The private hospital owned by the Ba Rong’s family emphasized privacy and security, with 24-hour security patrolling at the entrance. Tang Xiao was only able to enter with Ba Rong’s guidance. According to his friend’s introduction, special access passes were required to enter.
On the way in, Bay Rong kept asking, “Where did you get suspicious about all this?”
Tang Xiao had to improvise. “I don’t have any real evidence; it’s just that my mom mentioned it once, so I looked up Xiao Bai’s background. I thought the place sounded familiar. You know my family used to live in Shijiazhuang, right? But don’t tell anyone; they’d think I was being crazy. I think I’m probably wrong, so I just came to take a quick look.”
Bay Rong blinked. “No problem, I’m discreet. But if you just want to see what the person looks like, I could’ve shown you a photo. Why go through all this trouble?”
Tang Xiao paused, realizing he hadn’t thought of that in his haste.
“Uh, sharing a patient’s photo isn’t right. Isn’t privacy the main selling point of your hospital?”
“That’s true.” Ba Rong didn’t push further.
The hospital wasn’t large but was well-equipped. Instead of taking Tang Xiao to the inpatient building, Ba Rong led him to the recovery courtyard. At this time, the sun had finally broken through the winter clouds, casting a light glow over the green foliage and warming up the temperature a bit.
Several patients in blue-and-white hospital gowns were strolling through the courtyard. Ba Rong discreetly gestured toward the right. “See over there? That’s her.”
Tang Xiao looked in the direction indicated and immediately spotted the woman.
She looked over fifty, with a bit of gray at her temples and wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, yet her beauty from youth was still evident. No wonder Dr. Xiao looked so handsome—it was not just his mixed heritage; he got it from his mother.
“See her? How’s it look?”
“Well, it doesn’t quite match. I think the chances are low,” Tang Xiao replied, though his gaze lingered on the woman. The face matched perfectly with the newspaper image from the game, causing Tang Xiao’s heart to sink.
So Xiao Bai has a mother in real life, and she hasn’t passed away from illness.
What’s going on with this game? If someone fabricated or Xiao Bai himself authorized these details… it’s strange. Why would he let the game ‘kill off’ his mother? Did Xiao Bai agree with this?
Tang Xiao’s thoughts were interrupted when he noticed that the nurse accompanying Ms. Xiao had stepped away, leaving her alone by the edge of the steps. Suddenly, she swayed and grabbed her head.
“Sigh, what a coincidence. Well, you’ve seen her. Let’s go. We haven’t met up in a while; how about we go have some fun? I know an arcade that just opened—”
Ba Rong’s suggestion was cut short as Tang Xiao dashed off in a sprint that was faster than his school’s 100-meter dash. At the same time, the woman on the steps lost her balance and fell.
It all happened in a few seconds. Ba Rong instinctively took a step forward, but he was too far to reach her in time. But someone else did.
Tang Xiao made it, catching Ms. Xiao just in time, breathing heavily, though it was hard to say if it was from exertion or shock.
Ba Rong quickly joined, visibly shaken. “Are you alright? What happened? Where’s the nurse? Doctor!”
If Xiao Bai’s mother had an accident in their hospital, it would be a huge problem!
The nurse who had just left returned with a pale face, apologizing repeatedly, “I’m so sorry. I just went to the bathroom…”
“Do you have time to apologize? Check her condition and bring a stretcher!” Ba Rong was furious.
“Yes, yes!”
Understanding the urgency, the nurse quickly bent down to examine Ms. Xiao.
Following the nurse’s directions, Tang Xiao gently placed Ms. Xiao on the ground. “She didn’t hit the ground. Should be okay, but why did she suddenly pass out?”
“I don’t know. We’ll need further tests,” the nurse replied, and a stretcher was called to take Ms. Xiao for a check-up.
Ba Rong and Tang Xiao followed the whole way. Since his family owned the hospital, Ba Rong was clearly worried, knowing that even a minor incident counted as an accident. Tang Xiao was simply keeping him company.
Fortunately, after the checkup, they found that it was just physical weakness that had caused her to faint, and no injuries were discovered. Ba Rong let out a small sigh of relief.
After an incident like this, it was necessary to inform the family. As Tang Xiao and Ba Rong waited outside the room, they saw Xiao Bai arrive in a black trench coat, looking visibly anxious.
