Chapter 98: The Lost Inventor

Ding Dong's return made everyone very happy. The atmosphere in the room was clearly much better.

However, with this sentence "I am a fugitive," it immediately became strange again. Jiangcheng had already appeared with many strange phenomena not long ago.

Not long ago, Jiangcheng also had a heavy rain, and many strange things appeared in the rain, and some people died.

Of course, these didn't affect this hospital. Everyone sat and waited for Ding Dong to continue telling.

Ding Dong had never talked about the past. Although the five people, Grandma Wu and others, were all deeply favored by Ding Dong, in reality, they didn't know Ding Dong's past.

Ding Dong's appearance was, for everyone, like a miracle.

This was also the first time Ding Dong was willing to tell his past.

"Let me think, where should I start? Let's... start with the things between me and my father when I was a child."

"I lived in a relatively secret place when I was a child; everyone there wore white clothes, which was somewhat similar to a psychiatric hospital. But I was the only patient."

"Father told me that I had sixteen brothers and sisters before, and there were seventeen of us in total. We lived in the same orphanage before, but my other brothers and sisters were all separated from me."

"Actually, we didn't have blood relations; we just lived in one place together and contracted the same disease."

"Father had also been looking for them; actually, I have been looking for them recently too. Father told me that they were very dangerous; if they were not guided by kindness, they would likely become some kind of terrifying existence."

"The reason I left in such a hurry this time, and didn't even have time to tell everyone how to use some things, was because I heard someone calling me. My body couldn't help but walk toward him; although I hadn't seen him, I could feel that it was one of my brothers or sisters."

The content of this paragraph was actually very obscure. Wen Xishu noticed that when Ding Dong said these words, he was actually staring at him.

Mo Yuan, Grandma Wu, Qian Lele, and others were just listening carefully with their heads down, not speaking.

"Back to me and my father. Father was very good to me, really very good; except for imprisoning me, he didn't do anything to hurt me."

"He always told me that the reason he didn't let me go out was because everyone has a heart, and my heart... was still growing. Everyone's heart will be influenced by the environment; this influence will last a lifetime."

"Some hearts rot very easily, even in an extremely comfortable environment."

"And some hearts are very tough, even though they are surrounded by filth. Father said my heart was still growing and needed to be watered with enough love; the outside world didn't possess the soil for a good heart to grow."

"Sometimes, I would even be curious about certain behaviors; if I did these behaviors, it would definitely lead to many people dying. Father would patiently tell me not to do those things. Because hurting people who have no malice will make the heart be in a rotten environment."

"I often asked Father, what should I do to go out? At this time, Father would always buy some toys for me; he would enter the room where I was and play with me."

"I like to knead things; Father seemed to have known this for a long time, and all the toys he gave me were related to mud or building blocks. I first learned to make some bottles and jars. Father liked these bottles and jars very much, saying he would put them in his house."

"I wanted to see his house; I wanted to know what the outside of the research institute looked like; he let me wait, saying that when my heart started to be tough and grew into a good shape, he could take me away from that place."

"I asked Father what degree my heart had grown to; Father said it was very clean and flawless, but because it was too young, it was easily polluted."

"The things kneaded by me, some looked like living things, and some would possess extra abilities. Father liked watching me make these things very much; he told me that there would be a kind of beauty of a creator creating things."

"My skills became better and better; the little people I kneaded with mud started to act according to what I thought; they lived in the houses I kneaded with mud and would do all kinds of things to accompany me to pass the time. And the houses I kneaded with mud also possessed various functions to make these mud people happy."

"Father never stinted on praising me; in fact, except for letting me leave, Father would satisfy all my various requests. He also often taught me to learn things; he always told me to have creativity and imagination, so that I could make items that were interesting enough."

"In the year I was fourteen, Father hoped I could make a compass. I really made that compass and, according to Father's request, gave the compass corresponding abilities."

Speaking of this, Ding Dong smiled and took out the compass; it looked plain and unremarkable, no different from an ordinary compass, and because there was a crack on one part, the compass didn't look very new.

"I call it the Compass of Fate."

"The process of making this compass was very painful; several times my ears, eyes, nose, and mouth were bleeding. And the production process consumed half a year of my time."

