IBO -Chapter 55 End of Memories – Previous Timeline

This novel contains sensitive and taboo content like R*pe, Mu**er etc. Read only if you are comfortable.

“I’ll try my best,” Song Yiran nodded solemnly.

“But then again… why did you develop these thoughts? Did someone ever try to suppress you this way?”

555 furrowed his brow in confusion. He really couldn’t understand why Song Yiran was so self-destructive.

“…No, no one ever tried to suppress me. It’s… my own problem.”

Song Yiran shook his head. He casually plucked a blade of grass from the nearby grass and began bending it back and forth in his hand.

When did things start to change? It seemed to have begun after his parents passed away.

He felt like he could do nothing. He couldn’t save them, he could only watch them die right before his eyes.

He could hardly even remember his father’s face…

He couldn’t save himself either, getting hit by a car and trapped in a hospital room for three months with no way out.

He thought he could live an ordinary life, but misfortune always seemed to follow him.

Abused as a child, and before he could give his parents any joy in their later years, they both passed away. From then on, he became an orphan.

He had once planned that after earning money, he would take his parents traveling. He had carefully drafted plans for this for a long time, but after their passing, that notebook filled with meticulous plans simply gathered dust.

Time waits for no one. He had once believed that he still had plenty of time with his parents.

They could travel together, search for beautiful shells on the beach, bask in the sun on the sand, go north to see snow, and visit northern ice sculptures.

On the way, they could take many photos, capturing every moment of the trip.

But time never waits for anyone…

Sometimes he wondered: if back then he hadn’t insisted on using his own money to take his parents traveling, and had instead used the family’s money directly, would there have been no regrets?

After his parents died, he stumbled through life, only to be hit by a car and die.

Even such a small wish—to live—he couldn’t achieve.

What else could he do?

What could he possibly accomplish?

He could do nothing…

“Song Yiran! Song Yiran! Stop picking at your hands!” 555’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He came to his senses and realized that the blade of grass he had been fiddling with was gone.

His hands were stained with green juice and remnants of the grass, and his fingers were still picking at his nails, already causing him a faint pain.

“Ah… I got distracted just now,” Song Yiran quickly patted his hands, brushing off the remnants, then explained sheepishly to 555.

555 flew over to Song Yiran’s side and rubbed his head against Song Yiran’s light-brain device, urgently urging him to log onto the Star Net.

“Song Yiran, hurry and check the Star Net to see how your post is doing. I guarantee someone will want to place an order with you!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll go check now,” Song Yiran said with a helpless smile and logged onto the Star Net to view the post he had published earlier.

He was shocked by the comments below the post.

[Wow! Another purely handmade master! The craftsmanship is amazing, and this straw weaving really has a personal style!]

[I feel the creator must have poured a lot of effort into this work. The piece in the picture looks like some kind of fantasy creature. Its head is round yet rugged, and within the ruggedness there are edges. The author might be using this to critique society today. The tentacles below are even more interesting. Each tentacle points in a different direction, rounded yet tipped with spikes. I feel the tentacles represent the creator’s desire to break free from certain constraints.
This work is absolutely incredible! You can see the marks of handcrafting and the creator’s thoughts during the making—it can definitely be called a masterpiece!]

[That comment’s analysis is amazing! I don’t understand all of it, but I also think the author’s work is incredible! I wonder if the author takes commissions?]

[QAQ Author, please give a price so I can prepare myself.]

[I want to buy the piece in the picture. I wonder if it’s for sale.]

[It probably isn’t cheap. Handmade items are expensive, and this author’s skills are so good. Maybe it costs four digits or more.]

[The piece looks so cute! It reminds me of my pet Maomao. Maomao has a lot of tentacles too! I wonder if the author takes custom orders? If yes, I’d like to commission one for Maomao.]

…

There were many more comments like these. Overall, Song Yiran’s work was well received on the Star Net.

But he never expected that his ugly-looking jellyfish weaving would be praised by others.

“Hehe! I told you so~ Listening to me is never wrong!” 555 looked extremely satisfied with the new online comments, proudly placing his little hands on his hips.

Seeing 555 so happy, Song Yiran played along. “As expected of Lord 555! I, your humble disciple, worship you, worship you, worship you!”

“Hehe~” 555 was practically bursting with pride. If he had a tail, it would have been pointing straight up.

Song Yiran poked the overconfident 555 with his finger. “So, Lord 555, how should we price this? How many orders per month?”

555 rested his little stubby hands under his chin, pretending to think deeply for a moment, then came up with a plan.

“Let me think… the price can’t be too low. If it’s too cheap, it’ll lower your status. We need to establish a high-end, classy image for you, so the price absolutely cannot be cheap!

