Tan Yan walked into the ward with a glass of water and saw Liang Xian’s eyes open, he went up to touch his forehead and asked: “How do you feel?”
“It’s okay, head aching so much it’s about to explode, you have encountered this situation before?” Liang Xian asked.
“While in the other world,” Tan Yan simply explained, “Once… the pain was so sudden and severe that I fell into the sea directly, found a wooden plank, and climbed up. After floating for two days, finally floated to an island.”
He didn’t say much, but Liang Xian could guess how dangerous that time was from Tan Yan’s words, but Tan Yan’s tone was very calm, as if it was just a very common matter.
“You are alone?” Liang Xian asked.
“Um.”
“From the time you found the ‘void’, you have been alone?” Liang Xian knows that this issue may be confidential, “The country has never cared about you?”
“They also didn’t know at first,” Tan Yan tried to avoid mentioning the age issue, “Later, Minister Yu found out that I could enter the ‘void’, so he began to select team members, isn’t this in order for you guys to enter together?”
He smiled when he said this, as if he was quite happy.
Liang Xian felt a little sore in his heart, and couldn’t tell whether he felt sorry for the person in front of him or was upset for his stupidity. He rubbed his temples and whispered: “I can’t be as selfless as you.”
Perhaps paper can’t wrap fire1包不住火 zhǐ bāo bù zhù huǒ: A well-known phrase. lit. paper can’t wrap fire; fig. the truth will out; truth will come to light sooner or later., as more and more people enter the ‘void’, one day, someone will discover that the real world can also use supernatural powers. Liang Xian is not sure what kind of wave will be caused by that time in society.
But one thing is for sure, there are bound to be more people who want themselves or their men to have supernatural powers. At that time, the ‘void’ will turn from a disaster into an opportunity in the eyes of these people, and countless people will be thrown into it to die. At first, many people may die, but gradually information about the ‘void’ will slowly spread out, there will always be people with supernatural powers to come back alive…
Those who originally had supernatural powers may also be used by others and become other people’s pawns.
Of course, it is also possible that the country will hide this matter well and send more soldiers to awaken their power, so as to gradually improve human physique and eventually achieve human evolution.
No one knows whether the result is good or bad when an accident doesn’t happen.
All Liang Xian can do is to maintain this tranquility as much as possible, at least… until he has fully mastered the supernatural ability, has an absolute advantage, and has the right to speak.
“What do you think would happen if our power could be used in the real world?” Liang Xian asked.
“It’s impossible,” Tan Yan said with a smile, “If everyone could use it, it would be chaotic.”
Tan Yan’s eyes are always firm, he really thinks that the real world has no supernatural powers, but thinking about it carefully, this idea itself is incredible. No matter who it is, after gaining power, they will try to use it in the real world. It has nothing to do with good or evil, just out of curiosity.
Why is Tan Yan so determined?
“Have you tried it after you came back?”
“No.” Tan Yan felt very strange, “Why try when you know it’s not possible?”
He touched Liang Xian’s forehead and fed him a mouthful of water, “Rest up early, I will buy some congee tomorrow morning. It is estimated that it will be uncomfortable for a few days.”
Liang Xian rather thinks that Tan Yan’s idea is a bit strange, suddenly getting power beyond common sense, but still doesn’t want to try it in the real world? Does he not even have the heart to explore?
And other people are also very strange. Liang Xian knows that most people who are engaged in scientific research are skeptical about everything and will not trust one person’s words. Everyone only heard Tan Yan say, ‘The real world cannot use supernatural powers’, and no one tried to doubt it.
Including Liang Xian himself, when he saw clearly at night just now, he wasn’t aware of his abnormality for a long time.
Consciousness…
He rubbed his still painful head, is the power of consciousness really so powerful?
With such doubts, Liang Xian slowly fell asleep, and in a daze, he felt a person sitting beside him all night long.
Aware that it was Tan Yan, he didn’t need to open his eyes to confirm it. It is not perceived through the five senses, but through feeling, intuition, sixth sense, or consciousness…
The next day, Liang Xian was awakened by the smell of congee. He threw up last night and was so hungry. When he opened his eyes, he saw Tan Yan holding a lunch box and trying to cool the porridge. His heart felt warm.
Even though he had doubts about Tan Yan’s thoughts last night, Liang Xian never doubted Tan Yan. Tan Yan never lied, he just wasn’t ‘conscious’, and everything happened inadvertently.
