Leave a comment

Who am I? Where am I? And who is hitting me?

—Mo Ke

From within the endless void of darkness, I opened my eyes to find myself lying on a large and comfortable bed.

It was a soft bed, with a faint fragrance wafting off its caressing folds. The room’s interior itself was quite austere: a bed, a bedside table and a wooden dresser. Directly opposite of the bed was a window. It had a mini coffee table under it with a couple of chairs placed around it. The windowsill had a number of plants growing on it, juxtaposing the concrete jungle of skyscrapers behind them.

Who am I…I’m Mo Ke…or at least that’s what my name should be… but where am I? I can’t tell, but I know my head is really dizzy right now. Did someone hit me? Strange, I can feel an inexplicable aching in my chest, but I don’t know why.

Putting on a nearby set of pyjamas, I climbed up from the bed and opened up the door to leave for the living room. At least that was what I intended till my instincts sent me towards the bathroom instead. A white toilet…that’s what it’s called, right? Hmm… why does it feel like I have something hanging down there? A miniature elephant trunk… why do I get the feeling that I never had this in the past?

(watery noises)

After relieving myself, I instinctively reached out to flush the toilet… but there was nothing there. Suddenly, the toilet lid snapped shut by itself, followed closely by the sound of swirling water… an auto toilet?

What time is it now anyway? What time? What does that even mean? Hold on…why do I even know that that is a toilet? Or a bathroom, for that matter.

Looking out the window, I was immediately greeted with a spectacular view, at least it was for me anyway. Towering structures with floors so numerous I got dizzy from trying to count them stretched all the way into the heavens. Yet despite all that, the gentle rays of the sun still managed to find their way to the depths below. I guess that means this district is really well-planned. Huh.

Well, since I’m out of bed, I should go brush my teeth then…brush my teeth? What does that mean?

Just as I was busy sorting myself out of this confusing situation I found myself in, my body instinctively dragged me back to the bathroom once more. Right beside the door was a countertop with a sink installed. On the counter itself were two cups, each holding a strange tube-like apparatus.

Where’s the brush?

I picked up the strange object and brought it up to my eyes to inspect -nothing. I discovered nothing new except that it had a bunch of small holes.

Oh. There’s a button in the middle of the tube.

I brought it up to my eyes to inspect once more.

Should I press it? Screw it, I pressed it already.

The moment I pushed down on the button, countless streams of water shot out of the holes right into my inspecting face and eyes…

Blast it! The water streams weren’t particularly painful for my eyes, but I still reflexively reached out to snap the tube in two anyway. And it broke… Yet from where it broke open, an unknown white substance began to leak out… This substance feels kinda familiar, like I’ve seen it before somewhere.

I placed the broken tube back into the cup then stuck my head into the sink’s basin. Water shot out of the spout mere seconds later right into my waiting face.

Well… that’s my face washed.

I reached out blindly to grab a towel and dried my face, then hung it back onto its rack. Then, just as confused as I was before I entered the bathroom again, I left the bathroom which confused me just as much as my current situation.

Just as I stepped out, I came face to face with a black capped man in a black suit who had his back stuck fast to the wall in what looked like an attempt at infiltration. The moment he saw me, his eyes went wide. A second later, he reached into pocket like he was trying to pull out something.

I was equally stunned by this man’s appearance and actions. For some reason, his actions seemed to remind me of something, and a sense of dread soon descended upon me. My muscles exploded forth in a burst of speed, fists bearing down on the man’s chest with utmost urgency. The man hadn’t had time to draw out the object yet, and I could see the undisguised shock in his eyes as my fist slowly drew closer. He definitely did not expect me to be this quick -quicker than even him drawing that object out!

A clean hit!

At least that was what I thought had happened… However, my fist ended up passing through the man, striking the decidedly solid wall behind him and leaving a sizable dent in it. Unfortunately, my fist was in no better shape either as it began to bend at an odd angle.

Why the heck did my fist just pass through him, that’s just not scientific! What does scientific mean anyway?

What followed next left me speechless. The man completely ignored the fact that I just passed through him and did a backflip as if he was trying to dodge something. It was at that moment that a blue laser shot me in the back…nothing happened…no damage at all…

What the heck?!

I turned around to find a uniformed man wielding a pistol and firing it at the black clothed man…

You know what, I’ll admit, I don’t know what the heck is going on now. Why did I just pass through that man? And why did that man’s laser do nothing to me?! What state am I even in? Am I a ghost?

Just as my confusion was about to send me spiralling off into a frenzied fit of head scratching, a clarion voice rang out from me. “Hahahaha… Ke, you’re too adorable. Can’t you tell that you’re standing in a holographic movie?

“…” says a completely dumbstruck me.

I immediately turned my head in the direction of that young girl’s voice. It was an extremely cute teenage girl, with long green hair and bright eyes that only seemed to energise her appearance further. She wore a white casual one-piece dress which was in a terrible state right now from her vigorous chortling. She’s clearly in pain right now… but as the target of her chortling, shouldn’t I be in more pain?!

“Who are you?” Feeling no enmity from her, I lowered my guard and asked her as such. That immediately earned me a lock of shock, shortly followed by her running up to me and grabbing me. I swiftly evaded her hands, then glared at her, “who are you exactly?”

“It’s me. It’s your sister Bitong. What the heck? Don’t you recognise me anymore?”

Seeing that her hug failed miserably, she anxiously began to explain herself. Judging by the genuine unease on her face, it seemed like she was telling the truth.

Sister Bitong? That name doesn’t ring any bells with me. But she doesn’t seem to be lying either. Maybe she really does have some connection with me?

As a test, I asked, “You know me? Then what’s my name?”

“Of course I know you! I know you better than anyone else!” The teenage girl claiming to be my sister Bitong answered, “your name is Mo Ke.”

Mo Ke? That does sound like my name.

“No way… don’t tell me you’ve even forgotten who you are?!”

Seeing me fall silent like that, she was starting to understand what situation I found myself in right now. “Don’t tell me you’ve really gotten amnesia… are we in some kind of B-rated novel?”

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE