The King of Curses

Chapter 115 "You are not An Zhizhen, who are you?"

Kong Yinlian drove forward.

The largest prison in Tianhai City is located in the farm area, which is on the outskirts of the city and has a large area and a sparse population.

Winding upward along the flat concrete road, at a hidden hillside, the electronic door slowly opened and a black prison van drove into the prison gate.

After getting off the car, a team of fully armed personnel came forward and took the bound Wang Wu and Guo Cui'e, who came to take a statement, to different directions. Cen Dongsheng noticed that their badges all had the icon of the "Supernatural Work Committee".

Looks like a member of the special operations team.

"Do all those who are taking statements have to be brought here?"

"Just in case. If a curse master gets desperate elsewhere, he'll be in trouble. But here, he can be subdued and imprisoned on the spot."

"Too."

Cen Dongsheng looked around, looking at the square blue-gray buildings and tall barbed wire fences.

He could vaguely see dense golden rays in the air covering the sky and the ground, which were traces of the flow of true Qi; although the protective measures were not as hidden and detailed as those of the "Cosmic Spells and Engineering Research Institute", they were more intense.

...Finally here.

Cen Dongsheng felt emotional in his heart. Among all the major departments directly under the Administration Bureau, the most mysterious ones were none other than those places. The "Research Institute" and "Curse Master Prison" were among them, and their business was beyond the reach of ordinary bureau staff.

He has seen the prototypes of all of them in the past two days.

The prison administration department of the ruling bureau also has a nickname, called Quantai. This word was originally a reference to tombs in ancient times, and it also means the underworld. If "Quantai" can be used as a nickname, you can imagine what kind of world it is inside.

The prisons of other large organizations are not much different from the Philosopher King in this regard. Some are called "Nine Netherworlds" and some are simply called "Hell".

As a place for imprisoning and punishing vicious criminals since ancient times, prisons have always given people a dark and terrifying impression. In modern society, which has maintained peace for decades, living conditions in prisons have generally been greatly improved, both for human rights and for the sake of order and stability. Prisoners living in prisons have a reasonable schedule and a proper diet, and may live a healthier life than those outside.

But in the era of the Curse Master, things took a step backwards again - prisons once again became dark and terrifying places that people tried to avoid.

In order to manage those criminals with great magical powers and mysterious abilities, the prison environment in the era of the Curse Master was countless times harsher than in the past, and jailbreakers would often be punished with the death penalty.

Once the prison is no longer used for imprisonment and punishment, then maintaining the stability and order of the city is nothing but empty talk. Moreover, some prisons hold not only human curse masters, but also those vicious ghosts that are difficult to exorcise or have not been eliminated for some reason...

"Mr. Cen, is there any other place you want to see?"

Kong Yinlian carefully observed the man's expression.

"The boss is still waiting for you. If there is nothing else..."

"You lead the way."

Cen Dongsheng shook his head and withdrew his gaze from the surrounding environment.

He knew that the actual situation here would be very different from the "Quantai" he had imagined.

This was different from the "Institution No. 555" he had seen before - although the project content of the institute was inconsistent with the future, at least the location had not changed; and a prison to house curse masters could not be built simply by transforming existing prisons.

In addition to internal measures, the natural environment is also an important condition. Eight years later, the two most famous springs in Tianhai City are located in the mantle layer 100 kilometers below the ground, in the boiling magma world; and the other is on the seabed in the open sea.

……

Under the guidance of Kong Yinlian, Cen Dongsheng entered the building and walked up the dimly lit corridors and stairs to the top floor. They soon arrived at the warden's office.

"The boss is inside."

The door was not closed, and through the gap, a familiar figure could be vaguely seen.

Cen Dongsheng gently pushed the door open.

The spacious office was filled with archive materials. A beautiful woman with long black straight hair was sitting lazily at the table, reading a document in her hand. When she heard the door being pushed open and saw Cen Dongsheng's face, she raised her head and a faint, happy smile appeared on her jade cheeks.

The light in the room was dim, and the atmosphere was quite ambiguous. The teardrop mole at the corner of the woman's eye became even more alluring under the dim light.

Kong Yinlian bowed respectfully to her, turned around and left without saying a word.

