Split Zone No.13

Speaking briskly, I told her, “Here’s my secret. Not only is it true that Nie Zun and I must remain within 500 meters from each other, because he houses my second identity, our lives in the Split Zone are tied together.”

A sudden breeze blew past. Jiao S had been startled numerous times this day already. Her widened eyes no longer seemed very frightening to me.

Thanks to the paper talisman that Jie Pa prepared for us, You Ji now stood frozen in front of me. I looked at her and gave a heavy sigh.

I suddenly felt exhausted. But I wasn’t done with my speech yet. “Because his life and mine are tied together, if he lives, I live. If he dies, I die. And vice versa. If either of us wants to leave the Split Zone, not only do we have to kill our own soul splitter, we must kill the other’s as well. Only then can we both return to the real world. Finding a single soul splitter is hard enough, let alone finding two. That’s why we’re searching for other methods!

“So, it’s very interesting that you’d suggest that he wants to kill me to get rid of me. If I die, he dies. So why bother?!”

In that moment, I didn’t want to say any more. To be honest, Nie Zun and Jie Pa had both warned me that You Ji may betray me. I simply didn’t want to believe them at the time. When Li Qing was still here, I loved hanging out with You Ji the most.

Because I liked snakes when I was alive, and You Ji also adored them. She liked to make herself look like a snake, and she liked having green hair. The Split Zone may be a place full of strange-looking creatures, but still, there weren’t many with green hair. She insisted on keeping her own style though.

You Ji wasn’t like Song Lu. She wasn’t gentle and kind. She was wise, rational, methodical, and thorough in all things she did. I always envied her, and I relied on her a lot.

That’s why, after I became the district commander, knowing that I would be unable to protect the Western District, I left all matters and concerns to You Ji to take care of. She never expressed any interest in becoming the commander. If all that she’s done up until now has simply been for that position, then I’d be even more upset.

Because You Ji, if you’d just told me... If you’d told me, despite Li Qing’s wishes, I’d have resolutely let go of it all and given you the position.

Why did you have to betray me?

My heart ached. And ached and ached.

Though life in the Split Zone was comfortable, I’d long ago become accustomed to the fact that people in the Split Zone were much more cruel and merciless than those in the real world. I’ve been betrayed many times before, and yet, my heart still ached now.

You Ji, you tried to use the bond between Nie Zun and me to incite animosity between us. But you never once suspected that Nie Zun and my lives were bound together...

At that thought, I glanced over at Nie Zun. The entire time, he’d stood at the side, silent, watching as I revealed this great betrayal. And the entire time, his expression had remained unchanged and unaffected.

Haha. This demon-like man. This unpredictable man.

Although I wasn’t certain about any of this, although I didn’t understand any of this, although it seemed I’d never know quite what Nie Zun was, I’ll always remember those words that the blond man told me.

Whenever he spoke to me, his eyes were always teasing and yet incomparably serious. That day, after explaining all the unchanging things about the Split Zone, he said to me, “Ah Shen, you can be wary of everyone else, but you have to trust Nie Zun. No matter how much you hate him, you have to trust him. Because the one you hate, the one who lives within him, is part of yourself. He and you, you and he, can never part. No matter how unwilling you may be, after coming to the Split Zone, your life and his are bound together. That’s something that no one can change, not even you.”

As I thought of the blond man’s words, and of all the things that I’d once thought were impossible and yet, had now occurred, I felt an unbearable pain in my chest.

Brows furrowed, I looked up and over at You Ji.

Another strange breeze blew by. It gently lifted her green hair, rustling as it brushed past the paper stuck to her face.

Her lips curved up strangely, and then her hand moved. Her entire body loosened up, as if it were coming back to life.

I recoiled slightly.

She lifted her arm and ripped the paper off her face. There were still blood stains trailing from her eyes in two red streams. Against her pale skin and green hair, it made her look like a witch.

Seeing her suddenly start moving, Nie Zun quickly stepped forward. He stood silently beside me, ready to attack.

