Chapter 122: Tanya's True Gift

They fell into a long silence, each yearning for the realm the other once inhabited. Those inside desperately sought escape, while those outside longed all day to enter.

“Are you really not joking?” Tanya sniffed, asking earnestly. She felt there was no virtue in being a good person. Death had instead sparked her rebellious spirit; she wanted to try a different life.

Perhaps this was why they could never truly understand each other—each had their own reasons for pursuing their so-called ideals.

Wang Jinkai nodded seriously. He knew speaking thus would invite ridicule, but this was the answer he gave in his heart at that moment.

Having reached this stage, there was no need to lie or hide his thoughts. If there were things he found shameful, he could kill all witnesses; after all, his identity was destined to remain in the shadows.

His nature dictated that killing was a routine part of life, and Wang Jinkai had gradually grown numb to it.

“No, you’ll understand someday. I hope you won’t regret the decision you make then.”

“I don’t regret what I decided today!” Tanya declared with conviction. She stubbornly believed her choice was right.

Hearing this, Wang Jinkai smiled faintly, unconcerned by her words. Only time would judge their correctness and whether she would later regret her decision.

Among the coveted medicines, the elixir of immortality and the antidote for regret were the best sellers—and the hardest to obtain.

Chu Ning listened quietly to their conversation, recalling something that made him both laugh and sigh. In the past, when setting passwords, there were password recovery questions.

One question left a deep impression: “What is your ideal?” Years later, when prompted again, no matter what he entered, he couldn’t guess his former dream.

He tried desperately to recall the answer, but every attempt was wrong. Eventually, a message appeared: “You have reached today’s limit for incorrect attempts; please try again another day.”

Chu Ning gave up trying to retrieve the answer this way. He knew his former dream was definitely not the pragmatic one of buying a house.

“Enough of your endless babbling! Are you done?” Chu Ning suddenly became irritable, angrily interrupting the two who were bonding over shared sympathies.

Enemies could still be negotiated with—that was something Chu Ning couldn’t fathom. He never found it pleasant to feign friendliness toward foes, so he avoided close exchanges with adversaries.

However, if it was about analyzing their intelligence, Chu Ning would never miss it. He paid close attention to the movements of his foes, their habits, preferences, and so on.

“Hiss, none of your business!” Wang Jinkai’s body emitted a series of insect-like chirps, an unpleasant sound that only increased the dislike people felt toward him.

“Yeah, I *am* meddling… forget it.” Chu Ning coldly watched Wang Jinkai fall right into Tanya’s trap—perhaps Tanya herself hadn’t even noticed it.

Tanya’s talent was far more complex than it seemed. When she communicated with others and achieved emotional resonance, the other party would unconsciously overlook many things.

In their subconscious, they developed a fondness for Tanya, opening their hearts to her. The insidious aspect of this talent was that Tanya harbored no hostility or ill will.

Yet, information was unconsciously revealed in the mundane daily chatter, fulfilling Tanya’s need to gather intelligence. This subtle infiltration was the hardest to guard against; direct attacks would be detected and thwarted early.

Some people’s reactions to danger were most sensitive—either by instinctive hostility or by rich experience with peril, hence the saying “battle-hardened.”

Those who hover on the edge of danger possess a sixth sense, allowing them to avoid impending threats.

From an observer’s perspective, Chu Ning noticed something was off. The Wang Jinkai in his memory was nothing like this: cunning, sly, meticulous to a fault—that was the real Wang Jinkai!

He knew that after death, a person was unlikely to remain the same. Major accidents could cause drastic personality changes, and death was one of life’s most significant turning points.

“Could it be that he’s been dumbed down?” Chu Ning pondered silently, itching to make this remark. Did one have to pay a price to gain something?

If Wang Jinkai had a mirror now, he would see many problems. His face bore a sweet smile utterly out of character—a truly chilling sight upon reflection.

Moreover, the insect-like chirps from his body sounded strangely pleasant, as if the X-07 within him rejoiced. Though perhaps he had uncovered a superficial truth, he still fell for Tanya’s trap.

What harm could a person without any hostility harbor?

From Tanya’s expression, Chu Ning realized she was completely unaware of her own actions. This realization intrigued him. Trying to put himself in her shoes, he shuddered involuntarily.

“This is really dangerous! Tsk tsk, we need to be cautious, or else the consequences would be unimaginable!” Chu Ning muttered mentally. Accidentally revealing the secret of cross-world travelers would be a grave problem.

So the clown was himself!

Despite efforts to avoid all dangers, he had overlooked the risk right before his eyes—a classic case of missing the obvious.

More frighteningly, Chu Ning suspected he might have fallen for Tanya’s trick.

His face suddenly turned pale. His sharp gaze fixed on Wang Jinkai and Tanya’s friendly chatter as he contemplated how to handle Tanya.

He carefully recalled the days he had spent with her, analyzing how his behavior differed from before. Since Chu Ning’s two personalities alternated control over his body, this backward analysis was especially challenging.

“Forget it, I must be fine!” Chu Ning muttered in a voice only he could hear, bitterly rubbing his nose. This was quite a dilemma.

He vacillated endlessly over whether to kill the two before him. Whether or not to kill Tanya became a complex question. After much hesitation, he abandoned the idea of killing her as well.

His reasoning was simple: he was in a critical phase of personality integration, so excessive killing was unwise. Until his personalities fully merged, every action he took would influence the eventual formation of his psyche.

If during this period he killed recklessly, traits like paranoia, madness, and bloodlust might dominate his future self. He did not want to become a pathological paranoiac.

He also knew his reasoning was flimsy. Chu Ning suspected he simply did not want to hurt Tanya—and he wasn’t sure why.

When a person truly resolves to do something, any reason, no matter how trivial, becomes a firm justification. Even bad weather could factor in.

Once the decision was made, Chu Ning found he had already compiled a list of reasons not to kill Tanya, leaving him speechless.

Had he become what he hated most—a clown enslaved by love, compelled to act against reason?

His rational mind told him what to do, but love led him to many laughable and absurd acts.

“What kind of love do you two have anyway?” Tanya asked Wang Jinkai with a hopeful smile, genuinely admiring their love story.

For someone once utterly ruthless in business to betray the path of greatest profit and choose to turn over a new leaf—Tanya magnified the power of love in her heart.

This was one of the most anticipated tales: the good woman who helped the bad man become good. It inspired those who yearned for love.

It made them like moths to a flame, throwing themselves headlong into love despite wounds and scars. They stubbornly believed such sacrifices were necessary and rejected all warnings.

Wang Jinkai’s face shone with a radiant smile, as if recalling something wonderful. He said wistfully, “You’ve probably read the diary I kept—the earlier parts you know roughly.”

“Now, let me tell you what happened next! Think of this as a tribute to our past love, so you can be a witness to it.”

Tanya nodded eagerly, especially fond of bittersweet love stories. Why bittersweet? Because love cut short by an early death could never be truly happy.

Tanya knew that the fairy-tale ending where the couple lives happily ever after was hard to replicate in real life.

Reality often favored tragedy. Such stories were more memorable but not the kind Tanya preferred. Deep down, she longed for a fairy-tale ending.

Having learned she dwelled in a supernatural world where death was not the end, and resurrection was legend, she sincerely wished their love would be blessed.

After all hardships, they would finally be together—this was Tanya’s beautiful fantasy.

Yet Wang Jinkai’s words shattered that illusion, steering the story toward a chilling direction.