Soul Patch

Chapter 8 A word is settled

"If only I could hypnotize myself..." Wenjie thought to himself.

I wonder if this skill will be included in the system rewards.

Zhao Xiaolong was drunk and became somewhat dizzy as the alcohol gradually numbed his senses.

"Women...none of them are good! They look dignified and virtuous, but they're all lewd at heart!"

Zhao Xiaolong's eyes were bloodshot; it was hard to tell whether it was from the alcohol or from recalling a deep-seated, hidden pain within him.

"Tell me, I'll teach her a lesson for you!" Wenjie coaxed patiently.

"You'll teach her a lesson for me? She's already buried deep underground... Hahaha..." Zhao Xiaolong's breathing became rough, and he laughed ferociously, "The first one I'll kill... is her!"

His voice was extremely cold, carrying the aura of death, making people's scalps tingle and shiver down their spines.

Wenjie's pupils contracted, focusing on Zhao Xiaolong, a sense of doubt rising in his heart:

The first one to die?

The recent deaths are all young women, so the things that could have caused him personality damage must have happened during his adolescence or even childhood.

Then that woman must be older, at least over 30, right?

"The lesson I'm talking about is different from what you understand. But since we've come this far..."

Zhao Xiaolong's eyes dimmed, and slowly, sadness, fear, and helplessness filled them.

"I'll always remember that day when I was 12. It was a Wednesday, June 15th. I was on my way home from school..."

Wenjie was surprised, though he didn't show it. He was astonished. Who would do something to a 12-year-old boy?

Is this even human...? He said in a deep voice, "And then? She assaulted you?"

Zhao Xiaolong didn't speak, his eyes slowly filled with tears, which slid down his cheeks one by one.

He didn't say another word, and the two remained silent in the darkness.

Through the years, Wenjie seemed to see a little boy huddled in the corner of the room, shivering.

[Date: June 15, 2007]

Location: On the way home from school at the target building

——Enter the system——

Wenjie instantly appeared on a country road, standing on a dirt slope at the edge of the village.

He looked around and felt a sense of familiarity and warmth.

Isn't this... my hometown?

He looked around and realized that this was a village about three to five kilometers away from his own village.

I vaguely remember that one year, my elementary school organized an autumn outing, and we passed through this road.

In the distance, a thin boy carrying a schoolbag slowly walked over.

It's Zhao Xiaolong from 12 years ago.

Zhao Xiaolong's surname is Zhao, so this place... this place should be Zhao Village!

Oh, Zhao Xiaolong is from Zhaozhuang Village, one of the five counties outside M City.

The boy, carrying a large schoolbag, walked over and gave Wenjie a polite smile as he passed by.

She had a bright smile, revealing a set of perfectly aligned teeth.

Wenjie followed him at a distance, and when he arrived at a house, he saw a plump middle-aged woman standing at the door.

The middle-aged woman saw Zhao Xiaolong walk by, waved to him, and gestured for him to come and help her.

Wenjie rushed over, put his arm around Zhao Xiaolong, and glared at the plump middle-aged woman.

After walking about a hundred meters away from the fat woman's house, 12-year-old Zhao Xiaolong looked at Wenjie in surprise, then smiled and said, "Uncle, I don't know you. Where are you going?"

Uncle? I'm only 24 years old myself, okay?

"Don't call her 'uncle,' call her 'big brother.' And from now on, stay away from that woman! Understand?"

"……OK!"

Twelve-year-old Zhao Xiaolong looked at the strange older brother and readily agreed.

"A word is settled"

"Okay, it's a deal."

The two hooked their fingers together beside the lush green rice paddies. The wind rustled through the rice paddies, accompanied by the chirping of cicadas and croaking of frogs, creating a very pleasant atmosphere.

Wenjie looked at the system screen and slowly said:

Exit System

Everything before my eyes grew fainter and fainter, and I could vaguely see the thin Zhao Xiaolong looking up at the sky, smiling slightly at the warm and gentle sunlight. His smile was clean and refreshing, and it warmed my heart.

——Exit System——

Soon, Wenjie's surroundings changed to his own home.

He hurried back to work, exhausted from the night's ordeal. Each time he switched time and space using the system, although time didn't change in the real world, he could feel the physical and mental strain.

He felt very tired every time he logged out of the system.

When he arrived at work, he sat down at his desk. The first thing he did was turn on his computer and browse the web.

Because he couldn't wait to see what would happen after the system corrected his life trajectory.

Did Zhao Xiaolong's life trajectory really change because of this?

A sunny, handsome young man walked past him and sat down at the workstation next to him: "Good morning!"

He knew it was Bai Yu without even looking.

"Good morning!" he replied, staring at the computer screen without looking up.

"You seem to be in a good mood today," Bai Yu patted him on the shoulder.

Wenjie curled the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile.

Almost the instant the webpage popped up, he saw reports of the serial murder case on the police system.

His good mood vanished without a trace, and the contented expression on his face collapsed.

I held the mouse and tried to scroll down to take a look, but I couldn't click on the scroll bar for a long time.

"Have you heard?" Bai Yu leaned closer and whispered, "Something happened at the branch office."

As if struck by lightning, those words left his head buzzing, and the mouse slipped from his hand in an instant.

"Yang Shanshan?"

When he shouted this, his colleagues in the office all looked at him in surprise.

"Shh! Keep your voice down." Bai Yu glanced at the colleague who turned to look at them, covered Wen Jie's mouth, and said in a low voice, "Director Wang is in his office, what are you yelling about?"

Wenjie kept repeating to himself: How could this be? How could this be? How could this be…

How could Yang Shanshan have died?

Even if he didn't manage to correct his life trajectory, he did indeed prevent Yang Shanshan from being killed, didn't he?

yesterday?

Wenjie glanced at the calendar; today was June 21st, and yesterday was June 20th.

Yesterday, as soon as he arrived at the office, Bai Yu came over and said, "Have you heard? Something happened at the branch office... Yang Shanshan was killed."

and many more……

Yesterday at work, Bai Yu said the same thing. Yesterday was June 20th, so Yang Shanshan was killed on June 19th.

So, was Yang Shanshan killed on June 20th or June 19th?

It's a bit messy, let him sort it out.

He rubbed his temples, his brows furrowed, and stared at the time of the news report again and again.

The news report stated that Yang Shanshan was killed on June 20th.

Oh, he understands.

He did prevent Zhao Xiaolong from killing Yang Shanshan on the night of June 19, when Yang Shanshan had escaped.

Because his patch deployment failed, Zhao Xiaolong's life trajectory was not altered; on June 20th, Zhao Xiaolong still murdered Yang Shanshan.

This Zhao Xiaolong is truly persistent.

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and a look of surprise flashed in his eyes:

I...I'm going!

Can this system really change the trajectory of one's life?

He felt as if a ray of light had illuminated the darkest and most hidden corner of his heart.

There was a bloodstained butterfly knot tied there, which would always sneak into his dreams unexpectedly, tormenting him and leaving him nowhere to escape.

(End of this chapter)