novelraw Chapter 859: The Real World
Chapter 859: The Real World
“Everything about you will return to its original path.”
……
As if being pulled by something, Caroline felt a strange force within her, drawing ‘her’ from the outside to the inside—inside her body.
She suddenly woke up—but she found herself not in the corridor of the school. It was dim here, accompanied by the sounds emitted from a projector… She had been to this place before.
This was the screening room in the school that 403 had brought her to—Caroline began to check her body… There were no injuries anywhere.
But she clearly remembered what had happened before she fainted… Was everything returning to its original path?
“Are you awake?” The door to the screening room opened, and in walked 403, whom Caroline recognized.
At that moment, 403 wasn’t wearing that cheap human skin mask and bandages that always sent a chill down Caroline’s spine.
“I… How did I end up here?” Caroline instinctively asked.
403 replied, “You fainted in the corridor, so I brought you to this place.”The corridor… Caroline closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously; the scene of the entire floor being destroyed flashed vividly in her mind. “The corridor… what happened to that floor?”
“What happened to it?” 403 looked at Caroline curiously. “Nothing happened, I just brought you back, and also brought them back.”
“Them…” Caroline froze, suddenly realizing something. She hurried to the projector window and looked outside.
On the stage below, a huge cage had been placed there at some point, and within it were a few people… Arnold, Hailey, and Boston.
They seemed to have passed out.
Caroline turned abruptly to look at 403. She didn’t know what he intended to do next, but felt his gaze was anything but human.
“You… you want to kill them?” Caroline asked 403.
But 403 shook his head. “I just want them to feel fear and despair, and some things more painful than death.”
At this moment, 403 reached out and brushed past Caroline’s cheek. This action startled her, but she saw that 403 didn’t intend to grab her; he merely wanted to press a button on the wall behind her—the light control button for the stage below.
Click, click.
The lights were turned on one by one, and spotlights began to converge on the huge cage on stage, illuminating Arnold and the others.
403 then moved the projector closer and retrieved a film reel, placing it into the machine. He started it up, and the old projector began to slowly turn, with film after film moving beneath Caroline’s gaze.
Caroline began to hear some sounds… She looked at the curtain on the stage.
The yellowed image quality suggested it was a bit dated… like a documentary.
A woman was holding a child… a child about five or six years old. The woman’s face was filled with smiles as she looked at the camera, holding the child’s hand while waving at the lens.
Caroline recognized the background of the house; it felt familiar. Then she suddenly recalled that this was the house she had followed Arnold to during the initial time… the old house where Arnold had grown up.
“Hey, little Hailey, look at the camera, look at Daddy.” The woman was so affectionate toward the child, kissing his cheek. “Little Hailey, say hello to your brother”
Caroline realized this film was likely a family documentary, and the person holding the camera was probably the woman’s husband.
The camera shifted, and another child entered the frame. The two children looked almost identical, distinguishable only by their clothes.
“This is them… when they were young!” Caroline instinctively looked toward 403.
403, watching the film, said nonchalantly, “Look at them, so small, they look just like angels, don’t you think?”
At that moment, the woman holding little Hailey suddenly turned his face around and kissed the woman’s cheek, making her laugh joyfully.
At this moment, little Hailey, being held by the woman, suddenly turned his face and gave her a kiss on the cheek, making the woman burst into joyful laughter.
“Look at you, little Hailey, you’re like a little gentleman, so obedient, Mommy loves you so much. This is my son. Of course, my little Arnold is great too! With both of you, I’m completely satisfied!”
The documentary continued, showcasing family games. Even Caroline, as an outsider, could feel the warmth of this family.
She suddenly remembered her childhood… when her father was still alive before he died in a gang shootout, the three of them seemed to be just like this.
“Why are you showing me this?” Caroline frowned.
“No, no, no, I’m not showing this to you.” 403 shook his head and pointed at the cage on stage. “It’s for them. I’m just adjusting the image to get the best angle.”
“How… how do you have these things?” Caroline instinctively asked.
“Finding things like this is quite easy, isn’t it?” 403 replied nonchalantly. “It depends on whether you want to find it or not, whether you want to do it or not.”
403 then started to rewind and slowly said, “I hadn’t planned it this way, but it seems something unexpected happened. This Hailey came out early, so there were some things I didn’t have time to show him… But that’s okay. Perhaps seeing these effects will be even better… Of course, my own mood will be significantly affected. But compared to what’s coming next… it seems unimportant. Because I’ve already lost some control, and that’s not a good thing.”
As he spoke, 403 suddenly turned up the volume, causing the sound equipment around the stage to become excruciatingly loud. Caroline had to cover her ears.
