Chapter 556: Memory Loss?

Tian Lie and Nicole sat across from Lin Leyan.

“Have you met this fellow before?”

Nicole said with a serious tone as she placed the few photos down on the table before Lin Leyan.

Tian Lie clutched his forehead and groaned, “I am beginning to get this hunch. Any matter that is related to that kid will not be a good thing.”

“You shut up.” Nicole glared at Tian Lie before turning to face Lin Leyan.

Lin Leyan revealed a look of nervousness as she examined the photos before her. “I, I do not know what you are talking about.”

“Those photos. Do you recognize everyone in the photos?” Nicole stared Lin Leyan in the eye.

“… … I do. They are all my work friends, members of our charitable organization.”

“Him as well?” asked Nicole as she picked up a photo. She pointed at the partially caught face in the corner of the photo. “This man.”

Lin Leyan looked at it.

When her gaze fell upon Chen Xiaolian’s face, she suddenly felt a subconscious thump coming from her heart.

A strange feeling bubbled up from her heart.

The figure in the photo was clearly a stranger. However, when she saw the figure, her heart suddenly jumped. It was a subconscious reaction. Her rate of breathing turned ragged and her heart felt sweetness, sourness, bitterness… …

However, that person was clearly a stranger to her.

Both Tian Lie and Nicole were able to notice the minute changes displayed by Lin Leyan. The two of them exchanged glances. Then, they turned and regarded Lin Leyan once again.

“I… … I do not recognize him.” Lin Leyan shook her head. There was a very thoughtful look on her face.

“If that is the case, how could he appear inside this photo?” Nicole gave a harrumph. “You are lying!”

“I am not,” said Lin Leyan, who shook her head. “I, I really do not remember that person.”

Her brows knitted together as she racked her brain to remember.

“Let us talk about this photo,” said Tian Lie, who decided to examine the issue from a different angle. “Where was this photo taken?”

“Kombia.” Lin Leyan was quick to answer the question. “Some time ago, our organization went to the continent of Africa, to Kombia to join a medical assistance project there. A charitable foundation affiliated with UN had launched that project. I joined as a volunteer.”

Lin Leyan spoke as she dug through her memories, “Back then, when our team was in Kombia, a coup erupted and the rebel forces captured the capital of Kombia. This photo was taken in one of the hotels in Kombia, a hotel used as a base of operations by our organization. Mm…” She looked at the photos and recalled what happened for a moment before continuing, “Back then, we were making preparations to move our supplies. We were loading up medical supplies and food into the vehicles. The team responsible for media coverage had taken these photos.”

There was a distressed expression on Lin Leyan’s face. “But I really do not remember this fellow… … he, I do not have any recollections of him at all. From what I can remember, there are no other Asians from our organization there.”

At that moment, images seemingly flashed through her mind.

Lin Leyan seemingly recalled how she and her companions were besieged by the rebel forces within a small and dilapidated chapel… … she recalled the charging jeep… … she recalled being besieged by bandits in the city, the rain of bullets back then… …

Those images flashed through her mind like a movie.

However, those images were seemingly incomplete. It felt as though something was missing.

It was as though… … she was missing an important part.

But why can’t she remember?

They were besieged inside the little, dilapidated chapel. Back then, how had they escaped? The jeep. Back when it was charging forward… … who was the one driving the jeep?

When she was held inside the city by the bandits, who was the one who pulled her out?

Why? Why can’t I remember a single thing?

I cannot remember?

Lin Leyan groaned in pain and both her hands reached up to clutch her head.

“What happened to you?” asked Nicole with a frown.

“I, I don’t know.” Lin Leyan’s face was pale and she said, “I do not know what is going on. Back in Kombia, I may have suffered from a head related injury. There are seemingly some problems with my memories from that time; it is incomplete – and it is not just me. My other two companions who escaped together with me from the war are suffering from the same issue. We all seem to be suffering from headaches and partial amnesia.”

