Chapter 68: Church
Hearing this question, Jiang Wang paused slightly and turned to look at me.
"Could it be related to An Xiaowei?"
I nodded. “Yes.”
"Wait a moment, I'll finish first and then I'll tell you the details." Jiang Wang frowned and quickened his hands.
I wasn't in a hurry, so I just helped him pass things to him.
After a while, Jiang Wang stood up, tried to turn the doorknob, and then opened and closed the door again.
"There's no lock cylinder to replace, so it won't lock, but it closes just fine."
I nodded. "Thanks."
"So, you got infected because of An Xiaowei?" After finishing the task at hand, Jiang Wang went straight to the point.
I pointed to the sofa in the living room and said, "Let's talk inside."
Jiang Wang nodded, went into the living room with me and sat down, waiting for me to speak.
I thought about it for a moment and decided I couldn't tell him about the Apocalypse Sect for the time being, so I had to omit the part about the Apocalypse Sect: "An Xiaowei is also a person with awakened abilities, even earlier than us."
Hearing this, Jiang Wang showed a thoughtful expression.
After a while, he sighed:
"To be honest, I'm not very surprised."
Now it was my turn to be surprised. I knew Jiang Wang was always perceptive, but I didn't expect that he would think that An Xiaowei did it.
As if seeing my surprise, Jiang Wang shrugged helplessly:
"We couldn't contact you at the farmers' market before, and then Mo Junfan and I were inexplicably knocked unconscious. When we woke up, we were sent back to the shelter in the western suburbs."
Jiang Wang couldn't help but roll his eyes at this point: "It was probably Song Nanxing who beat him up."
Boy, you guessed it right.
I wanted to laugh, but I forced myself to hold it back and continued with what he said:
"My protective suit was torn and I was infected with red threads. It was very chaotic in the middle and I didn't know what happened." I said as I recalled, but in the process, I deliberately concealed the words that An Xiaowei said to me in the middle.
"Then when I woke up, the first person I saw was An Xiaowei. She told me everything and said she hoped I could join her."
After listening to what I said, Jiang Wang's expression became more serious.
"Old Mo...also went to look for An Xiaowei, and then there was no news from him."
"What?" I widened my eyes.
If Mo Junfan went to find An Xiaowei, then the one I saw in the mirror world... was it a shadow or the real Mo Junfan.
If it's fake, it's fine. But if it's real...
Thinking of the abnormal Mo Junfan I met in the mirror world, my expression twitched uncontrollably for a moment.
Seeing my unpredictable expression, Jiang Wang frowned and asked, "Have you seen Lao Mo?"
I shook my head. "I'm not sure. It might just be a trick An Xiaowei used to confuse me. But if he really went to find An Xiaowei, then it would be really bad. Tell me in detail."
"After you all disappeared, we were knocked unconscious and sent back to the western suburbs. Later, Lao Mo insisted on looking for An Xiaowei. You know, he might have some interest in An Xiaowei."
I nodded. Anyone with eyes could see it.
"So, we went out to collect supplies while looking for any trace of you. Then one morning, Lao Mo insisted on telling me that he had a clue about An Xiaowei and that he had to go no matter what."
"clue?"
"Yes, he was like a possessed man, holding a mirror and talking to himself, insisting that he had found your trace. But when I looked in the mirror in his hand, there was nothing."
Another mirror...
"When did he take the mirror?"
"About half a month." Jiang Wang recalled.
Half a month, that is, before I entered the mirror, the Mo Junfan I met in the mirror...
Thinking of this, my heart sank.
"Then what?"
"Later, I had no choice but to go with him to the abandoned church he mentioned, but he disappeared in the church without any signs."
"Church?" I caught the key word in his words.
"Tsk, it's not a church, but I think it's more appropriate to call it a tomb."
"After I realized he was missing, I tried to look for him. When I passed by the statue in the church, I felt like someone was calling me. I subconsciously answered, and when I woke up..."
When Jiang Wang said this, his expression became somewhat painful.
"I realized I had become a monster."
As he spoke, he took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eyes.
The next second, he raised one hand, and the flesh and blood on his hand gradually melted, turning into a sticky liquid that flowed down, and Jiang Wang's facial features also began to distort and melt.
Fortunately, I have seen enough monsters and mutated investigators, so I was not too scared when I saw his appearance.
"You're not a monster."
I looked at his gradually melting face and told him my thoughts.
He was slightly stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly: "Ji Ling, please stop comforting me. If the Chief hadn't suppressed it for me, I might be..."
He didn't say anything else, but I knew what he meant.
"I'm serious."
Through the mass of melting flesh, I looked into his eyes.
"Look." I smiled slightly and lifted my sleeve. On that arm, an eye was slightly opened, rolling its eyeballs and looking at Jiang Wang.
"At first, I also thought I was a monster, but at least now we still know who we are and what we live for. Similarly, we haven't hurt anyone else, which is fundamentally different from monsters."
Jiang Wang lowered his head and did not speak for a long time, but the flesh and blood on his body stopped melting and gradually returned to its original appearance.
"Hearing you say that, I feel much better."
He raised his head and looked at me again, regaining his former spirit.
Although looking at his expression, I know that his heart knot has not been untied, and it will probably take some time for him to fully accept his alienated self.
After all, I wasn't much better than him at that time.
But it can only come slowly.
I thought about it and decided to change the subject: "By the way, how did you come to the Brotherhood of Steel?"
"At the time, I couldn't control myself at all, and my memory is very vague. I just knew I couldn't stay in that church, so I used the last bit of my sanity to escape, and then I met Lin Hanning."
It seems that it was Lin Hanning who helped him suppress the pollution.
I am somewhat concerned about the church he mentioned.
"Where is that church?"
“…” Jiang Wang didn’t say anything, but just gave me a strange look.
After a while, he hesitated and said, "You want to go?"
I shook my head honestly.
I will definitely go to the church, but I don't plan to go now. With my current strength, I'm afraid I can't face the Apocalypse Sect again, and I might even drag others into it.
But you can still ask around.
"You already said it's dangerous, so why would I go there? But we can't let go of this clue."
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