Chapter 13: The Email Invitation

“Do you want anything else to drink?”

He Yu asked.

Lou Chen stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, his gaze fixed on Yu Ziyu, who was slumped into the chair across the table.

Hearing the question, Yu Ziyu merely raised his eyes slightly and replied with perfunctory politeness,

“No need, thank you.

I’m not thirsty anymore.”

“Alright.”

He Yu cleared his throat softly and instinctively glanced at Lou Chen.

He didn’t understand why the captain was still here.

Logically, questioning a victim about details was usually his job.

Lou Chen had never set foot in this room before.

The unusual things he’d done today were too many… but since Lou Chen was the captain, He Yu didn’t feel qualified to comment.

“Shall we begin then?”

He Yu forced himself to look back at Yu Ziyu and asked as professionally as possible, “Why were you there?”

Yu Ziyu raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like you’re talking to a suspect.”

He leaned back slightly, lifting his chin towards the people opposite him, seemingly mocking Lou Chen’s initial characterization of him as a “victim.”

His fingers hung down, playing with a small strip of fabric dangling from his windbreaker.

“No,” He Yu said, his expression turning somewhat awkward. “We know you’re innocent.

This is just routine procedure.”

Lou Chen shifted his posture.

He no longer leaned against the wall but stood up straight, watching Yu Ziyu without blinking.

Their eyes unexpectedly met, locking together tangibly in mid-air.

After a moment, Yu Ziyu slowly looked away, dropping his gaze. “Because I received an email.”

“An email?”

He Yu was startled and quickly pressed further, “When was this?”

“About a week ago.

It’s my private email address; no one knows it except my agent.

The sender claimed there was a gathering they needed me to attend, told me there would be something I needed.

They seemed to know I was worried about contributing to Power magazine.

It was a tempting proposal.”

Hearing this, He Yu couldn’t help but exclaim, “But you didn’t even know who they were…

I mean, what if it was a bad person trying to lure you there?”

This famous photographer’s safety awareness was way too poor, wasn’t it?

As his words trailed off, he noticed Yu Ziyu look up at him as if he were an idiot.

But such a contemptuous glance was only fleeting.

Yu Ziyu resumed his head-lowered posture, his tone flat. “I’ve hit a creative block recently.

Maybe some stimulation would bring me new inspiration.

So I went as requested.”

When he mentioned the block, his words were slightly vague, but it left endless room for imagination.

Power magazine was a well-known publication domestically.

Even He Yu, who didn’t usually read magazines of this genre, had heard of it.

If Yu Ziyu’s photographic works were truly published there, it would definitely mean his fame in the country would rise another level.

It was a rare opportunity.

He was still so young; it was normal to feel pressure.

Taking a risk for the sake of breaking through a block sounded reasonable enough.

“So, what reason did I have not to go?”

He Yu understood and couldn’t help but sigh admiringly,

“…You photographers really do dedicate yourselves to art, huh?

If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t have gone.”

“Did you save the email?”

Lou Chen asked.

His voice drew the attention of the other two in the room.

“Yes.”

Yu Ziyu looked up calmly. “I have a backup.

If needed, I can hand it over to you.”

“Most people wouldn’t think to make a backup,” Lou Chen said flatly.

“And I heard you installed security cameras in your villa.”

“…”

“And I don’t think you went there because of photography,” Lou Chen paused.

“What exactly… are you hiding?”

This young man’s insight was still so sharp, making him particularly troublesome.

“I felt like it.

Got a problem?”

Yu Ziyu responded directly.

The air in the room grew thin.

They locked eyes again.

For an instant, Lou Chen felt as if the other was genuinely contemplating how to kill him.

This intuition made him realize something even more clearly—Yu Ziyu was an extremely self-centered person who would not tolerate anyone questioning him in the slightest.

He Yu let out a dry laugh, quickly trying to defuse the confrontation.

“Being cautious is a good thing…”

“I’m mentally ill,” Yu Ziyu interrupted him.

Both of them were startled.

He said coldly, “Anything a mentally ill person does is justified.”

“…”

“Since you’re so desperate to know why, fine.”

In the dead silent room, only Yu Ziyu’s voice remained.

He showed the others no courtesy.

“How else could I take such photos?

But if you two had gone through what I did two years ago, you might do even crazier things than me.”

“…Two years?”

He Yu murmured.

It was precisely two years ago that the Land of Desire Amusement Park completely collapsed.

He didn’t know if this timing was a coincidence.

Come to think of it…

Yu Ziyu really did publish his first photographic work two years ago, then fully entered the public eye.

“There was someone very important to me,” Yu Ziyu said slowly, sitting upright in his chair.

“A few years ago, he vanished inexplicably.

