I buried the gods in the restricted area.

The earth was a scorched brown, revealing its desolate nature in the boundless silence.

At the edge of the field of vision, a dark red stone tablet stood out abruptly, its color so thick it seemed to have congealed.

Behind the monument, a narrow path can be vaguely seen, stretching quietly into the unknown.

In the cool wind, Jiang Rou stood blankly in front of the monument, looking at Jiang Mian beside her with surprise and joy in her eyes.

"Mr. Jiang Mian...you...you can walk out?"

Is that strange?

Jiang Mian gave her a strange look. "I've lived in Wangchuan City for many years. I can find my way even with my eyes closed."

He paused, a puzzled look on his face, and gazed into the distance with a hint of unfamiliarity. "But I haven't been out for a long time. Why does it feel like the outside world has changed so much..."

Wangchuan City...

Jiang Rou secretly memorized this unfamiliar name. Indeed, Mr. Jiang Mian's understanding of the world might really still be stuck two hundred years ago, which could explain why he felt that the outside world was unfamiliar.

Creatures of restricted areas cannot leave restricted areas—this is common knowledge, so Mr. Jiang Mian could not possibly be a creature of restricted areas.

So... could he be human?

This wasn't the time to think about that. Without hesitation, Jiang Rou glanced quickly at Zhou Kai, whose expression was gloomy not far away, and hurriedly said, "It's okay! I know the outside world very well. I can take you wherever you want to go!"

Since Ms. Jiang Mian was able to leave the restricted area, it means that she might not have to die—as long as she stays within the other party's sight, Zhou Kai will never dare to make a move, even though the three of them are now outside the restricted area.

Seemingly having read her thoughts, Zhou Kai, who had remained silent the entire way, suddenly spoke up:

"Jiang Rou, come here. There are some things we need to clarify."

"I'm the one..."

Jiang Rou became wary and was about to shake her head to refuse when she heard Zhou Kai continue, "Don't worry, with Mr. Jiang Mian watching over you, there's nothing I can do to you. I can guarantee that I'll leave after saying these words."

His tone was sincere, as if he genuinely just wanted to chat and had no other motives.

Jiang Rou hesitated for a moment, then looked at Jiang Mian somewhat uneasily. Although she didn't know what had happened between the two, Jiang Mian still offered her advice:

"Aren't you friends? Go and talk it out. There's no conflict between friends that can't be resolved."

He assumed it was just a quarrel between friends, or perhaps a one-sided unrequited love—Zhou Kai liked Jiang Rou, but Jiang Rou didn't like him, which was why she deliberately said those things not long ago to make Zhou Kai back down.

Jiang Rou hesitated, unsure how to explain the true nature of their relationship. She looked at Zhou Kai, then at Jiang Mian, and asked tentatively, "Then... Mr. Jiang Mian, could you keep looking at me?"

"No problem," Jiang Mian replied without hesitation.

Having received assurances, Jiang Rou weighed her options for a long time before cautiously following Zhou Kai toward a withered tree not far away, maintaining a distance of about two meters from him throughout. She glanced back several times along the way, and only when she saw that Jiang Mian's gaze was always fixed on her did she calm down a little.

Just then, Zhou Kai suddenly stopped and turned around. She also stopped and stared at him warily.

Zhou Kai didn't make a move, but went straight to the point: "You should have noticed by now that Jiang Mian has a secret, and a very important one at that."

This is not just a guess, but also comes from the intuition of the person digging for the secret.

"So what?" Jiang Rou asked nervously.

Zhou Kai remained calm, his face revealing neither joy nor anger: "I can spare your life, but you must keep this secret for me. I will retrieve and destroy the camera implanted in your left eye, and say that you failed your job assessment—in short, from now on, I don't want any third person besides you and me to know that Jiang Mian ever appeared in the City of the Dead."

Why should I keep your secret?

Jiang Rou was actually quite timid, but when faced with someone who wanted to kill her, she had to be tough, even if she was afraid.

Zhou Kai wasn't annoyed. He just quietly looked at the girl's pale face, which was made pale by fear: "If you and I are the same kind of people, then you can use this secret to get a job. The company will definitely arrange a good position for you."

