Chapter 16: Rose Bush

One day prior.

The man leaned on the sofa in the room, eyes closed in feigned sleep, when a voice entered his mind.

【Congratulations on unlocking the hidden stage. A target for memory addition has been randomly selected. You may freely edit the added memory.】

The man paced in front of the screen, his finger swiping over nine different avatars before tapping on the third one’s face.

The person had a buzz cut, exposing an iron-blue mark on his forehead, gold-rimmed glasses, and a sharp suit draped over his frame.

“Just him.”

An elite, always quick on the uptake—he’d performed cleverly the night before. Smart people were better off a little less sharp.

On the pristine white paper, under the relationships section, the neat characters for “lovers” were written.

【Memory addition complete. Wishing you a pleasant game.】

The man opened his eyes to a pallid white ceiling. He rubbed his sore eyes as the doorbell rang once.

A voice came from outside: “It’s me.”

—

There were no beastly growls anywhere.

Lu Nan spotted a small square box on the floor. Though the space was dim and she couldn’t make out what it was, that sound from earlier had come from it, one hundred percent.

“You and Six are both Heteromorphs,” Lu Nan said stiffly, her expression unchanged. “You two are really something—one likes women, the other likes men. No offense to your orientations or anything, but can you stop targeting just me to kill?”

Nine chuckled and pressed the knife lower. “Heh, you still have the mood to joke at a time like this.”

“You and Three aren’t lovers at all. It’s the opposite of what you said—Three’s the pitiful one.” Lu Nan ignored his mockery and continued, “What method did you use? A reward?”

“You’re really sharp. Should’ve picked you instead.”

Lu Nan forced a smile. “Not so many ‘should haves’ in the world…”

Her hand shot upward abruptly. Nine’s arm, caught off guard by the strike, recoiled instinctively. Numbness spread through his limb, the pain so intense he wanted to pound the ground.

The knife slipped from his grasp and flipped upward with blinding speed, blade facing up.

Lu Nan seized the moment and kicked it, embedding the knife into the wall. In nearly the same instant, one hand clamped onto his throat and shoved downward while the other pressed the stun gun against his waist and unleashed a jolt.

Zzzzt, zzzzt. Nine’s rigid back instantly went limp.

Lu Nan glanced at him and kept shocking.

She wasn’t in the mood to chat patiently with him. Her wife not remembering her was already heartbreaking enough, and now “date” time was almost up—they’d have to part ways again.

The thought alone infuriated her. She’d been bottling up a huge ball of fire, and this guy had to go poking the bear.

Why did all Heteromorphs love slinking around to kill her first? What kind of weird rule was that?

Lu Nan zapped him a few more times until the stun gun lit up with a red dot—no juice left. She shook out her aching arm, sore from the prolonged pressure.

Nine lay pinned to the ground, face grinding into the sandy floor. He stopped struggling, adopting a look of utter indifference to life and death.

The harder he fought, the more humiliating it’d be when a few punches landed later, with tens of thousands watching. Better to stay quiet.

He regretted it deeply. No “should haves,” sure—but if he’d known he’d be taken down in a couple moves, he should’ve grabbed those dumb little kids first instead of suffering this humiliation.

Annoying. So tiring.

Never doing this damn variety show again.

【Nine just told you not to laugh. Forgot the last guy with a knife—his grave’s grass is already as tall as Six.】

【Only two Heteromorphs total, and both zero in on the same person to kill hahahahahahaha, target fixation confirmed.】

【Does Cold Sis look that easy to bully? She’s such a badass—this is just asking to get beat.】

【If you’d just targeted someone else, you’d have half the win already.】

【Nine, are you deliberately throwing the game?】

【Is Lu Nan in a bad mood? She’s got such a sour face.】

【Cold Sis lives up to her name. Just wait—you’ll see some vivid face-changing magic in a sec.】

Seven anxiously pulled the pair into the passage. Seeing One’s moves, she figured One could handle Nine, right?

“Up ahead. I saw them go in. Nine’s off! Something’s wrong with him for sure.”

