After Midnight, There Is No Tomorrow
Chapter 10: Another Me Has Awakened
【08:22】
The lights inside the convenience store went out one after another.
Click.
Click.
Click.
At last, only one small light beside the counter remained.
The clerk stood frozen in place, still holding out the receipt.
A drop of water hung suspended in midair.
Cars speeding past outside stopped in the middle of the road.
The footsteps of pedestrians in the distance stopped, too.
The entire world was as if someone had pressed pause.
Lin Ye stood in front of the glass door.
He looked at that person.
A gray raincoat.
Black pants.
A face exactly identical to his own.
The only difference was—
Those eyes were red.
“Who are you?”
Lin Ye asked.
The other person didn’t answer.
He raised a hand.
Then lightly knocked on the glass.
Knock.
Not a mark remained on the glass.
“You’re not the first person to ask that question.”
Lin Ye frowned.
“Who else?”
“You.”
“What does that mean?”
“The you from before.”
The other person smiled.
“Every time you wake up, you ask the same question.”
Lin Ye walked up to the glass door.
The two of them stared at each other through a layer of glass.
“You said the Ninth World.”
“This isn’t the Ninth World.”
“It is.”
“It’s 2026.”
“It is.”
“The worlds have finished merging.”
“It is.”
Lin Ye stared at him.
“Then why do you still exist?”
The other person’s smile slowly faded.
“Because the merger failed.”
Lin Ye’s heart sank.
“Impossible.”
“You saw all the worlds merge with your own eyes.”
“Yes.”
“You also saw those worlds return to you with your own eyes.”
“Yes.”
“So you should understand.”
The other person extended one finger.
He pointed at Lin Ye’s chest.
“Worlds merging
doesn’t mean memories merge.”
Lin Ye lowered his head.
There was nothing unusual about his chest.
And yet those two heartbeats
still existed.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
“You’re my memory?”
“Part of it.”
“Another me?”
“That too.”
“Then what are you?”
The other person raised his head.
“I’m the path you didn’t choose.”
Lin Ye fell silent.
“Which one?”
“All of them.”
The person said,
“You chose to save your parents.
“So someone lost their parents.
“You chose to restore time.
“So someone lost eternity.
“You chose to merge the worlds.
“So someone lost their own world.
“Every time you make a choice,
“it creates a version of you that wasn’t chosen.”
Lin Ye slowly understood.
“You’re all the versions of me that weren’t chosen?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you the one here?”
“Because every choice you abandoned…”
He pointed to his own chest.
“ended up here.”
Lin Ye asked,
“What do you want to do?”
The other person smiled.
“I want to take your place.”
“Take my place doing what?”
“Living.”
Lin Ye’s pupils tightened slightly.
“You want to replace me?”
“No.”
“I want to let you rest.”
“I don’t need to.”
“You’re tired.”
Lin Ye didn’t answer.
Because he couldn’t deny it.
Ever since the First World,
he had been running.
Running from ZERO.
Running from death.
Running from reboots.
Running from those versions of himself that appeared again and again.
He no longer knew how long it had been since he’d truly slept.
But—
“I can’t hand my life over to you.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s mine.”
The other person was quiet for several seconds.
Then he smiled.
“Good.”
“You still answer that way.”
Lin Ye frowned.
“You’ve seen me before?”
“I’m you.
“So of course I have.”
“When?”
“Every time.”
Red-eyed Lin Ye raised his hand.
Cracks suddenly appeared in the glass.
Crack.
Crack-crack.
Lin Ye stepped back.
“What are you trying to do?”
“Let you see.”
“See what?”
“The real Ninth World.”
The glass shattered with a roar.
But the shards didn’t fall to the floor.
Every piece of glass floated in midair.
Inside each shard
were different scenes.
Lin Ye saw himself.
One was in a hospital.
One was by the sea.
One was wearing a military uniform.
One was standing at a wedding.
One was holding a child.
