Chapter 46: “True Self”

Xia Mi had indeed been acting a bit abnormal earlier. Ever since Liao Tianhua absorbed a full 290 Zhuo Coins, she had been plagued by a gnawing sense of hunger.

The thought of Liao Tianhua absorbing even more Zhuo Coins made Xia Mi feel as though her personal property was being snatched away.

She tried to reason with herself, constantly internalizing that this was necessary. Besides, she hadn’t obtained these Zhuo Coins alone; they were the collective result of her companions’ hard work, and it was only right to share them.

However, her reason was suppressed by the hunger. She felt like a wolf that had starved for ten days in the snow, her mind a complete blank, wanting nothing but to replenish her food as quickly as possible. Everyone around her seemed to shimmer with the light of Zhuo Coins.

To control her emotions, Xia Mi felt she needed to do something to distract herself, so she started sharpening the object in her hand. Little did she know that this mechanical sharpening motion only intensified the killing intent in her heart.

It wasn’t until Liao Tianhua’s words about saving one million in seven years were absorbed into her brain, word by word, that Xia Mi gradually regained her clarity.

What? Seven years! He sent money home every month and still managed to save a million?

Xiao Liao was only twenty-five, and he had already saved a million just from his own work!

When Xia Mi graduated, she had received several job offers. The highest-paying one had a base salary of five thousand with a fourteen-month bonus structure¹. After deductions for social security and the housing fund², she would have been left with only 3,800. It didn’t include room or board, and she would only have one day off a week. That was already the best job available to her.

Even if she didn’t eat, drink, or buy clothes and lived at the office, she would only have saved a little over three hundred thousand in seven years.

If she had to pay for food, rent, clothes, and skincare, she might have ended up owing her family tens of thousands after seven years.

What kind of divine job included room and board!

These thoughts jolted Xia Mi’s consciousness awake, successfully suppressing the hunger.

When she heard Liao Tianhua offering to give her eight hundred thousand, Xia Mi had no intention of accepting it.

She and Xiao Liao weren’t related; they were just colleagues doing their jobs. The Zhuo Coins Xiao Liao took didn’t belong solely to her either; they were energy obtained by the entire Second Team. She had no reason to take the money.

Of course, it would be perfectly fine if everyone treated her to a meal to repay her for saving their lives.

This was Xia Mi—not exactly a saint, but a qualified socialist university graduate and a future pillar of the nation who would never take what didn’t belong to her.

Her initial refusal of Liao Tianhua had been out of a sense of morality, but once Xia Mi regained her full senses, she decided to give Xiao Liao a bit of a warning.

She stood with her hands behind her back, looking at Liao Tianhua with a serious expression. “Xiao Liao, you can’t go around testing cadres like this in the future, do you understand?”

Seeing her solemn face, Liao Tianhua wanted to remind her, “You aren’t a cadre yet,” but then he remembered how she could suppress her non-human consciousness just by eating a meal of barbecue. His heart softened inexplicably.

Liao Tianhua simply said, “You’re overthinking it. I didn’t actually plan on giving it to you; it was just an emergency tactic to wake you up.”

In truth, every word he had spoken at the time was sincere.

Seeing Xia Mi struggle against her non-human consciousness, he felt she was working too hard and couldn’t help but want to compensate her. After all, it was his initial text message that had contacted her and led her down this path.

Liao Tianhua felt an inexplicable sense of debt. Her Bianzhi and merits were given to her by the organization and had nothing to do with him personally. He had always been a man of few means and didn’t know how else to make up for his debt, so he could only offer her what he had.

He was a man of simple needs; aside from the salary he had saved over the years, he had nothing else.

Upon hearing this, Xia Mi shook her head. “You’re learning all the wrong things. You’re sounding more and more like my ex-boyfriend. He always used to say deceitful things like ‘I’ll give you all my salary in the future.'”

Liao Tianhua’s lips moved, but he said nothing.

Xia Mi often said he was like her ex-boyfriend. Previously, Liao Tianhua had assumed her memories were being affected by the “Zhuo,” but now he felt a mix of bitterness and a strange sort of happiness. His emotions were incredibly complicated.

With this complex mood, Liao Tianhua performed his duty as a qualified porter, transferring the Zhuo Energy Xia Mi had absorbed into his teammates. He fully replenished Shield’s energy and still had 200 Zhuo Coins stored within himself.

Xia Mi originally had 1,410 Zhuo Coins. Subtracting the 290 Zhuo Coins Liao Tianhua absorbed at the start (Liao Tianhua originally had 10 left), and then subtracting this batch of 710, she was now left with only 410 Zhuo Coins.

Her face instantly lost its luster, looking as if her very essence had been drained. Her mood plummeted.

But then she thought of the expensive barbecue Xiao Liao and Xiao Qiu had promised her, and she cheered up again.

