Chapter 63: Life and Death Separation

At the Pharmaceutical Factory, the Eye had opened its nest due to stimulation from the True Self Mirror. This proved that a Rong could also open a nest.

Since the Eye could do it, Liao Tianhua naturally could as well.

The two shared similar circumstances.

The Eye’s spirit was controlled by the True Self Mirror, while the sweetheart in Liao Tianhua’s consciousness was occupied by Fake Old Jiao. Both instances had psychological roots.

After the Pharmaceutical Factory incident, during Xia Mi’s training, several newly ascended Rong had gathered to study whether they could open nests. At the time, everyone felt that while they could open a nest, they would absolutely lose their sanity in the process.

Everyone had instinctively called a halt the moment their nests began to open.

Mi Xiangyan had analyzed this, calling it a form of self-preservation.

In moments of crisis, humans can break through their own limits and explode with power far exceeding their threshold. However, the consequence of doing so is often permanent damage to a part of the body that can never be restored.

The human limit is a form of self-protection, set by the body to prevent humans from overextending their physical capacity.

Opening a nest is a feeding behavior for the Zhuo. They can compensate for the energy lost in opening a nest by feeding.

A Rong, however, cannot feed.

Mi Xiangyan’s research showed that once a Rong consumed human emotional energy, they would break through the limitations of the human race and become an ‘Shi’, with both their spirit and body undergoing Mutation.

Lü Hongmei from Building 6 was such a being.

To protect themselves, a Rong cannot open a nest unless they are in a life-threatening crisis.

Unless there is an alternative source of energy.

At the Pharmaceutical Factory, the Eye was governed by the True Self Mirror, drawing its energy from it. Liao Tianhua’s energy likely came from Fake Old Jiao.

Fake Old Jiao hadn’t trapped other ordinary people in the nest; he sustained this Domain using only his own energy. He must have a vast amount of Zhuo Coins inside him.

Thinking of this, Xia Mi really wanted to use Silkworm to devour Fake Old Jiao. It would both replenish her energy and resolve the current crisis.

Perhaps it was possible. She would find a safe place later and try it out using the game.

At this moment, Fake Old Jiao had sent Liao Tianhua back to the 3rd floor to act as a guardian beast. Seeing Liao Tianhua walk away, he hurried back to the office to find Xia Mi.

Xia Mi had long since hidden in the small meeting room next to the large conference hall. Fake Old Jiao found nothing.

Xia Mi extended a finger and poked a small peephole into the wooden door of the small meeting room, observing the situation in the corridor through it.

She want to know how Fake Old Jiao was monitoring her movements.

She watched as Fake Old Jiao entered the office, then walked out a moment later and picked up his phone to call her.

Xia Mi had already silenced her phone. She neither hung up nor answered.

Fake Old Jiao called four or five times without anyone answering. He paced around the corridor twice, his footsteps very strange.

Xia Mi focused her attention and discovered that Fake Old Jiao was walking in a figure-8 pattern.

Xia Mi had seen this pattern at the Pharmaceutical Factory as well. On the wall of the Secret Room where the Eye was located, a horizontal 8 had been drawn.

This symbol was the number 8, the infinity symbol, and also a way for bees to communicate.

After walking the figure-8 for a while, Fake Old Jiao stopped, his expression focused as if he were listening to something.

“No one saw her?” Fake Old Jiao muttered to himself.

He didn’t actually speak aloud; he only mouthed the words.

Since he happened to be within Xia Mi’s line of sight, she saw it clearly this time.

Back at the Pharmaceutical Factory, the True Self Mirror had said something to Xia Mi that she hadn’t understood at all. Taking that lesson to heart, she had spent the gaps in her training over the past two months studying lip-reading intensely. She could now understand about seventy or eighty percent of it.

Through these words, Xia Mi confirmed that Fake Old Jiao was using the figure-8 method to contact other Zhuo-fied Humans in the building to find her whereabouts.

There were no Zhuo-fied Humans in the 17th-floor corridor. No one had seen Xia Mi enter the small meeting room, so Fake Old Jiao naturally couldn’t find her.

“Everyone, go look for her,” Fake Old Jiao said.

He spoke while walking the figure-8, clearly issuing instructions through this method.

“No one saw her. Could she still be on the 17th floor?” Fake Old Jiao analyzed.

He began opening the doors to the other offices on the 17th floor one by one, searching for Xia Mi.

Xia Mi wasn’t about to just let him find her. She forcefully pulled off a cufflink and placed it on the windowsill of the small meeting room. Then, while Fake Old Jiao was rummaging through the Deputy Director’s office, she quickly slipped out of the small meeting room. Moving as fast and silently as a cat, she darted into the Director’s office.

