Chapter 94: I’m here. I am Zhou You.
Only after all the prisoners had left Warehouse No. 0 did Gao Shu and Elephant come out of Warehouse No. 0.
Gao Shu put away his swordfish shark, and Qin Yeshi, who was waiting on the ground, approached him with bright eyes. “Gao Shu, your dad is the Director of the Crisis Office. Have you ever thought about joining the Crisis Office yourself?”
Gao Shu: “Never. I’m happy running my gym business.”
The prisoners were all extremely weak, without exception. The supply of food and water was severely insufficient. Although the Special Management Committee allocated funds every year to maintain Warehouse No. 0’s operations, Elephant’s anthropophobia worsened due to the death of Rat. He didn’t dare come into the crowd, and his communication with the Special Management Committee was very limited. To minimize contact with people, he simply changed the daily supply of food and water to every two days.
“This guy is interesting,” Qin Yeshi said, watching his colleague escort Elephant to the vehicle. “He hasn’t eaten any less himself, but he doesn’t give enough to the prisoners. As long as they stay alive, he doesn’t care if they’re full or not.”
“The whole system of Warehouse No. 0 has serious problems,” Qin Ge interjected. “There’s no proper oversight, no complete system, almost entirely dependent on the personal morality of the administrators. How can it possibly be maintained?”
“This is our last visit to Warehouse No. 0,” Qin Yeshi said. “It will never open again.”
The last to be loaded onto the vehicle was Xie Liang. He had been very resistant to entering the sealed carriage, and due to his prolonged sedation, the doctor advised against further use. Qin Ge squatted in front of Xie Liang’s stretcher, his spirit body calm and warm, like spring water, enveloping Xie Liang. He did not attempt to enter Xie Liang’s “sea area,” as now was not the right time. This session of soothing took a full half-hour, and Xie Liang finally calmed down.
Xie Zijing held his hand, intending to enter the car with him.
“Xie Zijing, stay here,” Qin Yeshi called out to him. “You still have some matters to deal with here.”
Xie Zijing was surprised: “I have nothing left to deal with. I’m going with my dad to the hospital.”
Qin Yeshi: “Wait a bit longer. They have found traces of Zhou You and Lu Qinglai.”
He pointed towards Luquan: “Those two are heading towards Luquan.”
Xie Zijing’s expression changed slightly, and he ultimately did not get on the car. Tang Cuo and Gao Shu comforted him: “Don’t worry, we’ll accompany your uncle.”
The convoy left, and Xie Zijing turned to Qin Yeshi: “With so many of your people here, why do you need me to stay?”
“Consider it a test,” Qin Yeshi said, “for you and for Qin Ge.”
Xie Zijing became even more puzzled: “Zhou You and Lu Qinglai have gone to Luquan. Do you think I’m really suitable to stay? What if I get too angry and crush them to death right here?”
Qin Yeshi laughed at his words: “Xie Zijing, you’re indeed impressive. But the most impressive people shouldn’t be complacent. I’m here too, do you think you can crush anyone to death?”
Xie Zijing fell silent.
Qin Yeshi stood beside him and, after a while, suddenly spoke: “Actually, Zhou You’s combat ability is very, very weak. Even if you were alone, you could defeat him.”
“Didn’t he annihilate the Falcon Squad?”
“At that time, more than half of the Falcon Squad were asleep and were immediately breached by Zhou You, who affected their ‘sea area.’ It happened suddenly, and no one could react in time,” Qin Yeshi smiled. “Today is different. Now, Zhou You can’t invade you.”
Qin Ge asked: “But isn’t anger a gap in the ‘sea area?”
“Is anger all you have?” Qin Yeshi asked Xie Zijing.
Xie Zijing remained silent, not answering.
At this moment, he was indeed filled with anger. The rage burned his heart, making his whole body hot and his heartbeat intense. But beyond the anger, there were other emotions filling his “sea area.”