Then, two years ago, he reappeared before me and told me he had been through things ordinary people couldn’t imagine.

After that, he disappeared again without a trace.”

There actually was no such person; he was making it all up on the spot.

“He gave me his abilities, completely disrupting my life.”

Also not true.

“Then, to find him, I went to many places.

Many of my works were taken during that time.

I never expected to become a famous photographer, so strictly speaking, I really don’t like photography…

It was just a means to an end.

I reached a point where I had to see a psychologist just to relieve the pressure.”

He deliberately paused to give them time to digest this.

Yu Ziyu said coldly, “But after tonight, I don’t want to do this anymore.

Maybe he’s no different from those crazy people.”

“So… the email?”

“I thought in a place plagued by that kind of supernatural power, I might get a clue about him.”

Finally, a hint of genuine emotion crept into Yu Ziyu’s voice.

He said, word by word, “But now, forget it.

I’m better suited to an ordinary life.

I don’t want to experience something like this a second time.”

He believed these two would buy it, because he had already prepared a flawless identity profile beforehand.

This testimony was just icing on the cake.

Hearing this, Lou Chen was silent for a moment before speaking.

“Maybe he didn’t disappear on purpose.

Maybe he just didn’t want to cause you trouble.”

Yu Ziyu: “…?”

“Because I… also know someone like that,” Lou Chen said, his voice a little tight as he thoughtfully rubbed his fingers.

“Two years ago, he seemed to have made a promise with me, but then he disappeared.

Everyone forgot him.

I initially joined the Supernatural Management Bureau to find clues about him too.”

He Yu had never heard this before and looked at his captain with some surprise.

He had never imagined that was the reason.

Yu Ziyu’s expression, however, turned somewhat strange—very, very surprised—because he was a hundred percent sure the other was referring to him…

But why did he remember?

“I think you’d be better off forgetting him,” Yu Ziyu said coldly, even as he thought this.

“Returning the original words to you.

Maybe he never really wanted to see you anyway.”

Hearing this, Lou Chen glanced at him, a trace of helplessness in his voice.

“Are you always like this?”

“Like what?”

But faced with his aggression, Lou Chen simply shook his head, seemingly not taking his well-intentioned advice to heart at all.

Yu Ziyu felt he needed to wrap this up quickly and get all of this out of his sight.

He was also tired of babbling with these people.

“As I said before, I know what happened.

That girl is the victim, and I know the names of the killers—I saw them from her.”

“So, this is the ability he gave you?”

He Yu asked, somewhat astonished, glancing at Lou Chen.

“Something like… empathy?”

“Something like that.”

“Seeing things from a monster’s perspective?”

He Yu pressed further.

“Including things like ‘Jealousy’?”

“Correct.”

Yu Ziyu was growing impatient.

“No wonder they targeted you,” He Yu muttered unconsciously, resting his hands on the table.

“But I’ve never heard of any player having an ability like this.

It’s too special…”

But Teacher Ziyu’s works were all shot from a monster’s perspective.

This would explain it perfectly.

“Enough.

I’ll give you the list.”

Yu Ziyu crossed his arms coldly.

“Now, I’m tired.

I’m going home.”

He pushed his chair back and stood up, actually turning the tables and walking toward the door himself.

He moved like a black crow flying directly away.

His skin was deathly pale, almost transparent, haloed by a sacred glow under the light, making it impossible to look away.

Lou Chen turned his head to watch him.

After a long moment, he spoke.

“You don’t want to have anything to do with us.”

“Guessed correctly,” Yu Ziyu gave him a fake smile.

“If you could cooperate with that, it would be wonderful.”

Then, he dropped the fake smile, his face expressionless as he turned back.

He discreetly pressed down on the restless [X] in his windbreaker pocket.

His hand rested on the door handle, but he stopped motionless.

“However, I personally would like to invite you,” Lou Chen continued, not finished speaking.

“Refused.”

Yu Ziyu didn’t even think about it.

“…to join the Supernatural Management Bureau.”

Lou Chen pretended not to hear his refusal, his gaze fixed intently on him, speaking slowly but forcefully.

“Your abilities would become our core.”

The deeper his observation went, the more certain he became of one thing…

A faint crackling sound echoed in his mind, igniting a spark of hope.

If the one in the tower truly was the Demon King, then there must exist a “Savior” capable of defeating him.

Just like in every fairy tale, the side opposing evil must be good.

Like a two-sided coin, with complementary patterns, the bright side was destined to be held by someone with the power to rival the seventh-floor boss, “Pride.”

It was also at this moment that Lou Chen finally understood why Yu Ziyu felt so familiar to him.

He was the protagonist of his seven sketchbooks.

And also, the “Savior” who could end everything.