"Because my ability was not enough to give the compass the power related to fate. Several times I wanted to give up, and several times I felt... was Father not loving me anymore?"

"But every time, Father told me, it's not, it's not... he said I needed this compass to guide me, and one day in the future, this compass could help me seek good fortune and avoid disaster."

"He also said that one day in the future, when I walked out of the room, the compass would tell me the direction; the outside world was very big and not on the same scale as the research institute; he was afraid I would get lost, afraid I would be at a loss, afraid I would walk into a place full of filth."

"That was the tenth year I spent with Father; he still... still worried about my heart growing into a strange shape."

Wen Xishu was slightly moved.

This story was a bit strange, but he heard it; Ding Dong seemed to have had this special ability very early?

A few years ago, or even more than ten years ago, in the era when the strangeness had not yet descended, Ding Dong already possessed the ability to give items special attributes.

And there were sixteen other people like Ding Dong. Among these sixteen, perhaps there were existences whose ability rating was far beyond Ding Dong.

That is to say, the national level existence had already noticed many strange situations more than ten years before the end of the world descended.

If one looked at the world as a patient and treated the end of the world as the outbreak of some kind of disease, then indeed, this patient wouldn't be terminally ill all at once.

It must have revealed some pathological places very early.

The story was still continuing.

Ding Dong said:

"After the compass was made, my ability failed. Because of overdrawing, I couldn't give any items attributes for a long time."

"I was actually quite happy about this. Because I thought I had become a normal person; once I was normal, I could leave."

"I started asking Father when I could grow a pure heart since I was a few years old. This question was asked until I was fifteen; Father's answer was always to wait."

"I really wanted to go out, but actually, it was not bad to accompany Father. I wanted to leave with Father."

"After my ability failed, I still liked to knead mud."

"Sometimes strange people would come to watch me play with mud; I didn't like these people very much; they were different from Father; Father would always enter the room to accompany me, but they just wore masks and watched me from a distance."

"That look made me feel very uncomfortable, as if they were looking at some kind of... thing."

"Father told me they had no malice, but what Father didn't know was that I could hear some conversations."

"Um... let me imitate those conversations."

Ding Dong smiled and looked at everyone, finally his gaze fell on Wen Xishu; his voice started to become low:

"Professor Jin, his blood samples now are all no different from ordinary people. I think we need to analyze him more deeply, stimulate him. The Swan Project cannot be delayed any longer."

"No, he is just a child; are you crazy! That project will make him hate us. He is still young; the hatred planted in childhood will destroy him and will also destroy us!"

"Scientific progress is full of setbacks; the Swan Project is the best means for us to understand him. His ability has disappeared; the Swan Project might be able to help him recover, or help us solve some secrets."

"But this is the only one of the seventeen children that belongs to us; I know that some strange things are related to those children. But he is different; I can feel that his way of responding to the world is the simplest and most plain—responding to love with love, responding to evil with evil; we shouldn't use too extreme means to... and... that will kill his creativity."

"Professor Jin, we need to figure out the source, figure out the truth of the tower! This is not the place for you to play the role of a father; I know your child died because of that accident not long ago, but you cannot entrust that kind of emotion to this child! You have to know how important he is!"

"No! No! Absolutely not! As long as I am here for one day, I will absolutely not allow such a thing to happen! This child will have great use in the future; his heart... cannot be polluted."

Ding Dong's eyes had faint regret and nostalgia:

"I heard the argument between Father and them; Father clearly had a certain right to speak; relying on his tough attitude, those people finally left. I don't know what the Swan Project is. But listening to Father's tone, it seems it would hurt me."

"Once, I told Father that I was willing to go to the Swan Project; I actually heard those conversations; I didn't want Father to be scolded by them; he looked at me blankly, and then hugged me and cried. That was the first time he cried."

"He kept saying sorry to me, but sometimes he revealed a smile."

"Actually, I still didn't understand why Father would cry. Why exactly? I clearly just told him that I didn't want him to bear the scolding."

"But Father's words soon gave me the answer. He told me that my brothers and sisters had problems with the growth of their hearts because of some reasons."

"But I am different; I am more complete than all of them. Father didn't cry because he bore too much pressure. He cried just because I learned to care about him."