Liang Xian thinks this ‘consciousness’ is a good thing.
Let’s try again today if the head is no longer aching, Liang Xian thought while drinking congee.
When they returned to the dormitory, Cui Heyu and the others had already gone to morning exercise. He was sick, and Tan Yan took care of the patient all night, so there was no need to go to the exercise. Liang Xian rummaged through his toolbox, and while Tan Yan was washing up, he installed a mechanism on his bed.
Classes will start tomorrow. Most of the activities of the interest group are on weekends and evenings. Today they still have a day off.
When Cui Heyu returned to the dormitory, he saw Liang Xian was a little awkward, Qiu Qizheng pressed his head and asked: “How do you feel?”
“I’m fine.” Liang Xian said, “It’s just that my stomach feels a little uncomfortable, probably because I used too many antibiotics for infusion a few days ago, which hurt my stomach.”
Cui Heyu said awkwardly: “I didn’t know you weren’t feeling well yesterday, but I just saw you… how did you fly onto the bed?”
He knew he really would not let go of this problem, Liang Xian patted the head of the bed: “I installed a mechanism, try it, you can too.”
Cui Heyu walked over dubiously, imitating Liang Xian, tapping the small button on the head of the bed, and a steel wire shot out, hooking Cui Heyu’s waist like hanging a wire. As long as he moves in accordance with the contraction of the wire rope, he can easily lie down on the bed.
At the beginning, Cui Heyu was unskilled, and he even fell. After practicing a few times, just like Liang Xian last night, he was able to fly up easily.
“You installed the steel wire last night?” Cui Heyu still didn’t believe it.
“Of course,” Liang Xian looked at him and said seriously, “How can a person fly? It’s absolutely impossible. What do you think, Tan Yan?”
“Can’t.” Tan Yan followed his words and replied.
When he said ‘absolutely impossible’, Liang Xian felt his head hurt a little bit again, but as soon as Tan Yan opened his mouth, Liang Xian felt the pain subside.
On the other side, Cui Heyu’s eyes also changed from suspicion to disdain, pulled out the steel wire rope installed by Liang Xian and looked at it, bristling: “Already so big, but still like what elementary school students like to play, really boring.”
In other people’s eyes, this is just a simple conversation, but based on Liang Xian’s understanding of Cui Heyu, this person actually really likes to take the bull by the horns2鑽牛角尖 zuān niú jiǎo jiān: lit. to penetrate into a bull’s horn (idiom); fig. to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem; to bash one’s head against a brick wall; a wild goose chase; a blind alley; to split hairs., usually, he wouldn’t believe Liang Xian’s words, but this time his thoughts were changed so easily.
Including Qin Li, no one doubted it.
Liang Xian vaguely felt a little frightened, the power of ‘consciousness’ was so terrifying, wouldn’t it mean that he could do whatever he wanted?
Is there no limit to this kind of power? What if someone’s brain is 100% awakened and fully grasps consciousness, and this person is a criminal?
Then he uses ‘consciousness’ to commit crimes, the police may not even find evidence.
The ‘void’ problem must be solved completely, otherwise, the Earth will really be plunged into a catastrophe.
Only one person ‘consciousness’ this thought put Liang Xian under a lot of pressure. For several days in a row, he didn’t dare to sleep, fearing that after he fell asleep, ‘consciousness’ would accidentally have an impact on the surrounding environment. Of course, Liang Xian’s power is not that strong yet. When he is awake, the concentrated use of his powers will be so painful that his brain feels like it’s splitting. The dissipation of consciousness after sleep is even more unlikely to have any effect.
He understands this, but still worries.
Hiding secrets is not a pleasant thing, especially for such an illusory thing as consciousness, Liang Xian is afraid of revealing his secrets every day, and every day is spent with fear and trepidation.
Anxiety made him lose weight at a speed visible to the naked eye. Within ten days of starting school, his eye sockets were deeply sunken, the eye circles were dark, and his mental state was also very poor. Lack of sleep puts him in a trance, and he is often distracted. It’s okay in class, he has mastered most of the knowledge so that he can relax with peace of mind. But it was miserable during physical training. Liang Xian started to shake a few times when standing in the military posture.
“Liang Xian, Liang Xian!” Qiao Zhixue shouted Liang Xian’s name so loudly, and he nearly stepped off the podium to shake him.
