Chapter 1917: Memories Like Mountains

One year later.

"Extra! Extra!"

"The Nanhai Research Institute has made a breakthrough with the latest vaccine! Tomorrow afternoon, residents of all realms can receive the new vaccine for free at their local street health clinics!"

"Research reports that most soil can no longer grow soybeans. The Shennong Division is considering collaborating with the Nanhai Research Institute to study hydroponic soybean technology, which has been met with protests from environmentalists!"

"With the Lantern Festival approaching, all realm residents who voluntarily sign up for fire safety lectures can receive a special sky lantern and two eggs for free!"

“……”

A child holding a thick stack of newspapers shouted as he ran down the street.

A figure raised a hand to stop him.

"Kid, give me one."

After tossing a coin, Sun Bumian took a newspaper and walked toward the end of the road while flipping through it.

His figure passed through the dense residential area, gradually walking to a remote spot, and finally stopped under a bridge tunnel where a river flowed through...

Although it was a bridge tunnel, it seemed to have been carefully arranged; there were fences, tables, and chairs, and a stove was burning fiercely on the bank. Hens with their heads held high walked out of the chicken coop, and upon seeing Sun Bumian passing by, they flapped their wings and flew back into the coop.

At this moment, a figure in a black leather jacket was sitting on a small stool, staring blankly at the rushing river water in front of him.

*Thwack*—

Sun Bumian hit him on the head with the rolled-up newspaper.

"Alright, how much time has passed? Why are you still so distracted day after day..." Sun Bumian threw the newspaper into his lap. "Go out and walk around more when you have nothing to do. Don't just shrink in here every day; you look more like a beggar than the Seven of Hearts."

"...I'm not that sloppy."

Jian Changsheng muttered, opened the newspaper, scanned most of the page, and after looking carefully at one column for a long time, he folded it up.

"Even though it's the second time the Red Star has passed by, this life is indeed much better than the last."

"The Calamities are all wiped out, and the realms have no external enemies; Ying Fu manages the major realms, so the impact caused by climate and technological regression has been minimized; plus the blood left by the Hearts and the infinite evolution of the Nanhai Monarch, plagues can basically be controlled... of course, it's a world of difference."

Sun Bumian paused for a moment, looking up at the blue sky. "This time, it should be the closest we've ever been to victory..."

"As long as..."

Sun Bumian didn't finish the second half of the sentence.

Jian Changsheng lowered his head and fell into silence...

I don't know how much time passed before he asked:

"Now... about what progress has been made?"

"I don't know," Sun Bumian shook his head. "The trains have stopped, the movement of people between major realms has been completely cut off, and over the past year, the Chengtian Dynasty has been erasing all archives and information related to the Red Star and Chen Ling... at least on the surface, everyone seems to have forgotten about it."

"But in reality, how far the memory erasure has progressed... perhaps only Li Laide himself knows."

"I heard the Queen of Hearts is helping?" Jian Changsheng asked.

"Yeah."

"Then, has the time for the Red Star’s return been determined?"

"It was determined long ago. The Tianxue Monarch has precisely calculated the time of its next passage, even down to the second," Sun Bumian paused for a moment. "The time... is almost here."

Jian Changsheng looked at the flowing river water, and after a long time, he let out a long sigh.

Just then,

A figure walked over from a distance.

Sun Bumian saw the person out of the corner of his eye and was slightly startled... then, a complex look appeared in his eyes.

"Speak of the devil... it seems it's our turn."

Jian Changsheng also turned to look, only to see a figure wearing a white duck-billed cap walking straight toward them... it was the Queen of Hearts, Bai Ye.

A breeze blew through the bridge tunnel, causing the lush green grass to ripple, and the air was so quiet that only the rustling sound of hens stepping on the ground remained.

Bai Ye just looked at Sun Bumian and Jian Changsheng, his expression filled with fatigue and helplessness.

"It seems it's about time," Sun Bumian said slowly.

"...Yeah," Bai Ye pressed down on the brim of his hat slightly.

The current Bai Ye was already radiating the aura of the Eighth Rank.

Behind him, a super-sized Heart Python, stretched to the height of five or six stories, was coiled like a paralyzed mountain of flesh, its surface already covered in fine cracks, as if it were about to burst at any moment.

"Mo Lian and I have finished eating all the memories regarding the Red Star and the Red King in the entire Tianxue Realm," Bai Ye said softly.

"What about the other members?"

"Also finished."

"What about the personality inside Li Qingshan?"

"Also completely swallowed."

"...Liu Qingyan?"

"I just came from the Gray Monarch," Bai Ye said. In his mind, the image of that silent, weeping woman in a black dress appeared, and he clenched his fists silently... then helplessly let go.

He took a deep breath and continued:

"Now, in the entire Twilight Society, only the two of you still retain your memories."

A bitter smile appeared on Sun Bumian’s face.

Sure enough...

"Suddenly speeding up... is Li Laide coming?"

"Yes," Bai Ye nodded slightly, looking toward a certain direction in the void. "I can feel the resonance from the Thief Divine Path... he is approaching the Tianxue Realm."

"However, the speed is very, very slow..."

Sun Bumian was silent for a moment, then looked back behind him. "Spades, you..."

He had only turned halfway when he froze in place.

At some point, the small stool was already empty.

"..." Sun Bumian was speechless. "When did he leave?"

"...He left just when you said it was about time."

Sun Bumian sighed.

"Forget it... you don't need to worry about us two. When the time comes, we will find Li Laide ourselves," Sun Bumian gently pulled down his small round sunglasses, his eyes, nested with colorful rings, staring at the Heart Python behind Bai Ye that was about to burst.

"We two are different from the other members. We have too many memories about the Red... about Chen Ling. You might not be able to swallow them now."

Bai Ye hesitated for a moment, recalling the scene of swallowing Liu Qingyan’s memories just now. Liu Qingyan and the others were also from the previous era, and the amount of information in their minds was immense. It was precisely because he swallowed Liu Qingyan’s memories that his Heart Python almost burst.

"Alright," Bai Ye nodded. "Then I'll be going."

"Yeah."

Bai Ye slowly turned around and moved bit by bit in one direction.

Bai Ye’s footsteps were not natural, because the Heart Python could no longer crawl freely on the ground and could only coil on Bai Ye’s shoulder... perhaps because he had swallowed too many memories, every step Bai Ye took was heavy, so heavy that it felt as if he were carrying a mountain.

His figure was hunched and exhausted, as if he were already overwhelmed.

Watching him leave, Sun Bumian looked back at the empty stool and gave a bitter smile:

"Sigh..."

"Why is he still like a child..."