A fair-skinned woman, casually wearing a white jacket-style ladies’ uniform over a pair of tight athletic pants, walked through the corridor where warm lights reflected off the walls until she reached the door.
–Hmm?– She tilted her head slightly, casting a glance back down the hallway she had just traversed. An inexplicable wisp of melancholy drifted through her heart, like a faint smoke that refused to dissipate.
After a brief pause, the strikingly handsome woman with delicate features pushed the door open. Yet, contrary to her usual routine after an afternoon workout, she didn’t head straight for a bath. Instead, she strode to the desk, pulled the silk sweatband from around her neck, tossed it onto the armchair, and dropped into the seat. She closed her eyes and leaned back, surrendering to the chair.
In her mind, she began to trace the contours of a certain magic rune.
Countless whispers rose around her, and a dreamlike tide of black mist surged from every corner of the room.
When she opened her eyes again, the woman—now transformed into a completely different visage—was seated in a dim, hazy space that resembled her own room. At the center of the room, a swirling black mist rune shifted and morphed incessantly, From it emanated a voice of thought, neither male nor female:
{You have come earlier than the monthly appointment we agreed upon, Madam Huan Bao’er.}
The woman straightened her slender waist, pressing it against the twisted back of the chair. Her entire appearance had shifted into another form—more ethereal, imbued with a dignity that seemed unearthly.
From her slender fingers, which seemed sheathed in white leather, she flicked a shimmering coin that fell into the suspended intricate patterns.
[I want to read Hu Bao’er’s latest story now.]
{As you wish.}
The twisted patterns began to flow, and a slightly reddish page drifted out from among them, swept across the room, and landed in Huan Bao’er’s hands. Her pearl-like, lustrous eyes swiftly scanned the now-solidified script on the page.
—…Though the daily affairs of a high-ranking person are numerous, they are also monotonous. Fortunately, life always provides various sudden seasonings. For instance, on this day, an unusual event occurred around Ms. Hu Bao’er, the Red President of Star Wonder Company—a colleague and friend of hers had suddenly vanished. And Hu Bao’er had completely forgotten this person.
—When would she discover the anomaly? Actually, there was no need to worry. Because as one who had obtained the star, she had already detected something amiss from subtle clues, as well as from her own thoughts and emotions. She swiftly took action.
—Having sensed that something peculiar was secretly unfolding, on the morning of that day, before training, she took the time to enter a mysterious place accessible only to herself. She was about to conduct her monthly memory sorting—though this session was sudden. Yet this sorting proved extraordinary: Hu Bao’er actually confirmed that her vague, elusive unease had indeed come true!
—A friend who did not exist had perished.
Huan Bao’er’s fingers moved slightly, crumpling the paper into creases.
She quickly smoothed the paper back into its original grain.
[Give me an earlier story.]
A dozen or so sheets of paper flew over swiftly. Huan Bao’er grabbed them all, stacked them together, and rapidly read these stories that had once been clear in her memory.
But soon, from these utterly familiar words and phrases, she read something unfamiliar.
—… Hu Bao’er told Zhang Sheng that she really liked the game cartridge –Mystic Ritual- he had given her to play with, because the name of the protagonist inside resembled her uncle’s…
—… Zhang Sheng told Hu Bao’er that a boy about to join the company recently seemed quite nice, and he wanted to introduce him to his goddaughter as a match before leaving. But Hu Bao’er asked, which boy could have caught Zhang Sheng’s attention? This old fellow, whom she had known for two or three years but who still hadn’t gotten any promotion, said with a chuckle, –A newly rising outstanding youth who just caused a stir in the outside world.- Hearing this, Hu Bao’er knew exactly who he meant.
—… But Hu Bao’er said, –That little guy, though he seems upright, is actually sly and shifty, and sometimes goes crazy out of the blue. How could you think of fixing your goddaughter up with someone like that?- Who would have known Zhang Sheng would reply, –But he treats his own people well—that’s the reason. In this world, there are still so many bad guys and too few good ones. That guy…-
–That guy…- Huan Bao’er’s eyes flickered. –That guy—wasn’t it me who proactively suggested assigning him to work under that little girl Jiao Ma!-
She flipped through the materials about Zhang Sheng again, knowing that there was no one by that name in the Lost Illusion Company—it was merely an alias.
Yet, it undeniably meant that someone very much like him had once existed.
Huan Bao’er lifted her head and looked at Wenlu.
–I want to read…- She frowned, lowering her gaze to her own pages. There was no name for that –guy- on these pages—in her own story, he was nothing more than a passerby not even worthy of being a supporting role, and Wenlu had not created a proxy name for this character.
She flipped through the information about her goddaughter again, but in the history of the story, she herself had no such goddaughter. Rather, it was Zhang Sheng who often mentioned his goddaughter—that young female superior of his—and this middle-aged man was reminded of his only daughter back in his hometown.
[May I ask.]
Huan Bao’er thought about how she should tell this thing about Yang Zicang. If she revealed too much, she feared that certain individuals who should not be watched might catch the attention of these entities. Although this person might have already begun to be recorded by it, that was in other stories.