Fake Old Jiao had just come out of the Director’s office, so he naturally wouldn’t suspect that Xia Mi had returned there. He could only search the other offices like a headless fly.

Fake Old Jiao soon found the small meeting room and discovered the conspicuous cufflink on the windowsill.

Fake Old Jiao said, “Did she go downstairs through the window? That’ll make her hard to find.”

He began walking the figure-8 in the small meeting room again, notifying all the Zhuo-fied Humans downstairs to check the windows and see if Xia Mi was hiding outside.

While Fake Old Jiao was busy, Xia Mi boldly turned on the computer in the Director’s office. She opened a web browser, entered the local network URL for the surveillance videos, and began checking the cameras for the entire building.

As a departmental cadre of the Disposal Bureau, she knew the cloud account credentials for the surveillance videos. She had full authorization to view and download them.

Through the video, she saw Fake Old Jiao stomping his feet in the small meeting room and all the Zhuo-fied Humans standing by the windows, looking out.

Once she confirmed the 17th-floor corridor was empty, Xia Mi turned off the computer and walked boldly into the elevator, taking it directly to the 3rd floor.

She had confirmed one thing: a fake was a fake after all. Fake Old Jiao didn’t know the surveillance passwords and couldn’t use the cameras to find her. She only needed to stay out of the Zhuo-fied Humans’ sight.

Arriving on the 3rd floor, Xia Mi walked into Liao Tianhua’s office and sat down across from him quite naturally.

Liao Tianhua, who was currently drafting the 2025 work plan, looked up at Xia Mi.

“Is there something you need?” Liao Tianhua asked.

Xia Mi said, “I want to play games in your office for a while. Is that okay?”

Liao Tianhua frowned. “Don’t you have your own work to do? Why are you playing games during office hours?”

Xia Mi said, “This is just how we do things in the Second Team. Captain Qiu often dumps her work on you while she lifts dumbbells during office hours. Surely you knew that?”

Liao Tianhua replied, “I am aware of that, but maintaining physical fitness is a duty for members of our Special Action Team. Even if Qiu Hailan went for a winter swim during work hours, it would still fall within the scope of her duties. Playing games, however, does not.”

Xiao Liao really was a strait-laced man.

Xia Mi thought for a moment and said, “I want to play a game. Could you cut me some slack? If you cover for me, I’ll give you a kiss. It’s a deal.”

Liao Tianhua said displeasedly, “Not only do you want to play games during work hours, you actually…”

Before he could finish, the highly proactive Xia Mi planted a forceful kiss on his cheek, letting out a loud “mwah” sound.

Liao Tianhua: “…”

Not only did Liao Tianhua freeze, but Xia Mi froze as well.

An image appeared in her mind. In that tiny rented room in Building 6, she had held Liao Tianhua and kissed his cheek.

This image overlapped perfectly with the memory of her kissing her boyfriend.

“Huh?” Xia Mi stared at Liao Tianhua and let out a sound of confusion.

Liao Tianhua’s cheeks turned a faint red, and he said with a touch of humiliated rage, “What are you ‘huh’-ing about? You are far too brazen! You actually… actually…”

At this point, he found himself unable to continue. He clutched his racing heart, speechless.

Xia Mi was a bit worried that the nest might become unstable like before. She didn’t want to experience that feeling of spatial vertigo again.

Fortunately, it seemed the brainwashing from Fake Old Jiao had taken effect. This time, the nest remained stable and did not change.

Xia Mi said to Liao Tianhua, “Your love for Jiao Xingjian is a relationship destined to be rejected by society. His children are older than you. Loving him will lead nowhere.”

Hearing Jiao Xingjian’s name, Liao Tianhua’s frantic heartbeat inexplicably calmed. He said flatly, “I don’t expect a result. I won’t destroy his family, nor will I confess my feelings. My love is my own. It doesn’t affect anyone, and I feel no guilt.”

These words mirrored the way Liao Tianhua loved Xia Mi. He loved her in his own way, giving everything without ever expecting a response from her.

This seemed to be Liao Tianhua’s way of loving.

Xia Mi said, “With your style of hiding your feelings in your heart where no one knows, how are you ever supposed to find true love?”

Liao Tianhua said, “As members of the Special Action Team, we face the risk of death at any moment. Even if there is someone I like, there is no need to drag them down with me. Watching over them quietly is enough.”

Xia Mi countered, “Well, I’m different. If I like someone, I’ll actively pursue them, confess directly, and try to make it work. If we get along, we stay together. If not, we break up and I find the next one quickly. If I meet enough people, I’ll eventually filter out the right one.”

