Split Zone No.13

“No need for the trouble, big brother. I’m already very grateful to you for helping me out on this. I don’t come from a rich family, and though I’m still young, I know it costs a lot of money to stay in hospital. You can’t be helping me pay for it like this. I’ll still have to go to the other hospital to look for my mother. I’ll be extremely grateful if you could help get justice served.”

I didn’t know what happened in the end because I turned and left after hearing what that boy said.

There might be many who come forth with donations after hearing his story. Both him and his mother might be able to recover after that, and those who deserve to be punished might end up getting what they deserve.

But this story might also possibly be buried under the sheer volume of daily news, and nothing might change even if the story makes it on air.

There were various possibilities, and I left because I didn’t think that I could bear to continue being witness to it.

I was happy that he didn’t need my help or a reminder of sorts, and I was also happy that I was able to meet two individuals from the Split Zone over here in the real world. Though I wasn’t very familiar with the two of them, such a meeting made me feel rather grateful.

I seem to have become easily contented now that I was in the real world, but I didn’t want to have more of such coincidences. I hoped they stopped.

It was obvious that the two individuals I met here in the real world were absolutely different from those I knew in the Split Zone.

A different issue was brewing between them and although there was a disagreement, they were obviously different from those in the Split Zone.

They were going against the unspoken rules of survival here in this world, while the two I met in the Split Zone simply chose to bow down to the rules that were in the Split Zone.

Whether these worlds were parallel and no matter how similar these people looked to those from the Split Zone, such a difference made me realize that I shouldn’t be comparing anyone or anything from the real world with those in the Split Zone.

Since I’ve realized this, there’s no point in me continuing to observe the scene.

This was because no matter what happened between them, it would have absolutely nothing to do with me.

That glimmer of hope I had when I saw the two familiar faces was extinguished quickly and I went back to wondering what I should do with myself.

I even thought that it might be a good thing to be able to see all of humanity from this particular perspective.

When alive, most people wished that they could earn enough and retire in order to travel the world and have a taste of the finest foods on earth.

If nothing else was restricting me and I had time on my side, I would really be able to see the entire world like this. I’d be able to see every single nook and cranny; I’d even be able to go sightseeing in ancient tombs where no one else had ever been.

I was in a state where I couldn’t do anything, but I could do everything at the same time.

Traveling the world like this was just a way to kill time. It might probably take a hundred, or even a thousand years to do so. If I do that, I just might be able to hold on to my sanity and not go crazy with boredom.

I could definitely take my time traveling, but I didn’t want to do that at all.

Since the passing of time and an aging body are no longer issues that would plague me, I should do something like that; something that others can only dream of doing.

But I didn’t want to do it at all.

It was only until today did I realize why humans needed family ties, why they needed love and why they needed things like friendships. If someone merely existed as a lone entity, then that person would not be existing at all.

Humans are social creatures and we find meaning in companionship. I could travel the world now but I had no companion, so why would I want to do that?

I should, however, be looking on the bright side about my situation. Whether I was optimistic or pessimistic about it, I had to live like this. If that was the case, I should at least try to make myself think happy thoughts if I couldn’t die.

If I didn’t have an interest in traveling the world, then maybe I should go back to the places I’ve been to...

But did I really have the courage to face the past...?

Should I go see if Gao Qi was still alive...?

No, I didn’t want to. I might try and forgive myself if I learnt that he was still alive.

I can’t do that.

I didn’t want to take a look at the places I’ve lived in, nor did I want to see those I loved who were still alive. I didn’t want to go through the pain of being able to see them but not being able to do anything else.

In that case, I should at least get a sense of where I was.

I walked out of the hospital and headed in the direction of the main road.

At first, I thought I was in a different city from where I came from, but after spotting some familiar buses and road signs, I realized I landed in the very same city where I lived in.

I was quite a distance away from my own house and school that were in another district within the city; this was at the other end of it.

I decided to stay put wherever I was just to people-watch, because there was nothing else I wanted to do.

I felt a lot safer being a wandering spirit in a familiar city. It was far better than being in an entirely foreign place. Also, if I was in an unfamiliar district, the probability of seeing someone I know would probably decrease.

This was the best option to me.

A car was speeding towards me when I crossed the road, and my first instinct was to hide, but for some reason, I simply stood rooted to the spot. The car passed right through me in the very next second, and my dress was not ruffled at all.

I continued walking forwards after giving myself a bitter smile.

A figure then caught my eye as I scanned through the crowd.

I could only see the back of this individual.

This figure looked unfamiliar. I didn’t recognize it, but I could tell it belonged to a male. His back was straight and he looked strong and fit with a pair of long, slender legs. There was this heroic aura emanating from his figure, and he was sporting a short, clean hairstyle.

I didn’t know what it was that attracted me, but my eyes tracked him as I followed him through the crowd.

Ever since I arrived in this crack in space, I floated around most of the time, just like a wandering spirit. Though I could not interfere in whatever happened in this world, nothing much could actually stop me.

I felt like I was pursuing the figure as quickly as I possibly could, and that male was simply moving at a normal walking pace, but for some reason, I just could not catch up with him. No matter how I moved, there was this distance between the two of us that could not be closed.

I found this weird, but it improved my mood greatly.

Anything that could distract me from my current situation and kill time would probably make me happy at this point.

The figure suddenly stopped in front of the road. He was waiting for the traffic light to turn.

Joy filled me as I quickened my pace. Just as I was about to reach him, the light turned. The figure started crossing the road. Gritting my teeth, I began to run after him.

I finally overtook him while we were crossing the road. I then started retreating, not bothering to look behind me since nothing obstructed my path anyway.

I saw his face as I moved backwards. He continued looking in front as he walked, unaware that there was a spirit staring right at him.

I thought I would recognize his face once I saw it, but I didn’t.

He was handsome and he had an overwhelming aura about him, but I could not recognize that face at all.

He had clear eyes and handsome features, but it was an absolutely foreign face. Even so, there was a sense of familiarity about him for some reason. I just couldn’t recall it.

In my daze, he had already walked ahead of me, and I had to continue my relentless pursuit behind him. I had nothing better to do anyway.

He finally stopped in front of an orphanage after passing through many streets. He looked up at the sign before he entered.

I looked around when we arrived outside the orphanage. It looked just like an ordinary orphanage from the outside.

It was nearing evening now and the sunset was on the horizon. The Split Zone did not have sunsets, and I lost myself for a moment as I looked at it.

While I was being mesmerized by the sunset, the male had already entered a tiny building within the orphanage. I followed quickly behind.

He had just disappeared up a flight of stairs as I entered that building.

There were some children who passed me as I climbed up the stairs. I wondered if any of them were able to see me?

But I was merely an existence in this crack in space, and I wasn’t exactly a ‘ghost’. I immediately felt like an idiot for wondering if they could see me.

I found myself on the fourth story as I saw the male knock on a door at the end of the corridor. I was already standing behind him.

“Come on in.” A girl’s voice came from behind the door.

I was stunned at hearing that voice. Did I... hear wrong?

The male entered the room and closed the door behind him while I was left rooted to the ground, wondering if I should enter the room as I stared at the door. But I had to enter.

After taking a deep breath, I stepped through the door.

A girl was smiling at the male who just walked in. I knew that girl.

She was Mi Fu.