The night before the promotion

Chapter 88 Aftermath
7 month 23 day.

The biological gel mixed with liquid gently flowed over Zhou Si's body, caressing his skin. The water temperature was neither high nor low, just right.

Zhou Si looked at the white light above his head. If it was replaced with a warm fluorescent lamp, the moment he closed his eyes, Zhou Si would imagine himself lying on the beach in the Maldives basking in the sun.

Unfortunately, it's just a fantasy.

"Good news, Zhou Si, you can be discharged from the hospital today."

The door of the ward was opened and Ruan Linrui walked in. She glanced at Zhou Si's body and suddenly revealed an inexplicable smile.

She joked, "You really know how to enjoy yourself. Do you want me to pour you a glass of red wine?"

Zhou Si was too lazy to pay attention to Ruan Linrui and stared at the water in front of him with a slightly dazed look.

Just like usual, Zhou Si was soaking in the medical cabin at this moment, but the difference was that this time there was no trachea inserted in his throat, and his whole body was not completely immersed in the liquid. He was half immersed in the medical cabin as if he was taking a bath, as if he was soaking in a bathtub.

Zhou Si asked without even looking up, "Since there is good news, what is the bad news?"

"Bad news? No bad news for now."

Ruan Linrui put her handbag aside and sat on the chair next to the medical cabin, facing Zhou Si.

"The Supervisory Bureau is still searching for the remaining members of the Elysian Land. A large amount of information in Cloud City has also been sent to the Stone Fortress for inspection. Even the Hidden Alley has been purged. According to the plot of the movie, we are welcoming a happy ending."

Ruan Linrui changed the subject and sighed sincerely, "And this is all thanks to you, Zhou Si."

"I?"

"Yes, you used yourself as bait and successfully infiltrated Cloud City. You also successfully contacted the Supervisory Bureau through BT-24, which made this raid so successful and helped the Supervisory Bureau eliminate this extremely dangerous incarnation killer group."

Zhou Si was a little confused by the story made up by Ruan Linrui. After two or three seconds, he finally reacted.

"Is this the report after you polished it?"

Ruan Linrui forced a sly smile on her face, "I guess so. Anyway, when it was finally submitted to the Central Supervisory Bureau, the original story was like this."

"But to be honest, Zhou Si, the results of this operation are really huge."

Ruan Linrui flipped through her phone, looking up relevant information. "Not only did she solve the problem of the Paradise in one fell swoop, she also recovered the mature ephemeralization technology from Cloud City, as well as the Paradise system that had not been registered with the Supervisory Bureau."

When mentioning the paradise, Ruan Linrui paid more attention to Zhou Si, looking at his numb and cold face.

"From the survivors, I heard that you were dragged into the paradise... What did you go through?"

When mentioning this bad memory, Zhou Si's eyes narrowed involuntarily, as if he was thinking about something.

"Experience? It's nothing more than some messy experiences."

"for example?"

"For example, being sent to a virtual scene and being executed, tortured, and interrogated by a group of psychopaths."

Zhou Si talked eloquently, as if he was telling another person's story. "But I think it's okay. It's just virtual anyway. As long as you recognize the fact that it's virtual, many things will be much easier to accept, just like a dream."

Ruan Linrui mentioned it casually, "Is it just this kind?"

Zhou Si wanted to end the conversation, but for some reason, he continued, "Not entirely."

"What else?"

Zhou Si smiled and said, "I...how should I put it? You probably don't want to hear it."

"If you don't tell me, how would I know?"

Ruan Linrui looked at Zhou Si with suspicion. Once upon a time, Zhou Si was like a blank piece of paper in her eyes. She could tell at a glance what was written or drawn on it.

But ever since the immortal's death, Zhou Si's piece of white paper has been soaked with black ink. Looking around, there is only darkness, covering up all the words.

Mysterious and ominous.

"I went back to the past," Zhou Si said slowly, "To be precise, the Paradise System simulated our past life, which was the time when we lived together before the Immortal Falls accident."

Ruan Linrui was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"The old days were so beautiful, but unfortunately, they are gone and can never be brought back."

