The night before the promotion

Chapter 47: Iron Soldier Arrives
Over the years, Ruan Linrui has been restraining herself from thinking about things related to Zhou Si. If she doesn't think about it, there will be no worries. She did a good job in this regard until Chen Wen Ge's death and until the storm approached.

Until the past they had escaped from caught up with them again.

"I took care of the people, I rented the house, I found the clinic, and I got the equipment through connections."

She kept cursing, and Zhou Si couldn't see her expression, but he thought Ruan Linrui must be very sad.

"You said you wanted to be a doctor, and I supported you in becoming a doctor, but you suddenly gave me this!"

She gave Zhou Si another hard injection, and Zhou Si felt that this was somewhat revengeful.

Zhou Si narrowed his eyes, his gaze blurred.

In the past, Zhou Si would never be easily shaken by these few words, but now his spirit was exhausted and the towering city walls were full of cracks.

"Brother Ruan."

It was rare that Zhou Si no longer used Ms. Ruan, a very distant name, but instead used the affectionate name they used when they used to stay up late playing games together.

"You know, I suffered from the disease of dissociation, and miraculously recovered by myself," Zhou Si's voice sounded like a dream. "Aren't you curious about what I thought of myself as under the influence of the disease?"

This was the first time Zhou Si had expressed his inner thoughts to others since the Xianyue accident, and it was also the first time someone had been so close to him.

"You said."

The sound of hurried footsteps came from a distance. Ruan Linrui carried Zhou Si again and ran wildly in the ninety-six floors that were like a maze.

Zhou Si pondered his words and finally revealed the secret.

"My dissociative identity disorder is interesting; it doesn't cause me to mistake myself for some non-human entity, but it does cause me to have symptoms similar to split personality.

There is another person in my mind, another me.”

During his hospitalization, Zhou Si was in a coma for most of the time, but when he was in a coma, his brain was extremely active.

The doctor believed that it might be the mental training Zhou Si had received that was taking effect. The mental defense mechanism he had learned had been engraved into Zhou Si's instincts, and he was fighting the disease in his own way.

They were helpless with Zhou Si and could only keep prescribing medicine for him. Ruan Linrui could only stand by and watch Zhou Si struggling in pain on the hospital bed.

"But you recovered..."

Ruan Linrui was about to say something comforting, but then she realized something.

Zhou Si's scattered eyes gathered together again. The medicine injected by Ruan Linrui took effect, and his spirit was recovering. "That feeling is very subtle, just like being in a dark and narrow room, with only you and another you."

"You know the other person's past and everything he knows. Likewise, he understands everything about you. You are him and he is you."

Zhou Si suddenly asked, "Brother Ruan, if one day, a person exactly like you appeared in this world, how would you deal with it?"

Ruan Linrui pondered for a moment and replied, "I will choose to be friends with her. We may become excellent partners and never have to associate with mediocre people again."

"It's a wonderful idea... but unfortunately, it will never happen."

Zhou Si's tone became gloomy. "Please believe me, Ms. Ruan, when another you really appears in this world, you will kill her at all costs."

Ruan Linrui's heart suddenly tightened, as if pierced by a sharp blade.

“From a macro perspective, there are billions of people in this world, and each one of them is insignificant and replaceable.

However, when we look at it from an individual perspective, each of us is so unique and irreplaceable.”

Zhou Si became much more sober, and his voice became more powerful, like hard iron gradually cooling down.

"unique.

This is the only gift God has given us, but how sad it would be when this uniqueness that belongs only to us is broken.

You are replaceable, and therefore life becomes illusory, just like the goods on the shelf, once they are sold out, there will always be new goods to fill the vacancy. "

Zhou Si's words cut through Ruan Linrui's thoughts.

"In this scenario, every unique experience, every kindness, every hard work you have done becomes meaningless because they can all be copied and replaced by another you.

Your existence is like a shooting star in the night sky, brief and brilliant, but in the vastness of the universe, it is only an insignificant moment, just like a breeze blowing across the lake, leaving only a momentary ripple, and then everything returns to calm. "

The sound of gunfire coming from afar was like a heavy hammer hitting Ruan Linrui's heart.

“Your achievements, your memories, your emotions, even your pain and joy, no longer matter because there is another you in this world.

She can experience everything you have ever experienced, and your life, like a book that has been read countless times, has lost its freshness and value. "

“This sense of nothingness is more terrifying than death. It deprives us of the essence and meaning of our existence.”

The rebuke echoed in the air like a sad elegy, singing the final elegy for the uniqueness of human beings.

“Let’s go back to the puzzle at the beginning: in a dark and small room, you look at your other self, and each other’s eyes reflect the other’s image.”

Zhou Si's eyes softened, and his stern tone softened, as if he was telling a bedtime story to a child.

