RHWHEG – Chapter 58 Return of Memories

Yu Qunqing shouted to his companions, “Try to leave at least one alive.” He tossed the backpack containing the cat carrier to 060, telling her to take Li Yuebei and the little crocodile farther away. Seeing this, Lin Luyi hurriedly handed over the queen bee, reminding her to take good care of the bees.

060 protested, dissatisfied, “This isn’t a zoo!”

Li Yuebei wandered around beside her. For some reason, he felt like he was the only human here.

The skirmish broke out in an instant.

The Mind Library had a total of sixteen people, each with different abilities. Dawn had just risen, the air warming slightly. On the rugged ruins, both sides spread out, each unleashing their powers.

Lin Luyi was on the very front line, tanking several attacks head-on. He was an “Undying Plant”—pain would turn him into vegetation. Right now, he felt like even his brain was made of grass. His thinking slowed, and memories of his time in the laboratory surfaced, as if he had returned to those deep, silent jars. His vines moved more slowly, which was a fatal flaw in battle.

Beside him, Sun Min tried to wake him, but instead inexplicably fell into an illusion herself. In the illusion, she was all alone, captured by another wild shelter on a rainy night, then brutally killed under someone else’s blade. Farther away, Dong Changxin’s movements also grew sluggish.

“It worked!” one member of the Mind Library exclaimed in delight. “‘Old Dream, Fear’s Color’ has finished activating—let’s use ‘Resonance’!”

Old Dream, Fear’s Color—it drew out the things one feared most from their memories.

Yu Qunqing felt a sharp stab in his head. Relying purely on instinct carved into his bones, he drew his bowstring—yet his mind dragged him back into the past.

In the past, he had been an LV5 ability user of the shelter. But one day, the research center issued a notice, plastering his face on the wanted board and declaring him an enemy of humanity, to be killed on sight.

The rage and terror of that betrayal had, in fact, always been buried in his heart…

“What do we do? The Mind Library must be incredibly strong…” At the edge of the battlefield, 060 hugged the little crocodile anxiously.

“I think you could easily tear them apart,” Li Yuebei said pointedly. “You look extremely powerful.”

060 replied, “I don’t dare… and I don’t want to!” She muttered nervously. “If I kill even one more person, even if I’m a crocodile, Yu Qunqing would definitely kill me! Is there really no other way?”

Li Yuebei watched coldly from the sidelines. Doctors didn’t go to the front lines, but he had seen too many similar endings before.

060 noticed a signboard amid the nearby ruins and suddenly lit up. It was a lighted sign from a famous pre-apocalypse coffee chain, its logo a twin-tailed mermaid—about eighty percent similar to her. She dragged out the signboard and lifted it high overhead, like the Lion King holding up a cub. Li Yuebei looked at her in confusion.

“This is what I’m most familiar with,” 060 said devoutly, beginning to activate her twin-tail ability.

After the apocalypse, everyone named their own abilities. In shelters, they had to report them to the Ability Hall, which would then publish some of the names. That was why people would say strange things like “Black Abyss Fire Dragon and Frost Arrow are forming a new team,” or “Magnetite’s squad was completely wiped out,” using ability names instead of people’s names. Though shouting ability names during fights felt embarrassing at first, everyone got used to it over time.

In the residential district, there was no such system—people introduced their ability names by word of mouth. 060 didn’t know her previous-life title and had never heard of anything like “Evil Totem.” She decided to give her power a new name. From this moment on, she would have a brand-new storyline, completely severed from the executioner she once was. Her ability was called:

“Then it’s decided—it’s you! Coffee Totem!”

Under the dawn light, the sinister twin-tailed mermaid (crocodile type) held the sign aloft. The fire of vengeance was finally diluted by the aroma of coffee. There were no coffee scent molecules on the battlefield, but everyone’s nervous system clearly registered the information: smelled coffee.

The scent was overpowering and domineering. Everyone was shaken awake, breaking free from their old dreams.

Only Li Yuebei recalled the coffee nightmares of staying up all night grinding out papers. He stood there motionless, quite abnormal—but 060 couldn’t be bothered with him.

Clarity returned to Yu Qunqing’s eyes. Thunderous fury surged along his arrow, blasting toward the enemy and blowing one of them apart.

He lightly rubbed his forehead, lamenting that his ability really wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing.

Next came the awakening of his companions. Massive plants burst up from underground, capturing the enemies hiding in corners one by one. Dong Changxin pulled the trigger, and a cluster of gray fireworks spun through the air and fell into the enemy ranks.

The Mind Library thought it was a powerful strike, but it turned out to be painless—just a bunch of small cones. As they were about to relax, Dong Changxin slapped backward, pressing her hand onto her ammo box.

In the next instant, sharp iron blossoms scattered everywhere, like meteors turning the place into hell.

Dong Changxin clutched her chest, asking with great distress, “Do I seriously have to pick up each big cone one by one later to recycle them?” The fact that her big cones had no return function was truly unbearable!

Sun Min hurried to comfort her. “I’ll help make ammunition—don’t worry.”

Seeing things going badly, the Mind Library finally decided to flee, only to have their path blocked by a black bird.

