One after another, Qi Cong saw himself rudely chasing Shen Jia away, saw himself defying the counselor’s advice, saw himself ignoring Lin Hui pleas and leaving him alone in the cold. He saw his other self rudely push away the senior who was kind enough to advise him, being submissive to Jiang Zhaoyan, and ignoring An Xiahe, walking away indifferently. He let a security guard chase away the old Sanmu staff member who broke in to speak with him, and his emotions gradually collapsed.

No, this wasn’t him, this wasn’t what he did. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. He was in great pain, as his soul was trembling and shouting.

No, he doesn’t want to watch scenes like this again! No one should ever try to hurt the people he cares about!

He began to dash left and right in these images, trying to find another place where there was a bright light.

He managed to get out once before, so he could get out again! He’d gotten his body back, so he could definitely do it again. As long as he doesn’t give up, as long as he keeps trying!

As Qi Cong charged, the images suddenly flickered intermittently. They overlapped and twisted together, wrapping Qi Cong’s charging consciousness in them, rising and falling at a high speed with him.

Qi Cong felt the pain in his brain exploding again, and at the same time, countless pictures were squeezed into his brain, so he couldn’t see clearly.

He didn’t know how long it took but as the pain accumulated to the extreme, the pictures also overlapped  as they burst together. Qi Cong only saw whiteness in front of his eyes, then the pain disappeared as a warm white light enveloped him.

Qi Cong saw Gu Xun again, in a hotel restaurant suite.

He found himself sitting in front of a big candlelight dinner with a blue velvet box in front of him. Not far from the table, Jiang Zhaoyan sat on the ground with a wounded forehead, frowning as he looked toward him.

Gu Xun grabbed his shoulder from behind, leaned over and looked both depressed and frantic. “Qi Cong, how on earth can you remember…? Did you hear what he just said to someone? He can send you to such a hard place just for the sake of a fictitious big order I give him. He isn’t sincere to you at all, do you understand?”

Qi Cong’s eyes widened.

Was that…Gu Xun?

“Why don’t you say anything?” Gu Xun loosened his grip and went around to him, blocking Jiang Zhaoyan’s figure and looked down at him. His momentum was oppressive and dangerous, while his voice was low and cold. “Qi Cong, are you willing to look at me again only if he’s dead?”

Qi Cong eyes widened, staring blankly at the strange and dangerous Gu Xun in front of him. He noticed Jiang Zhaoyan approaching behind Gu Xun with a knife; he was surprised and hurriedly opened his mouth to warn Gu Xun, but everything in front of him suddenly distorted and dissipated.

The world returned to complete darkness and Qi Cong once again found himself in the circular container that trapped him in the beginning, unable to perceive anything.

He was confused for a few seconds before he recovered from the shock of seeing a completely unfamiliar version of Gu Xun. Remembering all that he had seen before, he gritted his teeth in hatred and slammed against the container with more mad energy than before.

Buzz–!

Buzz–!

Buzz–!

With time, a light gradually came through in the dark world and occasional fragment-like things would float out. This time Qi Cong was smarter; after smashing one area, he didn’t continue to strike there. He changed to another section before continuing his attack.

After being trapped for so long and forced to look at so many memories, he probably understood the situation.

He should be locked up in that “ball of light” that was, the controller. This so-called “controller” has been damaged and could be knocked open! While bombarding the sides, he could also peep into the memories of the Taskmaster through this container.

Since the “prison” can be broken, then things become easier. Last time he was forced back because the controller was still working, so if he smashed this thing to pieces and completely broke it, then his consciousness would no longer be able to be controlled.

Buzz–!

Wow.

Another black fragment with white light burst out. An image of Gu Xun holding him with blood on his back flashed past. Qi Cong’s heart trembled, then clenching his teeth, he hit his prison again.

The cracks grew, from a line into a tangled and intertwined web. Then large pieces of the shell cracked and peeled.

He didn’t know how long it took, but when Qi Cong’s consciousness was numb with pain, the patchy wall suddenly shattered and splattered outward like glass, after he hit it. Black fragments with white light were spread all over, like stars in front of his eyes.

