Chapter 115

After waking up the next afternoon, s.h.i.+ Jin was rounded up by Gua Two and forced to get on a s.h.i.+p. Tarantulas cargo s.h.i.+ps would be leaving the port in the wee hours of the morning and Gua Two wanted to watch the fun no, no, to keep an eye on the situation. As punishment for staying up late, s.h.i.+ Jin was sent to be his minion.

Dressed as cargo workers, the two sat on the deck of a reconnaissance vessel disguised as a cargo s.h.i.+p, anch.o.r.ed not far from the s.h.i.+pping route, and chatted while waiting for news from Tarantula.

Todays task is relatively simple. The situation can develop in two ways: first, Snake Fang attacks Tarantulas s.h.i.+ps. In this case, well follow behind and watch the excitement, rescuing Tarantulas members if theres a need and helping Tarantula beat Snake Fang. Second, Snake Fang doesnt attack Tarantulas s.h.i.+ps. If this happens, well wander around looking for Snake Fangs s.h.i.+p to ambush. Understand?

s.h.i.+ Jin nodded solemnly. Yesin short, whatever we do, were going to thump Snake Fang.

You show promise, young man, youre worthy of my teachings, Gua Two acknowledged sagely, stroking a non-existent beard. Here, I shall reward you with a candy. He took out motion sickness medicine and pa.s.sed it to s.h.i.+ Jin.

s.h.i.+ Jin took it, speechless. Dont you think its a little late for this? he asked, shaking the box at Gua Two. In general, motion sickness medicine should be taken before traveling.

Tsk, spoilsport. Not like you got seasick anyway, Gua Two said with mock exasperation. He moved his camping stool closer and squeezed s.h.i.+ Jins shoulder. Okay, now be honest: whats the matter with you? These past few days, youve been so unlike yourself that I almost invited a Taoist priest to see if youve been possessed by evil spirits.

s.h.i.+ Jin eyed him. Do you really want to know? he asked mysteriously.

Gua Two nodded eagerly.

You guessed itI really am possessed, s.h.i.+ Jin confessed, his big, guileless eyes radiating sincerity. Actually, there are someone elses memories in my head, and that person deeply hates Rong Zhouzhong. I was affected by these memories and it caused me to be out of sorts for a while. Ah, why is my life so hard

Gua Two looked as if he was forced to eat s.h.i.+t, and let go of s.h.i.+ Jin with disgust. Dude, pull the other one. You arent seriously telling me you have multiple personality disorder.

s.h.i.+ Jin gave it serious thought. You know, that actually isnt out of the realm of possibility

Gua Two hurriedly took out a lollipop from his pocket and stuffed it in s.h.i.+ Jins mouth. Pooh, pooh, pooh, dont be silly! Children shouldnt talk nonsense. Be careful that I dont send you to Uncle Long for electrotherapy.

Im serious, it really isnt impossible, s.h.i.+ Jin muttered, slightly unintelligibly due to the lollipop in his mouth. He turned to watch the sea, deceptively tranquil and beautiful under the dimly lit night sky. A thought crossing his mind, he asked Xiao Si, Just now, Gua Two reminded memaybe I really have multiple personality disorder? Perhaps, the one that I call the original s.h.i.+ Jin is in fact me. What he suffered was so traumatic he couldnt bear it, so he created a strong and bold subpersonality, me. Perhaps Im just someone mentally ill who thinks hes a normal person that has been reborn, and you and the progress bars are nothing but my hallucinations.

Hearing his hypothesis, Xiao Si nearly broke down. < No! > it denied vehemently. < No, JinJin, youre not mentally ill, your mind is completely healthy! Multiple personality disorder wont make you suddenly change from a spoiled young master to a trained policeman. And I, I really exist, Im not a hallucination. >

Hmm, you have a point. I do know a lot more and have more skills than the original s.h.i.+ Jin. And he hates eating cuc.u.mbers, but I dont, though I dont exactly like them very much. s.h.i.+ Jin sank in thought for a while, then nodded. Yeah, mental illness as an explanation doesnt quite add up. Well, it was just a theory I thought of just now.

Xiao Si breathed a sigh of relief and fell silent again.

You know, I wondered why you were so quiet recently or pretended not to be here. What youre trying to do is to let me get used to life without you as soon as possible so I wont be sad when you really leave one day, right? s.h.i.+ Jin asked abruptly.

Startled, Xiao Si let out a frightened duck-like squawk.

