中國已經有了自治州制度，省長和省級領導平級。在激烈的台海戰爭中，中共勉強制定了台灣統一派和小粉紅都能接受的勝利條件。只有國家自己知道它閉門造車到底損失了多少。


    According to analyses by international military experts and retired U.S. generals, one-third of Taiwan’s air and naval forces successfully relocated to Japan and the Philippines to preserve combat power.


    The Taiwanese military expended nearly all its missiles, inflicting unprecedented damage—far beyond previous war simulations—on China’s coastal military bases and civilian industries.


    Unlike the slow-moving frontlines of the Russia-Ukraine war, Taiwan’s military initially attacked like a rabid dog, biting furiously at the PLA. Even though Taiwan could not prevent the PLA from establishing a beachhead, the CCP was clearly shaken. The island had stockpiled a staggering amount of weapons, and the surrounding first-island-chain nations—home to U.S. bases—had yet to be drawn into the conflict. Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves still ranked fourth globally.


    “Fxxk off, Taiwan!”


    In addition to intercepting Taiwan’s diverse missile strikes, China’s Rocket Force received orders to fully defend Beijing, yet again exemplifying their “To have one''s cake and eat it too” approach. Between offense and defense, missile stockpiles rapidly depleted (as nations worldwide acknowledged China''s relatively low missile interception rates). Unfortunately, Taiwan''s army suffered heavy losses under the PLA''s human wave tactics.


    At this point, independence movements erupted in Inner Mongolia. It was unclear who was inciting these external forces, but Russia had abruptly refused to trade energy and food in RMB.


    After being burned by Indian rupees, Russia found itself with near-worthless currency and no choice but to wallpaper its walls with it. During the Meteor Shower Event, Russia suffered greater losses than China. Member states of the CSTO refused to cover the costs of the Russia-Ukraine war, and China delayed delivering promised military resources to Russia. Meanwhile, neither Russia nor North Korea wanted to meddle in the Taiwan Strait war.


    China refused to disclose casualty figures. U.S. estimates suggested that PLA deaths were five times higher than those of Taiwan’s military. Ten Chinese submarines mysteriously sank in the southwest waters of Taiwan. Citing wartime emergency measures, China returned to a planned economy, with no end to restrictions in sight.


    In reality, after two months of combat, neither side could continue the Taiwan Strait war.


    The Kennedy Post reported that the U.S. sent secret emissaries to warn China: if they did not cease hostilities, the Seventh Fleet—returning to Guam—had already repositioned to the Second Island Chain. Together with nuclear attack submarines, they would sink three Chinese aircraft carriers within 24 hours (excluding the Liaoning, which was undergoing dry-dock repairs), destroy all bases in the South China Sea, and, alongside India, form a coalition to liberate Tibet.


    Incidentally, Swiss banks had already frozen the accounts of Russia-Ukraine war blacklists, with China’s war accounts next in line.


    Thus, the Taiwan Strait Peace Agreement emerged at lightning speed, with all CCP generals advocating continued warfare suddenly silenced.


    Under immense public pressure to avoid further military and civilian casualties, Taiwan’s government reluctantly accepted the CCP’s ceasefire terms. The president urged the Taiwanese people to face this “new reality” peacefully and rationally—an outcome both unexpected and inevitable, marking the true end of the Republic of China.


    Amid a ceasefire window lasting about half a year, under the PLA’s watchful eye, Taiwan conducted chaotic gubernatorial elections. The Democratic Progressive Party’s candidates were absent or withdrew following assassination attempts, paving the way for the Kuomintang to claim governance.


    Mass emigration ensued as Taiwanese citizens fled abroad, prompting nations worldwide to accept refugees.


    “In this parallel world, it’s not that the U.S. didn’t want to intervene. They prioritized defending their own country first… Taiwan did its best. In the future, independence might be a real possibility, but we can’t rely on rhetoric alone,” Nemo said, covering his eyes with his hand and smiling bitterly.


    Every nation worthy of inclusion in world history—no matter its size—undergoes a similar metamorphosis. Only after a people have fought and bled for their identity can they truly yearn for a name of their own.


    China now resembled a paper lantern hanging over a bonfire. While it had nominally succeeded in occupying Taiwan, the so-called “World’s Third Military Power” followed the same trajectory as the “World’s Second,” its weaknesses laid bare for all—including the Taiwanese—to see. A war between the third and thirteenth military powers had ended in near-parity.


