Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 93: Endless Nightmare
Fang Xiu watched as Meng Xiaomeng clashed with the teacher.
Lao Chen was fairly old, a typical old-school educator. He raised his voice multiple times, trying to get Meng Xiaomeng to behave in class. But she was quick-witted and sharp-tongued, refusing to back down. She even brought up legal rights, accusing him of having no authority to confiscate a student’s phone.
From a bystander’s view, it all seemed a bit overblown. But Fang Xiu had a sense of what was really going on.
A student with decent grades who rebels a little is often seen as the “cool” type among peers. If she gave in too easily, she’d lose face.
Strictly speaking, there wasn’t a clear right or wrong.
Meng Xiaomeng was only sixteen. It wasn’t fair to hold her to an adult’s standards of rationality.
Kids this age can easily get fixated or act out on impulse. He’d seen too many teenagers when he was working at the hospital who jumped off a building or overdosed after one bad fight.
In the end, Meng Xiaomeng stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Lao Chen didn’t dare physically stop her. He just sighed and headed to the hallway to contact Hu Die.
Fang Xiu thought for a moment, then went to the school gate ahead of her.
He lifted the concealment spell, smoothed his hair, and intercepted the red-faced Meng Xiaomeng.
“Who are you looking for?”
She clearly didn’t remember anything from the last loop. Her gaze was distant and unfamiliar. But upon seeing Fang Xiu’s striking face, her tone stayed polite.
“I’m a friend of Ku Yue’s.” Fang Xiu gave her a warm smile. “Something came up. He can’t make it today. I’ll buy you some dessert to make up for it. How about we go over there?”
He pointed at the ice cream shop across the street. It was winter, so the shop now sold hot milk tea, grilled sausages, and sweet potatoes. Given the prices listed at the door were incredibly affordable, it was no surprise it was a snack haven for teenagers.
Meng Xiaomeng eyed him warily. He looked young, but definitely older than early twenties. To a sixteen-year-old, he was already considered an “older guy”.
But the little black dog wagging its tail beside him made her hesitate. A guy with a cute dog probably wasn’t a creep, right?
“I already ordered cake from the bar. The delivery will bring it.”
Fang Xiu smiled. “I know you two wanted a date. You can save it for next time.”
Hearing those details put her more at ease. Her face showed a flicker of disappointment.
“Can I borrow your phone?” she asked. “I want to call him.”
“He’s in a meeting, so his phone’s with someone else.” Fang Xiu answered smoothly, pretending what he said was truly the truth.
Then he whispered to Bai Shuangying, “I don’t have any cash. Cast an illusion to make the shop owner think we’ve paid.”
After all, it was just a dream. The shopkeeper would forgive him.
Meng Xiaomeng’s expression darkened. “Why’s he in a meeting too?”
“Jobs like that aren’t as easy as they look,” Fang Xiu consoled her gently. “I have to go back to work soon myself. It’s not easy for anyone.”
“Still, no matter how busy, you can spare five or ten minutes. I’m not asking for 24/7 company. Doesn’t he even have time for a few words?” Meng Xiaomeng clearly disliked that excuse.
“I get it. You just want to be seen. Being alone all the time is hard.” Fang Xiu nodded in sympathy. “No matter how great classmates or friends are, it’s not the same. People still need their families.”
His tone was light. Bai Shuangying stared at him in silence.
Meng Xiaomeng’s face stiffened. She turned her head. “I didn’t say anything about family.”
Fang Xiu smiled and let the topic drop.
She zipped up her school uniform, tucking her chin into the collar. The two of them walked toward the crosswalk without speaking. The snow on the ground had just started to melt, turning the asphalt a deep, near-black gray.
“When the cake comes, we’re splitting it.” She stepped onto the crosswalk. “Tell Ku Yue to message me as soon as possible… Ugh, I bet Lao Chen called my mom. It’s going to be hard to sneak out again.”
Crisis mostly averted, Fang Xiu thought.
He was about to follow her across the street when he felt a tug on his shoulder. Bai Shuangying had grabbed him and motioned toward the side.
Hu Die was standing at the edge of a thicket, wrapped in a coat. In the pale gray-blue winter light, her eyes were stark black and white, dull and lifeless like those of a mannequin.
She wasn’t looking at Fang Xiu but staring straight at Meng Xiaomeng, her gaze clinging like spider silk. The girl had already stepped into the street, two or three paces ahead of Fang Xiu. Realizing he wasn’t following, she slowed and turned back in confusion.
In the next moment, a massive shadow swept past.
A heavy truck, apparently out of control, ran the red light and crashed straight into her. With a dull thud, she was thrown to the ground. Then the truck rolled over her body.
Blood spilled across the asphalt, dyeing it completely black.
In shock, Fang Xiu spun around to look at Hu Die. She remained in place, her expression disturbingly serene, as if the death of her daughter didn’t concern her at all.
When she noticed Fang Xiu watching, she tilted her head slightly and smiled faintly. Then she pulled a small pill bottle from her pocket and downed its contents.
Before Fang Xiu could react, the world went blank again.
He found himself back in front of the school.
The sunset burned quietly. Meng Xiaomeng was gone. So was Hu Die. Across the street, the ice cream shop sign now read “kexo dpjme8”, and the menu board beneath it was completely unreadable.
Fang Xiu touched his neck and straightened his posture to make sure his body hadn’t started changing.
Passersby kept glancing his way. He messed up his hair again, hiding his eyes beneath his bangs.