"We all know that this enclosed space only allows one person to leave," Zhou Si's voice was low and full of mystery, "So, I made a choice."

"I killed him, walked out of the room, and was cured of the illness that had been plaguing me ever since."

Ruan Linrui didn't know what to say for a moment, and at one moment, she almost forgot that they were running for their lives.

"Do you think this is the end?" Zhou Si shook his head slightly, with a bitter smile on his face. "No, this is just the beginning of a nightmare."

"Since that so-called 'recovery,' I have often fallen into deep self-doubt.

Am I the original main personality, or the secondary personality that was split off in that mental storm? And which self did I end? " Zhou Si laughed with a bit of desolation, "This is really a thought-provoking question, isn't it?"

"But we all understand that the moment the uniqueness of our existence is broken, the labels of main personality and secondary personality have lost their meaning."

Zhou Si turned his head and looked at the burning golden light behind the glass curtain on one side.

"Somewhere in my heart, the love I had for you, for everyone, was still as strong as ever, but I could no longer return to who I was before. I was trapped in the abyss of my own existence, surrounded by an endless void."

“No matter how I deceive myself, the dark abyss always follows me, spreading under my feet and hanging high above my head.

I started practicing medicine to save those patients, not only to find some value and meaning in my own existence, but also to find an opportunity to save myself from these patients. "

Zhou Si took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly.

He smiled. "Don't worry. I take my medicine on time and receive regular psychological evaluations. These are just some personal problems of mine and will not affect others."

Ruan Linrui stopped and they returned to the original hall, where the metal wreckage was piled up on top of each other in a mess.

She put Zhou Si down, and Zhou Si stood stubbornly, staggering.

Ruan Linrui sighed, "It's so complicated, Zhou Si, should I insult you or sympathize with you?"

"I don't know, maybe this is life," Zhou Si repeated the truth of the material world, "objective facts cannot be argued or questioned."

She should be smiling. "Actually, I quite like you now, Zhou Si. Although you are dying, you are full of vitality, just like you in my memory."

"is it?"

The footsteps of the servants were approaching, coming from all directions, and this time the two had no way to retreat.

They pulled the trigger without hesitation, not caring whether it would kill Zhou Si.

Even if Zhou Si's body was shattered, as long as his brain was intact, it would be fine. In today's era, there are many technologies that can allow a person to live for more than ten hours with only the brain preserved, and this time is enough for Paradise to upgrade and dissect Zhou Si's brain structure. Ruan Linrui turned around to block the furious rain of bullets for Zhou Si. The metal shell became bumpy in an instant, and sparks of failure flew everywhere.

The narrow blade was unsheathed again. The breathing space that Ruan Linrui bought for Zhou Si allowed him to recover a lot of his physical and mental strength. Zhou Si believed that he still had a chance to turn the tables.

As for death?

Perhaps because he had died once, Zhou Si seemed unexpectedly calm.

"But to be honest, Ms. Ruan," Zhou Si joked, "the story of a hero saving a beautiful girl never gets outdated, at least for me now...even the dead love in my heart seems to be rekindled."

He continued, "Of course, if you can provide me with an armed avatar now, I wouldn't mind going on a date with you once this is over?"

"Dating? No need for that, Zhou Si. We've broken up. A man who's still in a relationship isn't handsome enough."

Ruan Linrui's voice was full of electric noise, but Zhou Si could still hear the tenderness in her words.

This time she neither hated nor mocked Zhou Si.

"But armed avatars? That's not a problem."

As soon as Ruan Linrui finished speaking, her head was completely shattered by a bullet. The towering high wall had collapsed, and Zhou Si had to face this tidal wave of enemies alone again.

Beep, beep—

A sudden siren sounded, and Zhou Si was confused for a moment, because this was a super high-rise building with 96 floors, but then he saw it.

I saw a huge black shadow quickly emerging from the golden clouds behind the glass curtain, as if a giant beast was galloping at high speed in the sea of ​​clouds.

The black shadow quickly expanded until it was roughly outlined by the golden holographic projection.

It…is coming!
The intruder smashed the glass curtain head-on, and the reflection of countless fragments completely highlighted its rough and hideous figure.

It was an incarnation body nearly three meters tall, covered with thick reactive armor. It landed heavily on the ground, and its mechanical four legs with power wheels left a series of broken brake marks on the marble floor, like an angry beast breaking through a fence.

It paused for a moment, then turned its abdomen at a large angle, like a tank turret, and pointed the main body toward the groups of servants, with its shoulders fully loaded with ammunition compartments and heavy weapons hanging from its arms, exuding a murderous aura.

The appearance of the entire incarnation body is like the mythical centaur, but it is not filled with natural beauty. Instead, it is drenched in darkness and emits ghostly fire.

It was also at this time that Zhou Si saw the skull paint on its shoulder armor.

