Chapter 48: Separation

“Asleep already?” Fang Zihan poked Xia Mi’s sleeping face with a mischievous finger. Taking advantage of her slumber, he said smugly, “Xia Mi’s training intensity clearly isn’t high enough. She can’t even handle this much.”

Of course, Fang Zihan didn’t actually believe that. He knew perfectly well that Xia Mi had contributed the most in this battle. She was on an entirely different level from the Second Team members; the fact that she had held out this long was already impressive.

He was just being a smart-mouth. Having been called “Little Fang” by Xia Mi for so long, he couldn’t resist the chance to tease her, though he didn’t dare do it to her face.

It was a psychological state similar to Sister Shield wanting to badmouth her superiors.

Liao Tianhua had intended to say something else, but hearing Fang Zihan’s remark, he couldn’t help but interject, “Before Xia Mi even arrived at the Pharmaceutical Factory, she fought the ‘Zhuo’ at Building 6 alone and saved hundreds of people. Afterward, she didn’t rest for a second, rushing straight here to rescue the Second Team. Who has worked harder than her?”

Fang Zihan’s face flushed red. He looked at the sleeping Xia Mi and said, “I’m sorry, Sister Xia!”

Seeing that the others still hadn’t noticed the most important detail, Mi Xiangyan sighed and stepped forward. “Xia Mi’s exhaustion isn’t just from fighting for days without sleep. You’ve all overlooked something.”

“What is it?” the group asked.

Mi Xiangyan said, “Xia Mi obtained 2300 Zhuo Coins in the Underground Laboratory. We relied on those coins to break through both nests.”

Qiu Hailan replied, “Right. So what did we overlook?”

“Where did those Zhuo Coins come from?” Mi Xiangyan asked.

Huo Jing answered, “They were absorbed from the monsters in the Underground Laboratory.”

Liao Tianhua was the only one who hadn’t seen the monsters. By the time he entered the Black Domain, the creatures had already been wiped out by the Second Team.

Hearing their conversation, Liao Tianhua pointed out the key issue: “When we arrived at the Pharmaceutical Factory, everything had been moved out. It was empty. Where did the monsters come from?”

Qiu Hailan pointed at Eye. “From the nest he opened,”

As she spoke, Qiu Hailan realized the problem. She turned to Eye. “The monsters in the nest you opened, were they real or fake?”

Eye spoke up. “They looked and felt real, but in reality, they were from history. You would indeed be injured if they struck you, but they do not actually exist in the present.”

Mi Xiangyan continued, “Our enemies this time were the True Self Mirror and the controlled Eye. Eye’s own Zhuo Energy is only 100, and while the True Self Mirror is stronger at over 500 Zhuo Coins, even combined they don’t match the amount Xia Mi absorbed. Do you think those 2300 Zhuo Coins just appeared out of thin air?”

Liao Tianhua’s expression shifted. “You mean those Zhuo Coins weren’t absorbed from the outside at all? Xia Mi only thought she was absorbing that much, but they were actually ‘awakened’ from within her own body.”

Mi Xiangyan sighed. “Exactly.”

She fumbled through her Protective Suit but pulled out nothing. Showing her empty hands, she said, “I printed so much data and wrote so many notes while inside the Black Domain, yet I have nothing in my hands now.”

It was because she couldn’t find her data that Mi Xiangyan realized everything they had experienced was merely history. The printer was fake, the paper was fake, the monsters were fake, and naturally, the energy was fake too.

But Xia Mi’s sacrifice was real.

The group gasped collectively.

If those Zhuo Coins were the result of Xia Mi tricking herself into manifesting her own power, then her expenditure during this mission was staggering.

“No wonder she went so mad when I absorbed Zhuo Coins from her this time,” Liao Tianhua muttered, staring at Xia Mi’s sleeping face.

Last time, though Xia Mi had been very unhappy, it was the unhappiness of a child having their candy snatched away, just a slight dip in mood.

This time, however, Xia Mi had gone into a full-blown frenzy, nearly losing her grip on sanity.

As it turned out, whether it was healing her teammates, protecting their mental states, or replenishing their vitality, she had been using her own strength the entire time.

It was only because Xia Mi’s identity was a mystery and her potential was limitless that she survived. Anyone else would have died a dozen times over.

Liao Tianhua couldn’t help but reach out and poke Xia Mi’s forehead, whispering, “You’re way too good at lying to yourself.”

