Chapter 117 Extra 17: Us at Twenty-Seven
Shoutout to nyanmaru for the commission!
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Clang, clang…
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard this train…”
The high-speed train slowly started moving. Chu Feng wore headphones, sitting by the window.
Ding
[Dream City game has disconnected]
Across from him, Xie Shiyu also logged off, agreeing to wait for him at home. Chu Feng took off his headset and turned his head, watching the scenery outside recede:
Grey platforms, extending black rails, brick-colored low houses, some disorderly farmland…
Then came a dense forest of trees—ink green, grass green, emerald green—with sunlight dappling the leaves, weaving a forest tapestry as the train rolled. The lush green covered every gap on the window glass like a chaotic oil painting.
Suddenly, the view widened, the green was swept away, mountains trailing behind the train, and the window showed clean glass reflecting pale sand, a distant shimmer of sapphire blue.
“It’s the sea—!”
Chu Feng heard a child next to him exclaiming, “Mom, look, it’s the sea!”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s the sea.” His mom was busy watching a noisy short video, not paying attention to her son, just holding his little arm to prevent him from running around.
In the video, there seemed to be a mystical anchor, speaking strangely:
“Think about it, in palace dramas, how do those little people do their magic? They make a doll of you, put your portrait inside, or hide something personal of yours. Why do they do this? Because things related to ‘you’ can actually affect ‘you’ in mysterious ways.”
Chu Feng thought it was nonsense.
“I know some of you think it’s nonsense.” The mystical anchor, wearing a black fox mask and not showing his face, continued with a ghostly voice:
“Everyone knows it’s nonsense, but imagine if someone picked up your hair, nails, and then made a doll with your photo, sticking needles into it every day. Wouldn’t that scare you? Since everyone thinks it’s nonsense, why get scared?”
“Mom, mom!”
The child lying on the seat shouted, “Look, Mom, the sea, it’s blue!”
His mother nodded, completely absorbed in the video. Chu Feng ignored the mystical nonsense and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes for a moment.
“So personally, I’m very against these holographic games, especially Dream City.”
Chu Feng quietly opened his eyes again. The anchor suddenly changed his tone, starting to criticize Dream City:
“It’s been so popular in recent years, honestly, none of us insiders play it. If anyone plays this game, I cut them off completely.”
“Why? Old fans know, you can’t play this. Let me give you an example. There was this girl who approached my friend, asking if she could mess up the class monitor in their class, they were competing for the autonomous enrollment quota or something. My friend didn’t agree, that kind of thing is bad karma, not worth it.”
“Later, that girl came up with her own method. She started playing that Dream City game, which supposedly can 100% restore memories from the brain. So she restored a class monitor character and then tortured that character.”
“Mind you, this torture wasn’t real, like killing or anything. Dream City has character protection mechanisms. But this mechanism, honestly, is like domestic violence cases now. If you’re not beaten to the point of fracturing ribs or something, that mechanism won’t activate.”
“So she spent money, bought robots in Dream City, had them monitor the character, no eating or sleeping, just doing exercises every day. Answer a question correctly, get slapped; answer incorrectly, eat a spoonful of rice.”
“In a few days, that character learned to answer all questions wrong, and then she reversed the robot’s settings, answered questions wrong, slapped, answered correctly, eat. Sometimes slapped regardless of right or wrong. In short, capricious, repeatedly tormenting the character.”
“And every time after the abuse, she would spend money for some gifts to raise the character’s mood, not allowing it to commit suicide. There was only this one character in the whole city, no one else, ensuring the character was isolated and helpless. Just like the ancient witchcraft dolls made to harm you.”
“After three months of this, the class monitor often felt tired of studying, couldn’t get up in the morning, lacked energy for anything, felt exhausted, and scored worse and worse in mock exams. In the end, that girl got the quota and went to a prestigious school.”
Chu Feng adjusted his sitting posture. Logically, he felt it was fabricated, but after hearing it, he felt slightly uneasy.
Could his Dream City have unconsciously… influenced Xie Shiyu? Even if it was very minor…
At twenty-seven, after Xie Shiyu’s plane crash, he became crazily addicted to Dream City. At that time, his entire mental state collapsed, constantly clinging to the character Little Xie to numb himself in the city. But deep down, Chu Feng knew that Xie Shiyu was already gone.
Recalling the past, Chu Feng couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable, wanting to curl up and regretting his actions. His distorted psychology and emotional breakdown at that time were also a kind of torture to the character Little Xie in the city.
Could this kind of torture… have somehow affected Xie Shiyu himself in some mysterious way?
According to the timeline, Xie Shiyu was severely injured and undergoing rescue at that time. Could it be… that it made certain surgeries difficult for him…
These mystical things, they cannot be proven. Chu Feng was lost in his thoughts. Sometimes he dared not recall the things from Dream City. He remembered setting up various scenes with Little Xie in the game.
Intense and repetitive scripting, diving into the next round as soon as one ended.
Only when playing these various scene scripts could Chu Feng eliminate the excess rationality in his mind, making him feel real and warm.
Simple physical interactions didn’t require advanced souls. Even Little Xie, who was made of data, could respond well to him.
If chatting, he could only talk about things X-year-old Xie Shiyu might respond to. For example, chatting with the 18-year-old Little Xie about the company’s recent stock prices, he would remain silent, pretending not to hear.