Seeing him, Ba Rong stood up first. “I apologize, Dr. Xiao. This was our fault for not providing adequate care. The hospital will take full responsibility. The examination found no injuries, though additional observation will be required. Ms. Xiao has already woken up.”
Xiao Bai’s icy blue eyes swept over Ba Rong, then shifted to Tang Xiao sitting on the hospital bench.
“It’s you again.”
Ba Rong turned to look at Tang Xiao, who was calm. “We meet again, Dr. Xiao.”
With a stormy expression, Xiao Bai’s initial worry shifted into frustration upon seeing Tang Xiao, bringing up a mix of suspicions.
If he’d been his usual self, Xiao Bai might’ve stayed composed, but this involved his family, and he felt a surge of anger. “Can you people give it a rest? Now you’ve found your way to my family. So, what? Couldn’t get to me, so you go after them?”
Ba Rong was dumbfounded. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Tang Xiao was equally frustrated. “That’s not it. You’re misunderstanding.”
“I don’t want your explanations. If anything happens to my family, expect a police report.” With that, Xiao Bai walked past Tang Xiao and entered the hospital room.
Ba Rong looked at Tang Xiao, bewildered. “What’s going on?”
“...I’d like to know too.” Tang Xiao sighed. “I did meet Xiao Bai before, but I didn’t say much. He must’ve misunderstood.”
Ba Rong was dubious. “He’s unbelievable! You saved his mother, and he’s reacting like this?”
“Let’s go. I’ll explain on the way.”
Tang Xiao remained unfazed, knowing how personal this was for Xiao Bai.
As they walked out, Tang Xiao explained his recent interaction with Xiao Bai, leaving Ba Rong puzzled. “But why did you want to talk to him in the first place… Oh! I get it! You’re testing if you two might be related!”
Tang Xiao: … Should he continue this setting?
I have no choice but to keep on lying, even if I’m crying.
Tang Xiao sighed. “Right. But judging by his reaction, he doesn’t recognize me and thinks I’m trying to cut corners, so I must be mistaken.”
“That’s way over the line. He may be a foreigner, but he should at least hear you out!” Ba Rong fumed. “I’m going to set this straight with him.”
Tang Xiao just looked at him, and Ba Rong quickly realized, “Uh, maybe that’s not the best idea.”
Regardless of Tang Xiao saving Xiao Bai’s mother, she nearly had an accident at their hospital. Not only couldn’t he go question Xiao Bai, but he’d also have to apologize.
What a mess.
Now Ba Rong understood why Tang Xiao wanted to leave right away. He wanted to leave, too. He hadn’t even taken over the family business yet, and here he was apologizing. This kind of thing had to be done by the current management.
They were almost to the first-floor lobby when footsteps suddenly sounded behind them. “Wait a moment!”
It was Xiao Bai. Ba Rong held Tang Xiao back, and they turned to see Xiao Bai. His icy demeanor softened with embarrassment and regret. “I’m sorry. It looks like I misunderstood.”
He’d initially thought Tang Xiao had come to the hospital to take advantage of his family’s location or might even have had a hand in the incident. But after talking with his mother in the hospital room, he realized he’d been mistaken; Tang Xiao hadn’t spoken to her at all, and he’d actually saved her from a fall.
Realizing how he’d acted, Xiao Bai was embarrassed. At his mother’s urging, he’d hurried out to find Tang Xiao.
Fortunately, he hadn’t left yet.
“I’m truly sorry. I didn’t know you’d saved my mother,” Xiao Bai said, catching his breath and bowing his head. “She would like to thank you personally, if you have the time.”
Tang Xiao glanced at Ba Rong, and seeing his friend’s expression, he nodded. “Alright. It’s good to clear things up.”
They returned to the hospital room, where Ms. Xiao lay in bed. Her face was pale, but she seemed in good spirits. When she saw Tang Xiao enter, she smiled. “You’re the one who saved me, aren’t you? Just before I fainted, I had the faint sense of someone rushing toward me.”
“Yes,” Tang Xiao answered, shifting into his polite, well-mannered demeanor as he did with family during holiday gatherings. “Are you alright?”
Ms. Xiao’s smile softened further. “I’m fine, thank you, good boy.”
She looked at her son, giving him a nudge with her eyes. Xiao Bai apologized again, “I’m sorry for my earlier misunderstanding.”
