Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability
Chapter Summary
Based on the nature of tonight's events, Lumian had made some guesses and was prepared to see certain dream manifestations, but the person who appeared at the emergency center was completely unexpected: it was Peng Deng's co-renter, Grisha! We'd even observed him before but never managed to figure out who he corresponded to in the real world… Could he be the mastermind behind tonight's events? After settling Luo Shan in Room 2303 with Jenna, Lumian took Franca with him to Room 1502 to photograph...
Based on the nature of tonight's events, Lumian had made some guesses and was prepared to see certain dream manifestations, but the person who appeared at the emergency center was completely unexpected: it was Peng Deng's co-renter, Grisha!
The fact that he and Peng Deng are sharing a place did hint at something unusual about him. We'd even observed him before but never managed to figure out who he corresponded to in the real world… Could he be the mastermind behind tonight's events? What is his real objective? Lumian's mind raced, his confusion deepening.
He had initially locked in on the individual that the Aurora Order put their faith into as the one orchestrating everything tonight, hoping to confirm a few things. But Grisha didn't fit the "I'm watching, listening, and aware" profile—he was eccentric, paranoid, and rude.
"Him?" Franca, slower to react than usual, leaned over to take a look at the screen frozen on Lumian's phone.
Her sudden shock made her more animated.
"Unexpected discoveries are still valuable," Lumian said, already calm.
"Yeah," Franca replied, not saying much more.
Lumian wasn't in a rush to leave. He pulled out a cracked makeup mirror and began focusing intently.
His actions caught Franca's attention. She tilted her head to look at him, slightly puzzled. "What are you doing?"
"I'm checking if the mirror world has recovered and whether the broken fragments have formed a new area behind the mirror," Lumian explained briefly. "Luo Shan didn't bring her phone, and I don't have any other abilities to contact her. I need to use the mirror world to send her a message that you're safe and that she can leave the underground area with Zhou Mingrui.
"There's no urgent matter now, but what if Zhou Mingrui does discover something?"
Franca was stunned for a moment. "Zhou Mingrui went underground? Won't that be a problem?"
The basement of Mushu Hospital was a mixture of subconscious psychological traumas and a symbolic abyss tied to the Mother Tree of Desire. Even if it couldn't physically endanger Zhou Mingrui, it might force him to confront past traumas, awakening strong stimuli that could bring significant changes. Those changes could be either extremely good or extremely bad, which was why Lumian's team hadn't wanted Zhou Mingrui to enter Mushu Hospital's basement at this stage.
Lumian glanced at Franca and chuckled. "Plans never keep up with changes. The most important thing just now was rescuing you. Everything else can be dealt with later or patched up. If worst comes to worst, this mission fails completely, and they send in another team. At worst, we all face the apocalypse. But I couldn't let you die here tonight."
Franca stared at Lumian for a few seconds, unable to find words.
After a moment, she looked away and sighed. "There are some things that can never be made up for…"
Hearing that sigh and those words, Lumian finally felt like Franca had come back to life from the deadened state she'd been in earlier.
He didn't ask what she meant, waiting for her to sort out her own thoughts. He gazed at the cracked mirror in his hands.
"The mirror world has recovered, and the larger mirror fragments have regained their mystical properties."
With that, Lumian whispered a few words, imbuing them with a flickering, dark shimmer before sending them into the largest piece of the cracked mirror.
…
Mushu Hospital, B2.
Luo Shan led Zhou Mingrui, creeping cautiously along the corridor, glancing around as she searched for the missing Luo Fu.
Just as she looked toward one of the rooms and Zhou Mingrui gazed in the opposite direction, she spotted a piece of shattered glass on the ground. Words flickered across it: "Luo Fu is already home."
Phew… Luo Shan quickly turned to Zhou Mingrui and said, "I got a message. Luo Fu escaped."
Zhou Mingrui studied Luo Shan for a moment but didn't ask how she received the message.
He'd noticed earlier that she seemed to have rushed out of the house, forgetting to bring her phone.
After they left Mushu Hospital's basement and Zhou Mingrui sent Luo Shan back to Dechuang Garden, she saw Lumina and Luo Fu in the entryway.
"You two just got back as well?" Luo Shan blurted out.
Holding two mirror fragments, Lumian glanced around and replied, "We had to deal with the hospital's surveillance."
Even though tonight's events weren't tied to any criminal case and were considered a "natural disaster," meaning no police investigation, Lumian thought it was better to play it safe.
Luo Shan was stunned for a couple of seconds.
Quite the seasoned criminal, aren't you…
Lumian then addressed Luo Shan, "Thanks for your help. Without you bringing Zhou Mingrui to the basement in time, both Luo Fu and I would've been swallowed by that illusory abyss."
A smile appeared on Luo Shan's face, though she tried to be modest.
"It was Zhou Mingrui who was willing to risk his life to save someone. He's always been a good person."
