The World Below Surface

Fang Tu’s eyes were like ice as he observed Lin Chu knocking on Lu Yan’s door.

"Jiang Bai, Jiang Bai, are you in there?"

The door opened, revealing Lu Yan's haggard face. Dark circles under his eyes betrayed his sleepless nights, tormented by who knows what. He plastered a smile on his face and greeted Lin Chu, “Hey, what a surprise. What are you doing here?”

Everything appeared normal, but Fang Tu sensed something was wrong. He heard their conversation through the earpiece, and soon, the phone screen showed him the scene.

Under his threat, Lin Chu had no choice but to follow his orders. She waited for Lu Yan to disappear into the kitchen to brew some tea, and quickly slipped a pinhole camera into the living room.

Lu Yan came back with a steaming cup of tea and handed it to Lin Chu, who expressed her gratitude and gazed at him with a look of adoration.

Fang Tu saw it all on the monitor.

Lin Chu began to babble, "Jiang Bai, did you come to this town for inspiration?"

"Jiang Bai" nodded.

"You're a painter, right? What kind of paintings do you do? Could you do a portrait for me? I'll pay you..."

Fang Tu was losing his patience and nudged Lin Chu, who then switched the topic to the Cultural Festival.

"Jiang Bai" thought for a moment, "Honestly, I don't know much about this cultural festival. I wasn't planning to join. But a few days ago, when I was at the museum, a little girl gave me a flyer at the entrance. The weird thing is, I can't get rid of this flyer, no matter what I do. It's indestructible." "Jiang Bai's" eyes darkened.

Lin Chu asked, "Can I see the flyer?"

Lu Yan handed it over.

He wasn't lying, and he had to admit, this group of taskers was the most competent he had ever encountered. Maybe they could crack the code, and that wouldn't be so bad.

At first glance, the flyer looked like any other piece of paper that had been folded and unfolded too many times. Lin Chu held it in her hands, feeling its smoothness and weight. She glanced at Lu Yan, who nodded his permission, and then she tried to rip it in half. Nothing happened. She frowned and applied more pressure, but the paper refused to tear.

It was just a thin sheet of paper.

She reached for the pocket knife she always carried with her and slashed at the flyer. However, the blade bounced off without leaving a mark. Determined, she made a second attempt, putting more force behind it, but still failed to make any impact.

Lu Yan observed her with a faint smile and then handed her a lighter. She flicked it on and held the flame to the edge of the paper, but it failed to catch fire. It didn't even singe.

"It's too eerie," Lin Chu said, dropping the flyer on the table. "So, you..."

"Yes, that's why I had to come here. Otherwise, I might not live to see another day."

Fang Tu's voice came through the earpiece she wore, telling her to take the flyer with her for further analysis.

Lin Chu gave a smile and asked Lu Yan, "Do you mind if I borrow this flyer for a while? I'll give it back to you tomorrow."

"Sure, go ahead. But don't lose it, okay?"

"I won't."

Another explosion sounded from somewhere outside, shaking the windows and making them all flinch.

"By the way, that person on the wanted poster, that's not you, right?" Lin Chu asked, looking him in the eye. She was curious, not only for herself, but for the others who were listening in.

"Jiang Bai" shook his head. "No, that's not me. I don't know why we look so much alike." He paused, and gave her a charming smile. "Maybe I have a long-lost twin brother?"

He did not mention anything about Pisces jade pendant. He knew what it could do, how it could grant wishes to the gods, but he kept that secret to himself.

"I hope you can keep this between us. I don't care if you want to monitor me or whatever, but I'm innocent. I swear." The young man begged, "I'm just a tourist here; I don't want to get arrested by the police."

Lin Chu nodded, sensing his desperation. She told him that she understood, and that they would not expose him. After a few more minutes of small talk, following Fang Tu's instructions, she wrapped up the conversation and left.

They all stared at each other, disbelief and doubt in their eyes.

