Ten Day Ultimatum

“Xu... Liunian.” Qi Xia nodded slightly. “Very poetic.”
“Isn’t it nice?” Xu Liunian smiled faintly, keeping her eyes ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ on the road ahead. “I thought this name would make me a big star, but in the end, I’m just driving a taxi, haha.”
Qi Xia followed her with a weak laugh, but the next moment, his expression turned cold. “Xu Liunian, what kind of joke are you playing on me?”

“What’s wrong?”
Qi Xia extended his pale hand, pointing at the Certificate of Professional Qualification in front of him. “The photo on this… is definitely you.”
“Of course—it’s my car, so it has my certificate. What’s the issue?” Xu Liunian replied, her expression puzzled.

“Don’t play dumb with me...” Qi Xia coughed a few times, then took a deep breath. “Your certificate is displayed here, meaning this car belongs to you. So—who are you really? Why is there a car that’s yours in this city?”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Xu Liunian said, shaking her head. “Sir, is this how you normally talk to people?”
“How could a {participant} get dragged here along with their car?!” Qi Xia felt his worldview unraveling.

It seemed absurd to speak of {worldly ideology} in a place like this, yet the woman’s very existence defied comprehension. He had assumed the {indigenous inhabitants} wandering around like zombies were former {participants} who’d gone mad after staying here too long.
But then there was Xu Liunian… Her behavior was odd, but her mind was still clear. And she had her own belongings within this city.
“I really don’t understand,” Xu Liunian repeated, shaking her head. “If you’re just trying to stir up trouble, you might as well get out of the car.”

Qi Xia shook his head hard, trying to stay alert, hoping to prove that what he was seeing wasn’t a hallucination.
“Xu Liunian…” he called again.
“What is it now?” Her voice had lost all politeness, laced with irritation.

“You drive a taxi. How many passengers do you pick up in a day?” Qi Xia shifted the topic to small talk.
“I…” Xu Liunian hesitated, as though the question had never occurred to her. After a long pause, she finally said, “You seem to be my first passenger today…”
“How about in a week?” Qi Xia pressed on.

Xu Liunian felt a long-dormant darkness stir in her mind, slowly being unraveled by his questions. Before meeting him, she’d thought everything was fine. But now, after only a few of his inquiries, painful memories surged through her like a flood.
“I… I think it’s been a week since I had any passengers…” Her eyes grew vacant, flickering as if searching for something lost within herself.
Qi Xia realized his questions were shaking her, so he pushed further. “What have you eaten this week? What have you drunk? Where do you go after work?”
“I… I…” Xu Liunian looked increasingly panicked, on the verge of collapse. “I haven’t eaten in a long time… When there are no passengers, I just sit by the roadside…”

“How long have you been sitting there?” Though his tone stayed calm, a chill crept down Qi Xia’s spine. He feared what she might say.
Suddenly, the car screeched to a halt as Xu Liunian slammed the brakes in the middle of the road. Her lips trembled as she stared straight ahead, her gaze shifting into something altogether different. There was emotion in her eyes now—a stark contrast to the hollow expressions of the others wandering the streets.
“I’ve been sitting by the roadside for two years!” she screamed, her voice cracking, followed by uncontrollable sobs. “Oh God… what’s happened to me?!”

“Two—” Qi Xia swallowed hard. “You’ve been parked there for two years? No food, no water, no sleep?”
Xu Liunian looked down at her hands, realization slowly dawning. “It’s this car… When I saw it in the city, it was like I was possessed…”
“What’s wrong with it?” Qi Xia asked carefully.

“This car was my livelihood! How could it possibly be here?” Xu Liunian turned sharply toward him, her eyes landing on his bloodstained clothes. “You’re hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Qi Xia said, shaking his head. “The injury doesn’t matter… Are you fully conscious now?”
Xu Liunian’s hands trembled as she examined his wounds. Only then did she notice how roughly they’d been treated—flesh matted with blood, seared by heat to stop the bleeding, yet the burns were serious.
“You’re badly hurt… If we don’t find medicine soon…” she choked back tears. “But I forgot—there’s no medicine here…”

“Indeed,” Qi Xia murmured, gazing out at the bleak distance. “This place offers no means of survival. Xu Liunian, I don’t have much time. Can you do me one last favor?”
“What… what is it?”
“Keep driving,” Qi Xia said. “I want to get out of here. I want to see the edge of the city.”

Xu Liunian looked at him sadly, realizing it was a miracle he was still conscious. “Alright. I’ll take you there. Just hang on.”
She shifted gears again, her hands trembling as the car started forward. Qi Xia rested his head against the window, watching the scenery blur past. He coughed softly, a tightness gripping his chest, making it harder and harder to breathe.
As death crept closer, he didn’t see his life flash before him like in a movie. Instead, he saw crumbling skyscrapers whizzing by outside the window.

He remembered the day he had taken a taxi, determined to head to another city. He had believed that once he returned to his hometown, he and Yu Nian’an could begin again and live a peaceful life. But who could have known…
On the desolate street, Xu Liunian drove at breakneck speed while Qi Xia bit his tongue to stay conscious. Soon, his mouth filled with blood. He rolled down the window and spat it out.
“Are—are you okay?” Xu Liunian asked nervously.

“I’m fine,” Qi Xia said softly, wiping his mouth. “Right now… I feel great. Without having to worry about {staying alive}… I haven’t felt this relaxed in days.”
They drove on in silence for nearly half an hour.
“Um… are you still alive?” Xu Liunian slowed down, reaching over to shake him. “We’re at the edge of the city. How do you plan to escape?”

With great effort, Qi Xia opened his eyes and looked ahead. After a moment, his pupils dilated in shock. Before them stood a highway toll booth, its sign rusted and illegible. Beyond it, wide roads stretched endlessly, crisscrossing into the distance. Far on the horizon, other skyscrapers flickered into view.
“So there really is no boundary…” Qi Xia’s lips trembled as he gazed at the sight before him. The words of the {Mortal Goat} echoed in his ears: “We are far beyond a mere {religious organization}; we have an entire world!”
Indeed—if this wasn’t just a city, but a world… how could he ever escape?

“What do we do now?” Xu Liunian asked, glancing back.
But Qi Xia no longer responded. He sat slumped in his seat, unmoving. His eyes still open—filled with confusion, resentment, and unwillingness—eyelids bereft of closure even in death.