    It was like discovering that the mayoral election in New Taipei City had been lost by only 30,000 votes. A loss is still a loss—but knowing the margin had been that small, someone wouldn’t have overthought it and scared themselves.


    The resurgence of war in the Taiwan Strait was only a matter of time. Taiwan had “graduated” from the Republic of China, tasted total war, and shed its reverence for its anthem, flag, and constitution. Having fought once, the temptation to gamble for recovery was human nature. Taiwan had earned international capital for its defiance and now only awaited a new dealer to start the game.


    This explained why all Taiwan-U.S. flights had been suspended. Now an autonomous Chinese prefecture, Taiwan strictly controlled immigration and emigration. Former ROC citizens had their green passports cut at customs, replaced with Taiwan Resident Permits.


    As for Nemo, who had stumbled into this world, he suspected his real body was still trapped mid-plane crash. And in this parallel Taiwan, his home likely no longer existed.


    Hunching against the cold with his hands stuffed in his pockets, Nemo waited at the bus station for an hour. A fellow passenger noted they were lucky to leave thirty minutes earlier than usual.


    Nemo fell silent as the station attendant frowned at the bus bound for Lone Star City, as if it were headed for a graveyard.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Finally catching the bus his roommate had directed him to, he now felt the stream of snot trickling down his face. His temples throbbed, his exposed neck stung from the cold wind, hands and feet icy, and his forehead faintly burning.


    That illusory hammer, which had been pounding at his head since he woke up, was now hitting harder than ever.


    ※※※


    The next morning, birds chirped and hopped outside the window as brilliant sunlight poured into the room, illuminating the silhouette of a figure buried under two layers of blankets. The pale face hidden beneath sweaty, messy hair scrunched up in discomfort.


    With a whoosh, he pulled the blanket higher and curled deeper into his cocoon, but his peace was short-lived. A large hand gripped Nemo''s shoulder, shaking him deliberately, refusing to let him rest.


    "Don''t be so cute. Get up and eat something before you take medicine. You''re sick. The weather''s great today—this has to be our lucky day!" The voice carried a strong Russian accent, though the tone was unmistakably American English.


    Nemo was an adult. He only threw tantrums when he was absolutely certain no one would find out.


    From last night until now, he had been furious—angry at this damned time travel, at losing his comfort zone, at his aching body, and even at the fact that he had been late, missing a war he was supposed to attend.


    Nemo flung off the blanket and sat up, squinting warily at his parallel-world roommate.


    The sunlight plated the Russian’s slightly dark blond hair with a brilliant glow, and the backlight made his eye sockets look like two black holes. His facial features, sharp and commanding, seemed like they belonged to someone chosen for the Red Square military parade. Having heard him mention Moscow over the phone, Nemo was certain this man came from a good family. Russia certainly had its share of black hair and Asian faces, but you can imagine what kind of social status a Central or South American appearance holds in American stereotypes...


    Grabbing his phone, Nemo checked the time—10:30 AM! “Damn it! I’m late for work!” he exclaimed, jumping out of bed.


    "Whoa, calm down!" The lanky Russian quickly pinned down the feral patient back onto the bed. "I left a message for Boss in the middle of the night, telling him you were sick. He said to take the day off and that he’d find someone to cover your shift. You’d better not spread your germs to the customers. A chef coughing and sneezing in the back? If a customer hears and reports us to the health bureau, we’ll be out of a job."


    "Why are you still here?" According to the information Nemo had, this guy was his coworker too.


    "I’m on the night shift today. I brought back porridge from the restaurant yesterday and heated it up for you. I heard Asians hate taking medicine on an empty stomach."


    The natural way his roommate acted left Nemo momentarily dazed.


    Last night, he had searched his roommate''s room to confirm that the guy wasn’t using drugs—or at least wasn’t hiding any. The painkillers were, in fact, just painkillers.


    After a shower and swallowing a pill, he had gone straight to bed, not remembering if he had locked the door. Perhaps his roommate''s wide-open, brightly-lit room made him let his guard down in his muddled state.


    Nemo took two sips of the porridge offered by the Russian, a gesture of reluctant goodwill. After all, he was now an amnesiac patient. He could do as he pleased.


    “How about your kind girl?”


    The Russian wiped his face dramatically. "Things were going great when we got to the restroom, but then she pulled out something bigger than mine. I had to politely buy her another drink and excuse myself to come take care of my sick roommate."