"Are you telling me that he's not the one we're looking for?" one of them asked.

"He looks exactly like him, but there's a difference: the wanted man has scars all over his face. This Jiang Bai doesn't have a single scratch."

"Maybe he's wearing a disguise. Maybe he's lying. How can we trust him?" a third one challenged.

They had been in this town for three days now.

Three days of horror and mystery, of secrets and lies, of death and danger. The town that had seemed so peaceful and quaint when they first arrived had turned into a nightmare. They had agreed to meet every morning in the hall downstairs, to share what they had learned and to plan their next move.

But this morning, they were divided.

"Hold on, where's Shen Zhu?" Ling Tong scanned the room, looking for the missing girl. He asked, "Did anyone see her yesterday?"

They had assumed she had skipped the meeting last night because she was exhausted, but now they realised something was wrong.

Di Ying stuttered, "I-I saw her go to her room last night. She looked fine. She said she was going to sleep."

"I saw her too. She smiled at me and said good night." one of the taskers confirmed.

Was she just sleeping in?

That seemed unlikely.

"Come on, let's go check on her. Maybe something happened to her." Jiang Yu suggested, and a few of them dashed up the stairs, heading to her room. They opened the door and gasped. The room was empty.

"Where is she?"

"Did she run away?"

Jiang Yu shook his head. "No, she's in trouble. Listen, if you see her, don't say anything stupid and don't look her in the eye."

The others murmured, but they were not surprised.

They knew what this town could do.

Three days had passed, and the death toll kept rising. Not only among them, but also among the townsfolk. Over a hundred corpses littered the streets and alleys.

How long would this go on?

**

The crash had ripped off the gauze he had wrapped around his wound. Lu Yan clenched his jaw and taped it back on, ignoring the throbbing pain. He gathered his belongings and prepared to leave.

He knew the town like the back of his hand by now. He slipped through the narrow passages, dodging most of the cameras, and retrieved the axe he had stashed away. He made his way to the crowded areas, slowly and cautiously.

He didn't want to make another wish to that so-called "god", but he felt he had no choice. Death was breathing down his neck, and he needed a way out. Even if it meant slaughtering everyone in the town, he didn't care anymore.

Besides, his future self had died at the cultural festival. If he could wipe out everyone before the festival, he could change his fate.

But...

His face was everywhere. Wanted posters covered every wall and corner, with his likeness drawn in detail. They didn't have his name, but they had his features. He looked too much like the man they were hunting, and he couldn't afford to be seen.

He reached the end of an alley and ripped off one of the posters. He planted a bomb behind it and was about to turn back, when a chill ran down his spine. He spun around and saw a tall, thin figure standing at the other end.

The figure was his mirror image, carrying an identical axe on his back, wearing the same clothes, and sporting a large burn mark on his face.

It was him.

The Lu Yan in the alley felt a surge of confusion.

They had the same injuries, inflicted at the same time. So, from which time was this Lu Yan?

The other Lu Yan at the entrance of the alley didn't move.

He felt the timer ticking inside him, counting down to his doom. He also knew that the person facing him was himself, but he would not give up his life so easily, just because of some words from his future self.

He had failed to kill him last night, and that made things harder today. And if his other self joined forces with the others in the town, including the task giver, to kill his past self, he would only create more problems for his future self.

So, he just stood there and said one thing.

"Your current actions will doom us both in the future."

The man in the alley asked, "What actions do you mean?" He didn't wait for the man at the entrance of the alley to answer, and went on, "Killing the people in this town is the price I have to pay. I have no other option."

"But the cultural festival has to happen," said Lu Yan at the entrance of the alley. "And if I'm not wrong, you got more than one reward for making a wish, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you," said Lu Yan, deep in the alley.

One of the prices he paid was to travel to the future and kill his future self, which was the condition for him to come back to the present. The other price was to wipe out everyone in the town, which was the gift from the "god" for letting him change the past.