Every evening, the interest group’s activities consisted of a lecture, in which Qiao Zhixue explained the knowledge of quantum mechanics, which was very dull. Qiao Zhixue’s own IQ is too high, and he is very imaginative when he talks in class, saying whatever comes to mind, and even Ah San does not understand many knowledge points. After class, he has to look for relevant books to help him understand. Many students don’t understand the meaning of joining such a group at all. They made it so mysterious at first, they didn’t expect it is really a learning support group.
When Qiao Zhixue was lecturing, Liang Xian sat beside Tan Yan, leaned his head on Tan Yan’s shoulder, and fell asleep.
Tan Yan was very considerate of him and quietly changed his position to let Liang Xian sleep more soundly. But Qiao Zhixue couldn’t stand Liang Xian being so careless. It’s fine if other people aren’t interested, but how could Liang Xian be so unmotivated as an insider?
After class, several people in the know stayed behind for a small meeting, and Qiao Zhixue criticized Liang Xian by name for his attitude.
“I know it’s been almost a month since the ‘void’ appeared, but you shouldn’t be so careless.” Qiao Zhixue reprimanded, “Look at your mental state, do you still look like a people’s soldier?”
Liang Xian tried his best to pull himself together and nodded repeatedly, pretending to be taught.
Seeing how tired he looked, Tan Yan couldn’t help explaining for him: “In the first place, Liang Xian was not feeling well, and he has been helping me make up lessons these days, it is really exhausting.”
“This can’t be considered tired, right?” Ah San said with a frown, “Liang Xian, your current state… why does it feel like you are under a lot of pressure?”
“I feel stressed just thinking about the ‘void’ that could appear at any moment. Last time we almost died in there, and this time even more…” Liang Xian followed Ah San’s words and casually found an excuse.
“Hurry up and adjust your state, if you are still in this state when the ‘void’ appears, the organization will not allow you to enter.” Qiao Zhixue is very distressed.
Liang Xian is the outstanding talent they are looking for, and he is very likely to become Tan Yan’s successor in the future. If he can’t even bear such a little pressure, how can he become a qualified leader in the future?
After the meeting, Liang Xian slowly followed behind Tan Yan, he looked very tired, and every step was so heavy. These days of concealment made Liang Xian not even have the energy to explore whether his feelings for Tan Yan were due to the suspension bridge effect or whether he was really attracted.
Tan Yan also walked very slowly. Seeing that Liang Xian was still looking listless, so he walked a few steps slower and walked alongside him: “After coming back from the ‘void’ for the first time, I was just like you.”
Liang Xian raised his head.
“I was very scared,” Tan Yan recalled, “I went to the head of the police department at the time to report the case, he thought I was crazy and wanted to send me to a mental hospital for treatment.”
“How could it be? As long as you take pictures with your mobile phone, with evidence, the superiors will definitely pay attention to the case.” Liang Xian was puzzled.
Tan Yan smiled wryly, how could he have a mobile phone at that time?
“In fact, I can also bring him along, but at that time, I was also quite useless, by myself in the ‘void’ already difficult to walk, I simply can’t protect a person. I was afraid that the leader would really treat me as mentally ill, so I asked people to speak for me everywhere, and I was able to keep my post.”
“Post?” Liang Xian frowned, “Weren’t you in junior high school at that time?”
Tan Yan, who can’t lie: “…”
“Anyway, I can’t tell others, and I’m also afraid to go back in again, every day, I’m worried that the ‘void’ will appear for the second time.” Tan Yan passed vaguely and continued the sermon, “But the second time the ‘void’ appeared in front of me again, I just wanted to run at that time, after running two steps, I saw a cat screaming and being swept into it.”
Tan Yan’s footsteps stopped, as if he had fallen into a deep memory, “Not far from the hole is a private house, the dog in the yard is barking wildly, if I delay it for another minute, the house will be swallowed by the ‘void’.”
His legs were shaking at that time, and every cell in his body wanted to escape in the opposite direction of the ‘void’. It is man’s fear of nature, it is instinctive.
But Tan Yan listened to the dog’s barking, looked at the private house, touched the police badge on his hat, and rushed towards the ‘void’.
“I ran in, the cat was already dead.” Tan Yan continued to recall, “I wrapped the cat in my arms, came back and burned it, and put the ashes in a small bottle, and every time I went in, I took the bottle with me.”