Tian Lie and Nicole exchanged glances once more.

“All right, sit down first.”

Nicole pressed down on Lin Leyan’s shoulder and sent a certain look at Tian Lie. The two of them got up and walked into the kitchen. Nicole then moved to close the kitchen’s door.

“What do you think?” Nicole looked at Tian Lie.

Tian Lie pursed his lips to the side and said, “I dare to bet my underwear on it. This girl must surely know Chen Xiaolian.”

“So?” Nicole nodded. “Like me… … you think she had her memories erased?”

“I fear it is not a simple memory erase.” Tian Lie rubbed his chin and continued, “I suspect that the girl was lying just now.”

Nicole nodded again. “I suspect the same as well. A memory erase is not hard to explain. Perhaps Chen Xiaolian had for some reason, possibly related to instance dungeons or something else, went to Kombia. There, he had exposed his identity to ordinary humans. In order to maintain the secret, he used some means to erase away the memories of the ordinary humans – many Awakened ones do that. There is nothing strange about that. What I find strange is the change showed by the girl when she was looking at Chen Xiaolian’s image in the photo.”

“Her heartbeat increased. Her rate of breathing changed as well, becoming more heavy and ragged,” said Tian Lie with a smile.

Nicole nodded her head again. “That is right. After getting their memories erased, an ordinary human would never show such a reaction after seeing Chen Xiaolian’s picture. Thus, she must be hiding something!”

Tian Lie pondered the matter and said, “Maybe it was not a deliberate act. Maybe, there was a special relationship between her and Chen Xiaolian. However, she later had her memories erased. You know, many memory erasing devices can only erase the ‘surface’ portion of the target’s memories. It cannot erase the emotions buried underneath… … maybe, just maybe, in Africa, Chen Xiaolian had played and dumped the girl. After that, he used the memory erasing device to erase the girl’s memories of him.”

“Ptui! The Chen Xiaolian I know would never do something like that. Play and dump? You really have quite the imagination!”

…

In the other room.

Tom Huggins and Jenny sat inside their bedroom.

There were no restraints on either of them. However, they could only sit there stiffly.

Tom Huggins sat in the corner of the room, beside the door. Jenny was slightly better off; she sat on the bed.

The special pair of couple had been looking at each other all this time. After a long time, Jenny finally let out a low sigh. “I am sorry, Tom.”

“… … I also need to apologize to you.” Tom sighed. At that moment, there was a solemn expression on his face and his voice was one of heaviness. No longer was there any of the party pooping attitude normally seen whenever he worked in radio hosting.

“Will they harm us? We… … have to think of some way to escape.” Jenny bit her lips. “Can you stand up? I cannot move.”

Tom shook his head. “It is useless, Jenny. You are not an Awakened, you do not understand just how powerful these people are. That man’s power is extremely terrifying. Even though he had just touched my head for a bit, I have now lost all my ability to resist. Even my personal system is blocked off. I have no way to… … contact the members of my organization. My channel is cut off.”

“Maybe, maybe we can think of something else… … I know, you have a gun in your study.”

“Don’t do anything stupid!” Tom said in a very serious tone. “Jenny, you are an ordinary human.  You do not understand how horrifying these people are! Forget a gun. Even with a tank, you cannot fight them off! Additionally… … even now… see how they did not bother to gag our mouths? This is because they are Awakened ones. They must surely possess abilities for these situations. For example, auditory powers. Even with a wall separating us, they can clearly hear every word we are saying!”

Jenny fell silent.

“I believe they would not harm us… … or should I say, I don’t think that woman will harm you. You… … you work for Zero City, right? It would appear that the woman is here to make contact with you. If so, it stands to reason that she would not harm you. What we need to do now is to be patient and wait. Wait and see what they want from us.” Tom then took a deep breath before continuing. “Jenny, tell me. When did you begin working for Zero City?”