Qi Cong felt a jolt in his soul. His eyes opened and his eyes saw images, his ears heard sounds and his nose smelled the scent of disinfectant in the air.

He found himself sitting in a hospital bed. In a chair next to the bed, Gu Xun sat there with an inexplicable expression. Looking his way, he asked, “You don’t want to start a company anymore?”

Qi Cong heard his own voice say, “Well, I want to help my parents rebuild Sanmu as soon as possible. Acting is too difficult. Gu Xun, can you help me? “

[Because you helped me advance the mission by mistake, and gave me a good resource to use….]

The words of the Taskmaster flashed through Qi Cong’s mind, making him freeze for a moment. He violently reacted to his current situation, his heart turning cold and after the fear came the anger.

A good resource…this referred to Gu Xun? The Taskmaster was trying to use Gu Xun’s resources to help Jiang Zhaoyan?

The ward became deathly quiet.

Gu Xun didn’t speak, nor did he move. His face was hidden in the shadows caused by the bed curtains so he was unable to see his expression.

Qi Cong heard himself call out, “Gu Xun?” 

Then he raised his hand to his forehead and gently rubbed it. Qi Cong felt a force trying to pull him away again, only this time it was much weaker.

He realized he’d been discovered by the Taskmaster again, and the other party was trying to trap him again.

Don’t even think about it!

He resisted the pull while looking at expressionless Gu Xun beside the hospital bed.

“Alright.” Gu Xun finally opened his mouth. His voice was low, containing some kind of emotion that made Qi Cong’s heart tremble. “I will help you…Cong, as long as it’s what you want to do, I will help you.”

Qi Cong’s heart trembled a little, then he clenched his teeth and suddenly stopped resisting and let himself be pulled away. When he returned to the broken container, he slammed into another intact container wall.

Hurry up, hurry up.

Again and again, more forcefully than before, the cracks in the container increased. The light inside was getting brighter and brighter. Qi Cong could occasionally break away to sense the outside world again. It was just as he guessed; as the container broke and shattered, his perception of the outside world gradually became stronger.

First it was his sight and hearing, then smell and touch. After a time, he was able to control the opening and closing of his eyes. He seemed to be able to move his fingers, and he felt a little pain when a nurse came over to draw his blood. 

Soon…soon.

The Taskmaster seemed to be in a hurry. After Qi Cong was able to return to the outside world and let out a vague syllable, Qi Cong discovered that the Taskmaster made a sound toward Shen Jia, indicating that he was sleepy and wanted to rest.

When Shen Jia left and the door closed, Qi Cong heard his own voice.

“Don’t toss and turn! It’s useless. Even if you squeeze me out this time, I can come back again next time. Unless you can guarantee that you will never sleep or get sick for the rest of your life or never have weak willpower, be quiet if you don’t want to suffer again.”

Qi Cong’s struggle paused, then sinking back into his consciousness, he slammed harder.

There won’t be next time.

He said this in his heart.

Even if there was, he will never let the Taskmaster use his identity to hurt those around him! This was his life, and if it was to be ruined, it would be ruined by his own hands!

Buzz–! Clatter–!

The debris was everywhere and the light was so bright that Qi Cong only felt pain in his brain, then his consciousness shook as he opened his eyes.

The early morning sun came in through the curtains, and the air conditioner was slowly spitting out the cold air.

The voices of Gu Xun and Zhao Zhenxun came from outside the ward, somewhat vague. They were discussing the drama recording and the release of a song.

Qi Cong blinked. Blinked again, and tentatively raised his arm.

Without any hindrances, he was able to control his body!

“Gu….” He made a sound, stopped suddenly in the middle of it, got up and lifted the quilt. He got out of bed and ran out  barefoot, pulling open the hospital room door!

“Then we will delay filming and the song release – “

“I want to continue filming!” Qi Cong interrupted Zhao Zhenxun’s words. His forehead was covered with cold sweat, but he still looked at Zhao Zhenxun and said, word for word, “The drama, I want to continue filming it.”

Edited by: Antiope1

 

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