“When I can’t sleep at night, I feel sleepy after I touch the bottle; When feeling afraid, touch the bottle will not be afraid.”
As Tan Yan talked, he felt that Liang Xian’s head hit his shoulder. He didn’t move, and let Liang Xian lean on him, continued to speak, “Later, the bottle was accidentally broken, but I’m no longer afraid.”
“You alone…” Liang Xian is a little bit speechless, he has tasted the taste of hiding secrets alone in order to protect other people these days, just keeping secrets is already very difficult, how did Tan Yan hide such a big thing? And overcome the fear of the unknown.
“Still okay,” Tan Yan said, “At that time, I felt that I was doing the right thing, and it would be easy to get through the first days.”
“How old were you back then?”
“Eighteen…” Tan Yan had just finished speaking before remembering that he was now only eighteen years old on his ID card, so he shut up.
“How old are you this year, even with a baby face, it can’t be more…”
Liang Xian muttered halfway when he suddenly thought that Tan Yan was just like himself now, keeping a secret. Knowing this kind of pain, why did he ask about Tan Yan’s age?
“You haven’t slept well for a few days.” Tan Yan tapped Liang Xian’s dark circles.
“I’m a little worried,” Liang Xian tried to express his feelings, “The power of the brain is so strong, it will be miserable if you accidentally use a supernatural power while falling asleep.”
“How can it be?” Tan Yan felt his fears were groundless3杞人憂天 qǐ rén yōu tiān: man of Qǐ fears the sky falling; groundless fears., “Didn’t I tell you that it can’t be used in the real world? It will be chaotic if it can be used.”
Liang Xian: “…”
He seems to understand why Tan Yan firmly believes that the real world cannot use supernatural ability.
Because he was subconsciously ‘conscious’ that this was not a good thing, so he blocked this possibility himself, as he said, for fear of ‘chaos’ and causing turmoil.
Liang Xian stood beside Tan Yan and took this opportunity to conduct an experiment.
He tried to see the dormitory building in the distance but couldn’t see anything.
Supernatural ability cannot be used.
Looking at the determined Tan Yan beside him, Liang Xian understood that Tan Yan firmly believed that he could not use supernatural powers, and his brain was far more developed than his own. As long as he is within the observable range of Tan Yan, or more accurately within the scope of ‘consciousness’, he cannot use the ability.
The reason why he could use it that day was because Tan Yan was asleep.
Suddenly thought of a way to fall asleep.
Liang Xian still kept his head resting on Tan Yan’s shoulder and whispered cautiously, “That… I can’t sleep well alone these days, can I squeeze a bed with you at night?”
Tan Yan: “…”
Such a big boy, still afraid of the dark?
“No, I’ve been to the ‘void’ once, and am a bit confused…” Liang Xian is also not good at showing weakness, he can’t continue after saying a few words.
“I understand,” Tan Yan felt relieved, “Okay, let’s squeeze together for a few days.”
So that night, while the others were sleeping, Liang Xian sneaked into Tan Yan’s bed. This night he slept very soundly, ‘aware’ of the fact that Tan Yan was beside himself made Liang Xian very at ease.
Early the following day, Cui Heyu, the first to wake up: “…”
His bed was next to Liang Xian’s, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he felt that there was no one next to him, and then he scanned around and saw two big men sleeping soundly with their arms around each other on a small bed.
Cui Heyu rubbed his face, climbed out of bed with a numb face, rushed to the washroom, and wiped his face with cold water, and when he returned to the bedroom, Liang Xian was lying on his bed, sleeping soundly.
Cui Heyu: “…”
Don’t think that if you sneak back, I’ll think that I’m dazzled!
In the past few days, he also saw that Liang Xian was a bit distracted, at that time, he was still wondering how Liang Xian, such an arrogant person, could have psychological problems, but now he had an epiphany.
Turns out that he discover that his sexual orientation is different from ordinary people and struggling hard.
The problem is that he changed too quickly. He slept in one bed as soon as he was relieved. How could he convince Tan Yan?
Cui Heyu kept staring at the two of them during class during the day, Liang Xian looked refreshed, and Tan Yan also approached Liang Xian openly, not showing anything unusual.
According to Cui Heyu’s understanding of the two, Liang Xian is undoubtedly arrogant and cunning, it’s normal for him to do this without blushing at all. But Tan Yan looks like a conservative and traditional person no matter what. He will probably take the road of dating, marriage, and children in the future and live his life step-by-step. He shouldn’t be so calm.
