“Your sister?” Gao Ming remembered that Tang Qing had a big sister called Tang Ling. She worked in the Level 5 Lab. She ran Shanghai Mental Asylum. During the incident many years ago, she betrayed Immortal Pharma and silently stole a part of No. 2’s consciousness out of the lab.
“You mentioned her before entering the nightmare. My sister’s identity is fully confidential, so no one should know about her. To figure out your goal, I contacted my sister through our special method.”
“Have you given her the files on me?”
“Of course.” Tang Qing admitted shamelessly. “Stay at home tomorrow. My sister will go find you.”
“Why does she know where I live?”
“No one has any secrets at Immortal Pharma. Your every expense is recorded. You’ll be recorded by all the city cameras. Don’t look at me like that. This is in the clauses before you signed up as the tester. We have to ensure that you do not leak the company information.” Tang Qing became more casual with Gao Ming.
“Alright. Can I go now?” The time flow in the nightmare realm and the real world was different. There was not a clock in the room. Gao Ming was worried that Liu Yi was still waiting for him.
“Do you not want the money? How come I feel like you’re here just for the experience?” Tang Qing waved the black band. “I’ve wired you the pay. Plus, I need to ask. Are the changes in this nightmare related to you?”
“It really had nothing to do with me.” Gao Ming told the truth because it was all related to the flesh seeds.
“Then, feel free to contact me if you remember anything.” Tang Qing picked up the document. He started to fill it out without discussing it with Gao Ming.
After reclaiming his phone and clothes, Gao Ming left the lab in a hurry. He took a cab back to Xin Lu’s old city.
It was already 1 am when he reached home. Gao Ming explained it to Liu Yi on the phone for a long time. She was worried about him. Gao Ming’s prepared excuses fell away when he saw Liu Yi’s tears. Gao Ming didn’t hide anything and told her what he was doing. He told her about his goal of finding his memory. They chatted until 3 am, and they still hadn’t felt sleepy. Liu Yi leaned on Gao Ming’s shoulders. She asked, “In your coma’s dream, did you fall in love with someone else other than me?”
This was a dangerous question, but Gao Ming had already died many times during the dream. He didn’t care. He said after some time, “There is a woman other than you who left a deep impression on me. Her name is Xuan Wen. She appeared to have saved me many times in my nightmare. After I woke up, I found out she was my main physician.”
“So, she did save you in a way.” Liu Yi pinched Gao Ming, “Have you tried asking her? Perhaps she knows something about your nightmare.” Liu Yi looked up. Her smile weakened. She said, “I have a feeling that she is very important to you, and that annoys me.”
“The nightmare is connected to the real world, for example, Xuan Wen…” Gao Ming couldn’t remember the details between them. He had a headache.
“Don’t hide things from me anymore. I will do my best to help you recover your memory. I also want to know what you’ve experienced in that nightmare.” Liu Yi hugged Gao Ming’s arm. “I am always on your side.”
They stayed up chatting through the night. Gao Ming hadn’t had that experience before. When he spent time with Liu Yi, his attachment to the real world deepened. In other words, he became more like a human.
The sun was coming up. There was another hour until the alarm rang. Liu Yi slept on the couch. In the eyes of the outsiders, she was cool and detached. However, she looked so cute and defenceless at that moment. She gripped Gao Ming’s shirt as if worried that he might float away.
“The longer I stay, the harder it is to let it go.” Gao Ming sat on the couch. Ever since he ate the fruit in the manor nightmare, his stamina had undergone a categorical change. He could sense clearly that the thing on the other side of the door was influencing him. The power had broken the taboo and was influencing the real world.
Gao Ming took out the walkie-talkie. Gao Ming remembered hearing something from it when he left the door.
“No. 2 has gone silent after giving this to me. Can I only use it at the door?” The walkie-talkie was charged as it went through the door. Gao Ming tried to move the dial. Most frequencies were silent.
Gao Ming tried to listen closer. The first channel was chanting someone’s name. The second channel had some static. It felt like someone was trying to communicate with him, but he couldn’t hear it clearly.
Gao Ming kept changing the channel until he reached the 16th channel or the last channel. He heard a complete sentence, “Big brother, is that you? Are you back?”
Afraid of waking up Liu Yi, Gao Ming picked up the walkie-talkie and entered the bathroom. The sound of his footsteps excited the person on the other end.
“Big brother, you’re finally back! When will you come to get me? I’m Wang Pingan. I’m here alone! They keep wanting to trap me. I want to go home!”
Gao Ming didn’t say anything, but the person had already revealed everything. The man was very innocent. Gao Ming held the device quietly. He believed the person had gotten the wrong idea. He thought Gao Ming was the walkie-talkie’s previous owner.
“Brother, can you hear me? This is Wang Pingan! You said you’d come get me!”
The voice sounded adult, but the tone was that of a child. This contrast confused Gao Ming. He chose to be a listener.
The man called Wang Pingan sounded like he hadn’t talked with someone for a long time already. He shared many things with Gao Ming. He talked about the elephants at the zoo, how he wanted to go help out at Tiger Centre, and the puppy he adopted. He also shared the many things he wanted to tell his big brother.