IBO -Chapter 56 Missing Memories

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

In the days that followed, Song Yiran wove straw crafts in the mornings, went mining in the afternoons, and occasionally picked up a few cubs to bring back to the nursery. Just like that, he lived a quiet, peaceful life.

As time passed, Song Yiran gradually raised the cubs until they were grown.

After the mission was completed, he planned to give up resurrection and stay in the interstellar world for good, accompanying the cubs. Yet at that very moment, the timeline collapsed…

The night sky was studded with countless stars. Whether this time or the last, the night of the interstellar world was always so beautiful.

Song Yiran looked up at the stars and let out a sigh. Why exactly had the timeline collapsed?

And this time, would he really be able to find the key point that caused the collapse—and resolve it?

What if he failed?

He had no lofty ambitions. All he wanted was to stay together with his family.

After his parents passed away, he felt as if he had become a lone tree, standing by itself in the same place.

But ever since he met the cubs, the emptiness in his heart had been filled again. He was no longer alone.

On the surface, it seemed like he had given the cubs a home, but in truth, the cubs had also given him a home.

To Song Yiran, no matter how big a house was, without family, it was just a house.

But with family, even a shabby thatched shed could be called home.

Wherever his family was—that was his home.

But what should he do?

Where should he go to look for clues? Why did the timeline collapse in the first place?

Song Yiran had no leads at all. He irritably grabbed at his own hair. Where exactly were the clues?

Could he really handle all of this?

“Ranran, Ranran…”

A voice suddenly came from not far away. Song Yiran shuddered violently—it was his mother’s voice!

But his mother had already passed away long ago.

“Ranran, Mommy misses you so much…”

Song Yiran still had a trace of vigilance left at first. Perhaps it was an evil spirit disguising itself as his mother to lure him.

But after hearing what the voice said, he could no longer hold it together. “Mom, I miss you too…”

As if possessed, Song Yiran searched everywhere for the source of the voice. Following it in a stumbling run, he ended up in the courtyard. The voice seemed to be coming from underground.

“Ranran, it’s so cold here. Mommy is trapped here… Ranran, can you save Mommy…?”

“Mom, I’ll come save you right away!” Song Yiran’s eyes were unfocused, his body moving like a machine following commands as he knelt on the ground and kept digging into the soil with his bare hands.

“Ranran, Mommy misses you so much. Come and keep Mommy company…”

“Keep… Mommy company…” Song Yiran seemed not to fully understand the meaning of those words.

He looked at the pit he had dug in the ground, blinked slowly, then split into a wide smile. “Mom, Ranran doesn’t understand.”

“Ranran, Mommy really misses you. Ranran, why are you still alive in this world? Why didn’t you die together with Mommy? Ranran, come keep Mommy company!”

Suddenly, dense black fog spread through the courtyard, centered on the pit Song Yiran had dug. The fog gently wrapped around his entire body.

Countless voices echoed repeatedly by Song Yiran’s ears.

“Why do you get to live! Come down to hell with me!”

“You’re a sinner! You were able to let go of Mommy and Daddy’s deaths—you’re guilty! You don’t deserve to live happily for the rest of your life! You should spend your entire life atoning for Mommy and Daddy’s deaths!”

“Ranran, Mommy is in so much pain. It’s so cold here. Mommy is so lonely. Ranran, hurry and come keep Mommy company…”

“When you were living happily in this world, did you ever think about me? I died in such agony, yet you get to live happily—this isn’t fair! You should die with me!”

“Ranran, you always listened to Mommy, didn’t you? Believe Mommy. It’ll be very quick. Mommy won’t let you feel pain. Soon, we’ll be reunited…”

“I gave birth to you. Without me, where would you come from? Your life was given by me! Why do I die while you live?”

“Die, die, die, die, die! Come and die with Mommy… You’re Mommy’s most beloved child. You’ll definitely come with Mommy, right?”

Song Yiran’s hollow eyes rotated mechanically in their sockets as his thoughts descended into complete chaos.

He reached out with both hands, trying to grab something within the thick fog, but in the end he grasped nothing. “Mom… wants Ranran to keep her company?”

The voice softened, becoming gentle like that of a loving parent—yet the words it spoke were anything but loving.

“Hahahaha, Ranran, come keep Mommy company! You’re Mommy’s most obedient child. You have to be good and listen to Mommy. Come, my child. Don’t be afraid. The pain will only last an instant. Soon, we’ll be reunited.”

“Okay… Ranran will come keep Mommy company.” Song Yiran smiled, even as a tear slipped from the corner of his eye.

The black fog pulled at Song Yiran’s limbs, and like a marionette on strings, he began to dance stiffly within the mist.

“Ah! Failed again!” Xiao Zhong’er angrily put down the game controller. He had been playing all night, but kept getting stuck at this stage. No matter how many guides he looked up, he couldn’t clear it.

“What kind of trash level is this? It’s way too hard! Forget it, I’m done. I’m exhausted—might as well eat a late-night snack and go to sleep.”

Xiao Zhong’er yawned sleepily. To clear this level, he had been playing from night until now. One look at the time showed it was already 3 a.m.