During the second-generation city, Chu Feng had completely adapted to and understood this kind of silence and tolerance towards the character. Little Xie was a program. If asked about something beyond the program settings, they naturally wouldn’t respond.
But during the first-generation city, Chu Feng, on the verge of mental collapse, couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t accept reality, so he came to Little Xie’s character to seek an eternal harbor. However, every second of Little Xie’s silence silently told him: Xie Shiyu was no longer here, he was dead.
[The Xie Shiyu who would chat with you simply and respond like a living person, no longer exists.]
[You’re just using the game system to make a bunch of Xie Shiyu’s toys.]
This kind of psychological suggestion almost drove Chu Feng crazy. In the end, he gave up. Since they were all toys, he should play with them well.
Chu Feng continuously set up numerous scripts, overlapping and embracing day and night. As long as Dream City didn’t play to death, he could play it to death.
Sometimes, when he reached the end, the Little Xies would suddenly stop, staring motionlessly at him, with blue data lights swirling in their slightly brown eyes, as if silently loading something.
At twenty-seven, Chu Feng felt uncomfortable seeing those blue data lights. This wasn’t like Xie Shiyu. Xie Shiyu’s eyes would have a beautiful champagne color. A living person wouldn’t load data like this…!
“Why aren’t you moving?” Chu Feng ordered with a hoarse voice, “Continue.”
At that time, for the first time, the Little Xies inexplicably didn’t follow his script commands. They said:
“Chu Feng, can we not do this anymore?”
Xie Shiyu helped him up, while another Little Xie put a coat on him:
“Let’s go to the bathroom.”
“Then we’ll eat together.”
“I’ll bake a small cake for you to eat…”
Chu Feng heard familiar words, and his eyes suddenly turned red. In truth, he had already felt numb. Long periods of uninterrupted indulgence only brought momentary physical pleasure. After it ended, there was endless devouring emptiness.
Chu Feng laughed at himself, “Does eating even matter?”
The food in Dream City, even if eaten, was just wasted. In reality, he still couldn’t eat anything.
Come to think of it, how long had it been since he ate…
Forget it, it doesn’t matter anymore.
Chu Feng forcefully pushed away the supporting Little Xie characters. These Little Xies wouldn’t listen. Chu Feng clicked – Reset: Start over, play this play again from the beginning…
The Little Xie characters were cleared from cache, starting over again. They approached, and Chu Feng listened to each one of them, speaking the exact same lines like foolish NPCs. Numbly, he waited for them to finish their lines, then fast-forwarded to abandoning reason, chaotic embraces…
At that time, he couldn’t feel any joy from it, but still, he had to continue. If he didn’t hold Xie Shiyu, didn’t feel Xie Shiyu’s warmth, he felt terrified.
But holding so many burning hot Xie Shiyus, Chu Feng deeply knew that what he held in his hands were just toys simulated by data. He felt even deeper sorrow for himself but couldn’t salvage himself from such despair.
Falling like this, falling, like a plane crash from high in the sky, waiting for the moment of smashing into pieces on the ground…
Clang, clang.
The high-speed train turned a corner, slowing down slightly. Chu Feng looked towards the distant sea, as blue as the Pacific.
Xie Shiyu never mentioned how he was rescued or how he became Regulator X. He just casually mentioned that he was seriously injured and couldn’t remember many things.
“So, I’m most against playing these holographic games.”
The mother of the child in front listened seriously to the video, the phone was still on loudspeaker, and the short video anchor continued:
“I’m not telling everyone about the girl’s thing with the class monitor to curse someone with Dream City. It might not be effective.”
“Some people have a tough fate, or naturally have good luck. The more you curse them, the more successful they become, and it’s the one who curses them that gets retribution. That’s why for those whose horoscopes are too tough, if you take them to a fortune teller, they won’t do the reading for you. Not only will they not do it, they’ll even scold you for not knowing the rules.”
“If parents find out that their children are playing Dream City, remember to stop them, especially if their classmates have introduced them into the game. It’s best for the country to come up with some policy to completely cut off these games. They really harm people!”
The mother of the child showed an appreciative look on her face.
“If you think what I said makes sense, please double-click to like and follow, and see you next time…”
“Mom! Mom!” The son saw his mother ignoring him, and stubbornly laid down on his seat shouting: “Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom…”
Chu Feng pinched his brow.
Several phones around were on loudspeaker: short video double-click live 666, the rapid BGM of the Crushed Crunchy Game, and the drama screen where the original spouse’s and mistress was wrestling: Are you cheap or not?
“Mom, Mom…”
Crack.
“You’re annoying!” His mother heavily hit her son.
Chu Feng thought it was over.
Sure enough, 0.5 seconds later, there was a loud bang ahead.
The boy started crying loudly, his mother was annoyed to death, put down her phone that was playing the short video to take care of her son, and the person in the front left increased the volume of the tablet that was watching the drama, lest the child’s crying cover up the original pair’s tearing in the drama.
Chu Feng helplessly took out two small earplugs from his bag and quietly plugged them in. He turned his head to look at the distant sea outside.
Very blue, very beautiful. I wonder if the Pacific island sea was as blue when Xie Shiyu was Regulator X. Like a pool of melted sapphire.
Rarely were there no tourists by the sea, and the quietly rising snow-white waves surged and extinguished.
