Chen Ling had already made his decision.

Chen Ling took a deep breath and then inserted the USB drive into the armrest of the chair.

Lines of dark green text floated before his eyes:

ID: 129439Loading...Load complete.

*Crack!*

A flash of lightning streaked across Chen Ling's eyes. In the pale light and shadow, a sinister, bizarre mask was almost pressed against his cheek, staring intently at him.

"Your severed arm healed instantly? How is that possible?" The voice beneath the mask was incredibly surprised. "A wound from that guy's bullet shouldn't respond to any healing abilities... Who exactly are you?"

Chen Ling recalled.

He had seen it in the script: before his last exit from the Age Archive, his identity as a world-destroying calamity had been exposed. He was ambushed and surrounded by the "White Hands" in Shanghai. With nowhere to escape, he called the only marked number in the phone book Xiao Chunping had given him, seeking help. Then, this masked figure appeared.

"I am Chen Ling, senior Xiao Chunping's friend," Chen Ling replied calmly.

"I know you're her friend, I'm asking..." Before the masked figure could finish, his gaze swept over the disheveled and chaotic building. He shook his head helplessly. "Never mind, let's just get out of here first."

He grabbed Chen Ling's wrist and leaped from the dozens-of-stories-high building.

A fierce wind brushed against Chen Ling's face. He had expected the masked figure to use "cloud steps" to walk through the air, but he realized he had overthought it. The masked figure, carrying a flag in one hand and pulling Chen Ling with the other, was free-falling, almost pressed against the glass facade of the building!

Just as they were about to hit the ground, the masked figure waved the flag in his hand. A hurricane, seemingly from nowhere, suddenly supported their bodies, like an eagle spreading its wings, gliding through the nighttime city.

Neon signs and car headlights streamed below Chen Ling. He had never before seen the city from this angle and was momentarily lost in thought.

The surging hurricane swept over the streets. Occasionally, pedestrians who saw figures soaring overhead would exclaim, pulling out their phones to record. However, with a subtle flick of Chen Ling's finger, all cameras instantly malfunctioned, capturing nothing but darkness.

Aided by the hurricane, the two traversed nearly twenty kilometers in less than a minute, completely moving away from the area surrounded by the "White Hands."

When the masked figure waved the flag again, the hurricane carrying them gradually weakened, bringing them down toward a dimly lit wilderness.

Moments later, Chen Ling's feet stood firmly on the ground.

He let out a long breath.

"This is far from their encirclement point; no one will catch up anytime soon," the masked figure said calmly from behind him. "Now, we can have a proper talk."

Chen Ling turned to look at him. In the hazy moonlight, the sinister mask seemed to be tinged with a layer of silver-white in the darkness.

Just as Chen Ling was about to step closer, a faint rumble of thunder sounded from above!

*Rumble!*

At some point, a dark cloud had enveloped the sky above Chen Ling. Each strand of his hair floated uncontrollably upward, as if lightning could strike at any moment.

"Don't move around, and don't entertain any improper thoughts... I can rescue you from there, and I can also kill you here," the masked figure's voice was exceedingly low. After speaking, he couldn't help but mutter, "I must be insane, saving a 'world-destroying' monster from their grasp... You'd better explain all of this clearly to me."

Feeling the threat from above, Chen Ling naturally did not act rashly. He calmly spoke:

"What do you want me to explain?"

"They say you're a 'Ghost Mockery' world-destroyer, what exactly is that? Why can you instantly heal gunshot wounds that are supposed to be incurable? Why is your Theater God Path distorted?" The masked figure fired off a series of questions.

"..." Chen Ling hesitated for a moment. "This matter is a bit complicated to explain..."

"Speak."

"Alright... actually, I'm from the future."

The moment he uttered those words, the air fell silent.

The masked figure stared intently at him. Although Chen Ling couldn't see his face, he could imagine the astonished expression.

"You're saying you traveled back in time?" The masked figure glanced down at Chen Ling's feet. "People from the future wear Nikes too? Or last year's old models?"

"That's why I said it's complicated... Actually, I'm from this era, but I traveled to the future, and then, through some medium, returned to the present."

The masked figure: ...

He remained silent for a full ten seconds, then raised his chin. "Come on, show me how to travel on the spot."

"...No, I just arrived!"

"You can't travel just because you've just arrived?"

"No, I can only return automatically after I've been active here for a sufficient amount of time."

"Heh." The masked figure seemed to have lost patience. He pulled a bell from his pocket. "Nonsense... It seems I'll just have to tie you up and go back to apologize to them..."

"Wait..."

The masked figure had no intention of listening to Chen Ling's explanation and began to shake the bell in his hand. However, the anticipated crisp sound did not appear; instead, there was a dull *click-clack*.

The masked figure paused, then looked down at his hand. Without him noticing, the bell in his hand had transformed into a pistol magazine.

Meanwhile, Chen Ling, holding the bell, looked at him with an innocent expression.

"Everything I'm saying is true, why don't you believe me?" Chen Ling sighed deeply. "My name is Chen Ling. I was an intern director at the Shangjing City Theater. A few days ago, when the Red Star streaked across the sky, I was crushed to death by the collapsing theater. If you don't believe me, you can go check for yourself... That's also when I traveled to the future."