Fragments  

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Jiang Cheng turned and walked out.

"Doctor," the Fatty jogged to catch up, frowning as he asked, "What will they do now that we've left?"

"Do whatever they need to do," Jiang Cheng replied as he descended the stairs, "I'm not their guardian. Why should I help them take care of kids?"

Take care of kids.

The Fatty thought of Su An's dazed expression and felt Jiang Cheng wasn't wrong.

"When did they leave?"

After a brief thought, the Fatty answered, "About an hour ago."

"Did they leave together?"

"Yes."

Jiang Cheng had gone to sleep just as the day was breaking, meaning they had left an hour after he fell asleep.

The timing was interesting.

At least from Jiang Cheng's perspective, they must have waited until he fell asleep before leaving together. Otherwise, they could have waited for him to wake up and then left together.

However, according to the Fatty, they didn't ask anything when they left and only told him to stay at the lighthouse.

"Doctor," the Fatty leaned against the side of the stairs, out of some consideration, and took a torch with him when they left. "I think that Su Xiaoxiao is acting strangely," he continued.

"Go on," Jiang Cheng walked ahead.

"How could she leave her brother with someone else, and then go with that guy?" The Fatty shuddered just thinking about the old woman's appearance from last night.

The Fatty swallowed, "Isn't she afraid something will happen?"

"What do you think?" Jiang Cheng's voice came.

The Fatty licked his lips and continued, but his voice lowered: "I think either she noticed some important clue and thinks the mission can be finished soon, so she's willing to take the risk."

"Or… maybe Su An isn't really her brother, and she's just using him to deceive her teammates. Now that the situation is critical, she's abandoned that pawn."

The Fatty had always been skeptical about Su An's identity; he'd said this from the very beginning.

"It's the first situation," Jiang Cheng said. "But it's not because she noticed something. It was Chen Ran who encouraged her to abandon her brother and go with him."

"How do you know?" the Fatty asked in confusion.

Jiang Cheng paused for a moment, slowing his pace. "Fatty," Jiang Cheng asked, "Do you think if Su Xiaoxiao had discovered such crucial information, she would still be waiting until now?"

"How much longer can her brother hold on?"

"It seems Chen Ran has found some critical clues, and then he pulled in Su Xiaoxiao, who was desperate to save her brother. Su Xiaoxiao needs his information, and he needs her to help him test things out. They hit it off."

"But doctor, you saw Su Xiaoxiao, she's not a fool," the Fatty said in surprise.

"She's not a fool," Jiang Cheng squinted, and after a long pause, he said slowly, "But she has no choice. I suspect the information Chen Ran gave her was very specific, even precise. Otherwise, Su Xiaoxiao wouldn't have agreed to take such a risk."

The two walked and talked, quickly reaching the first-floor hall of the building.

Even though the area was filled with collapsed stone pillars and various damaged stone carvings, it was still clear how grand and magnificent it had once been.

The destruction here seemed to have happened in an instant.

The mysterious disappearance of Liang Long last night made the Fatty feel a similar sense of fear about this place. He cautiously looked around. Although the sky was bright, due to the terrain and the cover of obstacles, there were still areas shrouded in darkness.

At first glance, it seemed like black mist was swirling.

"Doctor," the Fatty asked in a low voice, "Do you think Chen Ran found something at Liang Long's disappearance spot last night? Like the location of the watch?"

Actually, before the Fatty could say it, Jiang Cheng had already walked in that direction. Soon, they found Chen Ran's discarded sports watch near a pile of burnt-out embers.

But aside from that, the Fatty didn't find anything unusual.

There was no blood, no clothing fragments, or any other remnants.

Only broken stone carvings and sand.

Jiang Cheng slowly stood up from the ground and, using the spot where he found the watch as a center, surveyed the surroundings. The Fatty noticed the doctor's brows furrowing slightly.

"Doctor," the Fatty's throat rolled, "Did you find something?"

Jiang Cheng ignored him and walked over to a pile of extinguished embers, standing on a broken stone pillar and scanning the area.

The Fatty didn't dare to disturb him again and waited patiently.

It wasn't until the doctor jumped down from the pillar that the Fatty spoke.

"Doctor…"

Before the Fatty could finish, Jiang Cheng interrupted him. "Fatty," Jiang Cheng's tone carried an indescribable meaning, "Don't you think this place feels a little different from yesterday?"

The Fatty blinked and his face became awkward. He then turned to look around, and after a long while, he lowered his voice, "Doctor, I don't really understand what you mean."

"Did you… discover something?" the Fatty asked cautiously.

Jiang Cheng lowered his head and thought for a while. Suddenly, his gaze froze. He walked a few steps to the extinguished fire, then looked up at the Fatty, "Give me the torch."

The Fatty immediately handed over the torch.

With the added light, it became clearer. In the embers, there were fragments that looked like broken porcelain, but they were made of stone.

Jiang Cheng picked up a fragment and realized that both its texture and color were the same as the stone pillars and carvings inside the building.

It looked like it had fallen off from somewhere.

The fragment also had a strange arc to it, somewhat like the shoulder armor worn by ancient warriors, but much larger and more roughly made.

Jiang Cheng carefully examined the fragment. Then, as if he had discovered or sensed something, he brought it close to his face and sniffed it lightly.

In the next second, a faintly metallic, dry smell rushed into his nostrils.

A few seconds later, Jiang Cheng suddenly looked up, his breathing quickened.

The Fatty had rarely seen the doctor show such an expression. His face changed in fear, and he looked around following the doctor's gaze, but apart from the distant darkness, he saw nothing.

After a while, he slowly opened his mouth, "Do… Doctor…"

"Shut your mouth," Jiang Cheng's voice quivered, and he took a deep breath before slowly exhaling. "Stick close to me. We… need to get out."

The Fatty was almost pressed against the doctor's back as they walked out together.

The doctor's pace wasn't exactly fast, but the Fatty had to jog a couple of steps now and then to keep up.

The doctor must have sensed some kind of danger, and the Fatty knew this, but what exactly the doctor had discovered was still unclear to him.

And from the doctor's demeanor, it was clear that the danger was hidden inside the building, and it was right by them.

(End of the Chapter)

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Translated 4 Series, 1.65K+ Chapters and 2.01M+ Words.