Third Personality

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Forbidden Zone No. 002.

"Get down here!" Qing Chen stood in front of the World Tree, looking up and shouting, "The little animals are all complaining that you're too scary!"

Looking up, I saw Zard had stretched himself out extremely flat, like a plaster stuck to the World Tree: "I just wanted to see if I could take it with me! But it's too big, I can't wrap it up!"

Upon hearing this, the old folks in the Forbidden Zone were stunned. Who the hell was this lunatic who actually wanted to take their World Tree away...?

Qing Chen shouted, "Use your brain! You can't take it with you, it's so big!"

"How will you know if you don't try? Practice makes perfect," Zard said.

"Get down here and get to work!"

"Okay!"

Ding Dong had previously built many shelters for the animals to keep them warm in winter and protect them from the rain all year round.

Although the leaves are large, they are prone to drying and rotting after falling. This is a law of nature that even the World Tree cannot avoid.

So, Ding Dong spends about half the year climbing up and down, picking leaves, building shelters, and repeating the same cycle over and over again.

If this World Tree weren't so dense, like a sea of stars, Ding Dong probably would have plucked it all off.

When Qing Chen arrived, he saw the makeshift shacks and, with Zard's help, used his abilities to build new shacks.

"If you can turn stone into sand, can you turn sand back into stone?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

"Of course I can, but it's quite laborious," Zard said. "I fought some people before, and after I buried them with 'Heavenly Burial,' they were able to crawl out of there. So after I used Heavenly Burial, I re-petrified the sand on their heads and put a lid on them."

Qing Chen was stunned for a long time; this method was truly ingenious...

He said, "I'll draw the sketches, and you can build the house. That way, Ding Dong won't have to keep building houses every year."

One by one, small houses sprang up from the ground. Qing Chen counted the number of small animals and sketched out a famous plan.

Two days passed, and it seemed as if a small town had sprung up out of thin air around the World Tree.

At first, the little animals were hesitant to live in the stone house, but Ding Dong went into the woods and "invited" them back one by one, placing them in the little house.

Ding Dong also used burnt charcoal to draw crooked animal shapes on the huts. Outside the monkey's hut, she drew a grinning monkey, and outside the little green snake's hut, she drew a crooked little snake, in order to assign ownership and prevent the animals from fighting.

The little animals shivered in the stone house until they were sure that nothing would happen, and then they slowly began to look around their new home.

Ding Dong went to the woods again and brought them suitable branches and hay. Zhang Mengqian, Sun Chuci, Tuanzi carried the hay and laid out the nest for the little animals, creating a heartwarming scene.

Zard watched Ding Dong draw with amusement, laughing as he said, "It's a good thing it's not a sign with words, otherwise every house would just have 'Ding Dong' on the outside, because Ding Dong can say Ding Dong,' hahaha... Isn't that funny?"

Qing Chen looked at him expressionlessly. "What kind of nonsensical joke is this now?"

"Profound..."

Yang Yang pulled Zard away and whispered, "Come on, build a small house for me and Qing Chen too. Maybe we can come here to escape the summer heat."

If we disregard the rules and dangers of Forbidden Zone No. 002, after eating that yellow fruit, this place is truly a vacation spot.

There were no poisonous insects to attack, no wild beasts to ravage it; it was like a small, independent kingdom.

The woods were filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, and small animals surrounded them. Yang Yang sang under the trees, attracting raccoons to listen to her songs.

When Yang Yang's singing stopped, the raccoon would go into the woods and dig out the hazelnuts it had buried for Yang Yang, seemingly asking her to sing another song.

It's like inserting a coin to request a song.

Yang Yang squatted on the ground, used a twig to draw the house she wanted in the soil, then looked up at Zard: "This is it, let's start building."

Zard paused for a moment. "Just one building? Wasn't it supposed to be your and Qing Chen's house? Where's Qing Chen's? Draw his too, and I'll build it for you both."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a walnut hit him on the head.

Zard glared back at the monkey and yelled, "What are you doing?!"

The monkey pointed to the cemetery, meaning: The old folks told me to smash it, it has nothing to do with me.

Zard: "..."

Two days have passed, and Qing Chen and the others have gotten along exceptionally well with the small animals.

At one point, they even considered settling down here.

However, at this moment, Qing Chen looked at the row of small stone houses and saw that eight statues had risen from the ground, which were actually Qing Chen, Zard, Ding Dong, Gu Dong, Yang Yang, Zhang Mengqian, Sun Chuci and Tuanzi.