The battlefield turned into a one-sided slaughter.

She Lulang struck with ruthless force. But remembering that Yu Qunqing wanted captives, he held back a little. Even so, the enemies on his side met utterly miserable ends.

…

“Did you see that?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Yu Yanlan, your brother is really terrifying—and so is She Lulang who follows him!”

At the edge of the battlefield, two people hid among the ruins, secretly watching everything unfold. They were Yu Yanlan and Han Shuzhu, who had broken away from Jiang Qiwen’s team.

Yu Yanlan stared at Yu Qunqing, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, taking in the brutal battle. The shock left him stunned.

“My brother… he’s still alive…” Yu Yanlan couldn’t describe the feeling. Before the apocalypse, Yu Qunqing’s relationship with the family had been terrible—how could things have improved just because the apocalypse came? Seeing Yu Qunqing only confirmed his preconceived notions, yet at the same time, he inexplicably felt relieved that Yu Qunqing was alive. Perhaps it meant he could finally give an answer to their nagging parents.

On the battlefield, Yu Qunqing’s group began collecting the spoils of war. Several members of the Mind Library had escaped. Since weeds should be pulled out by the roots, Yu Qunqing went after them, leaving their line of sight. She Lulang watched the direction he left for a long time, then returned to the team with a gloomy expression.

At the edge of the battlefield, Han Shuzhu was inexplicably agitated. Grabbing Yu Yanlan’s hand, he said, “Why won’t you believe me? If you believe that Yu Qunqing is the ‘villain,’ then you can be the protagonist!”

In his mind, there had always been a book that allowed Han Shuzhu to glimpse the future. It felt somewhat like a parasitic organism, but Han Shuzhu didn’t mind. Relying on this book, he had gained many advantages. Yet as the gap between reality and the book steadily widened, his body grew worse and worse, leaving him increasingly drained. The biggest discrepancy was that Yu Yanlan didn’t seem to have much feeling for Jiang Qiwen; the next was that Yu Yanlan didn’t appear to hate Yu Qunqing that much. This was completely different from the script in his head!

A gut instinct warned him that if reality diverged too far from the “parasitic book” in his mind, the book would die—and as its host, he would die with it.

No. He had to preserve the plot!

While Han Shuzhu was thinking through a plan, Yu Yanlan suddenly gripped his hand in return. His voice echoed through the empty ruins: “Do you hear something…?”

Han Shuzhu frowned, pressed his hand against an iron pipe, and listened for distant sounds. He heard faint footsteps, seemingly coming from above.

Yu Yanlan heard them too and instinctively looked upward.

They were hiding in a half-destroyed washroom, observing the battlefield through a set of blinds. Their view wasn’t comprehensive, and directly above them was their blind spot.

“Click—”

First came a thin line, then more light poured in.

The ceiling of the washroom was lifted clean off. A figure stood backlit, warm sunlight seeming to gild him in gold. Yu Yanlan’s eyes were dazzled by the glare before he could make out the unexpected visitor’s face. The man’s hands were covered in blood, his expression exceptionally cold.

“So I’ve found two guests,” Yu Qunqing remarked, as if he were seeing strangers.

He looked Yu Yanlan up and down, finding him just as detestable as ever. Then he glanced at Han Shuzhu. He remembered that face—the vice-captain cared especially about Han Shuzhu, which meant Yu Qunqing certainly wouldn’t let him go.

But for now, his priority target of hatred was still Yu Yanlan.

Yu Qunqing walked toward him step by step, each step stirring countless memories. He was very calm, fully aware of what he was doing.

In his previous life, his ability had been “Blue Rules”—meaning “anything judged as blue must obey his command.” This bug-level, rule-type ability had made him stand out.

To level up, he had proactively collected mutant calamity stones and endured massive radiation. The shelter’s research center still found this insufficient and tampered with things during his treatment.

In the period when there was no accompanying team doctor, the research center treated him with special favor, allowing him access to a customized operating room every time he was injured. Only later did he learn that after every severe injury, the research center would inject him with a calamity-stone agent to rapidly boost his level.

His parents knew about this and went along with it. Yu Qunqing’s radiation level was too high; he was destined to drift farther and farther from humanity. Why not take the benefits and live well with their younger son instead? Yu Yanlan, as a beneficiary of these interests, also knew—but for the sake of his boyfriend’s smoother cooperation with the shelter, he personally used the ability “Liquefaction” to turn mutant calamity stones into liquid agents, better deceiving Yu Qunqing. Some of the people Yu Qunqing had saved also knew, but the shelter needed an LV5, so they played deaf and dumb.

It wasn’t until Li Yuebei joined the team and pointed out that Yu Qunqing’s wound sutures were strange that Yu Qunqing discovered the truth. He defected from the shelter, and his team followed him.

Thus, the moment Yu Qunqing saw Yu Yanlan, rage surged up. His face grew even colder—they were no brothers, but enemies!

“Don’t come any closer!” Yu Yanlan sensed imminent danger and immediately assumed a fighting stance. “You’re now a wanted criminal of the shelter. I have the right to incapacitate you without violating the principle of human mutual aid!”

