【System prompt: Instance 002 loaded successfully.】
【Current world: Gwiezdna Era·Imperium Mózgu Dominium】
【Host identity: Trzynasty zdrajca sekwencji·Lin Jinzhao, execution countdown 48 hours】
【Hidden plot: To be loaded】
Lin Jinzhao slowly opened her eyes.
She found herself lying on a cold metal slab, her limbs bound by energy locks, the surroundings icy, like an interrogation room.
【System prompt: Host, please remain calm, no anomalies have been detected in this instance world yet.】
She sneered: "Not detected yet?"
System: "Yes, the main control protagonist has not logged into this instance yet, you can… rest for a while."
Lin Jinzhao: "You don't think he'll come?"
System: "…He shouldn't have come, this is your Świat restartu."
Lin Jinzhao closed her eyes and softly uttered a sentence:
"I hope so."
Inside the Ninth Day Star System's supreme organ nadzoru.
A supervisor's exclusive office, heavily secured, impenetrable.
In the center of the room, a man sat on a chair, hands clasped, his gaze as deep as the abyss.
He wore a dark grey supervisor uniform, the imperial insignia on his chest, his epaulets marking an unshakeable status.
On the holographic projection before him, a video was playing:
A black-haired woman lay on a metal restraint table, her eyes closed, her lips pale.
The man stared at the screen, not blinking for a long time.
"She is not awake yet?" His voice was as cold as machinery.
"R-reporting to Panie/Lordzie, the consciousness unit of Numer 001 has not completed integration…"
"Proceed."
"…It will cause instance space oscillation, even system collapse—"
"Proceed."
The image flickered, a syringe piercing the consciousness channel.
Lin Jinzhao's eyes suddenly snapped open in the interrogation room!
The next second, a voice, so familiar it made her heart race, sounded in her ears:
"Don't be afraid."
She looked up sharply. He stood at the door.
In a supervisor uniform, imperial gloves on his hands, his dark hair slightly messy, his eyes shining, yet like an abyss.
"…You again?" she choked out.
System explosion: 【This is impossible! This is a new instance! He shouldn't remember!】
Qin Jingyuan walked towards her step by step, his voice carrying an extremely suppressed gentleness:
"Don't struggle."
"I have waited for you for too long."
He reached out, touching her face, his movement so light as if afraid to startle her.
"The last instance… you left too cruelly."
"This time, I will be more careful."
"I won't scare you."
Lin Jinzhao's eyes sharpened: "When… did you wake up?"
Qin Jingyuan's lips curved slightly: "The moment you were just teleported in."
"I woke up."
"You lay here for three days, and I sat here for three days."
"I was afraid that if I left… you would disappear again."
He lowered his head, pressing his forehead against hers, his voice trembling:
"Jinzhao, please don't run away again, okay?"
"This world… I rebuilt it for you once."
"This time, can you… stay with me until the end."
Lin Jinzhao felt a chill all over.
System alarm blaring: 【Escape quickly! He is not a mere consciousness fragment! This is a mental projection instance constructed by the entire dimension by him!!】
Only then did she realize—
It wasn't him who followed her through dimensions. It was… he who arrived before her.
He knew she would come.
He arrived here in advance, constructed this world in advance.
He wrote himself as an imperial supervisor,
And her as a wanted traitor.
"…What exactly do you want to do?" she gritted out.
Qin Jingyuan chuckled and unlocked her restraints.
"Give you a legitimate reason to kill me."
He pointed to his own heart: "Jinzhao.
If you shoot, I won't follow you anymore.
If you don't shoot, I am yours.
Forever, I'm not going anywhere."
Lin Jinzhao held the "Bureau of Supervision Standard Energy Gun" in her hand, the muzzle pressed against his heart.
Qin Jingyuan looked down at her, his eyes dark, his emotions deep.
"Shoot," he said, "I know you will."
"You've never truly… stayed."
Lin Jinzhao's finger trembled slightly.
She could pull the trigger, of course.
She had killed too many people, never wavering during missions.
But this time—many images flashed through her mind:
He waited three days for her to wake.
He chased her in the first instance but never struck her.
He collapsed repeatedly, yet never truly harmed her.
He was mad, but his madness was always within limits.
As if holding something back, afraid to scare her.
"Aren't you afraid of death?" Her voice was soft.
Qin Jingyuan smiled: "I am."
"But I am more afraid of you looking at me again and turning away."
He leaned closer, his tone coaxing like a child: "Jinzhao, shoot."
"If you kill me this time, I won't bother you anymore."
"You hate being pestered the most, right?"
"I'll just pretend I never loved you."
Lin Jinzhao's finger moved.
System voice anxious: 【Host, attacking the core consciousness is not recommended! This will trigger instance collapse!】
Her gaze was complex, she shifted her hand, the gun barrel turning towards his shoulder.
Bang—!
The energy bullet pierced the black uniform, blood splattered.
Qin Jingyuan did not dodge.
He merely lowered his head, looking at the wound on his shoulder, and chuckled softly.
"You still can't bear it."
Lin Jinzhao gritted her teeth, taking a step back: "Don't push me to madness."
"You can go mad, I won't play along."
He grabbed her wrist, his eyes filled with suppressed emotion to the extreme.
"You can counter-control me, lock me up, blow up my base, lure me for you…"
"But why—why can't you admit that you also have a little…"
He stopped, his voice hoarse.
Lin Jinzhao said coldly: "Admit what?"
"That you love me?"
"Are you worthy?"
Qin Jingyuan's hand loosened, as if struck senseless by her words.
"I… am worthy?"
"Jinzhao, have you ever thought—"
He suddenly leaned in, his forehead against hers, his voice low and frantic:
"If you hadn't repeatedly torn up my script, ruined my settings, and killed my characters, I would never—have woken up."
"You created me."
"You destroyed me, once and again."
"How could you… do this to me."
Lin Jinzhao's eyelashes trembled, her chest felt as if something was blocking it.
【System prompt: Main control consciousness state extremely unstable! "Emotional self-destruction program" about to trigger!】
【Instance space stability decreasing…】
She suddenly realized, he wasn't playing the "emotional card".
He was really going to self-destruct.
Not acting.
But serious.
If she left now, he would truly let this entire dimension… collapse with him.
Lin Jinzhao took a deep breath, slowly raised her hand, and grasped his still-bleeding shoulder.
She lowered her eyes, her voice soft:
"…You're sick."
"I can't cure you."
Qin Jingyuan let out a low laugh, weakly lowering his eyelashes.
She continued: "But if you truly die, it will be very troublesome for me."
He looked up, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to light up with fire:
"…You're worried about me?"
She pushed him away, turned to leave, and coldly threw out a sentence:
"I'm worried about my mission failing."
"Don't read too much into it."
He didn't chase her, just murmured:
"Jinzhao, one day, I will make it so… you can't even tell who you're deceiving."
"You're not afraid of me going mad, you're afraid you're starting to go mad too."
Lin Jinzhao walked away, but her palms couldn't help but tremble.
She knew he was right.
Every time she traversed dimensions, she was always clear-headed, controlled, and precise in her execution, leaving no trace.
Only this person—she couldn't kill him, couldn't escape him, couldn't suppress him, and… couldn't forget him.
【System prompt: Initiate instance transfer, begin next phase of mission?】
Lin Jinzhao: "No."
System: "No? You want to stay?"
She said softly: "He lost. But I can't win too quickly."
"I want to see how thoroughly he goes mad."
"And also see… how long I can keep acting."