Chapter 750: Revelations in the Dim Light

When Lu Xin called out that name, the atmosphere in the small tavern suddenly turned oppressive.

The old security guard, though having long been prepared, tensed slightly upon hearing that title.

“Teacher Sun? You…”

Even Number Eight abruptly raised his head, his gaze fixed intently on the old security guard’s face.

After a moment, the familiar image of the old security guard in his eyes began to merge with that of another person.

In an instant, recognition of that man’s identity flashed through his mind, causing his pupils to constrict rapidly.

In fact, back at Red Moon Elementary School, when the old security guard had appeared wielding a double-barreled shotgun, pointing it at his own face while berating his childhood self, he had already felt an uncanny familiarity—a feeling that he had seen this man before.

But what happened next was even more astonishing.

These events consumed all of his thoughts, leaving him no time to dwell on them.

Until now, when Lu Xin finally revealed his identity.

“Actually, I recognized you a long time ago…”

Lu Xin looked steadily at the old security guard as he spoke calmly.

In his past memories, this man had appeared countless times, though each time he had hidden in the corners of his recollections.

“Now that I think about it, I recognized you long ago.”

“When I first returned to the orphanage with Teacher Xiao Lu, I already knew it was you guarding the place.”

“But back then, I forced myself not to acknowledge you.”

“Otherwise, given my state at the time, I’m not sure I could have controlled myself from killing you.”

“I’m sorry, Teacher Sun Zhong—or should I call you Assistant Sun?”

“…”

A thunderclap seemed to strike the tiny tavern.

The old security guard, hearing that long-missed title, quickly looked up at Lu Xin, only to lower his eyes again shortly thereafter.

“Is… is that so?”

After a long while, he forced a smile and said, “I thought it was my ability at work…”

Seeing the bittersweet smile on his face, Lu Xin felt a gentle ripple in his calm heart.

……

……

The former director of the orphanage, Wang Jingyun, once had two assistants.

One was Chen Xun, who later became a member of the mysterious Black Table organization and conducted a forbidden “god-creation” experiment in Water Buffalo City. This man was found by him to avenge the sister in his memory and to reclaim Little Nineteen from his grasp.

The other was named Sun Zhong.

He had always stayed by Teacher Xiao Lu’s side, serving as a loyal old security guard.

Perhaps he was an ability user as well, capable of making people forget his former identity.

But could he really not remember what he once looked like?

Countless encounters with this old security guard, sometimes intimate and sometimes distant, and every time nearly stripping away everything he held dear…

Perhaps it was just a subconscious instinct…

After all, the kind old security guard had once been the executioner at the former director’s side.

“You…”

The moment Number Eight learned of the old security guard’s true identity, his eyes flew open wide. Even in his exhausted state, he couldn’t completely contain his emotions, though he quickly shifted his gaze to Lu Xin, puzzled by what he had just learned…

If Lu Xin had recognized him long ago, then why had he kept him around all this time?

Lu Xin didn’t lose his temper; even when revealing the old security guard’s identity, he remained outwardly calm.

After a moment, he slowly looked at the old security guard and said quietly, “I want to know what really happened back then.”

He paused, then tapped his head and added, “Especially regarding what happened to me.”

“Phew…”

The old security guard—or Professor Sun Zhong, as he was also known—let out a long sigh.

His face showed no signs of surprise or terror, as if he had long been expecting this.

Then he met Lu Xin’s gaze calmly and said, “Truth be told, I know very little of what really happened.”

“But one thing is certain: the changes in you are linked to the plan of the first-generation researchers at the Red Moon Research Institute.”

“…”

Lu Xin frowned slightly as he listened.

Number Eight raised an eyebrow too, as though his thoughts were even more tangled than Lu Xin’s.

“You’ve already remembered what happened, haven’t you?”

Professor Sun Zhong looked at Lu Xin and murmured, “Many things began with that out-of-control experiment.”

“After the plan went awry, the director left temporarily to recover, trying to salvage what was left of the ruined experiment subjects.”

“I stayed behind to wrap things up and erase some of the unnecessary traces.”

“I also saved Teacher Xiao Lu, who was severely injured—her spine had been shattered.”

