Hot flashes

After that day, he went every day. He would climb over the railing, sink down, and swim back up when he was almost suffocating. Again and again.

Sun Mingyuan, having heard about it from somewhere, came to the dock to wait for him. He saw him sitting on the deck, soaking wet, his lips purple, his teeth chattering, and his eyes red as if they were about to bleed.

Sun Mingyuan was stunned for a long time before finally asking, "What exactly are you doing?"

Zhou Heng did not answer.

November. It's getting cold, and the seawater is even colder.

Zhou Heng still went every day.

He immersed himself in the icy seawater, sinking and swimming back up again and again.

He was so thin he was unrecognizable; his cheekbones protruded high, his collarbones looked like two knife scars, and his wrists were so thin one hand could easily grasp them. Sun Mingyuan visited him several times, each time urging him to go to the hospital. He refused.

"You'll die if you do that," Sun Mingyuan said.

Zhou Heng didn't speak. He thought that perhaps death would allow him to go back.

One night, the moon was very large.

Zhou Heng sat alone on the deck, watching the moonlight spread across the sea, shattering into pieces of silver. The wind was strong, making him feel cold all over.

He finally realized with clarity that he could never go back.

He stood up, walked to the side of the ship, and climbed over the railing.

He didn't slide any higher.

He opened his eyes, but he couldn't see anything in the water, only darkness, bottomless darkness.

He reached out his hand, but all he touched was water.

The oxygen in my lungs is slowly running out. My chest starts to ache, like something is pressing down on it, getting heavier and heavier.

He closed his eyes.

Xiao Jue.

Just as consciousness was about to completely dissipate—

"Host ID: 0731".

Zhou Heng suddenly opened his eyes.

His head broke the surface of the water, and he gasped for breath, vomiting seawater that choked him and brought tears to his eyes. He clung to the gunwale, trembling all over, his lips quivering and his teeth chattering.

"You...you're still here." His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against iron.

The system remained silent for a moment.

"Detected that the male protagonist of this plane, Xiao Jue, has repeatedly interfered with the timeline repair, causing the plane's stability to continue to decline. The current probability of the plane collapsing is 97.3%."

Zhou Heng gripped the railing tightly. "What did you say?"

The system did not respond to his question. "After the host leaves, the system initiates the timeline repair program. The timeline of this plane will be reset seven times."

Each time the system resets, the protagonist, Xiao Jue, deviates from the predetermined trajectory and engages in self-destructive behavior. System analysis suggests that this anomaly is highly correlated with the host.

The emotional connection the host developed with the male protagonist, Xiao Jue, during their stay in this plane has exceeded the system's control. Even after the memory is erased, this connection continues to influence the male protagonist's behavior patterns.

Zhou Heng's tears welled up.

"This plane is about to collapse. If the male protagonist, Xiao Jue, deviates from the predetermined trajectory and dies again, this plane will completely disintegrate. At that time, the world where the host is located will also be affected."

"If the host wishes to return to this plane, the system can execute a final teleportation procedure. However, this teleportation is irreversible. The host will remain permanently in this plane, and if this plane collapses, the host will also perish."

Zhou Heng lay on the gunwale, soaking wet, his lips purple, his tears mixed with the seawater, indistinguishable from each other.

"Then what are you waiting for?" His voice trembled, but every word was clear. "Take me back."

The system remained silent for a long time.

"To ensure the stability of this plane, the system will perform a final transmission. However, due to the severe instability of this plane, there are uncontrollable factors in the transmission."

The teleportation time cannot be pinpointed to the exact time you left, and the location cannot be pinpointed to your last landing spot; it can only be guaranteed to be near the male protagonist's area. You might be ten miles away from him, or you might be a hundred miles away.

Zhou Heng remained silent.

"Furthermore, to ensure that no new bugs arise in this dimension due to residual memories, all memories from your previous journey will be erased. In your perception, this will be your first journey."

Zhou Heng's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

"After the teleportation is complete, you will be unconscious for several days. The system will change you into clothes suitable for this dimension to avoid being treated as an outsider."

The jade pendant you once gave to the male protagonist has been automatically returned to you due to multiple abnormal energy fluctuations during the timeline repair.

The system, having exhausted its energy reserves from multiple dimensional repairs, is extremely weak and unable to operate independently. It needs to be stored in the jade pendant to recuperate.

Zhou Heng stood there, silent for a long time.

Then he asked, "Will I ever see him again?"

The system paused for a moment. "The teleportation point is random. The system can only guarantee that you will be near the male protagonist's area; it cannot guarantee that you will actually meet him."

Zhou Heng nodded. He looked down at his hands; his knuckles were protruding, as if they were about to pierce his skin.

He touched his hair; it was very long, he hadn't cut it since he was discharged from the hospital, and it had grown to below his shoulders.

He suddenly laughed.

"Never mind," he said softly, "we can always start over."

He looked up at the moon.

"Get to know him again."

The system remained silent for a moment. Then the cold voice sounded again, tinged with a hint of hesitation. "Host 0731, teleportation will be executed immediately. Are you sure?"

Zhou Heng loosened the railing and took a step forward.

The deck was cool, and the moonlight cast a long shadow over him. The wind, carrying a salty, fishy smell, blew in from the sea, ruffling his hair.

He stood by the boat, looking down at the dark, murky water.

"Take me back."

The world before my eyes began to shatter.

The lights on the dock shattered into patches of light, and the city's outline resembled ink blurred by water, dispersing into indistinct blocks of color. The moon shattered into countless pieces of silver foil, fluttering down in a flurry.

The deck beneath my feet disappeared, the coolness of the seawater disappeared, and the sound of the wind disappeared.

Everything is fading away, pushed back by an invisible tide, into blurry shadows, into faded old paintings, into fragments that only appear in dreams.

Zhou Heng closed his eyes.

Darkness washed over him like a tide, and he plummeted into it, like a feather drifting in the wind. There was no sound, only the stillness of being submerged at the bottom of the sea.