Douluo Continent: Starting with controlling Ning Rongrong and establishing the Holy Cult

Chapter 136 Sima Xi: 6

My brain instantly recognized the name, and when I opened my eyes again, it was indeed her.

"S...Ma Xi? Cough cough!"

Lu Ma's voice was terribly hoarse; you could tell from his voice alone that he was very ill.

Besides being hoarse, there was also a sense of bewilderment in his voice, as if he had just woken up from a deep dream.

"You...cough cough...how did you get here?"

He looked around and confirmed that this was his familiar bedroom, not the Holy Spirit Cult stronghold in the game, nor the hospital.

But the sight of the girl standing beside his bed was even more unbelievable than any dream he had ever had.

When Sima Xi saw that he had finally opened his eyes and recognized him, his tense body seemed to relax for a moment, but then even greater grievances and fear surged up, and his tears fell even more fiercely.

She didn't answer his question immediately, but instead tried to pull her hand away forcefully, pointing towards the bedside table with her other hand, her voice trembling with sobs:

"Your hand...phone...look at your phone!"

Lu Ma looked in the direction she was pointing and saw his phone lying quietly on the bedside table.

When did you go to the bedside table?

Perhaps I put it there unconsciously before going to sleep.

Lu Ma didn't dwell on it for long.

He released Sima Xi's wrist, endured the severe headache, and barely managed to sit up and reach for his phone.

The screen turns on.

Instantly, the glaring notification message almost flooded the entire screen.

On the lock screen, the notification bar is completely occupied by the same contact's name and the red number "99+".

Missed calls, text messages, WeChat messages... a dense barrage, and all of these messages came from Sima Xi.

"Why are you sending me so many messages? I'm not dead."

Lu Ma paused for a moment before speaking.

"Take another look... check the time."

Sima Xi nudged Lu Ma with his elbow in annoyance.

5:07 PM.

Didn't I just fall asleep a little while ago?

I never imagined so many things would happen in my dream, when only a short while has passed in reality.

Lu Ma thought to himself.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he noticed the date.

It was two days later than the day he remembered going to sleep.

His eyes widened suddenly.

"I slept for two whole days?"

Lu Ma's heart sank, and he exclaimed in surprise.

"I...I sent you so many messages, made so many calls...and you didn't reply to a single one! You didn't answer a single one!"

Seeing the incredulous expression on his face as he stared at his phone screen, Sima Xi could no longer hold back and began to accuse him, her voice trembling with tears.

"It's been two days! I've been so worried, I've never... I've never been like this before!"

She sniffed, wiped her tears haphazardly with the back of her hand, and explained haltingly:

“I…I couldn’t sit still any longer, so…I asked someone to check the security camera footage of your apartment…and found that you haven’t left since you came back the day before yesterday! I was even more scared…I was afraid something might have happened to you…I had no choice but to…I came straight here…”

She pointed towards the bedroom door, her voice lowered, tinged with lingering fear and a hint of apology for breaking in:

"You...you locked the door, and no one answered when I called...I...I just...got someone to help me open it..."

"When I came in... I saw you lying here, and I couldn't wake you up no matter how I called you. Luckily you were still breathing, and thankfully you're awake now. If it had been any later, I would have called an ambulance immediately."

"I see."

Lu Ma nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Suddenly, he froze, staring intently at Sima Xi.

I wanted to ask the other person why they cared so much about me.

But thinking about how waking up today might all be thanks to the other person.

In the end, he did not voice any objections.

He simply said:

"Thank you. Thank you for caring about me so much."

Sima Xi was also taken aback when he heard this, and then turned his head away.

Her sobbing has now disappeared.

"I...I didn't care about you..."

Looking at Sima Xi in front of him, Lu Ma's heart wavered slightly.

But then, another sharp pain shot through his mind.

Sima Xi...

Why did I call out Sima Xi's name to Poseidon in my dream?

While it cannot be ruled out that the body sensed Sima Xi entering the room, is there really no other possibility?

Lu Ma then looked at the girl in front of him.

Sima Xi has long, jet-black hair. She is wearing a beige knit sweater and dark jeans with crumpled cuffs, and a hooded casual jacket draped over her shoulders.

His hair and clothing were hardly similar to Poseidon's.

face……

They do look somewhat alike.

"Hmm...or rather, in my dream I mistook them for one person? Just because the last character of their names both sound like 'Xi'?"

Lu Ma muttered to himself.

The sound wasn't loud, but Sima Xi heard it clearly.

Sima Xi, noticing Lu Ma's slightly dazed expression, asked:

How did you fall asleep? Did you dream? Who did you dream about?

Lu Ma rubbed his still throbbing temples and chuckled self-deprecatingly:

"It's nothing, I just played games too hard and was so exhausted that I fell asleep. I didn't expect to sleep for two days."

He paused, his tone tinged with helplessness and absurdity.

"And then, in my dream, hey, I was actually still playing video games! Can you believe it?"

"Ok?"

Sima Xi tilted his head slightly, signaling him to continue, but his heartbeat involuntarily quickened.

"I'll just continue the mission in my dream, but with a new character, Qian Renxue."

Lu Ma tried hard to recall the chaotic fragments of his dream.

"After completing a rather important task, like delivering Black Flame to the Holy Spirit Cult, Black Flame is a very important item in the game. After delivering it, the task was over, but on a whim, I wanted to see what would happen when a new character encountered an old character, so I tried it! Sure enough, Ning Rongrong had that memory, and I was satisfied, so I logged out of the game."

His voice lowered, tinged with confusion:

"I did log out, but I didn't return to reality, nor did I fall into a deep sleep. I ended up in a pitch-black place, and then... I saw a person."

"Who?"

Sima Xi unconsciously softened his voice.

Lu Ma raised his eyes and carefully looked at Sima Xi's face, as if confirming something:

"Poseidon. She's actually the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult."

He spoke while observing Sima Xi's reaction.

Sima Xi's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, two suspicious blushes instantly appearing on his face, his eyes filled with doubt and a hint of barely perceptible panic:

"Poseidon? An NPC in the game? Why...why did you dream about her? And why did you specifically ask me if I knew her?"

She felt her cheeks getting hot.

Lu Ma was also a little confused by Sima Xi's sudden blush and series of questions:

"Huh? Just... just to confirm that you know this character. After all, we talked about the game before."

He scratched his head, also feeling that his confirmation was a bit inexplicable.

"That's not the point! The point is—"

He took a deep breath, realizing that saying it aloud would only make things more outrageous:

"Was I out of my mind, or was my vision too blurry? I was looking at her Poseidonian face, and... and I actually called out your name to her! Holy crap, do you think I'm obsessed with video games? This dream is too weird!"

Chapter 137 Sima Xi and Poseidon

Lu Ma finished his story, shrugged, and looked at Sima Xi with an expression that said, "This is utterly absurd."

"Isn't that outrageous? Calling my best friend's name at the cult leader in the game? I suspect I've really lost my mind."

Sima Xi's pupils contracted sharply upon hearing "he called your name to her".

Discovered?

No, it's unlikely.