Another Self

After clearly seeing his own attire, Shen Xing cast his gaze once more toward the person crouching behind the door.

In this moment, he felt as though he had fallen into a dream.

This person... even the socks he wore were identical to his own, yet it was impossible for the other party to be deliberately disguising himself as him!

Could it just be a coincidence?

Shen Xing stared in disbelief at the person crouching there in silence. No, it couldn't be a coincidence.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he spoke, "Come out. I've already seen you."

The crouching figure did not react at all.

The situation was too bizarre. Looking at the person behind the door, Shen Xing felt a fleeting sensation of oxygen deprivation.

"Come out!" he shouted again, louder.

The other party still remained unresponsive.

With no other choice, he strode over, clenching one fist while using his other hand to pull the bedroom door wide, exposing the crouching figure completely to his sight.

The person was indeed a man, crouching with his arms wrapped around his knees, dressed exactly like him.

Even without the man looking up, Shen Xing was certain that this guy was, in all likelihood, truly himself.

He did not move any closer; instead, he took a step back, watching this crouching "self" with vigilance.

"Can you hear me?" Shen Xing asked.

A few seconds later, the crouching figure slowly raised his head. His gaze was unfocused, seemingly lacking any point of interest.

Shen Xing focused all his attention on that face. Sure enough, it was identical to his own!

The man then released his knees and slowly stood up. However, his face was stiff and his expression indifferent, as if he couldn't see Shen Xing at all, and he began to walk toward the living room.

Shen Xing watched him in silence until the man vanished from the bedroom, and the footsteps outside in the living room soon ceased.

Ever since the man stood up in front of him, Shen Xing had the illusion of looking into a mirror. Aside from the other's somewhat stiff movements, he felt as though that person was fundamentally himself.

No further sound came from the living room.

After a pause, Shen Xing slowly walked to the bedroom doorway and glanced into the living room.

The other self who had walked into the living room hadn't disappeared; instead, he was sitting on the sofa, staring blankly ahead, doing nothing at all, like a mindless vegetable.

Shen Xing stopped speaking and just stared at the man's profile.

He began to understand. Could it be that while absorbing the Blood Pupil Wood Carving, he had triggered the characteristics of the Fake Hong Bin he had already absorbed? After all, his current predicament was exactly the same as what Hong Bin had experienced back then.

He felt that this situation shouldn't have occurred after absorbing the Fake Hong Bin's characteristics; it seemed as though an unexpected complication had arisen.

Furthermore, Shen Xing didn't know if this identical self would keep appearing, or if it was some kind of side effect that would eventually cause the copy to vanish in a specific way.

But for now, aside from being a vegetable, this guy didn't seem to pose any threat.

Most importantly, after this person appeared, he himself did not start to become mentally disoriented or behave abnormally like the real Hong Bin had.

Perhaps this was the difference between active and passive.

When Hong Bin encountered this guy and was copied, he had fallen into a passive situation. He, however, had actively absorbed the characteristics, and a copy had emerged due to some "side effect"—a result of his own initiative.

The difference was that he, the original, was highly unlikely to be affected by the other party, whereas this copy of Shen Xing appeared quite dull.

Then again, his own profile was actually quite handsome—like aged wine, growing more refined with every taste.

After shamelessly admiring himself for a moment, Shen Xing returned to the bedroom.

He went to the workbench, picked up the Fake Hong Bin and the Blood Pupil Wood Carving, and examined them carefully for a moment. He discovered that the black shadows within the wood carving were intact, but they had lost their characteristics.

Shen Xing turned and walked to the living room, glancing at the man sitting on the sofa.

The guy's lips were slightly parted, and he remained motionless, looking as if he were about to drool at any second.

Just then, thump, thump, thump—a knock sounded at the door.

"Shen Xing, open up."

Judging by the voice, it seemed to be Officer Li Naijing!

Immediately, he saw a shadow flickering outside the window next to the living room door, as if someone were trying to peek through to see if he was home.

Shen Xing was startled. The window was covered with paper, making it impossible to see inside from the outside, but he certainly couldn't let Officer Li Naijing see another version of himself.

He glanced at the man on the sofa; the other party was still in his vegetable-like state.

Shen Xing didn't answer Li Naijing but hurried toward the bedroom, grabbed his phone, and immediately switched it to silent mode.

Not long after he adjusted it, the screen changed, displaying the words: "Officer Li Naijing is calling."

He held the phone without answering and walked softly to the living room, his eyes fixed on the other self who remained sitting motionless.

It was best to hide this guy first. Shen Xing turned his head to look around, searching for a place in the room where he could stash someone.

He grabbed his seated self, hauled him up, and pushed him toward the bedroom.

In the process, Shen Xing finally saw the drool from the guy's mouth fall, plop, hitting the floor, just before he shoved him into the bedroom.

By the time he turned back to the living room, the incoming call had been ringing for nearly a minute before finally cutting off.

Outside the door, Li Naijing's voice drifted in: "Is he really not home? He isn't answering his phone."

The young man, Zhao Wenbo, replied: "Perhaps something happened, or maybe he just went out. Should we wait a little longer?"

After that, silence fell outside the door.

A moment later, the living room lock suddenly rattled, as if a key had been inserted into the keyhole.

Shen Xing was startled, then heard Zhao Wenbo say: "Sister Jing, should we go straight in?"

The sound at the lock stopped, and Li Naijing replied: "That guy came back from Song Xiaoyu's place, and now he won't answer the door or his phone. What if he's been possessed by that Missing Scalp again? We have to go in and check. Besides, our Special Case Investigation Unit has the authority to enter any private property without the owner's consent."

In Shen Xing's memory, he recalled hearing Li Naijing say the exact same thing; clearly, this was her classic catchphrase.

Yet, hearing this, it seemed this woman was forcing her way in partly out of concern for his safety.

For someone who had done this sort of thing plenty of times, even though he had changed his locks, Shen Xing had no doubt about her lock-picking skills.

He turned around in a hurry, intending to hide his other self in the bedroom, only to find the room completely empty after a quick glance.

The guy he had just pushed inside was nowhere to be found.

Whether he had hidden or simply vanished, Shen Xing had no time to ponder; the lock behind him began to turn again, followed by a sharp click.

He heard Li Naijing say: "The door was locked from the inside, but I've opened it."

The implication was that someone had likely been inside the whole time.

Although they meant well, Shen Xing's heart was still in his throat. He lunged onto the bed and lay perfectly still, feigning deep sleep while shoving his phone under the pillow.

The next second, the door swung open, and Li Naijing and Zhao Wenbo walked in, one after the other.