Chapter 125: The Alter Ego Says He Loves Me (14)
Xiao Ji hauled Zhao Xiaoyu up and walked out of the director’s office, striding toward the stairwell.
At that moment, Jin Can and Lin Chuan were waiting anxiously by the elevator doors.
Behind them, a nurse was bound hand and foot, writhing on the ground. She was the one who had helped Jin Can carry Lin Chuan away earlier.
Lin Chuan let out a massive sigh of relief when he saw Xiao Ji appear, only to choke on his breath again when he saw the person Xiao Ji was dragging behind him.
“Holy crap, Bro, what’s the situation?”
Xiao Ji checked the time. “Leave first.”
After saying that, he kicked the tied-up nurse aside, pressed the elevator button, and led Zhao Xiaoyu inside.
On the elevator panel, besides the standard floors 1 through 6, there was a button labeled “D.”
Without hesitation, Xiao Ji pressed “D.”
“Zhao Xiaoyu’s identity is aligned with the sanatorium; she’s our adversary.”
Jin Can glanced at the unconscious Zhao Xiaoyu. “That whistle might be a special item.”
Hearing this, Xiao Ji reached down and ripped the whistle from Zhao Xiaoyu’s neck with brute force. He stuffed it into his pocket and said politely to Jin Can, “Thank you.”
Jin Can swallowed hard. “You’re welcome.”
The elevator descended. The journey from the first floor to floor D felt much longer than the descent from the sixth floor to the first.
They watched as the yellow light indicated they had reached floor D.
The elevator stopped, but the doors opened behind them.
Lin Chuan turned to look at the pitch-black void outside the elevator and clicked his tongue. “No wonder that nurse never looked back after she stepped out back then.”
Jin Can pursed his lips. “Are we going out?”
Xiao Ji picked up Zhao Xiaoyu from the floor and held her in front of him like a shield. “Let’s go.”
Faint lights flickered on as they stepped out of the elevator.
This place was a massive underground prison.
Hundreds of people were locked behind black iron bars. The sudden stench of filth and rot made the three of them instinctively hold their breath.
On the other side of the cages, various medical instruments were laid out—mostly electric shock therapy devices—along with blood-stained handcuffs, chains, and countless knives of various styles and sizes.
The dim, yellow light reflected off the filthy floor and walls.
Everywhere they looked, there were mottled bloodstains.
Jin Can felt a lump in his throat and finally managed to whisper, “These are the original medical staff of the sanatorium, aren’t they?”
Xiao Ji gave a hum of affirmation. The secret of the entire sanatorium was now clear.
Just as Jin Can finished speaking, the people locked in the cages suddenly began to stir.
Cries, screams, and pleas for help blurred together in a deafening cacophony.
Xiao Ji saw people starting to throw themselves recklessly against the iron bars and immediately ordered, “Run!”
Lin Chuan was very obedient. As soon as Xiao Ji said run, he dropped the unconscious Zhao Xiaoyu on the spot and sprinted after Xiao Ji.
Jin Can was stunned for a second before he started running, asking as he went, “Aren’t we going to save them?”
Xiao Ji didn’t offer much explanation. “If you want to save them, go ahead. I’m leaving; save them after I’m out.”
With that, he ignored Jin Can.
The dark corridor felt endless.
Xiao Ji pulled Lin Chuan along, running so fast they were practically flying.
Just as Lin Chuan was getting winded and wanted to ask Xiao Ji to slow down, a loud crash echoed from behind. It sounded as though the iron cages had finally given way under the strain.
Immediately following that was the sound of countless chaotic, chasing footsteps.
Lin Chuan shut his mouth. Under Xiao Ji’s pull, he felt like his feet were barely touching the ground.
With his heart pounding violently, a metallic taste of blood rose in the back of his throat.
Finally, before those frantic, death-dealing footsteps could reach them, a white light signaling the exit flashed before their eyes.
Xiao Ji narrowed his eyes and, without pausing for a second, led Lin Chuan as they burst through the white light.
The moment he saw his familiar living room, Xiao Yinnian regained control of his body.
The aftereffects of the overexertion from running hadn’t faded.
Xiao Yinnian’s legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air.
Once he caught his breath, a wave of dizziness and nausea hit him simultaneously.
He stood up, stumbled into the bathroom that was still filled with lingering steam, and huddled over the toilet, dry-heaving.
After a long while, he finally stood up, stripped off his hospital gown, threw it in the trash, took another shower, and lay back on the soft bed in his bedroom. Only then did he truly relax.
“Are you still there?” Xiao Yinnian asked, staring at the ceiling.
He knew the mission wouldn’t be easy, but this eerie and lethal format had exceeded his expectations.
Thinking back carefully, every time he had turned danger into safety or escaped a narrow brush with death, it had been entirely thanks to Xiao Ji.
Xiao Yinnian had always considered himself superior to men his age in both intelligence and physical strength.
But if it hadn’t been for Xiao Ji this time, whether he could have returned safely was a big “if.”
Quite likely, he would have been chopped into mincemeat the first time he was caught by a nurse.
On one hand, he felt that if it weren’t for Xiao Ji’s existence, he wouldn’t have been dragged into that bizarre mission world.
But on the other hand, he felt that without Xiao Ji, he would have lost even more.
He might have lived his entire life in a dull, wave-less mediocrity.
At this moment, so-called gains and losses could no longer be measured.
He waited for Xiao Ji’s reply.
But after his question left his lips, there was a long silence.
Just as Xiao Yinnian began to doubt whether everything had just been a bizarre dream, he heard that familiar, reassuring voice in his mind again:
“I’m here.”
Only then did Xiao Yinnian feel an unprecedented sense of stability.
Xiao Ji didn’t know what was going through Xiao Yinnian’s head.
He only said, “Check your points panel.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yinnian remembered the important business at hand and quickly touched the jade pendant on his chest.
The panel sprang up before his eyes. Xiao Yinnian opened [My Points] and saw:
[Main Mission Completion: 99%. Accumulated Points: 3,000 / 10,000.]
The 10,000 points was clearly the value needed for Xiao Yinnian’s wish.
He clicked on his wish, his fingertips curling slightly as he asked Xiao Ji, “Hey, do you want to disappear?”
Xiao Ji replied calmly, “Up to you. I have no opinion.”
Xiao Yinnian’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He clicked the [Edit Wish] button.
He deleted the original wish for the sub-personality to disappear and retyped: [I wish for Xiao Ji to have a body of his own.] Then, he submitted it for review.
A minute later, the review passed.
The original points requirement of 3,000 / 10,000 was updated to 3,000 / 50,000.
Xiao Yinnian was stunned and let out a curse. “Holy crap! Is this damn system hiking up the price on the spot?! Fifty thousand points—how long is it going to take me to finish these missions?!”
After he finished speaking, Xiao Ji was silent for a moment before asking, “Do you regret it?”
Xiao Yinnian simply closed the points panel and said to Xiao Ji, “I don’t regret it, Xiao Ji. I want you to be separate from me and live well. Whatever the cost, I’ll take it.”
“I’m looking forward to the day we truly meet face-to-face.”
Recommended Reads
![Does A Broken Mirror Reunion Exist in Esports? [Esports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/esports-225x300.png)
