Story Reader / Interlude / Dream of the Past / Story
Past
Since then... and how long has it been? Anyway—I have not heard about him anymore.
Not that I have any proof... but I can't shake the feeling that, for someone who was so hellbent on getting what he wanted, he must still be out there somewhere.
But if I ever see him again...
I'm so going to beat the shit out of him.
Are you done? We should go.
Aah!
What's the matter with you? How come you don't make any sound when you walk?
...
Two minutes late. Reporting to the leader.
Kids these days... What's wrong with being a little bit late?
You said diary is for babies.
...You must be misremembering. I never said that.
Oh, look! Jamilah is here!
In the split second when Sophia turns around, Changyu grabs the journal on his desk and shoves it inside a drawer.
She's not.
I must've been mistaken, haha...
...Alright. Enough dawdling.
Where are we heading next?
I will never be sure what I'd choose if I'd been offered the choice to leave or stay on the Nighter back then.
I wonder if he'd just seen through me, or did he simply decide to choose for me?
Either way, that was when I found out who I am. I gained the freedom I'd earned, despite it coming in woeful shades of grey.
Whatever the truth is, I will not stop seeking my past... And I will gain the strength I'm after.
This... This is just the beginning of my story.
What Changyu never found out is that Huainan did make a comprehensive escape plan for this scenario. Not that it concerns Changyu anymore.
Huainan formulated four escape plans. The first one was sending out distress calls—
He had sent out countless distress signals with information on the Nighter, messages that had remained on radio frequency unanswered—intel that will one day be intercepted by "421."
His second plan was to forcefully remove his collar, which caused the horrid red scars on his neck.
His third plan was to be traded away as merchandise.
His fourth plan was to be removed by way of execution, a punishment for a crime he might just commit.
A dangerous gambit that leaves no loose ends.
...
...H-hey, Dickson!
Enough with your bloody smoking! Look!
Is that... a person?!
Waves crash onto the shore, washing over the sandy, rocky coast. And as the water recedes, lying on top of the coarse sand is the tender frame of a young person.
