Sunlight stung Qiyue's eyes. He blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness, and realized he was no longer in that luxurious private room. The off-white ceiling, the scent of disinfectant, and the cool touch of an IV line in his left hand—this was a public hospital.
"Mr. Qiyue, you’re finally awake."
An older nurse stood by the bed, adjusting the drip rate. Her name tag read "Liu Meijuan, Head Nurse."
"I... where is this?" Qiyue’s voice sounded as if it had been sandpapered.
"The Third Municipal Hospital." Head Nurse Liu handed him a glass of water. "You were in a state of severe dehydration when you were brought in, accompanied by abnormal brainwave activity. You’ve been in a coma for two full weeks."
Two weeks? Qiyue sat up abruptly, hit by a wave of dizziness. His last memory was of that private room, where Chen Xiaoyu—or rather, the person disguised as her—had shown him a photo of Su Muqing and a note.
"Who brought me here?"
"An anonymous person." Head Nurse Liu shrugged. "They only left a note saying to pay special attention to your brain function." She lowered her voice. "To be honest, we thought you were the victim of some sort of experimental accident."
Qiyue instinctively reached into his pocket. It was empty. The Blue Crystal was gone! Panic surged, and seven voices woke up in his mind simultaneously, whispering uneasily.
*“Calm down.” “Check under the pillow.” “Could be a trap.” “The nurse is lying.”*
"Where are my personal belongings?" Qiyue tried to keep his tone steady.
Head Nurse Liu pointed to the cabinet beside the bed. "They’re all in there. Your clothes have been washed."
Once the nurse left, Qiyue immediately pulled open the drawer. His clothes were neatly folded, with his wallet, phone, and a strange little envelope placed on top. He checked the wallet first—the cash and credit cards were there, but the photo of Su Muqing was missing. His phone battery was at 3%, with dozens of missed calls, mostly from Zheng Xue.
Inside the envelope was a printed note:
"Crystal is safe. Observatory at midnight. Don't trust Prism. —C"
C? Chen Xiaoyu’s initial? Qiyue frowned. What bothered him more was the warning "Don't trust Prism"—Chen Xiaoyu had clearly claimed to be a member of Prism, so why warn him against her own organization?
His phone suddenly vibrated. A text from an unknown number: "Check under the mattress."
Qiyue lifted the thin mattress and felt a micro data chip wedged in the springs. The seven voices became active at once:
*“Need a reader.” “Might have a virus.” “Critical clue.” “Time is running out.”*
He glanced around the room and noticed a surveillance camera in the corner pointed at the bed. Qiyue feigned a cough, turned his body to block the camera's view, and quickly hid the chip in his hospital gown pocket.
Just as he was considering his next move, the door opened again. It wasn't the nurse this time, but a young doctor in a white coat, his eyes sharp as a hawk behind gold-rimmed glasses.
"Mr. Qiyue, how are you feeling?" The doctor approached the bed, his voice overly enthusiastic. "I’m Dr. Wang, in charge of your neurological exam."
Qiyue’s alarm bells rang. This man’s lab coat was too new, his stethoscope hung too deliberately, and—*“He has a callus on the web of his right hand from a firearm,”* the Soldier persona pointed out.
"Much better, thanks," Qiyue replied, acting relaxed. "When can I be discharged?"
"Soon, very soon." The fake doctor smiled and pulled out a penlight. "Let's do a simple check first."
As his fingers neared Qiyue’s face, the seven voices screamed, "Danger!" Qiyue grabbed the man’s wrist, twisted, and pushed, pinning the fake doctor against the bed.
"Who sent you?" Qiyue demanded sharply.
A flash of surprise crossed the fake doctor's face, followed by a sneer. "The Colonel hasn't lost his touch, I see." His voice suddenly became familiar—it was Major Marcus’s tone, though his face was entirely different.
*“Voice disguise.” “Facial modification.” “Testing us.”* The seven voices analyzed instantly.
"Marcus." Qiyue tightened his grip. "Where is the crystal?"
The fake doctor—now Qiyue was certain it was Marcus in disguise—suddenly convulsed violently, foam bubbling at the corners of his mouth. Within seconds, his breathing stopped.
*“Faked death poison.” “Cyanide.” “Check his mouth.”*
Qiyue pried his jaw open and found a crushed capsule. Marcus would rather commit suicide than be interrogated. More unsettlingly, he had called Qiyue "Colonel"—again pointing to that military version of himself.
Rapid footsteps sounded in the corridor. Qiyue quickly fished a key and a parking ticket from the "doctor’s" pocket, then returned to the bed and pretended to be asleep.
