"Hmm?" Sawada Kazu hadn’t noticed there was anyone else. He furrowed his brows, and wrinkles stacked upon his face, showing his age.
But quickly, his eyebrows smoothed out, as if resigning himself to the situation, he muttered to himself, "Never mind, it might just be an auditory hallucination. I’ve been working a bit too long this month, I’m feeling a bit drained."
Drained?
Jiang Shu’s mind repeated Sawada Kazu’s words, but suddenly, he opened his eyes once more.
A sense of fatigue, like the one when spiritual power had been sapped from him before.
And in front of him was Liu Tingruo, age twenty-six.
Liu Tingruo’s concerned gaze seed to lt him.
"Jiang Shu, why did you suddenly faint?" Her voice ca urgently.
"I fainted?" Jiang Shu attempted to rise from the bed but was imdiately held down by Liu Tingruo.
Her face grew tense, "Don’t move just yet, I’ll have Xiao Wu check on you again."
"I’m fine." Jiang Shu lay obediently on the bed, understanding that this must be a side effect of the Thought Link from earlier.
"Let Xiao Wu check." Liu Tingruo said firmly, then asked, "Have you had this happen before?"
"Never." Jiang Shu told the truth, then asked, "How long was I unconscious?"
"About... fifteen minutes or so." Liu Tingruo glanced at the ti. "Do you feel discomfort anywhere?"
Fifteen minutes...
Jiang Shu estimated the ti, which seed about the sa length as when he had seen that other world.
Which ant, the flow of ti was consistent.
"Really, I’m fine." Jiang Shu still recalled the scenes he had just witnessed, moving his head around, looking at his current surroundings, he recognized the lab’s setup. "Is this still the sa lab from before?"
Liu Tingruo nodded, "Yes."
At that mont, Xiao Wu slowly flew over, with a small compartnt opening on its belly, which contained a scanner-like device. It scanned Jiang Shu’s body and then displayed the patterns and results on a Simulated Light Screen.
"There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong..." Liu Tingruo looked at the data on the Simulated Light Screen and muttered quizzically.
"Yeah, just a minor issue earlier." Jiang Shu didn’t elaborate, as he hadn’t fully understood the situation from before.
This had never happened before.
Was it an imaginary dream, or had he really linked to a future Sawada Kazu and seen a vision of the future?
Moreover, in that place, Liu Tingruo around forty and Sawada Kazu around seventy, surely there was so hidden story here.
Either the so-called "Contribution Points work" caused Sawada Kazu to age rapidly, or the future Liu Tingruo used a special thod to delay aging.
But, didn’t that era have any thods for eternal youth?
And what exactly was this "Contribution Points work"? It sounded like just lying there, browsing videos and playing gas could earn Contribution Points, but from the words of Sawada Kazu and another elder, he couldn’t determine whether this "Contribution Points work" was a mandatory weekly task or a salaried voluntary job.
But, getting paid just to lie around and have fun?
It didn’t seem like a symbolic welfare gesture. Instead, it was because their lying around actually brought social value; otherwise, there wouldn’t be a system where the longer you spent, the more Contribution Points you earned.
Yet, how did lying around bring about any social value?
It reminded him of the words Sawada Kazu muttered to himself.
This was Sawada Kazu’s job, and long hours could exhaust one’s spiritual energy.
Jiang Shu furrowed his brow slightly.
If one had to guess, it might be related to spiritual power.
If, in that world, spiritual power had beco a tangible energy source, and wearing a specially designed helt to lie around could extract spiritual power...
Everything seed to make sense.
As a pioneering figure in Spiritual chanics, it also wasn’t unusual that Liu Tingruo’s image was hoisted on billboards for public adoration.
But such a society—if it truly was what this woman helped to bring about—how terrible could it be upon further thought?
Jiang Shu glanced at Liu Tingruo at the bedside. She was seriously examining the data just scanned by Xiao Wu, as if conducting a test.
If that was the future, what exactly had happened over the years to cause such a change in Liu Tingruo?
Exiting the link due to insufficient spiritual power—he should be able to link with that Sawada Kazu again after recovering, right?
Then, he could ask Sawada Kazu so questions and make more inferences.
"There doesn’t seem to be any problem." Liu Tingruo’s puzzled voice interrupted his thoughts. She bent down and compared Jiang Shu’s forehead temperature with hers, using the back of her hand, her eyes still filled with confusion.
Seemingly unable to detect any temperature difference, she tried another thod, slightly lifting her bangs, then pressed her forehead against Jiang Shu’s to feel sothing.
While Jiang Shu watched Liu Tingruo’s face co just a few centiters from his own, her beautiful flawless face not marred by a single blemish, and with her warm, scented breaths coming in waves due to the proximity, he unapologetically planted a kiss.
"Eh, what are you doing?" Liu Tingruo recoiled in surprise, standing over the bed looking down with stern righteous indignation, "A re patient should maintain a respectful attitude."
Reviews
All reviews (0)