Blue sky, white clouds drifting by, and beneath the clouds, the pasture stretches wide. Look far, and there are towering peaks. Look close, and a winding stream glimmers. All around, dense forests stand tall. The temperature is just right, the sun neither harsh nor weak, and the sounds in my ears tell me most of the creatures here are harmless. Maybe a rabbit hops calmly past, or a handsome spotted deer nibbles at the grass, or a fox darts by with curious, innocent eyes fixed on us.
In a clearing among the trees, there are two humans.
One man, one woman. One with black hair, one with white. One with eyes half-open, one squinting.
The two of them are facing off.
"Hey..." The half-open-eyed guy finally spoke, sounding like he was about to start roasting someone, shaking his head, sighing, and utterly helpless: "You’re sleepwalking right now, aren’t you? Sleepwalkers are supposed to behave, right? Like last time, when I just stood there like a blockhead, right?—But what’s with you?! How come you can’t even behave when you’re asleep!"
That’s right—Jack Young, in a nearly frantic mood, was staring at Jill Young. Yeah, it’s weird to talk about yourself like this, but if Jack’s sleepwalking makes him an obedient summon, then Jill’s sleepwalking is like a drunk who’s had one too many, wild and unstoppable. Forget just standing still—she’s ready to tear open a mountain and wrestle a tiger!
And her personality flips in a flash. One moment she’s itching for a fight, the next she’s pouncing on some animal, having the time of her life. Her moods change every ten seconds, just like a kid. If Wu Zhengfeng were here, and if she knew about Jack and Jill’s relationship, and saw Jill’s sleepwalking chaos driving Jack nuts, she’d be laughing her head off.
Finally, sweet revenge! See, even you have days like this~~
Honestly, this world isn’t dangerous—at least, nothing dangerous has shown up so far. The animals here are just a notch stronger than Earth’s. The scenery is gorgeous, water and grass everywhere, and rare medicinal herbs are all over the place. You could stumble on some plant that’s ultra-rare back on Earth. But none of this helps Jack’s mood.
"Put that thing down!" Jack announces righteously. "That’s not for eating!"
"No!" The Queen, still sleepwalking, clung even tighter and tried to hide the creatures behind her.
"Let me say it one more time—" Jack Young was at his wit's end, itching to unleash his long-suppressed Double Dragon Brain Drill: "Centipedes are NOT food! Even if this one is a meter long, you still can't eat it!—And the poisonous toad? Nope. Stop hiding them, put them down!"
So, there she was: The Queen, sleepwalking, right hand gripping a wriggling centipede, left hand dangling a fat toad by the legs—she looked like she’d just graduated from the Five Venoms Cult. But these two toxic critters clearly couldn’t do anything to her. One tried to escape in vain, while the other just waited pitifully for its fate.
"Fine..." The Queen squinted at her catch, realized they looked way too ugly to eat, and on closer inspection, maybe a little gross. So, forget it. With a casual flick, whoosh—her weird ingredients shot off like meteors into the sky. Then she slumped, clutching her belly, looking at Jack Young with the saddest puppy eyes: "But... I'm still so hungry..."
Who wouldn’t be hungry? Every time you cross worlds—let’s just call it a summoning—it burns an insane amount of energy. Back in the day, there was always purified meat pills and liquid snacks on standby: pop a couple, take a swig, nap it off, and you’re back to full power. But now, with nothing in the storage space except a crummy rock, it’s DIY or bust.
"Here, try this." Jack Young felt like a glorified babysitter, pulling something out: "Pretend it’s a lollipop. Should be nutritious."
"No way!" The Queen turned her nose up: "Whatever you’ve got looks ugly, dirty, and smells weird. Not eating it!" Still hungry and stubborn, she dashed off: "I’ll hunt for myself!"
Whoosh! A platinum glow zipped away—the Queen, with her dragon strength, vanished into the forest, causing chaos among the local wildlife. Jack Young just stared at the 'stick' he’d offered, resigned: "That was a thousand-year-old wild ginseng! Super rare, extinct on Earth—major boost!"
"I—want—meat!" The Queen’s bratty demand echoed through the woods.
Let’s be real: When Jack Young crossed worlds, his other self was definitely not a dream teammate. Last time, in the Pacific world, The Queen took care of him like he was a hardcore shut-in. This time, it’s his turn to babysit the wild child. Maybe it’s the mental energy drain, but honestly, Jack Young was feeling a little woozy and ready for a nap himself.
On the bright side, ever since I summoned the Queen here, that crushing mental burden has completely vanished. It’s like someone finally picked up that heavy weight off my chest—now my mind feels light and lively again, and I’m actually in a good mood for once.
