The change struck without warning.
The world around him suddenly muted and slowed, as if Gao Yang were suspended in viscous liquid, like a test subject in a glass chamber.
Clack—rumble—
Without effort from Gao Yang, the Gates of Closure swung open with an ancient, heavy groan.
Whoosh.
The eleven light streams comprising the Gates scattered into chaos, shooting toward the sky in a V. Like light struggling to escape immense gravity, the rays tore space apart with difficulty.
The crack widened into a tunnel, gentle white light flooding Gao Yang's vision.
His complicated feelings dissolved into pure joy. The Gates were open. A way out of the Mist World. Hope.
Before stepping through, Gao Yang turned back. “We—”
He meant to tell Dragon to wake everyone, but the words died in his throat.Dragon sat frozen in time, head tilted up, expectant smile fixed on his face like a photograph.
Not just Dragon—everything had stopped.
“Dragon?” Gao Yang raised his voice and stepped toward the man.
His footfall echoed. The frozen world shuddered, like a ripple through higher dimensions.
The fragile stasis began to collapse.
Dragon, their distant unconscious companions, Green Lotus Lake—the entire visible world began to melt.
Like oil paint in water, Dragon blurred into liquid strokes, spreading in all directions like a fading dream.
Reality itself dissolved.
Gao Yang's mind went blank.
What was happening? He couldn't understand—
“Gao Yang.”
A voice came from behind him.
He turned toward the Gates' white radiance, squinting against the glare and waiting for his eyes to adjust.
A young woman stood amid the light, silky hair falling in braids down her left shoulder. She wore a simple patterned dress, a blue whistle hanging at her neck.
She clasped her hands before her, smiling gently like a mother greeting her child at the doorway.
The dorm keeper.
“System?” Gao Yang was surprised.
“Patient 31415926, hello.”
“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m the super artificial intelligence of the company, Closure. My codename is Bodhi. My replicate is providing you with medical treatment. Everyone calls me Miss Bo. You may call me that, too.”
“This is merely a projection of your rationality, emotions, and imagination. Please refrain from overthinking it to avoid unnecessary delusions.”
Her words were gentle and her tone kind, her manner perfect.
“What…are you talking about?”
Gao Yang didn’t understand at all.
“Every patient has questions like you before waking up. It’s entirely normal. I’ll give you the answers slowly.”
The dorm keeper—or Miss Bo—stepped to the side with a smile, making a welcoming gesture. “Patient 31415926, please follow me.”
Gao Yang stood paralyzed.
Absurdity filled his brain like jagged stones. He reached for Psychic Armor, finding nothing. All his Talents, his energy pathways—gone.
He was just human again. Unawakened.
He remained stone-faced, but his trembling hands betrayed his crumbling composure. “Who are you? What did you do to me?”
Miss Bo smiled ever kindly, as if she had dealt with reactions like his many times.
“Patient 31415926—”
“I’m Gao Yang!” Gao Yang growled. “I’m not fucking sick!”
“Please turn around, Mr. Gao Yang.”
He glared at her, defiant. Then slowly, he turned.
Where his world had been—Dragon, his companions, Green Lotus Park, the night sky, the land itself—there was only void, vast and incomprehensible.
“What’s going on?” Gao Yang turned back to the woman and shouted, “Where are the others? Where are they? What do you want?!”
Miss Bo held his gaze earnestly. “There is no one else, Mr. Gao Yang, only you.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying! I don’t understand you!”
“This is all your dream.”
Gao Yang started. “Dream?”
Miss Bo nodded, looking sympathetic.
Gao Yang scoffed. “Are you kidding me? Do you find this fun?”
“Mr. Gao Yang, you may find this difficult to accept. That’s the case for every patient.”
“When you realize that it’s all a dream, what’s in your dream will be gone.”
“The Gates of Closure is merely a manifestation of your suspicion of the vivid dream. Your subconscious has been questioning it, trying to save yourself. The Gates you’re seeking are the doorway to awakening, leading you from your dream to reality.”
Miss Bo blinked, her voice softening. “You’re lucky, Mr. Gao Yang. Not every patient wakes up. Many died in their dreams. You, on the other hand, triumphed over the Muxing, the Jupiter Virus. You’re going to wake up—”
“Shut up!”
“Fucking shut up!”
“I’m not fucking buying a word out of your mouth!”
Rage seized him, his body trembling. “Don’t think I don’t know it! This is an illusion! Everything is an illusion! This is what you want me to see!”
“You’re the God behind the Gates, aren’t you? You’re toying with me, aren’t you?”
“You want me to break down again and again! You’re making a fool out of me!”
“I won’t fall for it this time. You’re not beating me! No matter what you do!”
“I’ll never admit defeat. I’ll never fall. I’ll keep fighting…”
Gao Yang lunged through the white light, fingers closing around Miss Bo's delicate neck. “I’ll kill you! Break this illusion now! End this now!”
Despite his fury, his grip felt pathetically weak—fingers like wilted leaves against marble. Miss Bo stood immovable as a statue, allowing his assault without resistance.
Data flickered through her eyes as twin rays of blue light scanned his face.
“Mr. Gao Yang, you’re now suffering from E-type sequela of the Jupiter Virus. Before you wake up, I’ll have to provide you with a comprehensive psychology therapy.”
“Have you fucking had enough?!” Gao Yang pushed her away as hard as he could, yet it felt like pushing a tall wall. He staggered back and almost fell.
Miss Bo maintained elegant stance, her smile replaced by absolute clinical detachment. “First step, make sure the patient is in a stable emotional state for effective communication.”
Gao Yang turned away from her methodical words, only to find the Gates had vanished.
He stood frozen in vast, hazy nothingness. Only he and Miss Bo remained in existence.
Houseau3's Thoughts
Now you're just toying with us, author. Gao Yang too. The boy cannot catch a break😂
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