The woman knew that now was not the time to report work. The boss was eager to see her, and at this time, she would not care about anything else.

……

There were only two people left in the archive room, and the footsteps behind them faded away and disappeared into the background sound.

He and Sister Zhizhen were alone together, and he should have felt relaxed and relieved in this atmosphere... But perhaps because of the unfamiliar environment or because he noticed something strange in Sister Zhizhen's appearance, Cen Dongsheng's heart was shrouded in a layer of gloomy uneasiness.

Watching the figure slowly approaching him, the man's brows furrowed involuntarily.

That was his lover, his favorite woman. He respected, admired and desired An Zhizhen from the bottom of his heart.
Under normal circumstances, he would have taken the initiative to open his arms, walk forward and hold her in his arms. He would hold her slender waist, caress her plump body, and press a passionate kiss on her rosy lips.

however--

At this moment, when he saw the woman walking towards him with a cat-like step, her pretty face flushed, as if she was expecting something, Cen Dongsheng only said one sentence:

——"You are not An Zhizhen, who are you?"

……

The woman stopped walking.
"Eh? I'm not An Zhizhen... Dongsheng, what are you talking about?"

The woman's face showed a rare expression of helplessness.

But in Cen Dongsheng's eyes, this reaction revealed more and made him more certain of his guess.

Although the aura of the person in front of me was somewhat similar to Sister Zhizhen, it was obviously mixed with other "foreign objects" and was not the real person.

the most important is--

The woman's face was reflected in Cen Dongsheng's pupils, but it was not the face he was familiar with at all.

Only at the first glance, he misjudged the appearance of the woman in the room.

Under the dim light, he once again confirmed that the person standing in front of him was not the elegant, charming, seductive and passionate oriental beauty, but a blonde and blue-eyed foreign woman.

Well, she looks pretty good, a beauty...but I still like Sister Zhizhen the most.

Cen Dongsheng took a step back calmly, and his mind quickly analyzed the current situation.

This situation was quite strange. It would have been fine if he was the only one who made a mistake, but Kong Yinlian who left obviously made the same mistake as himself, which was enough to show that this was the influence of some kind of curse.

Cen Dongsheng became wary, but on the other hand, he felt like laughing.

No matter who the other party is, invading the territory of the Philosopher King and even daring to disguise as Sister Zhizhen is a bit too bold, and the consequences may be worse than literally "touching the trouble of Tai Sui".

"I'm not... not An Zhizhen...?"

After hearing what he said, the woman fell into deep confusion. She raised her hand and stroked her face, with a blank look in her eyes, and this emotion soon turned into deep terror.

That is the fear of uncertainty about one's own existence. This is the most terrifying nothingness that a person can face in his life.

"No, it's impossible..."

The blonde woman pressed her face with noticeably more force, and began to rub her cheeks frantically, with such force that she seemed to want to tear her skin off; her long nails dug into her flesh, and blood slowly oozed from the tiny wounds.

"If...if I'm not An Zhizhen..."

The woman murmured, her tone gradually permeated by a crazy will, and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Then who am I...Who am I?!" The woman's voice became sharp and high-pitched.

Seeing that the other person was crazy but did not seem to have any intention of attacking him, Cen Dongsheng thought that this person was more likely a victim of a curse and began to consider whether he should stop her from hurting herself.

If she died, the clue would be gone.

However, we cannot rule out the possibility that the other party's current behavior is some kind of trap...

At this moment, after stopping to observe the other person for a while, he suddenly realized something.

Cen Dongsheng narrowed his eyes and thought the blonde looked familiar. Where had he seen her before?

After going through the memories of the past few days, he recalled -

Wasn't this one of the people around Sister Zhizhen that he had seen in Chapter 555? This woman was part of the team of scientists, and she was in the observation room while he was conducting the test.

A light bulb went off in Cen Dongsheng's head and he quickly realized a possibility.

He looked around the room and spoke tentatively:
"Sister Zhizhen? Are you there?"

The blonde woman in front of him was motionless, like a puppet whose spring had been pulled out.

She put her hand down, her deep blue eyes filled with deep suspicion and a hint of hope.