"Whatever, I guess I’m just destined to be a babysitter." Jack glanced at the Millennium Ginseng in his hand and took a fierce bite: "And apparently, I’m a herbivore guy now!" The other one only wants meat, so to balance out the vitamins and minerals, I’m stuck gnawing on plant stuff.
"But seriously, this place is amazing—like a hidden paradise." Jack wasn’t in a rush to chase after the Queen, just strolled along behind her. As he wandered through the jungle, he found tons of rare herbs. While Millennium Ginseng wasn’t everywhere, century-old Polygonatum and Lingzhi were as common as weeds. Jack wasn’t exactly an herbalist, so he couldn’t tell which plants were medicine and which were just grass. But if it looked packed with vital essence, he’d eat it, no questions asked.
(System message, irrelevant to the story—skipped translation as per guidelines.)
This Soul Rift didn’t just send me alone, but in the area I landed, it’s just me. As long as there aren’t any unpredictable Chosen Ones, then what could a bunch of wild animals possibly do to the Queen when she’s in full-on foodie mode? So, Jack was totally chill, strolling along like he was window-shopping for snacks—sampling every kind of spiritual medicine as he went.
"Hmm... Plant essence and meat essence really hit different—so tasty. Humans are definitely omnivores, gotta mix it up." Just as Jack was about to start his alternate world herbivore adventure, a thunderous beast roar echoed from the distant forest, sending birds flying and animals scattering. But that roar was cut off in an instant, and soon, a thick column of smoke rose from that direction.
"Knew it..." Jack made his way through the woods and found a bonfire with a giant skeleton hanging over it. The Queen was sitting cross-legged by the fire, devouring the last hind leg. Normally she just refines meat, but this time she ate every last scrap—she must’ve been starving.
But the Queen’s hunger wasn’t going to be satisfied by just one beast.
"Still hungry." The Queen rubbed her belly, sniffed the air, and shot off again. For the entire day, every ferocious beast within hundreds of miles was in deep trouble. No matter how tough, wild, or reckless they were, she steamrolled them all. Only after grilling a nearly thirty-meter-long, one-meter-thick giant python and feasting on it did she finally show a "barely sixty percent full" expression, then turned to Jack: "I’m sleepy."
With that, the Queen just flopped down, sprawling out on the grass like a starfish. She wore the classic ‘food coma’ smile and immediately drifted off to dreamland, leaving Jack stunned—Eat, then sleep? Are you a pig?! Just passing out in the wild like that, no shame, no caution!
"Well, guess I’m on night watch duty." Jack lay down beside the Queen, using his arms as a pillow and gazing at the sky. Yawn~~~ Yeah, I’m pretty tired too. Babysitting this wild child is exhausting. Seriously, why can’t you learn to behave? Look at your big brother—when I told you to do something, you did it. But you? You never listen.
Good thing I’m tough now, so I don’t care where I sleep—no worries about catching a cold or anything. And hey, fix your clothes, don’t just sleep with your belly hanging out like an idiot.
"Hands off, quit groping!" Smack—a crisp sound as Jack slapped away the hand that tried to sneak over.
"Hey, I said quit groping!" Smack smack smack—Jack kept slapping away the Queen’s persistent, grabby hand.
Time passed—day turned to night, stars replaced clouds, and morning light chased away the darkness. The Queen was a terrible sleeper, tossing and rolling all night. Honestly, calling it ‘keeping watch’ was more like battling my own patience. But after the night, I didn’t feel drained at all. My mental energy, almost tapped out before, was finally restored. Partly because my spiritual stats are higher now, so I recover faster, and partly because twins can share mental energy—one person gets deep sleep, both benefit.
As sunlight touched the Queen’s face, her long lashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes.
No words needed—just that weird twin resonance, and Jack knew the wild child phase was over now that her mental energy was back. It’s like in the Pacific World: when I’m sleepwalking but my mental energy’s full, I’m way smarter. After a good night’s sleep, the Queen finally looked more like herself again.
Of course, after bouncing back comes the usual wave of regret—ha!
"Oh, come on..." The Queen’s first move was to sit up, clutch her head, and make that classic ‘saw my own embarrassing history’ face: "What happened?! Why did I turn into a wild child yesterday?!"
Then she looked at Jack—staring at yourself is weird, but the Queen just looked exasperated: "And you! Don’t just sit there enjoying the show, you’re the most annoying! What’s up with that inner demon, huh? Why is it that I remember everything perfectly, but you forget it all?! Unacceptable! Quick, give me your left hand—we’re sharing memories, now!"