Chapter 90 Eyelids Bereft of Closure
“Xu... Liunian.” Qi Xia nodded slightly. “Very poetic.”
“Isn’t it nice?” Xu Liunian smiled faintly, keeping her gaze fixed on the road ahead. “I thought this name would make me a big star, but in the end, I’m just driving a taxi, haha.”
Qi Xia followed her with a weak laugh, but the next moment, his expression turned icy. “Xu Liunian, what kind of joke are you playing with me?”
Qi Xia extended his pale hand, pointing at the Certificate of Professional Qualification in front of him. “The photo on this… is indeed of you.”
“Of course, it’s my car, so it has my Certificate of Professional Qualification. What’s the problem?” Xu Liunian replied with a look of confusion.
"Don't play dumb with me..." Qi Xia suddenly coughed a few times, then drew a deep breath and stated, "Your certificate is displayed here, which indicates that this car indeed belongs to you... So who are you? Why does this city possess a car that is yours?"
"I don’t get what you are saying," Xu Liunian replied, shaking her head. "Sir, is this how you typically converse with others?"
Though it seemed absurd to discuss {worldly ideology} in such a bizarre place, the woman's very existence truly surpassed Qi Xia's comprehension. He had assumed that those {indigenous inhabitants} wandering like zombies were previous {participants} who had lost their sanity after lingering for too long.
Yet, unexpectedly, there was still someone like Xu Liunian... Her behavior was peculiar, yet her thoughts remained sharp. Moreover, she possessed her own belongings within this city.
"I truly don't understand," Xu Liunian remarked, shaking her head. "Sir, if you're looking to cause trouble, you might as well exit the car."
Qi Xia shook his head vigorously, trying to stay alert, hoping this method would confirm that what he saw wasn't an illusion.
"Xu Liunian..." he called out.
"What is it now?" The woman no longer sounded polite; her tone was filled with impatience.
"You drive a taxi; how many passengers do you pick up in a day?" Qi Xia shifted the topic to small talk.
"I..." Upon hearing this, Xu Liunian visibly paused, as if she'd never considered the question before. After a long moment, she finally replied, "You seem to be my first passenger today..."
"How many passengers do you get in a week?" Qi Xia continued to ask.
Xu Liunian felt a long-hidden darkness in her mind beginning to unravel, slowly torn apart by his questions. Before meeting him, she believed everything was fine. Yet now, after encountering this man, after just a few inquiries, painful memories flooded her consciousness like a torrent.
"I... I seem to have gone a week without picking up any passengers..." Her expression began to drift, her eyes darting as if she were searching for something within herself.
Qi Xia sensed that his questions were shaking her resolve, so he pressed on. "What have you eaten this week? What have you drunk? Where do you go after your shifts?"
"I... I..." Xu Liunian's expression grew increasingly panicked, teetering on the brink of collapse. "I haven't eaten in a long time... When there are no passengers, I just sit by the roadside..."
"How long have you been sitting by the roadside?" Though his tone remained calm, a chill ran down Qi Xia's spine, dreading an eerie answer.
Suddenly, a loud screeching sound erupted as Xu Liunian slammed the brakes in the middle of the road. Her lips trembled as she stared ahead, her gaze shifting into something entirely different. There was emotion in her eyes, a stark contrast to the soullessness of the people wandering the streets.
"I've been sitting by the roadside for two years!" she screamed, her voice breaking, followed by uncontrollable sobbing. "Oh God... what's gotten into me?!"
"Two—" Qi Xia's throat tightened as he swallowed. "You've been parked for two years? Without eating, drinking, or sleeping?"
Xu Liunian glanced down at her hands, slowly realizing the truth. "It's this car... When I saw it in the city, it was as if I was possessed..."
"What's wrong with this vehicle?" Qi Xia asked cautiously.
"This car was the source of my livelihood! How could it possibly be here?" Xu Liunian whipped around to face him, her gaze locking onto his bloodstained clothes. "You're injured?"
"I'm fine..." Qi Xia replied, shaking his head. "This injury is of no consequence... Are you fully conscious now?"
Xu Liunian's hands trembled as she examined his wounds. It was only then that she noticed how crudely they had been treated—flesh matted with blood, scorched by searing heat to halt the bleeding, yet the burns themselves were grave.
"You’re seriously injured... If we don't find medicine soon..." She choked back a sob. "I forgot—there's no way there would be any medicine here..."
"Indeed, this place doesn’t provide any conditions for survival," Qi Xia said, gazing forlornly into the distance. "Xu Liunian, I don't have much time left. Can you do me one last favor?"
"What... what is it?"
"Keep driving forward," Qi Xia replied. "I want to escape this place and see the edge of the city."
Xu Liunian looked at him sadly, realizing that it was a miracle he was still conscious. "Alright, I'll take you to the edge of the city. You must hold on."
She shifted gears again, trembling as she restarted the car. Qi Xia rested his head against the window, watching the scenery outside retreat rapidly. He coughed softly, feeling something constricting his airway, making it extremely difficult to breathe.
As his life approached its countdown, what he saw was not a flickering movie reel but the dilapidated, swiftly moving skyscrapers.
He remembered that day when he had taken a taxi, resolutely heading toward another city. He had believed that upon returning to his hometown, he and Yu Nian'an could start anew, living a good life together. But little did he know…
On the desolate streets, Xu Liunian drove the car at breakneck speed while Qi Xia bit down hard on his tongue to stay conscious. In no time, his mouth filled with blood, prompting him to roll down the window and spit out a mouthful.
"Are—Are you okay?" Xu Liunian asked anxiously.
"I'm fine," Qi Xia replied softly, wiping his mouth. “I feel great right now. Without needing to worry about {staying alive}; I’ve never felt this relaxed in days.”
They sped along in silence for nearly half an hour more.
"Um… are you still alive?" Xu Liunian slowed the car down, reaching out with her right hand to shake him. "We've reached the edge of the city. How are you planning to escape?"
Summoning all his strength, Qi Xia opened his eyes and turned his head to gaze ahead. After a few moments, his pupils widened in shock. Before them lay a highway toll booth, its sign rusted and unreadable. Stretching out from the booth were wide roads unfurling into the distance, crisscrossing endlessly. In the far-off horizon, other skyscrapers flickered into view.
“So, there truly is no boundary here...” Qi Xia’s lips quivered slightly as he found himself once more crushed by the sight before him. The words of the {Mortal Goat} echoed in his ears: "We are far beyond a mere {religious organization}; we have an entire world!"
Indeed, if this realm was not simply a city but a world, how could he ever hope to escape?
"What do we do next?" Xu Liunian asked, glancing back at Qi Xia, only to find him lifelessly slumped in his seat. His eyes bore an expression of confusion, resentment, and unwillingness, forever unclosed even in death.