The taxi circled the city seven times and changed vehicles three times before finally stopping in front of a dilapidated internet cafe called "Seventh Heaven." Chen Xuan led Qiyue through a smoke-filled hall to a seemingly ordinary storage room in the back. She entered a code into an old keyboard on the wall, and the floor slid open to reveal a staircase leading downward.
"Welcome to Prism Safehouse Number 7," Chen Xuan said, her voice laced with exhaustion.
The basement stood in stark contrast to the decay of the internet cafe—pristine white walls, sterile air, and advanced medical and computer equipment lined the walls. Most striking of all were the seven cylindrical cultivation pods in the center, six of which contained human forms suspended in fluid.
Qiyue stepped closer, his breath hitching. Inside the pods were six Su Muqings—or rather, six women who looked exactly like her. They kept their eyes closed, connected to the pods by umbilical-like tubes, their chests rising and falling slowly. Each pod was labeled with a number and a brief note:
"No. 1: Memory implantation failed"
"No. 2: Emotional module abnormality"
"No. 3: Aggression overload"
...
"No. 6: Quantum resonance intolerance"
"This is..." Qiyue’s throat tightened.
"The first six generations of clones," Chen Xuan said, standing before an empty pod marked "No. 7." "I am the only finished product that passed every test."
She took off her jacket and turned around to let Qiyue see the interface at the base of her neck—a silver metal ring embedded in her cervical spine, with fine electronic patterns tracing the surrounding skin.
"Bio-electronic hybrid." Chen Xuan smiled bitterly. "A perfect replica of Su Muqing, just lacking a bit of... humanity."
The seven voices in Qiyue’s mind went silent simultaneously, stunned by this surreal scene. The original host spoke first: "Why did she create clones?"
As if having heard the question, Chen Xuan walked to the console. "Five years ago, Su Muqing foresaw that she would be captured. She created us as an insurance policy—seven backups, ensuring at least one would survive to complete the mission."
A holographic screen flickered to life, showing a video recording. On screen, Su Muqing—the real Su Muqing—stood in a lab, her face haggard but her gaze firm.
"If you are seeing this, it means the plan has entered its final phase. Remember, the Beacon Project core must be brought to the coordinate point; seven consciousnesses must sign off simultaneously to trigger the Purification Protocol." She paused, a flash of pain crossing her eyes. "Forgive me for the way I created you... it was the only choice."
The recording ended. Qiyue noticed Chen Xuan’s hands trembling slightly, but her expression quickly returned to calm.
"What is the Purification Protocol?" Qiyue asked.
"A Quantum Virus," Chen Xuan said, pulling up a set of complex formulas. "It is code capable of permanently severing all parallel world channels. Su Muqing implanted it in her own brain; that is the real reason Marcus hasn't killed her—he needs a living specimen."
The seven voices in Qiyue’s mind began to argue fiercely. The Financier calculated risk and reward, the Soldier assessed tactical feasibility, and the Scientist analyzed the virus's principles... while the original host remained silent, occupied by a deeper emotion.
"How do we break her out?" Qiyue finally asked.
Chen Xuan pointed to a device resembling a dental surgery chair. "A quantum consciousness transmitter. I can connect you to her cage briefly, but it cannot exceed five minutes, or your nerves will be torn apart by the quantum field."
Qiyue sat in the chair without hesitation. Chen Xuan placed electrodes on his temples and connected a larger headpiece to herself.
"I will act as a relay," she explained. "My clone DNA provides the necessary biological signature to bypass Marcus's firewall."
"Wait," Qiyue said, suddenly alert. "If the connection is this simple, why haven't you broken her out yourself?"
A complex emotion flashed in Chen Xuan’s eyes. "Because... the cage has an identification mechanism. Only the original consciousness can enter or exit. Any clone attempting to enter triggers a self-destruct sequence." She smiled bitterly. "Just more proof that we are merely tools."
The headpiece lowered, and the world plunged into darkness. Qiyue felt his consciousness pulled by a force, passing through a long tunnel. The seven voices gradually blurred, merging into a single point of perception.
Suddenly, he was standing in a Pure White Room. Opposite him sat a simple wooden table, and behind it sat Su Muqing—the real Su Muqing. She was much thinner than in her photos, her white hospital gown hanging loosely from her shoulders, but her eyes were still as bright as stars.
