Chapter 117: Playing Dead at Will

Page 1/3

Chu Ning truly did not expect to see an old acquaintance who had long been dead. Though called an acquaintance, they had never met in person. They had only heard each other’s voices. This person was Wang Jinkai, someone who should have been dead!

Chu Ning originally thought their paths would never cross again. Even the last piece of evidence Wang Jinkai left behind had been reduced to ashes in the great fire; no one in the world would mention his name again.

And Chu Ning no longer needed to worry about anyone exposing his true identity. The only person who had maintained contact with him in life was Wang Jinkai. After Wang Jinkai’s death, no one could truly know what the former Chu Ning was like.

Even if someone came forward to point out his change in temperament, Chu Ning could always come up with other explanations to brush it off. After all, with no living witnesses, he could say whatever he wanted.

He only needed to stubbornly deny it, and no one could touch him.

“Wang Jinkai!” Chu Ning muttered the name with a complicated expression. Although he had never seen Wang Jinkai’s face, he recognized him from the photograph.

Before Wang Jinkai’s death, Chu Ning had often thought of him day and night, pondering how to interact with someone so familiar—how to deceive someone who knew him so well.

Chu Ning could guarantee that he had never cared so deeply for anyone else. Until hearing the news of Wang Jinkai’s death, he had been tense and prepared to handle any sudden events.

Death can take away all the good and the bad. If this were his original world, that would be true. But this was a world dominated by the supernatural.

Though it was nearly impossible for the dead to return to life, it was still possible for life to continue in another form in this world.

As for the so-called truth, Chu Ning already had his answer. The mystery of why he never remembered the memories of his other self was resolved—it was because this world was no longer the one he once knew.

People deceive themselves out of unwillingness to accept their other side, actively discarding memories related to the supernatural, trying to explain the unexplainable with scientific methods.

“So the clown is actually myself!” Chu Ning stared wordlessly at Wang Jinkai, who was greeting him. He couldn’t help but comment that the other’s appearance was truly hideous.

Wrapped in bandages like a mummy, partially covering his face, and wearing a pair of black sunglasses, Wang Jinkai looked ridiculously comical. Chu Ning forced himself to suppress a smile and maintain a serious expression.

Why could Chu Ning recognize him despite this strange appearance? Entirely thanks to their tacit understanding. From the moment he saw Wang Jinkai, he knew who he was—a mysterious sensation beyond reason.

After learning the truth, Chu Ning did not have a sudden collapse of his worldview or feel that life was meaningless. Instead, he was overwhelmed by a flood of memories.

His mind was in a frozen state, unable to process the influx of information, all focused on accepting memories that once overturned his worldview.

In fact, when humans receive a massive amount of complex information at once, it often leads to mental disorders. Chu Ning hadn’t gone insane because the integration of their personalities was nearing completion. They only needed one catalyst to fully form a complete personality.

That catalyst could be various things but must revolve around something that would refresh Chu Ning’s worldview—namely, supernatural events or phenomena starkly different from his original world.

Usually, Chu Ning deliberately avoided such information. His extreme introversion kept him cut off from the outside world.

Page 2/3

Even when supernatural incidents occurred in haunted houses, Chu Ning could always rationalize them away, allowing himself to live comfortably in a fabricated world.

If it weren’t for Tanya’s unexpected arrival shattering the past tranquility, Chu Ning might have continued living as he was for a while longer. He was someone content with the status quo, lacking ambition.

Don’t expect him to break free from his cage and bravely face a new life in his current state!

Traveling between worlds sounds simple, with countless bizarre methods—slipping on a banana peel, dying from exhaustion after staying up all night, being accidentally killed while running errands, and so on.

In human novels, there are endless ways to traverse worlds. The most absurd part is how travelers always quickly adapt and thrive in their new worlds.

The world is so bizarre and wild. These outlandish stories are all based on reality, which shows that reality is often even more absurd than fiction. What a pity! Huh?

Chu Ning was that rare exception, unable to adapt to crossing over, trapped in an endless cycle of confusion and unable to escape his troubles.

“So this is the truth of the world. How truly regrettable!” Chu Ning murmured to himself, his facial expressions shifting dramatically, misleading others about his thoughts.

