Chapter 75: I Cuckolded Myself

Su Mu pulled the handkerchief from his pocket. The yellow-green bloodstains had long since dried, but he wasn't looking at the blood. He was staring at the letters 'mem'.

Looking at those letters, Su Mu finally understood their meaning. The word wasn't finished. If it had been completed, it would have spelled "memory."

He was almost certain now that his and Yang Dongqing's memories had been tampered with. The two cars and his depleted mental energy were proof.

And at this exact moment, he also knew who had written that partial word.

"Have you ever considered that this might not be our first time here?"

Yang Dongqing froze for a moment. "You've been talking nonsense this whole time. Did you inhale too much smog and start hallucinating?"

Su Mu smiled faintly. "Remember the snake woman saying you killed her child earlier? If you'd never been here, how could you have killed her child?"

Yang Dongqing curled his lip. "She's just a psycho. You actually believe what a nightmare monster says?"

"Want to know who left that hickey on Jasmine's neck?"

Yang Dongqing's expression changed drastically at those words. A cold light flashed in his eyes. "I fucking knew it was you!"

Su Mu was speechless. "..."

"Sigh, I really shouldn't have bothered explaining it to you," Su Mu said. "But what I can tell you is that you were probably the one who left that hickey."

"Bullshit! Wouldn't I know if I kissed her myself?"

"Take out your phone and look at the date. Think back—do you have any memories of yesterday?"

Although angry, Yang Dongqing still pulled out his phone and checked the date. His body suddenly stiffened. He finally realized something was wrong, because he truly couldn't remember what he had done yesterday.

"Su Mu, what the hell is going on!?"

Su Mu adjusted his Tinted Glasses and analyzed the situation. "If my guess is right, this should be our second time entering the Abandoned District. And the first time, we must have brought ten nightmare apostles with us."

"Ten?" Yang Dongqing was in disbelief.

"Right." Su Mu took out his phone and opened his transfer history.

"I told Murong Mengli to transfer their money to me earlier, and she did it that very night. I received a total of ten million. At one million per person, that's exactly ten people.

"Murong Mengli said we would depart in two days, but today is the third day. We must have brought seven people this time, because my hypnosis consumed enough mental energy for seven people. That means three people disappeared in the Abandoned District during our first trip. The 'me' from that first trip probably realized something was wrong around this point, figured out there was an issue with the fog, and turned back.

"Knowing myself, the first 'me' must have gone back to get gas masks. But on the way, I noticed my memories were still disappearing, so I deliberately left a hint on this handkerchief. Unfortunately, the memory loss was too fast; I forgot what I was doing halfway through writing it.

"And after that, I completely forgot about the handkerchief altogether.

"As for that monstrous infant corpse we ran into earlier, we must have killed it during our first trip. That's why the snake woman immediately wanted revenge the moment she saw you.

"As for Jasmine cheating on you, that's easy to explain too. Since you went back once, you probably left that mark while making out with her, but the fog's influence made you forget it. Even Jasmine's memory was affected. You probably bought her those new clothes too. If you don't believe me, check your bank balance."

Yang Dongqing frantically pulled out his phone to check and found that his balance was indeed zero.

He raised his head in utter disbelief. "I... I cuckolded myself?!"

Su Mu ignored Yang Dongqing's strange fixation and instead pondered their next move. It was obvious the fog here possessed the ability to erode memories.

What now? Go back?

He immediately vetoed the idea. Going back was useless. They had already tried that the first time. Even after leaving the fog's range, their memories would continue to disappear until they entirely forgot they had ever visited the Abandoned District.

Forgetting things wasn't actually terrifying; what was truly terrifying was forgetting the fact that you were forgetting.

This was different from amnesia. An amnesiac knew they had lost their memory and could clearly perceive a massive blank spot in their mind. But after inhaling this fog, a person would forget their own memory loss, completely unable to detect any abnormalities.

If not for the severe logical loopholes, even Su Mu would have had a hard time noticing his missing memories.

"Holy shit! What the hell is this!?" Yang Dongqing cried out in alarm, pointing at the door inside the shop in disbelief.

Su Mu glanced at him. Clearly, Yang Dongqing had lost his recent memories again and was reacting as if he were seeing the door for the first time.

At the same time, Su Mu felt the memories in his own mind begin to blur again. However, the blurring was much slower this time because he was actively using his mental energy to resist the erosion.

Mental energy did have some effect against this memory erosion, provided he was aware of the anomaly and actively used it to fight back.

"Come on, let's go inside and take a look."

Ultimately, Su Mu decided to enter the door. It was rare to encounter such an interesting place. Wouldn't it be a shame not to explore it?

"Holy shit! This..."

"Shut up and lead the way." Su Mu rapped Yang Dongqing on the head with his Snakewood Cane, driving him through the doorway.

Soon, both of them were swallowed by the fog.

And right after the two of them went inside... Bang!

The dilapidated wooden door slammed shut.

...

...

Inside a luxurious manor in the Upper District.

"Have the two new transcendents Murong Mengli recruited already gone to the Abandoned District?" asked a man who weighed over three hundred jin. He was wearing an extra-large white suit and a red tie.

The three-hundred-jin man was sitting in a wide leather chair, his entire body wedged into it like a pile of rotting meat.

Standing respectfully before him was Han Yu.

"President Qian, rest assured, everything has been arranged perfectly. To this day, Murong Mengli still believes that Gold Leaf fell from the Gold Tree in the Abandoned District. Little does she know that while the leaf is real, it didn't grow in the Abandoned District at all, but was purchased by you at a high price from the Imperial Capital. Hehe... She has already sent several waves of people into the Abandoned District by now. Every time those people die inside, her memory is altered accordingly, making her forget she ever sent anyone into the Abandoned District.

"With this endless cycle, her Bronze Coffin Company will be finished sooner or later," Han Yu chuckled smugly.

Smack!

A massive, fat hand wearing a Silver Ring viciously slapped his face. The terrifying force sent Han Yu flying through the air.

"Insolent! Mengli is my fiancée! Who are you to laugh at her?" A cold gleam flashed in Qian Zihao's tiny eyes, nearly squeezed shut by his fat.

Han Yu quickly scrambled up from the ground and knelt in terror, cold sweat pouring down his face. "I was wrong, President! I misspoke! Please punish me!"

Perhaps it was just an illusion, but Qian Zihao seemed a little thinner after slapping Han Yu.

Looking at the panicked Han Yu, Qian Zihao's expression slightly calmed down. "You mentioned earlier that the pretty boy named Su Mu is quite capable?"