Two security guards and a real doctor rushed in, then cried out in alarm. In the chaos, Qiyue heard the doctor shout, "Cardiac arrest! Prepare the defibrillator!"
While they were resuscitating the fake doctor, Qiyue quickly changed into his own clothes and slipped out of the room. The hospital corridor was busy and noisy; no one noticed a patient in plain clothes. According to the information on the parking ticket, he found the corresponding spot on the second basement level—a silver Honda.
The key started the engine smoothly. The car’s navigation system automatically engaged, and the screen displayed an address: Warehouse 23 in the North City Old Industrial Zone. A clue left by Marcus?
The seven voices argued endlessly:
*“Clearly a trap.” “Only lead.” “Need to prepare weapons.” “Find Zheng Xue first.”*
Qiyue decided to compromise. He called Zheng Xue. She picked up immediately, her voice tearful. "Mr. Qiyue! My god, where are you? Everyone says you had a nervous breakdown and disappeared! The company has been..."
"Slow down," Qiyue interrupted. "What happened?"
"Stellar Investment teamed up with other shareholders to form a temporary management committee and suspended all your authority," Zheng Xue said rapidly. "They said you were unfit to continue as CEO due to mental health issues. Ms. Lin Yaru signed the agreement on your behalf, but I don't believe it's true!"
Qiyue gripped the steering wheel. Lin Yaru? Hadn't she already transferred her shares? Unless... those documents were forged.
"Listen, Zheng Xue, I need you to check two things for me," Qiyue said, lowering his voice. "First, Lin Yaru’s current whereabouts. Second, the ownership information for Warehouse 23 in the North City Old Industrial Zone."
"Be careful!" Zheng Xue said nervously. "Strangers have been asking about you at the company for the past two days. They don't look like ordinary commercial investigators."
After hanging up, Qiyue checked the items in the car. There was a Glock 19 in the glove box—Marcus's style. The magazine was full, but there was no silencer. In the back seat was a black backpack containing cash, a burner phone, and a change of clothes.
*“Enough for basic operations.” “Still too risky.” “Need more information.”*
Qiyue touched the data chip in his pocket. He needed a safe place to view its contents. The seven voices suddenly agreed on one location—the original host’s secret apartment. This information surfaced from some "his" memory: a high-end apartment in the city’s central financial district, bought under a fake name; even Lin Yaru didn't know about it.
The apartment was on the top floor of the most luxurious "Cloud Apex International." Qiyue used his fingerprint to unlock the door. The interior was minimalist and modern, clearly maintained regularly. The safe in the study used iris recognition; inside were several passports under different names, cash, and a key.
When the data chip was inserted into the computer, it displayed a video. On the screen, Su Muqing—the real Su Muqing—was imprisoned in a white room, whispering to a hidden camera:
"If you see this, it means Plan A failed. The Beacon core must be taken to 30°52' N, 103°43' E. There is equipment there that can permanently seal the passage." She paused, a trace of tenderness flashing in her eyes. "Qiyue, whoever you are now, remember—the original host chose you for a reason."
The video cut off abruptly, replaced by a set of map coordinates. Qiyue searched them and found they were in the deep mountains of Sichuan, with no building markers.
*“Observatory first.” “Warehouse might be related.” “Splitting up is too dangerous.”*
The argument was interrupted by the doorbell. Qiyue alertly grabbed the pistol and looked through the peephole to see Chen Xiaoyu standing outside—or rather, a woman who looked like her, but with a colder demeanor.
"I know you're in there, Qiyue," her voice came through the door. "I'm here to help. Marcus’s men are already on their way."
Qiyue didn't open the door. "Prove your identity."
The woman sighed and pulled a necklace from her collar—the pendant was a miniature Prism. "Su Muqing founded Prism to protect anomalies like you. But now, the organization has split."
*“Possibly real.” “Still too dangerous.” “Prepare escape route.”*
Qiyue finally opened the door a crack, his gun pointed at her the whole time. The woman—who called herself Chen Xuan, Chen Xiaoyu’s twin sister—slipped in quickly.
"No time to explain," Chen Xuan said rapidly. "Marcus isn't dead; he swapped bodies using consciousness transfer technology. Now he believes that you, having merged seven worlds, can create the ultimate weapon."
"Consciousness transfer?" Qiyue frowned. "Like my situation?"
"More advanced, and more dangerous." Chen Xuan handed him a small box. "This was intercepted from a Prism traitor."