Clang, clang, clang…
The sound of the train passing over the rails echoed in his ears, louder with each passing moment. Chu Feng gripped the armrest of his seat tightly, sweat forming slightly on his forehead. He felt his heartbeat getting faster and faster.
The sea, the train, Xie Shiyu.
The images he once tried to avoid vividly surfaced in his mind. The sea train in his mind accelerated faster and faster, clang, clang, clang, clang, until finally…
Bang!
The bomb exploded, and the entire train perished in the intense blaze.
At twenty-seven, in the first-generation city, Xie Shiyu committed suicide across the city.
“…Hold me.”
Three years ago, in Dream City, a luxurious decorated train was running along the tracks.
Clang, clang. Chu Feng’s body swayed with the train’s movement. He wore a disheveled uniform, lightly holding a white shirt in his mouth, while his navy blue jacket laid casually discarded on the ground.
On either side, two Xie Shiyus hugged him. Chu Feng had one arm around each, their pristine backs against the cold train glass.
The uniform cap with a silver badge was worn on his head, and under the brim, his dark hair was already damp with sweat. The cap swayed and swayed until it couldn’t withstand the excessive force, falling off and landing on the muddy white ground, stained with dirty snow.
Chu Feng held onto the broad back of CEO Xie, turning his head to kiss Xie, the conductor, reason peeling away from his body, his will also gradually fading.
He seemed to have turned into a small maple leaf, lying on the sea, tossed back and forth by the waves.
No need to think, no need to think about the roar of the plane, the bones of the crashed plane, never seeing someone again…
“Do you want to take a bath?”
After everything was done, CEO Xie helped him wipe off briefly, “There’s a bathroom in the luxury compartment…”
“No need.” Chu Feng interrupted him indifferently, grabbing CEO Xie’s tie, pulling him close, and seductively smiling, “Anyway, I’ll be dirty again later.”
Xie Shiyu frowned slightly, looking worried, “Chu Feng…”
Seeing that CEO Xie didn’t seem to want to continue, Chu Feng felt somewhat disappointed.
It didn’t matter; he had plenty of substitute toys. Chu Feng turned away without regret, hooking onto the slightly wrinkled navy blue uniform of Xie, the conductor.
“Shall we do it again?”
This little Xie couldn’t resist the temptation, and soon they embraced again.
In the past, CEO Xie would curse and then fiercely join them. But today, CEO Xie didn’t say anything and silently left that train car.
Chu Feng didn’t care.
After who knows how long, Chu Feng had long lost track of time, perhaps it was nearing noon, and the sun outside the window became intense.
No matter, whether the sun rises or sets, he would do these things.
“Chu Feng, shall we go eat later? It’s been a long time…”
Chu Feng impatiently interrupted Xie, the conductor’s words, “I don’t want to eat.” He continued to hold onto Little Xie’s arm, using his usual routine, “I want to be with you, let’s continue.”
This time, even Xie, the conductor, did not agree. He shook his head firmly, “Chu Feng, you’re already very tired.”
“Who says that?” Chu Feng smiled palely and whispered softly, “In the game, I won’t get tired…”
Xie, the conductor, couldn’t respond to the setting involving the game, only remaining silent.
Chu Feng couldn’t stand this kind of silence the most; disappointed, he pushed away this character.
But Xie, the conductor, didn’t listen.
Let’s change to another one.
Chu Feng frowned. He didn’t understand why recently his toys were becoming more disobedient, often stopping midway through the play for no reason, lecturing him, or wanting to call him to dinner…
What’s the point of doing those things with a bunch of fake characters that lovers would do?
At twenty-seven, Chu Feng doubted whether the internal data program of the characters could really understand human emotions. They were like Xie Shiyu, but they weren’t Xie Shiyu. Doing sports together to escape reality was enough—having meals together, watching movies, going out for a ride. Doing all these things he had done with Xie Shiyu with this group of fake simulated characters, what was the point?
Chu Feng left Xie, the conductor, and stood up on his own. He casually changed into a white rabbit outfit from his game backpack, configuration selected: dining car.
Hopefully, the next batch of Xie Shiyus would be more obedient.
In this train, there were many young Little Xies.
With the little rabbit ears on, and the fluffy rabbit tail, Chu Feng followed the previously saved train play copy and clicked to start.
Soon, he was laid out on the automated dining car, tied up, the dining car’s program started, and the wheels slowly turned, entering the next train car…
Little rabbit Chu Feng had a big sign hanging on him: Free lunch.
The automatic doors of the car opened, and the dining car entered.
For a moment, everyone in the car, whether they were scrolling on their phones, playing Crushed Crunchy, wearing headphones, or enjoying the scenery, all turned their heads to look. The eyes were fixed straight.
Chu Feng closed his eyes, sinking into the warmth of a new round, kisses, hugs, deeper immersion, he used them to feel another person who he could never touch again.
Chu Feng didn’t care which Xie Shiyu was in front of him, nor did he bother to distinguish. As for where CEO Xie and Xie, the conductor, who rejected him had gone and what they had done, Chu Feng didn’t know and didn’t care.
Chu Feng didn’t know how many times he had collapsed beside the dining cart, his once-erect bunny ears now drooping like those of a lop-eared rabbit from being played with too many times.
In a daze, he felt someone lift him up. Chu Feng instinctively hugged this Xie Shiyu, nuzzling him affectionately. However, this Xie Shiyu seemed quite unromantic, merely placing him on a seat. Chu Feng frowned, then suddenly heard:
Ssshhh——
The sound of curtains being drawn.
