My bizarre resurgence: My price is the ability to trade everything.

Two days later.

I can finally get out of bed.

There's nothing seriously wrong with my health, just a bit weak.

But the psychological trauma is far more severe than the physical trauma.

"The seventh Balancer..."

"My father was the sixth Balancer..."

"My mother was a defector from Guixu..."

These words echoed in my mind like a spell.

It makes me restless and unable to eat or sleep.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

I arrived at the headquarters' interrogation room.

Through the glass window, I could see a person sitting inside.

Wang Zijian.

The "Old Wang" that Zhang Hao mentioned before his death.

Finally... I can ask him in person.

"Are you ready?" Chen Xuan asked, standing next to me.

"Ready." I took a deep breath.

"Remember, only ask about things related to Zhang Hao," Chen Xuan said. "I'll ask about the rest."

"clear."

We pushed open the door and went inside.

Wang Zijian looked up at us.

His face was very pale, and his eyes were sunken, as if he hadn't slept for several days.

But a hint of cunning remained in his eyes.

"Lin Xiaofan." He recognized me. "Long time no see."

"We know each other?" I frowned.

"You don't know me," Wang Zijian smiled, "but I know you."

"Zhang Hao mentioned you to me."

My heart skipped a beat.

"He...he mentioned me to you?"

"Yes," Wang Zijian said. "He said he has a very timid roommate. He always shrinks back when something happens, but he always steps up when it really matters."

"He also said...if anything happens to him, he hopes you can take care of his mother."

My throat felt like it was blocked by something.

Zhang Hao...

"Isn't his mother already dead?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes." Wang Zijian nodded, "But that happened later."

"What do you mean?"

"She was alive before you joined the rules experiment," Wang Zijian said. "But everything changed after you joined."

"What are you talking about?" I frowned. "Zhang Hao is Night Raven's experimental subject, not me."

"It's you." Wang Zijian looked at me. "It was you from the very beginning."

"Zhang Hao is just a scapegoat."

I was stunned.

"scapegoat?"

"Yes," Wang Zijian said, "Night Raven needs to find someone with 'potential' to complete the core of the Seven-Pointed Star ritual."

"And you are the one with the potential."

"But they didn't want you to know the truth," he said, "so they found a stand-in—Zhang Hao."

"They made Zhang Hao believe that he had been chosen. Then they used various methods to gradually ensnare him."

"When the time is right, they will replace the 'stand-in' with the 'real body.'"

"And you—" Wang Zijian looked at me, "were their target from beginning to end."

My mind went completely blank.

this......

How is that possible?

"You're lying," I said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not lying," Wang Zijian said. "You can ask Director Chen. He should know more."

I turned my head and looked at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan's expression was calm, but I could see the complexity in his eyes.

"Is what he said true?" I asked.

"...Most of it is true," Chen Xuan said.

"most?"

"Zhang Hao was indeed a stand-in," Chen Xuan said, "but that wasn't part of Night Raven's original plan."

"What do you mean?"

"The Night Raven's original plan was for you and Zhang Hao to participate in the experiment together," Chen Xuan said. "But something happened that changed the plan."

"What's wrong?"

Chen Xuan remained silent for a while.

"Your father," he said, "placed some kind of 'seal' on the night raven before you were born."

"seal?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said. "Your father knew that the Night Ravens would come after you sooner or later. So he placed a seal on you to prevent them from getting close."

"The seal was only recently broken."

"So Zhang Hao was pulled in as a stand-in?"

"Yes." Chen Xuan nodded, "Because they can't contact you directly anymore."

I stood there, stunned, my mind a complete mess.

Father......

My father, whom I've never met, actually foresaw all of this?

"How did my father die?" I asked.

Chen Xuan and Wang Zijian exchanged a glance.

"Well..." Chen Xuan said, "it's not time to tell you yet."

Why?

"because--"

"Because you can't handle it right now," Wang Zijian suddenly interjected.

I looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you know why the Night Raven wants to 'return to oneness'?" Wang Zijian asked.

"have no idea."

"Returning to Oneness is the ultimate goal of the Ruins," Wang Zijian said. "They want to integrate all the rules and create a 'perfect world.'"