If youre seeing this notice, youre reading this chapter on pirate site the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

This reaction I knew it! You jerk, you really planned to cut and run, The lollipop crunched as s.h.i.+ Jin bit down on it hard, crus.h.i.+ng it. Darkly, he continued, Leniency to those who confess, harsher punishment to those who resistif you refuse to tell me the truth, Ill tell on you to your Darling!

< N-no! I didnt plan to run! Im innocent! > Xiao Si reb.u.t.ted at the top of its metaphorical lungs, its demeanor practically screaming guilty conscience.

s.h.i.+ Jin pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his contact list for Lian Juns number.

Xiao Si was so scared it choked. It was only when s.h.i.+ Jins finger was about to touch the dial b.u.t.ton that it overcame fright and bawled, < I, I dont want to leave you, either! I havent seen you making monkeys with Darling yet, how can I be willing to leave! Wah wah waaaaaaah >

s.h.i.+ Jin:

< Every time you lock me in the small black room, waaaaaah >

A throbbing vein popped out on s.h.i.+ Jins forehead. Oh, so this is why you dont want to leave? Okay, never mind, you can go! Goodbye, so long, bon voyage!

< No! JinJin, I dont waaaaah Boohoo, wah wah waaaaaaah > Xiao Si dissolved in violent sobs, crying to the point of hiccups.

s.h.i.+ Jin listened, stony-faced, but the expression in his eyes softened. He supported his chin on his hand, closing his eyes to better enjoy the sea breeze with the accompaniment of the systems wailing. Only after the sobs began to weaken, he continued, You really are the most cute when youre noisy. Anyway, let me guess: you will leave when the progress bars are eliminated, right?

The only reply he got was sniffles.

This seems to be another one of the questions you cant answer, but its okay. No matter what, if you dont want to leave, no one can make you leave. In the worst case, Ill just live with the progress bar for the rest of my life, no big deal! s.h.i.+ Jin comforted, putting on the demeanor of a powerful big boss.

< N-no, hiccup, you cant. > Xiao Sis words were interrupted by hiccups, but it pressed on with seldom showed persistence, < They have to be eliminated as soon as possible, Darlings and yours. If the progress bars dont disappear, you may be dragged back into the darkness one day. Youre both my beloved darlings, I dont want this to happen. >

s.h.i.+ Jin was taken abackhe hadnt expected the bars to hold such hidden danger. Glancing at Lian Juns progress bar in his mind, which had been slowly but steadily declining, he said, I need to eliminate Lian Juns progress bar, but mine should be fine since its already so low. I mean, didnt you say I dont need to be anxious to get rid of it?

< Thats not the same JinJin, theres no guarantee youll be fine. Have you forgotten about your abnormality these past few days? > Xiao Si countered.

s.h.i.+ Jin frowned. Of course I havent, but I actually let this happen on purpose

< No, JinJin, > Xiao Si interrupted him, voice serious. < The resonance between mind and memory is not something you can make happen at will. The last part of the progress bar was unlocked. As long as those dark emotions lay buried inside of you, they remain a time bomb that will be set off by the right stimuli. Unless you clear them up, they might swallow you at any time and you will never be able to escape them. Theyre bona fide lethal factorthey may really kill you. >

s.h.i.+ Jin suppressed a s.h.i.+ver. Remembering the out-of-control deluge of emotions in the cinema room, as if the original s.h.i.+ Jins memories had taken over his soul, he couldnt refute Xiao Sis words.

During the military training, his progress bar suddenly dropped 20 points. After racking his brains, he finally figured out it mustve had something to do with Xiang Aoting and the original s.h.i.+ Jins memories.

To verify this conjecture, when he encountered Rong Zhouzhong this time and felt the original s.h.i.+ Jins memory stirring, he decided to take a gamble. With barely any hesitation, he chose to let himself be overwhelmed by s.h.i.+ Jins memories, forming a kind of empathic resonance, and experiment to see if the progress bar going down was really related to the original s.h.i.+ Jins feelings about his brothers.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translators site to get the fastest updates!

The experiment could be considered successfulnot only did he verify his guess, but also lowered his progress barbut it turned out to be much harder on him than he expected. The original s.h.i.+ Jins memories and emotions had taken control over his mind to a degree greatly exceeding his estimate; he truly wasnt sure that if a similar situation occurred in the future, he would be able to break free from them in time or, in fact, at all.

He could not deny itthose memories really could kill him.

