2: Underneath A Thousand Skies

263 Reality (19)

Far away from the excitement Song Jia and Nova was experiencing, in Yujinxiang, Xu Jinhai was sleeping.

It was a deep slumber that felt like he had sank into the bottom of the ocean. His limbs felt heavy, as if chains were binding them. Of course, Xu Jinhai was all too familiar with this heavy feeling of exhaustion.

He had once again overexerted himself.

The scientists and researchers that were monitoring his condition thought it was because he had overused his powers and strained his body that he had bouts of fatigue every time he abused his powers. However, Xu Jinhai knew the truth. The exertion of using his powers contributed to his fatigue, to be sure, but it wasn't just that. The main reason for his exhaustion and the comatose slumber that followed afterwards like a sequelae was purely psychological.

It was because he was fighting for the control of his own mind.

Since his powers depended on the mind, naturally, it should follow that it would be mentally taxing for him. If it was just that, then while Xu Jinhai would be tired, it wouldn't be as severe as losing consciousness. It was because he was already constantly being vigilant of his own thoughts, guarding against the other alters that would take control of his body the moment he had a lapse of attention, that contributed greatly to his strange condition. He had to guard his mind against his other personalities constantly, and if he overused his powers on top of that, draining all of his concentration, his body would collapse.

One can see, the male god was truly exceptional. Other people would breakdown just by either one of those two factors, even potentially becoming insane, but he could still actually live normally like a regular person.

Alright, he wasn't a normal person in the first place, so this was also to be expected.

The research scientist that was guarding him continued to monitor his vitals and brainwaves, scribbling solemnly on his medical chart. He had recently been recruited, being let in on this galactic 'secret' only a few months ago, so he felt equal amounts of pride and nervousness. This had the exact same feeling as when he was just a medical intern getting assigned to the ICU. He wanted to do a good job and didn't want to betray everyone's expectations.

Suddenly, the researcher noticed a severe change in the patient's EEG. It had already been confirmed way back before that alters of those suffering from dissociative identity disorder have differing brain scans depending on the 'switching' of a patient's alternate identities [1]. 

Seeing different parts of the brain light up, he quickly flipped the pages and consulted the list that had been handed to him by his seniors. It was a list of different brain maps that corresponded to the 'switching' of a different 'alter'.

"There's a higher eigenvector centrality in frontal, central, and temporal parts of the brain..." The researcher paused. He had identified the current alter in charge of the body. "So this is the nominated ruler those Yueji priests were treasuring so much..."

He quickly focused all of his attention on the screen. From what his seniors had told him, the main personality of this body often clashed with his alters. Previous observations also told him that the alter now would only take control for about ten minutes, before the brain would show intense activity and the main personality, 'Xu Jinhai' would return.

To the researcher's shock, the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system of the brain showed intense activity. The patient's brain scan alternated between those of 'Xu Jinhai' and 'Xiang Feng' so rapidly that for a moment, their brain scans overlapped. The ECG began to alarm, along with the heart rate and blood pressure of the patient that also spiked up, signaling extreme agitation. 

The researcher's heart skipped a beat in alarm and he immediately pushed the red button above the patient's bed, calling for back-up.

An alarm rang around the hallways, the urgent frequency and the flashing blue lights following the blaring of the AI announcement all across the PA system. 

"All personnel, Code Blue! I repeat, Code Blue!"

The researcher looked at the ECG screen, and before he could blink, it flattened into a straight line. 

He snapped his head back to the bed, but Xu Jinhai was no longer lying there.

...

"Wait, please! I surrender!"

The assassin knelt on the floor, raising her hands in surrender. While it wasn't obvious with the special clothes that they wore, the moment she spoke up, it was extremely obvious with her voice that she was a woman. She had also tugged down the hooded cowl that they all wore, spilling blonde hair all across her shoulders. 

Her shoulders trembled, revealing her inner fear. The assassin was actually a little beauty, and it was even a beauty that could make the moon and the flowers feel embarrassed to bloom [2]. How she journeyed into the life of an assassin that kills people, Song Jia could only guess inside her heart.

Seeing the two people in front of her seeming to consider her situation, the female assassin couldn't help but inwardly sneer. Regardless of her appearance, she was actually a well-known assassin whose strengths in killing lie in the so-called 'beauty trap.' [3] She liked lulling her targets into a false sense of security by showing vulnerability, and when their backs were turned, that was the moment that she would strike.

Of course, both Song Jia and Nova weren't deluded by her fake appearance. That kind of acting, it was still too weak. Song Jia had already seen the demon lord of lust, whose presence could even seduce men and women alike. Compared to her, the female assassin could still be considered wet behind the ears [4].

As for Nova, whose way of looking at the world was basically just a set of data points, there was no need for an explanation. He also considered himself to be the best actor in the world, an AI masquerading as a human, so what should this amateur acting count as? The blood vessels in her eyes and cheeks weren't even dilated that much, which meant she was even fake-crying. 

Just by that lame acting, she already deserved death by a thousand cuts.

Right when Nova was about to make a move to eliminate the assassin, a flash of movement appeared behind the woman. 

Before they could figure out what was happening, the female assassin's head rolled on the floor. What was horrifying was that it wasn't even an intact head. It had been cleanly sliced into three parts, as if it was a fish on the cutting board.

Song Jia took a step back in shock, and a shadow fell over her. Her chin was lifted and a bruising kiss was planted on her lips. 

"Jia, I'll be back quickly. Don't go anywhere."

When Song Jia gasped, regaining her breath from the kiss, Xu Jinhai had once again disappeared.

[1] A true study, this is the link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/pchj.109

[2] Ch. idiom that means a woman was drop-dead gorgeous.

[3] (Ch.)  美人计. Using one's beauty to pillow-talk men in powerful positions; a term that became popular because of Diao Chan during the Three Kingdoms period.

[4] Ch. idiom that means being naive or amateur in certain things.