By his sense of time, he hadn’t slept for over a day. His thoughts drifted aimlessly through his mind. He bit the tip of his tongue hard and turned toward Guan He and the others.
The bar was a good distance from the school. Sleep-deprived, Fang Xiu’s legs felt like jelly. As he crossed the last intersection, he was nearly hit by a taxi.
The car slowly stopped, and the rear window rolled down. The little dog paused, sniffing the air in confusion.
Hu Die, wearing a leisure smile, greeted him calmly. “Isn’t this interesting?”
“What are you talking about?” Fang Xiu smiled back.
“No matter what you do, she dies tomorrow. Only the method changes,” Hu Die said indifferently. “Honestly, this was the first time I saw this version.”
“If the date goes well, Ku Yue sleeps with her and she kills herself afterward, unable to endure the blow.”
“If it’s interrupted, she gets called to the police station, and he breaks up with her; if I go home and ignore her, she’ll jump off the building and commit suicide; if I scold her, comfort her, or monitor her, she still kills herself. Heart attack, jumping, overdose, take your pick.”
“If the date is stopped entirely, she gets into an accident after leaving school. If you stop her from arguing with the teacher, Ku Yue will come find her… No matter what, she dies on the 18th.”
Her tone was like discussing a game save file, not a real person—much less her own child.
“Why are you telling me all this?” Fang Xiu asked.
“Isn’t it sad enough you can’t sleep? Why make things worse? You should enjoy your last few days.”
She rested her hand on the window frame, calm and graceful. “That way, we all save some trouble. I don’t like being interrogated or killed out of nowhere, you know.”
Fang Xiu replied coolly, “You talk like we’re already beyond saving. We’re here to solve this, not to wait for death.”
Hu Die gave him a look of pity. “Then I wish you luck, handsome.”
The window slowly slid up, and her face vanished behind the glass. All Fang Xiu saw reflected back was his own.
“What do you think?” he asked his ghost after the taxi pulled away.
Rarely asked for his opinion, Bai Shuangying strolled forward, clearly interested. “……”
Then he paused for a long while and said seriously, “The spell isn’t complete. We need to observe more.”
Fang Xiu looked toward the sunset. He already knew that night and snowstorm were coming.
……
The nightmare didn’t end.
Zhuang Pengdao followed Hu Die to the school and witnessed Meng Xiaomeng’s death. He asked to switch targets with Fang Xiu’s group, naturally still the same group.
To get a full picture, Fang Xiu agreed.
On the night of the 17th, Meng Xiaomeng fought with a close friend and bombed her math quiz. She cried her way home to an empty house.
That night, Hu Die stayed late at the office for an emergency meeting. Around 9 p.m., she called home briefly to say she’d be back late.
On the morning of the 18th, Meng Xiaomeng skipped breakfast and headed to school, texting Ku Yue to set up a lunch date. After arguing with her teacher, she left school and went straight to the bar.
That same morning, Hu Die left for work as usual, leaving breakfast and a note on the table.
In the afternoon, Meng Xiaomeng skipped class again and checked into a hotel with Ku Yue. Afterward, disoriented, she climbed to the roof.
Hu Die came home on time, brewed tea, and headed to the stairwell window.
At exactly 18:00:00, both mother and daughter jumped.
Again.
On the 18th, she bought breakfast at a convenience store. Zhuang Pengdao knocked her out and hid her in a hotel room.
Hu Die skipped work and dined at a high-end restaurant. She flirted with a man at the next table, then sat in the snowy park for two hours reading.
At 18:00:00, she walked into the frozen lake.
Again.
On the 18th, Zhuang Pengdao took action without consulting anyone and killed Meng Xiaomeng preemptively.
On the 18th, Hu Die took out a medicine bottle and committed suicide by overdosing.
…Again.
Time kept rewinding. Fang Xiu began to lose track of what people were saying. It all sounded like some dialect he could barely understand. Yan Yan and Cheng Songyun hunched from fatigue, though they insisted it was nothing serious.
Guan He stopped talking much, often hugging the dog for comfort. Zhuang Pengdao and his disciples were surprisingly energetic, on par with Fang Xiu.
Shockingly, even Mei Lan, despite her age, was holding up well. If measured by real time, they had gone nearly three full days without sleep.
“What do we do, Fang Ge?” Guan He looked worried. “Shouldn’t we save Meng Xiaomeng somehow…?”
The problem was: if they didn’t interfere, both mother and daughter died. If they saved Meng Xiaomeng, Hu Die would kill herself. If they killed Meng Xiaomeng, Hu Die still committed suicide as if they were psychically linked.
Zhuang Pengdao had tried controlling both at once. But even before he got close, Hu Die would flash that chilling smile, capturing her alive seemed impossible.
They couldn’t figure out her plan or what she wanted. None of it made any sense. All this was like an illogical nightmare.
Guan He’s mind started to crumble. His head felt like it weighed a ton. He wanted to tear it off. Sometimes he thought, if he could just get some sleep, even death would be worth it.
Even if he transformed into that creature, the human-headed butterfly, like Da Luo, it only appeared in the fourth loop. It had quietly slipped away when no one was watching.
If he fell asleep now, surely Fang Xiu could solve the puzzle in the next few loops…. Fang Xiu was so capable…
Just that thought caused Guan He’s back to bend, twisting into an unnatural arc.
But Fang Xiu didn’t respond to his question.
At some point, he had also gone strangely quiet, occasionally giving a gentle smile to his ghost.
Almost as if he were waiting for something.
The author has something to say:
This is what it means to be a “Disaster Resolver” difficulty.jpg
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