So, he wouldn't tell his future self about this. If his future self was prepared, he might not be able to go back to the present.

Lu Yan at the entrance of the alley said, "I see." He looked outside and said suddenly, "When I came here, it was May 1st."

It was now March 3rd, the third day the task giver was here, and the second day Lu Yan was here.

Lu Yan in the alley said, "I see." But he didn't say when he had come back from the future.

Lu Yan at the entrance of the alley continued, "Even though I made it back, I made a mistake."

"What mistake?"

"I bought something with me. It's hiding in the eyes of the current Lu Yan," Lu Yan at the entrance of the alley continued, "That thing is me from a later timeline, I don't know when, but anyway, if we want to live, we have to get past that point. I already told you, you have to participate in the cultural festival."

Lu Yan in the alley nodded.

But he was filled with dread.

He had come close to death at the cultural festival, and only survived by making a wish. But he had kept that secret from his future self. Maybe he was his future self from a timeline where he had died and come back to life, and then he wouldn't need to know. Or maybe he was on a different path, and that wasn't such a bad thing.

But this time, how would he make it through?

He was about to walk away, after saying his piece, when he stopped and asked: "Hold on, one more thing. Who are they looking for, the missing person?"

He heard the question, and gave the other him a meaningful look. He shook his head and said, "I can't tell you."

Not "I don't know", but "I can't tell".

He turned around and left, leaving the other him wondering.

It didn't take long for the townspeople to notice him.

He was the spitting image of the man on the wanted poster!

And he was strutting down the street with a huge axe on his back!

He made sure he got enough attention from the timeline that went back to May 1st, and then he bolted into the alley.

He could hear the sirens in the distance.

"Stop! Don't run!"

"What's your name? Stop right there!"

Some eager citizens joined the pursuit.

But it was useless. As they reached a crossroad, a blast rocked the street, sending flames and smoke into the air, and catching the crowd that was behind him. More explosions followed, one after another.

Lu Yan used the chaos to escape.

He knew himself better than anyone. He didn't have to say it, they were all stalling for his current self.

Now, he was under the taskers' radar. But if they showed up, he could clear his name.

"Another blast? Suspect spotted?"

Xi Men Yuan couldn't believe his eyes when he saw him.

They had managed to hack into the local police system and access the footage. And sure enough, there he was. The scar on his face still remained, stretching across half of it. To top it off, he had a long axe slung over his shoulder.

The room had been under constant surveillance, and "Jiang Bai" had never set foot outside. How was it possible, then, that there was another man who bore his exact likeness?

"Jiang Bai" heard the news and came out of the room, his face a mask of astonishment. He spotted several taskers hanging around the lobby and approached them. "You see? I wasn't lying. It wasn't me."

The taskers could hardly believe their eyes as they saw the two identical men. What other explanation could there be? Was Jiang Bai some kind of freak with a twin he didn't know about?

Jiang Yu, who was among the taskers, nodded at Jiang Bai. "It seems you were telling the truth, Mr. Jiang Bai. You are no longer a suspect."

"Jiang Bai" scowled. "That's not enough. The police might still think I'm involved. Could you please vouch for me when they come?"

"Sure," Jiang Yu said. "Where are you headed now? We can arrange for someone to go with you, just in case."

"Really?" The other man brightened up. "I was planning to go to the cultural festival venue."

"That's fine. We can go wherever you want. We have plenty of time."

Jiang Yu wondered what the real murderer would do, if he had found a perfect copy of himself. Would he try to kill him, or use him as a scapegoat?

He decided not to follow them personally, but assigned three people to escort "Jiang Bai".

Fang Tu, Lin Chu, and a man named Qiu Zhi (邱致: could be interpreted as “a sincere devotion” or “a earnest sender”.)

Qiu Zhi was a former soldier, with exceptional skills and sharp senses. Jiang Yu trusted him and Fang Tu to deal with Jiang Bai, if he turned out to be more than he seemed. Unless he was a ghost, of course.

