Split Zone No.13
Chapter 9

DESIRES IN DARKNESS

Tit For Tat

We were currently on one side of Eastside, so it would take about 15 hours to make it to the opposite border . But Nie Zun’s words made a lot of sense, so I ran alongside him to Eastside’s other borderline .

No matter which district, the rooftops were the best place for traveling . There wasn’t a single other person in sight .

When we arrived at the boundary forest, there were still ten hours before day .

I jumped up onto a tree and rested against a branch, planning on sleeping for a bit .

Not hearing anything from Nie Zun, I couldn’t help glancing down at the ground .

And when I looked, I nearly peed my pants from laughing .

Nie Zun was currently at a tree across from me, exhaustingly trying to climb up a tree .

While his tall, black-clothed body didn’t appear clumsy while climbing, he did sort of look like a silly monkey all the same .

“Monkey Nie, are you finding enough bananas?”

Nie Zun continued to climb diligently, his voice sounding lazily . “This is to conserve my mental force, okay?”

“Oh please . When the light of day hits tomorrow, our mental force will be replenished . ”

“This is Eastside . Who knows if someone might try a sneak attack? It’s never a bad idea to be cautious . ”

I laughed at his going to such efforts . Then I put my arms behind my head and looked up at the night sky .

It was always just an expanse of darkness, no stars or lights . There was nothing to illuminate the night here, unless you counted fluorescent lamps . We’re still able to see things because even in the night, we have a visual radius .

In this forest, my visual radius was roughly ten meters around me, and I found it sufficient . If it were pitch black in the real world, forget ten meters, I wouldn’t even be able to see my five fingers .

Despite us having more abilities in this world compared to humans in the real world, I still greatly missed living the life of an ordinary person .

People were always like this, looking forward to being different and setting themselves apart . But when we really find ourselves in a different situation, the loneliness we encounter when others cannot accept us makes it feel like asking for normalcy is an extravagant demand .

It’s a feeling of sadness, and I’ve always preferred to avoid this sadness . So, I decided to distract myself by starting a conversation with Nie Zun .

“So, what kind of personality disorder did you have?” I asked quietly .

While Nie Zun was alive, he’d suffered from schizoid personality disorder (SPD), which is said to be a pretty rare disorder . It’s because of his unusual illness that he became involved with my second identity . After my second identity was superimposed with him, he had to remain within 500 meters of me .

I’ll always remember what Mr Blond told me back then .

“His name is Nie Zun . He and you just happen to be complements . It’s rare for someone with multiple identities to arrive in Split Zone No . 13 . Because they have two conscious existences, it’s less likely that both of those will be caught and brought here . But you just happened to be that lucky one in ten thousand . Because your second identity resonated with Nie Zun at some point, your personality overlapped and filled in Nie Zun’s missing part . In other words, someone with too much dropped a piece, and that piece was picked up by someone with too little, and then two complete persons were brought here . Since there was a time difference between your existences, one of you arrived an hour earlier, and one later . But an hour in the Split Zone is hardly considered any time at all . ”

And I remember the scene when Mr Blond told me those words .

I remember that I grew very anxious . I pointed at Nie Zun as I asked Mr Blond, “What you’re saying is that my second identity lives within him now?”

“That’s not entirely correct, but you can think of it that way . Nie Zun is still Nie Zun, not your second identity . However, because the two of you arrived here as complements of a whole, you two cannot be separated . ”

For a long time after that, I detested Nie Zun . Even now, I still hated him, because I suspected that the one who killed the person I loved was now a part of him .

It’s because of this unusual relationship that the two of us must always remain within 500 meters of the other . Once the distance between us reached 500 meters, neither of us would be able to move if the other didn’t follow and cooperate .

But this tethering bond between us didn’t make me like him any more . I still hated him, even though I knew that I didn’t have any other reasons to . In the end, the person who killed my beloved wasn’t him, but me .

Maybe it was just my selfishness . I couldn’t hate myself, or rather, the hate I had for myself could never surpass the guilt and pain I felt . So, I could only hate him .

Nie Zun’s quiet voice cut into my thoughts . “You’re that interested in my past? You should at least wait until we live past tonight to ask . ”

Nie Zun’s quiet voice cut into my thoughts . “You’re that interested in my past? You should at least wait until we live past tonight to ask . ”

Hearing him say that, I suddenly became alert . I quickly sat up on the branch and reached the bow on my left shoulder .

When I finally took a look around, I suddenly felt a prickling on my face, like something was sweeping past it . I turned my head up .

“Ahhh—!!!” Seeing the scene above me, I couldn’t help screaming out . But my body remained still, only swaying ever so slightly .

I saw a woman’s face above my head, and her hair was sweeping across my face .

Screaming was a subconscious reactional habit that I retained from being alive . But after my scream, I calmed down and looked at the face before me .

I took in the scene . There was a woman sitting on a higher branch, and hers was a face that I recognized .

Of course I couldn’t not recognize her . That pale, white face with a pair of large, dark, and empty eyes . Unless you had amnesia, you wouldn’t forget that face after you saw it once .

I stabilized myself, and then leaned back against the branch, until I returned to my original position . My left hand was holding my bow, as my right hand steadied myself on the side . I put some distance between our faces, but she didn’t seem to move, her face still expressionless .

With a charming laugh, I said, “Sly S, I am Li Zhen . ”

Hearing me speak, her soulless eyes suddenly quivered slightly, but just slightly .