“Chu Feng, look—”
Chu Feng, startled, came back to his senses. Xie Shiyu gently touched his cheek as if handling a precious, fragile object, then slowly turned his face toward the window:
Through the transparent train window, a stunning expanse of blue swept past.
…The sea.
Clang, clang, the train passed through golden sandy beaches and snowy white waves, with seagulls flying outside the window.
Chu Feng was surprised. He looked down at the window base and saw a rail floating on the sea, stretching towards the horizon.
This is… a sea train.
—When was it built? Did worker Little Xie build it?
Chu Feng was speechless, overwhelmed by surprise. Even in the game Dream City, constructing such an overwater project was extremely difficult.
The most crucial point was that he had never issued any directive to build such a project. How could these characters like Little Xie complete such a challenging task on their own?
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Xie Shiyu asked him with a smile.
Chu Feng dumbly nodded. He felt Xie Shiyu beside him, holding him and gently stroking his drooping bunny ears:
“Chu Feng, can we stop now?”
“Let’s watch the sea together.”
**
Play doesn’t have such content.
Chu Feng looked at the character Xie Shiyu in front of him again, and once more, he saw unfamiliar blue data light shimmering in those slightly brown eyes. What is character Little Xie loading… instructions he never set?
Chu Feng suddenly felt a difficult-to-control panic.
—Who set it? The game system? What instructions did they set?
“You are not… not him…!”
Mentally on the verge of collapse, Chu Feng was afraid of that strange blue data light. He shook his head desperately and suddenly pushed away the character Little Xie: “I don’t want to watch the sea with you!”
—At this moment, he desperately wanted the real Xie Shiyu, the genuine, real-life Xie Shiyu, who wouldn’t emit blue data light!
“Chu Feng?”
“Chu Feng? What’s wrong with you?”
“Chu Feng…”
Inside the carriage, many Xie Shiyus were inquiring about his safety. They all had exactly the same face, looking at him with concern, walking towards him…
They were all Xie Shiyu, yet none of them were Xie Shiyu anymore.
Xie Shiyu was dead, there was no Xie Shiyu left in this world.
“Go away… all of you, go away…!”
Chu Feng kept backing away, distancing himself from this group of characters. Immediately, he turned and ran to another carriage.
Behind him, a group of identical characters stared at him.
They weren’t the real Xie Shiyu, not even data toys under his control! What instructions are they loading?
Today is the Carnival Train play, including the morning double play carriage, the lunch play carriage, and various others to come…
But at every stage, character Little Xie failed to follow the program properly.
What happened…?
Chu Feng felt a fear of the unknown.
Sometimes when he looked at virtual characters, he felt extreme panic.
Sometimes, when he saw parts of virtual characters identical to Xie Shiyu, he felt extreme trust and reassurance, as if he were still living beside him.
This extremely contradictory psychological state was like riding a roller coaster, speeding along the edge of frenzy, about to derail at any moment. If he stopped the game and returned to reality… that cold reality would be even more unbearable for Chu Feng.
He hid barefoot in an empty carriage.
It was a bit dark here, with light streaming through the window, casting a rectangular shadow.
Chu Feng curled up into a ball, with soft, drooping rabbit ears next to his ears.
He began to ponder childish questions: Why can’t people come back to life after death? Why did those characters stop listening to him…? He couldn’t figure it out, his mind was in chaos, his long-unused reason seemed to have rusted and degraded long ago.
He felt a kind of void fatigue, unable to summon any strength, his limbs and senses numb.
Being together with Xie Shiyu used to be joyful, but now there was only numbness and inertia, clinging to warmth, not wanting his sober self, indulging again and again…
Like an ostrich burying itself deeper and deeper in the sand, burying deeper and deeper until suffocating, it actually… wasn’t bad at all…
[Drip, drip, drip——drip——]
In a white hospital room, 27-year-old Chu Feng laid with tightly closed eyes on a pale hospital bed. Beside the respirator, the heartbeat monitor emitted a steady drip——sound, indicating that the waveform of his heartbeat instantly flattened.
A group of emergency medical personnel from Country M surrounded the bed, communicating rapidly in English: “Heart stopped, pacemaker——”
Electrodes for the pacemaker were quickly placed on Chu Feng’s chest, and the device was activated! Bang——
His emaciated body bounced once from the hospital bed numbly.
Di——Di——!
The heartbeat monitor still showed a flat line.
Medical personnel continued emergency resuscitation: [Jump, preparing for the second time…]
Across the Pacific, in New Caledonia.
Under the white ceiling, a surgical lamp was on.
“It’s strange, why hasn’t he woken up yet?”
Di, di, di, the heartbeat monitor traced out regular waves.
A blond doctor spoke fluently in French: “All functions are normal, he should have woken up.”
“It’s already the tenth day. Could it be… a vegetative state?”
“All organ functions have recovered, he has been resting quietly, and hasn’t been stimulated. Why can’t he wake up? Did our medicine fail?”
Several doctors discussed heatedly, holding experimental records, observing Xie Shiyu on the sickbed like they were observing a laboratory mouse.
This person was salvaged from the sea.
At that time, fishermen on the island found something unknown floating in the sea, thinking it was some big fish, and brought it up. When they saw it, they were shocked. It was a living person! But almost inhuman, with extensive burns all over, clearly broken ribs and legs, unsure about internal organs, looking like… there was no way to survive.