Before Jiang Rou could respond, he continued, "However, you may not understand the company's methods. Once they learn of Jiang Mian's existence, even if it's just out of interest, the company will definitely try every means to bring him back. You can try to imagine what will happen next... no, I advise you not to imagine it."

Jiang Rou's expression changed slightly.

Before submitting her resume, she had of course learned about the company's style. This company's obsession with secrets was almost fanatical, and its attitude towards forbidden creatures was the most radical among the four major companies.

They might be more restrained with humans, but they would show no mercy to an unknown being like Mr. Jiang Mian. They would probably do anything to uncover his secrets.

Although it wasn't intentional, in Jiang Rou's eyes, Mr. Jiang Mian was already half her savior. If she had a choice, she certainly wouldn't want to see him end up like this, so she immediately asked, "What do you want?"

"It seems we are not the same kind of people."

Zhou Kai shook his head slightly, unsure whether he felt relieved or regretful.

He paused, then continued, "I've told you what I want. Just keep it a secret. Of course, if you want to live longer, you'd better find a way to keep that guy by your side. That way, even if I change my mind someday, I might not have the chance to kill you."

Zhou Kai was telling the truth. If he had the chance to shut Jiang Rou up forever, he would not hesitate to do so.

In fact, he had considered whether or not to take Jiang Mian away, but even if Jiang Mian agreed, he could not possibly hide it from the company's watchful eyes, so he could only place his hopes on Jiang Rou.

Rather than letting Jiang Mian run wild and attract more attention, it's better to keep this secret under control.

Anyway, he doesn't have to take any risks.

……

Before long, the two ended their conversation and returned to the stone tablet. Zhou Kai's expression was calm, while Jiang Rou's expression was much more complicated, her gaze frequently falling on Jiang Mian, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

However, Jiang Mian was unaware of this. He was currently frowning slightly, examining the blood-red stone tablet in front of him with a strange expression, and asked in confusion, "I say... can you tell me what 'City of the Wrongfully Dead' means on this stone tablet?"

Jiang Rou's heart skipped a beat.

She had already figured it out; Mr. Jiang Mian's understanding of the world seemed to be stuck two hundred years in the past, and he disliked discussing topics related to forbidden zones. Therefore, she absolutely couldn't say it was a forbidden zone stone tablet, so she had to bite the bullet and make something up:

"Yes, that's how it is... There used to be a haunted house-themed amusement park nearby called 'The City of the Wrongfully Dead,' but it was demolished not long afterward, leaving only the stone tablet behind."

She was glad that she had studied history from two hundred years ago in depth, otherwise she wouldn't even know where to begin making things up. You know, in this era, haunted houses no longer exist. After all, if you really want a thrill, you can just go into a restricted area.

"Why was it demolished?" Jiang Mian asked curiously.

"It seems that it wasn't scary enough, so it didn't make money, and eventually, it couldn't continue operating, so it was demolished..."

"I see. Haunted houses that aren't scary enough really don't need to exist."

Jiang Mian shook his head with a sigh, then placed his index finger on the stone tablet and continued, "What does the 'F' at the very beginning mean?"

"Oh...this means, it means..."

"This represents the level of fright in the haunted house."

Jiang Rou stammered, unsure how to answer for a long time. Fortunately, Zhou Kai picked up where she left off, saying calmly, "Recently, the world has been obsessed with scare culture, and many places have set up haunted houses with different themes and styles. F means that the City of the Dead had a very low scare level, which is why it was demolished."

As soon as he finished speaking, he focused his attention and quietly observed Jiang Mian's reaction.

"Really? Then I'll definitely have to see it for myself when I get the chance."

Jiang Mian's eyes lit up. She didn't seem to find anything wrong with it; on the contrary, she was quite interested in it.

But soon, his brows furrowed slightly, and his gaze at the stone tablet gradually became filled with confusion, as if he were trying to identify some ancient and familiar trace.

"but……"

"But what?" Jiang Rou asked cautiously.

Jiang Mian did not answer immediately. She slowly placed her palm on the stone tablet, gently stroking the patterns on the blood-red stone tablet, a ripple of almost dazed emotion flashing across her eyes.

"Why do I feel like... this is the tombstone I lost?"