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"Are you alright?" I asked .

"Yeah, I"m fine," Dahai managed through his gasps .

"Great," I hurriedly reloaded my bullets .

Dahai was panting loudly and I could sense the strain through his suit .

As I got ready to pull the door open, I saw Dahai walk toward the corpses .

"What are you doing?" I questioned .

He bent down to retrieve an a.s.sault rifle . "Do you know how to use this?"

"Probably . "

He threw one to me and I inspected it for a short while .

It was a modified AK47, different in many ways .

Its muzzle had a bayonet above to prevent the soldiers from being disadvantaged in a close battle . Without further thought, I threw my own gun down and shouldered the rifle .

When I looked up again, I saw that Dahai was trying to open the other soldier"s clothes as if he was searching for something .

"What else are you trying to do? Strip him? Do you want me to wear his clothes to conceal myself? But you can"t wear it! You can"t take the suit off, can you?" 

Dahai paid no attention to me as he continued his search .

He dismantled the other a.s.sault rifle and took the bayonet down .

Frustrated, I ran over to grab his shoulder . "Stop dillydallying!"

Dahai turned and handed the bayonet to me . "Open him up . "

"Are you crazy?"

"I can"t really do it in this suit, so you"ll have to do it . Open him up . We both know that these soldiers can move in and out of Blemish of Time freely . I"ve checked his clothes and there"s nothing abnormal there . It must be something different inside his body," Dahai explained .

"Different? What, is he a robot?" I asked, confused .

"We won"t know until we open him up . Come on, you"re the one wasting time . Do it now . "

More gunshots sounded . The guards were nearby .

I clenched my teeth and started slicing his chest open .

"That"s right," Dahai encouraged excitedly .

The sight of blood spurting out made me slightly dizzy .

He grabbed my hand and pressed the bayonet down . "Use more force . "

With his help, I ran the bayonet down the soldier"s body, creating an arm-length slit .

When that was done, I ran aside to vomit .

"You have a weak stomach . I"ve done this a lot inside . When cancer patients die, I would open them up to study the anomalies in their bodies," Dahai shared, putting his hand in to feel around the body .

When I finally regained some focus, the gunshots were getting closer and more consecutive .

"They"re coming," I shouted .

"Almost . I can feel something," Dahai replied distractedly .

I searched for the safety lock on the a.s.sault rifle to prepare myself for the combat .

Dahai smiled triumphantly . "Got it . I get it now . "

"What do you have?" I turned to ask .

He held a blade of half-transparent gra.s.s in his hand .

"You got that from inside him?" I asked, shocked and a little grossed out .

"I finally know the secret . It"s this . " He raised the gra.s.s eagerly .

"What is it?" I asked impatiently .

He pointed at the soldier . "Appendix . You know that this gra.s.s grows in the dark and they rely more on nutrients . Who would"ve thought that this gra.s.s can be grown in the appendix?"

"The appendix? The one along the large intestine?" I parroted, subconsciously rubbing my hand over my lower stomach .

"Help me, Luqiao," Dahai requested .

"With what?"

"There are two blades here for me to breath . I"ll remove the suit so what you have to do is to open up this area and put the gra.s.s in . "

The shots got louder and louder and my heart started thumping quicker .

"Snap out of it . The essence of the gra.s.s must have spread since I took it out of his body . You"ve probably started experiencing the residual effects . Do this surgery for me and I"ll do the same for you . You"ll start coughing in a few days" time if you don"t do it . " He removed his suit and placed the blade of gra.s.s beside his head before wiping the bayonet with his suit and handing it over to me .

"Disinfection?" I asked automatically .

"No time . There"s no chance of infection when the organs are suppressed . We"ll just have to eat to provide the gra.s.s with nutrients . That way we can enjoy eternal life," Dahai said .

I leaned over and Dahai started to cough mildly .

It must"ve been difficult to breathe in the oxygen after such a long time .

