The funeral hall was alive with chatter.


    No one paid any attention to the silent seat of honor.


    I raised my gun—aimed—fired at the casket. ‘Bang—’ ‘Bang—’ ‘Bang—’


    In an instant, the hall fell silent.


    Now, everyone could focus on the photo of the deceased and listen to the prayers.


    Just now, which organ did the Glock 17’s bullet tear through?


    I indulged in some bloody fantasies with a certain pleasure.


    The priest, in his ceremonial robes, held a book whose title was illegible, and walked up to the pulpit.


    “Silence,” he demanded, frowning as his voice rang out.


    “Alright, now turn to page 173, let’s look at Exercise 6. The two sides of isosceles triangle EDF are equal, that’s the first proof condition. Next, ED is parallel to BF, so we get equal alternate interior angles…”


    The priest’s voice grew louder and louder as he spoke. When he reached the climax of his lesson, he pulled out some chalk and started drawing on the square casket in front of him.


    “Triangle EDF, parallel…” he muttered while drawing.


    Before long, the casket’s surface was completely covered in his diagram, but he still hadn’t finished his explanation. The lesson was interrupted, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.


    He stood up straight, grabbed both sides of the casket lid, and with a loud shout, he heaved it up.


    The priest placed the casket lid upright against the back of the coffin and continued writing on its surface.


    “1”


    “This is the basic form of Taylor expansion, one of humanity’s most important methods of fitting the real world…”


    As he wrote, he spoke in a monotonous, sleep-inducing tone.


    The priest’s lesson had no coherence, suddenly jumping from the rise of the apes to Yang-Mills gauge theory.


    I was getting irritated and almost wanted to shoot him right then.


    Why not?


    I stood up, aiming my Glock at the priest’s head.


    Suddenly—


    “Bang—Crash!”


    A violent kick shattered the door, and it flew open, trembling like two wings.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    It was raining heavily outside, and the street trees had been turned into dark green shadows, swaying wildly in the wind.


    A seven-foot-tall nurse, soaked through, walked in. Water dripped from her as she moved, wearing a nurse’s uniform, cap, and white boots. Behind her, she pushed a small cart with a soaking-wet casket on top.


    “Clack, clack, clack,” her footsteps were rhythmic, like a drumbeat, giving this scene an eerie rhythm. I felt a bit lost in time.


    “Duàn Gùyín!” She stopped in front of me, calling out my name with a tone of anger.


    “Who? You’ve got the wrong person.” I didn’t remember being called that name, so I answered her honestly.


    She placed both hands on my shoulders and pressed down hard, forcing me to sit.


    Then, she stomped her foot on my knee.


    “Don’t remember, huh? Heh. The boss really understands you.”


    She moved her dirty foot off and kicked open the casket lid behind her.


    What was the point of stepping on me then? Just unnecessary.


    “Look inside!” She crossed her arms and stepped back, waiting for me to check.


    I leaned over to look inside. A beautiful face, pale and flawless, stirred an unsettling urge to lick it.


    “Who is it?” I asked, curious.


    Only then did she look me in the eye. She stared for a while before lowering her gaze, seeming to ponder something, her expression a little sad.


    Was I supposed to know them?


    I wracked my brain, but damn it, I couldn’t even remember my own name. Was I supposed to remember them?


    Forget it, I tilted my head up. “Does it matter who they are? Even if the dead are important, there’s more than one here.”


    The nurse nearly laughed in frustration. She kicked me in the face.


    “You really dare to say that? Then how about you go see who’s in the other coffin?”


    Her kick was forceful, and I staggered back, my head buzzing, my whole body momentarily going into a daze.


    I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead, waiting for the dizziness to pass.


    Why wouldn’t I dare?


    Moments later, I covered my face and stumbled toward the priest.


    The priest and the other guests were frozen in place, staring at the commotion. When I got close to him, he recoiled in shock.


    I peered into the casket next to him. As my vision focused, everything went dark, and I instinctively dropped to my knees.


    If humans really have souls, mine must have been jolted with a high-voltage shock, sending my body trembling uncontrollably, like I was on the edge of hypovolemic shock—heart racing, body cold, consciousness blurred.


    The person in front of me had the same face as the beautiful corpse from the other casket, but it threw me into a completely different reality. I must have been their follower, steed, or loyal dog, only knowing to cry endlessly when my master departed.


    My tear ducts, tear sacs, and nasolacrimal ducts were all working overtime, tears flowing freely as I wept uncontrollably.


    “Is it that sad?” A pleasant voice came from nearby.


    I tried to wipe away my tears with the back of my hand, but they quickly returned, so I squinted to see the source of the voice. Through the misty blur, the figure resembled someone I desperately wanted to embrace.


    “Still not opening those dog eyes? Cry, cry, cry, that’s all you do.” The nurse was yelling again.


    Driven by instinct, I struggled to stand and embraced the person.


    It was just… it was just so familiar.


    Warm hands rested on my head, and I instinctively tightened my grip, burying my face in this stranger’s shoulder, inhaling deeply.


    No, no, no, that’s not the scent.


    I wiped my nose and tears on their clothes and abruptly pushed them away.


    Standing before me was the corpse beauty.


    “Who are they?” I frowned, turning to ask the nurse.


    “Chǔ Yì, your boss.”


    “I don’t remember. What does it matter to a person with amnesia? I’m leaving.” I turned to walk away but was stopped by a fair hand grabbing my sleeve.


    “Don’t you miss me? Didn’t we finally meet again?”


    It really was like him, even the ability to manipulate minds was identical.


    Reluctantly, I turned and met his lively eyes.


    “What do you want?”


    “Nothing. I just want to take you away from here.” He seemed to know I couldn’t bear to leave, and smiled—like ice melting, bringing a cold but soothing wind.


    I truly had no dignity.