276: Chapter 35: Intertwined Dreams (6) 276: Chapter 35: Intertwined Dreams (6) Time shifted slightly, bringing them to another side of the dream.
Gongsun Ce had already experienced two moments in Shiyu Ling’s dream.
8.27, 3:30 PM, the young Shiyu Ling greeted her father returning home; on the same day at 10:30 AM, he controlled the young Shiyu Ling to decode secrets inside the mansion, finding a fairy tale book, a mirror, a cat, and food labeled “Eat Me” and “Drink Me.”
After eating the bizarre snacks, the surroundings turned into something like the Immortal Realm, and a white rabbit embroidered with the Military Association Junfeng Emblem led the young Shiyu Ling out of the mansion…
The next dream sequence began.
After what felt like a few seconds, the dizziness disappeared.
Gongsun Ce, clutching his head, realized he stood in a dirty corridor.
The air was filled with the smells of blood and disinfectant, with the dim light casting a ghastly green glow.
On the walls, blood and filth formed eerie symbols, akin to those found in a psychiatric hospital from some horror movies.
Moments ago he was in the cozy mansion, but now he found himself in this sinister place.
Yet to Gongsun Ce, this place felt more like the true essence of the dream…
because it bore Shiyu’s surname.
“I guess this is the research institute.”
Where was Shiyu Ling?
He immediately looked for the girl but couldn’t spot her.
This time, young Shiyu Ling had left his side, and Gongsun Ce heard a man’s voice behind him.
He turned around and saw a man in a white lab coat walking away from him, holding a blood-dripping dagger.
Gongsun Ce looked back in front of him; a locked door blocked his path, without even a window.
A plaque on the side of the door, written in Zero Island script, read: Test Subject 01.
Shiyu Research Institute’s Subject No.
He remembered the numerous wounds on his friend, many of which were stab wounds.
The man who just walked past held a knife.
The knife dripped with blood, as if it had just been used.
A surge of impulse overwhelmed his brain.
Gongsun Ce turned around, ran, and before the researcher could react, he knocked him down with all his might.
“Who are you?!” As the researcher turned over, Gongsun Ce greeted him with fists full of rage!
“Ah-bah-” Both hands hammered down!
Gongsun Ce kept hitting until the other lost consciousness, then seized the knife and stabbed it into the researcher’s back.
“Phew…” After doing all this, he gasped heavily.
Gongsun Ce searched the researcher’s body and found a key card in a pocket, and checked the time on the man’s digital watch.
This time he had arrived a day earlier.
Gongsun Ce straightened his collar and walked back to the end of the corridor, knocking on the door.
Okay, I guess you can’t hear me, so I’ll just open the door…” Gongsun Ce muttered as he swiped the card, “If you disagree, I’ll close it back again.”
The door opened inward, and a foul stench hit him.
Blood, feces, vomit, and the smell of decaying biological tissues blended together, overpowering the disinfectant in the corridor, truly nauseating.
The cell was pitch black with no light at all.
Gongsun Ce squinted and after adjusting to the darkness, he noticed a naked, scar-covered boy curled up in a corner.
His hair appeared as if it had never been cut, trailing to the ground, with his nails curled from length.
The boy’s eyes showed no emotion; his lips moved slightly, producing a faint sound.
“I know it’s pointless to say this here, this isn’t even your dream,” Gongsun Ce shrugged, “but I’m your friend.”
Young Shiyu Lianyi slowly lowered his head.
“I don’t have friends.”
“You will have them,” Gongsun Ce corrected, “Want to get out?
I don’t have superpowers now, but I’m still a young adult, blocking one or two people shouldn’t be a problem, if you have an escape plan I can definitely lend a hand.
You must get out, at least find a place to bandage your wounds.”
Stepping into the room, Gongsun Ce didn’t see any reaction from the boy, who just murmured lowly.
“How is it meaningl…” Gongsun Ce stopped mid-sentence, as if something was stuck in his throat.
This was Shiyu Ling’s dream, everything had already happened, he couldn’t truly change anything, everything was pointless.
He himself was a prisoner trapped in a dream, his task was to figure out how to escape.
“You’re right, it’s meaningless.” Gongsun Ce rubbed his temple irritably, “Shit!
Do you know where Shiyu Ling is?
I need to see your sister.
Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her.”
Seemingly triggered by the word “sister”, Shiyu Lianyi looked up.
“August 26th, 1999, at 8:30 PM.”
The boy looked at him blankly.
Gongsun Ce had a thought, realizing that the subjects in the research institute likely had no access to exact time, as Shiyu Lianyi’s room didn’t even have a light, he probably couldn’t even distinguish day from night.
The ‘time’ he perceived must be something more ambiguous.
He turned back to the unconscious researcher, picked up the digital watch and adjusted it, finding a time that Shiyu Lianyi might understand.
“Today is Thursday, or ‘Wood Day’ in Zero Island terms.”
“…At this time, Sister Ling, is in the institute,” Shiyu Lianyi said uncertainly, “possibly on…
Gongsun Ce didn’t rush to move.
Shiyu, your phrasing is strange.
Subjects should always be in the research facility,” he pushed his glasses up, “From this, can we infer that sometimes Shiyu Ling isn’t here?
Like, say, on Fridays?”