“You are well-suited for matchmaking,” Liao Tianhua remarked.

Xia Mi said, “Actually, I’ve thought about it. Once I solve the mystery of my boyfriend, I’ll have someone arrange a blind date for me.”

Liao Tianhua suddenly slammed the table hard and glared at Xia Mi. His gaze made her look like an unfaithful lover.

Xia Mi felt inexplicably guilty under his stare.

“Am I really the type of person who would start manic matchmaking the moment I reach safety?” Xia Mi muttered to herself in confusion.

“If you want to go on blind dates, go find the older ladies in the neighboring Public Security Bureau. They are obsessed with matchmaking. Also, Deputy Director Jiao’s wife is very keen on introducing people,” Liao Tianhua said with a cold face.

When mentioning “Deputy Director Jiao,” Liao Tianhua’s tone clearly softened quite a bit.

Xia Mi felt extremely annoyed hearing this.

The person Liao Tianhua loved was clearly her. The name he should be saying with such a tender tone should be hers, yet it was being replaced and exploited by Fake Old Jiao. It was truly frustrating.

Ever since she realized Liao Tianhua liked her, Xia Mi’s feelings had gone through a progression: Xiao Liao likes me – Xiao Liao is a good catch – maybe we can try dating. From the moment she thought they could try, Xia Mi had already begun viewing Liao Tianhua as a potential boyfriend.

Now that this affection had been usurped by Fake Old Jiao, in a classic case of The Cuckoo Occupying the Magpie’s Nest, Xia Mi was very unhappy.

She said directly to Liao Tianhua, “Old Jiao could never love you. Stop tying yourself to a withered old man. Why don’t you love me instead? That way I can save time on matchmaking and won’t have to waste effort on strangers. It’s much more efficient, right?”

Liao Tianhua frowned as he looked at Xia Mi.

He wanted to say that his devotion to Jiao Xingjian was deep and would not change easily.

But looking at Xia Mi’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“If you don’t refuse, I’ll take it as a yes,” Xia Mi said. “I’ll give you five seconds to reject me. 5, 4, 3, 2…”

When she reached “2,” Xia Mi deliberately paused for a moment, giving Liao Tianhua time to think.

Liao Tianhua pursed his lips, but he never spoke.

“1. Excellent. I’ll take that as a yes. From now on, you are my boyfriend,” Xia Mi declared.

Liao Tianhua’s brow relaxed. He seemed happy, yet also somewhat hesitant.

Xia Mi ignored his reaction, sat down in the chair, and pulled out her phone to play a game.

Liao Tianhua said, “During work hours, you can’t…”

“Shut up. If you say another word, I’ll kiss you right in front of Jiao Xingjian,” Xia Mi threatened.

Liao Tianhua successfully shut his mouth and no longer tried to stop Xia Mi from playing.

Xia Mi said, “To prevent others from finding out I’m secretly playing games here, remember to keep watch for me.”

Without waiting for Liao Tianhua’s agreement, she opened the game.

She had intended to try clearing “The Cuckoo Occupying the Magpie’s Nest” again, but her gaze was drawn to the large text next to it: “The Lost Boyfriend – Progress 50%.”

The progress had jumped so much. Was Xiao Liao really her boyfriend?

Xia Mi clicked directly into the game. What met her eyes were four large words – Parted by Life or Death.

Below that was a line of text: [Think back to the previous game endings. You and your boyfriend always end in death, unless he forgets you forever, or you lose him forever.]

Xia Mi couldn’t help but look at Liao Tianhua.

In the first game ending at Building 6, Xia Mi was taken away by the Immortal Foundation; she died.

In the second ending at Building 6, both Xia Mi and Liao Tianhua died.

In the first ending at the Pharmaceutical Factory, Liao Tianhua was killed by the True Self Mirror.

In the second ending of the Pharmaceutical Factory, Liao Tianhua died, and Xia Mi remained unemployed for the rest of her life.

In the third ending of the Pharmaceutical Factory, Liao Tianhua died, and Xia Mi became a wanted fugitive.

In the first ending of The Cuckoo Occupying the Magpie’s Nest, Liao Tianhua suffered from amnesia and forgot Xia Mi forever.

Among these various endings, there weren’t many where Xia Mi died, yet Liao Tianhua died in almost every single one.

“The Lost Boyfriend” – so this was the kind of “loss” it meant?

It wasn’t about losing touch or breaking up; it was about a life being lost.

Xia Mi stared at Liao Tianhua for a moment before deciding to set this task aside and focus on the one right in front of her.

Even if she knew a tragic future might be waiting, the present was what mattered most.