Han Su replied earnestly: "Yes, last time I escaped, I didn't injure my eye."

  "This time, I lost an eye, and my mind is flooded with new memories of the inconveniences that come with being blind."

  "However, this life path is still largely consistent with the standard timeline I personally experienced before."

  "I'm still a student at Qinggang University, with the same classmates and close friends. It's the life line I'm most familiar with."

  "On this particular life path, I am most familiar with you."

  "For example, I remember discussing this matter with you, and I remember you once analyzed it from a paranormal perspective and offered suggestions for me to try to solve the problem."

  After a moment, the Black Rose avatar replied: "Yes, from the perspective of a paranormal enthusiast, I believe that if you are repeatedly kidnapped back into the past by entities that don't exist in reality, then there must be some supernatural logic that allows them to consistently locate you."

  "For instance: when you were all kidnapped together ten years ago, a mystical curse might have been placed upon you."

  "You might be sacrificial offerings, or perhaps subjects chosen by monstrous entities for experimentation. That's not the important part. What matters is that, in terms of your nature, you are all connected as one."

  "So, you escaping alone is useless."

  "No matter how many years have passed since your escape, you remain intrinsically linked to them. As long as the other children are still trapped in that citadel from ten years ago, the monsters can use their mystical power to pull you back as well."

  "Mystical forces sometimes operate beyond the constraints of time and space."

  "Based on this, I believe the only way for you to break free from this nightmare is to bring allthe children out. Not a single one can be left behind."

  "..."

  The message she sent filled Han Su with an indescribable sense of defeat.

  He held his phone, sitting motionless on the empty subway car for a long time.

  Escaping that Dark Citadel was far from easy.

  Initially, he managed to escape because the citadel was so dilapidated and the monsters were arrogant. A brave child could just duck into a hidden corner and slip out.

  But now, the Dark Citadel had been constantly repairing itself. The vulnerabilities he could exploit were becoming fewer and fewer.

  Although the monsters wouldn't remember his previous attempts, the longer this dragged on, the more vicious and easily enraged they became. The lives of the children seemed to hold less and less value to them.

  If it weren't for that strange door, even his own escape might have become an impossible fantasy.

  Furthermore, because the key changed each time, he had to choose a new escape route every attempt, all while leading those terrified and confused children.

  As he was lost in these thoughts, the Black Rose avatar suddenly pulsed again. The other party's tone seemed somewhat odd: "Of course, I still maintain that you are simply experiencing a mental breakdown."

  "After all, while I am an amateur paranormal enthusiast, I am a professional psychological expert."

  "In my view, you didn't lose an eye because you failed to save them this time and caused your life path to change. You had already lost an eye when the Security Bureau found you ten years ago."

  "That is your life."

  "The evidence is our chat history here. You periodically message me about the kidnapping, and you've mentioned that your life becomes different due to the citadel experiences."

  "But what is the reality?"

  "Every version of you that messages me is actually in a disfigured state. There is no distinction between a 'you' with unbroken legs, a 'complete you', and a 'you' missing an eye!"

  After a pause, the characters pulsed again: "In my professional opinion, what better fits your current situation is simply this: ten years ago, you escaped alone and then gave the Security Bureau and search teams the wrong location of the kidnapping, wasting precious rescue time."

  "The media at the time claimed your childish lie cost the lives of over twenty children. The Security Bureau questioned you repeatedly, and the victims' families bombarded you with accusations, causing severe psychological trauma."

  "Over the years, you appeared normal on the surface, but your psychological issues worsened until one day, you developed a delusion—the belief that you were being kidnapped back into the past."

  "In this delusion, you try to rescue the other children. Firstly, to alleviate your own guilt, and secondly, so that someone can share this burden with you."

  "And this, from a psychological standpoint, is also why I still support your idea of rescuing the other children."

  "Is that so?"

  Han Su read her reply, understanding exactly what she was trying to convince him of. He had no intention of arguing back and could even feel a wry smile forming.

  Ten years ago, when he told the story of being kidnapped by monsters, neither the Security Bureau, the experts, nor the newspapers believed him. Now that he was talking about being kidnapped back into the past, how could he possibly expect anyone to believe him?