He had also speculated why the resonance was so deep. Was it because he had the original s.h.i.+ Jins memories sitting in his mind for too long and came to know it too well? Or maybe his obsession had been carved into his body? He even wondered if s.h.i.+ Jins soul was still sleeping inside this body, trying to take advantage of the opportunity to seize back control. However, Xiao Si said that the resonance between mind and memory was not something that could happen at will.

If he interpreted this statement correctly, it wasnt that he could choose some random memory stuffed in his head and let it control himit was because the memory was special that the total immersion he experienced could happen.

Not for the first time, s.h.i.+ Jin wished that he really was a fool, because a fool wouldnt think about too many things. Alas, reality refused to bend to his will.

All of a sudden, he remembered the moment when his progress bar dropped last time. It was during the military training when Xiang Aoting and he were bringing water for the rest of the squad. As they walked side by side, with the bright sun overhead and lively cadets all around, he was suddenly overcome with a feeling that his life was finally getting on the right track. At that moment, even the sweat pouring from him had a smell of hope and every breath he took was a symbol of rebirth.

It felt as if a brand-new future was in front of him, within his reach. It was then that all of a sudden, the progress bar dropped, and that very night, he dreamed of those memories from the perspective of the original s.h.i.+ Jin, and was gradually affected by the feelings in them. After examining the order of events, it was clear that the progress bar dropping was the prerequisite for the special memories to appear, rather than the other way around.

Just now, Xiao Si said that the last part of the progress bar was unlocked. Unlocked, what a peculiar choice of words. This made it sound as if the last part had been locked until one day, the progress bar judged the conditions had been fulfilled so the lock disappeared, giving him access to whatever had been hidden.

Remembering the time when the progress bar dropped and his mental state at that moment, he was almost certain that the unlocking condition was him reaching a certain kind of illuminating realization, and what was behind the lock were the special memories that could affect him.

To sum it up: when the progress bar determined that its host had embarked on a completely different path than the original s.h.i.+ Jin and judged his heart to be strong enough, it opened the hidden gate, forcing him to face the final, most difficult crisis which actually originated in his own soul.

This was saving yourself in the most literal sense.

In other words, the source of all my current troubles is the original s.h.i.+ Jins memoriesthe memories you stuffed into my head in the first place, he said in his mind. Earnestly, he continued, Xiao Si, can you take them back?

With s.h.i.+ Jin asking this after being silent for a long time, Xiao Si realized he mustve guessed something. < No its impossible, > it whispered haltingly.

Why is it impossible?

Again, his only reply was silence.

But s.h.i.+ Jin had already learned how to glean information from the systems silences. Calmly, he asked, Xiao Si, who am I?

Xiao Si still kept silent, but s.h.i.+ Jin could feel its panic and helplessness.

The same face, the same mole, the same name, memories that cant be taken back and make me go out of control Whats more, the progress bar is forcing me to relive them in order to save myself As s.h.i.+ Jin recounted all the problematic issues, but rather than following with the logical conclusion they led to, he asked instead, Is the original s.h.i.+ Jin another me in a parallel world?

< JinJin > Xiao Si finally whispered, its voice weak with worry and anxiety. < Dont think about it. You are JinJin, just JinJin. >

Are you getting some ridiculous notions in your head again? Dont be afraid, Im completely calm right now. s.h.i.+ Jin gathered his thoughts and looked at the calm sea surface. My fathers name is s.h.i.+ Lei and my mothers Lan Xiao. They were already quite old when they adopted me. I was their only child. They were proud of me when I graduated from a police academy and continued to work as a policeman. Their lives reached their end without illness or pain. I wore the police uniform to their funerals. They were good, wonderful people, and my biggest regret is that I wasnt able to find my other half before they died.

That was his last life, short but blessed, enough to support him through all the difficulties. Moreover, he had Lian Jun by his side, so no matter what the truth was, he would go on living the life he had nowfilled with happiness, sunny and without hatred.

Forget it, its meaningless to pursue this matter now. Whats important is to find a way to get rid of this emotional resonance. You know, I like playing games with a third-person view betterFPSes make me dizzy! Concluding the conversation in his head, he spat out the lollipop stick, sat up straight, and glanced back to see what Gua Two was doing.