Qin Ge held his hand. Xie Zijing only felt boundless peace, the scorching fire burning in the sky while gentle spring water flowed from beneath his feet, gradually submerging the scorched marks.
Aside from anger and hatred, other emotions accompanied him. They were the basis for his standing there.
“I know why Zhou You did this,” Qin Ge shifted the topic. “Why he suggested that to Xie Liang, there’s actually a traceable reason.”
Both Xie Zijing and Qin Yeshi looked at him.
“Before coming to Warehouse No. 0, he used the same method to drive a father crazy,” Qin Ge said. “Zhou You suggested to Zhou Yiqing that he kill his own son.”
Suddenly, Qin Ge thought, no, they shouldn’t call that person “Zhou You” anymore. He is the nameless X, not Zhou You. Not that smart, kind child.
For X, what he did to Zhou Yiqing was a highly successful experiment. Because of Zhou Yiqing’s “assistance,” he replaced the real Zhou You, and Zhou Yiqing quickly went mad and left home. Everything seemed to go according to Zhou You’s design. He learned some valuable experiences from Zhou Yiqing.
For example, making someone commit an unforgivable, unforgivable, unforgettable crime against their closest loved ones can destroy a normal person.
The one who, killed was Zhou Yiqing. The one who ate his wife was Xie Liang. All the blame lay with the individuals, having nothing to do with X.
He floated detached from crime and evil, learning evil from evil.
Even when treated with kindness, X could neither repay nor learn the same kindness. When he killed his father and left home, he was seven or eight years old. At this age, a child already has his own logic, within which he can convince himself and find convincing answers. X firmly believed in the logic he learned from his parents, able to ferment evil into stronger evil. He was the catalyst and the perpetrator of evil.
Qin Ge felt a deep chill. He had glimpsed profound darkness, unable to fully digest it for the moment.
Qin Yeshi’s walkie-talkie sounded.
“Captain, according to your instructions, we didn’t stop Zhou You and Lu Qinglai,” came the voice from the other end. “The gap from the Luquan incident has been repaired, but those two are still heading towards Luquan.”
“Zhou You only knows that one entrance,” Qin Yeshi turned back, just as a flash of golden light passed before his eyes.
In just a breath’s moment, a Barbary lion glowing with golden fragments had landed.
“Wait, Xie Zijing,” Qin Yeshi pulled him back. “I hope you can cooperate with Qin Ge, be quick and accurate.”
X and Lu Qinglai reached the center of Luquan. Dim lights were visible from the direction of Jiwusi Temple, but once inside Luquan, they could no longer be seen.
“Do you remember the location?” Lu Qinglai asked.
X: “Yes. The gap was opened by my gorilla. After I escaped, I couldn’t stand immediately and had to crawl to move outside Luquan. I remember how far it was.”
He stopped, looking at the ground beneath his feet.
The ground was flat, showing no sign of a former gap.
X squatted, patting the ground. He wasn’t entirely sure: is this the place? Were his calculations and memories without error?
A cloudy mist rose from his body, causing Lu Qinglai to step back. His monkey, which had been perched on his shoulder, shrank back in fright.
A massive beast claw tore through the mist, and a withered head emerged. X’s mental body was a gorilla, a gorilla now skeletal.
Lu Qinglai was terrified of the giant creature before him. The gorilla raised its arm, about to smash the ground, when suddenly, with a deafening roar, the giant gorilla seemed to be severed in half by a golden blade.
The golden blade stopped right next to X. A majestic lion seemed to carry the starlight and sharpness of this cold night.
X instinctively jumped. The gorilla reformed instantly, swinging its arm at the lion. The lion dodged, the claw crashing heavily to the ground with a loud noise. The lion used the momentum to leap into the air, flipping midair, with its front paw landing on X’s shoulder. Almost simultaneously, a soft white furball fell from its dense mane.
Zhou You screamed immediately. He dreaded anything touching his mental body!