He pointed at his lower abdomen . "This is the spot . Speed up . "

I grabbed the bayonet and made a slit at the indicated spot .  

Dahai did not scream . Instead of pain, his face was filled with antic.i.p.ation and yearning .

He took the gra.s.s by his head and handed it to me with his trembling hand .

"Faster, Luqiao," he panted before pa.s.sing out .

I panicked and quickly put the blade of gra.s.s inside his body even without dusting away the soil on it .

I adjusted the angle and tried hard to adhere the gra.s.s to the appendix before taking my hand out and closing Dahai"s wound .

He lay motionless .

I returned to a calm state and started doing the same for the chest area .  

My skills were crude and I couldn"t tell if I made it work .

In a moment of desperation, I raised Dahai"s head up and starting giving him CPR .

An indirect kiss between a 50-year-old man and a 130-year-old man .

Great .

I did it over and over again until the sound of gunshots sounded as though the guards were just within reach .

Just then, Dahai"s eyes flew open with a violent cough .

I quickly gave him a few slaps to speed up the process .

The sounds were now coming from the other side of the door .

"Put their clothes on," Dahai urged .

We stashed our stuff away and put on the uniforms .

The gunmen were shooting at the door lock just as we were getting dressed .

Dahai picked up the other blade of gra.s.s and stowed it in his pocket . "I will do the surgery for you when there"s time . "

I nodded . Dahai activated the conveyor belt once more and threw his suit onto the belt .

The corpses and the suit were brought back into Blemish of Time .

When the door shot open, Dahai and I were already dressed and ready to meet them .

"Why are you guys here?" the leader asked, his gun raised .

Dahai pointed at the belt and answered, "This is the machine that connects to Blemish of Time . We just came out from below . "

"Follow us then . We"ll continue our search," he said with a nod before exiting .

Dahai and I followed after them .

I whispered to Dahai, "When am I going to do the surgery?"

He held the gun in one hand while his other hand was over his lower abdomen . "Let"s follow them first and we"ll find a safe spot to do it later . "

I tagged along behind him, wondering if there was an even deeper secret behind Blemish of Time .

We only had the gra.s.s . . . what if the immortality spring was real?