“It’s alright. As long as Ms. Xiao is okay. And I need to apologize on behalf of my friend too; it was their hospital that was negligent,”
Tang Xiao said, nodding toward Ba Rong, who stepped forward, offering an apology. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. We almost caused you harm. We’ll improve our staff training and waive certain fees for your stay.”
“Ah, it's alright,” Ms. Xiao said, clearly unaware of the situation, blinking innocently. “Xiao Lu takes good care of me every day, really, please don't make things hard for her. She was just about to help me back to my room, but I said I felt fine and wanted to walk a bit more.”
After clearing things up, the atmosphere in the room relaxed a lot. Ms. Xiao seemed to really like Tang Xiao and held his hand, asking, “Xiao Tang, where do you study? How did my Xiao Bai get the wrong idea about you?”
“Uh, I go to XX University,” Tang Xiao replied softly. “It might have been something I said that caused some confusion; it's not entirely Dr. Xiao's fault.”
Xiao Bai added, “Sorry, it's just that I've had people approach me before, trying to get into the lab through alternative means, so I thought that might be your intention as well.”
“As long as the misunderstanding is cleared up,” Ms. Xiao said with a smile. “By the way, Xiao Tang, was there a particular reason you sought out Xiao Bai?”
Tang Xiao hesitated for a moment. He could easily brush off the question, but his suspicions about the game kept circling in his mind.
It was strange enough that Ms. Xiao looked exactly like the character in the game.
If their appearances matched, what about the research?
In the game, Xiao Bai's research was focused on the gene-editing properties of a certain ‘King Of Mushroom spore’, which led him down the path of developing a gene editor. But surely there couldn’t be any such ‘King Of Mushroom spore’ in real life! Without clearing this up, Tang Xiao felt uneasy.
“Actually…” Tang Xiao feigned hesitation before saying, “I wanted to ask Dr. Xiao about his research.”
“Hmm?” Xiao Bai was puzzled.
“Because I heard a bit about your project. It seems you're studying the genome of a certain ancient microbe. I'm somewhat interested in the field myself, so I wanted to consult with you. Could you tell me more about this ancient microbe you're working on?”
“You're interested in that microbe?” Xiao Bai paused, and after a moment’s thought, decided it wouldn't hurt to share some information. “It's currently known in scientific circles as the Primal Cedar Fungus, as its characteristics are quite similar to those of fossilized Prototaxites. We're not yet sure if it's the extinct Primal Cedar Fungus, and we have limited samples. However, I did find some intriguing elements through gene sequencing.”
“For instance, does its genetic chain contain some sequences remarkably similar to those in animals?” Tang Xiao interjected. He was so shocked he could only recall snippets of Xiao Bai's research, eager to confirm his own thoughts. “Which stage are you at? Have you discovered the Spl protein? It's known for its DNA interference (DNAi) function, making it ideal as a gene-editing tool.”
“I did indeed find a unique protein that shares a very similar gene sequence to those known proteins specialized in DNA manipulation. You call it the Spl protein?” Xiao Bai pondered.
No, that was the name Xiao Bai had given it, Tang Xiao thought to himself.
“I'm currently studying this protein. It's similar to zinc finger nucleases (ZFN) and transcription activating factor-like nucleases (TALEN) in that it uses a non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) mechanism…”
The two began an academic discussion right in the hospital room, unfazed by those around them. The nurse and Ba Rong listened, bewildered, while Ms. Xiao, seemingly used to Xiao Bai's tendency to discuss complicated topics as if no one else were around, watched with surprise as Tang Xiao kept up.
But Ba Rong was simply astounded.
He looked at Tang Xiao differently.
Wait, isn’t this my friend who’s obsessed with video games? Since when did he know so much?
How is he discussing such complex topics with Dr. Xiao, a renowned scientist? Isn’t he supposed to be a slacker?
Tang Xiao paid no mind to the stares. The more he talked with Xiao Bai, the more troubled he felt.
Why…
Xiao Bai’s research in real life was eerily similar to what he knew from the game. Although, based on their conversation, Xiao Bai’s current progress seemed much earlier than the information available in the game archives. It could even be said that it was just starting.
However, the approach and research focus aligned perfectly.
Tang Xiao was completely baffled. It was impossible.
When a doctor eventually came to urge them to leave, reminding them not to disturb the patient, Xiao Bai reluctantly stopped talking. At first, he just wanted to thank Tang Xiao for helping his mother, but he couldn’t stop once he started. He found their thought processes strikingly similar.