"Qiyue?" Her voice trembled. "No, you aren't him... but you are. The integration is complete?"
Qiyue wanted to speak, but found his voice carried a seven-fold echo. "Temporarily. We... I have come to save you."
Su Muqing shook her head and reached out to touch the table. The room instantly transformed into a vast starry sky, with seven glowing spheres orbiting a black hole-like entity.
"Do you see?" She pointed to the black hole. "That is the Quantum Virus inside me. If I leave the cage, the virus will activate immediately, destroying the connection channels to all seven worlds."
"Isn't that what you wanted?" Qiyue asked, confused.
"The price would be the deaths of millions," Su Muqing said, pulling up a set of data. "The Beacon Project has already established thousands of secondary channels across various worlds. Cutting them off suddenly would cause the life-support systems relying on those channels to collapse."
The seven voices in Qiyue’s consciousness were stunned into silence. The Financier quickly calculated the death toll, the Scientist analyzed the channel principles, and the Doctor considered the medical catastrophe... while the original host simply watched Su Muqing, a deep, pervasive sorrow spreading through him.
"Is there a solution?" Qiyue asked.
Su Muqing nodded. "The Purification Protocol requires the consciousness signatures of seven worlds to gradually close the channels under precise control. That is why Marcus needs the complete you—only an individual who has integrated seven-fold consciousness can simulate those signatures."
She suddenly frowned, as if hearing a sound. "There isn't much time. Listen, there is only one way to get me out—someone must take my place here to control the virus."
"Swap places?"
"Yes. But the risk is immense." Su Muqing looked Qiyue straight in the eyes. "The cage constantly tests the authenticity of the intruder's consciousness. If it detects a clone or a fractured consciousness... it will trigger the virus immediately."
The seven voices began to bicker again. The Financier and the Criminal strongly opposed it, the Soldier and the Scientist leaned toward taking the risk, and the Doctor worried about the health impact... while the original host remained silent.
"I need to consider—" Qiyue began, but a sharp pain suddenly struck him. Cracks appeared in his field of vision, and Su Muqing’s image began to distort.
"The connection is unstable!" Her voice grew distant. "Remember, do not trust any—"
The world shattered into a thousand pieces. Qiyue opened his eyes with a start, finding himself back in the safehouse, drenched in cold sweat. Chen Xuan had already removed her headpiece and was operating the console rapidly.
"What happened?" Qiyue asked, gasping for air.
"Marcus found our location." Chen Xuan pulled up a monitor showing the internet cafe above being surrounded by a dozen armed men. "They will be here in three minutes."
Qiyue stood up, but a wave of dizziness hit him—the seven voices were becoming unusually noisy, and they were no longer confined to his mind. He "heard" fragments of Chen Xuan’s thoughts:
*"Why choose him and not me..."*
*"Mother always favors the original..."*
*"The chip... must be destroyed..."*
"What... are you thinking?" Qiyue asked involuntarily.
Chen Xuan turned sharply, a flicker of terror in her eyes. "You can read my mind?"
"Not entirely... just fragments..." Qiyue pressed his temples as blue veins pulsed beneath his skin. "A side effect of the crystal integration."
Chen Xuan’s expression grew complex. "Listen, whatever you see, those are just the flaws of a clone. My primary mission has always been to save Su Muqing."
The seven voices debated intensely in Qiyue’s head. The Financier pointed out the contradictions in Chen Xuan’s thoughts; the Soldier warned she might be hiding key information; and the original host... the original host seemed to feel a strange sense of affinity toward Chen Xuan.
A monitor alarm blared. Marcus’s men had breached the back door of the internet cafe.
"No time." Chen Xuan took a small device from a safe. "A quantum jumper. It can send one person to Su Muqing’s coordinate point. The fuel is only enough for a one-way trip."
"What about you?"
"I’ll stay behind to stall them." Chen Xuan handed him a data chip. "This contains all the details of the Purification Protocol. Once you arrive, insert it into any terminal, and Su Muqing will guide you through the rest."
Qiyue didn't take it. "What are you hiding? Su Muqing said 'Do not trust any—' just before I left. What did she mean?"
Chen Xuan’s pupils constricted slightly, and thought fragments flashed like lightning: *"She knows," "Never trust a clone," "The mission must be completed"*...