At the same time, affected by the deafening sound, Arnold and the others in the cage slowly began to wake up.
Boston was the first to awaken, realizing he was locked in a cage. He quickly stood up and instinctively reached for his waist—only to find his gun missing, causing him to break into a cold sweat.
“Who!! Who’s here! Who is it!!” Boston shouted angrily, grasping the iron bars of the cage.
“Shut up! I have a headache!” Arnold shouted as he patted his head, standing up and surveying the surroundings.
Hailey sat up, his eyes vacant, staring at the cage that confined him, unsure of what to think—at that moment, a bright light suddenly shot from the screening room above.
The light pierced through Arnold’s body and projected onto the curtain behind him… followed by a voice.
——“Hey, little Hailey, look at the camera, look at Daddy.”
Hearing that voice abruptly, Arnold’s eyes widened as he quickly turned around.
——“Little Hailey, say hello to your brother?”
On the curtain, young Hailey waved, his eyes appearing to be magnified infinitely… due to the poor filming technique, the entire frame was filled with the child’s face.
Arnold suddenly fell backward, crashing into the cage. His breath quickened… He instinctively shifted his gaze away, glancing instead at Hailey, who was also looking up at the projected image.
At that moment, the brothers’ eyes suddenly met, and Arnold instinctively took a step sideways.
“Let me out!!!!”
In that instant, Hailey sprang up, his hands clawing at Arnold’s neck, letting out a roar like a beast—he even bit down on Arnold’s ear.
Ah—!!!
Arnold let out a piercing scream as his left ear was bitten off by Hailey. He collapsed to the ground in pain—Hailey’s mouth was covered in blood, and the fresh ear was still in his mouth, making him look like a devil.
“That… monster!” Boston was also scared pale at this sight.
Hailey suddenly fixed his gaze on Boston. In the face of immense fear, Boston’s ruthless nature was instantly provoked. He lunged at Hailey, shouting, “Freak! Die!”
“Don’t call me a freak!!!!”
Normal people, even when filled with anger and fear, cannot withstand the onslaught of a madman. At that moment, Hailey was covered in blood, seemingly oblivious to the pain, possessing strength beyond the ordinary.
Boston used his trained fists to pound on Hailey’s face, nearly breaking his nose and smashing his lips, but he still could not take Hailey down.
Hailey seized the opportunity and bit down on Boston’s throat… Splat, the artery in his neck was punctured, causing a horrifying amount of blood to spurt out.
Ah…
With a gasp, Caroline could no longer bear to watch this bloody scene, her body trembling in fear… She glanced at 403, who appeared to be enjoying himself.
He… he seemed to have brought a bag of beef jerky from somewhere, currently savoring it. When he saw Caroline looking at him, he even smiled slightly and said, “Oh, do you want some?”
Sensing the smell of beef, Caroline felt nauseous… She quietly pressed against the wall, attempting to move toward the door of the screening room.
“The play isn’t over yet, and you want to leave?” 403 didn’t turn around. “Watch it to the end. I told you, once this is over, I’ll prove your innocence… Don’t give me any reasons to hold it against you.”
Caroline nervously nodded, halting her steps.
But she didn’t dare to look at what was happening on stage anymore… She could clearly hear Hailey’s voice, perhaps even Arnold’s voice… Boston, Boston was perhaps already dead.
In that situation, Caroline didn’t believe Boston could survive.
“Why… why don’t you show up in front of them?” Caroline suddenly asked, a question she herself couldn’t understand—wondering why she asked such a question.
“Fear comes from the unknown.” 403 said calmly, “Not letting them know why they are trapped in the cage, not letting them know who is behind this, the unknown… will make Arnold lose his pride. When everything is beyond his control, he will become helpless, even ignorant; the abyss of fear will swallow him.”
“You… seem to understand him well.” Caroline looked at 403, a name wanting to slip out of her mouth: Lucas.
But she never said the name… she didn't try to provoke him or to investigate his background, practicing a little caution, which was almost the most important principle for a prostitute's survival.
“Who are you!!!!!!! Let go!! Let go!!! You freak!! Let go!! I’m the one who let you out!! Let go!! Ah—!!! Monster!! You monster!!! Let… let me go… let me go… let…”
That was Arnold’s roar, filled with anger and an unmasked fear. Even though it was so far away, even though she couldn't see what he looked like at that moment, every cell in Caroline's body seemed to feel the fear that belonged to Arnold.
Everything was just as 403 said.
Caroline began to cover her ears, curling up in the corner, afraid to listen to the sounds coming from the brothers on stage.