It was definitely not that he was bad! It was the game’s level design that was too difficult!

Xiao Zhong’er exited the system space. He hadn’t finished his dinner that evening, so he had put the leftovers in the fridge.

He had planned to eat it as breakfast the next morning—now it was perfect for a late-night snack.

But the moment he stepped out of the system space, he was stunned by the scene before him.

Xiao Zhong’er rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Had staying up too late caused him to hallucinate?

He stared at the scene again and again, then let out a shrill scream. “Ahhhhhh! Song Yiran! What happened?! What did I miss?!”

Song Yiran was kneeling in the courtyard, digging into the dirt nonstop with his hands. He stuffed the soil mixed with grass roots into his mouth, chewed it, then swallowed it—swallowed it!!!!!

Xiao Zhong’er hugged his own soft, bouncy body in disbelief. “Ahhhhhh! Song Yiran! What’s wrong with you?! Have you finally gone crazy?!”

Song Yiran looked utterly deranged at this moment. While digging and eating dirt, he kept muttering to himself:

“Mom… I’m guilty! I’m a sinner!”

“Hahahaha! Why am I even still alive in this world…”

“It’s over, it’s over! Everything’s over! You’ve actually gone crazy! What are we supposed to do about the mission now?”

Can a lunatic keep doing missions? Can a lunatic find clues to a collapsing timeline?

Aaaah! It’s over, it’s over—if we can’t resolve the timeline collapse this time, Song Yiran is really going to die! Xiao Zhong’er spun around frantically in midair.

Song Yiran seemed not to hear Xiao Zhong’er at all, continuing to stuff mud into his mouth without a care.

Xiao Zhong’er hurriedly flew over and blocked Song Yiran. “Can we stop eating it, okay? This stuff tastes awful. I’ll give you my midnight snack instead, alright?”

Song Yiran rolled his eyes as if thinking it over. Then, without mercy, he pushed Xiao Zhong’er aside and kept stuffing mud into his mouth.

Xiao Zhong’er clenched his teeth. It looked like there was no choice but to take extreme measures. “Song Yiran, I really don’t have any other option. You won’t listen to anything right now. When you wake up, please don’t blame me!”

Xiao Zhong’er suddenly shot forward and delivered a headbutt straight to Song Yiran’s head, knocking him to the ground.

After a while, Song Yiran clutched his head and struggled to sit up. “Huh? Why am I in the yard? Why do my hands hurt so much?”

He quickly raised his hands to look closely. They were covered in mud, with dirt and blood mixed into the gaps under his nails.

Looking utterly confused, Song Yiran asked Xiao Zhong’er beside him, “Xiao Zhong’er, what happened? Don’t tell me I sleepwalked out here in the middle of the night to dig up dirt?”

“No—much worse than that.” Xiao Zhong’er looked grave. “You just went crazy! No, maybe that’s not the right word. You might be sick.”

Song Yiran scratched his head in confusion, only to hit the lump on the back of his head, and immediately yelped in pain. “Ow ow ow ow! Why is there a bump on my head?”

“Well… about that…” Xiao Zhong’er sounded a bit guilty. “Don’t get hung up on such trivial details~ Anyway, please watch the VCR!”

Xiao Zhong’er projected everything he had just seen in video form in front of Song Yiran.

…

After watching the video, Song Yiran immediately ran to the bathroom to induce vomiting. He retched for a long time, finally emptying the mud and grass roots from his stomach. When he was done, he slumped against the wall in dejection.

“So… I’ve relapsed again.”

“‘Again’?” Xiao Zhong’er blinked. “Have you eaten dirt like this before? I’d better check the system shop to see if there’s any medicine that can treat you.”

Looking worried, Xiao Zhong’er rummaged through the system shop. This one? No, the side effects are too severe. That one? No, it only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.

Hearing this, Song Yiran immediately lifted his head, shock and disbelief written all over his face.

“Did you forget? The last time we were on a mission, this happened to me too—only it was in a dream. Back then, you were the one who broke into my dream and talked me through it.”

“Huh… what?” Xiao Zhong’er stopped what he was doing and looked up at Song Yiran, his eyes filled with pure, unclouded confusion. “But I don’t remember anything like that happening?”

“Could it be that you forgot?”

“That’s impossible!” Xiao Zhong’er shook his head. “We systems don’t rely on memory to record events. Everything that happens is stored in our internal memory. If it happened, there’s absolutely no way we’d forget it!”

Song Yiran’s mind suddenly flashed with a guess. He pressed on, asking, “Xiao Zhong’er, do you remember Saika?”

“Saika? Who’s that? I’ve never heard that name.”

Hearing Xiao Zhong’er’s reply, Song Yiran sucked in a sharp breath. He swallowed hard and forced himself to stay calm.

“Don’t you remember? In the last mission, the very first job I found was mining at a mine. Saika was a worker there, and he even helped us.”

“That can’t be right! I clearly remember your first job was working as a waiter at a bar. Then we found out it was a place that tricked people into selling their bodies, so we ran off overnight.”

Xiao Zhong’er frowned. He was absolutely certain he hadn’t remembered it wrong.