Gua Two had his back turned to him and was talking on the phone in a stage whisper, voice panicky: Im serious! Theres something wrong with s.h.i.+ Jin. His expression is changing all the time as if hes talking to someone, but Im the only one here! Uncle Long, could he really have some mental disorder? Will he go psycho if I interrupt him right now?

s.h.i.+ Jin:

At two oclock in the morning, the Tarantulas three cargo s.h.i.+ps set off from the harbor and headed for Formosa. About half an hour into the voyage, more than a dozen speedy, maneuverable trawlers suddenly approached the cargo s.h.i.+ps, surrounding them.

Once Tarantula notified them of the attack, Gua Two immediately sprang into action.

Ten minutes later, the four Annihilations vessels stealthily approached the attack site, stopped behind Snake Fangs lines, and launched a surprise attack.

Snake Fang and Tarantula clashed in the center of the battlefield, the sound of gunfire and artillery barrage filling the air. s.h.i.+ Jin stayed by Gua Twos side, happily sniping at the enemies with a little help from Xiao Sis buffs.

Seeing him fire one shot after another, without pausing or taking aim properly, Gua Two said with a painful wince, Youre not shooting blind, are you? Shooting from a moving s.h.i.+p is difficult, but youre taking barely a few seconds to aim. Are you sure you arent hitting friendlies? Dude, you do know how to identify targets, right?

s.h.i.+ Jin stiffened. My marksmans.h.i.+p is excellent, dont worry, he replied slightly sheepishly.

Dont worry, my a.s.s! Exasperated, Gua Two slapped s.h.i.+ Jin on the head. Restrain yourself a little, will you? If you accidentally shoot our allies, your a.s.s will be toast and I wont be able to protect youLu Shan is no less protective of her people than Jun-shao!

s.h.i.+ Jin docilely accepted the rebuke, even while the gun in his hands spat out another bullet. It unerringly hit a Snake Fang member who was about to stealthily throw a Molotov c.o.c.ktail on the board of Tarantulas cargo s.h.i.+p.

Gua Two hurriedly raised the binoculars to check s.h.i.+ Jins target, breathing with relief when it turned out to have been a Snake Fangs s.h.i.+p. He looked at s.h.i.+ Jins focused expression and hesitated for a moment, but in the end, chose to trust the younger man rather than force him to put the gun down.

After more than half an hours struggle, Snake Fang decided they were unlikely to win and tried to withdraw. However, Tarantulas members were determined not to let them go and redoubled their efforts, successfully stopping their retreat.

Seeing this, Gua Two immediately ordered the Annihilations s.h.i.+ps to stop attacking and pull back to the edge of the battlefield.

Were not going to thrash Snake Fang more? s.h.i.+ Jin asked, disappointed.

Gua Two shook his head. No. Tarantulas follow-up forces are comingSnake Fang no longer has any chance to run away. The show here is over, the next part will take place on Formosa.

s.h.i.+ Jin nodded to show he understood and reluctantly put his gun down.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations. Read on the original translators site to get the fastest updates!

Just as Lian Jun predicted, Snake Fangs intended robbery of Tarantulas goods was just a cover. Their real purpose was to attract Tarantulas forces and tie them down at sea, then launch a surprise attack on Tarantulas bases on Formosa.

In the early hours of the morning, shortly after Gua Twos retreat and the arrival of ma.s.sive Tarantulas reinforcements at the site of the naval skirmish, several of Tarantulas strongholds and warehouses on the other side of Formosa were attacked by Snake Fang. Fortunately, Lu Shan had long been prepared and, aided by Gua Three and Gua Five, successfully resisted the attack. By a stroke of luck, Tarantula even captured Xi Fan, Snake Fangs deputy leader, who was commanding the attack in person.

This made Lu Shan very happy. The moment the battle ended, not even waiting for the sun to rise, she called Zhang Zhuoyuan to kick up a fuss about her miserable situation because of Snake Fangs attack and Xi Fangs attempt to kill her, and requested an explanation for Snake Fangs viciously targeting the life of the organizations leader.

Zhang Zhuoyuan didnt expect Snake Fang to be so bold as to target not only Tarantulas goods but also their most indispensable bases on Formosa and even Lu Shans life. When Lu Shan demanded an explanation from him, quoting the very doc.u.ment he issued to use against Tarantula not too long ago, he almost pa.s.sed out from fury and started silently cursing at Snake Fang.

Idiots! f.u.c.king idiots! Not only stupid but also useless! Being greedy is one thing, recklessly targeting Tarantulas lifeline is quite another! And if it wasnt enough, you were so d.a.m.n incompetent while at it that Lu Shan has completely become the side thats in the right!