Zhou Si was silent for a moment, and then continued, "I thought I had a good memory and could remember everything in the past, but in fact, when I look back, all I can see is a blur."

“But when you are in the paradise, blurry things become clear…it is really a wonderful experience.”

Ruan Linrui didn't quite understand what Zhou Si meant, but she still asked, "Did you see me in the paradise?"

"of course."

Zhou Si looked up at her, "You are also part of the past, aren't you?"

"and then?"

"Then I killed you in paradise," Zhou Si said nonchalantly, "Memories are nice, but they are just fake and shouldn't exist."

Ruan Linrui seemed to want to say something, but when the words came to her lips, they turned into a helpless sigh, her smile became a little bitter, and finally she chose to remain silent.

There were sounds of footsteps coming from outside the ward, and after a while, another person opened the door.

"Long time no see, Doctor Zhou."

Li Weiyu pushed the door open and saw Zhou Si soaking comfortably in the medical cabin. He felt relieved. Zhou Si had the same reaction.

After the attack in the Hidden Alley, Zhou Si was abducted by Zhifu Le Tu, and Li Weiyu was seriously injured and unconscious. Although many days have passed since the incident, the two have been staying in the ward and receiving continuous treatment during this period.

Because Zhou Si didn't want to be completely immersed in the medical cabin, floating up and down like a corpse, his treatment speed was much slower, while Li Weiyu recovered completely in the past few days.

Without too much concern or reminiscing, Zhou Si and Li Weiyu looked at each other and asked directly.

"Did the Supervisory Bureau find any useful information in Cloud City?"

"Yes, I can say, a lot."

Li Weiyun slowly explained that he took over the job immediately after he recovered, which put a lot of pressure on him both physically and mentally.

"In addition to the Feathering Technology and the Paradise System, we have found a large number of transaction records. The scope involved is a bit too large, so the Supervision Bureau branch in Yanyan City can no longer handle it alone."

Li Weiyun continued, "Shibao is also speeding up the analysis of various data files. The impact of this incident will not be much less than the original Xianyu accident." "The most important thing is that even if Yunzhong City is destroyed, the mystery of Chen Wen Ge's death has not been solved."

Ruan Linrui, who had been silent all this time, spoke at this time, and she looked at the two of them with a serious expression.

"From Zhou Si's testimony, the immortal who has been controlling the Paradise is most likely Chen Wen Ge. It is precisely because of Chen Wen Ge's death and the loss of contact with the immortal that the Paradise chose to cooperate with the so-called Madam Cui to find a new way out."

Ruan Linrui continued.

"Then, a new question arises: why did Chen Wen Ge die?"

Previously, Zhou Si and others had made countless speculations and deductions about the cause of Chen Wen Ge's death. They thought they were close to the truth of the incident, but everything Zhou Si saw completely overturned it all.

At this point, Zhou Si frowned with a serious expression. He stared at the water beneath him and looked at his own reflection.

"I thought that destroying the Land of Bliss would put an end to all this, but with the destruction of Cloud City, everything has become even more fragmented..."

Zhou Si muttered to himself. He tried to think something, but the pain in his head from time to time rudely interrupted his thoughts.

No matter how strong Zhou Si's will is, after all, will is based on physiological structure.

Huo Daochuan's high-intensity interrogation of Zhou Si in the Le Tu system has affected Zhou Si's neural structure to a certain extent. It is not clear whether this damage is reversible, but at the moment, it has indeed had a lasting impact on Zhou Si.

It is not an illusion like the one caused by dementia, but a tingling pain that appears and disappears from time to time, like a fish bone stuck in your throat, which will cause a sharp pain when you breathe carelessly.

"Is there no direction for investigation for the time being?"

Zhou Si asked Ruan Linrui, unlike himself and Li Weiyu, the other two patients, Ruan Linrui had been running around for this incident while they were receiving treatment.

"We are currently waiting for Stone Castle's analysis report. Once they have digested the data from Cloud City, they should be able to point out a path for us."

Ruan Linrui replied, "But this requires us to wait patiently."

Zhou Si nodded gently and asked, "Are there any clues about Madam Cui?"

"The Supervisory Bureau searched the hidden alley carefully. We were unable to find Madam Cui, but we discovered a lot of her assets," Ruan Linrui said disappointedly. "But just as we expected, the assets were cleaned out very well, and no useful information was found."

"I think Madam Cui is also a direction worth further investigation."

Zhou Si suggested. He tried hard to recall everything about Madam Cui, his past interactions with her, and her conversation with the tiger in Yunzhong City.

"Madam Cui attempted to hire Elysium to launch a terrorist attack in the city of Anyan."

Zhou Si whispered, "I don't know what its purpose is, but I can be sure that this bastard is no less dangerous than Elysium."

Taking a deep breath, Zhou Si touched the wound on his body that was gradually healing, stroking the raised scar. He looked at the closed window and sighed.

"All this storm came from the death of one person."

The three people in the room fell silent for a while. Silence fell and they could clearly hear each other's breathing and heartbeat.

Suddenly, Ruan Linrui stood up and walked quickly towards the window.

"You've been here too long. It's time to see some sunlight."

Ruan Linrui opened the curtains, and golden sunlight poured into the room, blinding Zhou Si so much that he couldn't open his eyes.

Waves of warmth surged in, dispelling the cold and fatigue in his body. Zhou Si slowly adapted to the strong light. He opened his eyes and the clear sky came into view.

During the time Zhou Si was receiving treatment, Typhoon Linjiang had already left the city of Anyan. It washed away the filth and dark clouds of the city, leaving only the pure sky and sunshine everywhere.

Zhou Si stared for a moment. The natural scenery healed his soul to a certain extent, but the moment Zhou Si looked away, the gloomy things in his heart crawled out again.

Things were simple after that. The medical staff came in and first checked Zhou Si's physical condition. After making sure that he had no problems, they began to give him instructions.

Zhou Si moved his slightly stiff body and climbed out of the medical cabin. After a simple shower and change of clothes, he walked out of the ward looking refreshed.

Perhaps it was because he had been lying down for too long, Zhou Si's steps felt a little shaky, as if the earth had become soft and every step felt unsteady.

Li Weiyu helped Zhou Si at the right time, but Zhou Si waved his hand and refused.

Zhou Si walked forward on his own, his steps becoming gradually more solid and firm, until the ground beneath his feet became hard, without a trace of softness.

In the corridor outside the ward, Xiang Ji and Song Qiliang waited for a long time. When Song Qiliang saw Zhou Si coming out, he could not hide his excitement on his face.

During this period of time, Song Qiliang has been blaming himself, thinking that it was his own fault that led to Zhou Si's capture. Now that he sees Zhou Si recovering and returning, the huge rock that was pressing on his heart has finally slowly fallen to the ground.

"Dr. Zhou."

Xiang Ji nodded to Zhou Si, and Zhou Si also looked back.

Both of them have a cold personality and rarely talk, so their communication is like that of a pair of strangers who have just met.

"We have some new intelligence."

Xiang Ji followed Zhou Si and said, "When we were salvaging the wreckage of Yunzhong City, we found the body of the tiger."

"Oh?"

Hearing this news, Zhou Si felt inexplicably relieved, "Is he dead?"

"Yes, it's not an incarnation, but a real body of flesh and blood," Xiang Ji added, "but unfortunately, we couldn't find Huo Daochuan's body."

"His body may have been swept into the deep sea by the typhoon... Most bodies have not been found and have become nutrients for the deep sea."

"Huo Daochuan..."

When this name was mentioned, Zhou Si's pace slowed down involuntarily, and that confused and frightened face kept coming to his mind.

In fact, Zhou Si didn't think Huo Daochuan was a bad person. He thought Huo Daochuan was a stupid, naive, deceived and poor man... He longed for something so much that even some lies full of loopholes could easily trap him.

Zhou Si commented, "Being buried in the sea may be a peaceful ending for him."

"What are your plans next?" Li Weiyun asked with concern, "Do you want to take a break?"

"No need."

Zhou Si shook his head. He was always like this. Even though he was covered in wounds, he was full of energy. He could not be defeated and could not be killed.

"I want to go to Stone Castle and see what they have analyzed."

(End of this chapter)