CR CH75

Chapter 75: Strange Dream

In the midst of pitch-black darkness, a faint glow flickered in a distant direction.

Jiang Tianji fumbled his way forward through the dark, eventually drawing close to the light source after walking for an unknown duration. A floating microchip revolved within the halo of light, and he instinctively reached out his hand.

The ground beneath his feet began to sway and tremble. Through the distortion, he seemed to glimpse a concrete scene: a dim, cramped room, flickering beams of light, and a microchip hidden inside a small box, reflecting printed information under the gleam.

——E07, Primary Source Body.

“…We… Star…”

“…Aa… E07… Hunter… Association…”

Noisy, chaotic cries of despair stirred his nerves. Those voices sounded now far, now near, as Jiang Tianji struggled to discern a particular voice—one he had never heard before, yet felt inexplicably familiar.

“…Find it.”

A intense sensation of weightlessness came crashing down.

Bang. Jiang Tianji bolted upright from his bed.

“Holy crap!”

The sudden commotion startled Huang Qi so badly that his chair slammed backward against the wall. Holding his chest with lingering fear, he panted: “Scared the hell out of me. Had a nightmare?”

The three roommates looked at each other. Ji Yandong walked over and held his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Jiang Tianji’s forehead. Frowning deeply, he pushed his roommates aside and strode straight into the washroom.

The force with which he slammed the door behind him betrayed his inner turmoil; clearly, his mood was far from pleasant.

Huang Qi hesitated before speaking: “Is it just my imagination, or has his temper been getting worse and worse since his ability awakened?”

“He was always gloomy to begin with,” Feng Huo lowered his voice. “Now it’s just more obvious.”

Ji Yandong didn’t speak, sitting down in silence.

Inside the washroom, Jiang Tianji turned the faucet on to maximum, scooping up water to scrub his face. He casually combed back his wet bangs with his hand.

His heart was still pounding violently. Supporting himself against the sink with both hands, he dazed off slightly as he raised his eyes to look into the mirror.

The shape of his pupils continuously shifted between vertical slits and circles, finally settling into cold, vertical slits. Staring into the mirror, a strange sensation welled up in the depths of Jiang Tianji’s heart—he felt that the person in the mirror was extremely unfamiliar, yet at the same time felt that this was his true self.

Buzz.

His device vibrated once, indicating an abnormal numerical reading. Less than a second after the interface opened, a incoming call connected.

Gathering his composure, Jiang Tianji answered the call.

“Chief,” his voice sounded slightly raspy.

“Sober?” Ling Kongmiao’s voice was calm, seemingly carrying a stabilizing quality. “Open the door.”

A subtle scent of jasmine drifted through the crack. The call was hung up, and Jiang Tianji immediately pushed open the washroom door.

It so happened that Ling Kongmiao pushed open the dormitory door at the exact same moment. The previously noisy dorm instantly fell silent. Huang Qi and Feng Huo froze mid-brawl as they looked toward them, their expressions frozen.

“Chief.”

Ji Yandong stood up straight. The other two snapped back to reality as well, hurriedly following suit to stand at attention and greet him.

Ling Kongmiao nodded: “At ease.”

He walked up to Jiang Tianji, took off his gloves, and pressed his hand against the back of his neck, drawing him slightly closer to himself. Ling Kongmiao lowered his head slightly to observe his pupils, frowning.

“What were you doing just now?”

The frequency of Jiang Tianji’s swaying tail slowed down, and he didn’t answer immediately.

Ling Kongmiao’s voice turned icy: “Speak.”

Before Jiang Tianji could react, Huang Qi over on the side shuddered first, breaking into a sweat on his behalf.

Ji Yandong turned his head and gave the other two a hand signal, motioning for them to carry on with whatever they were doing. Though the few of them appeared to be busy with their own tasks, the corners of their eyes were completely glued to the two people locked in a stalemate.