“What are you doing in Eastside?” This was the first time I’d heard her speak . In the past, I’d only seen her from afar, never face to face . Her voice didn’t sound at all like I’d expected . It was strange and thick, a bit hoarse, but not unpleasant . And it seemed to have a womanly appeal to it .

I didn’t know how to respond, so I said, “I came to hang out with you . Exchange our feelings and the like . ”

Just as I spoke, I heard Nie Zun’s mocking laugh . I couldn’t help but turn to glare at him, sitting on another tree .

But after I looked that way, I saw three white-clothed people floating in the air behind him .

Each of them had on a conical hat that blocked their faces, as they floated there in white robes . (t/n: Wiki on Asian conical hats)

According to Nie Zun, floating in the air required 30 MF . In that case, these people must have had at least 40 MF, though, likely more than that .

I started to panic a bit, and I couldn’t help turning to Nie Zun . But he wasn’t looking at me . Instead, his gaze was fixed on the female above my head .

I started to panic a bit, and I couldn’t help turning to Nie Zun . But he wasn’t looking at me . Instead, his gaze was fixed on the female above my head .

I vigorously tried winking at him, to signal the danger behind him .

No matter the effort I put in though, Nie Zun was still staring at the demoness above me . I turned my head up, and after seeing that Sly S was still looking at me intently, I turned back to Nie Zun and continued winking .

I’d rather keep winking than look at this frightful woman!

Nie Zun didn’t look to me, but he did respond in his lazy tone, “Your eyes are going to start flying . Stop blinking . I’m aware of the three dear friends behind me . ”

After Nie Zun said that, I suddenly became embarrassed .

Sly S’s rough voice sounded again . “Without my instruction, they won’t make a move . Don’t be scared . ”

Who’s scared?! I couldn’t help rolling my eyes in my head . Of course I knew that those three people were the so-called protectors that were never far from Sly S . No one had ever seen their real faces, because they were always wearing those hats . Legend has it that they all look exactly the same because they’re triplets . But who knew if that was true .

I wasn’t sure how strong the three of them were either . In the stories I’d heard, when Sly S was in great danger, her three A-rank guards were also present, so these three guys hadn’t needed to make a move .

But from the current situation, it seemed that they weren’t weak .

My mind suddenly started to calculate the odds of my escaping if a fight were to really start up . (Passerby A: Shouldn’t you be calculating your odds of victory? Me: Quit playing . How could I possibly be victorious in this kind of situation . )

But soon, my mind moved to another question . What was she doing out in the middle of the night? And didn’t this mean that she hadn’t gone to Southside as Nie Zun had predicted?

Just as I was considering the different possibilities, Sly S jumped off the tree . Seeing her jump down, I also quickly leapt down from the tree .

And following that, Nie Zun also leapt down . And then, of course, the three shadows behind him also floated down, though they still circled Nie Zun .

Black lines appeared on my forehead . Didn’t the fact that they were circling Nie Zun mean that they felt his threat to Sly S was greater than mine? Were they looking down on me? (Passerby B: Of course he’s a bigger threat . His MF is more than 10 levels higher than yours! Me: slaps Passerby B)

I stood across from Sly S, and she looked as if she wanted to say something . But suddenly two gusts of wind appeared and two people appeared before Sly S .

Muscle Man and the mummy .

My heart wailed in anguish . 6 v 2, no way we could win .

Muscle Man and the mummy .

My heart wailed in anguish . 6 v 2, no way we could win .

But after glancing at me, neither Muscle Man nor the mummy seemed at all concerned with me . Instead, they hastily reported to Sly S, “Commander, four of the seven B-rank officers have been assassinated . They’re dead inside of their rooms . ”

This news was greatly alarming . Four of seven B-rank officers were killed? From what I knew, B-rank officers in S Clan had MFs around 35-40 . Who could kill off four of them? And since Muscle Man and the mummy were making this report, they must have been at least B-rank officers as well .

“What about the other three?” Sly S didn’t sound panicked, and in fact, didn’t have much of a reaction at all . She remained emotionless .

“The other three B-rank officers went to Southside and have yet to return . But we were able to call them, and they’re safe for now . ”

Okay . So Muscle Man and the mummy must be two of the A-rank officers .

Suddenly, the mummy’s eyes swept over me . “Commander, the Westside commander came to see you today, so I’m afraid that she can’t be cleared from suspicion . ”

I immediately retorted, “Don’t make blind allegations . You’re suspecting that I’m related to those deaths?”

“Your visitation today was the only thing out of the ordinary . Who else would be able to kill four B-rank officers?” The mummy glared at me with hostility .

“Let’s not make such hasty conclusions,” Sly S said .

And then, she slowly turned her head towards the three white-clothed persons behind Nie Zun . “Find out who did this . And whoever it was, make sure they disappear from the Split Zone . ”

With her words, my hairs all stood on end .

After hearing her order, the three white-robed figures vanished from my sight with a whoosh .

Even though Sly S didn’t seem to express any reaction to the death of four high-ranking officers, she must have felt angry and hurt . While I may not understand her, I did know something, and that was that she’d never before ordered the white robes to leave her side .

Suddenly, a strange feeling slipped into my heart . I felt a sense of sadness from out of nowhere, and so I lifted my head to look at Sly S .

She was looking back at me .