Lost in the Otherworld

Gao Yang knew that Qing Ling wasn't joking—she never joked.

The current situation was something he had anticipated. When he decided to save Wang Zikai, it wasn’t entirely out of kindness. There were other considerations, though they hadn’t been fully clear at the time.

After reflecting on it the entire day, he had finally sorted things out. Now, it was time for his performance, and he resolved to employ the ultimate technique from every shonen manga—*the art of persuasion*.

“Qing Ling, I know you’ve survived this long because of your exceptional caution and decisiveness.”

“Flattery won’t work,” Qing Ling responded icily.

“Then let me ask you this: what is your purpose for staying alive?”

“Do you need a reason to survive? Or are you saying you'd prefer death?” Qing Ling was puzzled.

“Of course I don’t want to die, but everyone dies eventually. Even if you live to a hundred, death is inevitable.” Gao Yang let out an awkward laugh. “But living can't just be about eating, drinking, and breathing. There has to be something you want to accomplish.”

Qing Ling remained silent.

“You don’t have to answer right away. Take your time to think it over,” Gao Yang continued. “For now, let me give you one reason why you shouldn't kill Wang Zikai.”

“Speak.”

“I’ve only recently awakened, but I’ve already realized that being an awakened one is perilous. The reason you’ve survived so long isn’t just because you’re strong and cautious.”

“It’s also because I have a second personality,” Qing Ling acknowledged.

“Exactly. Once someone becomes awakened, they instinctively repel and distance themselves from all beasts. The non-lost beasts can sense this, and over time, awakened ones expose themselves. But you’re different. You have a second persona. Though even she is cold and harbors misandry, she can still get along with the beasts.

“Others, like me or Fat Jun, aren’t so lucky. No matter how well we act, we’re always on guard with the beasts. And when awakened ones detect others like them, we have a natural urge to band together. It seems like it would make us safer, but actually…”

Qing Ling stepped out of the shadows, finishing his thought, “It makes us more vulnerable.”

“Yes. These beasts aren't fools. According to Fat Jun's observations, they play the part of humans around the clock. They won’t initiate tests, temptations, threats, or attacks against ordinary humans. But that doesn't mean they aren’t watching us when we interact.

“Li Weiwei is proof of this. Before my awakening, we were childhood friends, sharing everything. But the moment I awakened, she showed her true nature and tried to kill me.”

Qing Ling nodded. “If more than a few humans are tightly connected, the beasts have reason to suspect whether these humans have awakened. Given the rarity of awakened ones, such behavior isn’t normal.”

Gao Yang sighed. “Exactly. But if we don’t form alliances, we can’t gather more information, discover the rules, or uncover the truth... Even if we somehow manage to live to a hundred, we’ll still be—” Gao Yang paused dramatically, quoting Officer Huang, “orphans abandoned by the gods.”

Qing Ling’s eyes flickered, deep in thought.

“Back to my original question,” Gao Yang pressed forward. “Qing Ling, what is your purpose for living? Don’t you want to understand why the world has become like this? Don’t you want to uncover the truth behind it all? Or, at the very least, don’t you want to find a truly safe place, or even defeat these beasts? These are the real objectives we need to pursue.”

Qing Ling remained silent.

Sensing an opportunity, Gao Yang’s voice grew more impassioned. “Here’s the dilemma: we awakened ones can only grow stronger and achieve ultimate victory by forming alliances. But by doing so, we increase the risk of exposure, and that ensures we’ll be destroyed before gaining enough strength.”

“What exactly are you suggesting?” Qing Ling asked.

“There’s a way to significantly reduce our risk of exposure.”

“The lost ones,” Qing Ling realized.

“Exactly. The lost ones make the perfect smokescreen,” Gao Yang explained. “Since the beasts are constantly pretending to be human, one beast might recognize another, but it can’t always tell what kind of beast it is. As long as we keep Wang Zikai around, the other beasts won’t become suspicious.”

“Moreover, from my life’s trajectory, Wang Zikai and I are close friends. You only got involved with me because of Li Weiwei’s death. The three of us being together will seem perfectly natural. But if you kill Wang Zikai now, it would definitely raise suspicions.”

Qing Ling nodded in agreement. “Li Weiwei was your childhood friend and my close companion. Wang Zikai is your best friend. If both of them die, and the two of us continue to interact frequently, it will only draw more attention.”

Gao Yang smiled. “Maintaining close ties with the beasts is crucial—it serves as a cover. Officer Huang likely spared Old Liu for the same reason.”