Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 96: 1/2 Loop

Cheng Zhenqing and He Wei had just tried to enter the courtyard gate of the mansion when He Wei grabbed Cheng Zhenqing and pulled him around, flipping over the rusty railing to enter the garden.

“Why didn’t we go in through the front door?” Cheng Zhenqing jumped down from the iron railing and brushed off the dust from his body.

“They are both nearby, do you want to expose ourselves?” 

Cheng Zhenqing looked innocent. How could he have known? He had never experienced any of this before.

Since they were in the garden now, their plan was to open the rusty back door of the mansion and enter from there. As they approached the balcony, there was a loud crash as glass shattered, and a bullet flew out of the window, heading straight in Cheng Zhenqing’s direction.

He Wei acted quickly, pressing Cheng Zhenqing’s head down as they both crawled onto the grass. Cheng Zhenqing ended up with a mouthful of dirt and exclaimed in a hushed voice, “Holy crap! Did you just aim and shoot at me?”

He Wei remained silent, not feeling any remorse. He reminded Cheng Zhenqing, “Don’t misunderstand, it was just a random shot. Can you be more careful? Do you want to die a second time?”

Cheng Zhenqing was shocked. How the hell was he supposed to know? He had never experienced any of this before!

He Wei got up and pulled Cheng Zhenqing to his feet, hiding them both in a corner. As expected, the two men who had heard the gunshot entered the mansion one after the other. He Wei was right; if they had entered through the front door, they would have been exposed.

The back door was secured with a latch and a big lock. Cheng Zhenqing picked up an iron rod from the ground, and with little effort, he broke the corroded lock. He Wei discarded the broken lock and began to dismantle the latch, being careful not to make too much noise and attract attention.

Cheng Zhenqing pressed against the wall, unable to hear any sounds from inside. He asked, “Are there already dead bodies inside?”

“Not yet, this is the first gunshot. The third one will bring death.”

“Who dies?” Cheng Zhenqing was getting more curious. “In the previous loops, who was the one who died with you?”

Coincidentally, the second gunshot rang out.

“The third one will come soon,” He Wei replied. “Hurry up and get inside; if we delay, we’ll miss it.”

The iron door was in a state of disrepair, and they carefully opened it, trying not to make too much noise. From the back door to the living room, there was a corridor with two paths—one leading directly to the balcony and the other going through the kitchen. He Wei quickly considered the positions of the three people in the living room and turned to signal Cheng Zhenqing to split up, with Cheng Zhenqing going through the balcony and He Wei choosing the route around to get behind the armed He Wei.

But when He Wei turned around, Cheng Zhenqing was nowhere to be seen. The iron door they had just opened was tightly closed, as if it had never been opened.

He Wei frowned as unexpected events kept happening. There was no fog this time, and yet Cheng Zhenqing had still managed to get lost. Could it be that he really couldn’t get close to the scene of the incident?

With no other options, He Wei had to go around the kitchen by himself. He crouched beside the cabinet, peeking out to see that the armed He Wei had his back turned to him, while there was still another He Wei on the balcony. With himself included, there were three identical individuals inside this eerie mansion.

If they were numbered according to the timeline, the one with Cheng Zhenqing was He 1, the one holding the gun was He 2, and he, who had entered the loop last, was He 3. He 2’s gun was aimed at He 1, while Cheng Zhenqing stood nearby, holding his breath and watching every move of He Wei 2.

The scene before him was strangely familiar, and He Wei remembered every action and expression of Cheng Zhenqing. But his eyelids began to twitch, and he gradually sensed that something was amiss.

This was clearly the first loop he had ever experienced, but not long ago, he had passed the gun to Cheng Zhenqing in the woods, which was an event that only occurred in the second loop. Why had he suddenly stepped back in time upon entering the mansion?

The feeling of unease grew, and He Wei crouched by the wall, feeling his legs go numb. He tried to change his position, but to his surprise, his body wouldn’t budge, as if it were being restrained by a strange force.

“If you’re Cheng Zhenqing, you should know everything that’s supposed to happen. Now, with a gun pointed at me, would you really shoot?” 

“Yes.”

After the indifferent reply, the third gunshot rang out.

From his current perspective, He Wei could clearly see how Cheng Zhesheng had thrown himself over to protect him. The bullet struck Cheng Zhesheng’s chest precisely, and the splatter of warm blood stained the eyes of all three He Weis in the room.

He hadn’t expected Cheng Zhesheng to die again.

He Wei instinctively closed his eyes, unable to bear watching any further. Despite years of handling countless gruesome murder cases without causing him psychological trauma, he had to admit that Cheng Zhesheng’s death had shaken him.

The familiar sequence of events played out like a movie, with a shocked and saddened He 1 being knocked unconscious by the butt of the gun. At the moment he fell, He Wei’s body suddenly felt lighter, and he broke free from the mysterious force that had held him in place. In the next moment, he rushed out and used a rope to strangle He 2.