Now that the entire team was back at full strength, only the final battle remained. Xia Mi’s game was also nearing its end. She planned to reach one ending first to see if there were any traps waiting ahead.

A group of people crowded behind Xia Mi, wanting to watch the game with her. Qiu Hailan was too large and occupied the best spot all by herself. The original members of the Second Team didn’t mind, but once Liao Tianhua arrived, he naturally refused to back down, competing with Qiu Hailan for the position on the spot.

Liao Tianhua’s raw strength was definitely no match for the little bear Xiao Qiu, but with the power of 200 Zhuo Coins currently in his body, he was at his peak. He concentrated the energy in his lower body and remained motionless despite the pressure from the little bear.

Seeing that the First Team and Second Team were about to start bickering again, Xia Mi quickly said, “Stop watching, all of you. It’s enough for Group Leader Mi to watch alone.”

With that, she leaned against the wall, allowing only Mi Xiangyan to approach.

On the surface, Xia Mi was settling the dispute between the two teams, but in reality, she felt guilty. She didn’t dare let Liao Tianhua know that his image in the game was a Medical Kit.

Mi Xiangyan watched as Xia Mi tapped on the game app. As soon as it opened, the game prompted: [Congratulations to the player for finding the key item.]

Mi Xiangyan raised an eyebrow slightly. They hadn’t obtained any items.

Then, Mi Xiangyan saw the group of chibi characters surrounding “Xiao Mi.” Liao Tianhua was nowhere to be seen; instead, there was only a Medical Kit bulging on all sides, looking as if it were about to burst.

“Huh… ah!” Mi Xiangyan was about to ask “Where is Captain Liao?” when Xia Mi pinched her, causing her to cry out in pain.

Xia Mi winked frantically at Mi Xiangyan.

Mi Xiangyan was a clever woman and immediately guessed that this bloated, swollen Medical Kit was Liao Tianhua.

She silently mouthed to Xia Mi: Key item?

Xia Mi couldn’t read lips, but she could guess what Mi Xiangyan was saying. She nodded and made a zipping motion over her mouth to promise secrecy.

Mi Xiangyan nodded repeatedly in return.

Liao Tianhua frowned. “What kind of charades are you two playing? We can’t see the phone screen, but we can see what you’re doing.”

“No peeking!” Xia Mi pulled Mi Xiangyan into the records room and shut the rest of the group outside.

Once inside, Mi Xiangyan whispered, “So Captain Liao was the key item all along. No wonder my deductions were wrong. Without that crucial piece of information, there was no way to guess correctly.”

She felt a sense of relief.

Xia Mi didn’t say anything; she was already focused on the game.

“Xiao Mi” led the group to the Secret Room. This time, everyone was protected by Shield, making them completely immune to the Eye’s control.

Shield activated her skill, and those blood-red eyes cleared as tears began to flow.

“Xiao Mi”: [Eye, Comrade Tong Ming, don’t blame yourself. As long as you undo the nest of the Black Domain and we return to the real world to defeat the mirror, everyone can be saved.]

The Eyes: [My body is being controlled by someone else. My power is incomplete, and I have no way to undo the nest. I can only do it if my consciousness returns to my body.]

“Xiao Mi”: [But your body is outside, and none of us can leave.]

The Eyes: [I may not be able to undo the nest, but I can send people out. However, everyone’s consciousness is separated from their bodies. If I send you out, you’ll immediately enter the mirror’s domain. Within its domain, your consciousness won’t be able to return to your body, and you’ll still die.]

“Xiao Mi”: [Shield’s body and mine are also in the Black Domain.]

The despairing eyes brightened for a moment: [I can send you two out, but without Shield’s protection, my consciousness will be controlled again.]

“Xiao Mi”: [What happens if your consciousness is controlled?]

The Eyes: [The history of your time in the Black Domain will repeat. A past version of you will appear within the Black Domain, and that version will pull at your consciousness, leaving you oscillating between sanity and madness, unable to fight the mirror.]

“Xiao Mi”: [Shield will stay here. Working with Medical Kit, she can keep you conscious for thirty minutes. Send me out alone. I’ll defeat the mirror within those thirty minutes.]

Shield: [You’ve spent 5 minutes chatting. There are only 25 minutes left.]

“Xiao Mi”: [One more question. Besides trapping consciousness inside mirrors, what other abilities does it have?]

The Eyes: [I’m not sure. I only know it can occupy my body. It might be able to occupy yours as well.]

Shield: [I’m wearing a Protective Suit. Put mine on; I can try to see if I can protect your consciousness through the suit.]

The Eyes: [One more thing. You must not break the mirror. If the mirror breaks, we will be trapped in history forever.]

Medical Kit: [How are we supposed to fight if we can’t break the mirror?]

The Eyes: [It’s inside my body. Defeat my body. If you kill me, it will die.]

“Xiao Mi”: [But that’s your body that dies!]