Originally, the fishermen thought it would be painful for such a person to live, so it would be better to give him a quick death.
They tried to wake him up in English and French, but to no avail. No one on the ship wanted to unjustly kill someone, but having brought him up dead, they were at a loss.
After stopping the ship at the shore, they heard from an elderly man guarding the ship that a new hospital institution on the island specializes in terminally ill volunteers, and provides a substantial amount of money to their families.
——It is estimated that they use strange drugs for experiments.
They thought about it and sent him in. “I don’t think he’s in a vegetative state,” the blond doctor said, “Based on our previous data analysis, the drug’s performance on him has been very good and hasn’t damaged his brain structure. Why can’t he wake up?”
“There are fragments remaining in his brain, maybe that’s the reason.”
“But his current physical condition doesn’t allow for another craniotomy. If he dies on the spot, we’ll lose a very valuable sample data.”
“Leader, what do you think?”
The middle-aged doctor with brown hair, known as the leader, pondered for a moment and said: “Did you say he’s been resting quietly?”
“Yes.”
Leader: “We thought not disturbing him to recover quietly would be good for him, but now that he can’t wake up, maybe we should think the other way around. Could it be because we haven’t stimulated his brain, so his deep consciousness can’t wake up.”
“Leader, are you suggesting brainwave therapy?”
“Yes. Send him to the brainwave scanning room first, measure the brainwave activity rate, and then we’ll formulate an activation plan.”
On the other side of the Atlantic, in Country M.
“Pacemaker, third jump——”
Di——di——di——, the instrument connecting Chu Feng’s heart still emitted a long and heartbreaking alarm sound.
After the pacemaker started, there was a slight fluctuation in the heart, but then it fell into a flat line.
The doctors present shook their heads inwardly.
This situation… was basically hopeless.
There was no injury anywhere on this patient’s body.
All organ functions were intact, but his consciousness couldn’t wake up.
Nutrient solutions had been administered to his body, but the situation was extremely grim. This patient was deeply addicted to gaming and had a strong tendency towards suicide.
During his hospital stay, this was already the third cardiac arrest.
Another nurse had already gone to find the family to issue a critically ill notice.
The remaining medical staff were urgently preparing for the fourth round of cardiac pacing and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
If this time we can’t save him, the attending physician sighed deeply in his heart, then it really means… God is taking this child away.
***
27-year-old Chu Feng curled up in the corner of the train, trembling.
The drooping small rabbit ears brushed against him, feeling a bit itchy. Chu Feng yanked them off and threw them on the ground.
The sound of the train moving forward, clang, clang, echoed in the air, and the speed of this car seemed to be slowing down.
The windows seemed to be sliding, with the retro romance of an old-fashioned train.
Ding-dong, the sound of remote intelligent control, the train window slowly opened automatically, and the salty sea breeze blew into the car.
Chu Feng glanced out the window and saw that the train was stopped in the middle of the sea, with a small white island ahead. The rocks were all white, only about half the size of a soccer field, visible at a glance.
The platform was also made of white stones, built on the sea like a shell-made platform.
Chu Feng felt a sense of strangeness. What was this station used for? Who would get off here and who would get on?
It seemed that he was immersed in Dream City at all times. Many buildings here were from his memory, and every Little Xie in this city was from his mind.
But he seemed to know nothing about this city.
Even these Little Xie had secretly built such a huge project without his knowledge.
“The train has arrived at the station. Passengers who wish to disembark, please use the rear door.”
Chu Feng heard Little Xie’s voice from the broadcast, probably Little Xie the conductor.
Bang—
The doors of several carriages opened simultaneously, and Chu Feng looked out the window. No Little Xie got off.
Chu Feng supported the floor and struggled to stand up. His extremely depleted body made it difficult for him to even walk. Chu Feng swayed a few steps, grabbed the door handle, and stood by the door gazing out.
The platform was labeled: Terminus.
This was an isolated island, surrounded by no plants, only silver-white beaches and white stones.
Further ahead, the railway tracks sank into the sea and disappeared into a vast blue.
Chu Feng was dressed very thinly, wearing a furry rabbit jacket that barely covered his body, with the ears he had just pulled off stuffed behind, a small tail.
In reality, he would never wear such clothes shamelessly and stand at the door of the train. Perhaps he was not far from the psychiatric hospital now.
Chu Feng stood openly at the door of the train, with the lonely sea breeze blowing. The wind blew over his white rabbit fur jacket, feeling a bit itchy.
The train stopped on the sea rail, and below the door was the deep blue sea. If he took a step forward, he could step on the silver sand beach.
Chu Feng lowered his head and looked down, seeing his current appearance.
Even in Dream City, not eating or drinking would affect his body shape. He had lost a lot of weight, his ribs protruding sharply, his waist slim to an unhealthy level, as if his internal organs had evaporated into thin air, leaving only skin wrapped around bones, thin enough to break with a single hand.
His neck, arms, belly, waist, and legs—all visible parts of his body were covered with densely packed red dots and ambiguous bruises, countless marks of pampering and indulgence.
Chu Feng didn’t want to see his current appearance. He stepped back, no longer looking at the sea, and continued to hide back into the carriage, curling up.
He didn’t want to think about anything, didn’t want to think about anything at all.
