Can a person live without a heart?
Of course not.
Yet Ji Li lived. When he opened his eyes, he was lying in his room, the one whose curtains were kept drawn year-round to block out the sunlight.
He felt no discomfort, as though it were merely a morning after a long sleep. His limbs were slightly fatigued, and his mind sluggish.
A strand of gentle, warm white light filtered through the curtains and fell across his face, not at all harsh.
The torrential rain from the latter half of the mission had vanished without a trace this morning, and even the temperature had risen slightly.
The second day of 2016 was blessed with fine weather.
It seemed to be a promising start to the new year in the Real World.
But some things were only growing worse...
Ji Li silently sat up in bed, leaned against the bedside, and lit a cigarette.
As the smoke entered his lungs, his head spun briefly. It was only because he had not smoked in a long time, not because something was wrong with his body.
His body was still as it had always been, except it was missing a heart.
The Immortal Ascension Mission had ended, but Ji Li had not been a qualified completer, much less a victor.
He had been toyed with by the Root Ghost from start to finish. In the end, he had not even learned the truth of the mission and had even lost his own heart.
Ji Li was not one to obsess over every last detail. He did not care much about missions or the truth. As long as he lived, that was enough.
But why could he still live after losing his heart? That was a grave question.
The Second Personality had already fallen