  He had discussed this with her before. He didn't expect her to believe him, but as a paranormal enthusiast, she could at least offer suggestions that seemedlogically sound.

  However, in a detailed debate, he was no match for her.

  Every time he was kidnapped back, it felt like a world-shattering change to him, but to those around him, it seemed as if he had simply dozed off.

  Perhaps everything he told her, in her eyes, was just him taking a nap, having a nightmare, and then coming to her with delirious ramblings?

  But what could he say?

  The changes were real and tangible. His right eye could no longer see.

  Even if this really was just a series of bizarre dreams and delusions, these dreams and delusions had already begun to seep into and warp his entire life.

  "Perhaps you can insist that I'm insane. That doesn't contradict anything."

  Han Su thought as he typed, word by word, only correcting the one issue he cared about: "But I still want to tell you, I feel no guilt toward the other kidnapped children."

  "Back when we were kidnapped, since I had a chance to escape, of course I seized that opportunity."

  "Whether the others could escape, what pain the victims' families suffered—that had absolutely nothing to do with me."

  "..."

  His words left Black Rose silent for a while before she replied: "But you didn't seem so cold before. You were very invested in getting the other children out."

  Han Su responded: "That's because a few of those children helped me."

  "If they helped me, I would acknowledge that favor. And given the chance, I would rescue them. That's just my basic principle as a person."

  "But I don't feel guilty for wanting to live!"

  "Only after ensuring my own survival would I consider saving others. If it became necessary, I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice someone to create an opportunity for myself and the other children who had a chance to survive."

  "Right now, I just want to ask: is it truly only by rescuing allthe other children that I can break this curse?"

  "..."

  This time, Black Rose replied quickly: "We've actually discussed this question from the very beginning. From a paranormal perspective, there are only two ways for you to break this curse:"

  "One, kill all those monsters."

  "The other, investigate and uncover exactly where these monsters came from, what the kidnapping case was really about—find a solution by tracing it back to the source."

  "But you've already determined these two paths are impassable, haven't you?"

  "..."

  Han Su could only nod in agreement.

  Kill those monsters in the ancient castle? Those unimaginable beings that shouldn't even exist in reality?

  It wasn't as if he hadn't tried. Just during the recent escape attempt, he had stabbed at the pale monster's heart.

  But sadly, it was impossible. He couldn't even injure them properly, let alone kill them.

  As for investigating the origin of these monsters and the truth behind the kidnapping? He had been investigating all along. He had even borrowed different life paths to try and figure it out. But all it did was leave him more confused and without a single lead.

  Perhaps the only hope was to rescue those children, one by one.

  After all, that was the only thing he had ever succeeded at.

  On his fifth kidnapping, he had managed to rescue one of the kidnapped children on the way out.

  However, things didn't turn out as he expected. He thought rescuing someone meant two people escaping the castle and two people facing the Security Bureau's questioning.

  In reality, after that person was rescued by him, they completely forgot the entire incident. Or rather, the entire society no longer remembered that they had ever been kidnapped.

  However, he and I have become friends.

  There is indeed one fewer kidnapped child inside the fortress, and in its place, that door, which can appear anywhere, has emerged.

  This door has now become my only hope of escaping the ancient castle.

  This time, I had hoped to rescue at least one more of those children. Even if just one more could be saved, it might reveal something useful in this hopeless castle.

  Unfortunately, it’s just too difficult.

  When I accidentally saved that guy Xu Ji, it seemed simple. But when I deliberately try to save a specific child, no matter how well I plan or how careful I am, I always fail at the last moment.

  If saving even one more is this hard, how could I possibly rescue all the other children?

  The sense of helplessness and pressure is indescribable, and since this is a problem others can hardly understand, Han Su could only ponder it silently by himself.

  But just as he was thinking this, the Black Rose avatar pulsed again:

  [Of course, as an amateur expert in the occult, I must remind you to pay attention to another important issue:]

  [The interval between your kidnappings is getting shorter and shorter.]

  [It started as once every six months, then became every three months, then monthly, and now it's almost every two weeks…]

  [This might indicate that the curse placed on all of you is growing stronger.]

  [Eventually, the interval will shrink to zero.]

  [By then, forget about investigating the truth, rescuing the other children, or making different life choices—you won’t even have the present anymore…]

  […]