The eight people struck a pose of struggle, like the workers, peasants, and soldiers who bravely faced each other at the gate of a state-owned enterprise.

Qing Chen raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Zard said matter-of-factly, "Building houses for small animals is a great achievement, isn't it? So that they won't miss us too much after we leave, we can build a statue for them to remember us by. That way, we can live in their hearts forever."

Qing Chen retorted, "All you did was build them some houses, and you think you're some kind of great man? They don't want to commemorate you, so tear them down right now! 'Living forever in someone's heart' is a phrase for the deceased!"

"Alright," Zard said with some regret, but he had a clever trick up his sleeve. Although the large statue was dismantled, he still managed to put up a small one in the woods.

Amidst the noise, Little Yu slowly opened her eyes.

He slept for an exceptionally long time. Because he hadn't slept for three days and three nights and had exhausted Big Yu mental energy, he slept for more than forty hours before finally waking up. He found himself in a simple green hut with a huge leaf on top.

Hearing the commotion outside, Little Yu's first reaction wasn't to get up, but to reach into his shirt pocket, where he found the letter his brother had left for him:

"Little Yu, I'm sorry."

"Because that idiot Zard got inexplicably involved in the war, I postponed the handover this time. The main reason is that I'm worried you won't be able to control the power of this body and will end up being killed by that idiot."

"You'd better advise that idiot to stay away from Qing Chen. He's a jinx, and following him will only bring more bad luck... Never mind, I shouldn't have told you this."

"During the last return cycle, I earned you 350 points, and you used 30 of them for drinking. But don't exchange them for the Myriad Thunder Department. If you want to cultivate, I'll teach you..."

The letter was nearly a thousand words long, with two hundred words cursing Zard, three hundred words cursing Qing Chen, and the remaining three hundred words explaining the situation.

The last hundred or so words belittled the weakness of the students in the college and exaggerated the strength of himself...

However, what's strange is that Big Yu didn't mention anything about the Agricultural Academy, and even congratulated Little Yu on finding new friends and finding something Little Yu liked to do.

It seems that Big Yu believes he can make some concessions as long as his younger brother is happy.

I can even tolerate my younger brother working at the Agricultural Academy.

Little Yu read her brother's letter over and over again before finally getting up and leaving the shack, "Brother Zard!"

"Oh, Little Yu's awake!" Zard exclaimed with delight. "Come quick, come quick, your brother has prepared a feast for you!"

Qing Chen said irritably, "How is this considered a meal from a hundred families?"

Zard looked at the pile of fruit in front of him and said, "These were all picked by the little animals. Each little animal brought some, so it's like a meal shared by many families. Just think of the little animals as the villagers in the village. One family brings two steamed buns, another brings a dish of pickled vegetables, and that's what a meal shared by many families is all about."

Qing Chen was taken aback for a moment. "What you said makes a lot of sense."

This is truly Forbidden Zone version of a feast shared by many families...

He asked in a low voice, "How can you tell if it's Big Yu or Little Yu?"

Zard chuckled and said, "Big Yu would never call me 'brother,' he'd only make me call him 'boss. 'Little Yu, did your brother scold me this time?"

Little Yu smiled and said, "No."

Little Yu slowly walked over and saw a huge leaf spread on the ground, covered with fruit.

Actually, Ding Dong picked all the fruit. Before, when Ding Dong went out to fight, the little animals stole all the fruit to avenge the cold winter, leaving not a single one.

Later, they built houses for the animals, and the animals returned many of the hidden fruit.

Just then, Ding Dong returned carrying firewood, carefully bending over and passing through the tree canopy.

Upon seeing Little Yu, he squatted down with a broad smile, opening his palm to reveal the "Early Summer" fruit he had just picked, which, when eaten, would make one's reactions quicker.

Qing Chen had already eaten nine pills, and he felt that his reaction speed had increased even more.

If the motor reflex used to take 0.2 seconds, it now takes 0.1 seconds.

The term "motor nerve" refers to the time that muscles and fascia must have to prepare when you want to tense a muscle to make a punch, and then allow the muscle to get everything ready within 0.2 seconds.

When an enemy throws a punch, and you see their fist, the coordination of your motor nerves and muscles at that moment determines whether you will get hit.

If motor nerve reflexes are too slow, you may know a fist is coming but still be unable to react.

So, this fruit may seem to only improve the time by 0.1 seconds, but if you look at it from another angle, it actually doubles the effect.

It might not be necessary in a fight between ordinary people, but between experts, a reaction speed that is 0.1 seconds faster is enough to result in a crushing defeat.

