Chapter 76: Artificial Soul 3
Kui Xin finally got the quality sleep she had long desired, and she didn’t dream at all the previous night.
Waking up in the morning, she sat on the bed and stretched, her joints cracking as her body loosened up.
After having breakfast and resting for a while, she followed her original plan to do morning exercise.
Kui Xin ran along the riverbank, from the beginning to the end of it. An elderly man, also exercising, secretly challenged her, running back and forth with her. By the time Kui Xin finished her third lap, the elderly man could no longer keep up.
Breathing heavily, he said, “It’s rare to see young people out for morning exercise! My granddaughter almost failed her physical exam during the high school entrance examination; after starting work, she stays up late every day, and her health has gotten worse. She gets out of breath just going up five flights of stairs. I told her to exercise, but she just bought a gym membership—what a waste of money! It would be much better for her to run along our riverbank instead of going to the gym!”
“The pressure on modern people is quite significant. Gyms are filled with young people; it’s nice to chat while working out…” Kui Xin found it hard to fend off the friendly old man. After chatting for a bit, she ran off the riverbank to do some stretching exercises.
At 8:30 a.m., Kui Xin finished her morning exercise. The refrigerator at home was basically empty, so she decided to head to the market to buy some vegetables, fruits, and meat.
However, when she reached the outdoor market, she was hit with a smell of something burnt. The ground was damp, and the vendors on both sides had retreated to the corners. The middle of the market had tire marks from large vehicles, and the merchants and citizens there were jumbled together, creating a chaotic and noisy scene.
Looking deeper into the market, she saw two or three firefighters in uniforms holding water guns to cool down gas canisters. Some shops appeared to have been scorched with wisps of smoke rising, blocking her view.
Kui Xin’s heart sank; it was clear that a fire had broken out here.
She had a friend from childhood who had a close relationship with her, and her family did business in this area. However, the point of the fire was too far from the market entrance for Kui Xin to see which shops were affected.
“Quick, everyone scatter! No one is allowed to enter!” shouted the urban management vehicle that had arrived, the loudspeaker blaring, “Can’t you see they’re still cooling the gas canisters? If those explode, people could die! Stay far away! Retreat outside the market!”
Only then did the small vendors in the market begin to move, packing their vegetables and fruits onto tricycles to flee, while the crowds that had gathered to watch gradually dispersed.
Kui Xin pulled out some money and bought a bundle of greens. She asked an old lady who had retreated to her stall, “What happened? Which shop caught fire?”
“The grain and oil shop caught fire. It was really big earlier; the smoke was high up in the sky,” the old lady replied. “The fire spread to the neighboring shops. Just look at how serious it is; the shopfronts have collapsed. An ambulance has already come to take a few people away; it was terrible.”
Kui Xin’s mood suddenly turned sour. “There’s a shop selling fresh noodles next to the grain and oil shop. How did that shop fare?”
“Also burned. Once flour and such catch fire, they ignite easily.” The old lady clicked her tongue sympathetically, “The boss of that noodle shop lives above the store on the second floor. The security window was welded shut, and they couldn’t escape. The firefighters only managed to rescue the three of them. The fire broke out at around six o’clock when there were fewer people, and they were all asleep…”
“Which hospital’s ambulance came?” Kui Xin asked hurriedly.
“Old lady like me can’t read!”
“Thank you, grandma.” Kui Xin stood up, clutching the bundle of greens. After thinking for a moment, she figured that if the injuries were severe, the victims would be sent to a nearby hospital, but the best burn treatment hospital in the city was located in the city center, and maybe those injured would be transferred later.
Back in elementary school, there was a friend in her neighborhood who was the same age as her. Although they went to the same school, they were in different classes. When they entered junior high, they were finally placed in the same class, and they walked to school together. Later, in their third year of junior high, her friend’s grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. Her parents sold their house to pay for the treatment, and the three of them moved into the shop to make do.
The affected fresh noodle shop belonged to Kui Xin’s friend’s family. Whenever she went to buy noodles, her uncle and aunt would always charge her a little less or simply give her the noodles for free. Kui Xin felt awkward about taking advantage of them, so she rarely bought noodles, usually just cooking instant noodles instead.
Later in high school, they attended different schools and no longer lived in the same neighborhood. During summer and winter breaks, Kui Xin was busy working, while her friend helped her parents manage the noodle shop, and they gradually drifted apart.
However, when Kui Xin’s grandparents passed away, that family had come over especially to see her, bringing a box of sausages and a box of expensive milk.
With the sudden bad news about her friend, Kui Xin felt heavy-hearted and casually bought a few ingredients before heading home.
Having just finished her run, she was sweating all over, so she hastily took a shower and changed clothes before heading to the hospital.
In her class, Kui Xin was quite the transparent person; aside from studying, she rarely interacted with her classmates. Even her contact information on social media was added only after she bought a smartphone for work after graduation. Her relationships with everyone in her class were just those of ordinary classmates.
Her friend from the noodle shop was one of the few people she could truly call a “friend.”