Sometimes he regretted why he didn’t go on a business trip abroad with Little Xie that time. If they were on the plane together, holding hands as the fuselage plummeted from high altitude, exploding and catching fire, they would die embracing each other in the cold waters of the Pacific.
—That would be so much better.
***
Xie Shiyu laid in the cold, massive brain wave apparatus.
Hundreds of tiny wave RF guns aimed 360 degrees without dead spots at his brain.
“Brain wave activity rate 5%, too low.”
The blond and brown-haired doctors conversed in French, constantly adjusting the machine’s values.
“Start brain wave stimulation.”
“Leader, shall we choose electric shock stimulation, or… be more gentle?”
The leader pondered for a moment: “Electric shock can only stimulate simple bodily reactions. We want a deep-level awakening. Well… he’s a very valuable sample data for us, so let’s try to ensure his survival.”
“Okay, then let’s start with the gentlest game stimulation.”
During brain wave therapy, game stimulation refers to the process where the patient lies in the brain wave apparatus and connects to a game headset to stimulate the patient’s will through game content.
But this method has always been criticized by the medical community as having little effect, possibly just psychological and a waste of time, not as effective as rough electric shock stimulation.
However, some doctors claim that this can awaken the patient’s deep-seated will, especially for patients who love playing games. When the game screen is set to the point of almost dropping rank, the brain wave activity rate will instantly soar, thereby stimulating full-body awakening.
Currently, the most popular holographic game in the world is Dream City. Soon, a brand new Dream City headset was brought by the nurse and placed on Xie Shiyu in the brain wave apparatus.
“Initiate Phase One of brain wave therapy.”
Click. The doctor pressed the brain wave apparatus button, and hundreds of tiny RF guns continuously emitted brain waves similar to those of the patient, high-frequency stimulating the patient’s brain.
Soon, medical personnel observed the patient’s brows slightly furrow, seeming to be in some pain. The brain wave display screen showed chaos.
Subsequently, the brain wave activity rate crazily jumped from 5% to start, dropped to 8% after several disturbances, and finally stabilized at 25%.
Drip—
The Dream City game headset made a prompt sound:
【Successfully connected—】
【Welcome to Dream City】
The doctors present did not hold too much hope. Game stimulation was always a precarious method. They would now first stabilize the patient’s brain waves with a blank city, and then introduce stimulating plots into the patient’s city in Dream City, hoping to awaken the patient’s brain waves from a deep level, gradually expanding from 25% to 100%, and finally completing the awakening stimulation.
The thrilling game required at least three days. The attending doctor briefly recorded the patient’s condition and prepared to move to the next experimental sample to start recording…
Just then, suddenly! The brainwave monitor emitted a buzzing alarm.
“What’s going on?”
The instrument screen showed that the brainwave activity rate suddenly jumped from 5% to 87%!
After repeated rapid fluctuations, it suddenly stabilized at 93.7%. This percentage indicated a highly awakened state of the brain.
“Unbelievable!”
The blonde doctor exclaimed in English, then switched to French and asked:
“Is it so exciting to have an empty city set in the game?”
Her French colleague shrugged and muttered quietly, “Maybe he hasn’t played games in many years.”
***
Chu Feng curled up in the corner of the train. The sea breeze lightly flew in through the window, and a small seagull perched on the window ledge, tilting its head to look at him.
Chu Feng didn’t want a seagull to see his current appearance. He waved his hand, and the simulated data seagull flapped its wings and disappeared into the azure sky.
The next moment, Chu Feng heard a familiar voice calling him:
“Chu Feng.”
—It was Xie Shiyu’s voice.
In this city, Xie Shiyu was everywhere, nothing out of the ordinary.
Chu Feng turned his head lightly. Upon turning back, he thought it might be some obedient character coming to find him to continue “playing.”
When he turned around, he immediately froze upon seeing the visitor.
The Xie Shiyu before his eyes was unlike any Little Xie he had found in Dream City, or rather, this Xie Shiyu was a character that he couldn’t find in the city no matter how hard he looked: 27 years old, dressed in an iron-gray suit, the Xie Shiyu who bid him farewell at the airport.
Different from the 25-year-old CEO Xie, the 24-year-old Dr. Xie… This 27-year-old character, Little Xie, was no different from him in his lifetime, as if Xie Shiyu had returned from the airport to his side.
27 years old… The character and the real person overlapped perfectly without any disconnection. In this moment, Chu Feng had the illusion that Xie Shiyu himself had returned.
This Xie Shiyu strode straight onto the train.
Chu Feng was puzzled. When did he appear on the platform?
When he just looked at this white little island at a glance, it was clearly empty…
This Xie Shiyu walked over, approached, approached again, and Chu Feng shrank back. Xie Shiyu walked up to him and looked down at himself curled up in the corner.
Chu Feng instantly felt an unspeakable sense of shame. He felt that Xie Shiyu was looking at the various red dots on his body, suggestive fingerprints, and… the blocked bunny tail.
Chu Feng gritted his teeth. He moved uncomfortably, wanting to find some clothes in this empty carriage to cover himself up. Suddenly, Chu Feng heard a light laughter above his head:
“First time seeing you dressed so little.”
Xie Shiyu seemed to see through his movements. Chu Feng’s face flushed even more in embarrassment. He comforted himself that it was all just virtual data anyway, there was no need to feel embarrassed. After indulging for so long, where could he find normal clothes now?
