Memories and Nightmares

His vision was blurry, seemingly covered by layers of red water ripples. He struggled to open his eyes and raised his hand blankly.

My arm felt a resistance, but at the same time, there was a slight buoyancy, causing my whole body to rise and fall in the confined space.

Where am I?

He was thinking about it in a daze.

"Snap."

His hand accidentally touched the cold glass wall, and the chill made him shiver.

Who I am?

He withdrew his hand, hugging himself helplessly. His black hair, along with his movements, was softly pushed forward from behind by the liquid that enveloped him.

Long hair? Mine?

He subconsciously reached out and pinched a strand of hair, becoming even more confused. For some reason, in his mind, someone of his gender shouldn't have long hair.

There was no peace and quiet around him; the water pressure created a roaring sound, making it impossible for him to calm down for a moment.

The liquid was red, and he gradually realized that he was soaking in something that resembled blood, only this liquid was more viscous, but it didn't hinder his breathing.

The liquid was trapped inside the small glass vessel with him. Outside the vessel, several blurry figures dressed in white noticed him and walked towards him.

They stopped outside the vessel, holding some kind of paper, and pointed at him.

It took him a while to react before he looked back and pressed himself against the equally transparent glass wall behind him.

Who are they, and what are they doing?

Who am I? Why am I here?

Why are they looking at me?

Questions arose one after another, but he couldn't speak. His voice would quietly dissipate in the red liquid, as if it had never existed.

I'm... locked up?

A tremendous fear suddenly swept over him, and he became agitated, glancing at himself.

There were no clothes.

His muscles were taut and slender, his legs straight and long, and he floated uneasily in the liquid.

His body was crisscrossed with wounds of all sizes, some already scabbed over, others still bleeding, revealing the stark white bones beneath.

But he couldn't feel any pain.

He saw excitement on the faces of the people outside, and the faint sounds of their conversation reached his ears:

He's awake.

"He's absolutely perfect. This is the first time I've ever seen a test subject with such a high degree of compatibility."

"Hahaha, he'll become our masterpiece, the Lingren will be satisfied, look, he's like a work of art..."

"A work of art filled with danger and brutality!"

He was terrified and tried desperately to shrink back, but he couldn't block any gazes directed at him.

He had no privacy; like a product unwrapped, the shame and embarrassment from the depths of his soul tormented him, and he shook his head at those outside.

He is not a work of art, he is a human being!

Just then, the blood in the glass container grew thicker and thicker, until he could no longer see anything.

The pure blood color was no longer transparent, blocking out everything from the outside world and giving him a long-lost sense of security.

He began to like the color of blood.

He began to rely on blood.

"Click."

The vessel had a crack, and when he touched it, the crack suddenly widened, and the next moment, the glass shattered!

"He's out!"

A chaotic sound came from all around him. He didn't know what he had done until he felt a strange sensation in his hand. He then came to his senses and saw a corpse in a white coat with wide-open eyes in front of him.

The corpse's expression was terrified and ugly. Although he had never seen it so clearly before, he knew that this was the person who had called him a work of art.

"Ah--!" Screams erupted from all around, so loud and piercing that they made his eardrums ache.

More screams.

The screaming never stops.

At first, he was disgusted by the screams, but gradually he got used to them. With his wounds completely healed and his body feeling like a newborn, he succumbed to the fear of others... and gradually became obsessed with it.

He's not human, he's a monster.

--

"Wake up! Yu Xing!" The woman's cold and forceful voice exploded in her ear, even more unpleasant than a scream.

Yu Xing awoke with a start from the chaos, letting out a muffled groan.

Because the other person not only verbally woke him up, but also grabbed his shoulders with both hands and shook him quite forcefully.

"Okay, okay..." Yu Xing opened one eye with difficulty and saw Qu Xuanqing staring at him seriously with a tense expression on his face, his lips tightly pursed. Only then did he open both eyes.

He forced himself to stay awake, his voice still hoarse. "It was just a dream, don't worry... I'm fine."

Seeing that he was awake, Qu Xuanqing suddenly let go. She had been kneeling on the bed with one knee and the other leg on the ground for support, her body leaning forward.

She quickly stepped back and stood firmly on the ground.

"I'm not nervous, I'm just worried that you're not in a good state and might lose control and threaten my safety," Qu Xuanqing said seriously. If someone didn't know her, they might actually believe her.

Yu Xing chuckled softly upon hearing this, not exposing her concern.

He let out a long breath, propped himself up on the bed, rubbed his temples, and expressed his helplessness at the content of his dream.

Sure enough, the scene evoked memories...

The scene inside the institution brought back his memories, resulting in this somewhat disjointed dream.

However, unlike ordinary dreams, this dream seems to be mixed with some other forces... like a pair of hands constantly trying to keep him in the dream, to make him sink into it forever.

Of course, this was nothing to him; even if Qu Xuanqing didn't wake him, he would wake up on his own soon.

"When the Personality Assimilation Degree, every increase will have a huge impact on a person." Qu Xuanqing seemed to know what he was thinking and explained, "Your degree of alienation was already as high as fifty percent. If it were someone else, they would have lost their consciousness and gradually Ghostification. The fact that you can still maintain human thinking is already very special."

"I knew something unusual would happen to you today after I saw your alienation level increase by 1."

"From your perspective, what did I look like? By the way, what are you doing in my room?" Yu Xing asked after hearing this.

He didn't feel anything, not even a sweat. Despite the strong emotions in his dream, it was only because he had no memory of reality in the dream. In his current state, even if he were locked up again, let alone just seeing glassware, he wouldn't have any psychological reaction.

I was too young then and hadn't experienced much, which is why I was so easily swayed by emotions.

"..." Qu Xuanqing sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "You didn't think the hotel door could stop me, did you? I knew you wouldn't have a peaceful night, so I've been keeping an eye on you. Sure enough, your aura was off just now, so I came over."

"When I arrived, your skin looked like it was about to crack everywhere; I could almost see the cracks. But in the end, it didn't crack and healed on its own."

She glanced at Yu Xing sideways. "Of course, I only lifted your shirt for a quick look, I didn't take off your pants, so I don't know if there's anything wrong with your lower body. You can feel it for yourself."

"..." Yu Xing's eyes twitched. She looked down and found that the blanket had been pulled back and her T-shirt was wrinkled.

I'm fine, absolutely nothing's wrong. My upper and lower body are perfectly fine.

"I've spotted you..." Yu Xing straightened her clothes and gave Qu Xuanqing a scrutinizing look. "You've gotten more and more sarcastic as you've grown up."

Qu Xuanqing readily admitted, "You taught well."