But the white furball turned into mist upon contact with his chest. The mist enveloped him, much like Xie Liang’s peacock feathers trying to penetrate his “sea area.” X screamed in terror, familiar pain emerging from deep in his brain, making him shiver repeatedly.
He immediately erected a breakwater, guarding his sea area fiercely.
The lion roared, and a strong figure landed beside X. The lion’s claw loosened, X was first grabbed by his collar and lifted, then slammed to the ground. Before he could react, he received a punch to the face.
The taste of blood and pain in his mouth made X moan.
Xie Zijing raised his hand and punched him again, slamming his head to the ground. X nearly saw stars, unable to speak, weakly grabbing Xie Zijing’s wrist and shouting, “Who are you?”
He stared wide-eyed at Xie Zijing, only now recognizing the person before him. First came the shock, but then he immediately burst into laughter, a crazed laughter that was almost convulsive: “You came here! Hahaha, you came! Did you enter Warehouse No. 0? Did you see your father? Xie Liang, the one hiding in that dark hole is Xie Liang!”
Xie Zijing’s cold gaze reflected his struggling figure.
“You saw it, didn’t you? Those bones…” His laughter grew louder. “Remember to pick them up; those are your mother’s bones. She was by Xie Liang…”
“My father is very clear-headed,” Xie Zijing interrupted him coldly. “He didn’t do what you’re suggesting.”
X’s pupils instantly contracted. The Barbary lion paced around him and Xie Zijing, overhead a chaotic cloud, while his gorilla fell apart.
“Impossible! Impossible!!!” X howled hysterically, “He was under my control! He would’ve definitely listened to me! He couldn’t have… couldn’t have!!!”
At that moment, a strange yet gentle presence infiltrated his body.
Angered, X’s defenses finally began to crack.
X trembled all over, tears streaming from his eyes: “Get out… get out!!!”
Lei Chi controlled Lu Qinglai, while Bai Xiaoyuan stayed by Qin Ge’s side. Qin Ge’s eyes were tightly closed, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
It was difficult, but he finally entered Zhou You’s “sea area.”
What lay before him was a scene he had never seen before.
This is a boundless “sea area.” It consists of mountains and lush green rice fields. The damp green color spreads from the base of the mountains to the top, disappearing into the thick mist.
This is X’s “sea area,” Qin Ge immediately concluded, likely originating from the place where Zhou You spent his childhood.
But this sea area is fragmented. The land and mountains are split into numerous separate floating islands, with the edges of these islands leading to bottomless darkness. There are no pathways between the islands, making them completely impassable. X’s “sea area” vividly demonstrated to Qin Ge how X was dissected by Xie Liang.
Qin Ge was trapped on one of the floating islands.
Unable to move forward, he could only turn back. When he turned around, he found himself standing in front of a small courtyard gate.
This was an ordinary household, the courtyard small and dirty, with the house itself cut off on another floating island. Qin Ge was moved: any courtyard that existed in X’s “sea area” was likely his home.
Qin Ge entered the courtyard, and almost immediately upon entering, he saw a pit in the yard.
The pit was not small, big enough to hold an adult lying down. The current X sat in the pit, his expression wooden, completely unresponsive to Qin Ge’s approach. Beside him was a small iron shovel, sized for a child.
Qin Ge carefully squatted at the edge of the pit and looked at X.
“Where is your mother?” he asked softly.
As soon as he spoke, X immediately raised his head. His frightened eyes trembled, and he instinctively hunched his shoulders, as if terrified by some unpredictable violence.
Qin Ge grasped his shoulders. He found that X’s self-awareness had almost no resistance. The self-awareness was filled with fear towards this outsider, even losing the strength to resist.
Easily, Qin Ge entered X’s body. He swam through the dark, icy water, and when his skin felt the external air, he began to breathe with his lungs. Oxygen entered his lungs through his nose and mouth, vibrating his vocal cords, and he let out a baby’s cry. It was still dark before his eyes, and he hadn’t opened them yet, but immediately, a hand covered his mouth and nose.