At the same level, your enemy's punches will never hit you, and you will always be faster than them.

Qing Chen told Zard and the others to finish the fruit and leave the pits behind. These were the new varieties he was going to bring back to the Agricultural Academy: Early Summer and Ask Winter.

Little Yu was a little scared looking at the giant in front of her, but Zard next to her smiled and said, "Eat up, Ding Dong is a good person."

Little Yu was relieved and timidly picked up the fruit from the giant's hand.

Qing Chen watched this scene silently, because Ding Dong had the giant race's talent of telepathy, so he wanted to know how Ding Dong would evaluate Huan Yu.

So far, Ding Dong has contacted Zard, Yang Yang, Zhang Mengqian, Sun Chuci, and Tuanzi, and none of them have warned Qing Chen. This shows that everyone is trustworthy, which is actually a gain that surpasses Early Summer and Ask Winter and makes Qing Chen even happier.

Only Huan Yu remains.

However, Qing Chen noticed that Ding Dong was stunned. "What's wrong?"

"Ding Dong!" Ding Dong said.

(His body was inhabited by three souls: a child, an ambitious adult, and a wicked villain.)

Qing Chen was also stunned, and he looked at Zard.

You know, the other party only said that Huan Yu had two souls, not a third, and Ding Dong wouldn't make a mistake!

"Ding Dong!"

(The child is awake at this time, while the other two are fast asleep and show no signs of movement.)

Qing Chen remained silent. When Zard mentioned this matter earlier, he had grasped some clues, but at that time the great battle had just ended, and he did not have time to think about the hidden problems behind these clues.

Now, he finally understood the problem Zard was trying to solve.

At present, no one knows whether they became Time Walker by physically possessing their bodies, their souls, or both, or whether Inner World.

Qing Chen had observed his own body and confirmed that he was wearing a suit, but he was too special; he was a beta tester, so his observation could not be taken as a general rule.

Jiang Xue, an ordinary person, was transported back in time and found herself with a mechanical arm.

This also indirectly illustrates the difference between beta testers and open beta testers.

The most crucial issue right now is that the first Huan Yu that Qing Chen came into contact with was crazy and evil, the same Huan Yu who Qing Chen used to find disgusting.

However, the Huan Yu that Qing Chen has been in contact with recently doesn't feel the same as before. Although he is ambitious, he can't be said to be particularly evil.

Moreover, surprisingly, no one mentioned the idea that "whoever finds whom first must become their slave."

This sense of being torn apart accompanied Qing Chen, leaving him completely baffled.

Therefore, when Little Yu said "Brother is back," Qing Chen subconsciously thought it was a case of dual personality, and that the brother who returned was Big Yu.

But now Qing Chen realized that Little Yu said his brother was back, but he never said which brother it was, and he actually had two brothers!

This is a triple personality!

Qing Chen suddenly looked at Zard: "What exactly happened?"

Another issue is that, under normal circumstances, even people with mental disabilities are not arbitrarily sent to mental hospitals.

People often see people with intellectual disabilities on the street. Some harass others, some direct traffic every day, or do all sorts of strange things.

Nobody cares.

If it were just an intellectual disability, and there was no threat to society, Little Yu would never have been sent to a mental hospital and detained.

Many people subconsciously believe that mental illness should be treated in mental hospitals, but that is not the case.

It's important to understand that all patients who are forcibly confined to mental hospitals must have done something outrageous in the past.

Zard scratched his head. "Little Yu was hospitalized because he found the murderer who killed his parents and then killed the murderer in a cruel way. After this happened, the police filed a public prosecution, but he was eventually confined to a mental hospital due to mental problems."

Qing Chen gasped.

Little Yu listened silently to the side, looking somewhat pitiful and helpless.

Zard continued, "Little Yu has always had a dual personality; we'll call him Zhong Yu for short. He was the Zhong Yu who committed that murder. Actually, that personality is quite good; it helps me punish those who bullied me, but it's always a little scary... After the transmigration event began, the dual personality suddenly became a triple personality, and Big Yu appeared. But Big Yu is special; he didn't appear because of an illness, but rather he suddenly merged in, and he also carries memories from the Inner World. Big Yu is a core member of the Chen Corporation in the Inner World. He discovered this and believed that one of the personalities would pose a threat to the main body, so he found an opportunity to write a letter to Little Yu, and the two of them locked up the second personality together... Although I don't know how they did it."