The Iron Soldier V1 armed avatar, designed by Shenwei Technology and commissioned by Beihuang Military to produce, is one of the standard armed avatar models of the Supervisory Bureau.

"Dr. Zhou! Good evening!"

Song Qiliang's voice rang out from the loudspeaker, filled with great excitement.

For Zhou Si, this was a desperate situation of being on the verge of death, but for Song Qiliang, this was a rare moment to show his value. You know, it was more than a year ago since he last controlled the armed incarnation to kill people.

Zhou Si was a little dazed for a moment. Ruan Linrui actually got him an armed avatar... No, that woman had clearly planned all of this!
"Head down! Doctor Zhou!"

Amid Song Qiliang's cheers, the heavy weapons of the Iron Soldier began to charge. Zhou Si saw a hot light like lava rising from the dark muzzle.

"Fuck you!"

Zhou Si cursed loudly, dragged his injured leg, and staggered to the side. The next moment, endless flames were released from behind him.

He first saw the ground and walls being reflected in a burning blood red, deafening gunshots rang out, and then waves of heat swept over Zhou Si's body, as if a miniature volcano was erupting behind him.

Zhou Si had seen a video on the Internet showing a test firing of a heavy-duty thermal shotgun. However, no matter how high-definition the video was, it was far less realistic than a live broadcast.

Countless half-melted metal projectiles advanced forward like a rainstorm, like a gigantic wall of fire. The moment they touched the servants, the high temperature and impact force easily penetrated their shells, leaving burning holes on them.

Detonate the battery and turn it into a fireball!
The servants who had just chased Zhou Si to a desperate situation, fell down in large numbers under this shot, like wheat cut by a sickle. Even though some servants still had the strength to fight back, the metal bullets only left shallow scratches on the armor in vain.

The elevator bell rang, the elevator door opened, and Li Weiyu rushed in with his fully armed team members.

He supported the staggering Zhou Si and said jokingly, "You came just in time."

Zhou Si coughed a few times, and a few drops of blood dripped along the edge of the broken mask.

“The bureaucratic approval process is more efficient than I thought.”

Li Weiyun took Zhou Si's shoulders and shook his head. "It's not that efficient actually. It's mainly because your ex-girlfriend contributed a lot."

Zhou Si was puzzled, "Why is he related to her again?"

"After she learned about the situation here, she immediately reported it to Zuo Zhi, and Zuo Zhi directly applied to the Supervisory Bureau to put pressure on them."

Li Weiyun didn't know whether to be thankful for the strength of Shenwei Technology or to be worried about their strength. "According to my boss, Dong Yuan, if the Supervisory Bureau can't solve this problem, Shenwei Technology will be responsible. Their security team is already ready on the tarmac."

Zhou Si murmured, "It sounds like my life is quite valuable in Mr. Zuo Zhi's eyes."

"More than that."

Li Weiyun glanced outside the glass curtain and saw two heavy transport planes circling along the skyline buildings. They were looming in the golden clouds, like giant whales cruising in the deep sea.

"I'll take you away from here first, and leave the rest to Song Qiliang."

"No, this matter is not over yet," Zhou Si rejected Li Weiyun's kindness, "The mountain king has escaped, and the upgrade of the ninety-seventh floor is still continuing."

"Doctor Zhou, you can leave this matter to..."

"Team Leader Li, do you want to know the truth about the Feathering Technology?"

Zhou Si interrupted Li Weiyu's words, tilted his head, and his eyes were full of temptation and mystery.

He laughed hoarsely, "Everything is so close and within easy reach. Are you really willing to turn back like this?"

"You...you are really a paranoid lunatic."

Li Weiyu scolded like this, but he took out a needle and injected it directly into Zhou Si's thigh.

"It's for internal use only at the Supervisory Bureau. It should keep you burning for a while longer," he asked, "You don't have to worry about any sequelae, right?"

"No problem. I'm ready to stay in the medical cabin for another week." Zhou Si said nonsense.

"Are you sure you have the money to pay for the medical bills?"

Zhou Si said spinelessly, "I think the kind-hearted Ms. Ruan and the philanthropic Mr. Zuo Zhi will pay for me."

This was the first time Li Weiyun saw Zhou Si being so shameless. He sighed, "Does this count as a gigolo?"

"probably."

"You are so lucky to have such a girlfriend... Even her ex-girlfriend still takes good care of you."

Li Weiyun asked curiously, "How did you two know each other?"

Zhou Si recalled those beautiful days, and under the camouflage mask, the corners of his mouth raised a faint arc.

"I told you that she and I met online. Do you believe me?"

"what?"

Li Weiyu supported Zhou Si and walked forward with a limp.

Behind them, there was a continuous blood-red light, and Song Qiliang was like a sociopath who had been suppressed for a long time, and was releasing himself legally.

(End of this chapter)