"Are you...are you calling me? I am...I am An Zhizhen, right?"

The woman's voice trembled, as if she had grasped at the last straw.

"No, not you."

But Cen Dongsheng's answer was quite cruel.

“Eh? B-But…”

At the moment when the conversation between the two reached a stalemate, Cen Dongsheng once again noticed the subtle change in the atmosphere around him: it was as if someone had lifted the curtain, and the blocked light spilled out, illuminating the real scene on the stage.

——I don’t know when An Zhizhen appeared in front of him again.

The woman with long straight black hair stood quietly at the door, like a lover who had just arrived at a date. Her attitude was still as relaxed as before, and she was confident that everything was under control.

Seeing the familiar smile on that face, Cen Dongsheng breathed a sigh of relief.

"How is this going?"

The two hugged each other and the young man asked.

He is now certain that the abnormal situation before his eyes is caused by Sister Zhizhen, but he is still unclear about the motive and principle.

An Zhizhen tapped her chin lightly with her finger and replied with a smile:

"That person is my 'doppelganger'."

"...A clone?"

Is it achieved by using "Tiankui Quanshou"?
"To put it simply, I will create a new personality for someone's brain, and make him think that he is 'An Zhizhen'. Next, I will imprint some of his thinking and knowledge deep in his memory, and he will be able to do some of my work instead. How about it? Doesn't it sound convenient?"

In front of the young man, An Zhizhen answered as frankly as ever.

"This……"

Cen Dongsheng was speechless.

Although Sister Zhizhen said it lightly, the process was definitely not that easy...

Moreover, the effect is truly horrible, as it is equivalent to tampering with and distorting a person who originally had an independent personality into a part of "oneself", completely losing his or her self-existence.

This was another side of the "philosopher king" that he had never known in the past.

Thinking in this way, in the ideal country of the future, there may be clones of the philosopher king everywhere, secretly watching over the world she rules.

Is this woman in front of me going crazy because she can't accept something?

"But, after all, I can't hide it from you, Dongsheng."

The elder sister seemed to be smiling happily.

"It shows that we are truly in love."

Cen Dongsheng was hugging An Zhizhen at this time, thinking that regardless of true love, judging from the wonderful touch, it was indeed the real Sister Zhizhen...

"Let me take care of this first."

An Zhizhen said, turning his gaze to the blonde woman lying limp on the ground.

……

"Okay, don't be afraid. You are you, you are Elena, do you remember your name?"

"Yes, yes, I am..."

An Zhizhen walked over and stroked the woman's hair condescendingly, as gently as a mother stroking her daughter.

The blonde was sweating profusely, breathing heavily, and her confused vision began to focus.

There seemed to be some kind of magic in the Philosopher King's voice. As she spoke, the scientist named Elena calmed down from madness and seemed to have regained her personality.

"I am Elena... I remember..."

But at the same time, the female scientist's expression when she looked at An Zhizhen had obviously changed qualitatively, and she became full of trust and admiration without realizing it.

In Elena's eyes, An Zhizhen, who saved her from the abyss of self-doubt, is undoubtedly the real savior.

Only Cen Dongsheng, a bystander, felt that there was a sense of weirdness in this matter from beginning to end, which was terrifying when he thought about it carefully.

Sister Zhizhen obviously had ill intentions towards this woman. If the other person was just an ordinary person, she really wouldn't use such a trick as Xianxin to play with someone's will.

How did this woman offend Sister Zhizhen?
My sister always looks gentle and amiable, but the dark side that occasionally comes out is always chilling... Fortunately, Cen Dongsheng has always been building up mental strength.

……

After An Zhizhen calmed the woman down, she sent her away.

She stretched and looked at the young man with a smile.

"Dongsheng, I have to praise you. You are an honest lover."

"what?"

"You could have pretended you didn't notice and treated Elena like me and loved her to your heart's content, right?"

"No, there's no way I could do such a thing..."

Cen Dongsheng complained.

Finally, it was their turn to be alone. After he sat down on the chair, Sister Zhizhen sat on his lap without any hesitation, squeezed into his arms, and put her arms around his neck, as elegant and lazy as a big Persian cat.

"Okay, let's get down to business~"

(End of this chapter)