"From this moment on, Father believed that I had the qualification to leave the research institute."

"Father never lied to me; he was really preparing for my departure. I still remember Father telling me many stories one day."

"The protagonists of these stories were all children, and their situations were all different; some overcame difficulties, changed their own predicament, and became scholars; some possessed wealthy family backgrounds but ultimately degenerated into drug addicts or went to prison; and some almost didn't change much."

"Some families were really too good; even if they degenerated, they could be pulled onto the right track by a series of things in the end. And there were others who were not very kind at the beginning, had antisocial personalities, were said to be the incarnation of evil at the beginning, and indeed... maintained this persona until death." 【98

"Some people are not very kind from the start, possessing an antisocial personality; they are called the embodiment of evil from the beginning, and in the end, they truly... maintain this persona until death."

"But likewise, there are also those who turn over a new leaf. Father was observing my expression; he asked me to state my feelings after listening to each story."

"My answer... was that I had no feelings. The only feeling was that I could not understand the people in the stories."

"I don't know why they changed like that. I don't know what kind of impact the environment actually has on people, and I don't know if the good and evil in this world are things beyond one's own control."

"At that moment, I thought I wouldn't pass Father's test, especially when Father asked me which kind of life I envied; I was even less clear on how I should choose."

"In the dozens of stories, as for the final outcomes, there are quite a few villains who meet a good end, and not a few good people who meet a good end either, but by comparison, looking across the span of a lifetime, the villains who meet a good end seem to profit a bit more."

"In my view, these stories of Father's were deliberately displaying a result: those who possess a pure heart may not necessarily all obtain a good ending."

"Father said that deceiving me had no meaning. He could mold me, tell me what kind of person I should be in this world, but when I discovered the world wasn't like that, I would be disappointed because of it. He didn't want me to be disappointed."

"He hoped I could choose a life, and hoped this would be a promise between him and me."

"My answer was to choose to become a person like Father; the fourth of these dozens of stories was based on Father as the prototype."

"Simply put, Father was someone from a poor family background who changed his fate through his own hard work and kindness. Father said his life trajectory was an extreme outlier, but I didn't change my choice."

"Father shed tears again; he hoped I could keep the promise and remember today's choice."

"Afterward..."

Ding Dong looked at Wen Xishu again:

"Afterward, Father told me a crucial rule. He didn't explain where he learned that rule. He just told me that this rule was real, but it was a reality that needed to be broken."

Wen Xishu always felt that Ding Dong's words were directed at him. He subconsciously asked:

"What rule is it?"

Ding Dong said:

"Regarding the seventeen special existences including myself, all seventeen of us have been struck by a curse."

"The content of this curse is that among us, every time one person dies, the power of the remaining sixteen will increase. No matter who dies, no matter how they die, or who kills them, the power of the other sixteen will receive a boost."

"Among us seventeen people, five have milder symptoms and are significantly weaker in power than the other twelve; I am one of those five. Father said there was another one who grew up in the research institute like me, also one of the five mild cases, only they were in another country."

"In the end, the twelve most powerful people will slaughter each other, and the one who survives in the end will become the god in the apocalypse, the only supreme god."

"Father told me to be sure to avoid them, and let me follow the Luo Pan's instructions to meet the people I am supposed to meet."

"It was also at that moment that I discovered the secrets Father knew were far more than anyone else in the research institute."

"At the same time, he also said that this curse could be resolved, but that wasn't my responsibility. He just told me to follow the Luo Pan's guidance and told me to look for a way to shed my identity."

Wen Xishu naturally thought of those twelve constellations; now he was increasingly certain...

The reason why the Scorpio knife was restless just now must have something to do with Ding Dong's true identity.

At the same time, Wen Xishu noticed that the Father in Ding Dong's words, this Professor Jin, seemed to play the role of some kind of prophet.

Ding Dong himself didn't know about the curse, but Professor Jin knew.

Ding Dong was silent for a long time before he began to continue his account:

"I did indeed leave the research institute, and only after leaving did I know it was an isolated island. Father had prepared everything, and when I was about to leave, he kept apologizing to me."

"He said it was a pity that the world about to appear before my eyes was a shattered world, and it was a pity that the ugliest side of human nature would be constantly displayed; before the apocalypse descended, it was my last time to experience beauty."