It felt as though he was talking to another version of himself—one with far more advanced research.
Just during their short discussion, several of his own roadblocks opened up with new perspectives, making him want to pull Tang Xiao into his lab to prove some points.
“Dr. Tang, thank you so much. You’ve given me new insights for my research. May I ask where you work?” Xiao Bai inquired as he escorted Tang Xiao and the others to the hospital entrance.
“Oh… just call me Tang,” Tang Xiao replied absentmindedly, barely aware of what he was saying. “No worries. I got the answers I needed. And I’m not working at any institute.”
“Oh… then are you at a university?”
Xiao Bai couldn’t help but wonder. He knew Easterners often looked young, but Tang Xiao appeared exceptionally young, like an undergrad.
Previously, Tang Xiao mentioned he was still studying. Could he be a doctoral student?
He did say he was from XX University—the same one where Xiao Bai had been a visiting scientist. But if there were anyone with similar research interests, he surely would’ve heard about it by now.
Xiao Bai mulled it over and finally asked, “Is your lab working on similar research?”
“I’m not in a lab, just interested in this field.” Tang Xiao answered casually.
“I see...”
Xiao Bai was struck by a thought.
He was actually in need of an extra hand in the lab. A professor who was supposed to join had a personal emergency, leaving him short-staffed.
“Sorry, Dr. Xiao, I have something to attend to and should get going,” Tang Xiao said, oblivious to Xiao Bai’s thoughts. He’d already learned more than he expected and wanted to go home to process it all.
“No problem. Could we exchange contact information?”
Tang Xiao hastily exchanged numbers with Xiao Bai, then waved to Ba Rong and left, entirely unaware of the look on Ba Rong’s face.
He called for the family driver to pick him up and headed home in a foul mood, repeatedly dialing his brother Tang Chen, who wouldn’t answer.
“Xiaoxiao, is something wrong?” asked the driver.
Tang Xiao’s driver had worked for the family for years, and his parents treated him more like family, often addressing the younger generation by their names or nicknames.
“Yeah… I need to talk to my brother about something,” Tang Xiao replied, feeling a bit on edge.
The driver, noticing this, tried to reassure him. “If Xiao Chen’s phone isn’t reachable, would you like to talk to Mr. Tang? They may be able to help.”
“This is something I need to discuss with my brother.” Tang Xiao said reluctantly, forcing a smile to mask his frustration. “I’ll wait for him to get back. Just drop me off at the apartment.”
“Got it.”
Back at his place, Tang Xiao picked up his gaming helmet, examining the seemingly ordinary device more carefully.
It looked perfectly normal...
Wait, the customer service!
Tang Xiao suddenly remembered that he’d once contacted customer service when he first started the game. He logged in quickly to access the customer service page.
But to his frustration, the page was nowhere to be found!
Refusing to give up, he scoured every menu and function, only to confirm the customer service window had vanished. Only the save/load functions remained intact.
For the first time, Tang Xiao felt a chill up his spine.
What kind of game is this?
Why is Xiao Bai’s research progress behind that of the game? Or is it possible Xiao Bai had been lying, and the game’s information is made-up nonsense?
Tang Xiao wasn’t sure he could believe that. But the alternative—that the game’s world was real—was even harder to accept.
Based on what he had uncovered, the game appeared to be more than a world—it was a parallel universe, one from several years into the future.
But that couldn’t be right. In the game, the mushroom outbreak happened a hundred years ago, which didn’t match anything in reality.
What is going on...? Tang Xiao stared at the ‘Start Game’ button and the still-functional ‘Exit Game’ button, finding solace in the fact that at least the exit function remained.
Should he investigate further? Or wait for his brother’s reply in the real world?
After a pause, flashes of the game scenes surfaced in his mind. It was the scenes he had experienced in the game so far, including Lodge, Xiao Bai, Yu Ming.
… And of course, 428.
Jun Tesi…
At that moment, Tang Xiao found himself at a loss for words. He remembered that kiss and the sudden burst of joy on the man’s face after it. That icy vertical pupil softened by the sweetness of the moment. Even the inhuman quality of it had faded under that subtle emotion. They had been so close that if he had pulled out a dagger to stab Jun Tesi in the chest, the man wouldn’t have seen it coming.
In the end, he logged into the game.
If that place really was the real world...
Then at the very least, he’d have to make some changes to the decisions he’d made in the game so far.
----------
No comments:
Post a Comment