Zard said, "Big Yu seems to have mentioned this as well. He also wrote a letter to the second personality, explaining their situation. It's not suitable for the second personality to come out and move around right now. I don't know how he managed to convince the other party. However, Big Yu also said that if one day it becomes absolutely necessary, he will release the second personality on his own initiative. That personality is one that can drag the whole world down to hell with it."

Qing Chen: "I see you and Big Yu have a pretty good relationship. If that's what you're saying, he must be a native of the Inner World, and you two haven't had much interaction before, right?"

Zard: "Big Yu didn't like me at first, nor did he like Little Yu or Zhong Yu. Later, I don't know how, he started to treat Little Yu like a younger brother, and then he became a little nicer to me because of Little Yu."

Qing Chen remained silent for a long time, he hadn't expected Little Yu to have so many stories.

Little Yu stood to the side, her eyes red-rimmed. "Does this mean I won't be able to play with you guys anymore?"

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. He roughly understood why Big Yu treated Little Yu like a younger brother.

He looked at Little Yu and patted her head. "Don't be afraid, it's okay, we won't be afraid of you because of this. But you and your brother Big Yu have to keep an eye on the second personality, his appearance will put everyone in danger."

Little Yu lowered her head. "Actually, he's quite good to me."

"Yes, I understand," Qing Chen said with a smile. "Have some fruit first. I'll take you to the World Tree to watch the sunset later; it's beautiful. By the way, the academy has accumulated quite a few Jingshan Tea waiting for you to roast."

"Okay," Little Yu cheered up again.

Kids are so easy to please.

At this moment, Qing Chen looked at Zard again. "So what did you do to get locked up in there?"

Zard chuckled and said, "I've been framed."

"Oh? How did I wrong you?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

"An uncle upstairs asked me to play hide-and-seek at his house in the middle of the night," Zard said. "In the end, I climbed up the gas pipe to his window, and he screamed in fright. He's also a fellow patient of ours, living in the next room, and he's always looking to hit people."

"Which floor does he live on?" Qing Chen asked.

"18th floor."

Qing Chen understood that the uncle who was frightened by Zard was probably not a good person and had some strange hobbies.

The other party probably wanted to lure Zard to their home because they thought Zard had some mental issues and wanted to bully him.

Little did the other party know that Zard didn't go through the door at all, but instead climbed to the window on the 18th floor and stuck his head out. Who wouldn't be confused by that?

However, Qing Chen didn't sympathize with that uncle; he deserved it.

"But, just because of this, they locked you up in a mental hospital?" Qing Chen asked in confusion.

Zard thought for a moment and said, "My parents passed away, and my aunt and uncle claimed they would take care of me and moved into our house. My aunt never liked me, so she used this as an excuse to send me to a mental hospital."

So that's how it is. Qing Chen sighed inwardly. In the end, it was that house that attracted people's envy.

"Let's go, it's time," Qing Chen said with a smile. "Yang Yang, you take them up, Ding Dong and I will climb up ourselves."

As he spoke, he and Ding Dong used both hands and feet to climb up the trunk of the World Tree towards the canopy. Under the setting sun, the huge dome of the World Tree looked like a beautiful 3D special effect.

More than ten minutes later, everyone sat side by side on the thickest branch, letting the warm evening sun shine on their faces and bodies.

High in the sky, behind the distant mountains lies the sun's resting place.

Yang Yang slowly rested her head on Qing Chen's shoulder, ignoring how stiff the boy beside her was, and softly asked, "What are your plans next?"

"Go to City No. 10 to kill Qing Wen, and then go to City No. 18 to take away Li Cheng and Qing Ling's more than 900 intelligence personnel. Although they have been awarded medals, the Li and Qing families are worried that there are spies trained by the Divine Era among them, so they are not being given important positions at all."

Just like how undercover agents often fail to reintegrate into the police force after returning, no one knows if any of those people who have been in A02 Base for so many years have been turned by Kamishiro.

But Qing Chen didn't care. He had Ding Dong. He only needed to bring those people to the Forbidden Zone, and he would know whether there were any spies hiding there.

Aside from spies, these people are absolutely loyal to Qing Chen. If the Parent's Association was Qing Chen's first core group, then these people are Qing Chen second core group.

My own team.

"And you? What are your plans?" Qing Chen asked.

"I want to take Zard with me to build houses for the Wilderness People. The conditions there are quite harsh. I've called on many Time Walker to settle there, so we need to go and see for ourselves," Yang Yang said.

"Yes," Qing Chen nodded.

The sunset was so beautiful that Tuanzi slowly leaned against Sun Chuci.

Zard looked to his left and right, then slowly leaned against Ding Dong...

Two updates today, 11,000 words total. Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets.