321 Body of Flesh and Blood
“Heart rate and pulse normal, electroencephalogram normal.”
“Good. Check once every hour. Let me know as soon as she wakes up.”
“Yes, Dr Jin.”
Beep, beep–
Apart from what sounded like wind in my ears, I could hear the beeping of a machine that was running.
I couldn’t tell where all the sounds came from. Sometimes, they sounded close to me, but sometimes, they sounded very far away. I wanted to open my eyes but my eyelids felt extremely heavy.
“Can I stay with her?”
A familiar female voice spoke.
“No. The experiment just ended, and her mental state is still very weak. It’s already an exception that you’re able to visit her. Miss, I know you’re worried about her, but trust me, she’s going to be fine. This experiment has been going on for such a long time now, you have to have confidence in us. You should have confidence in her too.”
“Okay, then I’ll leave it to Dr Jin. I’ll go visit another one then.”
“Sure. Come with me, please.”
The voices and the steps went further and further away. I frowned, trying with all my might to wake up.
Wake up… Wake up quickly…
Shen’er… It’s time for you to wake up…
That sounded like it was from deep within my soul. The pressure in my ears was gone in a moment, I felt a warmth flowing through my brain and my nose felt as if it was instantly unblocked as I could breathe all of a sudden.
“Ugh…” My eyes opened slowly as I breathed in.
White, and more white.
The white-washed ceiling was the very first thing that met my eyes as my vision began to clear.
I blinked, unsure of the situation. But, this felt so real…
This feeling…
This feeling!
Good heavens!!!
I snapped my eyes wide open!
My nervous system seemed to connect to all parts of my body and before I knew it, I felt as if I was stiff and swollen all over. I felt slight pain all over and my breathing was very stiff. This, this was a human body!
“Ugh…” I opened my mouth as I tried to make a sound, but all that came out was a hoarse grunt.
Ouch! It was so painful just moving my fingers! What’s happening here?!
An indescribable feeling overwhelmed me. I seemed to have forgotten something, but it felt as if I had gotten something back as well…
I remained lying down as I looked around the room. I then felt a chilling cold spread from the bottom of my spine all the way to the top of my skull.
I tried to move my fingers again, but I couldn’t really move my arms and legs. They felt swollen and painful!
But… in my memory, such pain didn’t even amount to how a mosquito bite would have felt… Just what’s happening?
After lying like that for quite some time, I finally realized why I felt uneasy about this.
It was because every inch of my skin and flesh gave me such a realistic feeling. It wasn’t a feeling, and it definitely wasn’t just a feeling, because it was definitely real.
It was how a body of flesh and blood would feel like.
Though it wasn’t sorrow that hit me first, tears began flowing from the corner of my eyes.
It was definitely a body of flesh and blood. These tears made my eyes all puffy.
I was actually back.
I really wanted to tell myself that it was fake, but everything I felt was telling me that it was definitely real this time.
This feeling was non-existent when in an illusion or in the crack in space. Now that I think about it, one might have been able to have such a high tolerance for pain in the Split Zone because it wasn’t tolerance at all. We were probably numb to it since we didn’t have the sensitivity that humans should have.
I could feel every numb and swollen part of my body right now. I could feel the air and the oxygen mask press against my skin. Everything told me that I was very much a human alive in the real world.
I took a very deep breath when I realized this, my chest rising up towards the ceiling as I did so. I felt the pain in my joints when my back touched the bed again.
I tried lifting an arm, but it felt rigid and numb, as if there were a ton of ants crawling all over my arm at that very moment.
My mouth felt extremely dry as I tried to swallow. Finally, I lifted an arm with great difficulty, and I began attempting to remove the oxygen mask from my face.
The bed creaked a little as I tried to turn.
There was no one in the room, and I finally removed the mask after trying for the millionth time. I dragged myself across the bed like an earthworm, resting my back against the wall as I sat myself up.
“Huu–” Gasping for breath, I stopped for a rest.
That bout of exercise made me fully awake now.
It was extremely quiet in the ward. It looked like one of the better wards since there were no other patients around.
But was this really the real world? How was I able to return?
My brows knitted as I tried to recall what happened.
Apart from those I knew in the Split Zone, I couldn’t really recall anything else that happened. The last thing I remember was Huai Du appearing in the Gate of Heaven.
Wait, wait…! How about those in the Split Zone?
I looked around myself again, trying to confirm that I was really back in the real world. I was absolutely stunned.
Why did I return so suddenly? Why couldn’t I remember what actually happened in the Split Zone?
Where’s everyone else? Were they able to return? What’s happening here?
A human being wouldn’t be able to exist like a body of consciousness did. I tried my best to recall what happened, but I could feel nothing but a dizziness and pain in my head!
If I’m now an ordinary human being living in the real world and I’m no longer in the Split Zone, that means that I wouldn’t have those powers that I had when I was there!
I tried getting up and removing the drip that was sending some sort of transparent liquid into my hand.
This seemed rather unbelievable, even though everything here told me that I was back. I had to go outside and take a look. I had to confirm that everything I was feeling was in fact, real.
I reached for my left hand laboriously. I was almost about to tear the tape away and remove that needle when the door creaked open.
“I guess I was right to come back and have a look. I didn’t think you’d wake up that soon, but I thought there was no harm in giving it a try. Seems like I’ve used that powerful drug effectively this time.”
This was the voice I heard when I was still half-awake, and it sounded exactly like that voice which was embedded in my memory.
He had a pale face with blond hair and blue eyes. I opened my mouth as I looked at him, but I felt my dry lips crack open.
“Do you still remember me, Ah Shen?”
The young doctor who was of mixed race turned to lock the door behind him before walking over to the bed unhurriedly. He pulled a chair over and sat in it, his pose far from elegant. There was a curious light in his eyes as he looked me up and down.
I opened my mouth, but I didn’t speak.
He then began talking to himself and his eyes became unfocused, as if he was recalling a past memory.
“Oh right, you might not be able to talk now. That drug was too powerful, and looking at the time now, you haven’t yet regained control over your entire body.”
I frowned.
As I tried to speak, grunts came out of my mouth instead. I leant backwards against the wall and took huge breaths.
He didn’t look like he was in any kind of a rush. The mixed race doctor kept those curious eyes on me while he remained silent. I recognized him, and I definitely remembered him.
Was it him? The one who injected something in me which caused me to lose all my strength before I ended up being held down by some sexy nurses?
“Looks like you can’t wait to find out the truth behind everything. Even so, I’d like to give you a choice. You have to consider this carefully, since many say curiosity killed the cat. Actually, it isn’t the curiosity that would bring you harm. Once you get access to certain information because of that curiosity, you’d want to get even more information out of what you already have. Being greedy would usually land one in danger, and there are some things that you’re better off not knowing.”
I wanted to nod in agreement, but I couldn’t say anything in response.
“No need to rush it. How about this? Try to recall what happened, and tell me your decision when you’re able to talk, okay? Whether you really want to find out about the things that might make your life more miserable.”
This made me a little anxious. I felt a burning fire in my heart. More miserable? Did anything happen to those who were in the Split Zone?!
Such thoughts made me realize that I’d just end up distancing myself from this world even when I’m back.
Without knowing it, my heart was already used to being in the Split Zone. But looking at the confusing situation right now, I didn’t know if I should actually believe everything he says.