Are you alright I asked . Yeah, I 39 m fine, Dahai managed through his gasps . Great, I hurriedly reloaded my bullets . Dahai was panting loudly and I could sense the strain through his suit . As I got ready to pull the door open, I saw Dahai walk toward the corpses . What are you doing I questioned . He bent down to retrieve an a.s.sault rifle . Do you know how to use this Probably . He threw one to me and I inspected it for a short while . It was a modified AK47, different in many ways . Its muzzle had a bayonet above to prevent the soldiers from being disadvantaged in a close battle . Without further thought, I threw my own gun down and shouldered the rifle . When I looked up again, I saw that Dahai was trying to open the other soldier 39 s clothes as if he was searching for something . What else are you trying to do Strip him Do you want me to wear his clothes to conceal myself But you can 39 t wear it You can 39 t take the suit off, can you Dahai paid no attention to me as he continued his search . He dismantled the other a.s.sault rifle and took the bayonet down . Frustrated, I ran over to grab his shoulder . Stop dillydallying Dahai turned and handed the bayonet to me . Open him up . Are you crazy I can 39 t really do it in this suit, so you 39 ll have to do it . Open him up . We both know that these soldiers can move in and out of Blemish of Time freely . I 39 ve checked his clothes and there 39 s nothing abnormal there . It must be something different inside his body, Dahai explained . Different What, is he a robot I asked, confused . We won 39 t know until we open him up . Come on, you 39 re the one wasting time . Do it now . More gunshots sounded . The guards were nearby . I clenched my teeth and started slicing his chest open . That 39 s right, Dahai encouraged excitedly . The sight of blood spurting out made me slightly dizzy . He grabbed my hand and pressed the bayonet down . Use more force . With his help, I ran the bayonet down the soldier 39 s body, creating an arm length slit . When that was done, I ran aside to vomit . You have a weak stomach . I 39 ve done this a lot inside . When cancer patients die, I would open them up to study the anomalies in their bodies, Dahai shared, putting his hand in to feel around the body . When I finally regained some focus, the gunshots were getting closer and more consecutive . They 39 re coming, I shouted . Almost . I can feel something, Dahai replied distractedly . I searched for the safety lock on the a.s.sault rifle to prepare myself for the combat . Dahai smiled triumphantly . Got it . I get it now . What do you have I turned to ask . He held a blade of half transparent gra.s.s in his hand . You got that from inside him I asked, shocked and a little grossed out . I finally know the secret . It 39 s this . He raised the gra.s.s eagerly . What is it I asked impatiently . He pointed at the soldier . Appendix . You know that this gra.s.s grows in the dark and they rely more on nutrients . Who would 39 ve thought that this gra.s.s can be grown in the appendix The appendix The one along the large intestine I parroted, subconsciously rubbing my hand over my lower stomach . Help me, Luqiao, Dahai requested . With what There are two blades here for me to breath . I 39 ll remove the suit so what you have to do is to open up this area and put the gra.s.s in . The shots got louder and louder and my heart started thumping quicker . Snap out of it . The essence of the gra.s.s must have spread since I took it out of his body . You 39 ve probably started experiencing the residual effects . Do this surgery for me and I 39 ll do the same for you . You 39 ll start coughing in a few days 39 time if you don 39 t do it . He removed his suit and placed the blade of gra.s.s beside his head before wiping the bayonet with his suit and handing it over to me . Disinfection I asked automatically . No time . There 39 s no chance of infection when the organs are suppressed . We 39 ll just have to eat to provide the gra.s.s with nutrients . That way we can enjoy eternal life, Dahai said . I leaned over and Dahai started to cough mildly . It must 39 ve been difficult to breathe in the oxygen after such a long time . He pointed at his lower abdomen . This is the spot . Speed up . I grabbed the bayonet and made a slit at the indicated spot . Dahai did not scream . Instead of pain, his face was filled with antic.i.p.ation and yearning . He took the gra.s.s by his head and handed it to me with his trembling hand . Faster, Luqiao, he panted before pa.s.sing out . I panicked and quickly put the blade of gra.s.s inside his body even without dusting away the soil on it . I adjusted the angle and tried hard to adhere the gra.s.s to the appendix before taking my hand out and closing Dahai 39 s wound . He lay motionless . I returned to a calm state and started doing the same for the chest area . My skills were crude and I couldn 39 t tell if I made it work . In a moment of desperation, I raised Dahai 39 s head up and starting giving him CPR . An indirect kiss between a 50 year old man and a 130 year old man . Great . I did it over and over again until the sound of gunshots sounded as though the guards were just within reach . Just then, Dahai 39 s eyes flew open with a violent cough . I quickly gave him a few slaps to speed up the process . The sounds were now coming from the other side of the door . Put their clothes on, Dahai urged . We stashed our stuff away and put on the uniforms . The gunmen were shooting at the door lock just as we were getting dressed . Dahai picked up the other blade of gra.s.s and stowed it in his pocket . I will do the surgery for you when there 39 s time . I nodded . Dahai activated the conveyor belt once more and threw his suit onto the belt . The corpses and the suit were brought back into Blemish of Time . When the door shot open, Dahai and I were already dressed and ready to meet them . Why are you guys here the leader asked, his gun raised . Dahai pointed at the belt and answered, This is the machine that connects to Blemish of Time . We just came out from below . Follow us then . We 39 ll continue our search, he said with a nod before exiting . Dahai and I followed after them . I whispered to Dahai, When am I going to do the surgery He held the gun in one hand while his other hand was over his lower abdomen . Let 39 s follow them first and we 39 ll find a safe spot to do it later . I tagged along behind him, wondering if there was an even deeper secret behind Blemish of Time . We only had the gra.s.s . . . what if the immortality spring was real