“Her exhaustion is too great; I’m worried she won’t wake up anytime soon,” Mi Xiangyan said. “Generally, if someone doesn’t wake after twenty-four hours, we should administer nutrient solution. However, I suggest we don’t put her on an IV. We know too little about the ‘Queen Bee.’ Excessive intervention might cause a counter-reaction. It’s better to stick to conservative treatment, mostly observation, and let her recover on her own.”

Liao Tianhua replied, “Why are you telling me? I’m not with the medical team. Group Leader Mi, you’re the head of the Logistics Group. You should be the one giving these instructions to your subordinates.”

“Sorry, I might not be able to wait for them to arrive.” Mi Xiangyan gave Liao Tianhua a faint smile, then slumped over and collapsed.

Only then did Liao Tianhua notice that aside from Shield and Eye, everyone else had fallen to the ground.

“What’s going on?” Liao Tianhua checked their breathing. Their breaths were steady and they were very much alive, but he couldn’t understand why they were dropping like flies.

Before the final battle, these people had been fully replenished and bursting with energy, and they hadn’t even done anything yet.

Throughout the entire final confrontation, only Shield, Eye, and Liao Tianhua himself had been doing the work. If anyone was going to collapse, it should have been the three of them.

Yet the three who actually fought were still standing, while the group of bystanders had passed out. What was this?

Shield watched for a long time before saying uncertainly, “Are they… in the middle of ‘Rong’?”

With Shield’s reminder, Liao Tianhua realized their state was very similar to his own during his previous transformation, except back then his vitality had been completely drained. These people, however, were undergoing a stable transformation because they had received Xia Mi’s Zhuo Coins.

The three of them couldn’t possibly carry so many people out of the Pharmaceutical Factory. Fortunately, with the domain dispelled, the logistics personnel from the First and Second Teams had arrived.

Liao Tianhua had the First Team members carry Xia Mi and Mi Xiangyan away, leaving the Second Team members to their own people. Before leaving, Liao Tianhua instructed the medical staff not to provide treatment for the time being and to wait for everyone to wake up naturally.

The group was taken to the military hospital. Even though no immediate treatment was required, they still needed to be kept under observation.

Even the conscious Shield and Eye were taken away for observation.

Liao Tianhua was left alone to handle the aftermath.

The leadership had already approved the application report he submitted before leaving. Liao Tianhua handed the approval to the administrative staff, telling them to start the process. Once Xia Mi woke up and signed the Cadre Recruitment Approval Form, it would go through the expedited channel. Xia Mi would then officially be a team member on probation.

Afterward, Liao Tianhua personally wrote a report, using a plain and objective tone to describe Xia Mi’s contributions in the two supernatural incidents. He organized these into a dossier of her achievements and personally filled out the application form for a Second-Class Merit.

Only after handling the most important matters did Liao Tianhua organize the specific details of the Building 6 and Pharmaceutical Factory incidents into written materials. He sent these to the leadership for review first. Once the members of the Second Team and Group Leader Mi woke up, they would hold an internal meeting at the Disposal Bureau to summarize the two operations.

Next, he filled out a loss report, listing the bullets, weapons, and Protective Suits consumed during the operation. He stated the reason for the use of each piece of equipment and submitted the forms along with explanatory notes to the finance department.

Then, Liao Tianhua wrote three more reports. The first detailed the transaction between Xia Mi and Lin Xiaoli, requesting 246,000 yuan from the organization to purchase membership cards for all 123 employees of the Disposal Bureau.

The second concerned the confiscation of the illegal gains Liu Yunxia had obtained from Zhang Xun. However, he suggested that the organization return a portion of it to Liu Yunxia in the form of a bonus and not hold her legally responsible for her actions during this supernatural event.

The third was to apply for condolence payments for the families of the residents who died in the Building 6 incident, requesting that the relevant departments distribute them under appropriate pretexts.

After methodically handling all the follow-up matters, Liao Tianhua wrote a letter to the public security department requesting approval for a wanted notice for Zhang Xun and the relevant personnel from the Pharmaceutical Factory. Only after clicking the send button did he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

He had finally finished the aftermath work of the supernatural incidents.

Liao Tianhua promptly turned into a puddle of mush, collapsing into his chair, unable to move a muscle.

Doing all this was more exhausting than a month-long survival exercise.

“Once Xia Mi joins the team, I’ll give all this work to her. She’s a college student, so she must be good at writing this stuff. The leaders like people who can write reports; it’ll help her build rapport and increase her chances for promotion. I’ll also be able to relax a bit. It’s killing two birds with one stone,” Liao Tianhua planned secretly.