If a person always appears across multiple stories, she did not yet know whether that outcome would be good or bad…
{What do you wish to ask, madam? You know I enjoy communicating with other lives—it is an instinct left over from my existence.}
[I want to read some stories related to the Land of Lost Frequencies.]
{You mean, you wish to read that lady’s –memoir-?}
A flicker passed through Huan Bao’er’s eyes.
[No, I hadn’t thought of that. That will be all for today. I will visit on time at the beginning of next month to sort out my memories.]
{Very well. Goodbye, madam.}
Huan Bao’er nodded slightly and tapped the office desk lightly.
[Farewell, Your Excellency the Publisher.]
The darkness receded like a tide.
In the woman’s gaze, the strangeness in the room quickly withdrew from the center toward all sides, returning to the vivid brightness of the mortal world. She sniffed her hand, rose, and went to the bathroom. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, she pondered, waiting for the hot water to fill. Suddenly she murmured.
–No. I can’t just let things happen on their own. I need to do something.-
Her eyes sharpened, and she looked toward the direction of the archive.
[I, the Shining Pentagon, begin investing…]
……
Yang Zicang, who had again come back empty-handed that day, had just returned to his dorm when a –thump thump- knock sounded at the door.
Opening it, he saw a young man with uneven scars on his eyelids and forehead.
Fortunately, those ghastly scars looked as though they had been treated—otherwise they would have been far too hideous. His build was similar to Yang Zicang’s, and although he was a company employee, there was still a strong aura of someone who had hung around the –Frequency-Lost Land.- In other words, this guy was also a newcomer who had only recently joined the company.
–Excuse me, who are you?-
Seeing Yang Zicang looking out from behind the door, the smiling man took an eye-hole patch from his pocket and placed it over his face.
It happened to cover the ugly scars. Yang Zicang recognized him at once.
–It’s you!-
–Have you had dinner yet?- Zoro asked, standing ramrod straight. –If not, come with me somewhere—I’ve prepared some food.-
–Don’t tell me you already have your own territory.-
Zoro laughed. –Just take one look at my ‘human-like’ appearance and you’ll know that’s impossible. Come on, we’re going outside the company.-
–Outside?!- Yang Zicang grabbed a coat and followed him. It had been ages since he’d last gotten out for some air.
The people they met along the way all greeted each other warmly, and some were becoming increasingly refined, looking as if they’d been upgraded to –high-definition-. These were high-rankers with formidable mental strength, yet they showed no trace of superiority.
Though sunlight fell on the ground outside the company, a deep mist still lingered, and the view was profound. Occasionally, overlapping phantom shadows flickered left and right.
–Ah, finally a breath of fresh air.-
Standing on solid ground, Zoro placed his hands on his hips and let out a long sigh. He turned his head and said, –Come on, there’s a place to rest further in. The scenery here may be lonely, but it has its own charm.-
The two walked among the mist-shrouded rocks, and within a quarter of an hour, a small pavilion appeared. The stone table inside was carved with criss‑crossing lines—a chessboard.
{Hello, I am Little Red Horse.}
The Enightmare motorcycle, fashioned in a Harley style, carried two portions of food as it approached.
–Hello, what a cute Little Red Horse.-
{Hello, such a polite human.}
Zorro smiled, took the dishes from this Enightmare that was teasing Yang Zicang, and placed them on the stone table. The motorized Enightmare was then immediately attracted by the swaying trees in the distance and zoomed off.
–Is this your bonded Enightmare?- Yang Zicang said with a tone of feigned displeasure.
–Haha, no. Our relationship is like yours with ‘Big Star’. The owner of Little Red Horse died a long time ago, and then it met me.-
–Then you two are both very lucky.-
Zorro handed the chopsticks to Yang Zicang, sat on a stone stool, and said, –So, I heard you’ve been here for over half a month. Getting used to it yet?-
–Everyone is very friendly. If I don’t understand something, they take the initiative to explain. But precisely because of that, I feel a bit uneasy.-
–Hehe, that means you haven’t quite got the hang of it yet. It’s agonizing, right?-
Hearing Zorro’s teasing, Yang Zicang gave a couple of dry laughs and asked somewhat reluctantly:
–You’ve been in for about a month, right? Have you synchronized to any useful terrain?-
–Frequency synchronization? You’re not working in the ‘Wave Frequency Group’, are you? I’m in the ‘Frequency Division Group’. I just need to sort out the ‘Lost Frequency Bands’ you all distribute, then extract and replace them. The rewards from ‘Virtual Zero Chronos’ may not be as high as your department, but at least it’s stable.-
–You just said ‘Virtual Zero Chronos’.-
Yang Zicang thought about the hundred thousand Xu Ling Chronos he had earned by clearing the perfect challenge. Because of Jiao Ma’s sudden behavior the previous day, he hadn’t had the chance to share the Chronos with her yet. He turned to Zoro and said:
–I also have some Xu Ling Chronos, and I roughly know how to use them, but I don’t know the specifics. Do you have any information?-
As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly added, –Don’t tell me anything you saw in the archive room, though.-
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