He hadn’t meticulously dressed in Dream City for a long time, doing things that normal lovers would do.
Chu Feng felt the warmth of Xie Shiyu’s iron-gray suit draped over him, and secretly touched the sleeve of the suit, faintly smelling Xie Shiyu’s tobacco scent.
He felt a long-lost warmth, not the entanglement and sticky warmth he had indulged in, but a true warmth.
Chu Feng’s nose tingled, almost about to cry.
“Let’s go.”
Chu Feng didn’t ask where he was going. Xie Shiyu, 27 years old, took him obediently, and Chu Feng was obediently led away.
Xie Shiyu first took him to a luxurious compartment, meticulously cleaning him inside and out. Some of the red marks left on him, some from excessive and repetitive affection, had already slightly broken the skin. Xie Shiyu carefully applied medicine to them.
Chu Feng blushed and dared not speak. He was more ashamed than he had ever been in any “play,” not even daring to look into Xie Shiyu’s eyes. Even though he knew this was just virtual data, he still had a feeling… as if caught red-handed by the real Xie Shiyu.
The wounds that had been treated with ointment, brushed by the sea breeze, felt cool and comfortable.
Chu Feng’s extremely contradictory and frenzied emotions calmed down at this moment, truly calm.
He thought, perhaps this wasn’t so bad. Just continue like this, live with each Xie Shiyu character who has similarities to Xie Shiyu in this city. Among them, this 27-year-old one is the most similar. He would just live like this with them in this city forever and ever.
***
Beep—Beep—Beep—
After a brief fluctuation in the heart rate monitor, it once again became a flatline indicating death.
For the fifth time, the cardiac pacemaker failed.
The medical staff beside the bed looked somewhat desperate at the patient they had been trying to save for so many days. The grim reaper had firmly grasped his thin neck.
The cardiac pacemaker cannot be used frequently in a short period of time. They were still trying to perform CPR, but they knew in their hearts that as time passed, the probability of the heart beating again would only get smaller…
Soon, his body would permanently die, and even if one day his deeply addicted consciousness wanted to come back, it would never return.
It was too difficult to snatch someone from the hands of death.
***
The endless azure sea connected with the sky. The cries of seagulls could be heard in the distance, and the wind blew white foam, entering through the car window. Chu Feng took a deep breath, feeling the long-lost peace.
Perhaps the Pacific Ocean was like this too, its beautiful blue like a pool of sapphires. At this moment, he and Xie Shiyu quietly leaned against the window and watched the sea.
Xie Shiyu conjured up a small cake from somewhere and coaxed Chu Feng into eating it. Chu Feng hadn’t chewed anything for a long time. When the first bite went in, his taste buds were numb, and only the second bite revealed the familiar cocoa cake fragrance.
“Don’t cry…” Xie Shiyu reached out and wiped away the tears on Chu Feng’s cheek, gently teasing him, “Are you crying because you dressed up as a little white rabbit today?”
Chu Feng turned his face away, trying to hold back his tears. Xie Shiyu magically produced a set of clothes, normal clothes, and after feeding him the small cake, helped him put on a white shirt, buttoning up one button, black pants through long legs, a belt around the waist, and finally personally put on him a pair of leather shoes.
The near-death little maple tree straightened up again.
Chu Feng didn’t know what Xie Shiyu wanted to do. He didn’t think about it, didn’t want to think about it. This was just a segment of data, and he just wanted to enjoy a moment of tranquility.
So when Xie Shiyu led him out of the train door, Chu Feng neither resisted nor asked questions, just obediently followed along.
Stepping on the delicate silver beach sand with leather shoes, Chu Feng childishly stepped a few feet, soft. There were some broken small shells next to the beach.
Chu Feng thought Xie Shiyu brought him down to play by the sea. Just as he was focused on looking at the small shells on the beach, suddenly! Bang—
Chu Feng heard the sound of the train door closing, and his whole person was startled:
After Xie Shiyu brought him down, he got back on the train himself and closed the door.
… What does this mean?
Chu Feng’s long inactive reason returned. His brain was thinking rapidly, and suddenly he had a very bad premonition. Chu Feng immediately rushed forward, exerting strength from somewhere, fiercely patting the train’s glass door:
“Xie Shiyu, Xie Shiyu! You… come down!”
27-year-old Xie Shiyu, dressed in an iron-gray suit, was just like the day he bid farewell at the airport. He smiled gently, leaned against the door, kissed him through the cold glass:
“Chu Feng, take care of yourself.”
He turned and left, his resolute figure leaving no lingering sentiment. This Xie Shiyu had never embraced Chu Feng like the other little Xies, playing various “play” that he probably wanted to play when he was alive.
Between them was only a kiss through a glass door.
The sea breeze blew, and Chu Feng trembled all over. He heard the train emit a whimper—
It’s about to depart.
Chu Feng’s heart was fried like hot oil. He used all his strength to pat the door, his voice already with a sob:
“Xie Shiyu, Xie Shiyu! Come down for me!”
27-year-old Xie Shiyu didn’t look back at him again, walking straight towards the front of the train, towards the driver’s cab.
Chu Feng finally felt that everything today was a conspiracy.
It was a conspiracy hidden from him
The already built sea train, another white island isolated from the city, under the guise of a carnival train, gathered numerous characters and him on board.
—It’s all arranged.