Jiang Tianji glossed over the main point: “I was sleeping just now.”

Ling Kongmiao: “And?”

“Nothing else.”

Hesitating for just a brief moment, Jiang Tianji lowered his eyes, choosing to temporarily conceal that bizarre dream.

Ever since his complete awakening, this “dream” had been appearing frequently. The exact same scene made him feel that things were likely far from simple—as if pushing him toward a certain direction like an urgent prompt.

While he was lost in thought, the pressure on his neck intensified. Ling Kongmiao’s interrogation-like voice rang out clearly beside his ear.

“Don’t make me ask a second time.”

Almost purely out of reflex, Jiang Tianji abruptly flung his hand away, his voice echoing through the dorm.

“I said there’s nothing!”

In the prolonged silence, everyone froze in place. Jiang Tianji himself was taken aback, unable to believe that this voice filled with impatience and irritability had come from his own mouth.

The other three maintained their previous postures without daring to move, their eyes filled with shock.

The first person to break this “frozen time” was Ling Kongmiao. His face held no expression, and his flung-out hand hung down naturally. He glanced at the device’s readings—which had temporarily returned to a safe range—turned around, and walked toward the outside.

Noticing something was off, Jiang Tianji immediately reached out to grab him: “I didn’t mean to…”

Ling Kongmiao sidestepped and evaded it perfectly, pulling open the dorm door and shutting it just as Jiang Tianji tried to give chase.

The force of the bang wasn’t large, but it happened to hit right against Jiang Tianji’s nose. He let out a “tsk,” tilting his head back to press against his numb nose bridge.

Must be losing my mind.

Having things weighing on his mind earlier naturally made him lose focus, so hearing that pressuring question instinctively triggered…

Even though Ling Kongmiao hadn’t shown any extreme behavior throughout, Jiang Tianji could distinctly feel that he was angry.

He turned his head, meeting the distinct gazes of his three roommates.

Huang Qi looked terrified, Feng Huo looked shocked, and Ji Yandong looked inquiring.

“Are you two…” Huang Qi’s voice sounded weak. “…that familiar with each other?”

“Seems even more familiar than with us,” Feng Huo scratched his head, asking tentatively. “Aren’t you going to chase after him? He seems angry.”

Huang Qi: “How do you even chase after that? Chase after him to coax him? Why does this feel kinda weird?”

“A little bit, but… sigh, I can’t quite put it into words.”

Jiang Tianji took a deep breath, turning around to walk into the washroom to cool his head: “It’s fine, you guys carry on.”

When he looked into the mirror, his vertical pupils had already returned to normal.

Holding his device, Jiang Tianji worried that saying too much would only add fuel to the fire. After pondering for a long while, he sent an apologetic, flattering emoji over.

“Tianji, come out first.”

Outside the door, Ji Yandong tapped lightly on the door to remind him.

“Coming.”

Jiang Tianji stowed away his device and opened the door, only to find Ji Yandong standing at the doorway with no intention of stepping aside. Sensing the subtle atmosphere, Jiang Tianji looked past his shoulder and realized an uninvited guest had arrived in the dorm.

Liang Chong stood at the doorway, looking at the room full of people displaying obvious hostility, and curled the corner of his mouth.

“Chief You had me come to deliver a notification,” his gaze landed on Jiang Tianji. “Head to the Chief Building tomorrow morning at 8 AM.”

“Got it.” Jiang Tianji nodded.

Liang Chong didn’t leave immediately, staring at him for a moment: “I have something to ask you.”

Jiang Tianji knew what he wanted to ask. Pressing down on Ji Yandong’s shoulder, he shook his head slightly to signal that it was fine, then walked toward the doorway.

Downstairs at the dormitory building, Liang Chong led him with practiced familiarity to a long-disused utility room.

Seeing his practiced movements, Jiang Tianji raised an eyebrow.

