"Are you... someone from outside?"
Li's question made Qin Manjiang freeze.
"Yes, I'm a newly hired orderly. I'll be taking care of you starting today."
"That's not what I'm asking." Li stared straight at him. "Did you... come from the outside world?"
Qin Manjiang was startled, a chill running through him. Li's gaze raised goose bumps all over his body.
"I don't understand what you mean." Qin Manjiang chose to play dumb.
Li gave him a long look, put down her book, and lay down on the hospital bed. "What happened just now wasn't a hallucination."
Those words finally made Qin Manjiang frown.
He had actually been looking for a chance to ask about the finger marks on her neck. He hadn't expected her to bring it up herself.
"Just now..."
"My consciousness entered your body." Li lay on the bed, looking at Qin Manjiang.
"You?"
"Me." Li's eyes were vacant, but her tone was certain. "Self-awareness is merely a different perspective from which to experience the same matter. I can be you, and you can be me."
Li's words made Qin Manjiang go rigid.
"Everyone you've ever met, and everyone you'll meet in the future, is you."
"Every interaction, every experience, good or bad, is a message you've left for yourself."
"As a human, you exist through a physical body and brain."
"But... that isn't the real you."
Li's words were like an enormous whirlpool, dragging Qin Manjiang's consciousness down and down. He knew something was wrong with them, but he couldn't resist their spell.
"'I' is merely a collection of memories. It isn't your essence. You have yet to perceive your true self, so I can use my memories to temporarily control your body and make you become me."
"I can also strip away your memories and merge