As the Director continued his explanations, he makes a proud smile and tells them, “while I’ve been single my entire life, one of my fellow men who passed away early had a daughter, and we took her in.

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She was such a great girl, worked hard, and she got into the Space Agency as a researcher.
She was a true pillar of our country… I’m sure my old friend is proud of her where he is.
It’s unfortunate, after the madness spread, it all changed. The Space Agency was moved to the other departments. It’s for the better good, but, our exploration of space… had to end.
Our girl, she didn’t want to be moved elsewhere, so she quit her job, and started hanging out with other people who liked space… it wasn’t exactly a good career move, I suppose.”

He says, but the Director still looks really glad for his friend’s daughter. He must have been really proud that she was a researcher of the Space Agency, even if that was cut short by this disaster.

That said…

The Space Agency? The astronomy enthusiasts?

Ding Yi can’t help but recall the irritable man who was in charge of moving the relics.

She then asks, “when we came to visit, I believe we met your adopted daughter’s… fiancé?”

“Oh, that brat,” the Director doesn’t seem all too pleased when talking about him, “he’s getting married already, yet all he does is work. When the collections are safe, I’ll have him spend more time with a-Ji.”

“A-Ji…”

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“My girl. Her name is Xie Ji,” the Director explains, “she lost her mother when she was very young, and she was only a teenager when her father, my fellow pal, also passed away. She was very independent and capable, and she was stubborn for wanting to go the Space Agency, too. You don’t see many girls as headstrong as her these days.
But then again, her name really was appropriate… the clear skies after the rain; there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

Ding Yi nods while listening.

As expected, Xie Ji is related to him.

And she also realises that, when mentioning Xie Ji, the Director finally looked a lot more human.

Even if it is rather unsettling when everything else about him is quite subtly wrong.

So Xie Ji is this Director’s adopted daughter, and also the irritable man’s fiancée. She is also the person who saw the unidentified object hurtling towards Earth via the telescope.

In that case, it is highly possible that the man is the Nightmare’s owner.

Then, while thinking, Ding Yi happens to glance over at a nearby clock. Then she exclaims, “oh damn! We won’t make it back to the library in time!”

The minute hand is pointing at 40 on the clock. It’s only 20 more minutes before the Raining Hellfire will come down.

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If they could board a bus immediately, they’ll certainly make it back in time; unfortunately, the bus doesn’t even stop at the Museum right now.

So now, their only choice is to take shelter in the Museum.

Is the Museum really a safe shelter?

Ding Yi wonders, a bit anxious.

While she is worried for the coming catastrophe, Xü Beijin has moved the camera over, right as the Director was explaining everything.

He changed the camera when he realised that every other Missiontaker has already made it back to the library, while the two of them are still listed as being under the ‘Museum’ heading.

They spent some time listening to the Director guiding them in the Museum and time passed quickly. They will not make it back to the library in time.

Though the viewers, after listening to the Director, believes they have obtained key information.

“xie ji! she sounds important!”
“shes a link for the museum and the space agency! and the old man at the blocked area at the east, he is probably also one of the fellow soldiers of xie jis dad, right?”
“so does it make her fiance the nightmare owner?”

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“but… what about the residential area in the west? also, it’s xie ji linking the scenes together, we have no idea what her fiance is about”
“eh, it feels like there are a few candidates for the owner, and all of them fail to link up in one way or another”
“Im thinking – could xie ji and her fiance… be the arguing couple, instead of the couple at the library right now?”
“oh, oh shit, i know what you mean”
“yeah, if xie ji worked at the space agency already, and now she’s joined the astronomers outside, she must know the apocalypse is coming
but her fiance wouldn’t know… which means, they could have argued and fit with what the residents described!”
“but didnt they say it was a young couple? it sounds like they werent engaged; theyre different, right?”
“uh… maybe they just didn’t know them well enough? they just heard a man and woman argue, and assumed it was a couple?”
“that makes no sense in that kinda old community where everyone knows everyone else, especially when they’re neighbours… it makes no sense if you know nothing about them, cuz it’s unsafe”
“uh, yeah, that makes sense…”
“ok, and hear me out, if ‘couple’ refers to xie ji and her fiance, then what is the purpose of even having this other couple here? their clear importance doesnt make sense”
“maybe… some kinda link we haven’t discovered yet would link the two couples together?”
“maybe maybe, the scriptwriter got lazy?”
“maybe…”
“jesus, i dont know anymore, why do we have such a control group for?”

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Xü Beijin, reading the comments, and spotting the phrase ‘control group,’ can’t help but be amused at how appropriate it is.

Xü Xiaoli and Zhang Minglian, and Xie Ji and her fiancé, if you think about it, they really are like an experiment sample and its control.

Why would such an obviously contrasting couple be featured in a Nightmare? What would they mean to the Nightmare’s owner?

In terms of attitude towards the Apocalypse, the two couples are almost polar opposite to each other.

The guy buys it in one of them, the gal buys it in the other. And, the personalities of the couples also seem to be the exact opposite.

What would this all mean?

While Xü Beijin is thinking, the hour hand of the clock has quietly moved past ‘IV.’ They have also conveniently ignored the noises coming from the radio on the third floor.

As a low rumbling finally hits them, Xü Xiaoli and Zhang Minglian are both looking outside the window with their jaws on the floor.

The Missiontakers who have already experienced this before are looking at each other. They should make it through this time.

Yet, when they are going to sigh in relief, their visions go out.

The Nightmare, is restarting.

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