Seven Su Muqings. Seven colors. Seven pairs of eyes fixed upon him.
Qiyue stood on the entry platform of the Quantum Cage, the blue veins beneath his skin pulsing with increasing intensity as he neared the core. The Su Muqing in red—the one who had just spoken—stepped forward. Her uniform was as crimson as flame, her gaze sharp as a blade.
"Choose your first challenger," she said, her voice crisp and possessed of undeniable authority. "Each color represents a trial. You must pass all seven to see 'her'."
Seven voices debated briefly within Qiyue’s mind. The Financier suggested choosing blue, which seemed the most rational; the Criminal leaned toward the mysterious black; the Soldier warned that it might all be a trap... while the original host remained unnervingly silent.
"Red," Qiyue said at last, his intuition telling him to face the challenger directly before him.
The Su Muqing in red smiled, a smile that reminded Qiyue of the expression on Chen Xuan’s face before she died—complex and resolute. She snapped her fingers, and the environment shifted instantly. The internet cafe, the rooftop, the gunfire... all vanished, replaced by a cozy living room bathed in the glow of a setting sun.
"A memory maze," the red-clad Su Muqing said, sitting on the sofa and gesturing for Qiyue to do the same. "Not your memories, but the original host's."
Qiyue sat down cautiously. The details of the room were alarmingly real—steam rose from a coffee cup on the wooden table, and a photo frame on the bookshelf held... He stood up abruptly and grabbed the frame. In the photo, the original Qiyue had his arm around Su Muqing’s shoulder, both dressed in wedding attire.
"This... this is impossible," Qiyue said, his fingers trembling. "The original host was married to Lin Yaru for seven years."
"In most timelines, yes," the red-clad Su Muqing said, taking the frame and gently stroking the photo. "But in this specific branch, Su Muqing and Qiyue were college sweethearts who co-founded the predecessor to the Beacon Project."
Seven voices erupted in Qiyue’s mind. The Financier questioned its authenticity; the Scientist analyzed the theory of timeline branching; and the original host... the original host released a memory Qiyue had never seen before:
Late at night in a laboratory, Su Muqing leaned tiredly against Qiyue’s shoulder, their fingers intertwined, simple wedding bands on their fingers...
"Why show me this?" Qiyue asked, his voice hoarse.
"Because the original host is the anchor for this fusion," the red-clad Su Muqing said, standing up as the living room began to dissolve. "And the way he loved her will determine how you choose."
The scene shifted again, this time to surveillance footage from a lab. Su Muqing—the real Su Muqing—was plunging a syringe into her neck, the liquid a bizarre shade of purple.
"The prototype of the Quantum Virus," the red-clad Su Muqing explained. "She volunteered to be the Carrier because only a pure human consciousness can stabilize it. Clones won't work, and neither will a fused consciousness."
In the footage, Su Muqing collapsed and was caught by the original Qiyue. They exchanged words, and then the original host kissed her forehead and pressed a button... The memory cut off there.
"What did he do?" Qiyue asked.
"He sent her away," the red-clad Su Muqing said, a flicker of sadness in her eyes. "Then he faced the pursuers alone, using his life to buy the time necessary for you—the fused entity—to be born."
The room returned to the Pure White Space. The red-clad Su Muqing stepped back, lining up with the other six. "First trial passed. Choose the next one."
Qiyue surveyed the remaining six colors: orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. Blue was the most striking—that cool tone aligned perfectly with the Financier’s personality.
"Blue."
The Su Muqing in blue stepped out. Her uniform was the color of the deep sea, and her eyes were calm to the point of indifference. Without a word, she raised her hand and gestured.
The world changed again. Qiyue stood in the top-floor office of Tianyue Financial, but the view outside the window was uncanny—the city was divided into seven distinct regions, some filled with skyscrapers, others ravaged by war, and some depicting pastoral scenes.
"Seven overlapping worlds," the blue-clad Su Muqing finally spoke, her voice sounding like a computer synthesis. "The Quantum Virus is not a weapon; it is an immune system. It maintains the balance between worlds."
She pointed to a distorted space outside the window. "There, excessive use of the gate has caused structural fatigue. Without the virus to regulate it, the two worlds will collide and annihilate each other."
Qiyue suddenly understood Su Muqing’s sacrifice—she had become a living regulator, preventing parallel worlds from devouring one another. But this also meant...
"Destroying the virus means destroying the balance," the seven voices said in unison.
The blue-clad Su Muqing nodded. "Correct. But Marcus only wants a weapon; he doesn't care about the consequences." She stepped closer to Qiyue. "Do you know why the fusion of seven consciousnesses is so important?"
Qiyue shook his head.
"Because only a consciousness possessing the traits of all seven worlds can reshape the network of gates without breaking the balance." She touched Qiyue’s chest, and the blue veins reacted violently. "You are both the problem and the solution."