At some point, Caroline seemed unable to hear Arnold’s voice anymore, not even Hailey's. Outside, only the sound of the projector playing that family film could be heard.
Their mother’s voice.
——“Hey, little Hailey, look at the camera, look at daddy.”
——“Look at you, little Hailey, you’re like a little gentleman, so obedient, mommy really likes you a lot.”
Time passed little by little, and when Caroline finally let go of her ears, she noticed that 403 seemed to be crying, staring blankly at the projection screen.
Perhaps he was looking at the film on the screen, or perhaps he was looking at everything on stage—and everything on stage was something Caroline wanted to forget.
“Let’s go, don’t linger on the past.” 403 suddenly walked in front of Caroline, reached out to her… he pulled Caroline up gently and said, “It’s time to end this.”
After that, Caroline watched as 403 took out several buckets of gasoline.
He poured the gasoline onto the stage, soaking Boston, Arnold, and Hailey… Hailey was still alive, but Arnold had already fallen.
Arnold had collapsed facing Caroline, so she couldn’t see what he looked like at that moment. But she thought to herself, this is better; if I can’t see it, I won’t have to think too much about it.
She knew this might be self-deception… but who could manage not to deceive themselves?
However, Hailey was still like a wild beast, once again going into a frenzy. 403 seemed not to notice; to Caroline, he appeared to see nothing.
403 finally set a fire, and the blazing flames began to consume the seats here, then spread towards the projection room and the stage.
403 put on his low-quality human skin mask and slowly walked outside. Caroline suddenly had the feeling that this might be the last time she saw 403’s bandage-wrapped face… or even, the last time she saw this vengeful devil.
But even if he was a devil, Caroline had no choice but to follow 403’s footsteps, not for any other reason, but because there was only one way out.
“403’s dormitory, I advise you not to go back there.” On the way, 403 suddenly said to Caroline, “Come with me, I will give you what I promised.”
Caroline followed 403 through the campus; the night seemed unable to stop his steps as he easily dodged the crowd on the road—the ones rushing towards the fire after discovering it.
But Caroline knew that even if they arrived at the scene, it would be impossible to save anyone—because she clearly remembered that when she left, Hailey had almost turned into a 'fire person.'
Perhaps, when nothing could compare to the flames burning away sins, when the fire extinguished, everything would turn to dust, leaving no trace.
She followed 403 to a pump room in the boys' dormitory area… Upon opening the door to the pump room, Caroline saw some remnants of food, a large box made of cardboard, and a few almost completely burned-out candles.
“You… you’ve been living here?”
“It’s pretty good here; do you think I should live in the bell tower?” 403 casually sat on the floor and began searching for something in the large cardboard box.
“Why the bell tower?” Caroline asked, puzzled.
“Notre-Dame de Paris, the ugly man living in the bell tower.” 403 seemed to have found what he was looking for, stood up, and looked at Caroline, “Haven’t you seen it? I suggest you watch it.”
Caroline shook her head.
403 didn’t say anything but handed something to Caroline—it was a USB drive. He said, “There’s footage of Hailey killing Livia; it can prove your innocence.”
Caroline held the USB tightly in her hand, incredulously asking, “You… you’ve been monitoring me?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” 403 shook his head, sniffing his clothes; perhaps due to the gasoline stains, they smelled strong.
403 began to take off his clothes; he planned to change into a new outfit. However, noticing that Caroline was unwilling to leave, he paused, “Let’s go; what’s inside isn’t fake, and it’s not something I’m casually giving you. Besides, we won’t see each other again— even if we do, you won’t know who I am.”
Caroline hesitated for a moment.
At this point, 403 had already taken off his top and found a new one. Seeing Caroline’s expression, he casually took a video camera from the large cardboard box, “Don’t believe me? If you don’t, just watch here.”
Caroline nodded, took the camera, inserted the USB drive, and began watching. She glanced at 403; aside from the wounds on his face, he hardly had any other injuries—except for one.
On his chest, there was a long scar, seemingly from a stabbing.
The video suddenly played a scream… it was Livia's scream! The camera angle seemed to be from a corner; it must have been a secretly installed lens.
When she saw Hailey’s grim visage appear, Caroline nearly closed her eyes, unable to bear watching Livia being killed… she abruptly turned off the video.
But 403 had already disappeared; the door to the pump room was open, and he had left.
---
The fire that broke out on campus took a long time to extinguish—daylight had arrived, but the fire truck hadn’t left yet, and many students began to arrive at the fire scene, pulling out their phones.
Soon enough, the campus network would likely be flooded with discussions about this fire.
“I heard three bodies were found.”
“Yeah, I saw them; when they were carried out, they were already charred beyond recognition.”
