Fortunately, she didn't wake up like in a horror movie, disoriented and bound tightly by straps or iron hoops after being knocked out by a pervert. She was awakened by Chopin's "Nocturne."
A bright halo of light swayed above her head, and this pale and sharp light reminded her of the shadowless lamps in operating rooms. She was lying on a comfortable and spacious white sofa, free to move, limbs intact, without even a scratch.
"I like this 'Nocturne'; it reminds me of my hometown and many forgotten memories." A sophisticated voice sounded across from her. A scrawny man, wearing a mask she was all too familiar with, sat in front of a piano with an old-fashioned pocket watch hanging from his chest. His fingers seemed imperfect, but he skillfully moved back and forth across the black and white keys.
Underneath him was not a comfortable piano stool but a wheelchair. The room was so large that every sound echoed. The beautiful piano music, because of this unique "accompaniment," exuded a strange allure.
The living in the room only included her and the piano player, along with an injured gray rabbit crawling at the feet of the pianist. Apart from that, there was just the sofa and piano. The whole scene was so spotlessly clean that it didn't look like a place on Earth.
Lu Ah-Cang sat up and huddled in a corner of the sofa. She was still Charlotte, and this was something she would never forget.
"Miss Charlotte." The piano abruptly stopped, and the masked face turned towards her. "Oh, no, Miss Lu Ah-Cang the Formless, a rare species among demons."
It seemed like it was the first time her identity had been exposed by an outsider before the contract expired. Lu Ah-Cang took a deep breath, straightened up, and climbed down from the sofa, applauding. "You played Nocturne quite well."
"Thank you." The man nodded towards her, laughing lightly under the mask. "I only know how to play this piece."
"It shows your dedication." Lu Ah-Cang stood up, looking at the rabbit at his feet. "Since you know my identity, you should understand that I'm just a paid substitute. I have no other value except pretending to be someone else. It wasn't wise for you to bring me here. Of course, I have no interest in your identity. But I hope you don't harm that rabbit for now because it's the one that hired me. I wouldn't want anything to happen to it before I receive my payment."
"I like straightforward people." He pressed a button on the wheelchair, and it automatically changed direction, moving towards Lu Ah-Cang, stopping less than a meter away from her. "Aren't you afraid at all?"
Afraid? She deduced from his scent that he was a genuine human. Supernatural beings don't fear humans unless they are exceptionally skilled hunters. The person before her lacked the aura of a hunter, and she even sensed a kind of genuine vulnerability.
What's more, she was Formless; intangible, invisible, and undying. No one could take her life. No matter how powerful the demon, monster, or hunter, none can kill a Formless. There was only one situation that could lead to her demise, but she believed that such a circumstance would never occur.
She cherished her life and felt it was good to live the way she did, despite the hundreds or thousands of years that came with it, which could be a bit dull. However, she had grown accustomed to it.
She wasn't inclined to explore the meaning of life, unlike many great individuals. For her, living meant breathing, seeing, hearing, and using various identities to pass the boring time. Why should she fear a human in a wheelchair, regardless of whatever formidable background he might have?
"If you're willing to tell me where I am now and why you brought me here, I'm still willing to listen," Lu Ah-Cang smiled. "After all, my contract hasn't expired yet, and I remain Charlotte, your hostage."
"Have you ever loathed yourself?" the man suddenly asked. "If there is a chance to make everyone start on the same starting line, with no discrimination between healthy and ill, intelligent and unintelligent, beautiful and not beautiful, no distinctions between rich and poor, no such thing as status, everyone being equal, facing everything on fair terms… Equality for all living things, isn't that great?"
Lu Ah-Cang pursed her lips. After a long time, she lowered her head and chuckled, "Of course, it would be great. But that's just a dream akin to a soap bubble. In reality, everything in the world can't possibly start on a fair starting line."
"Come." The man took off his leather gloves and extended his hand towards her. That hand was so thin, it was just skin and bones.
Lu Ah-Cang took his hand, feeling as if she was holding a piece of icy dried-up bone, which brought a nightmarish sensation, yet had a strange strength.