One was sitting in a wheelchair.
One had a head full of white hair.
One was lying in a coffin.
One was crying.
One was laughing.
Countless lives
reflected at once in the glass shards.
“These…”
Lin Ye murmured.
“They’re all you,” red-eyed Lin Ye answered.
“The Ninth World isn’t one world.
“It’s an aggregate.
“All the people you could have become.”
Lin Ye looked at one of the shards.
Inside, he was eating with his mother.
His mother was smiling happily.
His father sat beside her.
A family of three.
Ordinary.
Warm.
Lin Ye reached out and touched it.
The image suddenly expanded.
He saw the date on the dining table.
2026.
His mother hadn’t died.
His father hadn’t disappeared.
He himself had never entered ZERO.
That world looked perfect.
“This world…”
Lin Ye looked up.
“It’s real.”
“Where is it now?”
“Inside your head.”
“Can I enter it?”
“Yes.”
“What’s the price?”
Red-eyed Lin Ye smiled.
“You’ll forget the present.”
Lin Ye’s hand stopped.
“What?”
“Once you enter,
“you’ll believe that’s your real life.
“And everything happening now
“will become a dream.”
Lin Ye watched the scene.
His mother was putting food in his bowl.
His father was telling a joke.
He hadn’t seen a scene like this in a very long time.
His hand began to tremble.
“What if I don’t go in?”
“That world will continue to exist.”
“What about the parents inside it?”
“They’ll continue to live, too.”
“Do they know who I am?”
“They know.”
“Will they wait for me?”
“Forever.”
Lin Ye closed his eyes.
He knew it was a trap.
But.
What if, inside that trap,
there really were the people he wanted most?
“Xiaoye.”
A familiar voice came from behind him.
Lin Ye opened his eyes wide.
His mother stood inside a glass shard.
She was smiling.
“Come home.”
Lin Ye’s eyes instantly reddened.
“Mom…”
“Dinner’s getting cold.”
“Do you still remember me?”
His mother smiled and nodded.
“Of course.
“You’re my child.”
Lin Ye reached out.
His fingertip touched the glass.
Warm.
It wasn’t cold glass.
It was genuinely warm.
“Can I go back?”
His mother nodded.
“Yes.”
“Will you always be there?”
“Yes.”
“You won’t die?”
“No.”
“What about Dad?”
“He’s there, too.”
“He won’t leave?”
“He won’t.”
Tears fell from Lin Ye’s eyes.
Red-eyed Lin Ye stood beside him.
He didn’t stop him.
He only watched in silence.
Lin Ye asked,
“Why aren’t you stopping me?”
Red-eyed Lin Ye answered,
“Because you’ll definitely come back.”
“What if I don’t?”
“You will.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m you.”
Lin Ye looked at his mother.
In the end,
he stepped into the glass.
The world suddenly became warm.
Lin Ye opened his eyes.
He was sitting at the dining table.
His mother was in the kitchen.
“Xiaoye, dinner’s ready.”
Lin Ye froze.
“Mom?”
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
His mother smiled.
“Why are you acting so strange today?”
Lin Ye lowered his head.
On the table
were three dishes and a soup.
All his childhood favorites.
His father sat across from him,
holding his phone.
“How’s work been lately?”
Lin Ye froze.
“Work?”
His father smiled.
“You have a job, don’t you?”
Lin Ye looked down at himself.
His clothes.
His watch.
His phone.
Everything looked exactly like the real 2026.
He opened his phone.
Date:
August 23, 2026.
His messages contained
his mother,
his father,
friends,
coworkers.
Everything was normal.
No ZERO.
No reboots.
No other self.
Lin Ye remained stunned for a long time.
“Did I…”
His father asked,
“Did you what?”
“I had a dream before.”
“What kind of dream?”
Lin Ye fell silent.
“Never mind.”
His mother came out of the kitchen carrying soup.
“If you forgot it, don’t think about it.
“Eat.”