They followed the map on the flyer and walked in a tight formation.

Qiu Zhi stayed on Jiang Bai's left, Lin Chu on his right, while Fang Tu draped his arm over Lin Chu's shoulder and chatted with her.

Qiu Zhi had no patience for scoundrels like Fang Tu. He also didn't like Lin Chu, who would probably stab them in the back. And he carried a heavy burden of guilt for Lu Yan, whom they had orders to kill.

He grappled with the moral dilemma that haunted him every waking moment. Was he willing to sacrifice others for his own survival? How could he live with himself if he did? But how could he not, when his own life was at stake?

Qiu Zhi felt torn between two impossible choices. If Lu Yan, the mysterious target of their mission, ever showed up, should he side with him or with his fellow taskers?

He cast a quick glance at Lin Chu, who was being harassed by Fang Tu. Fang Tu wore a cruel smile on his face, seemingly relishing in tormenting her. Lin Chu turned to Qiu Zhi, her eyes filled with desperation, silently pleading for help.

"Leave her alone, she hates it when you do that," Qiu Zhi said, breaking the silence.

Fang Tu's eyes snapped to Qiu Zhi, narrowing with malice. He didn't release his grip on Lin Chu's neck; instead, he tightened it further, causing her to gasp for air.

"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?" he snarled. "This is none of your business."

"It is my business, because you're being a jerk," Qiu Zhi said, shaking his head. "She might be a traitor, but that doesn't give you the right to bully her. It's wrong to bully anyone, especially a woman."

Lin Chu was taken aback by Qiu Zhi's words. She was aware that Lu Yan had seen through her disguise, and Fang Tu had also harboured suspicions about her. This was why Fang Tu had been relentlessly tormenting her, attempting to make her crack. However, she had never anticipated encountering someone so naive as Qiu Zhi on their team.

"Really? And why is that?" Fang Tu said, mocking Qiu Zhi. He turned his head and bit Lin Chu's ear, making her whimper.

He noticed a strange scent coming from her, something delicate yet captivating. He also had an unusual taste in his mouth, something that didn't match the flavour of human skin.

He was about to investigate further, when Qiu Zhi grabbed his collar and threw him to the ground. He landed hard, feeling a sudden weakness in his limbs. He couldn't dodge Qiu Zhi's attack, and he felt humiliated by his fall.

Lin Chu trembled and thanked Qiu Zhi, looking terrified. She wanted to help Fang Tu up, but Qiu Zhi stopped her.

"Don't bother, he can get up by himself. He's a grown man, after all."

But he wasn't sure if he could.

Lin Chu had a simple plan: kill Fang Tu when no one was watching, and make it look like he died in an explosion. But with Qiu Zhi here, it was a bad time to execute it.

As Fang Tu threatened Lin Chu again, Qiu Zhi was about to intervene when something unexpected occurred.

A blade flew down from the upper floor, piercing Fang Tu's jugular with deadly precision.

"What the hell?"

It all unfolded in a blink of an eye, and Qiu Zhi stared in shock. A shadowy figure peeked out from the high-rise above, flashed him a grin, and vanished.

That person... was the suspect they were searching for, the one responsible for the bombing.

Jiang Bai stood next to him, pale and weak.

"Wait for me here," Qiu Zhi said, and dashed upstairs.

As soon as he was gone, the faces of the two remaining people changed.

Lin Chu didn't bother to wipe the tears from her eyes as she checked herself for any bugs and distanced herself from Fang Tu's lifeless body. "Who was that? It was you, wasn't it?"

"Yes, that was my future self."

Lin Chu: "Well, that's convenient. You know our mission, right?"

"I do. First, kill me. Second, find the missing person," Lu Yan confirmed, seeing her nod.

Lin Chu: "I'm not going to do the first one yet. There's no deadline for this mission. I need to stay here a bit longer."

"Why?"

