Dad

The blade jammed in the middle of the doors.

The ear-piercing screech of metal grinding against metal echoed throughout the elevator car. The doors shuddered violently, their mechanical gears locked in place.

The katana was like a wedge, firmly lodged in the gap between the doors as they were about to close.

The elevator could no longer move. Apparently, the system had detected an obstruction and, after issuing several urgent warning beeps, the doors actually opened again.

The samurai clad from head to toe in black armor stood outside. There was no face visible beneath the helmet—only an abyss of unfathomable darkness.

Luo Ruiyu’s face had gone as white as paper. She pressed herself tightly into the corner of the elevator.

The samurai raised the katana in his hands.

The moment Fang Jun saw this, he charged without a second thought, slamming his entire body into the samurai’s waist.

“Close the doors!”

He had barely shouted the words before he crashed into the samurai.

He threw all his strength against that cold suit of armor. The dull impact of his shoulder against the metal made even him wince.

Unfortunately, the other party was clearly many times stronger than an ordinary person.

A collision like that had no effect whatsoever.

The samurai didn’t move an inch. He was like a statue cast from iron, and the floor beneath his feet didn’t even make a scraping sound.

Fang Jun hugged the samurai around the waist, but couldn’t push him back at all.

His sneakers slipped across the smooth floor. The muscles in his legs were stretched to their limit, and the veins on his forehead bulged.

When he looked up again, all he could see was the shadow beneath the helmet. That darkness seemed almost tangible, radiating a suffocating pressure.

The samurai raised the blade with both hands as well.

If that katana came down, Fang Jun would be split into Fang/Jun.

He could feel the chill descending from above, but Fang Jun still closed his eyes and continued pushing.

As long as he could get Luo Ruiyu safely downstairs in the elevator, she should be able to survive.

“Stay alive...”

He repeated those three words silently, as if they were some kind of prayer.

A shout came from behind him.

“Fang Jun!!!”

Clang!

The sound of metal striking stone rang out.

It was crisp and loud, echoing throughout the entire floor like two slabs of refined steel crashing together.

The pain he expected never came. Fang Jun cautiously opened his eyes and looked up.

The samurai was still holding the blade with both hands, frozen in the motion of bringing it down. The edge had stopped only a few inches from the back of Fang Jun’s head.

But a hand had reached over from the side, and five fingers were holding the blade as effortlessly as if it were nothing.

That hand was as hard as rock. Not even a trace of blood appeared where the fingertips touched the razor-sharp edge.

“What are you doing? She’s your wife or something? Why are you hugging her so tightly?”

Hearing that familiar voice, with its lazy, teasing drawl, Fang Jun’s eyes immediately reddened.

His nose stung, and he nearly burst into tears on the spot.

“Dad! You’re finally here!”

Fang Jun’s voice trembled, filled with the excitement and relief of having narrowly escaped death.

Lin Mo ignored Fang Jun, who looked ready to cry, and slightly tightened his fingers.

Crack.

The razor-sharp katana snapped into two pieces between Lin Mo’s fingers as easily as a fragile Pocky stick.

Then, gripping the broken blade, Lin Mo twisted his wrist and drove it backward into the samurai’s armored chest.

The movement was clean and decisive, like casually pressing a thumbtack into a wall.

“I hate you Japanese bastards the most!”

There was a trace of genuine disgust in Lin Mo’s voice.

It had only been a thin fragment of metal, but for some reason, the effect was no different from planting a bomb.

The moment the blade fragment pierced the armor, a blinding white light erupted from the point of contact.

Boom!

The samurai and his armor exploded in an instant. Fragments flew in every direction, black pieces of metal and unidentified matter spreading outward like fireworks before transforming into black smoke in midair.

Fang Jun, who had been holding onto the samurai, was merely blown backward. His back slammed into the wall of the corridor, and he slid down into a sitting position.

He instinctively felt over his body. He wasn’t hurt at all—not even his clothes had been damaged.

Fang Jun sat on the floor, gasping heavily.

Adrenaline was still coursing wildly through his body, making his heart pound like a drum.

He stared at the spot where the samurai had disappeared. There wasn’t even a trace of ash on the floor. It was so clean that everything just now seemed like an illusion.

Seeing Fang Jun sprawled on the ground, Lin Mo walked over and pulled him to his feet with one hand.

“Your legs gone soft?” Lin Mo asked, raising an eyebrow.

“N-no...” Fang Jun stubbornly denied it, even though his knees were still trembling.

The elevator doors behind them had never closed.

Luo Ruiyu cautiously stepped out of the elevator as well. Her eyes were red, and tears still clung to her eyelashes. But more than anything, her expression was one of shock and disbelief.

Her gaze lingered on Lin Mo for a long time. Her lips opened and closed several times before she finally managed to speak.

“Are you... really Lin Mo?”

There was a hint of concern in her voice.

After all, in a bizarre place like this, who knew whether the person standing before her had been replaced by some kind of monster—or whether this was yet another trap?

“Of course I am.”

Lin Mo looked at the two of them and couldn’t help shaking his head. “I can’t believe how unlucky you two are. You even managed to run into something like this.”

Fang Jun had finally caught his breath. He braced himself against the wall and stood up straight, immediately asking, “What exactly is going on? Is this still Liyin Plaza? Why was there something like that here? What happened to the people outside?”

Kid, you’ve got way too many questions.

“It is, and it isn’t.”

Lin Mo held out his hand, palm up, in front of them.

“Let’s use an example. The back of the hand is the surface world.”

He turned his hand over, revealing his palm.

“Then the palm is the inner world. They’re two sides of the same hand, occupying the same space but not interfering with each other. You two entered the inner world, which is why you ended up here.”

Fang Jun stared at Lin Mo’s palm, his mind racing as he tried to digest information that was completely beyond his understanding.

“Holy crap! Isn’t this Silent Hill? Where’s my horde of nurses?”

With Lin Mo here, Fang Jun was no longer as tense and could even crack jokes.

The fear of nearly being chopped in half had seemingly been thrown straight into the stratosphere.

But Luo Ruiyu still raised her hand and smacked him hard on the back.

“Can you be serious for once? Stop talking nonsense.” She glared at Fang Jun before turning to Lin Mo, her tone much more solemn. “Lin Mo, please continue.”

Lin Mo leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

“Normally, a place wouldn’t produce an inner world. But there’s something wrong with Liyin Plaza, which is why this situation came into existence. It can even drag ordinary people like you into this place.”

“Then how do we get out?!” That was the question Luo Ruiyu was most concerned about.

“I can take you out. It won’t be difficult.”