“…”

He paused slightly before continuing in a low voice, “My main tasks at the time were twofold: to erase any signs of the chaos caused by that massive explosion and to locate the runaway you. While your whereabouts weren’t hard to track, no one could bring you back.”

“I arranged for several armed teams, but they all suddenly went silent.”

“When I eventually found them, they were all dead—bodies contorted in extreme terror, faces frozen in a ghastly expression.”

“I can hardly describe the state of my heart back then…”

“…”

“…”

The old security guard spoke slowly, his voice trembling as he looked at Lu Xin and Number Eight, “I’m not recounting this to atone for my past or to win your sympathy. I just need you to know what happened back then.”

“I had been following Professor Wang all along because I believed he was our world’s only hope for salvation.”

“So, even when he decided to break us free from the Research Institute’s control, I followed him without hesitation.”

“But after leaving with him, I witnessed his experiments—the lengths he went to achieve his goals, the madness that consumed him, and the pitiful sight of children lying on lab beds, silently weeping while staring at the ceiling…”

His voice faltered slightly, “I began to feel my conviction waver.”

“Honestly, it wasn’t because of some innate goodness on my part.”

“I had made up my mind to accept everything when I followed Professor Wang out, but actually seeing it all still struck me to the core.”

“I realized all my mental preparations had been utterly useless.”

“Every day, I felt fear, as if I were being fried in a hot pan.”

“But I was paralyzed, unable to decide or change anything—until that incident occurred.”

“The horrific images, the distorted ruins of buildings—it was as if someone had unlocked a door within me…”

“I finally had to admit to myself how monstrous my actions had been…”

“…”

“…”

The old security guard’s face twisted with extreme pain and inner turmoil, as if he were facing his own demons once more.

Yet he strove to hide those emotions.

He didn’t want Lu Xin and Number Eight to think this was a false confession meant to ease his guilt.

Meanwhile, Lu Xin and Number Eight sat silently by the small table.

They understood his words, but having experienced those events firsthand, neither could be moved by such reassurances. They sat quietly, listening to his account.

The old security guard paused briefly, as if regaining his composure, then continued softly,

“At that time, I was nearly left with no one to rely on. The out-of-control ‘Tyrant’ had drifted away in confusion, nowhere to be found, and I myself was on the brink of collapse…”

“But I never expected that three days later, just as I was about to give up, when I looked back…”

“…I saw the ‘Tyrant’ right before my eyes.”

“…”

At this point, he suddenly looked up at Lu Xin, his voice taking on an eerie tone, “That very ‘Tyrant’—the one who triggered all this tragedy—had been activated by a force of mental power, one capable of twisting everything and erasing it completely.”

“I can’t even begin to describe the terror that gripped my heart back then.”

“But…”

“But in that state, I didn’t run away immediately.”

“In that moment, there was only one thought in my mind: we had unleashed a monster…”

“We had brought the greatest threat upon the world…”

“I don’t know why the ‘Tyrant’ returned, but for the first time, a thought I’d never had before took root in me.”

“I hid a powerful plasma bullet in my coat, planning to take him down as well…”

“…”

At this point, Number Eight’s expression twisted into something strange as he glanced toward Lu Xin.

Lu Xin remained silent, unresponsive to the old security guard’s tale. Just as the guard referred to him previously, he used the term ‘Tyrant’ in place of Lu Xin—as if he were merely recounting someone else’s story.

He seemed indifferent to the outcome.

“But…”

The old security guard’s voice rang out once more. He paused, his tone flat yet tinged with the surreal, “When I finally summoned every bit of courage I had and stepped in front of him…”

“I gazed into his eyes and saw not a terrifying brute, but the panic of a scared child…”

“Tears streamed from his eyes as he looked up at me and asked,”

“Teacher, where is our home?”

“…”

“…”

The tavern once again fell into a heavy silence, filled with an inescapable sense of despair and sorrow.

In the main city of Qinggang, beside an unfinished building, the nanny team watched from afar as the doll sat on the building edge. They wanted to urge her to go back and rest, but she didn’t hear them—she remained quietly seated, lost in distant memories.

A small, childlike smile of happiness slowly formed at the corner of her mouth.