Split Zone No.13

Gao Qi’s gaze remained gentle, but it contained a hint of sorrow as he said, “Ah Shen, why aren’t you talking?”

My eyes widened at this. Does this mean... Does this mean that he can’t hear me?

Was this illusion just like those dreams I had in the Split Zone? Were they mere memories which cannot be altered?

How would I be able to help Jiao S if I couldn’t change things? What’s happening here?

I guess I’ll just have to try everything I can then. I pushed Gao Qi away and ran over to pick that bottle up, hugging it tight against my chest.

Gao Qi was already behind me when I turned around. His eyes were on me.

I took a deep breath before I attempted another question. “Are these Jiao S’s eyes? Can you hear me?”

Gao Qi smiled as he reached out for the bottle in my arms. “This is a new addition to my collection. Do you like it, Ah Shen?”

I collided with the wall behind me as I backed away. “Stay away!” I shouted.

Gao Qi’s brows furrowed. “You’re afraid of me?”

I was thinking to myself, let me go back, let me go back, get me out of this illusion quickly.

I was at a loss. I couldn’t sense MF in me at all, and Gao Qi looked intimidating here. I didn’t know what to do with Jiao S’s eyes either. What can I do? What should I do?

How about I leave this place first? I should try and put a greater distance between us.

After I made that decision, I grabbed the glass bottle tightly as I ran towards the door of the laboratory.

“Li Shen.”

Gao Qi called out urgently. He sounded anxious.

Without MF, it felt as if my body couldn’t keep up. I moved rather slowly and Gao Qi caught up with me easily. Just as I was about to push the door open, a hand pushed against it.

It was terrifying.

I was being forcefully turned around by the shoulder. Afraid that I’d smash the bottle, I quickly put it on a tiny desk to my right before I raised my hands to try and stop Gao Qi from coming any closer.

There was a dangerous light in Gao Qi’s eyes as he grabbed both my arms. “Ah Shen, didn’t you say that you’ll be able to accept me no matter what I became? Didn’t you say that you’ll always love me, that you’ll always be by my side?”

I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. He wouldn’t be able to hear me anyway.

But my silence seemed to anger him even more.

He pushed me against the door. Trapping both my arms with one hand, he started tearing my clothes off with his other hand.

I was shocked at this turn of events. This wasn’t what Gao Qi would have done.

“Let me go!” I roared as I struggled to break free from his grip, but he did not have the slightest intention of letting me go. There was anger and a possessive light in his eyes.

With a heave, I finally broke free from him. But in my haste to escape, I slipped and fell to the ground.

Before I could turn around, I felt a weight on my back.

I was terrified by this, and I suddenly thought of Nie Zun at this point.

For some reason, I found the strength to push him away and off me. However, just as I was about to get up and run, he grabbed hold of one of my legs.

I kicked him hard.

Gao Qi’s eyes looked crazed now. “Why are you afraid of me? Why are you avoiding me? Didn’t you say you’d always be supporting me? Why are you acting like the others now!” Gao Qi did not sound gentle anymore. His voice was filled with madness and anger.

His hands trembled as he reached for my neck and his pupils widened as that gentle face twisted into an ugly one. He pushed me down and the pressure on my neck made my eyes widen as I felt myself suffocating.

Gao Qi’s tears actually fell into my eyes.

Drip.

My eyes were wet from them, and his tears continued falling.

Why is he crying?

Why cry?

Why did I start crying too?

I couldn’t tell if this was something from my memories or something that was happening right at this moment.

Time and space were contorted here, and my soul and consciousness seemed to be separated.

***

There was a trace of blood on the corner of his lips, I saw the knife in my hand, and it was plunged right into his chest.

In that image, his eyes were filled with sorrow, but they were gentle. He spoke with a surprisingly demanding voice.

“Li Shen, you have to remember me forever.”

***

I finally remembered it.

That’s right. That person was not Gao Qi, it was Gaoqin Jiuye.