"I think I've found a clue," Lin Chu said, "and... something's happening in my world. I have a feeling that something is spreading through these missions."

“Spreading?”

Lin Chu revealed the results of her investigation, concluding with, “Death is a common occurrence in a country as vast as ours. But lately, the news reports have taken an eerie turn. I have reason to believe that there’s more data that’s being hidden from the public. There must be something behind the scenes that’s pulling the strings of this macabre puppet show. It wants you dead, which means you’ve crossed it somehow. That’s why I’m on your side.” She said this not only to make her position clear, but also to ease Lu Yan’s suspicion.

“We can work together, at least until I finish my investigation,” she added, implying that their alliance would crumble once she had to leave.

But underneath her calm facade, Lin Chu felt a surge of sadness. She knew that Lu Yan was a bigger and more unique threat to the entity behind the scenes than anyone else.

Could she really bring herself to kill him?

Lu Yan didn’t think too much about it. He was glad to have some help, even if it was temporary. He still trusted Lin Chu, for now.

But sadly… only one of them would make it out alive.

Lu Yan would never give up this chance to anyone else.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to anger it. Maybe it’s something my future self did.”

He was still in the dark about many things.

“Since your death is the objective of this mission in Spirit Vale Town… does that mean you’ve uncovered something important during this mission?” Lin Chu asked.

“Maybe.”

“How much do you know about the cultural festival?”

He shrugged. “Nothing. I’ll have to ask around.”

He sensed that the cultural festival was a big deal around here.

"You should be familiar with the information on the flyer. I’ll also do some digging and let you know if I find anything interesting.”

“Sure,” Lu Yan said.

She changed the subject. “Do you know Chu Xiu?”

Lin Chu continued. “He’s the one who investigated me after the last mission. There was a high school kid named An Xing Yu who never came back. His parents hired Chu Xiu to look into it. He told me he knows you too.”

In fact, after meeting Chu Xiu last time, they both confirmed that Lu Yan was not an ordinary person.

There was another tasker, He Lou, who had left a message, probably after running into him. Three people had seen the same NPC in different tasks. What did that mean?

“An Xing Yu?”

She nodded. “It might be my fault that he’s trapped here.” She couldn’t tell him about the mission, so she only hinted at the last-minute decision she had made in the ancient tomb.

“He’s gone, just like you thought,” Lu Yan said.

He had seen the other taskers who had died, reborn in twisted shapes. But not An Xing Yu. He had never seen his ghost.

“That’s impossible…” Lin Chu whispered.

She had recorded everything, and when she watched it at home, frame by frame, the bodies of the taskers didn't vanish. They merely flickered for a split second and then transformed. Therefore, Lin Chu had always held onto the hope that it was something akin to souls or consciousness entering the tasks.

An Xing Yu's body was gone. Vanished. Erased.

But not from this world. It still lingered here, somewhere, somehow.

What did that mean? Did they really enter this world with their own flesh and blood? How did they heal from the wounds they suffered during the missions?

"It makes no sense..."

The deeper they dug, the more they felt trapped in a labyrinth, blind to the truth.

"Hold on! What about you? How did you fare after we came back?"

Lu Yan shared his story with candour.

There were things that they couldn't say, couldn't explain, so he had to give more clues, let Lin Chu infer the rest.

Lin Chu was lost in thought when Qiu Zhi's voice interrupted them.

"Damn it, he slipped away. I couldn't catch him." Qiu Zhi's grim face scowled, clearly unhappy with the result.

Lin Chu quickly put on a frail facade, while Lu Yan followed suit with a faint cough, feigning exhaustion.

"What now?" Lin Chu asked with a sob, gazing at Fang Tu's lifeless body, "Should we head back first?"

Lu Yan nodded. "Yeah, let's stick together. It's too risky to go solo now." He lowered his head again, coughing harder.

They were all in bad shape, barely able to fend for themselves, so Qiu Zhi had no choice but to shoulder the burden of the corpse.