The Eyes: [I will live on in the mirror in its place. Don’t worry, I can send you all out.]

The Group: [But you’ll be turned into this mirror forever.]

Large tears rolled from the eyes: [I’m the one who caused this mess. Staying in the mirror is my way of making amends.]

After reading this dialogue, Xia Mi couldn’t help but punch the wall, leaving a crater.

Mi Xiangyan also let out a long sigh.

Xia Mi tapped the phone screen fiercely. “Tong Ming is a good man. I won’t let him die!”

She planned to absorb the energy inside the Eye.

She believed that the consciousness inside the mirror was also a form of Zhuo Energy. Having mastered the method of distinguishing between different types of Zhuo Energy, she was certain she could successfully separate the Eye from the mirror.

“Xiao Mi” was sent out of the mirror by the eyes. As soon as she arrived in the Grey Domain, she was attacked by Grey Liao Tianhua.

It turned out that after Liao Tianhua’s consciousness entered the mirror, his body had been taken over by the Grey Domain. Grey Liao Tianhua had also released the bound and gagged Eye.

Fortunately, Mi Xiangyan had suggested that Liao Tianhua dislocate the Eye’s limbs. When “Xiao Mi” emerged from the mirror, Grey Liao Tianhua was busy resetting the Eye’s dislocated joints. The Eye was still writhing and crawling on the ground, unable to join the fight.

“Xiao Mi” started by kicking and shattering the Eye’s kneecap to prevent him from standing up. Then she squeezed the Eye’s cervical vertebrae, making it impossible for him to turn his head. He was forced to remain face down, preventing him from using any abilities with his eyes.

Immediately after, “Xiao Mi” engaged in a fierce battle with Grey Liao Tianhua. His physical attributes weren’t as high as “Xiao Mi”‘s, but he was a veteran fighter with an endless array of moves. “Xiao Mi” took several hits from him.

Ultimately, “Xiao Mi” relied on her superior physical resilience to trade injuries for a decisive blow, knocking Grey Liao Tianhua unconscious.

Throughout this process, “Xiao Mi”‘s reflection appeared constantly in the mirrors and glass on the ground. She felt a force attempting to pull at her consciousness, but it was repeatedly repelled by the Protective Suit.

Having finally subdued Grey Liao Tianhua, “Xiao Mi” stood before the Eye’s body and said: [I have many questions for you, but there’s no time. Just die.]

With that, she dragged the Eye’s body to a place without mirrors, removed her Protective Suit’s glove, and released the Silkworm to precisely absorb the foreign consciousness within the Eye’s body.

A game prompt appeared: “Xiao Mi”‘s Zhuo Coins have increased by 10.

Xia Mi immediately sensed something was wrong. She muttered in confusion, “Only that many?”

As the boss of this dungeon, the mirror’s Zhuo Energy shouldn’t be so meager!

An ominous feeling rose in her heart. She quickly maneuvered “Xiao Mi” back toward Grey Liao Tianhua’s position.

But it was too late.

Grey Liao Tianhua was no longer there.

“Xiao Mi” rushed to the place where Liao Tianhua had hidden the bodies of the Second Team members. By the time she arrived, Grey Liao Tianhua had already slaughtered every single one of them.

“Xiao Mi” roared: [Mirror, what are you doing!]

Grey Liao Tianhua replied: [So you’ve guessed that I am the True Self?]

“Xiao Mi”: [I only know that you are a mirror. What is “True Self”?]

The gray Liao Tianhua said: [I can awaken the “True Self” within a person’s heart, releasing the hidden monsters inside. I don’t remember my name. I only have a code name; they call me “True Self.” My mission is to awaken the consciousness of the Queen Bee. If possible, I can even become the new vessel for the Queen Bee.]

“Xiao Mi”: [Who are “they”? “Etornit” (Immortal Foundation)?]

The gray Liao Tianhua did not answer “Xiao Mi”‘s question, but continued: [Unfortunately, I cannot defeat you. I cannot become the vessel for the Queen Bee. But it doesn’t matter. I can still awaken your “True Self.”]

With that, the gray Liao Tianhua raised the pistol, pressed it against his temple, and pulled the trigger.

Blood sprayed across the screen, staining everything a deep crimson.

Subtitles popped up in the game: [You look at the cold corpses of all your companions and raise your head to see a mirror fixed directly in front of you. In the mirror, you watch as your companions’ consciousnesses dissipate one by one. Both Domains unravel simultaneously, leaving you as the sole survivor.

A figure, both familiar and strange, appears in the mirror. You know it is another version of you.

The despair of being unable to save your companions triggers a self-destructive urge. “True Self” takes the opportunity to swallow your consciousness, and you become that other version of yourself.

The Supernatural Incident Handling Bureau issues a top-level warrant, initiating a global manhunt for Xia Mi. You have become a Special-Grade fugitive.]

Translator’s Notes