“If they wanted to investigate, they could probably find out who they were, right?”
“God knows how long it’ll take! By then, the murderer may have already gotten away…”
Listening to the students discussing among themselves, Caroline lowered her head and left the area—she had returned for a glance because she was worried… but for now, it seemed safe.
However, the number of students arriving at the scene began to increase. Caroline walked among the crowd, but suddenly saw a woman.
Carrying books, she seemed to be preparing for class, but was watching the crowd from a distance, looking at the small auditorium that had been burned… this woman.
It was Lucas’s girlfriend, the woman from the photo found in the wardrobe.
Caroline hesitated for a moment but ultimately walked over. She pretended to be casual and asked the woman, “Hey!”
“Who are you…” The girl looked at Caroline with confusion.
“Nothing much, just wanted to ask if you know what happened here?” Caroline smiled.
The girl shook her head, not interested in the conversation, “I just arrived, don’t know what happened, and I have to rush to class; why don’t you ask someone else?”
Saying this, she said goodbye and turned to leave.
But Caroline suddenly patted the girl’s shoulder, making her stop. “Hey, what’s your name? I think I’ve seen you somewhere.”
“Oh… really?” The girl looked at Caroline with some surprise, “Maybe, maybe somewhere. The school isn’t big; perhaps we’ve really met.”
“Let me think.” Caroline seemed to be genuinely pondering, “Oh… I remember, you and your boyfriend, I’ve seen him… I know your boyfriend; I think his name is Lucas, right?”
“You’re Lucas’s friend?” The girl frowned.
Caroline shrugged, “No, just know the name, haven’t met him much. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen him in a long time; how has he been lately?”
The girl shook her head, “You should ask his mentor; he’s been interning at a pharmaceutical company for over two months and hasn’t returned to school. Also, we broke up a long time ago.”
“Pharmaceutical company?” Caroline was taken aback and instinctively said, “How is that possible? Isn’t he supposed to be dead… I mean missing?”
“OK!” The girl looked at Caroline, “Listen, I don’t know who you are or what your relationship with Lucas is. But I can clearly tell you that Lucas and I are over. Please tell him not to use these little tricks to harass me anymore! And don’t send me flowers again!”
“He… he sent you flowers?”
"Last week, during class, outside the classroom door! My goodness, dressed like a turkey, how ugly was that? It was simply troublesome for me!" The girl shook her head, "I'm sorry, I have to go to class."
"Wait..."
Watching the girl quickly walk away... Caroline stood there in a daze. If 403 wasn’t Lucas, who could he be?
Caroline suddenly felt a headache, and a scene flashed through her mind... It was something she had seen before.
‘Arnold’ being stabbed in the woods.
The image of struggling in the water...
Caroline closed her eyes but suddenly opened them wide; she suddenly remembered the long wound on 403's body.
“Who are you really…”
Suddenly, Caroline felt that no matter who 403 was, it didn’t seem to matter anymore. What mattered was that she seemed to have escaped this troublesome vortex.
Caroline left the university with a somewhat lighter step. Outside the school gate, she wanted to find a taxi, but when she touched her clothes, she found she didn’t have a single coin on her.
She couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh, feeling like she had never been this broke before... but it didn’t seem particularly unpleasant.
Caroline took a deep breath but felt something in her pants pocket. She reached in and pulled out what turned out to be a bank card.
She looked for an ATM nearby, and when she checked the balance on it, Caroline found that the money inside hadn’t decreased at all... It seemed that after Arnold had received this card, it hadn’t been touched.
In a daze, Caroline called a taxi. When the driver asked her where she wanted to go, she hesitated for a moment and then said softly, “To the hospital.”
...
In front of the hospital room door, Caroline hesitated for a moment but eventually pushed the door open.
However, she didn’t see Nia here; the bed was so neat that it seemed like no one had ever slept in it.
Caroline felt puzzled and directly called out to a nurse in the corridor, “Where is the woman who stayed here? Why isn’t Nia here?”
She might have... that worst outcome.
“Oh? You mean her? She was discharged a couple of days ago,” the nurse replied casually.
“Discharged?” Caroline felt it was unbelievable: “How could she be discharged? Wasn’t she about to die, waiting for surgery to save her? Has she given up?”
“Who said that?” The nurse shook her head: “She had already undergone surgery a long time ago, and it was quite successful, right?”
“Impossible! She looked so weak that she could barely see any flesh!”
“Which patient isn’t weak after major surgery?” The nurse shrugged and pushed the cart past Caroline: “Is there anything else? I need to deliver these items.”
Caroline instinctively shook her head.
