Chapter 394: Golden Age

"You're saying..." Qi Xia frowned as he looked at Chen Jun Nan, "your memory only goes up to yesterday?"

"Yes." Chen Jun Nan nodded. "After I came out, I found it was already evening. I thought I was sleepwalking or had amnesia, but when I returned to the classroom, I saw another me..."

The rest of the story, Qi Xia already knew.

Based on the known situation, there were two Chen Jun Nan on this day.

One followed the original plan and fought desperately with Di Ji, while the other inexplicably appeared in Chu Tian Qiu's basement.

In that case... the Chen Jun Nan who fought Di Ji died in the classroom like a discarded pawn.

Qi Xia felt a slight headache and reached up to rub his brow.

Yes, who exactly was the Chen Jun Nan in front of him?

Was he different from the previous one?

Over this period, the two only differed by one day's worth of memories.

"This sounds like the ability 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi'..." Qi Xia muttered quietly, "How did Chu Tian Qiu activate it...?"

"What...?" Chen Jun Nan and Qiao Jia Jin both asked in surprise.

A moment later, Chen Jun Nan tentatively said, "Are you saying I'm... created by Chu Tian Qiu using 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi'? Isn't that your 'Hui Xiang'?"

Qi Xia didn't respond, just continued rubbing his brow.

This matter was indeed worth pondering.

If Chu Tian Qiu could activate 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi', then theoretically, he could do much more. Why did he only revive Chen Jun Nan?

After a while, Qi Xia said gravely, "What I can confirm is that I don't have 'Hui Xiang' right now, so the person who activated this ability isn't me... Among everyone here, only Chu Tian Qiu would do something this crazy."

Hearing Qi Xia's deduction, Chen Jun Nan lowered his head and fell silent.

Unfortunately, he wasn't at the scene when Chu Tian Qiu activated this 'Hui Xiang', so what exactly happened back then?

"Chen Jun Nan, your memories go further back. I want to ask you, what exactly is Chu Tian Qiu's 'Hui Xiang'?"

"Him?" Chen Jun Nan snorted. "I always thought that guy was a 'Bu Xing Zhe', but turns out he really has 'Hui Xiang'. However, the trigger for his 'Hui Xiang' is ridiculously useless—he has to wait until the tenth day, when he sees everyone starting to dissipate, for it to activate..."

"Hold on." Qi Xia interrupted Chen Jun Nan. "I have a question."

"What?"

"Already two people have told me that Chu Tian Qiu's 'Hui Xiang' trigger is 'witnessing the end'. I want to know how you all found that out?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Chen Jun Nan said. "That kid only keeps his memories if he survives to the tenth day for the next cycle. If he dies at any other time, he has to be reintroduced to everyone next time. So, his trigger is naturally surviving to the last day, which means we sometimes have to protect the guy. Besides, he said it himself—his trigger is 'witnessing the end'."

Qi Xia sensed a paradox here.

If Chu Tian Qiu only retained two years of memories, he shouldn't have gone this insane—it exceeded the normal limits.

There were plenty of people driven mad by 'Zhong Yuan Zhi Di', but few went crazy after just two years.

Yun Yao retained two years of memories and didn't go mad.

The 'Cat' team's members all retained two years of memories, and they didn't go mad either.

Was their mental resilience just stronger than Chu Tian Qiu's?

"I feel like Chu Tian Qiu has been planning something for a long time..." Qi Xia found the thought terrifying. "He hasn't lost his memories and has always known me..."

"What?" Chen Jun Nan paused.

"Is there a possibility..." Qi Xia said, "that Chu Tian Qiu isn't lying, but 'witnessing the end' doesn't mean witnessing 'the day of the end', but witnessing 'Zhong Yuan Zhi Di' itself?"

"Ah...?" Chen Jun Nan paused, then narrowed his eyes in thought. "If that's the case... wouldn't his 'Hui Xiang' activate as soon as he arrives? And he knows me too?"

Qiao Jia Jin was stunned for a while and asked, "Does he know me?"

Neither of them paid him any attention, both lost in their own thoughts. If Chu Tian Qiu's 'Hui Xiang' trigger really was 'witnessing the end', then the memories he retained were far too many.

Zheng Ying Xiong had been listening for a long time without understanding much, so he boredly sniffed Chen Jun Nan's scent and frowned, muttering to himself, "It's the fragrance of 'Ti Zui'..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he reached up and wiped the nosebleed trickling from his nose.

The atmosphere fell silent for a long time before Qi Xia looked up and said, "Chen Jun Nan, tell me about it."

"What?"

"Your 'initial memory'."

Chen Jun Nan thought for a moment and said, "Lao Qi, there's no need to hide these things from you. I can tell you, but once you hear it, you'll realize it's only useful for getting to know a few more people—nothing else."

As Chen Jun Nan spoke, those buried memories finally surfaced.

His memories began ten years ago.

Back then, 'Zhong Yuan Zhi Di' wasn't much different from now, except the sky wasn't as dark red.

A earthy-yellow sun still hung overhead, with faint black lines spreading from the edges toward the center. The air was filled with a nauseating stench of decay that seeped into your bones after just half a day there.

Four giant clocks stood at the city's four corners, displaying the manifested 'Hui Xiang' users.

The most common lines on the screens were 'Ti Zui' and 'Zhao Zai'.

"Actually, that kid Han Yi Mo is alright." Chen Jun Nan said to Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin, "It's just that he spread some rumors, so I've always had a bias against him."

In Chen Jun Nan's description, Han Yi Mo hadn't gone mad yet.

He was always worried about the girl he had spread rumors about and would return to reality after each death to try and get her forgiveness.

Unfortunately, the incident ruined that girl's life, and she would never forgive him.

From her perspective, she had only rejected him once, but Han Yi Mo clearly remembered being rejected countless times, which subtly changed his mindset.

"Lao Qi, among our nine people, there are two 'Bu Xing Zhe'," Chen Jun Nan continued. "In all the rooms, our proportion of 'Hui Xiang' users is already very high."

Later, under the leadership of Qi Xia, Chen Jun Nan, and Qiao Jia Jin, the group kept participating in games and became the most famous room in 'Zhong Yuan Zhi Di'.

Because Chen Jun Nan and Han Yi Mo's 'Hui Xiang' triggered easily, allowing them to retain memories for long periods, combined with Qi Xia's careful planning, all seven in the room awakened their 'Hui Xiang'.

Among them were:

Qiao Jia Jin, 'Po Wan Fa', using belief and subconscious to break any person's 'Hui Xiang'.

Li Shang Wu, 'Tan Nang', taking out things believed to exist in the subconscious.

Han Yi Mo, 'Zhao Zai', summoning disasters believed in and possible in the subconscious.

Chen Jun Nan, 'Ti Zui', using the subconscious to transfer others' misfortunes and die in their place.

Zhang Chen Ze, 'Hun Qian', using belief to transfer the souls of living beings.

Tian Tian, 'Qiao Wu', using the subconscious to create and make precise items already known.

Zhao Hai Bo, 'Li Xi', using the subconscious to dismantle inanimate objects.

"What a powerful team..." Chen Jun Nan said with a bitter smile. "In most rooms we've seen, the proportion of 'Hui Xiang' users is low—having four or five is already top-tier. But we had a full seven."