Chang Sheng was lying?
Fang Ming didn't quite think so, but his father didn't seem to be lying to him either.
With that thought, Fang Ming took out the files he had collected and showed them to Fang Daolong, letting him understand the truth behind the mining accident.
"Dad, look at these."
Fang Ming opened the photo album on his phone and handed it to Fang Daolong.
Fang Daolong took it with a puzzled look and flipped through the pictures one by one. The more he looked, the heavier his heart became.
Fang Daolong was not stupid. On the contrary, he was very intelligent. After reading these documents, he quickly pieced together the cause and effect in his mind.
"Where did you see these documents?" Fang Daolong asked in a deep voice.
Fang Ming gestured to the side with his lips, "In the residential area right here. If you don't believe me, you can go and find them yourself. Many rooms have these things."
Fang Daolong slowly placed the phone on the table and remained silent for a long time.
He had always thought that the collapse of the mine was due to the Chang Sheng Realm, but he never expected it to be the work of humans themselves.
"I think Chang Sheng is innocent," Fang Ming defended Chang Sheng.
Fang Daolong shook his head and gave a bitter smile, "He's innocent? He's not innocent at all. Although there was human involvement in the mine, the Chang Sheng Realm cannot escape responsibility."
"Those higher-ups merely took advantage of the Chang Sheng Realm's actions. They didn't have the ability to make the entire mine collapse. The root cause is still the problem with the Chang Sheng Realm!" Fang Daolong insisted stubbornly.
"But if those higher-ups had issued the disaster warning earlier, this mess would never have happened!" Fang Ming argued.
"Even without this incident, the Chang Sheng Realm would affect future incidents. Eventually, it would lead to such tragedies. Even if the mining disaster has nothing to do with the Chang Sheng Realm, what about others?"
Fang Ming felt that Fang Daolong had become obsessed with this matter and he couldn't reason with him at all. He simply leaned back on the sofa huffily and remained silent.
He felt his father was being utterly unreasonable!
Fang Daolong also couldn't be bothered to say much to Fang Ming. In his heart, the Chang Sheng Realm should not exist; it was the source of all disasters!
Fang Ming had only learned that there was human involvement in the mining accident this time, but he didn't know how severe the disasters caused by the Chang Sheng Realm were in the world.
"I'm leaving," Fang Daolong said after a word and stood up to leave.
Fang Ming glanced at his retreating back but did not try to stop him.
"Fang Ming," Nannan leaned over and sat in Fang Ming's arms.
Fang Ming stroked Nannan. His father was now determined to oppose Chang Sheng, so no matter how many pieces of evidence he found to exonerate Chang Sheng, it would be useless.
"Sigh," Fang Ming rubbed his temples with a headache. His father was now dead set on going against Chang Sheng, and no amount of evidence would change his mind.
He was worried that Fang Daolong might eventually target Nannan.
Fang Ming knew he was no match for Fang Daolong. If his father continued with his plan, he would definitely make a move on Nannan one day, and then the father and son would be enemies.
This was something Fang Ming did not want to see. Fang Daolong was his father, and Nannan was the most important person to him now. He didn't want either of them to be harmed.
"I definitely won't fight with your Daddy."
Nannan obediently touched Fang Ming's furrowed brow and gently smoothed it out for him.
Fang Ming forced a smile and grasped Nannan's small hand.
"No, if he wants to make a move on you, you must resist. With his capabilities, we likely won't be able to kill him."
He didn't want Nannan to be in a dilemma when facing Fang Daolong. Rather than putting Nannan in danger, he wanted to use his strength to make Fang Daolong yield and abandon his so-called plan.
It was strange, though.
Fang Ming didn't feel much emotion towards Fang Daolong. It was as if he had only sought him out to resolve a knot in his heart.
Now that he had found Fang Daolong and understood the cause and effect of his disappearance, he cared less about Fang Daolong.
"Is it because we haven't seen each other for ten years?" Fang Ming wondered.
Ten years ago... Fang Ming recalled the memories of ten years ago.
"No!"
Fang Ming's eyes suddenly widened. He only just realized something:
He had no memory of ten years ago!
Everything about him seemed to have started ten years ago. From his memories to his life trajectory, there were only these ten years.
What was going on?
Fang Ming felt as if something was missing, and that was the truth of the matter.
A splitting headache suddenly struck him, and Fang Ming clutched his head in pain. The "key" on the back of his hands lit up slightly, as if activated by something.
"Fang Ming, Fang Ming, what's wrong?" Nannan asked anxiously, looking bewildered.
Qing Mian and Number One also quickly came forward to check the situation.
