Highway 13 (End)

At first, the voice still sounded like the host Beiguan's, calling her name over and over, begging Bai Ci to look back.

But gradually, the voice changed, turning into Hugo's voice.

Probably to stay in character as Hugo, the voice calling out to her suddenly dropped by half its volume.

“Bai Ci, stop for a moment. I'm here to help you.”

Hugo's voice called out a few times, but seeing that it had no effect on Bai Ci—or perhaps because this persona was too restrictive—the voice behind her immediately changed its tone again.

“Bai Ci, don't run anymore. It's dangerous ahead.”

The moment it turned into Lin's voice, Bai Ci couldn't help but freeze for a fraction of a second, and then she ran even faster.

Are you insane?!

If you're going to cosplay someone, at least do the full set!

There wasn't much of an issue with the character's personality and tone. After all, it wasn't the real person, so a slight OOC was forgivable.

But to the entity behind her, please double-check if the name you're calling out is even correct before you yell it.

The real person doesn't even call me that!

Bai Ci ran fast, but strangely enough, after this blunder, her fear had mostly dissipated, replaced by a sense of being caught between tears and laughter.

In the end, the voice turned into her parents' voices, carrying the familiar warmth and worry from her memories, calling her name over and over.

“Cici, turn around. Mom and Dad are right here. Stop running...”

“Ah—”

“Honey, are you alright? Cici, come back here for a second. Your mother fell, and it's really bad.”

They were even putting on a whole act now.

Although this performance was very dedicated, they had gotten the name wrong again. Her parents never called her that.

They always called her by her full name.

“Bai Ci.” That was how they addressed her.

Hearing them call her that might make it sound distant to outsiders, but their family dynamic wasn't cold at all. On the contrary, her parents loved her dearly.

Aside from the fact that they were sometimes too nice for their own good, easily letting thick-skinned neighbors or colleagues take advantage of them—which often gave Bai Ci a headache—the two of them could be considered model parents.

Even though they never let anyone take a single thing from Bai Ci when it came to matters involving her, they always ended up on the losing end when it came to their own affairs.

This was something Bai Ci could never understand.

Hearing the voices she longed for, even though she knew they were just poor imitations with glaring errors, still made Bai Ci's heart clench. Her eyes grew slightly warm.

Of course, wanting to cry was one thing, but it didn't stop her feet from moving.

Longing was longing, but she knew full well that these were fakes—fakes with quality control issues at that.

There was no point in wallowing in nostalgia over them. Instead of reminiscing, she needed to work hard to grow stronger, return as soon as possible, and see the real them. That was what she should be doing.

After running for who knew how long, Bai Ci finally caught a faint glimpse of the lights at the exit ahead, along with the massive, glowing sign on top of the exit building.

She quickened her pace and ran toward the exit, her mind filled with a single, unshakeable thought: I must get out.

Just like the gas stations, the exit was empty. There were no staff members, no vehicles—only a solitary toll booth standing quietly in the dark.

A boom barrier blocked the road for vehicles, but for a person, it was easy enough to duck under.

Should she just duck under it?

Bai Ci stopped and bent down slightly, but she froze immediately.

The moment she stepped into the lights of the toll station building, the calling voices behind her vanished completely. Free from the distracting noise, Bai Ci quickly realized that she couldn't just duck under. She had to follow the rules.

Looking around, she found the inconspicuous stamp book slot on the toll booth and slipped the red booklet, which she had been protecting in her pocket, inside.

She had to admit, the inside pocket of men's outerwear was incredibly deep—perfect for keeping things close to her body.

The validation passed. The indicator light on the toll booth turned green, the boom barrier lifted, and Bai Ci walked through.

As she passed the exit, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass of the toll booth.

In the reflection, a figure appeared.

The person had long black hair and red eyes, looking exactly like the photo she had seen on Yu Yue's driver's license.

He opened his mouth slightly, and Bai Ci could clearly see that he had no tongue. His lips moved, mouthing the words: “Don't look back.”

It was the Mirror of Retribution and Tongue Ripping.

Bai Ci realized instantly.

It was only a fleeting glance. In the next instant, a pair of ice-cold hands suddenly covered her eyes.

The palms were soft and damp.

Bai Ci didn't struggle, nor was she afraid. Following the instruction, she kept running forward.

As she continued running forward in the darkness without looking back, Bai Ci couldn't help but reflect on the remaining hells.

The Mirror of Retribution reflected one's sins. Clinging to the glass of the toll booth, it had caught her off guard just as she was half a step away from the finish line.

Judging by what was reflected... did that mean Yu Yue's death was her fault in this instance? She couldn't help but wonder.

Or was it that Yu Yue had sacrificed something to secure her escape?

If so, for as long as she lived, she would carry the sin of his death on her shoulders.

As for what Tongue Ripping corresponded to...

Did it refer to him posing as a radio host to deceive her?

In fact, looking back at what Beiguan had broadcasted, although those rules had been sugarcoated, they were all correct.

So, why did Yu Yue have to pretend to be a radio host?

Even if he could only convey information subtly, telling her the truth shouldn't have stopped him from admitting his identity.

Suddenly, Bai Ci remembered the forged letter, which stated that his wife, Bai Ci, was a cowardly person.

Could it be because of this that Yu Yue had fabricated a seemingly normal environment, just so she could make it through this journey?

Perhaps because this was a solo instance and there was no backstory provided, Bai Ci really didn't know what kind of character persona she had in this instance.

Without a sense of personal experience, it felt more like playing a role-playing game.

From this perspective, she could truly understand the purpose of wrapping everything in lies.

As for Bai Ci herself, she didn't need such wrapping, but the "her" in this instance did.

But were well-intentioned, embellished lies also counted as sinful falsehoods?

Bai Ci felt this was a bit nitpicky.

As she ran, her wandering thoughts began to drift. Her consciousness gradually blurred, and a wave of physical exhaustion washed over her.

In the final moment before she lost consciousness again, she heard a strange man's voice. It was very clear, carrying a hint of relief.

The voice was speaking to someone nearby: “The surgery was a success. This car crash patient's life is saved.”

“What a pity about her husband, though...” another voice responded, filled with regret.