Before Lin Zhen opened the door, Yan Wei had already started chatting with Lin Qing.
Lin Qing was clearly quite familiar with Yan Wei, although the atmosphere between them was somewhat subtle at first when they entered. However, after sitting down for a while, Lin Qing relaxed considerably—though his expression remained serious.
Yan Wei casually tossed aside a toothpick and began to play with the only remaining Swallow Coin he had, a flurry of thoughts crossing his mind.
Would Lin Qing know why he had lost three years?
Yan Wei’s gaze shifted slightly, remaining silent.
Lin Qing sat up straight, not taking any fruit from the plate, just looking at Yan Wei for a moment before saying, “…Where have you been during this time?”
Yan Wei raised an eyebrow, “How would I know?”
Lin Qing was taken aback.
“Do I look like someone who knows a lot?” Yan Wei tossed the coin in his hand, his voice clear and his tone casual, “If I knew a lot, you wouldn’t be here looking for me; I’d be the one looking for you.”
This was actually something Yan Wei was quite curious about himself.
Having lost three years of memory, it could be amnesia, or it could be the formatted situation Lin Zhen had once mentioned. But in either case, there should be some traces left in a person’s brain at the memory level.
These traces exist in the subconscious deep within the brain, and under frequent exposure to familiar things, there is a high likelihood that some fragments would be evoked. Lin Qing, Yan Mingguang, the familiar Moon Wheel, and even the familiar atmosphere of dungeons had continuously stimulated his senses and memories during this time. Yet aside from the fleeting fragments of Yan Mingguang he dreamt about, he had no other impressions.
Just like now, he clearly and distinctly knew that he must have had a close relationship with Lin Qing before, and he could probably guess his relationship with Blackbird as well, but he still had no memory of it at all.
This feeling… was as if the three years of memory he had lost had been completely extracted.
But that didn’t seem quite right—he still dreamt of some fragments with Yan Mingguang.
Yan Wei’s fingertips gently traced the edge of the coin, and he pondered, “Let’s put it this way: aside from knowing that I’ve lost three years of memory, I don’t know anything else. You coming to find me is good news for me; it means I still have acquaintances from before to ask.” He temporarily set aside matters related to Yan Mingguang.
Lin Qing nodded quickly.
The usually decisive second-in-command of Blackbird was now sitting upright, a solemn expression on his face as he awaited Yan Wei’s inquiries. Despite having exchanged only a few words, Yan Wei’s current strength was far inferior to Lin Qing’s, yet sitting face to face, the dynamic naturally placed Yan Wei in the dominant position.
This didn’t even need to be stated explicitly; it was a habit ingrained in their bones.
Yan Wei asked, “…How did we meet?”
“In a lower-level dungeon, you snatched my best item but gave me the reward item. I’m an orphan, and before entering the building… my background wasn’t great; I was often forced to beg on the roadside by human traffickers when I was young,” Lin Qing said, a trace of imperceptible nostalgia passing over his serious face, his voice still steady, “So I don’t trust emotional connections between people very much—I thought you had ulterior motives, and I tested you a few times, then…”
Lin Qing didn’t finish, but Yan Wei understood.
“Oh, we became friends through conflict.”
“Yeah.”
“Blackbird is mine.” It was not a question, but a statement of certainty.
Lin Qing nodded again.
“How far did I get at that time?”
“…Ninety-nine.”
Yan Wei paused in his coin-tossing, blinked, and then asked, “Can you tell me about the three years I’ve lost?”
Lin Qing, who had been answering without hesitation, now showed a hint of hesitation, saying, “Are you sure you want me to tell you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Actually, before you entered the ninety-ninth level dungeon, you told me some things that I found inexplicable at the time. You said that if you didn’t come out of the building this time, I could come find you if I saw you in the building again, but I shouldn’t tell you anything. Aside from that, just listen to you.”
Yan Wei was taken aback.
This clearly meant… he had known back then that he might have come from a lower-level dungeon!?
