IRAJAS Chapter 82

Knock, knock.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and Lu Shi’s voice sounded urgent, “Lin Lan, come out quickly, the captain has fainted!”

Lin Lan abruptly stood up, “What?”

Things happened too suddenly.

At that time, when Lu Shi returned to the training room to get something, he saw Xiao Shengjing standing in front of the computer, holding his forehead and swaying unsteadily, looking very uncomfortable. Lu Shi approached him with concern and asked what was wrong.

Xiao Shengjing glanced at him, shaking his head stiffly.

For some reason, he felt the captain’s gaze was very unfamiliar as if beneath the calm eyes hid turbulent emotions.

Just as Lu Shi was about to ask further, Xiao Shengjing suddenly swayed twice and then collapsed to the ground.

As Lin Lan dressed, he followed Lu Shi hurriedly to the training room.

“He doesn’t seem to have low blood sugar, I wonder if he’s been overwhelmed by recent events,” Lu Shi felt something was off but couldn’t quite pinpoint it. “The captain has always been so driven. It’s the first time I’ve seen him collapse from exhaustion. It just feels… strange somehow.”

Lin Lan entered the training room and saw several staff members surrounding Xiao Shengjing, all of them expressing concern.

Xiao Shengjing’s face was a bit pale, his grip on the water cup tight as if trapped in some kind of mental quagmire, unable to find answers.

For some reason, Lin Lan’s heart skipped a beat.

Quickly approaching him, Lin Lan firmly grasped his shoulder, “Captain, are you okay?”

Xiao Shengjing lifted his head, his expression relaxing upon seeing Lin Lan, “I’m fine, just a bit tired.”

He hesitated, then continued, “Lin Lan, could you help me back to my room? I need to rest.”

Assisting him back to his room, Xiao Shengjing slumped into his gaming chair, continuously rubbing his eyes, appearing quite uncomfortable.

“Haven’t you removed your contact lenses? Let me help you.” Lin Lan leaned in, skillfully pulling at Xiao Shengjing’s eyelids.

From Xiao Shengjing’s perspective, he could clearly see Lin Lan’s focused gaze. His movements are precise and effortless, just like on the battlefield, easily removing the lenses.

As the contact lenses were removed, his vision became slightly blurry.

Blinking his sore eyes gently, the mist in front of him made him quite uncomfortable, taking him a while to adjust.

“You should wear regular glasses during training to avoid discomfort.” Lin Lan’s voice came from above, He skillfully placed the contact lenses back into their case, placing it beside him. It seemed like he had done this many times before. Turning to look at him with concern, he asked, “Are you sure you’re okay after fainting just now? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Not only was his demeanor affectionate, but even his voice carried a faint sense of intimacy, perhaps even he didn’t realize it.

Xiao Shengjing’s gaze darkened for a moment as he looked at the person casually sitting on the desk in front of him. He seemed relaxed, close yet distant.

“Captain? Are you listening to me?”

Snapping back to attention, Xiao Shengjing shook his head, habitually clenching his fists. After a moment of silence, he looked up at him, “Lin Lan, do you feel happy here?”

Such a sentimental question… Why would it come from the captain?

Lin Lan looked at him perplexed, “Captain, did you take the wrong medication today? Why are you acting strange?”

Xiao Shengjing’s gaze darkened again as if he was trying hard to suppress something. Then he stood up and approached him slowly, reaching out to embrace him tightly…

His embrace felt suffocating, giving Lin Lan a terrifying sensation. He was about to say something when Xiao Shengjing suddenly swayed and collapsed straight to the ground.

With a thud, Lin Lan was caught off guard as Xiao Shengjing fell on top of him, pinning him down. He grabbed the nearby gaming chair to maintain balance, but the chair was overturned, crashing heavily to the ground.

Xiao Shengjing’s towering figure pressed down on Lin Lan, making it difficult for him to move. Despite his attempts to push him away, he remained pinned. Slowly regaining consciousness, Xiao Shengjing managed to prop himself up using Lin Lan’s body as support.

“Wow,” Lin Lan gasped for air, relieved to be free, “Captain, should you go to the hospital? You passed out so suddenly. It was really scary.”

Xiao Shengjing, uncomfortable, held his head. His face turned pale. “What happened to me just now?”

“You passed out in the training room and was discovered by Lu Shi,” Lin Lan replied.

Xiao Shengjing had no recollection at all. There was indeed a long period of blackout just now, and he felt like he was in a strange state.

Suddenly, Lin Lan grabbed his arm and stared at him seriously. “Captain, I’m not joking. I really think you should go to the hospital. Don’t let yourself get sick from exhaustion.”

Xiao Shengjing didn’t argue. He remained silent for a moment, then looked up at him. “Lin Lan, do you think there might exist another world in this world?”

This question caught Lin Lan off guard, almost making him forget that he came from another world, suddenly reminded by Xiao Shengjing.

Lin Lan stared at him, unsure of what he knew exactly. “Why do you ask?”

Xiao Shengjing shook his head. He didn’t know either. It was just during that blackout phase of consciousness that he felt like he had “touched another world.”

The unexpected answer left Lin Lan stunned.

Xiao Shengjing buried his head in his hands, his head throbbing painfully, as he recounted everything he had seen: “Last time, too, I felt like I went to another world. The timeline, relationships between people, and events unfolding in that world were completely different from this one. I’m not sure if it’s real, but it didn’t feel fake to me, because the logic inside was very coherent.”

If it were a dream, there wouldn’t be such clear logic; there would surely be numerous loopholes.

But in that dream, he didn’t feel any logical inconsistencies. Even when the two dream sequences connected, the logic remained intact.