Thinking of this, Liao Tianhua felt a bit worried about Xia Mi. Ignoring the fact that he hadn’t rested for several days, he went straight to the hospital to visit her.

They had entered the Pharmaceutical Factory on the night of September 22nd and came out on the morning of September 24th. Liao Tianhua had been busy with work all day, and it was now 10:00 PM on the 24th.

He arrived at the hospital and went directly to Xia Mi’s ward, sitting in a chair and watching her sleeping face.

After watching for a while, Liao Tianhua leaned back in the chair and fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes, it was broad daylight. Everyone else had woken up, but Xia Mi was still sleeping.

Mi Xiangyan, Qiu Hailan, and Liao Tianhua reported to the leadership about Xia Mi and the fact that all members of the Second Team had become Rong.

Mi Xiangyan summarized her observations of Xia Mi during this period into a written report and submitted it to the leadership for approval.

The Bureau Chief, a man in his sixties, set aside the Second-Class Merit application and Mi Xiangyan’s suggestion to appoint Xia Mi as a Third-Class Police Sergeant immediately upon hiring. He stated that he wanted to wait until Xia Mi woke up so he could talk to her personally and understand her character before making a decision.

During this time, the Bureau Chief also visited Xia Mi with the three of them. They waited for a long time, but Xia Mi did not wake up.

A week passed just like that, and Xia Mi still hadn’t woken up.

Liao Tianhua and Qiu Hailan nearly kicked down the door to Mi Xiangyan’s office.

Mi Xiangyan was also nursing a headache. “I don’t know why Xia Mi won’t wake up either. I had people give her a physical exam; all her vitals are normal, and her brain waves are normal sleep waves. But she just won’t wake up!

“The head of the inpatient department is asking me if this comatose patient should be transferred to a nursing home. We can’t just keep observing her without treatment forever.”

Liao Tianhua said, “Just observing her like this really isn’t working. We have to take some measures. Do you have any ideas? Let’s try whatever you’ve got.”

Mi Xiangyan thought for a moment and said, “There are three possibilities for Xia Mi’s current situation. One is that she hasn’t rested enough. Between the four games and the 2300 Zhuo Coins she absorbed in the nest, her losses exceeded 6000 Zhuo Coins. The energy she replenished is far less than what she consumed. She might need deeper, higher-quality rest.

“The second is that Xia Mi is extremely unwilling to acknowledge her identity as the Queen Bee and has been deceiving herself all along. But these two operations exposed too much of the truth, forcing Xia Mi to face her identity. Her subconscious is unwilling to accept this fact, and the two thoughts are in conflict, causing her to refuse to wake up.

“The third is essentially similar to the second. During the battle with the True Self Mirror, Xia Mi’s non-human consciousness as the Queen Bee was awakened. To seal this consciousness, she chose to remain in a deep sleep.”

Liao Tianhua said, “It shouldn’t be the second or third. Every day I tell her that the Bianzhi matter is settled and she just needs to sign when she wakes up. Even then, she hasn’t woken. I don’t think she’s unwilling to wake up; she definitely just hasn’t slept enough.”

“How much longer does she need to sleep? How can she get better quality rest?” Qiu Hailan asked.

Mi Xiangyan thought for a moment. “A familiar environment. People sleep better in familiar surroundings.”

Liao Tianhua said, “You mean, move her back to Room 703?”

After the recent cleanup work, the residents of Building 6 had already forgotten what happened that night and returned to their normal lives. The lockdown on Building 6 had long been lifted, and the residents had moved back. Only Xia Mi hadn’t returned.

Mi Xiangyan said, “Yes. Letting her rest in her own room will also help her remember her past as an ordinary person, which will help her better resist the non-human consciousness inside her.”

They had to try every possible method. Since the hospital wasn’t working, it was better to let Xia Mi go home for a while. Perhaps she would wake up once she had slept enough.

The three of them were people of action and moved Xia Mi back home that very day.

Because of Xia Mi’s special status, someone had to protect her. Thus, Liao Tianhua and Qiu Hailan decided to take turns protecting Xia Mi, one day each.

Qiu Hailan was the one protecting Xia Mi on the first day. Being her usual carefree self, she simply slept on the floor of Xia Mi’s apartment for the night.

Early the next morning, Liao Tianhua arrived with his own bedroll. After seeing Qiu Hailan out, he stared at Xia Mi for a moment before preparing to spread his bedding on the floor.

The moment he shifted his gaze from Xia Mi to the room itself, his brows knit together tightly.

