701: I Am Real!

I Am Real!

Zeke resigned himself to convincing the anxious pair that yes, he was sane when he made this proposal and no, this was not done in the heat of the moment because of the royal assassination. He had already been thinking about staying in the kitten's body temporarily, and the stupid assassin's volatile condition further solidified his decision. No matter how hard Dr. Feng and Dr. Xiao tried to talk him out of it, Zeke was adamant on going.0

When they finished drawing the contract, discussing the risks and danger that might occur – Zeke was a pure listener here – and signing it, almost three hours had passed. Zeke was impatient to get into the simulator again, but because this time he would be unconscious for an indefinite time in the future, there were a lot of things Dr. Xiao had to take care of, it ended up taking a while.

When Zeke finally lay inside the medical cabin, the first sign of dawn already burst through the horizon, signaling a brand new day. Other people might rejoice for the nice weather after the violent blizzard, but on the contrary, Zeke was only fraught with anxiety and restlessness. He could not even begin to guess how that man would react upon finding his dead body, and even more than that, he did not know why he was feeling like this either. For now, he shelved the urge to analyze the turbulence in his mental state – he had to face the stupid assassin first.

As soon as Zeke entered the kitten's body, he felt the low temperature draping on him like a heavy cloak. It was so cold that he could not help but shiver. Still a tad disoriented, Zeke's cat ears picked up the crunching sound of sluggish footsteps trudging across thick snow, and he also faintly registered that… he was trapped in quite a narrow yet familiar space. 

Zeke slowly tried to move his stiff limbs. Much to his bewilderment and confusion, he was back in the pocket again and judging from the footsteps, it should be the stupid assassin who was carrying him now. Where was he taking him to? Zeke stirred and tried to poke his head out of the pocket, yet what greeted him was the fierce slap of howling wind and snow. Stunned, he shrunk his neck in reflex back into the pocket.

Wait a minute… just now, he saw that the sun was already hanging high in the sky, but he recalled clearly that it was still dawn when he entered the medical cabin! How long had it been since he was asleep?

For some inexplicable reason, Zeke started to feel very, very uneasy. He had a hunch that his prediction of how the assassin would bury him was going to come true at any moment. Flustered, he yelled out as loud as he could. "Miww!!!" He also thrashed around the pocket, kicking and clawing the man's body again and again to get his attention.

It worked, much to his surprise, as the footsteps abruptly stopped.

A hand so cold and stiff not unlike a block of ice slipped into the pocket to bring him out. He was scooped within the space of the man's broad palms, protected from the wind and snow. As soon as Zeke's eyes adjusted to the light and he took in the man's appearance for the first time, he was shocked into standing. 

"Miw miw miw?!" What's wrong with you?! Why are you looking like this?!

'Unkempt' was not even adequate to describe his condition right now. The last time Zeke saw him, this man had been fairly stable, but now… his blonde hair was drenched and stuck to his ashen face, the shadows beneath his eyes were so frighteningly dark, and his lips had even gained a hint of sickly blue. And oh his eyes… his eyes were so hollow that Zeke's reflection could not be seen even though he was right in front of the man.

Zeke sucked in a breath, feeling as if an invisible force had struck him right on the gut. He had expected that the man would be shocked by his sudden death, but after all, this was not the first time it had happened. So he thought this man would definitely be able to handle it fairly well. Oh how wrong he was…

Zeke's sudden 'death' had dealt him a great blow and now, he had turned into a walking dead.

"Miw miw??" Zeke was anxious when he saw that the man did not react. He started to prowl around the man's palm. This was the first time he had been so overwhelmed by stress and anxiety that he was at a loss of what to do. A voice within told him that the assassin's condition was truly abnormal right now and if he did not do something, everything would be too late by then. But what should he do?!

The assassin's chapped lips moved and a voice so hoarse came out in the barest whisper, "I saw it… you died."

A twinge of pain seared through Zeke's heart. It was so sharp and heavy that he almost staggered backward.

"You died… in my hands," the man said again, his pupils faintly trembling. It might be a misperception, but Zeke sensed the temperature of the man's hands getting lower and lower, and the coldness seeped altogether into his body as if he had been thrown into a pool of icy water. "I killed you. I have killed you…"

No! Zeke tried to explain, but all that came out of his mouth was incoherent meows. He was so distressed that the rims of his eyes reddened. It's not you… you didn't kill me. I am not dead!

"Am I hallucinating? From the start, you have been dead. Since I brought you here, you're no longer breathing and…" his breathing quickened its pace. "and everything that happened after that was only in my head. I have finally gone crazy, haven't I…?" The end of his voice abruptly cracked. Then his lips, his eyes, his entire body started to tremble as if he was on the verge of collapsing. But only his hands remained stable, firmly keeping the warmth of life in the middle of it. 

No! That's not right! I am real, you're not hallucinating!!

Oh God, never before had he been so irritated by the kitten who could only meow incessantly. What to do? What should he do to prove that he was still very much alive and breathing? What should he do so that this man would not put on this look as if… as if his inner world was slowly crumbling bit by bit?! 

Panic was starting to get into his head and messed with his ability to think. Zeke knew that he should not lose his cool in a situation like this, but this time, no matter how hard he tried to tell himself to calm down, his body and mind no longer listened to him. 

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