His amber-like clear eyes flashed with a rare confusion—what had he been thinking three years ago? Had he already anticipated that he would meet Lin Qing again after restarting and would inquire about his past memories? If he had foreseen that he might restart, why hadn’t he left any clues for his future self, allowing everything to unfold naturally? What about Yan Mingguang? What role did Yan Mingguang play in all of this?
“In fact, I don’t know much about what happened to you after you entered the ninety-ninth level dungeon. Even if I told you, it might just be of little significance to you. So if you really want to know—”
“No, I don’t need to know. I trust myself; whether it’s my past self or my current self, they are all decisions I made. The person who knows me best in this world is myself. Since my past self made that decision, then don’t tell me about my previous memories.”
“You really haven’t changed at all.”
In a moment of realization, Lin Qing continued, “Actually… with your prior explanation, I hadn’t planned to come find you. But I saw you retrieved the Moon Wheel that had scattered in the high-level dungeon, and you were missing a fragment, which should be the last one you need, so I came to find you. After your dungeon ended last night, all the high-level members of the organizations received news from the building—the next Arena Instance for competing for organizational resources is opening, and each organization has four slots to enter the Arena Instance. Besides the usual resource allocation based on final rankings, there’s also a reward for the first place.”
Yan Wei’s thoughts were pulled back, and he frowned slightly, “The last fragment of the Moon Wheel?”
“The number of Legendary Items is limited; most people know where they are, and the scattered fragments are unique.”
It could only be the fragment of the Moon Wheel.
“Does this Arena Instance have anything to do with my past self?”
Lin Qing shook his head.
Yan Wei felt even more puzzled.
“I can guess that the Moon Wheel is related to my past self, but why would the last fragment be in a new Arena Instance that has nothing to do with me? The Moon Wheel scattered in the previous high-level dungeon, and after that high-level dungeon was broken, the Moon Wheel also scattered with the energy of the high-level dungeon, eventually condensing into a new dungeon, which is the Death Schoolhouse dungeon. According to the situation in the Death Schoolhouse dungeon, the five fragments correspond exactly to the limbs and head, so there shouldn’t be a situation of missing one, yet the last fragment has become the reward for the first place in the Arena Instance…?”
Lin Qing said, “The nineteenth level is too low; it’s very likely that the building thinks it would be unbalanced for you to obtain a complete Legendary Item at the nineteenth level, so it adjusted it proactively.”
“Arena Instance, how many levels?”
“Forty-nine.”
“Are you sure you didn’t mispronounce it? Did you mean twenty-nine or thirty-nine instead of forty-nine?”
“It’s forty-nine. The building has a total of ninety-nine levels; forty-nine is a transitional level. In the upper levels, players start to challenge the high levels, while in the lower levels, they are just ordinary players among thousands. Every round of the Arena Instance is at the forty-ninth level because it represents the backbone strength of each organization.”
“Forty-nine?”
“Forty-nine.”
Yan Wei: “…Are you kidding me?”
“Don’t worry, Blackbird will definitely go all out for this fragment. You don’t necessarily have to go in yourself; I can arrange seed players for the forty-eighth level—”
“Creak—” With a sound, the apartment door was gently pushed open.
Lin Zhen, who had been grinning, paused, and his gaze met Lin Qing’s, his smile suddenly freezing on his face.
“Bang—”
The door was forcefully slammed shut again by Lin Zhen.
Even Yan Wei, who was in the living room, heard him shout outside, “What the hell! My brother!”
Yan Wei glanced at Lin Qing.
Lin Qing withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Yan Wei.
“…What a coincidence? This is truly fate.”
“Sorry for the trouble.” Lin Qing’s expression remained unchanged, still maintaining a serious demeanor, his dark eyes deep and unfathomable, his voice devoid of emotion as he called out, “Come in.”
In the next moment, Lin Zhen immediately pushed the door open again, his eyes wandering, completely lacking the arrogance he had shown earlier with Yan Wei and the others. Beside him, Yu Feizhou followed in, holding a large cake box, his expression quite complicated.
Lin Zhen said, “What are you doing here?”
Yan Wei replied without thinking, “Lin Qing invited me to become a seed player for Blackbird.”
Lin Qing glanced at Yan Wei and immediately understood his meaning. He didn’t mention any of the previous discussions, as if Yan Wei were truly a dark horse player who had just entered the building, and said casually, “Yeah, Blackbird recently needs seed players with potential to enter competitive dungeons.”
“Then how did you know Yan Wei lived here? I never gave you Yan Wei’s address.”
Lin Qing’s expression remained unchanged, his eyes dark and deep, saying, “If I needed you to tell me, then all these floors would have been for nothing.”
Lin Zhen opened his mouth, about to retort, but Yan Wei’s gaze had already fallen on Yu Feizhou, who was silently setting down the cake box. He casually said, “Didn’t you say I just needed to prepare the things for the gathering? Why are you all bringing things too?”
As he spoke, he had already stood up and walked over to the cake box.
Yu Feizhou raised his hand, hesitating for a moment on whether to stop him, but Yan Wei had already reached out to open the cake box.
The air suddenly froze.
Ten minutes later.
Lin Zhen stood straight at the door, leaning against the wall, with an apple balanced on his head and a small swollen bump appearing on his forehead. Yu Feizhou sighed helplessly beside him, holding an ice pack he had just prepared, gently pressing it against the bump on Lin Zhen’s forehead.
Lin Zhen hissed as he inhaled sharply, yet he still dared not move too much, standing straight with the apple on his head, grumbling, “Bro, how old am I? Can you stop punishing me with such childish methods?”
Lin Qing took a sip of juice, remaining silent.
Yan Wei chuckled lightly, arranging the food for the gathering. He appeared relaxed and casual on the surface, but deep down, he was still heavy with thoughts, constantly contemplating the information he had just learned.
This uncertainty made him feel quite uneasy.
As if some hidden danger lurked beneath the calm, with unseen eyes watching him from the shadows.
What could have caused him to restart just one level away from the top, while losing all his memories…? What if… he had to do it all over again?
Everything was shrouded in a thick veil; he had only peeled back a tiny corner.
Before long, Zhou Tian and Gao Ming also arrived one after another. Although these two didn’t know Lin Qing, they had seen Lin Qing’s records in the endless stele dungeon, and when they first laid eyes on him, they were nearly scared to death.
After Yan Wei handled Zhou Tian and Gao Ming in the same way he had dealt with Lin Zhen and Yu Feizhou, Yan Mingguang arrived.
The man wore his pure black short jacket again, his silver hair complementing his cool and indifferent demeanor, while his silver-framed glasses added a touch of elegance. He walked in with an aura as cold and sharp as a snow-covered pine, causing everyone else to instinctively pause.
Lin Qing also turned to look, his gaze shifting slightly as he said, “This is… the Daylight, right?”
Yan Wei blinked, his throat rolling slightly, and he didn’t speak immediately.
Earlier, when Yan Wei was alone with Lin Qing, he had deliberately not mentioned Yan Mingguang, wanting to see what Lin Qing and Yan Mingguang’s first reactions would be when Yan Mingguang arrived. Yan Mingguang clearly knew more than he did but didn’t seem very interested in discussing anything with him. He couldn’t show that he knew a lot, which would make Yan Mingguang wary; testing their previous relationship this way was the best approach.
But at this moment, Lin Qing was already looking at him, clearly waiting for Yan Wei to introduce them. Yan Mingguang’s expression remained as indifferent and cold as ever, revealing no signs of emotion.
Lin Qing didn’t know Yan Mingguang.
Lin Qing actually didn’t know Yan Mingguang.
The Lin Qing who had known his past self from the lower levels, and who had likely grown up alongside him, completely did not recognize Yan Mingguang, the only figure that appeared in the fragments of memories he dreamt about.
maybe he’s a boss from yhe 99th floor and they fell in love there or smtg lol
maybe he’s a boss from the 99th floor?
Wow if he really the boss…. How long he actually at that 99th floor? And make them fall in love?