Jake’s face darkened again. He lowered his head before speaking.
"Anna and Ruby planned to spread the antidote across the world. They had everything ready. But before they could act, the Devil’s pawns appeared. And then... the Devil himself."
Su Jiyai felt her whole body tense. "The Devil..."
Jake clenched his fists tightly. His voice shook.
"He targeted them directly. He feared the antidote. He knew that if humans had hope, his control would weaken. So he struck. His pawns spread destruction, hunted Anna, hunted Ruby. The Devil wanted them gone before their plan could succeed."
Su Jiyai froze, her whole body turning stiff.
Her lips trembled as she asked in a whisper,
"Wait... so my parents... did they drop at the orphanage because they thought I was in danger if I stayed near them?"
Jake looked straight at her, then chuckled bitterly.
"Yes. That was exactly the case. They were afraid that if you stayed with them, the Devil’s pawns would find you. So they placed you in the orphanage, thinking it was safer."
Su Jiyai closed her eyes. Though she understood it was necessary, she still couldn’t swallow back the bitterness.
Now she understood. Almost everything.
After a mont of silence, she opened her eyes again and asked,
"Then what happened? Did they fail? Did the Devil capture them? Or..." she bit her lip, her voice shaking, "did he kill them?"
She stayed expressionless, but her eyes flashed with fear.
Jake’s body tensed. His jaw tightened and his head lowered.
He spoke in a soft voice, words laced with sorrow. "I was the reason all of them ca into danger in the first place."
Su Jiyai’s eyes widened. Her breath caught. "What do you an by that?"
Jake clenched his fists as if the mory itself hurt.
"At that ti, Ruby and I were working together. We were making more and more antidotes; we were in the final trial phase. Everything was going well. But then... I got news. Prince Jacob had gone to drop you off at the orphanage. Sohow I learned that he was in danger."
His voice shook.
"I thought the Devil captured him. I thought he might have captured you, too. I panicked. Without thinking, I imdiately rushed to that location. I wanted to save you and Jacob. But..." his shoulders slumped, "...who would have thought it was a trap? The Devil used his power to montarily seal . I could not move, not even breathe properly. And in that mont, his master hypnotist struck."
Su Jiyai’s eyes narrowed. "He hypnotized you?"
Jake nodded shafully. "Yes. I was completely hypnotized. I could not resist."
Su Jiyai suddenly stiffened. Her lips parted.
"Wait... did you go back to the lab after that? Did you... try to take the life of your own fiancée? Did you try to steal the antidote?"
Jake’s eyes widened in shock. He leaned forward. "How do you know that?"
Su Jiyai paused. Her chest rose and fell quickly. She rembered sothing strange, sothing that had always confused her. "Because I saw it... with my own eyes."
(A/n: Please refer to Chapter 200)
Jake looked stunned. Qin Feng’s eyes also narrowed. "What do you an you saw it?"
Su Jiyai licked her dry lips.
"When my dinsion-hunting power upgraded to level two, the portals went crazy. I was randomly teleported to different places. One of those places... was that scene. I saw a woman calling out to soone nad J. She was begging him to stop, begging him to get a hold of himself. But the man... you... were like a puppet. You kept asking her for the antidote."
Jake’s lips trembled. "That woman... was Ruby. And that man... was ."
Su Jiyai nodded slowly.
"I didn’t pay much attention back then. But now... now I understand. That portal sent back into the past. I saw the mont when you tried to steal the formula from Ruby."
Her thoughts wandered, and her hand touched her forehead. "Did my power... did it let travel into the past? Could it really do that?"
As she said this, a wave of dizziness washed over her.
She rembered clearly the mont the portal had opened, right when Jake was about to take the formula from Ruby. She had jumped in as a wolf cub. Ruby had been pulled inside, too.
Su Jiyai whispered to herself,
"Nine tis... I was teleported nine tis. Every ti to a different place. And the seven scrolls I found in those worlds... were they placed there by Ruby? Was she traveling with through the portals?"