"Perfect World?"

"Yes," Wang Zijian said, "In that world, there is no death, no pain, no war. Everyone benefits from the rules."

"It doesn't sound like...a bad thing?" I said.

"That doesn't sound like a bad thing," Wang Zijian laughed, "but you don't know what the price will be."

"What is the price?"

"The price is—" Prince Jian paused, "...everyone will lose their 'self'."

"In that perfect world, you wouldn't feel pain, but you wouldn't feel pleasure either. You wouldn't get hurt, but you wouldn't grow either. You wouldn't die, but you wouldn't truly live either."

"You are just a 'rule.' A pre-designed program."

"That's not the world I wanted," he said, "so I defected."

"Defected?" I was stunned. "You're from Guixu?"

"That was true before," Wang Zijian said, "but then I realized that the path to Guixu was wrong. So I escaped and hid at Jiangcheng University."

Then I met Zhang Hao.

"You want to protect him?"

"I wanted to save him." Wang Zijian's eyes darkened. "But I failed."

"The Night Raven found him and forced him to participate in the rules experiment. I tried to stop it, but..."

"But he failed," he said, "and then he died."

"He died in the early morning of the eighth day."

"Like all losers."

I was silent.

Wang Zijian's words reminded me of a sentence in Zhang Hao's notebook.

Don't trust anyone.

"Are you warning me?" I asked.

"It's not just a warning," Wang Zijian said. "I'm protecting you."

"Protect me?"

"Yes," Wang Zijian said, "The Night Ravens' target is you. As long as you live, they won't let you go."

"So you need to be careful."

"Watch out for who?"

"Everyone," Wang Zijian looked at me, "including Chen Xuan."

I turned my head sharply and looked at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan's expression remained calm, but a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

"Is what he said true?" I asked.

"...I didn't mean to harm you," Chen Xuan said.

"My question is, are you hiding anything?"

Chen Xuan remained silent for a long time.

"Yes," he finally said.

"I hid... information about your parents."

"What's wrong?"

"Your father...was not killed by the Night Raven," Chen Xuan said.

"How did they die?"

"He was...killed by himself."

I was stunned.

"Killing yourself? What does that mean?"

"Your father is the sixth Balancer," Chen Xuan said. "He has an ability—to 'foresee' the future."

"Predicting the future?"

"Yes," Chen Xuan said. "He saw a future—that Guixu would succeed, and the world would become a 'perfect' cage."

"To prevent that future, he did something."

"What is it?"

"He sacrificed his life for the scales," Chen Xuan said, "in exchange for a 'possibility.'"

"A possibility that could shatter that future."

"And you—" Chen Xuan looked at me, "are that 'possibility.'"

I was completely stunned.

"You mean... my father deliberately gave birth to me to stop the Return to the Void?"

"It wasn't intentional," Chen Xuan said. "It was premonition."

"He foresaw a possibility—if he had given birth to you, you might have become the seventh Balancer."

"And the seventh Balancer has the ability to disrupt the plan of Return to the Void."

"So he took a gamble."

"What if you lose the bet?"

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Chen Xuan said, "because he can't see the outcome. He only sees the possibility of 'winning.'"

"That's why he didn't hesitate to... gamble everything on you."

My eyes welled up with tears.

Father......

It turned out to be the case.

"And what about my mother?" I asked. "How did she die?"

"She is..." Chen Xuan hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"She did it to protect you," Wang Zijian suddenly said.

"Protect me?"

"Yes," Wang Zijian said. "When your father sacrificed himself, he left behind a lot of 'legacy.' That legacy is taboo for the Guixu."

"Your mother ran away with the inheritance."

"Then......"

"Then they were hunted down," Wang Zijian said. "She died on the run."

"But before you died, she hid the inheritance."

Where is it hidden?

"I don't know," Wang Zijian shook his head, "but I do know one thing."

"What?"

"Among those legacies, there's something called the 'Book of Guixu,'" Wang Zijian said. "That's the diary of the Guixu cult leader. It records the true purpose of Guixu."

"There is also... a way to break 'unity'."

The Book of Return to the Ruins...

The method to break the "unity"...

