The world seemed to have paused as silence reigned over the night.
The weak rays of light from her bulb streaked out, causing Zhao Yuan to stare into their lonely streams, which all disappeared into the deep darkness beyond her window. Hearing nothing but the gentle hum of energy around her, she couldn't help but wonder: was she the only one awake?
Zhao Yuan asked herself this while straining her ears for any other sound of life. It was sad, yet peaceful—sitting there all alone, letting the eerie, tranquil silence wash over her. Her muscles let out a sigh of relief as she laid her back against the seat's cold wooden embrace. Her eyelids felt heavy and slowly shut themselves, engulfing her in nothingness.
After experiencing this so many times, Zhao Yuan was very calm, letting her spirit lighten and release itself from any tethers holding it to this place. When memories of all she had done here flitted across her mind, she asked herself a question: Should she stay?
As soon as this question arose, a smiling, familiar face suddenly filled her vision. Her previously relaxed body seemed to tense up before she grasped the chair's wooden armrests tightly. Her pale, soft arms looked strained, with muscles rippling and her veins perking through her skin as her nails curled into the chair's shiny coat. None of this was enough to show the ongoing war within her as she tried to hold on to this realm.
But unlike before, she couldn't. Someone or something didn't want her here, and after a short, pitiful battle, she was pushed out.
A moment later, a gasp escaped her lips before her eyes shot open. The wooden seat was now replaced by a black leather chair that made her squirm while slowly processing what had just happened. After all these years, this was the first time she had been forced out of a plane.
Thinking of that invisible force, a chuckle escaped her lips just before her seat jolted forward, causing her body to fall back from the inertia. Her vision blurred for a moment before she found herself in what looked like an empty restaurant. Pulling down the hem of her top, Zhao Yuan stared down at the moles on her chest with a frown.
Wasn't this her original body? Why was it in this unfamiliar place, Zhao Yuan wondered.
As if sensing her confusion, the massive screen above the counter lit up, quickly drawing her attention. What looked like a game interface appeared in front of her.
[Breach in access and control rules detected.
The violator, Zhao Yuan, is found guilty and sentenced to specialized punishment.]
After reading the words on the screen, Zhao Yuan frowned, wondering just what she had done. Looking up at the still-illuminated screen, Zhao Yuan was about to speak up when the next words appeared:
[Punishment begins in 30:00:00]
Seeing this, Zhao Yuan patiently continued to stare at the screen, only to realize that it was a countdown to the punishment. Staring up at the running timer, she couldn't help trying to recall anything she could about her life in her original world.
Zhao Yuan was a woman in her twenties who had always been calm and reserved, because the soul fragment left in this body was mild-tempered. But seeing as she was being punished for the soul fragment's crimes, she felt shocked and confused while absentmindedly studying the screen.
After a few minutes of this, she couldn't help but stand up and walk through the empty mess of chairs and tables before stopping against the counter. Behind it lay a cold and desolate kitchen that had clearly not been used recently.
Looking up, Zhao Yuan focused all her attention on the massive screen where the timer was still running. After staring at it closely for a few minutes, Zhao Yuan finally noticed a small icon beneath the timer. It was shaped like a question mark. Its pale white color almost faded into the white background of the screen, perfectly concealing itself.
As a short, petite woman, Zhao Yuan naturally had to tiptoe to tap the screen, causing her beige-brown top to ride up and expose the soft white flesh on her waist. Staring up at her slim white hand as she tapped on the screen, Zhao Yuan felt a sense of surrealism as she read the new information:
[FAQS
Please tap on any of the frequently asked questions below or tap the box above to type in your question.]
Reading through the five questions, she felt validated when she saw all her doubts listed up there:
[1. Why am I being punished?
2. What does specialized punishment mean?
3. Where am I?
4. How long is my punishment going to last?
5. Will I have a criminal record?]
Tapping on the first question, she remained in place as she waited for an answer.
[Zhao Yuan, the violator, broke the access and control law by visiting and living in a restricted world.]
After finding out her crime, Zhao Yuan felt like laughing, realizing that maybe her soul fragment had not been as mild-tempered as she had once thought. But since it was still a part of her, and having just come back from another world, she shrugged before tapping the back arrow on the screen.
Seeing the still-running timer, Zhao Yuan stood back up on her feet and fixed her top before she walked around the counter, touching it and feeling its cold surface. Studying its structure, she felt bored by its emptiness before giving up and walking to the other areas of the room, touching and feeling anything she could.
Feeling satisfied with her small tour, Zhao Yuan looked back up at the screen again and sighed.
[Punishment begins in 00:09:45:56]
With ten-ish more minutes to go, Zhao Yuan didn't delay before walking up to one of the curtained windows and pulling the heavy, dark-colored curtains aside. She was immediately shocked by the scene before her.
Zhao Yuan had not known what to expect, but the endless white expanse in front of her made her gape in wonder at its snow-like appearance. Pulling open the massive windows for a better view of what was outside, she found it silent and warm. The whiteness seemed to be an abyss of nothingness, as she could not see the ground. Her eyes hurt the more she stared out into the void.
The longer she stared, the more her heart raced, making her shiver before quickly shutting the windows and closing the curtains. Patting her racing heart in a calming motion, Zhao Yuan shot a quick glance at the timer, only to freeze.
[Punishment begins in 00:01:05:24]
It was stupefying, making her wonder why time seemed to fly by so quickly after staring out the window for only a short while. Thinking back to that hypnotic trance into the white expanse, Zhao Yuan felt a shiver run down her spine. She rubbed her arms, hoping to get rid of the goosebumps that still lingered on her skin.
Feeling the cool air gently brush against the sensitive skin of her legs, she felt her heart pound faster before she rushed back to the leather seat and obediently sat down.