Her chest tightened. She rembered the scene again.
"But how?" Su Jiyai muttered. "How did Ruby know it was ? How did she know the wolf cub was controlling the portals? It makes no sense..."
She shook her head. It was too confusing. She looked back at Jake, her voice trembling.
"Then what about my parents? Where were they?"
Jake sighed heavily. His eyes darkened.
"When I was hypnotized and sent to the lab to find the antidote, Anna and Jacob realized sothing was wrong. They understood my target. So they imdiately escaped. They thought Ruby was safe because she had already left the world and would not return for two months."
He paused, then continued,
"But they didn’t know the truth. Ruby had asked the system for special permission. She carried the antidote formula with her by mistake, and she wanted to return it. So she ca back one extra ti. She confronted at the lab. She saw the strange look in my eyes and knew instantly that I was hypnotized. She tried to wake , begged to co back to myself. But I was too far gone."
Jake frowned deeply, his face full of regret.
"What I rember last was this. A galaxy-colored portal appeared. It sucked Ruby inside. I could no longer see her."
At those words, the entire room fell silent.
Qin Feng froze. Jake froze. Even Su Jiyai’s heart nearly stopped beating.
Her guess was confird.
Su Jiyai whispered to herself, "That was it... Ruby was sucked into the portal with . That is why the scrolls appeared in all those worlds. She placed them there."
But why? Why did she place the antidotes in parts and different worlds... why not in a single world?
Or did she foresee sothing?
Su Jiyai’s mind churned, and a thought appeared in her mind, ’Maybe... if all the scroll was placed in a single world, the chances of them being found would be easy... the Devil has a mysterious world and the entity behind that devil... if they only had to risk their power once and find the antidote... they would have taken it. But with so many universe and just seven scrolls...it would have been difficult to locate all of them.’
Her eyes lifted, sharp and desperate. "And my parents? Where are they now?"
Jake shook his head helplessly.
"I honestly don’t know. After that event, my mory was broken. What I know is that Ruby probably transmigrated again, sent to other places with you. But Anna and Jacob... they are the only ones left out of the picture. Their whereabouts are still unknown."
Su Jiyai closed her eyes. So close. She had co so close to knowing everything, yet her parents’ location was still out of reach. Her chest ached. But at least now, she understood the cause and effect of everything that happened.
She opened her eyes again, sharp and determined. "Then the last thing I need to know... is about the system."
At that word, Jake paused. He stared at her deeply. "You an... the system inside you?"
Su Jiyai nodded.
Jake chuckled bitterly. "As I said before, Jacob made a deal with the system. And I was part of the process.The system you are carrying right now is not the sa one Jacob contracted. And it is not the one Ruby carried either."
Su Jiyai’s eyes widened. "What? Then whose system is it?"
Jake leaned forward.
"It is a brother system. A newborn. It had little power. Almost no intelligence. Its energy was sealed away. It was told to stay beside you always. To remind you. To guide you slowly. To bring you to the place where it could finally awaken."
Su Jiyai blinked in shock. "Wait. Are you saying... the system was with since I was a child?"
"Yes," Jake nodded. "It was with you the whole ti. Just sleeping. That is why you never noticed it before. However... you might occasionally have dreams."
Dreams... indeed... she used to have dreams since her childhood.
Su Jiyai frowned. "Then why did it only activate after I reached my base?"
Jake sighed.
"Because that was the condition. Until you reach the current base you have built, it will not awaken. It was the harsh rule set by your parents and the system together."
Su Jiyai’s hands trembled. "Why... such a harsh condition?"
Jake looked straight at her, his expression slightly dazed.
"Because the responsibility on your shoulders is enough to crush anyone. Your father and mother loved you. They were selfish in one way. They thought that if you could not carry it, then it was better for you to die. At least then, your soul would be safe."
Su Jiyai’s fists clenched so hard that her nails dug into her skin.
Reviews
All reviews (0)