I looked at some prices for other handmade products. Here’s the deal: finished products should be priced in the four-figure range at least, with no upper limit.

For custom orders, the starting price should be five figures, again with no upper limit. Extra fees apply depending on the complexity of the design. Custom orders take one month to complete.

As for custom slots, rarity adds value, so we can’t offer too many at once. Let’s take only five custom orders per month!

Oh, and don’t forget to collect deposits—the deposit should be 20% of the full price. If someone backs out, we keep the deposit.”

Following 555’s plan, Song Yiran set the price. He priced the little jellyfish he made at 1,500.

555 had originally wanted Song Yiran to set it at 3,000, but Song Yiran thought that was too expensive and cut it in half, settling on 1,500, which was immediately bought by a netizen.

Then Song Yiran released five custom slots. Many people came to place orders, and he accepted the first five who contacted him, in order of arrival. Just the deposits alone filled his hands with money.

Song Yiran’s eyes sparkled as he looked at his account balance. “555, this is really profitable! Are handmade items in the interstellar era really this lucrative?”

“Of course! Interstellar folks love handmade products! If we keep this up, we’ll achieve financial freedom in no time~”

Thinking of their future life of financial freedom, 555 excitedly performed an impromptu dance in the air.

Calling it a dance was generous—it was really just spinning around several times in midair.

Seeing 555 so happy, Song Yiran’s mood brightened as well, so he grabbed 555’s little stubby hands and spun around together with him.

After spinning enough, they sat on the ground, closely side by side, reflecting on life.

555’s tone became very relaxed. “This is great! Song Yiran! We won’t have to worry about money anymore! We’ll have plenty from now on~”

“Yes! From now on, we’ll have money! We can eat whatever we want, buy whatever we want, and never have to scrimp and save for tiny discounts again!”

Song Yiran also felt an unprecedented sense of relief. He no longer had to worry about money.

While slurping his mouth, 555 made a request to Song Yiran. “Then I want braised pork! I want fried meatballs! I want rice with toppings!”

“Eh? Does the system need to eat too? Then you’ve been starving these past few days, haven’t you? Oh my! You’ve been enduring hunger to save money for me?

I’m so touched, 555. I didn’t realize you were like this! Don’t worry—we have money now. I’ll go get you some nutrient solution right away!”

Song Yiran was shocked by 555’s words. He had never known that the system could eat.

555 awkwardly wiped the saliva at the corner of his mouth and explained, “Not exactly. The system doesn’t need food to maintain its functions, but it can eat!

Whenever I see you guys eating, I get so envious. I also heard that there are eight major cuisines in the human world, and each one is supposed to be delicious~”

555 snuggled close to Song Yiran, looking pitifully at him. “Dear Ranran~ You’ll make lots of delicious food for me, right?

We’ve shared the experience of scavenging trash together—you wouldn’t bear to see your system just drooling over food names, right?”

Song Yiran chuckled lightly, patting 555’s head, and said with a smile, “Don’t worry! Whatever you want to eat, I’ll make it for you!”

“Hehe~ Song Yiran, you’re so good to me~” Receiving Song Yiran’s confirmation, 555 happily snuggled into his arms, wriggling around.

Song Yiran held the wriggling 555 and chuckled. “Just now, when you were acting pitiful, you called me ‘Dear Ranran.’ Now that I promised, you’re using my full name. Oh, your behavior is really heartless.”

“Hehe~” 555 gave Song Yiran a cheeky grin, trying to get away with it.

Song Yiran extended a finger and gently poked 555’s little head, a mixture of exasperation and amusement in his tone. “You, you!”

Song Yang was still playing with the toy yellow duck, but he suddenly noticed that Song Buli had somehow wandered near the grass around Song Yiran.

Out of curiosity, Song Yang left the toy yellow duck and ran over to where Song Buli was crouching.

Song Fu, however, didn’t notice that both his friends had run off and continued playing roughly with the toy yellow duck where he was.

Song Buli remained perfectly still, crouched in the grass, his gaze fixed in the direction of Song Yiran.

When Song Yang reached him and was about to chat, Song Buli blocked his mouth with a paw.

Song Yang looked at him in confusion. Why wouldn’t he let him talk?

Song Buli gave him a look, signaling Song Yang to look toward Song Yiran.

Following the hint, Song Yang looked toward Song Yiran. He saw Song Yiran sitting on the ground, seemingly holding something in his arms. But upon closer inspection, Song Yiran’s arms were empty…

Song Buli frowned, looking a little troubled, and told Song Yang what he saw.

“Big brother frowns sometimes, then starts smiling. His eyes seem to be looking at something? He even held that thing in his arms, but I can’t see it.”