    Was this an attempt to make him lower his guard by telling a self-deprecating story? The Russian seemed one step away from pleading, “Don’t bite me! Oh, you’ve got sharp teeth. If you must bite, do it gently, please!”


    Nemo took another sip of the porridge. His twisted stomach indeed felt a little better.


    “I thought you’d remembered your real name and run to the airport trying to get back to Taiwan. It’s not a safe place for you right now. Besides, there’s no way to get there directly. Taiwan and the US aren’t connected anymore. You’d have to go through Japan or Shanghai to wait for a visa, and that’s expensive. Even if you managed to reach Taiwan, they’d think you were an American spy and you’d disappear.” The Russian sat at the edge of the bed, looking over at him and casually delivering this sharp assessment of Nemo.


    “I dreamed about some things… like how I cut ties with my family after graduating high school. I haven’t been in contact with them for years. There’s no place or person that needs me to go back.” The curly-haired young man looked down, speaking half-truths.


    The Russian visibly relaxed, his tense shoulders loosening as he let out a breath of relief before winking at Nemo.


    Nemo quickly spotted a card next to his pillow and snatched it up for inspection. It had his photo and, more importantly, the thing he desperately needed to survive in America.


    “How did you know where my Social Security card was?” Nemo had searched his own room thoroughly last night but hadn’t even found a single hair!


    The Russian looked innocent. "You told me to keep it safe, for moments just like this. I put it in the expired blue tea can. If you didn’t know that, then you’ve really lost your memory. Someone has to know where to quickly grab your ID when needed."


    The original Nemo had been thoughtful and cautious—good habits. But now, he had serious issues with one particular line on the card.


    DOB: 06-06-02


    “Fxxk! Since when was I born in the 2000s?” That would make this Nemo only 25 years old! Definitely not information he would have provided willingly.


    “你以為你幾歲了？”俄羅斯人饒有興趣地問。


    “我三十五歲了！”


    “哈哈哈！”他室友的反應非常誠實。


    “你到底笑什麼？”


    “我曾經夢想過自己十八歲的時候——絕對是一個英俊的年輕人。”


    尼莫咬緊牙牙。


    「老闆找到你了，身上沒帶身分證。由於你們都是亞洲人，他認為你們剛從大學畢業，並慷慨地報告你們二十四歲。生日？完全化妝了。所以，你最好承認自己已經二十五歲了。這樣，你就永遠是我的弟弟了。俄羅斯人舉起了二十八根手指。


    「我被我們老大發現了？這意味著什麼？顯然，他們已經習慣了與失憶的尼莫打交道。對他們來說，他不科學的時間旅行只不過是腦損傷患者的另一天？


    “等你吃完藥我再告訴你。”


    俄羅斯人傻笑著提出了條件。尼莫敏銳地註意到男人藍色的眼眸中閃過一絲憂鬱。俄羅斯人雙臂交叉，默默地宣稱他不會妥協。


    感受到室友真心的關心，尼莫嘀咕了一句，然後乖乖地吃起了粥。儘管很餓，他卻沒有胃口，只能慢慢吞下去。


    俄羅斯人坐在附近，小心翼翼地觀察臥床不起的男人的一舉一動。


    「最近，你們很多難民同胞都被安置在孤星城，為期一年的觀察期。老闆不缺廉價勞力。你要小心，不要被取代。室友隨口補充道。


    「知道了。」尼莫輕聲回答。


    空氣變得凝重，尷尬像螞蟻一樣爬上兩個人的脊椎。


    俄羅斯人清了清嗓子，說：「你可能不知道我的全名。你還記得你叫我什麼嗎？這是一個提示——以“T”開頭。


    T…這可能不是常見的「東尼」。尼莫抬起頭，溫暖流進他的胸口，肌肉記憶低聲告訴他這是一個值得信賴的人。在室友期待的表情和誇張的嘴形的誘導下，他的舌頭結結巴巴地恢復了熟悉的習慣。


    “T……Толя？”


    「烏拉！你真是個語言天才！


    “而你卻故意降低這個房間的平均智商。”


    「呵呵！你抓住我了！


    吃完藥後，尼莫擦掉嘴唇上的水分，靠在床頭板上，表情平靜而堅毅。


    「不用再拖了。來吧——我想知道一切。