The place was a disaster.

When he had brought Xia Mi home the previous night, it was late. Since Qiu Hailan was taking the first shift, he hadn’t paid much attention to the state of the room. It was a girl’s bedroom, after all, and he wasn’t the type to pry.

But now that he had to stay here for a full twenty-four hours, he simply couldn’t stomach the mess.

Xia Mi hadn’t been home for over ten days, and the place was covered in dust. The shards of a serum bottle she had broken on the night of September 21st hadn’t even been cleared away. The fact that Qiu Hailan had actually slept on this floor all night was beyond him; the woman had absolutely no standards!

Back during his special forces training, Liao Tianhua had been in charge of internal affairs. He was the strictest inspector of the lot, docking points if he found so much as a speck of dust under a bed frame. He physically could not tolerate such disorder.

Setting his bedroll aside, he grabbed some cleaning supplies and got to work.

He organized the clutter, swept, and mopped. Then, deciding the cabinets were too dusty, he rinsed out a rag and started scrubbing them down.

Once the cabinets were done, the smudges on the glass began to bother him. He proceeded to clean the windows, the sills, and the frames.

After working through the morning, Liao Tianhua felt a bit hungry. He went downstairs to buy groceries, intending to cook himself a meal, but the sight of the grease in the kitchen made his vision go dark.

He ended up deep-cleaning the kitchen tiles, the utensils, and the range hood before finally frying up two dishes for himself.

Liao Tianhua set the food on the table. Just as he was about to eat, he remembered he hadn’t scrubbed the sink. His obsessive-compulsive tendencies made him restless at the thought of an unfinished task, so he put down his chopsticks and went to scrub the basin.

When he finally finished and turned around, he found that Xia Mi had woken up at some point and was currently devouring his meal.

Ignoring the fact that his hard-earned food was being cleared out like a whirlwind, Liao Tianhua sat across from her, his face lighting up with joy. “Xia Mi, you’re awake?”

Xia Mi glanced at him, her eyes hazy and unfocused, looking as if she wasn’t quite conscious.

Suspecting she might be sleepwalking, Liao Tianhua didn’t dare startle her or call for help. He decided to observe her for a while and sat quietly, watching her eat.

During the meal, Xia Mi handed her empty bowl to him, and he dutifully served her another portion.

After polishing off five bowls of rice, Xia Mi rubbed her stuffed belly and prepared to head back to bed.

Liao Tianhua finally hit his limit. “You should at least brush your teeth before you go back to sleep, shouldn’t you?” he asked.

Xia Mi looked at him and mumbled something incoherent. She stumbled into the bathroom to wash up, leaving Liao Tianhua staring blankly at the empty pots and pans.

After all that work, he hadn’t even managed a single bite of leftovers.

Resigned to his fate, Liao Tianhua washed the dishes and started another pot of rice.

He didn’t have the energy to cook more dishes; he’d just settle for some pickles once the rice was done.

Just then, Xia Mi walked out of the bathroom with dripping wet hair, looking ready to collapse onto the bed.

Liao Tianhua looked at the water dripping onto the floor and took a deep breath. Stifling his frustration, he said, “Xia Mi, at least dry your hair before you sleep!”

Xia Mi remained in her dazed state.

Seeing the water from her hair soaking into the bedding, he finally snapped. He hunted down a towel and a hairdryer and began drying her hair himself.

Xia Mi seemed to be off in another world, letting him dry her hair without a word of protest.

Once her hair was dry, Liao Tianhua put the dryer away and grabbed the mop, intending to clean the bathroom.

Suddenly, Xia Mi spoke. “Where are you going?”

“To clean the room! The work in this place is never-ending!” Liao Tianhua snapped, his irritation finally bubbling over.

He still hadn’t eaten a single bite.

Xia Mi suddenly flashed him a smile.

Liao Tianhua set his things down and walked over to her. He leaned down and asked, “Xia Mi, are you fully awake now?”

Instead of answering, she said, “I knew I remembered correctly. I have a boyfriend who loves doing housework and cooks for me!”

Liao Tianhua was about to say “I’m not,” but Xia Mi reached out, hooked her arms around his neck, and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Liao Tianhua froze on the spot, petrified.

Xia Mi patted his shoulder. “One kiss to settle our scores. From now on, you go on your blind dates, and I’ll go be a leader. We both have bright futures ahead of us.”

With that, she burrowed into the blankets and began to let out happy little snores.

Liao Tianhua: “…”