Chapter 334 - 330: Memory

Zhang Wenda watched the one-eyed man intently. The man was devouring a can of yellow peaches, stuffing large chunks into his mouth almost the instant he fished them from the syrup. He ate ravenously, as if he were starving.

He had occupied this area for the sole purpose of gathering intelligence, but he hadn’t expected a lead this quickly.

"Can you repeat what you just told the clown?"

Hearing this, the man hastily put down the can of peaches, wiped his mouth, and stammered, "Y-yes, that’s right. I did see a little girl who could read minds. To be honest, I was planning on robbing her, but before I could even draw my weapon, she told me exactly what I was thinking."

"I had no choice. I was just so hungry at the time."

"Was she wearing a blue school uniform? And a tinfoil pot on her head?" Zhang Wenda asked, describing Hu Maomao’s usual attire.

"Uh... um... N-no tinfoil pot on her head. But she was wearing a blue jacket, yeah. It was soaked with water, though. She looked freezing, and she couldn’t stop shivering."

The image flashed through Zhang Wenda’s mind. He gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and pressed on. "Do you remember where you saw her?"

"Of course. I know this place better than anyone. It’s been four months, after all. Anyone who doesn’t know their way around is already dead."

He paused at that, then added awkwardly, "Well, I don’t remember the *other* parts so clearly. Otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten lost and ended up in that place to begin with. The pools... they seem to change."

Zhang Wenda had no time for useless chatter. "What is that place?" he cut in. "Did you find a way into a new area?"

"No, no, it was still the pools," the man said, pointing to the pitch-black water outside the window. "It’s just... that area isn’t like this one. There was something in the water."

"What was in it?"

"Toys. Um... Uh... I think?"

"Toys? What do you mean, ’you think’?" Zhang Wenda’s brow furrowed.

"Yeah, all kinds of toys... I’m pretty sure. They were floating on the water. I’d never seen anything like them around here. It creeped me out, and I wanted to leave, but I couldn’t find a way out. I almost starved to death, trapped in there."

"If you were lost, then how did you get out? Can you find your way back there?" Zhang Wenda asked again.

"Oh, that... I’ll have to start from the beginning. Four days ago, I was heading to the Shallow Water Area to get fresh water. As I was walking, I noticed there seemed to be more pools than usual, my landmarks were gone, and the walls... they looked like they were moving..."

"I asked you how you got out!" Zhang Wenda’s voice grew sharp.

The man saw the red monster at Zhang Wenda’s side begin to scrape its scythe. The sound terrified him, and he began to tremble, his words turning into a jumbled mess.

"I... I don’t know how to explain it! No one’s ever been there. It’s like this place, but... different. I don’t even know what to call it."

Every time they reached a crucial point, the man would choke. Zhang Wenda couldn’t shake the feeling that the man was a bit dim-witted.

Worried sick, Zhang Wenda decided he was done asking questions. It was time for a more direct approach.

With a slight gesture from Zhang Wenda, a door to his Inner World opened.

He stepped through and went straight to the Prefrontal Strait, the place where memories were stored. He quickly browsed back to four days ago, searching for the man’s records concerning Hu Maomao.

The Hippocampus took his hand and gently pressed it onto a translucent page. A series of memories flashed before him. The moment he saw a thin, frail figure from behind, a tremor ran through Zhang Wenda’s body.

It was Hu Maomao. There was no mistaking that small elder. She looked incredibly frail, her wet school uniform clinging to her body. Her eyes were red, and the laces on her canvas shoes were completely undone, yet she made no move to retie them. The sight was heartbreaking.

Zhang Wenda read on, only to find that what followed were scattered fragments. This part of the memory seemed to have been corrupted.

The memories from the next three days on the shelf were a chaotic mess. By the time his memories became clear again on the fourth day, he was already on his way to the Small Circle’s trading market, planning to trade the story of his strange experience for food.

Seeing this, Zhang Wenda finally understood why the man had been so incoherent. His memories were in complete disarray.

*"Was this man attacked? Or is the area where Maomao is dangerous? Is there something there that destroys memories?"*

In a place that had changed so completely, it seemed anything was possible.

Even knowing the place was dangerous, Zhang Wenda wasn’t going to wait a second longer. He pulled every memory the one-eyed man had about finding and navigating that area from the shelf. He even took all the man’s memories of Hu Maomao herself.

When Zhang Wenda emerged from his Inner World, the one-eyed man looked dazed, having completely forgotten everything that had just happened.

Without a word, Zhang Wenda tossed two cans of braised pork at him. "Consider this payment for your memories."

Then, Zhang Wenda had the Hippocampus file the new memories onto his own shelf.

A moment later, the man’s experience—heading to the Shallow Water Area for fresh water and accidentally getting lost—became a clear, distinct part of Zhang Wenda’s own memory.

He now had a lead on Hu Maomao, and from the looks of it, she wasn’t in good shape. Zhang Wenda didn’t dare delay for a second longer and prepared to set out immediately.

He had no intention of taking anyone from the Small Circle. They couldn’t even last five seconds against him; if they ran into real danger, they would just be dead weight. This time, he would go alone.

"All of you, stay here. Defend our territory," Zhang Wenda ordered, pointing at the Dream Circus clowns.

The clowns said nothing, merely tipping their red hats to him in unison.

After giving a few brief orders to Wang Shaojie, Zhang Wenda departed in a hurry.

He traveled through the same empty pools, where every sound echoed. They were endlessly connected by a series of doors and tunnels.

The monotonous white tiles and dark water were dizzying; he felt disoriented after just a short while. Fortunately, the Hippocampus floated in the air beside him, constantly recording his path so he could find his way back at any time.

Following the contents of the memory, Zhang Wenda pushed onward, passing through one empty pool after another.

As he drew closer to the Shallow Water Area, the water gradually grew clearer, eventually becoming almost the same color as a swimming pool.