My tears started falling as images started flashing past my brain. They pierced my heart mercilessly, causing it to bleed.

***

He gasped for breath as he rested his head on my shoulders. “Yes, Ah Shen, you did well. I’ve told you this before. It’s me if that skull ring on his right hand is gone.

“Ah Shen, I’ve only been with you for a while, but he loves you. Though he definitely made mistakes, he is still me, and I’m still him. You have to love him. Don’t forget him, and don’t forget me.”

I couldn’t stop crying. The air was filled with the smell of blood.

***

Sunlight reflected off Gao Qi’s hair. We were at the field, and his eyes were a beautiful dark brown. He looked at me with unfocused eyes before he fell backwards.

In the midst of picking up the trash, I dropped everything in my hand as I ran towards him.

“You, wake up. It’s me, it’s me. Senior.”

I saw a foreign gaze when he opened his eyes.

“This is your world?”

I was stunned at this. Did he hurt his head?

“Senior, how about this. How about I take you to the nurse?”

Slap. I reached out a hand but it was slapped away.

“You’re that girl in my dreams?” He frowned with a look that looked nothing like the approachable Gao Qi senior of mine.

I sat down on the ground, looking at him sit up. “You. Who are you? Is senior Gao Qi being possessed?”

A malicious smile appeared on him. “I’m Gaoqin Jiuye and I come from another dimension. I’m currently in that senior’s body. His consciousness is asleep now.”

My jaw dropped at this.

Slap.

I gave myself a slap.

It wasn’t a dream. I wasn’t daydreaming either.

Gaoqin Jiuye waved a hand in front of me. “What’re you looking at? Help me up. Do you know how difficult it is for my consciousness to pass through the Split Zone and take over his body over here? It’s all for you.”

***

Just as I was about to reach out to him, that memory ended.

My vision cleared up and I was back in the laboratory.

What did I just see...

Was that what happened shortly after the first time I met Gao Qi?

How could it be... Why did I not remember anything at all?

Gao Qi stumbled to the side as he looked at me with a complex gaze.

“You. You...” I began, not knowing what else to say.

Gao Qi looked crazed. “You? What’s up with you? Why don’t you know how to protect yourself? Didn’t I tell you to take that ring off if he bullies you again? I’ll appear if you do that.”

He waved a hand at me. I saw a skull ring on his right hand which looked exactly identical to the one Nie Zun had.

“You don’t even listen to me now, and I have to force my way through the Split Zone to come here. Do you know how terrible that process is?”

Gaoqin Jiuye sat up as he took off that skull ring, throwing it towards me. “Put it on, and don’t give it to Gao Qi anymore.”

I seemed to finally understand all that had happened at the moment I caught the ring.

I wasn’t in some illusion here. I was a participant in my own dream. This was everything that happened when I was alive.

This was exactly like when I entered my own dream in the past.

The difference was that there had to be some sort of restriction this time. It might be because of the drug that Song Lu gave me which caused me to lose all my MF, as it could have made me enter the dream as an ordinary human being.

This means that I would probably be unconscious in that jail in the Gate of Heaven right now. My consciousness has entered the part of my memories where I’ve lost, leading to all these scenes being played out.

What I saw might be what I’ve forgotten after meeting Gao Qi for the first time.

I’ve lost a lot of those memories, and they usually return in bits and pieces, with no order to them at all. But were these really my memories? Did I actually know Gaoqin Jiuye when I was alive?

Did Gaoqin Jiuye really pass through the Split Zone to meet me in Gao Qi’s body in the real world? How could that be possible?

Thinking about it, it might not be entirely impossible. When I was picking up trash at the field, Gao Qi walked over to talk to me, but I don’t remember what happened after that. Did we leave together? No, I couldn’t remember a thing.

This means that the scene earlier was a part of my memories. Gao Qi passed out at that point, and Gaoqin Jiuye’s consciousness took over.

Good heavens, this sounded so out of this world...