"He told me not to worry about him; perhaps in the future, we would meet in another way."

"I also asked Father where he would go, but Father didn't tell me. He just told me to feel the world well and follow the Luo Pan's guidance."

Wen Xishu said:

"So, you followed the Luo Pan's guidance and came here?"

Ding Dong nodded:

"I followed the Luo Pan's instructions, and I didn't encounter any danger along the way. The Luo Pan guided me to many places; during that time, I was like a traveler."

"In the days of my travels, I also made quite a few things and experienced many novel and interesting things, such as drinking alcohol, such as singing with many people. The Luo Pan would bring me many strange dreams, letting me encounter these people."

"In addition, I also saw the deaths of many people and the changes of many people in the dreams bestowed by the Luo Pan."

"The Luo Pan seemed to want to tell me that these people were important, and these people had the value of being saved."

"So I made many items, but these items... had no special abilities. In order to avoid certain fates, in order not to be discovered by other brothers and sisters, the items I made would only take effect after the apocalypse descended."

"But here is an exception. In the dreams bestowed by the Luo Pan, if I wanted to become the real me, I had to come here; there is a very dense... strange aura here."

"I cannot describe this aura clearly, but this aura can mask my existence. So I made many items here. I think, perhaps this is because... Grandma Wu, Mo Yuan, Qian Lele, Brother Xiang, Brother Yihong, you all have some kind of power similar to mine."

Speaking of the psychiatric hospital, Ding Dong's tone became gentle:

"I didn't give instructions to the Luo Pan; I just let the Luo Pan guide me to find someone who could help me shape a 'heart'. Because this was my promise to Father."

"I accept all the guidance of the Luo Pan, even if it lets me become a 'villain' in the general sense."

"But I am very happy that the people the Luo Pan guided me to meet are you, Grandma Wu."

Wen Xishu could now understand why this Luo Pan would consume years of Ding Dong's heart's blood to be completed.

This thing could guide the user to achieve the best fate trajectory according to the user's requirements.

At the same time, he admired that Professor Jin. It was different from the stories Wen Xishu had heard in the past.

Superpowered children being locked in a research institute, being studied in various ways, having various cells and blood extracted, and then undergoing various dangerous tests... eventually turning into a Homelander.

This story actually went in reverse.

Wen Xishu then realized that he had guessed wrong; Ding Dong was not a person with a kind foundation.

On the contrary, Ding Dong actually had a very thin concept of good and evil; such a person, if lacking love in childhood, is actually very dangerous.

But under the guidance of that Professor Jin... Ding Dong did not hate this world and truly felt kindness.

This simply didn't sound like a story he could hear in the Tower of Desire.

In the stories in the Tower of Desire, it was either a miserable day, or suffocating parents, or a grandfather planning to sacrifice his grandson...

But in this story, Ding Dong, as a test subject and research object, was actually protected so well by Professor Jin.

At the same time, that professor didn't use love as some kind of weapon; he objectively used a large number of stories containing real-life prototypes to tell Ding Dong the role of good and evil in life. Finally, he handed the choice to Ding Dong.

This respect and care hidden in the bones also allowed Ding Dong's Luo Pan to guide Ding Dong to meet people who possessed five ultimate hearts.

Of course, this story was not over yet; this story still had an extremely vicious part.

If Wen Xishu didn't appear, or rather if no Tower Ascender appeared, then Ding Dong's rebirth would have failed, and Grandma Wu, Mo Yuan, and the others would all have died.

In other words, the true trajectory in history was that Ding Dong suddenly left and eventually died. And he hadn't had time to tell Grandma Wu and the others the method to resurrect him.

And there was one most critical point.

Ding Dong left behind the resurrection ritual; did he know he would die? Or did he actively seek death?

Then now, Ding Dong has been resurrected; will that existence that killed Ding Dong let him go?

Wen Xishu also asked the most critical question:

"You have a curse on you, and you are one of the five people among the seventeen who are relatively easy to kill."

"Killing you, your other brothers and sisters can become stronger..."

"So what about now? After being reborn, are you still trapped by the curse? And who is the person who killed you?"

"Your real name shouldn't be Ding Dong, right?"

(End of Chapter)