Lin Ye picked up his bowl.
He took a sip of soup.
The taste was familiar.
So familiar it made his heart ache.
He lowered his head.
Tears suddenly fell into the bowl.
His mother jumped.
“Why are you crying again?”
Lin Ye smiled.
“It’s nothing.”
“It just feels so good.”
“What feels so good?”
“You’re both here.”
His father laughed.
“Of course we’re here.”
His mother smiled, too.
“Silly boy.”
That night,
Lin Ye slept wonderfully.
No dreams.
No countdown.
No ZERO.
No worlds.
Just an ordinary night.
The next day,
Lin Ye woke up.
The sunlight outside was bright.
His mother was in the kitchen.
His father was getting ready to leave.
“Xiaoye.”
“Hmm?”
“Come home for dinner tonight.”
Lin Ye nodded.
“Okay.”
He left the house.
He walked along familiar streets.
A breakfast shop by the road.
A convenience store.
A bus stop.
Everything was an ordinary life.
A long-forgotten sense of ease suddenly came over him.
Maybe
those things really had only been a dream.
Maybe
he had never crossed between worlds.
Maybe
he had simply dreamed a very, very long dream.
He even began forgetting those things.
ZERO.
Number Twenty-Eight.
Zero.
Another self.
One hundred and seven years.
Those words
all began to blur.
He walked into the office.
His coworkers greeted him.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
“Why are you so late today?”
“Slept in.”
“Where were you yesterday?”
“Home.”
“Dinner with your parents?”
“Yeah.”
His coworker smiled.
“Nice.”
Lin Ye smiled, too.
The day
was perfectly ordinary.
At noon,
he ate a boxed lunch.
In the afternoon,
he attended a meeting.
At night,
he got off work.
Then went home.
His mother was preparing dinner.
His father sat in the living room watching TV.
Lin Ye changed his shoes.
“I’m home.”
His mother poked her head out of the kitchen.
“Welcome home.”
In that instant,
Lin Ye suddenly stopped.
“What’s wrong?”
his mother asked.
Lin Ye looked at her.
He didn’t know why,
but suddenly felt
that he had been waiting a very long time
to hear those words.
A very long time.
“Nothing.”
He smiled.
“I’m home.”
And so the days passed.
One day.
Two days.
A week.
A month.
Lin Ye slowly adapted to this world.
He stopped having those strange dreams.
Stopped seeing countdowns.
Stopped being afraid of midnight.
He even began to believe
that everything really had only been a dream.
Until one day,
his mother asked him:
“Xiaoye.”
“Hmm?”
“Do you remember Xiaoyu?”
Lin Ye froze.
“Xiaoyu?”
His mother nodded.
“The girl who used to live next door.”
“She wasn’t…”
Lin Ye stopped.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
His mother smiled.
“She’s getting married tomorrow.”
Lin Ye nodded.
“Oh.”
But that night,
Lin Ye sat on the edge of his bed.
Suddenly, he remembered a girl.
Eight years old.
Standing on a street in the Fifth World.
Asking him:
“Big brother,
“do you remember me?”
Lin Ye shot to his feet.
A splitting headache hit him at once.
“Ah…”
He clutched his head.
His memories returned like a flood.
ZERO.
The worlds.
His mother.
His father.
Another self.
Every image
reappeared at once.
He gasped.
“Impossible.”
The wall clock
read 23:59.
Lin Ye stared at it.
The second hand began moving backward.
23:58.
23:57.
23:56.
Lin Ye suddenly stood up.
“Didn’t you already merge?”
The room gave no answer.
He rushed to the mirror.
The version of himself in the mirror
was smiling.
But Lin Ye wasn’t.
“Who are you?”
The person in the mirror reached out.
Then lightly knocked on the glass.
Knock.
“You’re finally awake.”
Lin Ye stepped back.
“Red-eyed me?”
The person in the mirror shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who are you?”
“The you from the Ninth World.”