“Ten, wait for us!”

Ten raced ahead like the wind. When she spotted One ruthlessly pinning Nine, she finally slowed her steps.

One had indeed zeroed in on her suspect. Why hadn’t she said anything?

Lu Nan turned back and saw the trio’s expressions soften a bit.

“You okay?” Ten asked.

Lu Nan nodded solemnly. “I’ve got a problem.”

She tilted her head back, revealing a thin line of blood on her neck—likely from when Nine had pressed down. It was barely visible unless you looked closely.

Ten: “…”

Seven and Two’s faces went blank: “???”

Seeing it wasn’t a serious injury, Ten’s panicked heart settled.

When Six had stabbed her, blood had gushed out and she hadn’t made a peep—had even played cat-and-mouse with the group. This scratch would heal in moments.

Two hurried forward, plopping down to sit on Nine before pulling rope from his pocket. He bound Nine up and emptied his pockets for good measure.

“Just you and Six as Heteromorphs? No others?” Two asked.

“Heh, like I’d tell you. How the hell did something as low-IQ as Six even sneak in? No idea what they were thinking… total idiots.”

“Intel comes in high and low classes now?” Two shot him a dissatisfied look, wearing an expression of betrayal. “You’re caught too, aren’t you?”

Fooled by a Heteromorph again. All that teamwork and puzzle-solving earlier had been fake. He’d even admired the guy—turns out the mole was right beside him.

“It’s not the same. This was my last shot. How was I supposed to know you lot were such good actors? Besides, I’m not some lowlife like Six, charging in recklessly and getting counter-killed.”

Seven’s face bore a beaming smile. “What’s the difference? No worries—it’s almost over. Chat away; once we leave this space, it’s bye-bye~”

“Don’t wanna talk to you smug villains. Wastes my battery!”

Ten carefully wiped at Lu Nan’s wound, which was already nearly healed.

She hadn’t thought it necessary, but One was staring at her with that “if you don’t care, I’ll throw a fit right now” face.

Who could stand that? Not her!

A quick wipe wouldn’t hurt. What if Nine had coated the blade with something? Yeah, just a casual wipe—nothing more.

Lu Nan sat obediently on the ground, letting Ten tend to her.

Nine watched them unblinkingly, cursing inwardly: Damn girl-on-girl! Filthy lesbians, flaunting your love everywhere, you rotten fujoshi!

Nine itched with hatred. He glanced toward the depths of the passage and couldn’t help cursing under his breath. Playing me, huh?

The passage stretched on endlessly, no matter how they walked. After circling around, the group ended up back at the entrance.

It was like a massive labyrinth—only after trying a thousand paths might they find the right one out.

Two dragged Nine along at the front.

“Don’t drag me. I can walk myself.”

Two still wore that wounded expression. “I don’t believe you.”

“What don’t you believe? My legs are still attached, I—hey, don’t drag!”

“Move it!”

Seven walked in the middle of the group. She used the sharp corner of a chocolate wrapper to mark the walls while mentally mapping out a floor plan of their path in her head.

Puzzles weren’t her thing, but this? She was a pro—old-school interior designer.

“Still got the thing?”

“Huh?”

Seeing Lu Nan’s confusion, Ten pointed at her pocket.

Lu Nan looked down. The only thing in there was that gross bug. What did it have to do with anything?

“What’s up? You said that thing was a lifesaver. Figured out a use for it?”

“I plucked that bug off the Rose Bush on the fourth floor. When I grabbed it, it was wriggling around in soil soaked with blood. I knew right then it had to be useful.”

“Look at this place—what does it remind you of? The red inner chamber, doors you can’t unlock, these narrow passages. Doesn’t it feel like the inside of a Rose Bush? We’re probably in the ovary or the receptacle right now.”

Lu Nan pinched the bug out of her pocket and held it up in front of the two. Ten and Seven silently stepped back half a pace.

“Hm?” Lu Nan, in a rare moment of humor, said, “You two backing away like that—is that serious?”