The deputy leader was capturedthat was simply the biggest joke Zhang Zhuoyuan heard this year! No matter what Xi Fans actual intentions had been, now that Lu Shan had him in her hands, she could spin the truth to be whatever suited her, and she was certain to claim he was there to kill her!

When Tarantula did the same thing, to gain favor with Annihilation, he cracked down on it hard. If he let Snake Fang off, that was simply asking Tarantula to kick up a big stink. However, Snake Fang was already lacking resources and now suffered heavy losses at Tarantulas hands. If it was subjected to the governments suppression on top of that, it was likely to directly collapse. What about the balance of power then? What about the bad apple spoiling the whole bunch? Wouldnt all their plans be ruined?

Zhang Zhuoyuan had no idea how to proceed. He squeezed his phone, watching time trickle down with torturous slowness until he judged Lian Jun had gotten up and finished eating breakfast, then called him to ask for advice.

When Lian Jun received the call, hed been carefully watching over s.h.i.+ Jin, who was so sleepy he could fall asleep at any moment but still insisted on having breakfast with him. He was in no mood to listen to Zhang Zhuoyuan rambling.

He endured until the other man finished explaining, then said concisely, Contact Snake Fangs leader and make Lu Shan and him talk face-to-face, on the grounds that theres no proof Xi Fan was truly targeting Lu Shans life. You should just watch from the sidelines and mediate. I have something to do now, well talk more later. Not waiting for the reply, he hung up and stretched out a hand to stop s.h.i.+ Jins head from falling into the soup bowl.

Zhang Zhuoyuan sat still for a moment, stunned. After thinking for a while, he sprang to his feet, exclaiming excitedly, Yes, thats right! The truth cant be decided with just Lu Shans words as proof! What an ingenious move, Lian Jun is brilliant!

A-choo! s.h.i.+ Jin woke up with a sneeze. Feeling a familiar palm touching his forehead, he rubbed against it instinctively, then struggled to make his eyes open. When he succeeded, he turned to look at Lian Jun and announced, I dreamed that someone praised you for being brilliant.

Lian Jun moved his wheelchair over to him and put a hand over his forcibly wide-open eyes. The breakfast is finished, now go to sleep, he coaxed.

Youre done already? s.h.i.+ Jin asked, unconvinced. He felt as if he had just sat down at the table. He pulled down Lian Juns hand and tried to turn his head, wanting to confirm the situation on the tabletop.

Lian Jun hurriedly held his head, stopping him. Ive forgotten a doc.u.ment in our bedroom. Could you go and get it for me? I havent finished eating yet.

s.h.i.+ Jin frowned and blinked, forcing himself to wake up. Getting to his feet, he said, Okay, Ill get it for you. You should finish your breakfast properly.

Lian Jun waited until there was a few steps distance between them, then got up from the wheelchair and followed him quietly.

They entered the bedroom one after another. A few minutes later, Lian Jun walked out alone, his lips much rosier than when he went in.

As it happened, Rong Zhouzhong was entering the living room from the walkway outside at that very moment. The two stopped at the same time and stared at each other in silence. Rong Zhouzhongs eyes widened little by little as his gaze moved from Lian Juns face to his apparently fully functioning legs. A moment later, his mouth dropped open and the packages of snacks he was holding fell to the floor.

Extra:

The brothers chat group:

Silence.

Silence.

Dead silence.

Rong Zhouzhong [suddenly appearing]: Ah ah ah ah aaaaaaaaaah!

Xiang Aoting: Whats wrong?

s.h.i.+ Weichong: Have you finished your work, Third?

Rong Zhouzhong: OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Li Jiuzheng:

Fei Yujing: Did your stans corner you?

Rong Zhouzhong did not respond.

A few minutes later.

Rong Zhouzhong [suddenly appearing again]: f.u.c.kING h.e.l.l!!!

s.h.i.+ Weichong [frowning]: Dont swear.

Rong Zhouzhong: Lian Jun is standing! He can walk!

Xiang Aoting: Huh?

Fei Yujing: What?

s.h.i.+ Weichong: What do you mean?

Li Jiuzheng [immediately figuring it out]: How do you know Lian Jun can walk? Are you with Xiao Jin? Werent you supposed to be busy working? Have you been so silent recently because youve been trying to hide from us that you and Xiao Jin are together?

Rong Zhouzhong did not respond.

A few seconds later.

System prompt: Rong Zhouzhong has left the group chat.

The others: ???