Lin Ye stared at the mirror.
“I am the Ninth World.”
“No,” the person in the mirror said.
“You only live in the Ninth World.”
“Then who is the Ninth World?”
The person in the mirror raised a hand.
He pointed behind Lin Ye.
Lin Ye spun around.
No one was there.
When he looked back at the mirror,
there was a woman standing behind him in the reflection.
A white dress.
Long black hair.
Her head lowered.
Lin Ye slowly turned around.
The room was empty.
He looked back at the mirror.
The woman had raised her head.
Lin Ye stopped breathing.
That face
was his mother’s.
But his mother’s eyes
were red.
“Mom?”
The woman in the mirror smiled.
“Xiaoye.”
“You’re finally back.”
Lin Ye stepped back.
“You’re not my mother.”
The woman smiled.
“Of course I am.
“Just not the mother from your world.”
Lin Ye gritted his teeth.
“Who are you?”
The woman extended a hand.
“I’m from the Ninth World.
“I’m your mother.
“And I’m also the administrator of the Ninth World.”
Lin Ye froze.
“Worlds have administrators?”
“Every world does.”
“What about the First World?”
“You’ve already met its administrator.”
“Who is it?”
The woman smiled.
“You.”
Lin Ye fell silent.
“The Second World?”
“You.”
“The Third?”
“You.”
“The Fourth?”
“Still you.”
Lin Ye suddenly understood.
“So the administrators of every world
are different versions of me?”
“No.”
The woman shook her head.
“They’re your mothers.”
Lin Ye’s expression changed instantly.
“What?”
“Every world
has a Shen Yun.
“They’re responsible for maintaining you.”
“Maintaining me?”
“Because you’re the only one who can cross between worlds.”
The woman looked at him.
“Without us,
you’d lose control.”
Lin Ye asked,
“Then why do you keep rebooting everything?”
The woman fell silent.
“Because we’ve been searching.”
“For what?”
“For a world where you can truly live.”
Lin Ye froze.
“So ZERO…”
“We created it.”
“You?”
“All the mothers.
“All the Shen Yuns from every world.”
Lin Ye’s heart jolted.
“Then what about my father?”
The woman’s smile disappeared.
“Your father
has never belonged to any world.”
Lin Ye looked up sharply.
“What?”
“He’s an outsider.
“He entered from beyond the worlds.
“And then he fell in love with me.”
“So that’s why he kept trying to stop ZERO?”
“No.”
The woman shook her head.
“He’s always been helping ZERO.”
Lin Ye’s face went pale.
“Impossible.”
“Everything your father did
was to make you wake up.
“He wasn’t trying to stop ZERO.
“He wanted you to become ZERO.”
Lin Ye went completely rigid.
In the mirror,
tears began to stream from his mother’s eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“Mom…”
“I really wanted you to live an ordinary life.”
“But the day you were born,
the world had already decided
that you could never be ordinary.”
Lin Ye looked at her.
“Then what am I?”
The woman didn’t answer.
The mirror suddenly cracked.
Crack.
One.
Two.
Three.
The cracks spread like a spiderweb.
At last,
the entire mirror shattered.
Lin Ye stood alone in the room.
His phone suddenly rang.
One message.
【You have awakened.】
A second.
【The Ninth World is beginning to collapse.】
A third.
【Find your father before 00:00.】
A fourth.
【He knows your true date of birth.】
Lin Ye froze.
His true date of birth?
He had always believed he was born on March 28, 2005.
But.
If that wasn’t his birth date,
then what was the real date?
His phone vibrated again.
【Your date of birth is not March 28, 2005.】
Lin Ye stopped breathing.
The next message:
【The real date is—】
The screen suddenly went black.
“What is it?”
Lin Ye frantically pressed the phone.
There was no response.
Just then,
his mother’s voice came from outside the door.
“Xiaoye.”
“Open the door.”
Lin Ye froze.
“Mom?”
“Open the door.”