Then I noticed that her eyes had completely healed. An enchanting light reflected from her eyes. Her red lips opened to say, “But you’re not smart enough.” She laughed and added, “Betray? You? You’re not even on my level.”

The look in her eyes turned vicious. “In all aspects, I am not inferior to you. I really don’t understand what Blond and Li Qing both saw in you. What is it about you that’s worth waiting for? You hardly even have the desire to leave this place, so what kind of protection could you possibly provide?” She scoffed. “You were right. I’ve been involved in it all. I didn’t know about your bond to Nie Zun. But so what? Did you really think that my end goal was you?”

She laughed. “Who do you think you are that I would wage a war for you?”

She lifted her hand and wiped at the blood stains on her face. The somewhat dried blood smeared across her pale skin. She didn’t seem to care though, and she continued wiping and wiping, smearing and smearing.

Nie Zun hadn’t yet made a move, and Jiao S and I watched You Ji vigilantly.

As far as we knew, with Jie Pa’s talisman and Song Lu’s blood, she shouldn’t be standing before us thus. Even if she were involved in the experiments, even if she had the antidote to counter the effects of Song Lu’s blood, what of Jie Pa’s talisman? She couldn’t have undone it so easily with just her mental force. Because we didn’t understand the situation fully, neither I nor Nie Zun dared act hastily.

You Ji sighed lightly. “Li Shen, you’re always so confident like this. A shame really. What if I told you that I was simply a small participant in this experiment? That I’m not the one running it. What would you do then?”

Without waiting for my response, she simply continued, “Now, the Western District is in my hands. Did you really think that 27 floor heads would devote themselves to you with just a few words? Ah, well, 7 of them were indeed devoted to you. Of course, I’ve gotten rid of them now.”

“Also—” She pointed at the paper seal she’d pulled off, now on the ground. “Don’t pull out trinkets like that. It’s beneath me. And the others, they’re even less interested in playing those games with you.” She narrowed her eyes. “The Western District is mine now.”

Then she turned to Nie Zun. “Nie Zun, did you think that those few people you and Jie Pa left behind were enough to hold the district until you returned? Now, you have nowhere to go. You’ll just have to stay with Jiao S in the Southern District, running from the big plan. It’s really a shame. None of you here are main characters in this game. Really, you’re all nothing...”

You Ji laughed coyly. She turned away, her back to us, and walked away with her tail swishing back and forth behind her. “You guys just stay here and slowly take in your complete lack of relevance as creatures not even worth being playthings.”

Then, she suddenly seemed to have another thought. She stopped and turned back to us. She said to me, “Oh, I nearly forgot... Though I don’t know the details of your connection with Nie Zun, when I tried inciting some discord between you two, I hadn’t really expected it to work. I just wanted to know what was going on with you two.”

And then, she laughed. Her eyes glistened. “Who’d have thought that my silly comments would reveal such amazing information.”

It was the first time I felt my heart drop so far.

As if seeing through my worries, her smile grew wider. “Don’t worry. This isn’t your weakness. Rather, it makes you two interesting. You’ll likely live longer than her.” She pointed at Jiao S.

Jiao S sneered, her own malice flashing across her eyes. “I most abhor women like you. Look at you, putting on such airs, like that bitch Li Wen. Do you really think that if things go according to your plan, that you’ll become the master of the Split Zone?”

At that point, Jiao S raised her sword and pointed it at You Ji. She continued, “Though I have no interest in you or your grievances with Li Shen, your opinion that you’re infallible... You’re rather looking down on us too much, aren’t you?”

A ray of light suddenly burst forth from the tip of her sword, headed straight for You Ji.

You Ji’s laughter was enchanting, bewitching. As the light of the sword flew at her, the air around her started to vibrate and crackle.

Just like Jiao S and Gaoqin Jiuye’s abilities.

Jiao S cried out in surprise, “Th-that can’t be! How can you use this ability?!”