Cui Heyu, who had been entangled all day, decided to try it out. At night, when the interest group was taking a break, he inadvertently leaned over to Liang Xian and said in a small voice: “You slept with Tan Yan in the same bed last night?”
The originally noisy classroom was suddenly silent, even Qiao Zhixue who was sitting in front of the podium heard it.
Qiao Zhixue, who knew Tan Yan’s true age and that he had been unmarried his entire life, almost dropped his jaw, no way, right?
Seeing that everyone knows, Liang Xian secretly scolded Cui Heyu as bitches in his heart and said calmly on the surface: “Yes, what’s so strange, you cried and slept on Qiu Qizheng’s bed when you were a child.”
Cui Heyu blushed: “You also know that was when I was a child, I was only in elementary school, and I just transferred to a special class. It was the first time I left home to live in a dormitory. It is normal to be afraid! You’re already so big, it can’t be that you’re afraid of the dark, right?”
Just as Liang Xian was about to counter, Tan Yan said: “It’s me, I just transferred to another school, and I’m not used to it. I can’t sleep well at night. I begged Liang Xian to accompany me.”
He had a righteous face, with words written in his eyes, ‘It’s normal for brothers to help each other’, which made Cui Heyu unable to speak again.
If Liang Xian said this, everyone must think that he has some kind of agenda, but Tan Yan is too upright, he looks like the kind of obedient boy who would hand over any penny he picks up on the side of the road to the police uncle. It’s absolutely impossible to stir things up with his classmates.
Now that Tan Yan had spoken, Cui Heyu stopped asking questions, he always felt that Liang Xian deceived Tan Yan.
After class that day, Qiao Zhixue left the two of them behind: “Are you guys in a relationship like that or not?”
“Of course not,” Liang Xian explained, “I’m not in a good mood recently, and I didn’t sleep well. You also know that my mental state yesterday was very unstable. I found that only by Tan Yan’s side can I sleep soundly. It may take a while to adjust, and it should be fine in a few days.”
Seeing that Liang Xian’s dark circles had indeed disappeared a lot, Qiao Zhixue nodded in doubt, agreeing with his statement.
Ah San didn’t believe Liang Xian, but kept observing Tan Yan, seeing his calm and upright face, so he believed it too, Tan Yan’s character is still very guaranteed.
Now that Cui Heyu spread it out, Liang Xian didn’t have to pretend anymore, he climbed directly into Tan Yan’s bed before turning off the lights, saving him from sneaking into Tan Yan’s bed in the middle of the night.
The bed was a bit small, and the two quilts were a bit cramped, so Liang Xian went to bed with only the pillows in his arms and shared the quilt with Tan Yan.
He lay down under the quilt with his upper body naked and propped his chin to look at Tan Yan, who was studying below, as if he were a bed warming maid.
“Liang Xian is becoming more and more shameless.” Cui Heyu shook his head and said to Qin Li beside him.
Unexpectedly, Qin Li raised his head and looked at Liang Xian, hesitantly saying: “Do you think I should share a bed with them?”
Cui Heyu: “…”
Qin Li’s idea is very simple. He also entered the ‘void’ and awakened his abilities. He is also very confused. Does he need to adjust his mentality?
But at the thought of sharing a bed with a man, Qin Li shuddered violently. Forget it, he has a better mentality than Liang Xian, so it shouldn’t be necessary.
The second ‘void’ came on the third night when Liang Xian and Tan Yan slept together. At that time, Tan Yan’s cell phone rang suddenly. He was about to fall asleep, but suddenly opened his eyes, and faced Liang Xian and Qin Li, who also sat up. With a glance, the three jumped out of bed, got dressed within 30 seconds, and walked out of the dormitory amidst the surprised eyes of their roommates.
This time not only Tan Yan alone, but also Liang Xian and Qin Li, what is really happening?
Faced with the astonished eyes of his roommates, Liang Xian said: “Soon, in a few days, you’ll know what we’ve been up to.”
After saying that, the three of them quietly left the dormitory, leaving behind three roommates who were confused and full of doubts.
If you like my translations, support me here. Thank you!
![[Western Fantasy] What Kind of Character Did the Devs Give Me Anyway?](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/冥河摆渡者.jpg "[Western Fantasy] What Kind of Character Did the Devs Give Me Anyway?")