"It's impressive that you convinced him so quickly," Lumian said, not sparing any praise.
"Not really," Luo Shan said, feeling a little uncomfortable as she looked away.
She walked briskly into the elevator that had just arrived on the first floor.
After stepping in, Lumian turned to Luo Shan and said, "We'd like to inspect your apartment, to identify any hidden threats."
"Sure, okay!" Luo Shan remembered how she had inexplicably ended up in the hospital's basement.
Without uncovering the lurking threat in her room or nearby, she wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.
When they arrived at Room 1502, Lumian naturally began inspecting every corner, while Franca, finally recovering her energy, silently touched various objects.
After a few seconds, Lumian stood in front of the living room's glass window and spoke to Luo Shan, who was standing near the coffee table.
"I'll perform a Magic Mirror Divination and see if I can get any answers or hints."
Luo Shan nodded repeatedly.
Lumian reached out toward the transparent glass, which had turned into a mirror under the night sky, and began chanting the appropriate incantation.
He was only able to perform Magic Mirror Divination that relied on his own spirituality.
After posing his question, the surface of the glass rippled with a dark shimmer.
The shimmer settled, revealing a scene of a parrot with colorful feathers in a painting.
"That?" Luo Shan quickly turned her head to look at the wall behind her.
Did my own drawing betray me?
Almost simultaneously, the colorful parrot flew out of the painting, attempting to escape from Room 1502.
But the doors and windows were locked, and it repeatedly hit the walls.
"Why?" Luo Shan shouted.
The parrot responded in a crisp, human voice. "I'm not your puppet. I serve…"
Before it could finish speaking, its body suddenly disintegrated. Feathers fell one by one, followed by flesh that dripped like melting paint.
In just two or three seconds, the colorful parrot had turned into countless droplets of paint, splattering onto the cream-colored tiles.
"It was controlled by someone else," Lumian concluded.
"How is that possible?" Luo Shan was shocked and confused.
This was something I painted stroke by stroke. How could it be controlled by someone else?
If it was the other version of me reviving within me and secretly influencing my creation, I could accept that. But an outsider? How?
Lumian glanced at Luo Shan.
"Never trust anything completely. That applies to others, things you've created, and even yourself."
"I understand…" Luo Shan recalled her previous experiences, thinking of that other version of herself.
Lumian thought for a moment and suggested, "You should stay at our place tonight, just in case there's another incident."
He planned to take pictures of every item and corner of Luo Shan's apartment tonight, then send them to Anderson to check for any remaining issues.
"Okay," Luo Shan quickly agreed.
Regardless of the parrot's situation, she had already planned to pack her things and find a decent, reasonably priced hotel to stay in for a few nights.
After settling Luo Shan in Room 2303 with Jenna, Lumian took Franca with him to Room 1502 to photograph every part of the apartment, making sure to leave nothing out.
Once he finished, he immediately sent the photos to "A name that leaves a deep impression on you," ending with the question: "Can you spot any potential problems in these photos?"
After a few minutes, Anderson Hood replied: "Are you inviting me to play 'Spot the Difference'?"
"Something like that," Lumian responded casually.
He waited patiently until four or five minutes later, receiving another message from Anderson.
"If it were me, I'd show someone photos with absolutely no problems and ask them to find something wrong."
Does that mean… there's nothing wrong? Lumian thought to himself.
Anderson Hood sent another message. "That blank spot on the painting is an eyesore. Add some paint to it."
Lumian nodded thoughtfully before asking: "Can you control things painted by others?"
"There are many ways to control painted objects. One is to become a symbol within the painting's world. Another is to give them a more complete life. A third is to imbue them with humanity. A fourth is to reconfigure the information they're composed of, given their essence as information. And lastly, there's the fact that they possess spirituality—you could turn them into your marionette…" Anderson uncharacteristically provided a lengthy explanation, finishing with: "After hearing all that, don't you feel like every possibility you imagined can't be ruled out?"
"You're giving me so much detail just so I'll say 'yes,' aren't you?" Lumian replied without emotion.
In his opinion, identifying the hidden danger in the room wasn't the most important thing. They had already confirmed that Luo Shan was being watched by some force or enemy. If they didn't root out the other side and eliminate them, today's hidden danger would be dealt with, but tomorrow a new one would appear.
Too bad that parrot wasn't put under control and couldn't finish what it was saying.
Seeing that Anderson Hood hadn't responded again, Lumian stood up and looked at Franca.
Franca was standing by the window in Luo Shan's apartment, silently gazing out.
Lumian walked over and stood beside her, looking out in the same direction.
He saw the food stalls on the street far below, people eating and drinking late into the night, and the high-rise apartments in the neighborhood, with lights still on in many rooms, dotting the night sky.
Lumian gazed quietly for a while before turning to look at Franca.
Franca was focused, her gaze seemingly reluctant to shift for even a second.
After a while, she sighed softly. "The night is truly beautiful…"