Chapter 28: A Strange Space (Part I)

It was absurd—yet, deep down, Jiang Hui had begun to believe it.

She looked from the screen to the test tube, then tentatively imagined that there should be a label on the glass—a white background with a red border, containing two lines of unintelligible interstellar terminology.

Sure enough, the test tube shifted. A white-bordered sticker appeared right before her eyes. It looked quite authentic, though perhaps slightly wider than in her memory, and the text was blurred and indistinct.

As she focused on this, the edges of the sticker and the characters in the center began to waver, as if they wanted to change but did not know how.

She glanced back at the screen, and true to her expectation, a third line of code had appeared: *Modifying template, modifying appearance, two-layer sticker... form... font blurred and unrecognizable... verifying data... proofreading changes... main brain consciousness interference... unable to recognize, unable to recognize... modeling complete.*

Jiang Hui snapped her gaze back to the test tube. The label had adjusted; it was now slightly narrower, and the illegible mass of text had sharpened into a clear, legible line: "Mental Stabilizer." However, the script was in the language of Blue Star.

That made sense. The interstellar terminology she had seen earlier was too complex, and she hadn't memorized it well at a glance. To replicate it perfectly would have been a struggle, and it felt pointless to labor over it, so she had subconsciously swapped it for a Huachao script label. It had manifested exactly as she had imagined.

An interstellar product paired with Huachao characters—it was quite a bizarre combination.

Yet, this impossible synthesis made her heart race as her thoughts began to crystallize. Could it be that in this place, her desires could manifest into reality, with this computer serving as the medium? A space where one’s wishes could come true.

Jiang Hui’s mind cleared, and she began to seriously ponder where she actually was. Where was this? Was it truly the afterlife she had envisioned? Or had she not died a second time? If she were still in the interstellar world... then where was this? Could this be her own consciousness space?

Her thoughts began to swirl in confusion.

***

After that strange round of experimentation, despite her curiosity, a profound sense of exhaustion washed over her—both physical and mental. Suddenly, she felt a total lack of motivation, as if her body had been drained of all energy. She set the test tube down and slumped into the office chair, tilting her head back to ease the sudden, overwhelming fatigue.

She was simply too tired.

Time ticked by. The room fell silent, save for the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock, a constant reminder of the passage of time. The only sound left in the room was her steady breathing—she had fallen asleep.

When she woke up...

The girl jerked as if startled in a dream, her weight shifting backward. The office chair’s backrest had some give, and she nearly tipped over completely. Still dazed from sleep, she managed to right herself by instinct, though her mind took a moment to clear.

*Ugh, why am I still here?* Jiang Hui felt her previous theories crumbling. If this were a dream within the interstellar world, she shouldn't still be here upon waking. She had never heard of a dream so vivid, nor of a dream where one could have nightmares within nightmares—she had vaguely experienced a short, terrifying nightmare just before waking.

Unable to sleep any longer, Jiang Hui resignedly sat up and began to pace around the room again.

As usual, she walked to the door and tried to open it. No surprise—it remained locked. She didn't dwell on it; it was exactly as she had expected. Abandoning the door, she quickly turned back to the interior of the apartment.

Her home was a typical three-bedroom flat. Her parents had insisted on buying a large one, spending almost all their savings and even taking on debt to afford it. The living room in the center was spacious and included a balcony, though the balcony was now blocked off by the mutated computer, rendering it inaccessible. Three rooms were situated on either side of the hall, with a corner dedicated to the kitchen and dining area.

***

Jiang Hui had originally lived in the medium-sized room, while the other two were the master bedroom and the study. After she started working, she had moved into the master bedroom, kept the study, and left the third room vacant.

She went to the master bedroom first. Everything was largely unchanged, though it seemed cleaner and less cluttered than she remembered. The bedding was the dark-colored set she had bought and changed just a few days ago. The skincare products and cosmetics on the vanity were arranged exactly as they had been, and the photo of her family of three on the nightstand looked as bright as ever... everything seemed exactly the same.

She walked to the only window in the room and pulled back the curtains. Outside, it was pitch black—an absolute, hollow darkness where nothing could be seen. Furthermore, the window could not be opened from the inside.

Jiang Hui sighed silently. The last glimmer of hope was shattered. This was not her home on Blue Star; even if it possessed the form, it clearly was not the reality.

After a quick inspection of the master bedroom, she returned to the living room. It was exactly as she remembered: the kitchen, the dining table, the coffee table, the television... aside from the mutated computer on the floor-to-ceiling window, there was little difference. She tried to turn on the television, but, of course, it didn't work.

The kitchen was the same. The cupboards held instant food and snacks, the refrigerator was stocked with fresh vegetables, and even the ice cream in the freezer looked delicious. Everything felt as if it truly existed.

Having finished her search there, she moved to the other side of the apartment. That side was even emptier; one room was essentially a storage space, and the other was her study, filled with the various books she loved.

But the moment she opened the door, she noticed something was wrong. She had been an avid reader since childhood. Even though she hadn't pursued a career in literature, she maintained a private sanctuary within her heart, and reading remained an essential part of her daily life. This room housed the books she had collected and cherished at every stage of her life; she couldn't bear to throw any away. She often added new volumes and browsed the shelves, making this room her most frequented space after the bedroom.

Yet, as she stepped inside, she realized the study had changed.