After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

The door to the old archives room was wide open.

Lei Hong followed the red bandage all the way here, but the old archives room was completely empty, with no one else around except for the unconscious dead dog lying by the door.

The mournful tune on the radio continued unabated. Annoyed, Lei Hong waved his hand, and his old companion of many years was smashed against the wall, its parts scattering all over the floor.

Dr. Jerry was also on the ground, his body covered in marks from the damage inflicted by Tang Li's tools, no one knew what he had gone through.

Look, yet another one who betrayed him. Are they keeping him here to repeat their old tricks?

Lei Hong gave a mocking sneer and drained Dr. Jerry's power before he could wake up.

This time, Lei Hong was prepared, but Dr. Jerry's body was not hiding a bomb. The aerial search failed, and Lei Hong's expression grew increasingly grim.

Where the damn Tang Li is hiding?

Lei Hong's sinister gaze swept across every corner of the old archives room until he spotted the basin on the floor.

In the basin, on the red sand, rests a quiet, slender dragonfly.

A smile spread across Lei Hong's face: I've found you.

Lei Hong reached his hand into the basin, and the next moment, he was in the center of the maze. The red bandage that had been guiding him suddenly lost its levitation power and drifted down in mid-air like a maple leaf.

Lei Hong spoke, his deliberately amplified voice carrying far through the maze, creating an echo.

"Come out, Tang Li."

The hard leather soles tapped calmly on the marble floor, the crisp sound like the ticking hands of a pocket watch.

"I've already captured your companion."

"If you don't come out, I'll kill them."

Deep within the labyrinth.

Tang Li was still looking through Gu Xiaoying's records.

The experiment failed again. Mice simply couldn't handle the bizarre conditions of humans, and neither could other larger experimental animals.

I'm becoming increasingly anxious, and I've started to reduce the number of times I appear in front of Xiaomei. I can only see her briefly when she's asleep, because I'm afraid Xiaomei will notice my uncontrollable emotions.

I don't want to say it out loud, but every researcher has the same suspicion: the supernatural can only be transferred from one human body to another... In other words, to completely remove the supernatural from Xiaomei, we must find another person to take her place.

The dean had run out of patience; he needed results as soon as possible. Through the door, I overheard him coaxing another patient into participating in the experiment—a patient the researchers privately referred to as the bizarre aptamer.

A bizarre adaptation medium? A scapegoat.

Lei Hong's threatening words came at that moment.

"He's talking nonsense," AI Xiaomei whispered in her ear, her tone betraying a hint of disdain.

Tang Li turned the page expressionlessly. Lei Hong's actions, however, revealed his own location; the source of the sound was still quite far away.

I refused the dean, but he didn't care. I could see the mockery on his face. He said, "You'll figure it out sooner or later. Is your beloved Xiaomei's life more important, or the life of any other person?"

I went to see Xiaomei, and she is now... I can't bear to see Xiaomei's condition worsen further.

Is Xiaomei's life more important than anyone else's? Standing on the rooftop, I asked myself this question. Wouldn't it be better to set aside morality, take Xiaomei's hand, and go home?

After much thought, I can only confirm one thing.

She is more important than my life.

Tang Li pursed her lips, trying her best to suppress the sour feeling churning in her throat.

So that's how it is...

Those almost harsh conditions, those superfluous standards, were actually safety valves you set yourself.

I have added judgment criteria for the machine.

Now, to become a vessel for the bizarre, one condition must be met: one must be willing.

Willing to protect another person, bearing all risks, disasters, and misfortunes for her, until the end of one's life.

"Tang Li, I have plenty of time to waste on you, but how long can you hide?"

"The worst thing you could do was hide in the bowl. You know, the most important rule of the bowl is that you can only go in, not out. Unless someone outside can overturn the bowl, you have no chance of getting out on your own."

The dean's voice still lingered in the echo, resounding like a haunting ghost.

Tang Li was still reeling from the shock Gu Xiaoying had brought her. She continued turning the pages; she was almost finished with the book.

The dean discovered my trickery and was furious. However, my once-proud talents and skills finally came into play once again, and no one was able to undo the changes I made.

Ordinary people should not be the elixir of immortality for those in positions of power, and the poor should not be the scapegoats or ladders to heaven for the rich.

I blocked their path to wealth. Is this atonement? But looking at the dean's distorted face with rage, I didn't feel the satisfaction I'd imagined. Machines that trade one life for another shouldn't have been developed in the first place; I've already embarked on this filthy road to hell.

Tang Li sighed silently, clutching the book tightly to her chest.

Gu Xiaoying.

He constantly denounced himself as a corrupt executioner, yet he single-handedly prevented the misfortunes of countless people from falling into poverty. Even at the depths of despair, he never violated the fundamental morality that defines humanity.

Turn the page again; it's a new date, the last page.

The moment to trade lives has arrived.

[Written on the eve of the final treatment.]

The dean compromised.

Tomorrow, Xiaomei and I will be sent into the machine I personally developed. I'm so happy; finally, I can be by Xiaomei's side during her treatment.

It would be a blessing for me to be able to accompany her during her final treatment.

Machines can detect people's thoughts and fulfill their wishes in their own way. I have only one wish: I hope my little Mei leaves the hospital healthy and clean, and I hope my little Mei lives to be a hundred years old.

I knew Xiaomei wouldn't agree to transfer the supernatural power onto me, so until the very end, I didn't tell her how the machine worked. I was afraid that her wild thoughts inside the machine would affect the treatment's effectiveness, so I told her…

Just focus on keeping yourself healthy.

Tomorrow, inside the machine, I will hold Xiaomei's hand and have her repeat with me: "Please let Gu Xiaomei be healthy, please let the evil leave Gu Xiaomei's body."

God help me, please let the supernatural enter my body.

I hope, I beg that Xiaomei will never know the true purpose of this machine.

Xiaomei, my darling, my precious gift from God, my dearest girl, Daddy loves you.

what.

at last.

A sudden realization struck her soul through her body, causing Tang Li to tremble.

At that moment, she curled up, hiding the book inside her body, and covered her mouth with trembling hands.

How could she not have noticed?

Nannan, nannan.

Nannan.

Who was the one who traded their life for another?

It was a father-for-daughter exchange, and I have no regrets.

Fortunately, this is the case, and I am glad and fearless.