I know you’re doing this out of necessity, just as I am.

He Wei gripped the ends of the rope, putting all his strength into it, and even managed to kick He 2 in the knee, forcing him to kneel and creating a height difference that would make it easier to deliver a fatal blow. Even though they were both He Wei, he was not to be underestimated. Despite the rope tightening around his throat and the difficulty in breathing, He 2 managed to use his elbow to strike He Wei’s soft abdomen.

The sharp elbow struck his stomach, sending pain radiating through every nerve ending. He Wei almost felt like throwing up from the agony. He subconsciously loosened his grip on the rope, and in that moment, He 2 grabbed his arm and executed a shoulder throw, tossing him near the sofa.

Damn it. He Wei cursed under his breath, his head accidentally colliding with the sofa leg, causing his vision to darken for a moment. Meanwhile, the target he needed to kill had already gotten back on his feet and, after coughing a few times, picked up the rope from the floor, now intent on strangling He Wei in return.

The situation had suddenly reversed, and He Wei was finally experiencing the suffocating sensation. He also realized, to his horror, that he possessed an unexpected level of strength and resilience. How could it be that he seemed completely uninjured despite his all-out efforts? He had used his full strength, and his neck had nearly been crushed by the rope!

Amidst the intense pain, as his vision darkened due to a lack of oxygen, He Wei groped for the opponent’s hand and, with all his might, twisted it downward. There was a crisp “snap” as the wrist joint dislocated.

The shackles around his neck suddenly lightened, and He Wei kicked his opponent away, then dropped to his knees, coughing violently and even dry heaving.

“Cough… come at me again!” He Wei wiped his mouth and stood up.

On the other side, He 2 also got back on his feet, cradling his dislocated wrist, which he had just pushed back into place. He assessed He Wei and asked, “Where did you come from? The past or the future?”

He Wei, rubbing his neck where the marks of strangulation still remained, sneered, “Definitely more experienced than you.”

“Then you—can’t kill me.”

He Wei froze, realizing in an instant a serious misconception.

Previously, following his logic, he assumed that he was the cause of Cheng Zesheng’s murder here, and it seemed reasonable. However, he had overlooked a critical issue hidden within—the paradox rule.

In terms of the current chronological order, He 1 > He 2 > He 3. He 3 was positioned at the very end of the timeline, meaning that no matter what, he couldn’t kill He 1 or He 2. But they could kill him.

Realizing this, He Wei touched his neck, feeling the intense pain in his throat. Just swallowing saliva hurts terribly. No wonder he couldn’t strangle him earlier; he simply couldn’t kill this He Wei.

He 2 looked at him as if he had just had an epiphany. “So, the body was you.”

“It was me who strangled you.”

He Wei was stunned. He lowered his head to look at himself and realized that his shirt, pants, and shoes were exactly the same as the clothing of the victim in this murder case.

In an instant, a chill ran from his feet to the top of his head. Meanwhile, He 2, rubbing his recently relocated wrist, approached casually.

“If this can break the loop, all the He Weis will thank you.” He 2 said.

No, that’s not right. This will only make the loop more complete and tighter.

He Wei was paralyzed with fear as he was forced down to the ground, the rope once again tightening around his neck. His fear and despair were not about death itself but about the never-ending death loop. Dying here meant waking up with no memory and starting the cycle all over again.

He realized that all his efforts to change things had led to the most complete ending. Cheng Zhesheng was dead, and he was about to die, and everything would go back to square one.

Their encounter marked the beginning.

As oxygen deprivation began to induce hallucinations, He Wei’s mind flashed with surreal images.

He remembered the journey from mutual annoyance to mutual attraction with Cheng Zhenqing. Scenes from their time together played before his eyes. Whether it was their banter, their arguments, or even eating takeout from a different world, these were his most cherished memories, unique and irreplaceable.

For some reason, despite not having seen each other for so long, he was actually looking forward to seeing him again.

He Wei smiled faintly, and his hand gradually lowered.

“He Wei!”

In a daze, He Wei heard a voice calling his name. The voice was so familiar, and while it usually sounded quite irritating, in this critical moment, it felt comforting.

“Cheng Zhenqing?!” He 2 was shocked. Cheng Zhenqing stared at the two of them, and these two men looked exactly the same. At first glance, he thought that the one being strangled was He Wei, who had come in with him. Cheng Zhenqing raised an eyebrow and asked casually, “Still not done? Do you want me to help?”

He 2: “???”

He Wei: “…”

“No need; it’ll be over soon.” He Wei almost used all his strength to lift his fingers and squeeze out a vague word, “…pit…”

“Pit?” Cheng Zhenqing was puzzled for a moment, then slapped his thigh, cursing, “Damn it!”