Ultimately, Chu Ning chose to accept his life, allowing the supernatural to smoothly integrate into his existence. He redefined his own being.

“Who exactly are you now?” Tanya asked softly. Having accumulated past experience, she became cautious, afraid of stirring Chu Ning’s fragile heart and putting herself in danger.

From Chu Ning’s many shifting expressions, it was clear he was struggling between two personalities, so obvious that even Tanya could see it clearly.

After a moment’s hesitation, Chu Ning answered decisively, “You can just call me Chu Ning. There is no other existence anymore.” His eyes were filled with loneliness as he wiped them.

“Is that so?”

Tanya, hearing this, felt not excitement but an indescribable sense of loss.

“Sigh, that’s right! We haven’t disappeared but merged into one, returning to a normal state. It’s like how a person eventually has to grow up.”

Tanya rubbed her eyes in confusion, suddenly sensing a faint trace of the other Chu Ning lingering within him, which immediately lifted her spirits.

Before Tanya could rejoice for long, she was quickly struck by Chu Ning’s words, “Can you explain what it means when I say he might be dormant for a while, and she’ll handle things outside temporarily?”

Chu Ning squinted hastily and slipped back into a sleep mode. Nothing less than an emergency could disturb his slumber!

After accepting reality, Chu Ning still feared contact with the ghost Wang Jinkai. His covert identity remained a huge, unfillable gap.

If he didn’t want to be captured and at others’ mercy, he had no choice but to keep playing dead and muddle through!

Page 3/3

Tanya scratched her head in frustration, stammering professional terms as she prepared to receive a guest that Chu Ning entrusted to her care.

According to Chu Ning’s description, someone she was somewhat familiar with was waiting ahead—someone she had met before. This made Tanya very curious to know who it was.

Trying to recall anyone who knew both of them, Tanya ransacked her memory but came up empty.

“Who is it? Ugh, this is so annoying!” Tanya grumbled, tugging at Chu Ning to keep moving forward. She hadn’t forgotten the purpose of their trip.

Fainting right after giving detailed instructions was truly peculiar. Tanya held back her complaints, suspecting Chu Ning was playing tricks on her. Who faints after carefully explaining everything and then losing consciousness?

Come on, even acting requires some professionalism! Chu Ning’s antics made her feel her intelligence had been deeply insulted.

“Damn it, who is that mummy ahead? Did it just walk out of a museum? This is really exciting!” Tanya rubbed her hands eagerly. She was genuinely curious about what foreign supernatural beings were like.

There was no fear towards the mummy; after all, it was a legend from abroad, unlikely to cause trouble in her homeland.

Tanya instantly felt her aesthetic sense was embarrassingly weak. The “mummy” was dressed so fashionably—what kind of place was she in?

“I’m such a country bumpkin!” Tanya suddenly found humor in life. Her first impression of the mummy was a fashionista, not a decayed corpse.

Strangely, Tanya never felt fear toward foreign ghosts but would tremble in terror watching local horror films.

It wasn’t because local films were particularly well-made—on the contrary, under certain constraints, local horror movies were notoriously bad—but perhaps because the ghosts were so close, as if they could crawl through the internet cables, which caused Tanya’s fear.

Thinking about how foreign ghosts had to travel by plane, cross mountains, and cover long distances made her laugh. She could even jokingly say to have them fly in by plane and check in early, leaving the security check to fate.

The mummy, seeing Tanya’s reaction, was momentarily stunned, then warmly greeted her with a nod.

“Who exactly are you? I feel like we’ve met somewhere before. If I’m right, you know Chu Ning, don’t you?” Tanya glanced sideways at the seemingly unconscious Chu Ning, convinced her guess was correct.

“Haha, I never expected someone would still remember me. It’s truly nostalgic!” A seductive voice came from beneath the white bandages. Just hearing it sparked vivid imaginations!

The rough, bold way of speaking starkly contrasted with the enchanting, delicate tone, leaving Tanya amazed that such opposing traits could coexist in one person.

Chu Ning lightly frowned, as if awakening from a dream, his eyelids trembling slightly before drifting back to sleep.