“Do you think I care about that?”

Yu Qunqing tossed aside the bow case and, in a few swift moves, dragged Yu Yanlan out of the rubble. Yu Yanlan struggled and aimed at the iron wall above Yu Qunqing’s head, using the ability “Liquefaction” to soften the joints. The massive iron wall crashed down, kicking up gray-white dust. Yu Qunqing dodged easily and beat Yu Yanlan mercilessly.

“I knew you were no good!” Yu Yanlan shouted stubbornly between blows. “You were alive and didn’t tell us! You’ve already turned into a calamity, haven’t you?!”

“Forty-two surgeries,” Yu Qunqing ground out through clenched teeth. “You supplied thirty-four mutant calamity stones!”

Dull thuds of fist meeting flesh echoed through the ruins. After beating his brother to exhaustion, Yu Qunqing tossed Yu Yanlan aside and sat atop the rubble himself. His heart was still wracked with pain, finding no sense of redemption. Gentle sunlight bathed the ruins, impartially giving warmth to all. Everything was quiet.

Yu Qunqing steadied his emotions and fixed his gaze on Han Shuzhu, who was cowering and trembling nearby. He still remembered that this was the middle of a battle and wouldn’t let any emotion slow him down. He began to consider how to deal with this stranger.

Han Shuzhu’s heart turned icy cold. Yu Qunqing truly lived up to being the “villain” chosen by the parasitic book—ruthless, ungoverned by emotion, and powerful enough to sweep everything aside. Could a human body really stop him? No wonder the story’s ending required a city-level trap to deal with him!

Now that Yu Qunqing had finished with Yu Yanlan, the next target would be him. He had to find a way to escape!

But he was just a desk worker—what could he do?

In desperation, Han Shuzhu flipped through the parasitic book and finally found a delaying tactic. In his mind, he tore out three pages; in his hand appeared sheets of paper stained with blue ink out of thin air. He threw them. The papers drifted lightly, yet unerringly flew toward Yu Qunqing.

Yu Qunqing sensed a familiar aura and caught the pages. The blue ink seeped from the paper back into his body. His brain was instantly washed by a torrent of information, and he froze in place.

Now! Han Shuzhu seized the moment, grabbed Yu Yanlan, and fled. The parasitic book told him that these pages contained all of Yu Qunqing’s memories—if Yu Qunqing obtained them, he would become even more unstable. The parasitic book had no direct means of attack; it could only create chaos long enough to escape. In a life-or-death situation, who cared if it was a self-destructive method? If it worked, use it!

Sure enough, Yu Qunqing stood motionless, listening as a system voice explained:

“Hello. User profile completeness has reached 100%. Restarting User Center for you now.”

“Player: Yu Qunqing; Status: Fully Logged In.

Downloaded games: Mediterranean Butler Match-3 Server 1, Penguin Farm, Mountain Road Motorcycle, Traveling Cats.

Previously played games: Fruit Ninja, Snake.

Pending installation: Mediterranean Butler Match-3 Server 2.

Welcome back.”

“New feature unlocked! 360° sci-fi floating operation screen! The player is no longer limited by devices and can play games anytime, anywhere!”

“The player hasn’t logged in for three days. Log in now to receive a returning player gift pack!”

Blue data streams spiraled around him, three large blue screens floating before him, displaying different games he could play. In the past, Yu Qunqing needed physical anchors to play—he had to return to the apartment to play match-3, personally water crops for the farm, and even after Traveling Cats manifested physically, he still had to touch the cat carrier to play. Now, with floating operation screens, gaming was far more convenient.

Yu Qunqing’s mood had settled into calm—like the surface of the sea hiding a volcano. He even commented, “So it’s brimming with the insidious intent of making me work 996 even while playing games.”

Blue data streams surrounded him like a crown.

On the central screen was a document titled User Operation Log. Yu Qunqing opened it with a flat expression. The log showed that the date of his first user registration was the day he died in his previous life. His expression shifted slightly.

—Right. In this life, the system’s first introduction had been: “Player Yu Qunqing, welcome back.”

The missing memories, the vanished ability “Blue Rules,” the absolutely safe casual game system… the scroll of truth finally unfurled.

Yu Qunqing first recalled that in his previous life, the reason the shelter had placed a bounty on him was that his radiation level had exceeded 55%, and he was deemed to have lost human rights—subject to a manhunt by all. He ultimately died in a fire.

Badly injured, Yu Yanlan was carried away by Han Shuzhu. Han Shuzhu fled in terror, glancing back to see a blue figure standing atop the ruins, chains of data streaming around him, utterly beyond the realm of humanity. In his haste, Han Shuzhu dropped a radiation monitor. The vial pointed at Yu Qunqing; the black powder inside had turned a pure red.

Now there was no Klein bottle to conceal it, no She Lulang to snatch that vial away. Yu Qunqing’s eyesight was good—he could clearly see the color of the vial on the ground. At last, he understood one fact.

—Even if he traversed time and returned to the past, even if many stories reset to their starting point, Yu Qunqing’s radiation level had never gone down.