Chapter 189 - 55: Lost Memories

Passing through a hidden door on the side, Hyena entered Chang’an City. He turned on his personal music player, put on a high-energy old song, and started busting out some slick dance moves.

Squinting at Hyena, Yan Yuan said, "Master, who do you think is the psycho now?"

"There’s definitely one among the three of us, but it’s definitely not me," Duan Fei replied.

"And it’s not me, because I’m not human."

Even with the man and the bird staring at him, Hyena didn’t stop his cheerful dance moves. Only after the song ended did he turn back and say, "This place is alright. It’s just that the ritual you have to perform after entering is a huge pain."

"A ritual? You call what you just did a ritual?" Duan Fei asked with a frown. "I thought you were the type who has to engage in some sort of public humiliation play whenever you arrive somewhere new, getting immense pleasure from the contempt of others."

"I have to ask, what exactly is your image of me?"

"Someone who breaks into dance whenever and wherever the mood strikes."

"...It does sound a bit weird when you put it like that, but I can’t help it." Scratching his head, Hyena said helplessly, "This is a routine to cleanse any potential influences. Anyone like us who has been ’up there’ has to listen to a song and dance to clear ourselves after we return. We don’t know the logic behind it, but it’s a requirement from the Elder."

As they spoke, the door to the outside opened again, and a very tall but distinctly female figure walked in.

The moment this person appeared, Duan Fei felt his left arm grow slightly warm as the pollution indicator bar slowly ticked up a little.

’Contaminated...’

She nodded at Hyena, then opened a music player she had with her and, just like Hyena, began to perform the same dance.

It had to be said that even though it was the same dance, she was much better to watch.

Sensing the disdainful looks from Duan Fei and Yan Yuan, Hyena shot up and yelled, "What? Is it my fault I’m not as good-looking when I dance?"

"Just being in our line of sight is your fault."

When she finished her dance, Duan Fei noticed his pollution indicator had stopped rising. This meant she had been carrying some form of contamination but had managed to cleanse herself using this method.

’Incredible. So this place has its own way of counteracting contamination.’

After stopping to rest for a moment, she walked over to Duan Fei and Hyena.

She wore a gas mask and had a long ponytail. Beneath her leather suit, her frame was augmented with external muscles that looked pushed to their limits, giving her immense explosive power.

She was incredibly tall, towering over Hyena by a good two heads when she stood before him, giving her an extremely intimidating presence.

Tugging off her mask, the woman revealed a rather attractive face. She looked down at Hyena and said with a smile, "Well, look who it is. Hyena. You’re even using a backup body. Looks like you’ve had a rough couple of days."

"Piss off," Hyena snapped.

"Ooh, haven’t seen you in a few days and you’ve already learned to bare your fangs at me. Are these your new friends? I’m Hyena’s girlfriend. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

"You forgot a word," Hyena said wearily. "*Ex*-girlfriend. This is Anna."

"Don’t be so picky. Come by my place when you have time. We can have a drink, do that thing we both like... I’ll even let you do it your way this time. I’ll be waiting."

Lifting Hyena’s chin, the woman planted a bright red lipstick mark on his cheek, then walked away with a smile.

Watching Hyena furiously trying to wipe the lipstick mark off his face, Duan Fei felt it would’ve been better for everyone if the guy had just died up there.

Aside from his ex-girlfriend, Duan Fei discovered that Hyena was actually very well-liked here.

Children ran over to greet him as he passed. Merchants selling wares along the road called out to him. A vegetable seller tossed him a fresh sample for free. Even Duan Fei and Yan Yuan got to share in some of it.

Before they even reached the place to register for personal terminals, Duan Fei noticed Hyena’s hands were already full of food. It looked like he had already gathered enough for a full day’s meals.

"Quite the popular one, aren’t you, superstar?" Duan Fei teased.

Hyena gave an awkward smile. After a long moment, he finally said, "Actually... I don’t remember them."

"Huh? Why not?"

"I died once. Luckily, I’d made a consciousness backup beforehand and was able to download it again. The problem is, something went wrong with the backup. I... I can’t remember anything from the last three years."

Tapping his head, Hyena gave a bitter smile. "The last thing I remember is uploading my consciousness. The next second, I was waking up in the Elder’s care. A woman showed up claiming to be my girlfriend, and a bunch of people started calling me the hero who saved them. But honestly, I don’t remember a thing."

He gestured upward again. "Remember that tavern? That’s where I uploaded my consciousness. But every time I go back, I don’t recognize the Bartender. Then today, I get chased by enforcers. I really have no idea what I’ve been doing for the past three years."

Hearing this, something seemed to click for Duan Fei. He then asked, "So, this bank you want me to rob... what kind of bank is it, exactly?"

"The Memory Bank. It houses the All-Seeing Eye, which can monitor the entirety of Wing City. All surveillance data from the past several years is stored there. I want to know what the hell happened to me during those three years."

Duan Fei considered it. ’This mission seems doable.’

’Hyena clearly has a story, and digging into his past might yield more clues.’

’Besides, he has a connection to the Elder, who seems to know what this contamination is and even has methods to cleanse it. Turning those methods in could probably earn me a lot of activity points.’

So, he nodded. "Alright. I’ll help you rob the Memory Bank, but on one condition: introduce me to the Elder."

"No problem. To be honest, I was going to introduce you anyway."

Duan Fei thought for a moment, then chuckled in realization.

"The person who makes the personal terminals... that’s the Elder, isn’t it?"

"Clever boy. I don’t know why, but seeing a guy like you get flustered is especially satisfying."

"Same here," Yan Yuan chimed in.

Before Duan Fei could strangle Yan Yuan, they finally arrived at the Elder’s location.

The Elder’s home was in the center of Chang’an City, its most bustling district, where the people seemed more energetic.

Of course, crime still occurred, but compared to the outer areas, it was surprisingly a bit better here.

Hyena led Duan Fei and Yan Yuan into the central building. After opening the door, Duan Fei found himself in a long corridor. Both sides were lined with displays and monitors, which lit up as the two men and the bird walked past.

A pair of giant, pixelated eyes appeared on the screens, followed by a deep, electronically synthesized voice.

"Hyena, my child. Have you come back to see your old man?"