“You’re not…”
“I’m your mother.”
The doorknob began to turn.
Click.
Click.
Lin Ye backed away.
The person outside continued:
“Open the door.
“Mommy has something to give you.”
Lin Ye stared at the door.
“What?”
Silence came from outside.
A few seconds later,
a completely different voice spoke.
“Your birth certificate.”
Lin Ye’s pupils contracted.
It was his father’s voice.
He rushed to the door.
“Dad?”
“Open the door.”
Lin Ye gripped the doorknob.
But just as he was about to open it,
his phone lit up again.
【Don’t open the door.】
The next line:
【The person outside is not your father.】
Then the next:
【Your father is behind you.】
Lin Ye’s entire body went rigid.
He slowly turned around.
There was no one in the room.
“Dad?”
No answer.
Lin Ye lowered his head.
A pair of shoes stuck out from beneath the bed.
Black.
The shoes his father usually wore.
Lin Ye slowly crouched down.
“Dad?”
A voice came from beneath the bed.
“Xiaoye.”
“Don’t trust the person outside.”
Lin Ye’s eyes instantly reddened.
“Dad?”
“It’s me.”
“How are you under there?”
“I can’t come out.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s outside.”
Lin Ye looked toward the door.
“Mom?”
His father fell silent.
“That isn’t your mother.”
Lin Ye asked,
“Then who is it?”
Beneath the bed,
his father’s voice dropped very low.
“It’s the Ninth World.”
Lin Ye’s heart pounded wildly.
Outside the door,
the voice sounded again.
“Xiaoye.”
“Are you still there?”
Lin Ye didn’t answer.
“Open the door.
“Mommy really misses you.”
Lin Ye looked beneath the bed.
“Dad.”
“Hmm?”
“What should I do?”
His father said,
“Run.”
“Where?”
“The window.”
Lin Ye looked toward it.
“From the tenth floor?”
“Jump.”
Lin Ye froze.
“Are you crazy?”
“You won’t die.”
“Why not?”
His father said,
“Because you haven’t truly been born yet.”
Lin Ye’s pupils contracted.
Those words
struck him like lightning.
He suddenly understood.
Everything.
Every world.
Every reboot.
They all pointed to the same answer.
He had never truly been born.
He had only been temporarily acknowledged as existing by the world.
That was why
he could die,
be reborn,
be split apart,
and cross between worlds.
Because the real “him”
had never been fixed to any point in time.
A tremendous crash suddenly came from outside.
Boom!
The door was struck.
Lin Ye stumbled backward.
A second time.
Boom!
The doorframe began to crack.
His father crawled out from beneath the bed.
He grabbed Lin Ye.
“Go!”
The two of them ran toward the window.
“Dad.”
“Hmm?”
“What do you know?”
“Everything.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because once you knew…”
His father paused for an instant.
“You would hate me.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“You would.”
“I wouldn’t!”
His father looked at him.
“If I told you
that on the day you were born,
your mother already knew you would kill her in the end…”
Lin Ye stopped completely.
“What?”
“She knew from the beginning.
“ZERO wasn’t created by her.
“She was the first person sacrificed.
“She knew
that in the end, to stop ZERO,
you would personally end her life.”
Tears fell from Lin Ye’s eyes.
“So she’s been waiting this whole time?”
His father nodded.
“Waiting for you.”
The door was struck again.
Boom!
“We’re out of time.”
His father opened the window.
A fierce wind rushed in.
The tenth floor.
Dark streets below.
“Jump.”
Lin Ye looked at his father.
“What about you?”
“I’m going with you.”
“Really?”
“This time,
I won’t let go.”
The two of them jumped together.
The wind tore through Lin Ye’s eardrums.
He felt his body plummeting.
His father held his hand tightly.
Tenth floor.
Ninth floor.
Eighth floor.
Seventh floor.
Sixth floor.
Just as they were about to hit the ground,
the world suddenly stopped.
The two of them hung suspended in midair.