The crying stopped, and the vibration of his vocal cords ceased.
Qin Ge was extremely shocked: he hadn’t expected X to retain the memory of his own birth. He remembered that hand that stopped his breathing throughout his life, through the contact of his skin.
This was the beginning of his memory and the beginning of his life.
Qin Ge continued to float in the shaking, black water. He occasionally submerged in the water, retrieving fragmented memories of X.
Through the eyes of the young X, he saw his mother and Zhou Xuefeng.
X was desperately digging a pit in the yard, while his mother lay lifeless inside the house, with a pool of blood under her. Zhou Xuefeng sat in the yard smoking, his eyes completely cold. He urged X to work harder, to “dig deeper,” and warned him that if he didn’t do a good job, he’d be thrown in too.
When he pushed the rolling stone from a high place, X felt no guilt at all. He was filled with excitement. He forgot about his mother’s corpse buried in the yard, carefully covering up the traces of the murder, and after reporting the news to the village, he immediately began packing his bags. Throughout his long journey of wandering, he always longed for the capital city. That was where his dreams of freedom lay.
Too many repetitive fragments and the records of other people’s “sea areas” made Qin Ge uncomfortable. His time was limited, and he couldn’t waste an hour on these things.
Qin Ge dove into the dark sea area, seeing a faint light in the depths.
Diving into the light, he rubbed his eyes and heard some faint sounds from the windowsill.
A small bicycle made of wire was blown over by the wind, falling to the ground. X didn’t pick it up. He only glanced at the curtains, slightly lifted by the spring breeze, and turned to look at the person beside him.
The boy, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, opened his eyes. His forehead was slightly sweaty.
X leaned closer to his face, nuzzling affectionately and whispering as if in a dream, “Zhou You…”
The real Zhou You suddenly shuddered. He pushed X away with his movable hand.
“What did you say in my ‘sea area’?” His expression was filled with obvious fear, “What nonsense did you say?!”
The bed was too narrow, and X, unguarded, was almost pushed off the bed by Zhou You. He climbed back up with a grin, hugging Zhou You and whispering, “Just some nice words.”
“You’re at it again?” Zhou You didn’t believe him at all, “I let you into my ‘sea area,’ but you can’t mess around!”
X was stunned, “I didn’t mess around. I just wanted you to like me.”
Zhou You said, “I already like you very much.”
X acted as if he hadn’t heard, nuzzling Zhou You’s ear with his lips, muttering, “You must like me… you must love me… only look at me; ignore everyone else, okay?”
Zhou You raised his hand and lightly slapped X on the face, “Listen to me!”
X slightly frowned.
“No need, really no need.” Zhou You looked into his eyes and said, “You don’t need to use such suggestions to control me, to make me like you, to love you… These suggestions won’t affect me.”
X’s voice became anxious, “Why? Why won’t it affect you?”
Zhou You continued to look at him calmly, “I like you very much; you know that.”
X stared at him in a daze and suddenly asked, “How can you prove it? Are you going to say we’re brothers again?”
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou You said softly, “Not brothers… I… I gave you a name; do you want to hear it?”
X, however, jumped off the bed. He paced back and forth on the ground, pulling at his clothes, restless. “Why can’t I influence you?!” He turned and yelled at Zhou You, “I want you to love me!”
Zhou You, unable to get up, could only repeat over and over, “I like you. Really.”
X didn’t believe it at all. He was extremely uneasy, jumping back onto the bed and asking Zhou You fiercely, “Why don’t my suggestions work on you?”
“…Our previous relationship didn’t need suggestions.” The precocious teenager looked at X calmly and said, “Or my feelings for you are deeper than what you want to suggest. Such a few words can’t shake me.”
“You’re lying! Impossible!” X yelled, “It’s impossible! There’s no one I can’t control!”
The door suddenly opened. X was grabbed by the collar and dragged off the bed by Zhou Yiqing. Zhou Yiqing yanked him downstairs angrily, “What are you yelling at Xiao You for?” Zhou Yiqing dragged him to the first floor, “I warned you; you must leave!”
X was thrown to the ground, struggling to get up, dizzy.
Zhou Yiqing took a cloth bag and ran up the narrow stairs. X didn’t have much luggage, just a few new underwear and books Zhou You gave him, nothing else. Zhou Yiqing took the cloth bag, came downstairs, and threw it on X who had just sat up, “Get out!”
X grabbed the bag, looking up at him, “You brought me back. You said I could stay here.”
“Not anymore. You’re a bastard; get out of our house!”
“This is my home too!” X screamed hysterically, “Zhou You said I could treat this as home, he said I’m his brother!”
“I’m the head of this house. I only have one son, Zhou You! Don’t think I don’t know what dirty thoughts you have about him!” Zhou Yiqing shouted louder, “What do you think you are?! I did a good deed and picked up an ungrateful brat!”
Zhou Yiqing walked towards the door, intending to open it and throw X out. X stood up behind him, swinging the cloth bag and hitting Zhou Yiqing on the back of the head. The heavy books inside the bag made Zhou Yiqing stagger and fall to the ground. X kicked him in the back, pressed his knee on Zhou Yiqing’s spine, and pressed his hand on Zhou Yiqing’s head.
Invading Zhou Yiqing’s “sea area” was almost effortless.
At that moment, X hesitated for a moment. Qin Ge could sense his hesitation: he didn’t know what exactly he wanted to do, but the urge to stay in this house overwhelmed everything. Zhou Yiqing was right; he was nothing; he had no identity, no household registration, not even a name.
“…I am Zhou You.” X muttered, “I am Zhou You, I am your son. The other person… he is not. He is bad, not obedient. He… he wants to harm us.”
As he said these words, tears welled up in Zhou You’s eyes. The thin layer of tears blurred his vision. He wiped them away, mouthing his words and whispering a plan into Zhou Yiqing’s ear.
It was too easy to kill Zhou You. Zhou Yiqing could do it with a pillow. X sat in the wheelchair in the living room, watching Zhou Yiqing come downstairs, dragging Zhou You’s limp body behind him.
Pain struck his heart and lungs instantly. He bent over, curled up in the wheelchair, mouth wide open, struggling and gasping in vain. Unfamiliar tears streamed from his eyes, dripping onto the ground. He even had a runny nose, his mouth drooping uncontrollably, and he trembled all over from the suffocating pain in his chest.
Various sounds came from the kitchen; Zhou Yiqing had started building the stove. X got up from the wheelchair, wanting to take a look. It was best to take one last look. But he couldn’t move; his legs were weak, and he eventually sat back in the wheelchair, grabbing Zhou You’s blanket to cover his face.
Zhou Yiqing finished cooking and stood woodenly by the dining table, calling out to X, “Xiao You, time to eat.”
X got up from the wheelchair and walked over, only to be met with Zhou Yiqing’s surprised look: “Xiao You, your legs… have healed?”
As he asked, he trembled, dropping the bowls and chopsticks he was holding, his eyes bloodshot, his skinny hand clutching at his chest. X stepped up to him, pressing his hand, which calmed Zhou Yiqing a little.
“Yeah, you helped heal my legs, Dad,” X said.
This unfamiliar term suddenly excited him. The excitement instantly overwhelmed all previous pain and sorrow. He happily sat at the dining table with Zhou Yiqing, constantly asking him: Who am I?
“Zhou You,” Zhou Yiqing would patiently answer, “my son, Zhou You.”
