Wen Nan was completely bewildered as if struck by a sea cucumber. When he came back to his senses, he found that the Arctic Clam beside him had already broken free from his constraints and fallen down.
From the seafood soup below, a black chain suddenly stretched out. It first wrapped around the metal box containing the Sea Gourd, then also tied up the Arctic Clam, pulling them down forcefully.
"Beibei!"
Wen Nan's spine reached out, swiping twice in the air, unable to touch the edge of the Arctic Clam, only reaching the end of the chain.
At the very bottom of the chain, shrouded in the steam rising from the soup, a black silhouette vaguely emerged, tugging the chain downward with force.
Along with the clanging clash of metal, the chain went taut, and the strain caused the skirt strap wrapped around the spoon handle, already under heavy burden, to tear even further.
"My baby…"
A woman's voice echoed faintly from below.
Soon after, a brown-black Arctic Clam passed through the thick steam, appearing at the other end of the chain.
"My baby," Jun Beibei's mother's voice trembled, "what are you doing? Where are you going?"
Jun Beibei wanted to break free from the chains binding her, but glancing at the skirt strap above, already on the verge of giving way, she dared not make a move and instead looked back at the brown-black Arctic Clam, "Mom, how did you find me here?"
Jun Beibei's mother shook the chains wrapped around the freezer, "I just guessed you couldn't let go of this little thing you created. You would surely take it away with the medicine box I gave you, so I installed a tracker inside it beforehand.
"Beibei, come back with Mom, be good, okay?"
"I won't go back with you," Jun Beibei said coldly, "Mom, let go."
As soon as Jun Beibei's mother heard this, her eyes reddened instantly, and her voice trembled, "Are you going to run away from home with that stranger you just met yesterday? Don't you want your mom anymore?"
After all, this was Beibei's mother who had been with her for so many years. Seeing her crying, Jun Beibei softened her voice, trying to explain: "Mom, look at the world behind you, how is it different from hell? Going back is only a dead end."
Jun Beibei's mother was taken aback for a moment, then said: "Beibei, what on earth are you talking about? I just rushed over from the school gates to find you. Isn't everything okay now? What hell?"
Jun Beibei was momentarily stunned, falling into brief confusion.
She lifted her eyes, looked again at the boiling seafood pot beneath, gently furrowed her brow, and began to ponder why her mother hadn't been cooked.
Sensing her hesitation, her mother seized the opportunity, "Beibei, Mom knows you don't like this place. It's really not good here. I've already arranged your withdrawal from school. Beibei, as long as you're willing to come back with Mom, whatever place you want to go to, whatever world you want to switch to, Mom will agree, will accompany you, okay?"
Jun Beibei fell into silence.
Wen Nan stretched his spine towards Jun Beibei, "Beibei, give me your hand. We agreed to leave here together."
Jun Beibei turned her head back to look at that sea cucumber, wanting to extend her skirt to grasp the spine. Suddenly, a chain flew towards the sea cucumber.
Seeing this, Jun Beibei hurriedly opened her shell to block that chain.
Jun Beibei's mother roared: "Beibei! How long have you known that strange person, and you are recklessly following him? Are you abandoning your mom? Your mom only has you. If you're gone, how can your mom survive?"
But no matter what words the brown-black shell spoke at this moment, Jun Beibei refused to listen anymore, as her mother attacked Ye Shenshen, which was something Jun Beibei could never accept.
The skirt on Jun Beibei struggled, trying to free herself from the chains.
"You can't break free from Mom's chains, Beibei," her mother laughed coldly.
Jun Beibei glanced at the sturdy chains in her hands, and Yu Xiaoluo's words flashed through her mind.
She pulled out the glowing golden knife from her shell and forcefully hacked it at the chains.
With a "crack," the once indestructible chain was cut by the golden blade, creating a gap.
Jun Beibei's mother's face instantly darkened, "Who gave you that knife!"
Jun Beibei no longer cared to negotiate with her. Her skirt tightly gripped the knife, chiseling at the chain with all her might.
Seeing that she was about to completely break free, Jun Beibei's mother suddenly went berserk. She yanked on the chain, leapt forward, and opened her shell, dragging the entire metal box containing the Sea Gourd into her belly.
"Mom!"
Jun Beibei was shocked. The golden knife in her hand no longer dared to move, fearing that cutting the chain would mean the Sea Gourd inside the freezer would be lost to her forever.
A sinister smile appeared on her mother's grim face,
"You can't live without this little thing, can you? Without it, even if you escape from here, you'll forget everything.
"You'll forget why you wanted to leave this world, you'll forget that young man, you'll forget who you are.
"The more you like that man now, the more you'll forget him once you leave here.
"Since you don't want your mom, don't even think about taking this little thing.
"Do you dare, Jun Beibei?"
Jun Beibei seemed to be frozen in place, not moving an inch.
"Beibei, don't listen to her nonsense," Wen Nan said above her, trying hard to reach out his spine to grasp her skirt, "Don't be swayed by her. Leave here with me."
But those words seemed so weak.
Wen Nan saw the white shell slowly turn to look at him, smiling, but the numbers on her body were rapidly dropping—
[Candidate: No. 1; Test Phase: Second stage; Obsession Value Clearing Progress: 69%.]
[Candidate: No. 1; Test Phase: Second stage; Obsession Value Clearing Progress: 55%.]
[Candidate: No. 1; Test Phase: Second stage; Obsession Value Clearing Progress: 42%.]
It was like a drop tower, the hard-earned progress about to hit rock bottom in an instant.
Yet, this sudden drop in numbers wasn't the scariest part.
The scariest part was, while Jun Beibei smiled at Wen Nan, she raised her skirt, placing the glowing golden blade on the only chain connecting Wen Nan and herself.
"Beibei! What are you doing?" Wen Nan shouted at her.
But Jun Beibei didn't stop her actions.
If leaving here meant completely forgetting Ye Shenshen, she couldn't accept it.
Besides, the skirt strap above looked about to break, unable to bear the weight of a sea cucumber, an Arctic Clam, and a Sea Gourd at all.
The safest way was to let go.
"Ye Shenshen."
Jun Beibei's sight was blurred by tears, yet she stubbornly kept staring at the face of the sea cucumber above,
"I can't leave this world. The merry-go-round, even if it escapes the carousel, can never become a visitor.
"Only you can leave here.
"Take with you my share of hope, leave here, okay?"
Snap.
The chain was completely severed by the golden knife.
"Beibei!"
The sea cucumber desperately extended its spine, trying with all its might to grasp the Arctic Clam's skirt, but realized it was in vain.
The Arctic Clam, shackled with chain after heavy chain, was dragged downwards into the abyss.
Her skirt fluttered as she tossed the knife to Wen Nan.
Wen Nan's outstretched spine caught the knife firmly.
In the next moment, a golden light spread from that spine, instantly enveloping the entire sea cucumber.
In Wen Nan's mind, a sudden realization dawned.
In a daze, he awoke.
Damn, he was the player!
What was he doing playing out this melodramatic family saga?
Shaking his head, Wen Nan looked up to the open "sky" and shouted out loud:
"Erin! Mo Yu!"