Initially, she went to the nearest hospital to the market and asked the security guard if there had been any ambulance bringing in patients that morning, receiving a confirming answer.
“You’re talking about the injuries from the market, right? They’re in our hospital. The person should still be in emergency treatment,” the security guard said. “I could see the smoke rising from the market right here at the hospital.”
Kui Xin thanked him and hurried to the emergency center. On her way, she met a nurse, and after explaining the situation, the nurse quickly took her to the outside of the emergency room.
“How is the situation?” Kui Xin asked anxiously.
“Two adults couldn’t be saved; they were already beyond help when brought in,” the nurse said gently. “One person is still being treated, with extensive burns all over. The situation is quite serious and not optimistic.”
“…” Kui Xin opened her mouth and then shut it again.
“Can you contact the patient’s family?” the nurse asked. “There was no identification when they were brought in, nor a phone, so we can’t reach their family.”
“I have no way to contact them either,” Kui Xin said. “I’m a friend… how serious is it?”
“Extensive burns all over the body, including the face and limbs,” the nurse replied. “I’m sorry; that’s the situation. We can only do our best to save her life.”
After the nurse left, Kui Xin sat on a bench outside the emergency room, staring blankly at the closed doors.
People often say that when you grow up, you will start to face life and death.
However, before Kui Xin had even grown up, she had already experienced separations and losses. She was accustomed to these events; her grandparents had both passed away, and her parents were not by her side. She didn’t have time to grieve; she still had to study hard to get into university and escape from poverty.
Life didn’t give Kui Xin a chance to pause and catch her breath, and later when another elderly person in the neighborhood passed away and a mourning hall was set up, she would think to herself, “Oh, another person has left this world.” These occurrences had little emotional impact on her.
The deepest impression she had of such matters was that human life is incredibly fragile. A disease or an accident can easily destroy a person or a family.
Two hours later, the door to the emergency room finally opened.
The doctor in charge of the rescue came out, drenched in sweat, with blood on his gloves.
Seeing only Kui Xin in the corridor, he was taken aback. “No family members?”
“No,” Kui Xin looked into the room. “I’m her classmate. Did she make it through? How serious is it?”
“There’s a small door inside the emergency room, and we’ve transferred her to the ICU,” the doctor said. “Her fingers are burned; she may need to have them amputated… We need to discuss this with family members, and there are various hospital admission procedures that can’t be done without family members.”
The ICU of the hospital wasn’t a place one could just enter freely, and Kui Xin couldn’t get in. She couldn’t help much with other matters either. Just when she was feeling conflicted, she saw a couple dressed plainly rushing from outside the emergency room.
She recognized them at a glance as her friend’s aunt and uncle.
As soon as they arrived, they anxiously grabbed the doctor, asking numerous questions. Their faces were unclear if they were sweaty or in tears, completely oblivious to Kui Xin standing beside them.
Kui Xin listened to them for a while, then quietly turned to leave.
This wasn’t the time; she would come back another day.
She hoped that when she returned next time, her friend would still be there.
…
Life had to continue. Kui Xin couldn’t change her routine because of unexpected events.
“Why do you seem distracted?” Kui Xin asked Su Rong.
“Me… really?” Su Rong blinked, “It must be because I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“You said the same thing to me yesterday,” Kui Xin replied calmly. “You’ve been distracted for two consecutive days. Do you not want to go to university anymore? Do you want to continue on the path of an art student?”
Su Rong immediately shivered, “No way! I’m definitely going to study hard from now on!”
Yesterday was Tuesday, August 2nd, the day to return to the Second World. Today is August 3rd, the day to return to the First World. To outsiders, Su Rong seemed distracted for two consecutive days, but in reality, she had spent seven days in another world between August 2nd and August 3rd.
Su Rong could no longer distinguish the dates. The first thing she did when she returned each time was to check the calendar, and her memory wasn’t that good; she couldn’t remember what she had said a week ago. It took Kui Xin’s reminder for her to realize how obvious her behavior had been.
Su Rong began to seriously consider the feasibility of writing a daily account to avoid forgetting what had happened during her repeated time travels.
“Actually, I think you seem distracted too, Sister Xin Xin,” Su Rong mumbled.
“Um… a friend of mine had an accident at home today,” Kui Xin said vaguely. “You focus on solving the problems; I’ll check your work.”
Su Rong struggled with a frown in the sea of questions.
By evening, Kui Xin declined Su Rong’s mother’s invitation for dinner three times, and with her warm send-off, she headed home.
On the way, Kui Xin gazed at the sky covered in red clouds and couldn’t help but sigh.
Today was a bright sunny day; the sunset clouds were more beautiful than ever.
She paused briefly on the street, and a few minutes later, as she was about to lower her head and continue walking, she suddenly felt a mirage appear before her eyes.
The clouds in the sky seemed to reflect a city, a vague scene resembling a mirage.
Then, with the shifting light and shadow, the mirage faded away, the entire process lasted only about fifteen seconds.
“That was… a city?” Kui Xin widened her eyes.
The fleeting mirage in the clouds just now looked so much like the architectural style of cities in the Second World!