“… … around seven years ago, before I got to know you,” replied Jenny with a whisper. “One time, I had joined my friends for a vacation and I was involved in an accident. I nearly died. Then, several strange fellows saved my life and… … they asked me if I am willing to work for them. I… … after that… …”

“I understand. You had probably bumped into Zero City’s field personnel.” Tom nodded.

“What about you, Tom? Are you really an Awakened? You are one of them?”

“I am an Awakened, but I am not one of them.” Tom smiled wryly and continued, “You do not understand our world. The Awakened world is more complicated that you imagine. I work for one of the organizations in it.”

“You… when did you begin?”

“Much earlier than you.” Tom sighed. “I have been an Awakened for about 30 years now.”

Jenny’s eyes widened. “Oh, my God! 30 years? But this… … “ Pausing, Jenny was momentarily at a loss for words. Then, she said, “How old are you?”

Tom hesitated for a moment before whispering with a wry smile, “When I was born, the Allied forces had just landed on Normandy and Hitler had yet to be defeated.”

“Oh, my God!” Jenny stared with widened eyes. “You, you look…”

“Genetic serums.” Tom gave a wry smile. “By becoming an Awakened, I encountered many wondrous adventures. There are many ways to extend youth and vitality. For Awakened ones, there is nothing surprising about this. Additionally… … I believe those fellows must have given you some genetic serums as well. However, the serum they gave you must have been greatly diluted. Thus, even though you took the serum, you did not gain much of the benefits that usually accompanies the use of the serum – however, you still look younger than your peers, albeit slightly.”

“Yes.” Jenny sobbed. “I have worked for them for six years now, but they never had me do anything. There was never any specific task for me. The only thing I have to do is to send some strange codes using some special methods. The ‘special circumstances’ that they mentioned when they hired me had never occurred before. I, I had always thought that this was an easy job.”

“No wonder the doctor would say your body is in great health whenever he did a medical check-up for you. He always said you are just like someone in her twenties.” Tom smiled wryly.

“No wonder whenever I go for a medical check-up, you would be unwilling to go together… … now that I think about it, in the past few years that we were married, you have never fallen sick at all, not even a cold.” Jenny sighed.

It was at that moment that the door opened and Tian Lie strode in. He glanced at them both and said, “All right now, you two lovebirds. Private time is over! You, Mr Tom Huggins, we have guests!”

After saying that, Tian Lie used one hand to carry the two of them out of the room and into the living room.

“Do you have any other appointments tonight?” Nicole looked at the two of them, a look of seriousness on her face.

“No,” answered Jenny hurriedly.

“What about you, Mr Tom Huggins?” Tian Lie cast a cold stare at Tom Huggins. “Do you have any appointment with any guests? For example, would the people from your organization, Thorned Flower Guild, come find you?”

“… … no, no! I swear!” Tom Huggins quickly replied.

Both Tian Lie and Nicole harrumphed.

Something had appeared in both their personal radars.

“Three from nine o’clock, two from six o’clock,” said Nicole.

“It is Thorned Flower Guild,” said Tian Lie with a grunt. “This is a standard twin team battle formation, a common strategy from Thorned Flower Guild.”

Pausing, Tian Lie continued, “Also, don’t be tricked! According to Thorned Flower Guild’s tactics, the ones presently revealed on the radar are probably just decoys to bait their targets to enter a state of combat. Besides those revealed on radar, there would be another team hiding in the darkness. As long as they do not enter a state of combat, the radar will not reveal their whereabouts. That team of men would be assassins. Once we expose our situation, or better yet, when we are busy engaging the decoys, they will take advantage of that moment to execute sneak attacks!

“It is a standard page from Thorned Flower Guild’s strategy book!”

After saying that, Tian Lie glanced at Tom Huggins. “So, you really did not call these people here?”

“I swear! I swear to God! It wasn’t me!” said Tom Huggins with widened eyes.

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