Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1560: A Small Difference

Qiao Yuansi lowered her hat brim, her head hung as she unlocked the door. Standing a head taller, Shoreis sheltered her within his shadow, blocking the majority of views from the outside world.

Thank goodness for this sun hat, often worn during hikes. It allowed her to hide her face slightly when getting out of the car. She didn't know how many Changelings were now in her neighborhood. If any of her neighbors saw the red marks on her face, they would know immediately that she was a target that required aggressive measures.

Of course, worrying about whether she'd be discovered by the Changelings seemed entirely meaningless with her current situation.

Qiao Yuansi had always prided herself on her clear mind, but now it felt like there were countless torrents in her head, her thoughts clashing and churning against one another. Even though she was finally home, she stood in the hallway, thinking for a long while, unable to figure out what to do next.

Was she about to become one of the Changelings...?

Seeing her standing still in a daze, Shoreis took the key from her hand and gently guided her into the living room with a hand on her back. His manner was so natural, as if it were his own home.

Once Qiao Yuansi was seated on the sofa, she went to get a mirror and placed it on the coffee table, reflecting her face that was torn by bloody scratches. Other than the terrifyingly large blood spots on her skin, her facial features and shape had not changed yet. Shoreis sat down on the adjacent sofa, watching her without a word.

"Why didn't you leave? Why did you come home with me?" Qiao Yuansi didn't want to look at herself after a few glances, preferring to look at him.

"There are a few reasons."

"What?"

She had told him to be straightforward just once, and now it seemed that Shoreis had completely given up on being tactful. "Well, firstly, I wanted to observe you and monitor your changes up close, to help me understand this world better... there are still many things I'm confused about. Secondly, after you become a duoluozhong, I plan to kill you so I can temporarily use your house for shelter."

Was he some kind of bandit or outlaw?

At any other time, Qiao Yuansi would have been frightened by such words. But today's torments and scares had already peaked, and she simply didn't have the energy to fear Shoreis. She numbly said, "Is that so... anything else?"

He'd said there were "a few" reasons, so there should be at least more than two. But for some reason, he paused and didn't finish. If he could even mention killing her, who knew how awful the third reason must be that he didn't say it.

Shoreis rubbed his nose. "Although I didn't need your help to escape earlier, you still helped me..."

Qiao Yuansi looked at him and blinked.

"I stayed so I could see if there's anything I can do to help you," he said dryly.

Qiao Yuansi lowered her head and gave a faint bitter smile. "If... if I really become like that, maybe being killed by you would be doing me a favor."

Shoreis grunted from his nose, seemingly unsure what to say under these circumstances. After a while, he forced out words that hardly seemed comforting, "Anyway, I'll be here when the time comes."

To say she was afraid, Qiao Yuansi now felt less so. From his descriptions of the duoluozhongs in other worlds, they seemed to be creatures forever trapped in darkness, covered in brutality and sorrow. She was about to become one of them... This realization was so surreal that she almost wanted to laugh: perhaps when she opened her eyes, she would wake up from her sleeping bag inside a tent and realize it was all a dream.