Birahan Desert town, mostly buried beneath yellow sand, left only a few scattered buildings.
The Children of Argan tribe had converted several of them into survival outposts. In one of the single-story houses, Guan Tong sat facing the Moon Key.
"Yishan?"
Moon Key raised an eyebrow when she heard Guan Tong asking her to prophesy someone; she was curious.
"This is her photo."
Guan Tong didn’t mention that Yishan was Bruce's daughter. He only took out his tablet and showed the image of Yishan he had downloaded from the internet.
The more information provided, the more accurate Moon Key’s prophecy would be, and the subject’s name and appearance were essential basics.
He didn’t know whether Moon Key already knew the relationship between Yishan and Bruce. In any case, he would not bring it up himself.
If she didn’t know, she wouldn’t break her own rules. If she did know, she might feign ignorance since Guan Tong hadn’t volunteered the information.
If they talked it over aloud, that tacit understanding would be broken. Moon Key glanced at the photo, nodded, and took out her exclusive tool, the prophecy crystal ball.
"What do you want me to predict?"
"What will happen to her on her wedding day?" Guan Tong said. "The specific date is October 20."
When Moon Key heard the word "wedding," she was slightly surprised, as if weddings were rare in this era.
She didn’t ask more and silently used her power.
Light began to rise on the crystal ball, and images started to form.
Guan Tong watched; to him the images were only extremely abstract blocks of color and lines, revealing no concrete information.
Only the holder of the tool, Moon Key, could extract meaningful details from those abstract visions.
After the glow and images lasted for more than ten seconds, they faded. Moon Key looked up, her expression somewhat grave.
"What is it?" Guan Tong asked.
Judging by Moon Key’s face, the results did not look good.
"...I saw a lot of blood and heard many screams," Moon Key said in a low voice. "It’s less a wedding and more like the burial for many people."
......
Although Guan Tong had already had a premonition, hearing Moon Key say it still weighed on him.
Her words meant Adam’s plan to infiltrate the wedding, take Bruce by surprise, and control him without causing additional casualties... was nearly impossible.
Moon Key looked at Guan Tong and said seriously, "If it were me, I would not attend that wedding... It’s too dangerous for everyone."
Guan Tong was silent for a moment, then said, "Knowing there’s a tiger on the mountain yet deliberately going to that mountain—whether that phrase criticizes recklessness or praises bravery depends entirely on the outcome, right?"
"Maybe." Moon Key sighed, seeming to understand that Guan Tong had already made up his mind.
"If this person decides to go, maybe watch out for one thing," she said. "Though it’s only a moment, I saw someone’s disappointed expression in the prophecy... that person is the one you asked me to predict for last time, the one for whom my prophecy failed."
"You mean Han Qiu?" Guan Tong said in surprise.
Moon Key nodded.
She had seen Han Qiu’s disappointed expression? Did that mean Han Qiu’s trap had failed? Or did something unexpected happen?
Guan Tong wanted more details, but obviously that was the limit of what Moon Key could provide.
Looking at the crystal ball in her hand, Guan Tong couldn’t help but think of the Life-Hunting Demon and the Mysterious Gambler.
If those beings beyond humanity all considered the Cosmic Cycle a given law, then Moon Key’s prophetic power might only be seeing one possible grain of future.
But that future did not seem unchangeable.
Like the time she foresaw Adam’s death; in the end Adam survived, albeit with permanent bodily disability.
That alteration of the future seemed connected to my intervention.
But was the focus really "me"?
Guan Tong recalled the Mysterious Gambler’s words: some civilization created an Authority that broke the Cosmic Cycle and sealed the Authority’s key inside the Wordless Book.
...Rather than saying I changed the future, perhaps it was that mysterious Authority symbolized by the Wordless Book that caused the shift?
He came back to himself and saw Moon Key giving him a lingering look before nodding and saying, "I understand. Thank you."
"No need to thank me, your help to us is the greatest."
"By the way, are you comfortable living here?" Guan Tong asked.
"It’s alright. Every place has its own survival rules. The desert edge isn’t as lush as the grassland, but it’s enough for people like us to survive."
"If one day you want to return to the grasslands, I can help."
After a few casual exchanges, Guan Tong took his leave.
After he left, someone in the tribe came in to call Moon Key for dinner and found her looking a bit pale.
"Moon Priestess, are you all right? You look unwell."
"...It’s nothing."
Moon Key shook her head slightly.
The images and sounds she had just seen in the prophecy had shaken her deeply. Her description to Guan Tong of "screams and blood" only expressed perhaps a tenth of the cruelty she had witnessed.
From Guan Tong’s earlier words she sensed he intended to attend the wedding. What would happen then was completely unpredictable.
"Come on, let’s eat." Moon Key rose.