His father looked at Lin Ye.
“Xiaoye.”
“Hmm?”
“Now
you can finally be born.”
A white light
burst from Lin Ye’s chest.
The world started moving again.
Boom!
Lin Ye opened his eyes.
There were no skyscrapers.
No city.
No father.
He stood in an endless white space.
Ahead of him
was a door.
Written on it:
【Birth】
Beside it
was another door.
【Death】
Lin Ye stood between the two doors,
uncertain which one to choose.
A voice came from behind him.
“This time,
you can choose for yourself.”
Lin Ye turned around.
His mother stood there.
His real mother.
Not the red-eyed one.
Not wearing a white dress.
Just the gentle woman from his memories.
Tears instantly fell from Lin Ye’s eyes.
“Mom.”
She walked over and hugged him.
“Xiaoye.”
“I missed you so much.”
“Me too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For making you wander for so long.”
Lin Ye shook his head.
“It wasn’t your fault.”
His mother stroked his hair.
“Now
you can finally choose to truly be born.”
“What if I’m born?”
“You’ll become a real person.”
“And if I don’t?”
His mother looked at the other door.
“You’ll become the world.”
Lin Ye fell silent.
“Which one is better?”
His mother smiled.
“You decide.”
“Can’t you tell me?”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because this time…”
She gently touched his face.
“Your life
doesn’t need anyone else to choose for you.”
Lin Ye looked at the two doors.
Birth.
Death.
He suddenly smiled.
“I choose a third option.”
His mother froze.
“There is no third door.”
“Then I’ll make one.”
Lin Ye reached out.
Between the two doors,
he drew a crack in the air.
White light seeped through it.
A brand-new door
slowly took shape.
There was no writing on it.
Lin Ye placed his hand on it.
“What is this?”
His mother smiled.
“Your world.”
Lin Ye pushed the door open.
Beyond it
wasn’t heaven.
Wasn’t hell.
Wasn’t ZERO.
Wasn’t any world from the past.
It was an ordinary street.
Sunlight.
Cars.
Pedestrians.
Some people crying.
Some laughing.
Some being born.
Some dying.
Time flowed normally.
There was no eternity.
And no reboots.
Lin Ye looked back.
His mother stood in the doorway.
“You’re not coming with me?”
His mother smiled and shook her head.
“I’ve completed my mission.”
“But I’ll still miss you.”
“Then remember me.”
“You’ll always exist.”
Lin Ye nodded.
“I will.”
He stepped through the door.
Behind him,
his mother slowly disappeared.
Not dying.
Simply returning to his memories.
Lin Ye stood beneath the sunlight.
For the first time,
he truly felt his heartbeat.
Only one.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
He smiled.
But just then,
his phone vibrated.
Lin Ye pulled it out.
There was only one message on the screen.
【Congratulations.】
【You have truly been born.】
Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
But the next second,
a second message appeared.
【Now.】
【It’s the world’s turn to be born.】
Lin Ye looked up.
The sky suddenly turned black.
A massive white pillar of light rose from the ground.
Everyone in the city stopped at once.
They all looked up.
At the center of the sky,
a gigantic baby’s eye slowly appeared.
Those eyes
were exactly like Lin Ye’s.
A voice
rang out from the entire world.
“Big brother.”
Lin Ye’s expression changed instantly.
“Zero?”
“No.”
The voice answered.
“This time,
I am the world.”
Boom!
The entire city
began to breathe for the first time.
The roads became veins.
The skyscrapers became bones.
The sky became a gigantic eye.
And Lin Ye stood at the center of the city.
He finally understood.
His true birth
wasn’t the end of the story.
It was what allowed the entire world
to be born for the first time.
One final line appeared on his phone screen:
【Ninth World: Complete.】
【Tenth World: Generating.】
【Until the world is born—】
【00:09:59】
Lin Ye looked up.
Nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds.
The countdown
had begun again.
End of Chapter 10