The scene restored itself to its original state. The blue-clad Su Muqing retreated into line. Qiyue’s temples throbbed; the Blue Crystal seemed to be responding to the cage’s energy field.
"Next," he said, his voice raspy.
"Green." Qiyue chose the color that seemed the most peaceful.
The green-clad Su Muqing had gentle eyes and the aura of a healer. The scene she created was a sun-drenched meadow where children played in the distance.
"Rest a moment," she said softly, stroking Qiyue’s forehead. The intense pain subsided immediately, and the seven voices grew quiet. "The Blue Crystal is decaying, and your nervous system is under immense pressure."
Qiyue lay down on the grass, exhaustion washing over him like a tide. How long had it been since he had truly rested? Ever since waking up from the car accident, he had been fleeing, fighting, and decoding...
"Why set these trials?" he asked. "There isn't much time left."
The green-clad Su Muqing smiled. "Because 'she' needs to know you are worthy of being entrusted with the final code." She pointed to Qiyue’s heart. "Not just for the mission, but for... this."
A new memory surfaced—not the original host's, but Qiyue’s own. That night at the safe house, the strange sense of familiarity that had welled up in him as he looked at Su Muqing’s photo. It wasn't the original host's memory, but a resonance from deep within his own soul.
"Love transcends world lines," the green-clad Su Muqing said. "Just like quantum entanglement."
The rest seemed to last only minutes, yet felt like hours. When Qiyue returned to the White Room, his mental state had improved significantly. The remaining four Su Muqings awaited his choice.
"Purple."
The purple-clad Su Muqing was mysterious and regal. She didn't create a scene, but instead led Qiyue through a door that appeared suddenly, entering the heart of the cage—a transparent sphere floating in a void, purple energy circulating within.
"The Quantum Virus itself," the purple-clad Su Muqing’s voice carried a sense of awe. "It has already fused with her consciousness. If we separate it by force..."
An image appeared on the surface of the sphere: seven worlds collapsing like dominoes, trillions of lives annihilated in an instant.
"So the Purification Protocol isn't meant to destroy the virus..." Qiyue realized, "It's to reprogram it!"
The purple-clad Su Muqing nodded in approval. "It requires the consciousness signatures of all seven worlds. That is also why Marcus needs a complete fusion—only you can simulate that signature."
They returned to the White Room. Beneath Qiyue’s skin, the blue veins began to flicker unstably, glowing bright then dim. He felt his abilities fluctuate, seeing fragmented pieces of the future:
Marcus leading soldiers to storm the cage;
The original host’s remains lying in a cryo-pod;
Cracks appearing at the edges of the seven worlds...
"There is no time left," the orange-clad Su Muqing stepped out of the line voluntarily. "You must complete all the trials."
The subsequent trials passed like a whirlwind:
The yellow-clad Su Muqing tested his moral limits with trolley problems involving saving one life versus a million;
The indigo-clad Su Muqing tested his intuition, forcing him to choose the correct path in total darkness;
The black-clad Su Muqing was the most ominous, showing him the terrifying future the seven worlds would face if the mission failed.
When the last trial ended, the seven Su Muqings merged into one, becoming the Su Muqing Qiyue knew—thinner than in the photos, with dark circles under her eyes, but her gaze still as bright as stars.
"Qiyue," she called softly, her voice causing the seven inner voices to fall silent at once. "You have passed."
The core of the cage spun behind her, purple energy forming a vortex. Su Muqing reached out to touch Qiyue’s cheek, and this simple contact allowed him to see the whole truth:
The Beacon Project was initially purely scientific research until the military intervened;
The original host and Su Muqing tried to destroy the research after discovering its danger;
Marcus was ordered to stop them, which led to the original host’s death;
Su Muqing voluntarily became the virus carrier to ensure the research was terminated;
But Marcus continued the experiments in secret, creating more gates...
"Now you understand," Su Muqing withdrew her hand. "We must complete the Purification Protocol. But not in the way Marcus wants."
She pointed to the core. "I need to leap into the Quantum Abyss and reorganize the virus code there. The process... is irreversible."
Qiyue’s chest tightened. "What do you mean?"
"I mean my consciousness will fuse with the virus forever, becoming part of the balancing system," Su Muqing smiled, tears in her eyes. "But first, I need your seven signatures."
The seven voices in Qiyue’s mind protested simultaneously. The Financier calculated the probability of saving her; the Soldier drafted plans to forcibly take her away; the Criminal even proposed kidnapping her... until the original host finally spoke:
"Respect her choice. Just as I did."
Qiyue grasped Su Muqing’s hand. "Is there no other way?"
"There is a theory that might work..." she hesitated. "If someone were willing to replace me as the carrier. But it must be a pure human consciousness—not a clone or a fusion."
An alarm suddenly echoed throughout the White Room. An intrusion warning appeared on the walls: the perimeter of the Quantum Cage had been breached, and Marcus’s troops were entering.
"He brought the original host’s remains!" Su Muqing’s face turned pale. "If he combines the original DNA with the virus..."
Qiyue instantly grasped Marcus’s plan—to use the original body as a pure vessel to regain control of the Quantum Virus. But what would be the consequences?
The seven voices argued again, but this time Qiyue could clearly distinguish each one, even "shutting off" some of them temporarily. The fusion of the Blue Crystal was deepening, granting him unprecedented control.
"How do I sign?" he decided to complete the Purification Protocol first.
Su Muqing guided him to the console. Seven light points corresponded to the seven consciousness fragments. Qiyue focused his attention, letting each voice "sign" in turn:
The Financier’s precise calculation;
The Hacker’s complex coding;
The Soldier’s discipline;
The Criminal’s unconventional thinking;
The Scientist’s analytical methods;
The Doctor’s healing philosophy;
And finally, the original host... the original host’s love and sacrifice.
The console lit up with seven-colored light, and the Quantum Virus at the core began to reorganize, blue veins weaving into the purple.
"Success!" Su Muqing hugged Qiyue. "Now, I must—"
An explosion interrupted her. The walls were torn apart, and Marcus led his soldiers inside. His electronic eye locked onto Qiyue and Su Muqing, a grim smile on his face. "Game over, Colonel. Hand over the virus."
Even more terrifying was the device behind him—a vertical cryo-pod in which floated the original Qiyue’s remains, his face as peaceful as if in sleep.
"A perfect, pure vessel," Marcus patted the cryo-pod. "With this, we will control the gates of all worlds!"
Su Muqing gripped Qiyue’s hand. "There’s no time. I must leap into the core now!"
The seven voices screamed in Qiyue’s mind. The Financier calculated the success rate of every choice; the Soldier assessed the odds of combat; the Scientist looked for technical vulnerabilities... but the original host’s voice drowned them all out:
"Let her go. This is her mission, just as fusion is ours."
Marcus raised his weapon and aimed. "Last warning!"
Su Muqing stood on her tiptoes and whispered in Qiyue’s ear, "Believe in me. And then... find all the versions of me. They will help you rebuild the balance."
With that, she rushed toward the Quantum core. Marcus fired, but it was too late—Su Muqing leapt into the purple vortex and was instantly swallowed. The core erupted with a dazzling light, and the shockwave knocked everyone to the ground.
When Qiyue opened his eyes again, Marcus and his soldiers were struggling to crawl up. The cryo-pod had shattered, and the original host’s remains were exposed to the air, disintegrating at a rate visible to the naked eye.
"No!" Marcus lunged toward the remains in despair, but he only grasped a handful of ash.
The Quantum Cage began to collapse, the walls flaking away like sand. Qiyue felt the Blue Crystal resonate within him, a new kind of ability awakening—he could see all possible escape routes, all of Marcus’s potential actions...
"I will kill you next time we meet," Marcus roared before retreating. "I swear it!"
Qiyue did not pursue. He stood before the fading core, reaching out to touch the mass of purple energy. The seven voices resonated in harmony within his mind, forming an unprecedentedly complete consciousness.
Su Muqing’s voice came from deep within the core, faint but clear: "Remember... find all the versions of me... the key is inside you..."
Then the entire Quantum Cage collapsed. Qiyue fell into the boundless dark, feeling himself torn apart and reassembled, passing through a long tunnel of time and space.
When his consciousness coalesced again, he was kneeling on solid ground, his palms pressed into damp grass. The night sky was filled with stars, and the sound of waves hitting the shore drifted from afar. The Blue Crystal had fully integrated into his nervous system, no longer pulsing, yet the seven voices remained clear—and more harmonious than ever.
Qiyue stood up and looked around. This was... a small island in the Bermuda archipelago. The physical coordinates of the Quantum Cage.
Something was vibrating in his pocket. He pulled out the two chips Chen Xuan had given him, one of which was glowing. As Qiyue held it, a holographic map unfolded, showing seven blinking red dots scattered across the globe.
Each red dot had a name next to it:
Tokyo - Artist;
Paris - Doctor;
Nairobi - Warrior;
...
The last one was closest to him, on the other side of the island:
Bermuda - Scientist.
Su Muqing’s last words echoed in his ears: "Find all the versions of me..."
Qiyue looked toward the dark forest trail, seven voices whispering in his mind:
"Begin the search."
"Complete the mission."
"Save the world."
"And save... her."
He stepped forward, the blue veins flickering one last time beneath his skin, before vanishing forever. The fusion was complete.