Inside the box was the Blue Crystal, but with several fine cracks on the surface. "It’s starting to decay," Chen Xuan said gravely. "Once it shatters completely, the barriers between the seven worlds will vanish forever."
Qiyue took the crystal. The moment he touched it, a strong sense of déjà vu hit him. He "saw" Chen Xuan in a safe house last night, arguing with a blurred figure about whether to trust Qiyue...
"You... don't trust me," Qiyue blurted out. "Last night you said I was a risk factor."
Chen Xuan’s pupils constricted. "You can read minds?"
"No, just... saw fragments." Qiyue was surprised himself. The Blue Crystal seemed to have enhanced his abilities, allowing him to capture the recent memories of those he touched.
*“Ability evolving.” “Unstable.” “Use with caution.”*
"Listen, whatever you saw, we have to cooperate now," Chen Xuan pointed to the crystal. "The observatory has equipment that can slow the decay, but Marcus has definitely laid an ambush."
Qiyue’s phone vibrated. Zheng Xue sent a message: "Lin Yaru flew to Switzerland three days ago, but airport surveillance shows she was taken by unidentified people before boarding. Warehouse 23 is registered under a shell company, and the actual controller is—Stellar Investment!"
"A diversion," Qiyue realized. "Marcus wants to lure me to the warehouse while sending people to the observatory."
Chen Xuan nodded. "We must go to the observatory immediately. But first..." She pulled a metal syringe from her bag. "This is a stabilizer developed by Su Muqing. It can temporarily strengthen your ability integration."
The seven voices warned simultaneously: *“Danger.” “Not to be trusted.” “Need verification.”*
Qiyue hesitated. Chen Xuan’s identity was still questionable, but the crystal was indeed decaying, and time was running out. Finally, he took the syringe but didn't use it immediately.
"Where is the observatory?"
"The old weather station on the outskirts," Chen Xuan checked her watch. "We must arrive before midnight; that’s when quantum fluctuations are weakest."
When night fell, they drove toward the outskirts. Chen Xuan drove, while Qiyue studied the data on the observatory—built in the 70s, abandoned in the 90s, and rumored in recent years to have been bought privately for "meteorological research."
*“Typical cover.” “Maybe an underground facility.” “Prepare for combat.”*
Qiyue quietly checked his pistol. The seven voices in his mind formed a wonderful harmony, no longer arguing but complementing each other. The Financier formulated the plan, the Soldier assessed tactics, the Hacker analyzed technical possibilities... He felt "whole" as never before.
The observatory sat on a small hilltop, the dome gleaming coldly in the moonlight. Chen Xuan parked halfway up the hill, and the two approached on foot.
"The main entrance is definitely monitored," she whispered. "I know a maintenance passage."
They circled to the back of the building and found a concealed metal door. Chen Xuan entered the code, and the lock clicked softly. A dark corridor extended underground, the air filled with the smell of ozone and metal.
*“Particle accelerator.” “Quantum experiment.” “Watch for radiation.”*
At the end of the hall was a heavy lead door. Chen Xuan pressed her palm to the identification panel, and the door slowly opened, revealing a shocking scene—
In the center of the circular hall was a scaled-down version of the "Beacon" device, a ring consisting of seven metal arcs with a tiny, distorted sphere of light suspended in the center. Six armed guards stood around it, and the person at the control console turned around, revealing familiar electronic prosthetic eyes.
"Welcome home, Colonel," Marcus smiled. "I knew you’d return with the crystal."
Qiyue realized in an instant that this was a trap. He turned to Chen Xuan, but saw her retreat to Marcus’s side, an apologetic expression on her face.
"I'm sorry, Qiyue," she said softly. "But this is for the greater good."
Marcus raised a device resembling a television remote. "Do you know what this is? A consciousness splitter. It can separate the seven consciousnesses you worked so hard to merge." He pressed the button.
Agonizing pain shot through Qiyue’s brain like lightning. The seven voices screamed at once. He collapsed to his knees, feeling his consciousness being violently torn apart. The Blue Crystal slipped from his hand and was quickly scooped up by Chen Xuan.
"Why?" Qiyue asked with difficulty.
Marcus walked closer, his electronic eye flashing red. "Because what we need is Number 3—the perfect soldier. The other six are just impurities." He looked down at Qiyue. "The separation process will be painful, but eventually, you will thank me."
Qiyue’s vision began to blur. In the final moment before his consciousness completely dispersed, he noticed Chen Xuan’s expression—it wasn't the smugness of a traitor, but deep sorrow. Her lips moved, silently saying something...
It looked like: "Trust me."
Then, darkness swallowed everything.