At this moment, she felt someone gently pat her shoulder. It was a man in a suit, looking very formal, who politely asked Caroline, “Excuse me, are you Miss Caroline?”
“Yes... who are you?” Caroline instinctively became guarded.
The man quickly said, “Don’t misunderstand, I mean you no harm, Miss Caroline. I’ve been waiting here for you since early this morning. ‘Southern Cross,’ do you remember?”
“What’s going on?”
“I think we can find a quiet place to talk about how you’ve been deceived.” The man smiled slightly: “How about the coffee shop downstairs? This isn’t a good place to discuss things.”
...
‘Southern Cross.’
Caroline suddenly remembered the business card Mr. Alfie had given her—she had thought that the person on the other end of the line would just casually brush her off after she called.
“According to your request, our people will soon start handling your case. Regarding the Livia murder case, from the various data, we found some suspicious points that should prove your innocence. Of course, if you want to resolve this matter faster, we can do it without going through judicial procedures; it’s up to you.”
Caroline was taken aback.
The man continued, “However, while investigating your personal information, we discovered something else. We found that you, Miss Caroline, owe a substantial amount of money, recently incurred, and the lender is a loan shark.”
“Impossible! I haven’t borrowed any money recently!”
“I think you’re familiar with these two people.” The man took out two photos from the folder in his hand—one photo was of Lawyer Carlo, and the other was of Nia, though Nia's photo was from before she fell ill.
“They…”
“Our people have already detained these two individuals, and we clarified the situation with Lawyer Carlo.” The man confidently said, “This person is a fraud, not a real lawyer, but he knows a lot about legal matters and has a criminal record. This woman is his girlfriend. The documents you signed weren’t a real estate transaction authorization; they were contracts for borrowing money in your name from private lenders, and the amount is substantial. This is their testimony; you can take a look.”
Caroline stared at the documents he provided for a long time before gritting her teeth and saying, “Those two bastards!!!”
“Additionally, when we apprehended Carlo and Nia, we also caught a guy who seemed to be a henchman of someone named Boston. Oh, and we also found the fugitive who shot and escaped during the memorial at the theater last time, solving quite a bit of trouble.”
...
What has happened to this world?
It felt so unreal.
Caroline didn’t know how she walked out of the hospital doors. She didn’t even remember how she felt when she first came here after escaping that troublesome vortex.
She thought of using the money on her bank card to help Nia.
Was it compensation, or something else? Caroline couldn’t tell.
However, what she found ridiculous was that whether it was Nia, Hailey, Arnold, or 403, she had been living in a world woven with lies and traps all this time.
Looking at the bustling road, Caroline suddenly laughed, realizing the true meaning of what Nia had called her for that day.
“Caroline, you’re a foolish woman,” she told herself.
On the street, Caroline suddenly didn’t know where to go—she had lost all her goals and was left only with wealth that others couldn’t imagine.
A strange young man approached Caroline, handing her a flyer and enthusiastically saying, “Miss, are you interested in learning about our institution? We can help you obtain formal degrees from various schools!”
Caroline was suddenly taken aback, holding the flyer and staring at it for a while, before asking, “Can it make someone smarter?”
“Miss, knowledge can enhance wisdom,” the young man replied with a bright smile. “Perhaps we can discuss this in detail... Um, may I ask what your current level of education is?”
“I haven’t been to school since I was very young,” Caroline shook her head.
“Uh... that’s okay; we still have plenty of courses available.” The young man added, “So, are there any particular courses you’re interested in? Like, what major?”
“I don’t know.” Caroline shook her head again.
“Well... this is a bit difficult,” the young man began to feel awkward.
But Caroline smiled slightly at this moment, “However, I have money. I have a lot of money.”
“I think that won’t be a problem! Miss! Please follow me; I’ll make a customized course that’s best suited for you!” He pulled Caroline inside.
Caroline took a deep breath. She didn’t know why she suddenly made such a decision... but it felt good.
As she entered, Caroline suddenly turned around, feeling as if someone was watching her from behind.
But when she looked across the street, she seemed to see nothing... or rather, just a figure from behind.
“All your things will return to their original track.”
...
...
In front of the club’s underground entrance.
Even with most of the privileges for transactions, she still couldn’t enter this door—this was a place only allowed for shop owners to enter.
However, the maid was very clear about what was inside; it was an altar used to sacrifice everything.
In front of the door, the maid slowly raised something with both hands; it was a dazzling orb of light.
“Dimensional Observer power... I will make a sacrifice here on behalf of my master.” Youye whispered, “This way, the master will have enough time to maintain his vacation. After all, relying solely on a ‘Main God’ plan is still a bit insufficient…”