The figure of the "cloth doll" was slowly swallowed by the dense night, footsteps shattered into dust in the cold night wind.

The parking lot turned graveyard silent, with only the blue and white sedan shining coldly like a metal coffin.

On the asphalt surface, a figure slowly emerged from the twisted shadows, like a ghost surfacing from ink.

He leaned against the car door, his silhouette perfectly blending with the night.

His right hand rested on the door handle, fingers absent-mindedly caressing the metal surface — where the warmth from the "cloth doll" and Feng Ju’s farewell lingered.

The motion was gentle yet slow, as if savoring the scene just now — the touching farewell between the "cloth doll" and Feng Ju, every detail, every trace of emotion, reverberating in his heart like fine wine.

[You witnessed the touching farewell scene between the "cloth doll" and Feng Ju.]

[Your love for your family has stimulated your eyes.]

[Blood Bar Deceit Eye lv2 evolving...]

Behind the pitch-black lenses, two pale Hook Jade suddenly trembled violently, tearing spider-like white threads in the pupils.

"Huh..."

He tilted his head back, a sound between a whimper and a sneer spilled from his throat, shattering the frozen air.

The rotation speed of the Hook Jade increased rapidly, and the pale patterns twisted and proliferated like living creatures, etching new trajectories in the pitch-black pupils.

[Your Blood Bar Deceit Eye upgraded to lv3...]

[Your Blood Bar Deceit Eye upgraded to Kaleidoscope·Blood Bar Deceit Eye, you obtained Pupil Technique of the Moon...]

When the third Hook Jade emerged from the black vortex, the entire world fell into an eerie slow-motion.

The three Hook Jades linked together, etching a bizarre pale windmill on the retina.

Every notch of the spinning windmill echoed in his mind, bringing a phantom sound akin to metal friction.

One second later.

[Warning! Kaleidoscope·Blood Bar Deceit Eye construction failed!]

The phantom of the windmill abruptly stopped at the seventh spin, and the pale shadow began to disintegrate, like film corroded by acid.

[Your Blood Bar Deceit Eye regressed to lv3!]

Finally, all phantoms collapsed back into three pale Hook Jades, flickering uncertainly in the depths of the dark pupils like extinguished embers.

[Base Value of Blood Bar Deceit Eye enhanced...]

[Replication ability of Blood Bar Deceit Eye enhanced...]

[Keep striving!!!]

Viscous blood tears meandered down the corner of his eyes, leaving two crimson trails across his cheeks.

"Not enough..."

The figure before the car door trembled slightly, seemingly bearing unimaginable grief, surely for Feng Ju, longing for the family’s reunion that cannot be severed... love.

"Far from enough... can’t fill it at all..."

His lips pressed lightly, his low voice almost inaudible:

"Why, is my love for my family not deep enough to pierce the heart?"

He slowly raised his hand to wipe away the blood tears, fingers slightly exerting force, "click" — the crisp sound of metal latch unlocking echoed distinctly in the dead silent parking lot, like a nailed coffin lid pried open.

He leaned forward, abruptly tore open Feng Ju’s clothes, fingertips piercing into Feng Ju’s chest erupted with a crisp tearing sound of fabric.

Five pale fingers precisely wedged into the interstice between ribs, the sound of flesh and bone chafing spewing in greasy bursts between the fingers, black blood gushing into the shriveled heart.

The dark red texture swelled grotesquely against the black fluid, and an ancient sound of a clock being rewound echoed from the withered chest.

Though not much, it was enough to turn the clock once more.

[You are granting a corpse to be reborn.]

[You bestowed him a rather short life!]

"Wake up, my dear father."

The lips leaned down, almost touching the corpse’s ashen ear, the whispering wake-up call like a son’s secret to his father:

"My dear father, stop sleeping, quickly wake up and love my clever ’cloth doll’ once more, she’s waiting obediently at home for you!"

Question, what to do if the love for family is insufficient?

Answer: Love once more!

As for the hint subtitles regarding "cloth doll," Feng Mu directly ignored them, he didn’t care who was inside that body, whether it was Imoto or some evil entity, it made no difference to him.

As long as it keeps providing him with experience, everything else can be left to them.

.....

The door hinge creaked softly as the "cloth doll" stepped on the corridor’s light and shadow back into the room.

Her steps were lighter than usual, as if shedding an invisible shackle, the hem of her skirt fluttered subtly with her movements, the whole person undergoing a unique transformation.

She exuded an indescribable brilliance, explained through martial science theory as the integration of vitality, spirit, and energy, leading to the sublimation of her magnetic field.

"Back already?"

Feng Mu was helping his mother wipe the dining table, as he looked up, his eyes behind the lenses curved slightly,

"You are more considerate and filial, knowing to bring adults a coat."

The "cloth doll" tucked the stray hair behind her ear, lips curling into a sweet arc:

"It’s what I should do, especially since Daddy loves me the most."

She curled up into the sofa like a well-fed cat, casually grabbing a cushion to hug:

"By the way, Dad probably won’t be back tonight."

Feng Mu’s actions paused momentarily, the cloth leaving a wet mark on the table surface:

"Did he leave in a hurry, is something wrong again?"

"He said a colleague thought dead in the sewer suddenly came back alive..."

The "cloth doll’s" fingertip unconsciously twirled around her hair ends,

"Daddy was so excited, insisting to rush back immediately."

Feng Mu’s gaze lightly brushed past the "cloth doll’s" profile, eyes behind the lenses curved into a gentle arc:

"Important friends or family dying and coming back together, truly is life’s greatest surprise."

The "cloth doll" nodded, her thoughts drifting to her close friends, she said empathetically:

"Indeed, the monsters at school, leaving many classmates unknown if alive, I also wish to see them again."

While exclaiming, the "cloth doll" picked up the remote control, instinctively switching back to Light Prism TV Station.

This time it wasn’t "Truth," but a new show riding the current wave of popularity named "Observations."

The host was a new face, and the guest seats replaced by two young people.

A man and a woman, wearing neat journalist outfits, faces showing traces of fatigue and excitement.

"...Let’s welcome our special guests today, the emerging reporters from Light Prism TV Station!"

The "cloth doll" casually glanced over the TV, hearing the host’s vibrant introduction,

"It was them who fearlessly plunged into the perilous sewer channels today, bringing Zone 9 viewers firsthand reports..."

"They are the true warriors, let’s give them a warm applause once more for their arrival, and share their thrilling and stimulating observations from the sewer channels with the audience both at the scene and in front of the screens!"

The "cloth doll’s" fingers suddenly tightened.

The remote control emitted a soft "crack," the plastic casing splitting with a fine line.

Her complexion instantly lost its color, an uncontrollable pallor like paper.

The vibe or magnetic field from her prior transformation or elevation seemed forcibly extracted, visibly withering back...