Chapter 62: The Truth Beneath the Night

Lin Han's fingers clenched unconsciously, his palm damp with cold sweat. He slowly stepped back, leaning against the railing of the balcony, overlooking the dazzling streets of Kuala Lumpur. The streams of headlights flowed like rivers of light, and the city remained as vibrant as ever, as if nothing had changed. But deep inside, he knew—the world was no longer the same.

"Lin Han?" Noya set down her teacup, her gaze carrying a hint of concern. "You don't look well."

Taking a deep breath, Lin Han forced his voice to remain steady. "Ah Rong, tell me… do you remember that casino?"

Ah Rong paused for a moment, then let out a laugh, slapping Lin Han on the shoulder. "Oi, are you drunk from last night? When did we ever go to a casino? Bro, do you think we have that kind of money?"

His tone and expression were as natural as ever, as if that place had never existed.

Lin Han's heart sank.

Ah Rong's memory… had been erased?

He turned to Noya, his pulse quickening. "What about you? Do you remember?"

Noya's gaze flickered slightly before she furrowed her brows. Hesitating, she said, "Casino? You mean the place we were investigating?"

Her tone wasn't as blank as Ah Rong's, but she didn't seem to fully recall the details either.

Lin Han's breathing grew shallow, his suspicions confirmed.

Some force was silently rewriting their memories.

And yet… his own memory remained intact.

But why?

He wasn't the smartest among them, nor was he the most special. Why was he the only one who could still remember everything? Or… was there something even more terrifying at play?

For a moment, he felt as if he were trapped in an invisible web, the air around him thick and stifling.

"You guys… really don't remember anything?" His voice was low, tinged with unease.

Ah Rong scratched his head. "Bro, don't mess with me. You sure you're okay? Maybe you need to see a priest or something?"

Ignoring him, Lin Han strode toward the room and pulled open a drawer, retrieving a small brown envelope. He distinctly remembered storing something inside—an old casino chip and a tarnished bronze plaque inscribed with the words:

"The Gatekeeper is dead. The Serpent God shall return."

He unsealed the envelope and reached inside—

Nothing.

The casino chip was gone. The plaque had disappeared.

Every piece of evidence was missing, as if they had never existed.

Lin Han's breath caught in his throat, his heartbeat faltering.

This can't be happening… he whispered.

He clearly remembered locking these things away. And yet now, not even a trace remained. It was as if everything had been nothing more than a hallucination.

Noya noticed his expression darkening and walked over. "What are you looking for?"

Lin Han raised his head to meet her gaze, his eyes holding a sliver of unspoken fear. "Noya… do you remember the Serpent Temple?"

Noya visibly tensed.

"The Serpent Temple…" Her lips trembled slightly, as though she were grasping at something just beyond reach. After a long pause, she spoke in an almost whisper-like tone, "I… I think I remember… a little."

"What?" Lin Han immediately pressed on.

Noya bit her lip, confusion flickering in her eyes. "I'm not sure… I feel like there was such a place, but the details… I can't recall them."

A chilling thought slithered into Lin Han's mind—perhaps it wasn't just their memories that had been altered.

Perhaps the entire world had been rewritten.

Ah Rong glanced between them, looking utterly baffled. "Oi, what's going on with you two? What temple are you even talking about?"

Lin Han didn't answer. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the city lights beyond the window.

If the world had truly been altered… then there had to be flaws in the rewriting.

Taking a deep breath, he murmured, "I need to go back."

"Back where?" Noya asked instinctively.

Lin Han's eyes turned cold as the night.

"The casino."

Ah Rong groaned and threw up his hands. "Bro, you're seriously losing it! What casino?! We've never been to any casino!"

But Lin Han wasn't listening. He yanked open the drawer again and pulled out a folded map. Spreading it out on the table, he ran his fingers along the roads until they stopped at an empty patch of land.

That place… had once been where the casino stood.

But now, the map marked nothing there. Just an unremarkable mountain range.

"The map's been altered too…" Lin Han's expression darkened. "But they underestimated my memory."

He clenched the map in his hands, eyes burning with quiet defiance.

"I will find the truth."