Chu Feng’s restored rationality began to operate at high speed. He could almost foresee the final outcome, and an uncontrollable fear rose in his heart.
The train started!
Clang, clang, clang… Along the sea rails, heading towards Dream City…
The speed increased, the train ran faster and faster. Chu Feng chased after it as if he were mad, his physical strength completely inadequate. At this point, he couldn’t even run as fast as he normally walked. He watched helplessly as one carriage after another passed by him—
He saw the 26-year-old taxi driver Xie, wearing the floral shirt they had bought for their seaside vacation, and when he glanced out the window, he smiled at Chu Feng.
The 25-year-old CEO Xie, in a tailored suit, was pompously signing documents. He caught sight of Chu Feng and greeted him with a tap of his pen on the glass window.
The 24-year-old Dr. Xie, in a white coat, sat behind the CEO, resting his chin on his hand and gazing out at the scenery. When he saw Chu Feng, he smirked maliciously, squinting slightly as if reminding him to pay the hefty medical bills next time.
Even though they all knew, there would be no next time.
The train got faster and faster. Chu Feng had never hated himself so much for not running fast enough. As the train sped towards the sea, Chu Feng struggled to keep up. He saw 23-year-old Xie Shiyu, 22-year-old Xie Shiyu… 20-year-old Xie Shiyu, who argued with him again at the Civil Affairs Bureau…
The 19-year-old Xie Shiyu, retaking his exams, sat by the window seat, still working on some unknown test papers. The 18-year-old school bully Xie Shiyu leaned arrogantly against the backrest, his forearm resting on the window ledge, revealing a section of his tattoo.
They saw Chu Feng running outside the window and happily whistled at him. The whistle was quickly carried away by the train, speeding off into the sea…
Chu Feng was gasping for breath, nearly suffocating. The train ride was supposed to include only the adult Xie Shiyu. By the time it reached the 18-year-old Xie Shiyu, it should have been at the end of the train, with no new carriages.
But now, before his eyes, an additional, elongated carriage was passing by.
His premonition was coming true. Chu Feng ran frantically, feeling a surge of renewed strength as his last instinct kicked in.
Now, passing by him were carriages filled with numerous underage Xie Shiyus.
The 17-year-old high school bully wore the matching black T-shirt they had bought together.
The 16-year-old freshman Xie excitedly held his acceptance letter to the prestigious high school, flipping it over repeatedly.
The 15-year-old third-year middle schooler Xie was worried about how to get into Chu Feng’s high school but didn’t want to show it, his face trying to maintain a cool demeanor.
The 13-year-old first-year Xie, who liked him but never dared to say it, didn’t even dare to kiss him backstage at the school play. Now, too, he quickly averted his eyes after glimpsing Chu Feng running outside the window, pretending not to see him, only to sneak a glance again after a while.
But the train moved quickly, and Chu Feng outside the window had become a tiny figure, shouting desperately:
“Xie Shiyu! Xie Shiyu…”
Chu Feng ran until his throat bled, yet his legs couldn’t stop, driven by instinct to keep moving forward. He soon ran out of the island’s boundaries and plunged into the sea, the icy water drenching him completely.
The last carriage of the train sped by him:
The 10-year-old third-grade Xie Shiyu held a composition award, leaning against the window with a melancholy expression.
The 7-year-old first-grade Xie Shiyu, with a childish face, pressed against the train window, waving at him.
Chu Feng kept praying in his heart: Please, no… don’t… he will change, he will change everything! He will eat properly, take care of himself, limit his gaming time every day… take good care of himself… live well…
So… please, no…!!
The train reached the end.
Finally, Chu Feng saw the 5-year-old Xie Shiyu sitting at the back of the train, holding a water gun, waving at him with a smile:
“Bye-bye.”
Bang—
The train carrying all the Xie Shiyus sped away, further and further… until it exploded over the sea.
A massive mushroom cloud rose from the blue sea, the blood-red flames tearing everything in sight apart. Under the shockwave, Chu Feng fell backward, seeing the sky, the waves, the dream city he had built, shattering into fragments of data…
Beep!
Beep, beep, beep…
The heart monitor emitted a steady, rhythmic sound, the flat line broken by regular waves.
The medical staff murmured in astonishment, and a nurse immediately ran out…
The next second, Chu Feng, lying in the hospital bed, opened his eyes.
***
At the same moment, on a small island in the Pacific Ocean.
The brainwave monitor’s frequency steadily rose: 95.6%, 98.7%… 100%!
The machine automatically stopped its stimulation. The next moment, doctors observed their precious specimen, eyeballs moving under closed lids, then opening their eyes—
Xie Shiyu, severely injured and suffering from amnesia, opened his eyes to see several foreigners surrounding him, chattering in an incomprehensible language.
They exclaimed in amazement, saying something like “unbelievable,” followed by intense exchanges among themselves, then turning back to him.
Xie Shiyu couldn’t understand a word.
“It seems like he doesn’t understand French.”
“Clearly, he’s of Asian descent.”
“Well, that makes sense.”
Next, Xie Shiyu saw four doctors standing around his bed, kindly addressing him with a question:
“Can you speak English?”
Xie Shiyu: “……”
The four looked at him expectantly.
He couldn’t remember anything, his mind a blank slate. Suddenly, a faint feeling seized him.
“…train.”
Xie Shiyu uttered a strange word.
“Train,” they repeated, understanding that he meant a train or locomotive.
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