Lin Lan was somewhat speechless after hearing this. He didn’t know how Xiao Shengjing had come into contact with it. The connection between the two worlds suddenly became mysterious, leaving him unsure how to respond.

The two of them remained at an impasse.

“Oh right,” Xiao Shengjing suddenly remembered something. “How did I get back to my room? Wasn’t I in the training room printing documents just now?”

Lin Lan suddenly looked up, staring at him in shock.

A certain speculation instantly formed in Lin Lan’s mind, causing his pupils to tremble for a moment before quickly concealing it.

There were some clues in their eyes, showing slight differences.

Moreover, the Xiao Shengjing in front of him hadn’t been rubbing his eyes constantly. He was quite accustomed to this body; it was just that he woke up with a headache and his thoughts were still in a state of confusion…

Lin Lan concealed his shock. “They carried you up,” he said.

Xiao Shengjing didn’t doubt his words. He nodded and calmly pondered for a long time before reluctantly asking, “Do you think I should really go see a doctor?”

As he looked at Lin Lan, there was a hint of complexity in his eyes.

For a moment, Lin Lan felt that Xiao Shengjing actually knew the truth, but he was waiting for Lin Lan to say it, waiting for Lin Lan to tell him directly.

Lin Lan subconsciously nodded, then suddenly stood up again. “Captain, you must be exhausted. Get some rest. I’ll go back first.”

He swiftly returned to his room, the air he stirred up carrying a chill. He forcefully locked the door behind him, then turned around, his eyes cold.

He probably knew what had happened.

When the captain was unconscious, a soul exchange occurred between the Xiao Shengjing from two different worlds.

The one whom Lin Lan helped up just now wasn’t the captain, but another Xiao Shengjing from a different world, a Xiao Shengjing who had crossed over.

In that world, he had undergone LASIK surgery, so his vision had returned to the standard of a normal person. That’s why he felt so uncomfortable with the presence of contact lenses in this world.

Lin Lan quickly took off his coat and threw it on the bed. He forcefully swept all the miscellaneous items on the table to the ground, then emptied all the calming incense locked in the cabinet.

The calming incense had the effect of inducing deep sleep, allowing him to temporarily exchange consciousness and return to the body in his original world.

When the calming incense burned out, he would once again be pulled back into the current world by the obsession left by the original owner.

This was all the theory that Lin Lan could currently grasp.

But he didn’t know how the Xiao Shengjing from the other world had managed to do it.

How could he forcibly exchange bodies with Xiao Shengjing even when he was awake? What was the logic behind it? And what were the consequences?

The most important question was: what was his purpose in doing this? Was it for himself or the captain of this world?

What exactly did he want to achieve?

Lin Lan arranged all the incense sticks on the table, connecting them together. Lighting one end would slowly burn them all, a quantity sufficient for him to return to his original world.

The rich fragrance gradually filled the entire room, calming his breath. Lin Lan had also kept a precaution in mind; he opened a crack in the window.

Once the incense burned out, the fragrance in the room would also dissipate through this crack, allowing him to return to this world.

After completing all of this, Lin Lan breathed heavily. The strain on his brain brought physical discomfort, and the effects of the calming incense became more apparent.

With his last bit of consciousness, he sat at the table and began to slowly write down everything he knew in the notebook, recording all his experiences and decipherings.

As he wrote, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Lin Lan didn’t know at which stage he entered, but when his consciousness returned, he found himself in that vast white world.

In front of him were two mirrors, two paths. The one in front could lead him back to his original world, while the one behind would take him back to the current world.

Lin Lan didn’t hesitate and stepped forward, entering his original world.

A burst of light erupted, distorting and warping everything around him.

His body grew heavier and heavier. It felt like his brain had suffered severe damage, causing a splitting headache.

Drip, drip.

Clear instrument sounds echoed in his ears, clearer than ever before. Lin Lan could even sense his own breathing, heavy and rapid under the assistance of the ventilator.

However, it was the first time Lin Lan perceived the perspective of a vegetative state. Despite knowing everything and hearing everything, he couldn’t move. His body could only produce the most basic physiological responses.

Such as breathing, heartbeat, and sweating.

Nothing else was possible.

The beeping of the instruments suddenly became urgent.

After calming down from the intense headache, Lin Lan began to attempt to control his body. It took tremendous effort just to move a finger.

His body, long unused, made every movement extremely difficult. Lin Lan was like a newborn baby, unable even to perform simple grasping motions.

Time passed slowly, and his control over his body weakened further.

He could sense that he didn’t have much time left.

Weak and sweating profusely, Lin Lan clenched the needle with his teeth and forcefully pulled it out. Blood gushed out from the veins.

With the blood-stained needle, trembling, he wrote a crooked warning on the pale bedsheet: “Don’t touch him.”

Outside the room, voices grew louder. Lin Lan released the needle, momentarily relinquishing control over the body. In that brief moment of relaxation, his consciousness was instantly pulled away from that world.

“Lin Lan, Lin Lan…”

“Lin Lan, wake up. Don’t scare me…”

The glaring white light pierced Lin Lan’s pupils, making him feel uncomfortable. He sensed many people talking, but his consciousness was drifting.

He lost control of his body, feeling himself being carried on someone’s back. The person’s shoulders were broad, providing a sense of security.

Though his consciousness wasn’t fully coherent, he could feel the presence of many people around him. Someone draped a coat over him, another helped him with his shoes, and others were continuously slapping his face and pinching his acupoint.

“Lin Lan, wake up quickly. Don’t scare us…”

“Lin Lan, what’s wrong with you? I saw you open your eyes. Stop kidding around, open your eyes…”

“Step aside, I’ll take him to the hospital.”

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