“A private…” Once he saw the dilapidated environment inside, as well as the tiny section of space that had been barely cleaned up to look somewhat tidy, Jiang Tianji’s words took a turn: “…utility room?”

“Earned by doing chores for the dorm manager.” Liang Chong closed the door. “No surveillance, no one cares, quiet.”

He leaned against that relatively clean desk, skipping the pleasantries.

“When did you find out?”

He was asking about the interrupted conversation regarding “fellow species” prior to the mission that day.

Jiang Tianji understood full well what he was thinking, lowering his eyes to ponder for a moment.

“I’m not clear on the exact time, but it should be earlier than when you found out.”

Liang Chong’s fist slowly tightened: “…How much do you know?”

“What are you referring to? That you want to kill your younger brother, or…” Jiang Tianji paused briefly, “…that you’re a semi-finished product?”

Liang Chong visibly froze, snapping his head up to stare at him.

In the dead silence, Jiang Tianji’s voice was flat—like an extremely dull knife slowly stabbing into an open wound in a agonizing manner.

“Don’t look at me like that. You guys carry a similar scent.”

“When I asked about your scent for the first time, Uncle Liang’s face changed immediately. I was still young back then and didn’t have much capacity for deep thought.”

Liang Chong had initially believed he was a child deeply cherished by his parents, which was why he found the truth so unbearable when he uncovered it.

The rumored transfer student from the Rank-D star was originally the perfect specimen meant to replace Liang Chong—essentially his “younger brother.”

Liang Chong hadn’t wanted to become a true “beast,” yet when an opportunity presented itself before his eyes, he still chose indifference. Deep down, he felt relieved—relieved that the transfer student’s fate was such, and that he hadn’t actually had to make a choice himself.

However, when Jiang Tianji asked him: “When he jumped, were you acting indifferent like it had nothing to do with you, or secretly overjoyed that you had lost another competitor?” Liang Chong realized that he had already become the protagonist in this beast fight.

“Were you asking that question on purpose back then?”

Liang Chong stared at him, realizing certain truths after the fact. His hands rested on the desk as he felt a chill slowly spread into his palms, saying almost through gritted teeth:

“You knew all this, watched me struggle like a dog, and in the end didn’t tell me a single thing…”

“A lot of things were only connected together by me later on.” Jiang Tianji paused, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint arc. “Though that question was indeed asked on purpose.”

“The expression on your face was quite spectacular. I felt very satisfied.”

Under Liang Chong’s gaze—as if seeing him anew for the first time—he threw those past words laced with blades right back at him.

Liang Chong’s hysterical shouting surfaced in his mind; the man was always paradoxically saying “we’re no different” one moment, and “I’m different from you” the next.

“I’m not sure if I have a good mother, or talent—those aren’t things I need, but things you don’t have.”

This seemingly simple sentence poked straight at his raw nerve. Liang Chong’s breathing unconsciously grew ragged.

He had thought Jiang Tianji knew nothing—that he was a fool living inside a happy bubble, something he envied yet loathed.

The secret he had been too terrified to utter aloud during his craziest moments over the years was exposed offhandedly by Jiang Tianji, as if talking about a minor trifle he had never cared about.

“Out of consideration for past acquaintance, here’s a piece of advice for you.” Jiang Tianji’s gaze landed on his neck, his dark green eyes reflecting a strange mark. “Don’t make any more wrong choices. You’ve already been targeted.”

A red hunting rifle mark—Jiang Tianji could vaguely sense its meaning, which seemed to be a warning and a trace.

“Make yourself clear.” Liang Chong kicked away a broom blocking his path, letting out an angry shout as he saw him about to leave: “Jiang Tianji!”

“Save the fight for another day.”

Jiang Tianji dodged his hand. His tail swept out with seemingly gentle force, snapping the only clean desk in the room straight in two, crashing onto the ground with a heavy thud.

“I just angered someone today, so I have to walk on eggshells.”