"No time to explain!" She shoved the device and the chip into Qiyue’s hands. "There’s a helipad on the roof; the jumper needs altitude to initiate."
Explosions erupted from above, and dust rained from the ceiling. Marcus’s men had entered the building.
The seven voices reached a brief consensus—get out first, then decide. Qiyue grabbed the equipment and ran toward the emergency stairs, but stopped at the door. "Come with me!"
Chen Xuan shook her head and raised a strangely shaped pistol. "I have my own mission. Remember, no matter what happens, saving Su Muqing is the only thing that matters."
Qiyue wanted to say more, but a powerful wave of thought fragments hit him—this time, he clearly "saw" Chen Xuan’s plan: she intended to detonate the basement’s self-destruct device and take Marcus down with her.
*"Why?"* he asked silently.
Chen Xuan’s final thought fragment arrived: *"Because the seventh generation... must be the most perfect one... including the sacrifice."*
Qiyue was forced to turn and scramble up the stairs. Behind him, the electronic sound of Chen Xuan setting her weapon echoed, followed by her final whisper: "Tell her... Number 7 completed the mission."
The lights in the stairwell flickered. Gunfire and explosions drew closer. When Qiyue reached the third floor, the entire building shook violently—Chen Xuan had triggered the self-destruct sequence.
The seven voices argued in the chaos. The Financier calculated survival probabilities, the Soldier planned tactical routes, and the Criminal urged him to turn back and join the fight... but the original host’s voice finally became clear:
*"She loved Su Muqing... and hated her. All the clones are like that... contradictory emotions."*
The roof door was locked. Qiyue backed up a few steps and kicked it open with his shoulder. The rooftop was empty, the night wind biting. In the distance, sirens and the roar of helicopters intertwined. He quickly set up the quantum jumper, the blue veins pulsing faster beneath his skin.
The device took 90 seconds to initialize. Qiyue crouched at the edge of the rooftop and saw Marcus’s men panicking and retreating below. Beside an armored vehicle, Marcus himself—now wearing special forces gear—was shouting into his communicator.
Suddenly, a thought fragment pierced Qiyue’s mind like an arrow—not from his surroundings, but from a quantum connection over a vast distance. Su Muqing’s voice came through clearly:
*"Qiyue, be careful! The seventh-generation clone was programmed, she—"*
The connection cut off abruptly. At the same time, the rooftop door was kicked open. A blood-soaked Chen Xuan staggered out, clutching a horrific wound on her abdomen.
"They... broke through the perimeter..." She collapsed beside Qiyue, her trembling hand offering another chip. "The real... protocol... the one I gave you before... was fake..."
Qiyue looked at the two nearly identical chips in shock. The quantum jumper had 30 seconds left.
"Why?" he asked, taking the new chip.
"Because... it was a test." Chen Xuan’s breathing grew shallow. "Su Muqing designed it... only the one willing to trust a clone... is the real... Qiyue..."
Her pupils began to dilate. In her final moment, Chen Xuan used her remaining strength to grab Qiyue’s hand. "The seventh generation... is finally... perfect..."
Her hand dropped, and her body went still. The jumper’s countdown hit zero, and blue light engulfed Qiyue. In the instant before he vanished, he saw a figure charge onto the rooftop—Marcus, his electronic eye flickering with a maddening red light.
"We will meet again, Colonel!" his shout pierced the quantum field. "She belongs to me—"
The world twisted and spun. Qiyue felt himself stretched into countless particles, passing through some non-space. The seven voices separated and recombined in the quantum channel, each carrying different emotions—shock, sorrow, suspicion, determination...
Finally, they condensed into a single thought: Find Su Muqing and solve the mystery.
When Qiyue rematerialized, he was standing on a platform floating above a sea of clouds. Before him stood a translucent, pyramid-shaped building, with seven figures standing at the entrance—all with Su Muqing’s face, all wearing uniforms of different colors.
The Su Muqing in red, who stood at the front, smiled. "Welcome to the Quantum Cage, Qiyue. We have been waiting for you for a long time."
Beneath Qiyue’s skin, the blue veins pulsed violently. The seven voices in his mind went silent simultaneously, and in the face of this surreal scene, only one question remained:
Which one was the real Su Muqing?