"Where is that book?" I asked.

"I don't know," Wang Zijian said, "but I know one person does."

"who?"

"Su Mingyue."

I was stunned.

"Su Mingyue?"

"Yes," Wang Zijian said, "She's been investigating your parents."

"And most of your parents' belongings are in her hands."

"Including that 'Memory Coin'."

Memory Coins...

Was it the one I saw on the altar that night?

"But that night—" I frowned, "she stopped me from touching the coin."

"Because that coin wasn't a real 'Memory Coin,'" Wang Zijian said. "It was a night raven's trap."

"The real memory coin is in her hands."

I was completely shocked.

Su Mingyue...

So she'd been hiding all this all along?

"Why?" I asked. "Why did she hide it?"

"Because she's also protecting you," Wang Zijian said, "but her way of protecting you...is not by letting you know the truth."

"It's about getting you 'ready'."

"What are you preparing?"

"Get ready to become... a true balancer."

After the interrogation ended, I sat alone in the corridor, lost in thought.

My mind was filled with the information I had just received.

The father is the sixth balancer...

My mother was a defector from Guixu...

Zhang Hao is a stunt double...

Su Mingyue has real memory coins...

There's also the "Return to One" plan from Guixu...

"The Book of Return to the Ruins"...

This is all too crazy.

"How are you?"

A voice came from the side.

I looked up and saw Su Mingyue standing in front of me.

Her face was a little pale, as if she had just recovered.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked.

"I've been looking for you," Su Mingyue said. "I wanted to talk to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Let's talk..." Su Mingyue hesitated for a moment, "...about what I know."

I looked at her, my heart filled with mixed emotions.

"Did you always know?" I asked, "about my parents?"

"...I know part of it," Su Mingyue said.

Why didn't you tell me?

"Because—" Su Mingyue paused, "because you're not ready yet."

"What do you mean by not being prepared?"

"If you knew the whole truth now, you wouldn't be able to bear it," Su Mingyue said. "Your father left you a message in the scales. That message... can only be heard when you are strong enough."

"If you listen when you're vulnerable... the scales will tip."

What happens when the scales collapse?

"You will die," Su Mingyue said, "and you will take everyone around you with you."

I was silent.

It turned out to be the case.

That's why Su Mingyue kept it a secret.

"And now?" I asked. "Am I strong enough now?"

"Not enough." Su Mingyue shook her head, "But... you're much better than before."

"You've been through so much, your mental resilience has improved a lot."

"In a little while... you'll know the whole truth."

"How long is a period of time?"

"I'll wait until you complete the seven-day rule-based task," Su Mingyue said. "I'll wait until you survive the seventh day."

Day 7...

Two more days.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said suddenly.

"What's the problem?"

"What did you see in my memory...?"

Su Mingyue's expression changed.

"Why do you ask that?"

"Because Zhao Tiezhu said that after you saw my memories, he took leave and left," I said. "He said you saw 'things you shouldn't have seen.'"

Su Mingyue remained silent for a long time.

"Yes," she finally said.

"What is that?"

"I see it..." Su Mingyue took a deep breath, "Your deeper personality."

"Deep personality disorder?"

"Yes." Su Mingyue looked at me, "In your memories, I saw 'another you.'"

"You... are very powerful."

"It's also...terrifying."

"horrible?"

"Yes." Su Mingyue lowered her voice, "The way he... the way he looked at me was like he was looking at a dead person."

"I was startled awake."

I was stunned.

Deep personality...

A terrifying look...

A look in their eyes like they're staring at a dead person...

"Do you think... he might hurt you?" I asked.

"I don't know," Su Mingyue said, "but I do know one thing."

"What?"

"If the scales tip out of control, the first person to die... might be yourself."

"After that... it will be my turn."

I was silent.

Su Mingyue's words sent a chill down my spine.

Deep personality...

That "other me"...

"How can I control him?" I asked.

"I don't know," Su Mingyue shook her head, "but I have a suggestion."

"What suggestion?"

"Don't use the scales lightly," Su Mingyue said. "Every time you use them, they become a little stronger."

"Until one day..."

"One day what?"

"One day, you won't be able to tell... which one is the real you."