All she could do was provide Guan Tong with this fragmentary, insufficient information; she couldn’t do more. She could only hope that if he did go to the wedding, he could escape that cruelty alive.
......
Some restaurant in Suroma.
A uniformed waiter placed a written report on a dining table and respectfully said, "Chairman, this is the newly purchased memory transcript."
"Hmm, let me see."
Seated at the table was none other than the groom-to-be, Han Qiu, who would be married in fewer than ten days.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin, took the written report.
The title read: "Memories Related to Academy Students and Guan Tong · Part Eight."
Several pages: Han Qiu finished reading in ten minutes. After he finished, he casually picked up a lighter, set the report on fire, and tossed it into a metal trash bin beside his feet.
The waiter said, "Chairman, the market is being cleaned out of memories related to the target. We’ve almost swept everything up."
"Hmm, thank you for your hard work. Once I get what I want, I will take all of you to the end. Especially you, Tianci. I feel bad that you, a former Special Forces captain, had to disguise yourself as a waiter."
Tianci, the former Special Forces captain, was visibly moved and shook his head. "Chairman, don’t say that. It is the honor of all of us 'Truth-Bound' to serve you!"
Tianci knew very well that this man, Han Qiu, was the greatest reliance for people like him.
He and every other employee in the restaurant were, without exception, failures of the Liar's Self-Punishment rule.
Because they failed the challenge, they became "Truth-Bound," incapable of ever telling a lie.
This restriction wasn’t limited to major matters; even everyday flattery or polite small talk was forbidden. Keeping silent all the time made social interaction awkward.
This left them nearly unable to stand in society. Even living in the shelter, once others knew they were "Truth-Bound," people deliberately made them a target of amusement.
For example, someone might intentionally ask humiliating questions; if they answered, they had to tell the truth; if they stayed silent, others mocked them for being unwilling to respond and felt vindicated.
Don’t assume there’s no bullying in the Doomsday Rules era. In the closed environment of a shelter, many forms of invisible bullying and oppression persist. Even reporting to the administrator often does little good.
In such despair, some Truth-Bound people took their own lives.
Others struggled and retreated into themselves.
Han Qiu’s arrival, however, rescued some of those struggling souls.
While others discriminated against and mocked the Truth-Bound, Han Qiu actively recruited them as his subordinates and offered generous benefits.
Many Truth-Bound people realized Han Qiu valued them precisely because they could not lie, making them exceptionally reliable as subordinates.
Understanding that was one thing; when Han Qiu truly provided security, ample Ascension Coins, and treated them with tolerance, they wholeheartedly became his followers.
They called Han Qiu "Chairman" because he liked gaming and had built an organization like a game guild. This restaurant served as the refuge for these Truth-Bound people.
As Tianci vaguely knew, Han Qiu’s contacts were broad. His subordinates weren’t only the Truth-Bound; there were others as well.
But Han Qiu never let different groups of subordinates meet, so Tianci didn’t know how many subordinates he actually had or how large his "guild" was.
He didn’t care. As long as they completed the tasks assigned by Han Qiu, they believed that someday Han Qiu would lead them into a new era after the Doomsday Rules ended and start a new life.
After the new rule appeared some days ago, Han Qiu ordered a determined acquisition of memories related to the "Shadow" Guan Tong, with no limit on price.
In over ten days they had bought eight genuine memory sets. Others were fakes with empty promises, and some had been bought by others first.
After acquiring the memories, Han Qiu did not implant them himself. Different Truth-Bound people used the memories and then wrote everything down into written reports for him to review.
This was both Han Qiu’s requirement and the volunteers’ choice.
Everyone knew imprinting someone else’s memory could affect their own brain. Han Qiu, cautious by nature, wouldn’t risk it, and his subordinates didn’t want him to.
The reason was simple: all of them pinned their hopes on Han Qiu leading them into a new era. If Han Qiu suffered, they would fall apart. So anyone’s brain could fail—except Han Qiu’s.
"Chairman, many people are competing to buy memories related to the 'Shadow.' Even official forces are involved. We didn’t get many; I’m not sure whether they’ll be useful to you," Tianci asked.
Han Qiu smiled. "They are useful. From these eight memories, I can at least be certain of one thing."
Tianci asked curiously, "What is it?"
"He's a good man."
Tianci frowned, unsure what Han Qiu meant.
"But good people don’t always get good rewards," Han Qiu continued. "Look, he treated those students dutifully, and in return those students sold their memories of him for Ascension Coins."
"...Whether he’s good or bad, as long as he is the Chairman’s enemy, he is our enemy," Tianci said firmly.
"Your loyalty is beyond doubt." Han Qiu’s eyes flickered. "Would a good man stand by and watch a friend go to their death? I don’t think so. So this esteemed guest will definitely come to my wedding... Tianci, what wedding favors do you think I should prepare?"