"I... I'm fine." Fang Ming stopped his thoughts and the headache instantly dissipated. He held his head, still feeling a sense of lingering fear.
What exactly was going on?
Where were his past memories?
He found that whenever he tried to recall those lost memories, the headache would surge back in waves, filling his mind.
It was as if... as if something was preventing him from remembering anything before the age of ten.
Who had tampered with him?
"Fang Ming, the rune on your hand lit up when you had that headache just now," Qing Mian said.
"The key lit up?" Fang Ming raised his hand and looked at the rune on his right hand. The rune Chang Sheng had given him lit up when he tried to recall that memory.
Could it be... that his lost memories were manipulated by Chang Sheng?
Number One chimed in, "By the way, Fang Ming, how do you know Chang Sheng so well? I feel like I'm about to suffocate just standing next to him, aren't you afraid?"
Fang Ming was stunned. That was true. He had never considered this question, always taking it for granted.
Now that he thought about it, why was he on such good terms with Chang Sheng? Or rather, why would Chang Sheng notice him, a "weakling"?
"I don't know why I'm so familiar with Chang Sheng. It's like, in the depths of fate, I know him." Fang Ming frowned, expressing his feelings. "It's like... I've known him for a long, long time. No, not just known him..."
What exactly was going on?
It seemed Chang Sheng was hiding a lot from him.
Fang Daolong, Chang Sheng, and the mysterious principal. What had these three been up to behind his back?
Fang Ming vaguely felt that he hadn't fallen into this situation by accident, but had been guided step by step to his current predicament by someone.
And the diary, this peculiar ability, based on Fang Daolong's performance, even he couldn't do it. According to the Painter, Fang Daolong was a Void Fiend, capable of traversing various memories and timelines.
If even Fang Daolong couldn't do it, then the origin of the diary was obvious – Chang Sheng!
Chang Sheng was the biggest suspect. He had been guiding him into the game, participating in Fang Daolong and the principal's plans.
Did Chang Sheng want to use him to disrupt Fang Daolong's plan?
Fang Ming stroked his chin, his eyes narrowed.
This meant that Chang Sheng had known about the principal's plan all along, but Chang Sheng chose not to intervene.
Under what circumstances would someone be so tolerant, even encouraging, towards someone trying to overthrow them?
"I know," Fang Ming suddenly said.
"What?" Number One was confused.
"I know what Chang Sheng wants to do."
"What?" Qing Mian followed up.
"Chang Sheng wants to use me to disrupt my father's plan, and at the same time lure out the principal and my father to eliminate them all," Fang Ming speculated.
Number One chuckled, "Don't be silly. Why wouldn't Chang Sheng just kill your father now? That can't be the reason."
"Maybe there's a reason?" Nannan blinked her eyes and guessed.
She was Fang Ming's staunchest supporter, and what Fang Ming said must be correct!
"Do you guys remember what the principal once said, that my father who entered the Chang Sheng Realm wasn't his true self? I suspect that's the reason," Fang Ming deduced confidently.
"Anyway, I don't think Chang Sheng is that kind of bad person," Number One shook his head, choosing to believe in Chang Sheng's character.
Qing Mian also nodded. He had only interacted with Chang Sheng once, but he didn't feel Chang Sheng was a bad person either.
"You all feel this way?" Fang Ming looked at the Three Fiends.
This time, even Nannan nodded, which surprised Fang Ming.
What kind of charm did Chang Sheng possess that he could make the three vengeful spirits on their side believe he wasn't a bad person after just one meeting? Even Fang Ming himself always felt that Chang Sheng wasn't a bad person.
Fang Ming suddenly realized that this might be the most serious problem.
The few of them were unknowingly starting to defend Chang Sheng, even feeling it was natural!
Fang Ming took a sharp breath. Chang Sheng was definitely problematic! Perhaps his father wasn't just fear-mongering!
...
"We have so many test subjects, and success will definitely be easy," the Professor said confidently.
"When can we start?" asked the Blood Relative.
"Anytime," the Professor replied respectfully.
"Then let's start now."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Afterward, the Professor walked to a stone platform and activated a device. The entire eighteenth level lit up with stars again. Upon closer inspection, it was the same space where Nannan and the Blood Relative had fought.
"You, stand on the jade platform," the Professor pointed to a clone. Hearing the command, the clone leaped up and flew to the jade platform in the center.
"Buzz~" The entire space buzzed, and beams of light converged on the jade platform. The clone screamed in pain as its body began to gradually separate.
The light subsided.
Only two pools of ink remained on the jade platform.
The Professor smiled slightly, operated the control panel to analyze the data, and then corrected it to restart.