The wheelchair moved towards the east wall, and Lu Ah-Cang followed him slowly. He took out a remote control about the size of a USB flash drive from his pocket and pressed it.
The heavy wall in front of them opened upwards. The sounds of electronic instruments, mixed with the slightly noisy chatter of humans, surged in like a wave from the world outside the wall. Lu Ah-Cang's gaze froze in astonishment—
About ten meters below them was a massive laboratory constructed with tempered glass and alloy edges, forming a standard hexagon that could rival a perfectly cut top-grade diamond. People in white radiation protective suits were sitting or walking, busy in front of rows of electronic instruments with various colored flashing indicator lights. Two large tubular structures, approximately three meters in diameter each, one from the north and one from the south, ran from two sides of the laboratory from which diagonal extensions converged in the vacant central area. A long timbre-like needle as thick as an antenna rose from the joint, piercing the air and reaching beyond the laboratory's ceiling, just like the beanstalk that shot all the way to the sky in a fairytale.
The lights were flickering as everything operated in unison, and a distinctive vibration was circulating between the two tubular structures. The laboratory beneath their feet felt like a universe ready to make a move.
Lu Ah-Cang couldn't explain why she chose the term "universe" to describe this place, but that was how she perceived it.
"This..." She found herself slightly tongue tied.
"This is my own imitation of a Hadron Collider," the man slowly removed his mask. On his not-so-young face, there was only one eye. The left side of his forehead protruded noticeably more than the right, and he lacked a nose, with only two unevenly sized holes situated on a lump-like mass. Even his mouth was askew, occasionally letting saliva escape as he spoke.
Lu Ah-Cang had never seen a human so unbearable to look at. With such an appearance, he was even more monstrous than a monster. However, she distinctly perceived an extraordinary level of confidence and excitement on that monstrous face. These qualities can bring radiance to people, even to someone sitting in a wheelchair with an entirely disfigured visage.
"Imitation Hadron collider?" She had heard of the name, vaguely aware that it wasn't something ordinary.
"Break down what I want into particles, and use the principle of the Hadron collider to divide them into two proton streams, colliding them at the speed of light in the machine. After a successful collision, this machine will not only produce more than 7 trillion electron volts of energy but also the diverse ions I most desire. When those lovely little things are transported to the highest point on Earth through that needle and then expand and implode, their power will spread throughout the entire planet." His voice quivered with excitement. "I must thank you; it's you who got Neptune for me. And you will also have the privilege of witnessing an extraordinary moment."
"I'm not interested in witnessing anything." Lu Ah-Cang shifted her gaze away. "I only do what the contract requires."
"You will be interested. I've researched the demons called Formless," he laughed strangely. "If you don't loathe yourself, you can't become Formless." With that, he pressed the remote control, and the wall returned to normal.
He returned to the piano, gently caressing the vintage pocket watch hanging from his chest, murmuring, "Success will come soon. We need a new world." He kissed the pocket watch. "I miss you so much."
After a while, his gaze fell on the bleeding gray rabbit. He sighed and said, "You still let me down. Did you think I'm unaware of what you've done?" He pointed to his head, saying, "You can't beat me. Everything will go as planned. Although I detest being discriminatory, since even blood silver bullets can't take your life, stay and witness this great transformation."
He moved to the wall on the west side, pressed a switch on the wheelchair, and a rectangular area instantly sunk, creating a passage.
"Both of you must remember this." Before entering the passage, he turned back and said to Lu Ah-Cang and the gray rabbit. "If you can create a world, you are a god."
"Why do you want to be a god?" Lu Ah-Cang asked.
The wheelchair came to a stop. The man didn't turn around. He only chuckled and said, "You've thought about it too, haven't you? It's just that you ultimately couldn't achieve it."
An extremely old booklet with a parchment cover was tossed in front of her.
"It has been with me for a long, long time, always reminding me of what I must do. But now, I no longer need it. Take it as a gossip magazine to read. Hahaha." After he disappeared into the passage, the wall returned to normal, transforming the vast room into a secure prison cell. Lu Ah-Cang was convinced that he must be a madman.
However, there's only a fine line between insanity and genius.
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