He Wei’s body swayed, and finally, just before losing consciousness, he was pushed to the side. He lay on the floor with his eyes half-open, hearing the sounds of Cheng Zhenqing and He 2 fighting, along with their shouts and curses.

“Cheng Zenqing, are you crazy?!” He 2 was losing his mind. “Where were you before? If you weren’t going to help, you shouldn’t have come out and gotten in the way!”

“If he hadn’t brought me in here, I wouldn’t have been able to come out, and how could I have let him kill you?!”

“This might be a way to break the loop!”

“Bullshit! He’s already experienced everything after this. What do you know?!”

…

After a while, He Wei finally managed to climb to his feet, his fair cheeks flushed from the struggle. It took him some time to regain his composure. He had never been so grateful for Cheng Zhenqing’s presence. Just when he thought everything was about to end, the biggest surprise finally appeared, making him realize that his previous efforts were not in vain. At least they had brought an unexpected turn of events, which was a source of joy.

This unexpected turn of events was also the one that satisfied He Wei the most.

The noise suddenly stopped, and the mansion fell silent.

“Damn it, where did he go?!”

He Wei struggled to get up and found that he and Cheng Zhenqing were the only ones left in the mansion. The bodies on the floor, the unconscious person, and even He 2 had disappeared as if they had all been transported away in an instant.

Cheng Zhenqing rushed over and supported He Wei. “Are you okay? You’re not dead, so that’s something.”

He Wei croaked, “What time is it?”

Cheng Zhenqing looked at his watch. “3:30.”

He Wei looked around the empty mansion, where everything had disappeared in an instant, including the two people and the body. Had the nodes of two parallel worlds temporarily closed?

Cheng Zhenqing patted his back to calm him. “What happened to you? You look like you’ve been through a lot.”

“I couldn’t kill him,” He Wei said with a glance. “But I haven’t asked you yet. You disappeared; you say they’re gone, but where did you go?”

“I went to watch a movie.”

Speaking of his experiences, Cheng Zhenqing had quite a novel story to tell. After He Wei disappeared, he had to go to the crime scene alone. He stood in a corner near the balcony and saw the two He Weis wrestling with each other, while his younger brother, Cheng Zesheng, stood helplessly, not knowing who to help.

“They’re both his lovers, so I thought, my younger brother must be in a tough spot, no doubt about it,” Cheng Zhenqing quipped.

He wanted to help and tell them to resolve their issues peacefully instead of fighting, as they were all part of the same family. However, why couldn’t he move? Only his eyeballs seemed to be functioning, and he was forced to squat in a corner, watching a free movie.

It wasn’t until the third gunshot rang out, accompanied by the thick smell of blood and their cries, that the mansion was filled with a sense of urgency.

“He Wei! How are you?!” Cheng Zesheng asked anxiously.

“I don’t know why the gun went off and hit you. I didn’t pull the trigger!” He Wei was in a panic.

Cheng Zhenqing stared at them, and Cheng Zesheng took off his clothes to cover the bleeding chest and abdomen of He 2. Meanwhile, He 1, still in disbelief, said, “I really didn’t intend to kill him. He pressed my hand and fired the gun himself!”

“I know; it was his choice.”

“I can’t understand why he did this. Was it to break the loop?” He 1 sounded full of regret.

Cheng Zesheng shook his head. He only knew that he had to save He Wei, no matter what.

One of them used a piece of clothing to cover the wounds, while the other pinched He 2’s nose and mouth to perform artificial respiration, attempting to revive him. Both of their attentions were completely absorbed, and they didn’t notice someone squatting in the corner and observing for a long time.

Once it was confirmed that He 2 had died, Cheng Zesheng and He 1 sat down on the floor, both looking dazed and seemingly unable to accept what had just happened.

“How could this happen…” He Wei 1 murmured to himself, noticing that He Wei 2’s body was gradually becoming transparent. Cheng Zesheng rushed over and hugged him, but the body also gradually disappeared in his arms, turning into tiny specks of dust.

Cheng Zhenqing, who had been watching, was dumbfounded. So, this was the continuation of the previous loop that He Wei had experienced. After He Wei’s body disappeared, Cheng Zhenqing suddenly regained his ability to move. He rushed out, hoping to meet his younger brother, but to his surprise, he entered a new crime scene. There, he found He Wei in the act of “self-strangulation” – using a rope to strangle another version of himself.

Listening to Cheng Zhenqing’s experience, He Wei fell into a long silence. He had never expected it to be like this. After Cheng Zhenqing entered the mansion, the loop split in two. Perhaps it was because of Cheng Zhenqing’s presence that the loop had been customized in this way; otherwise, He Wei would have died here. 

Now that the final destination of the loop has been disrupted, what will they face next?