Trap

This world was wrong.

This was the source of the dread and confusion that Luke's family had lived in every day for the past few days.

Lande, Friedman, Salter, Lorne—everyone knew there was a vast world outside, yet no one had ever left the city, and no one had ever gone to see the world beyond.

More importantly, everyone believed this was perfectly reasonable. No one had any interest in discussing the matter, including Luke's family just a few days ago.

Until one day, Luke saw that woman.

As a down-and-out firm clerk living the exact same life day after day, crushed under the weight of daily chores and life's burdens, he never wanted to go home after work. Under the guise of working overtime, he would slip into the cheapest tavern, letting alcohol numb his brain while fantasizing about a thrilling adventure. Even if it turned out to be nothing but a dream, it would at least add a splash of color to his otherwise tedious existence.

Perhaps this was not the tragedy of every middle-aged man, but it was at least the tragedy of Mr. Luke Helm. Every day, he sat in the same spot, drank the same cheap liquor, and complained about the same worries to the same bartender.

Until he met that young lady in fancy clothes with her face hidden behind a black fan, who placed a choice before him.

It was not a red or blue pill, nor did he have to follow a rabbit; it was merely a strange book.

He could either return the book to the girl with the black fan and continue his original, muddled, unchanging life, with daily trivialities suffocating him until his tedious life ran its course,

or he could open the book and allow some novelty and change into his life.

A choice between two options, simple as that.

The habitually timid and cowardly Luke had only ever dared to fantasize in his head. Yet today, perhaps emboldened by the alcohol, he downed three consecutive glasses of strong liquor and opened the ancient book titled 《Goddess of the Black Fan》.

That was the last shred of sanity he possessed that day, which was subsequently swept away by a surge of alcohol, causing him to lose consciousness entirely.

When he woke up, he was already back home. The ancient book, the girl with the black fan—it was as if they had never existed. Even the bartender and his drinking buddies at the tavern had no memory of it, unanimously believing that Luke had simply gotten drunk.

There was no sign of any change; his days remained as mundane and busy as ever, everything seeming like a dream.

Until one day, a dream appeared.

It was not his, but his daughter Nara's. For several consecutive days, the little girl kept having the exact same dream.

The little girl told the Helms about it, but neither of them took it seriously. Life was already heavy enough; who had the mind to worry about a bizarre dream? Rather than stressing over such things, it was better to earn a few more crowns to buy Nara some secondhand clothes, as she was growing taller again.

But a few days later, the same dream spread to the entire family.

Every night, all three of them dreamed of a beautiful wilderness, lush with green grass and covered in wildflowers.

It was a sparsely populated wilderness on the outskirts of the city, where the three of them had gone camping before.

Thus, troubled by the dream, the three of them decided to find some time to visit it again and try to figure out what was actually there.

Yet, no one knew the answer to that question. Although the three of them went and came back, they had absolutely no memory of what they had done, or what they had seen and heard.

But from then on, the family's life gradually began to change.

Things they had never questioned before began to feel strange. A lot of knowledge about this world inexplicably popped into their minds out of nowhere. In their sleep, they would sometimes dream of a world without the red fog. The little girl, Nara, could even see bizarre monsters walking down the street at any moment.

Fear kept the two females from leaving the house, and made Luke increasingly miserable. Over the past few days, he had been drowning his sorrows in alcohol at the bar every night, rambling about his experiences, hoping for a chance to meet the girl with the black fan again, wishing to trade everything back for their dull but safe life.

“Everyone must take responsibility for their own actions. Since the die has been cast, whether the outcome is good or bad, one can only accept it calmly.”

Lynch had already put down his revolver by now and sat down with the family of three. The three of them had already been driven to the brink of collapse by the bizarre changes over the past few days. Finding that Lynch showed an interest in their plight was like grabbing a life-saving straw, so they honestly recounted their entire experience.

“Let me interpret this with my shallow knowledge of the occult. An unidentified person gave you an ancient book that looked highly suspicious at first glance, and you read it without hesitation. After reading it, when symptoms appeared, you actually followed through with them? Not only did you do it yourself, but you also took your entire family with you?”

The family of three nodded in unison.

What the hell are you nodding for? Do you think this is something to be proud of? Do you people have any brains at all? Even if I hadn't experienced mysterious events before transmigrating, I would still know this is definitely highly problematic. If a dog finds food on the side of the road, it at least knows to sniff it before eating. You didn't even sniff it and just went ahead with it. You have less brains than a stray dog.

Lynch's head throbbed with anger. The girl with the black fan whom Luke spoke of had indirectly thrown knowledge representing the world's origin to Luke's family. This was an act filled with absolute malice, a devastating catastrophe for anyone in this current world.

And according to his description, that person was dressed exactly like the monsters Lynch had just encountered. They were undoubtedly together, or perhaps even the same person. Their style of doing things was identical: finding the target's most desperate desire, then throwing out a malicious choice between two options, letting the target plunge into massive trouble while they watched from the sidelines to enjoy the show, and even adding fuel to the fire.

Did these guys cause so much trouble just to watch a spectacle? Was there really an evil god in this world with so much free time on their hands?

【Hehe...】

“Forget it, what's done is done.” Lynch let out a sigh. “So, that book is not in your hands right now, and you don't remember any of its contents?”

“The book is gone. I only remember the title was 《Goddess of the Black Fan》, but I have absolutely no memory of anything else. I've tried to recall it many times but never succeeded.”

“Then there's no other way; we can only approach this from a more troublesome angle.” Lynch frowned and pondered for a moment before speaking. “The shock from that book awakened the memories deep within your soul, so you remembered that wilderness.”

“But that doesn't make sense, Mr. Hunter. Why wasn't it me who dreamed of it? Nara never read that book.”

“The concept of a home itself is an excellent vessel for mystery, and bloodlines carry the shared memories of common ancestors. In addition, children have pure minds, making them easier to infiltrate, which is why she was several days ahead of you two. In short, the ancient book unlocked the memories, and the act of going to the wilderness directly led to your subsequent encounters.”

“What on earth did we encounter?” Luke pressed in distress.

“I suspect that location must hide a massive secret. You inadvertently glimpsed the foundational knowledge of this world, which is precisely what I am lacking. I need these things right now to help me understand this world and find a way home. Therefore, I hope we can cooperate from this moment on. We will each get what we need. I will do my best to figure everything out and help you restore your past life.”

“What should we do?”

“The three of you get ready. I'll go call a hired carriage, and we'll head out in a bit to the location of your picnic. Your problems primarily originated from there. If you want to know what happened, returning to the scene is the most effective way.”

“Ah? But it's so late?”

Luke and Clara were taken aback. On the other hand, Nara, still oblivious to what was happening, let out a cheer as soon as she heard they were going on a picnic.

“Variables can arise with every passing minute, so we can't delay any longer. I actually feel like going now might already be a bit late.”

“But Clara and Nara... is it necessary for them to go?”

“Do you want to leave them behind to face those monsters hunting you down?” Lynch sighed and explained helplessly. “Don't be naive. Right now, the three of you are bound together; no one can escape this. So hurry up. My time is running out, and I must resolve this as quickly as possible, otherwise, in case those black fans...”

“Don't you think it's already too late, outsider?”

Boom! In the next instant, a loud explosion echoed outside. The entire window, along with the windowsill, was blown away by the shockwave.