X spent some time cleaning up Zhou You’s things, such as Zhou You’s medicine, clothes, and assistive devices. But he was somewhat reluctant to part with the wheelchair; he liked sitting in it, holding Zhou You’s blanket. Even as the herbal scent belonging to Zhou You faded from the blanket, he felt unwilling to let it go.
Every time he saw the stove, X would experience a momentary daze. But as time passed, the presence of the stove faded. He became “Zhou You,” began studying the materials Zhou You left behind, and moved through the capital city district as “Zhou You.”
The day Zhou Yiqing went mad and fled, he took the wheelchair and blanket too. X wandered around the house for a long time, unable to find a trace of Zhou You that had nothing to do with him.
Lying in bed, he saw the small bicycle by the window. He had twisted it for Zhou You. Zhou You couldn’t ride a bike or run, and he had once promised to take Zhou You on a road trip around the world.
“Zhou You…” X mumbled softly, “Zhou You?”
His gaze remained fixed on the ceiling. The ceiling had mildew stains, water marks, and cracks. It was identical to every morning when he woke up side by side with Zhou You.
“Zhou You,” X shouted.
He paused, then softly answered, “I’m here. I am Zhou You.”
Qin Ge saw everything through X’s eyes. When X closed his eyes, the black ocean began to churn. Qin Ge was pushed out of his “sea area,” opening his eyes drenched in sweat. The long-haired rabbit returned to his side, turning into a ball of mist rolling in his palm.
“Are you okay?” Bai Xiaoyuan asked worriedly.
“I’m fine…” Qin Ge looked up at X and Xie Zijing, who were not far away.
X’s hysterical state had been dispelled by Qin Ge, leaving him half-closed and very unclear.
Qin Ye Shi’s order to Xie Zijing was that they could hit but not injure, and no matter what, they had to capture X and Lu Qing alive. Qin Ge had to assist Xie Zijing in stabilizing X’s “sea area” abnormalities to ensure nothing went wrong during the capture.
Above their heads, murky mist still swirled. Moments later, the mist slowly descended, about to enter X’s body.
At that moment, a golden little monkey suddenly jumped off Lu Qing’s back. But Qin Ye Shi’s wolverine didn’t give it a chance to escape, slamming it to the ground with a single paw.
This sudden development seemed to alarm the slowly descending gorilla.
Qin Ge’s heart skipped a beat—he had suspected when he found Zhou You’s “sea area” shattered into pieces by Xie Liang: such a “sea area” couldn’t be called normal. If it wasn’t normal, did X really have full control over his spiritual body?
The scene before him gave him the answer: the gorilla swung its arms again, this time targeting Xie Zijing and the subdued X.
The Barbary lion moved swiftly, almost instantly springing up and intercepting the gorilla emerging from the chaotic mist with its claws and mouth. The injury to the spiritual body caused X immense pain; he struggled under Xie Zijing, who then simply punched him again.
The gorilla fell heavily. Before it could turn back into mist, its heavy body slammed into the ground.
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the ground.
“Xie Zijing!” Qin Ge cried out in shock.
It was the repaired gap in Warehouse No. 0, the gathering point of circuits!
The Barbary lion pivoted on the ground and immediately pounced on Xie Zijing, grabbing his collar and leaping several meters away.
The ground shattered. The gorilla and X fell into the crack together.
The wolverine and sand cat immediately leaped up, moving so fast they were almost invisible. But both spirit bodies stopped hesitantly at the edge of the gap.
Below the crack was the monitoring and control room of Warehouse No. 0, where Qin Ye Shi’s people were dismantling equipment and tools and digging a large pit in the ground.
The gorilla, carrying X, fell right onto this pit.
The fragile earth crust shattered, and X continued to fall. Below was a bottomless darkness.
“…Dried-up underground water veins,” Qin Ge remembered. “A long time ago, there was a spring here.”
Everyone immediately evacuated Warehouse No. 0. Half an hour later, warm underground spring water gushed out, flooding Warehouse No. 0 and then pouring out from the crack, forming a true spring.
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