Chapter 15: The Number Grabbing Game
I spent the entire day in a daze.
That’s what it probably looked like to outsiders, but in reality, I was thinking.
Thinking, thinking, constantly thinking; I couldn’t stop.
Where exactly did things go wrong…
Saying “This is impossible!” now would be no help whatsoever. The reality was that Lan had disappeared.
However, with my limited intelligence, I simply couldn’t deduce the reason for this happening.
Logically, this situation shouldn’t have had anything to do with Lan. She wasn’t even a participant, yet she ended up becoming a victim.
The only possibility I could think of was… perhaps it had something to do with Zihua.
But Zihua herself existed by maintaining a paradox. No matter what she did, it shouldn’t have affected Lan.
They were already completely independent beings; Zihua had told me so herself.
“Classmate An.”
Then, what was this now?
“Classmate Juncheng An?”
Several fair, clean fingers wiggled in front of my eyes, snapping me out of my deep contemplation. I focused my attention on my vision.
It was Lily, looking at me with a worried expression.
Seeing Lily again, I could still see the small horns on her head.
Was she not casting a spell on herself? Or was it ineffective on me now?
In any case, I should respond now.
“Lily?!”
She seemed surprised that I called her by her name and immediately repeated it in a strange tone.
Only then did I realize I had used the wrong name. For this Lily, I should have called her “Teacher Yang.”
“Uh, yes, Teacher Yang.”
Back then, I was unaccustomed to calling Lily by her name. Unexpectedly, now that our relationship had returned to a normal student-teacher one, I found it difficult to call her “Teacher.”
“Are you alright? If I hadn’t noticed that this classroom door wasn’t closed, you would have been locked inside.”
It was then I realized it was already very late outside. There wasn’t a soul in the classroom. The time was around seven in the evening.
Since the whole school had a standardized test today, there was no evening study session.
SF Light Novel
The answers… I’d already forgotten how I wrote them. Ever since I learned the shocking news this morning, my mind had been in a fog. Maybe I’d done terribly on the test. I couldn’t even remember if I’d written my name.
It seemed Lily was the patrol teacher for today, checking to see if any students were left behind before they left school.
“…It’s already this late. I apologize, Teacher. I was a bit lost in thought.”
I got up from my seat, put the scratch paper from my desk into my bag, grabbed my bag, and prepared to leave.
As Lily and I walked out of the school gate together, just as we were about to part ways, Lily, who had been silent until then, suddenly asked me.
“Did something happen?”
“Huh?”
“You helped me before… so, I want to repay you.”
“Me? Helped you?”
I pointed to myself, then to Lily.
Did I help her with anything?
“You don’t remember… ah, it was probably something insignificant to you, but because of it, I was saved.”
“Ah, right. I’m having some memory issues right now and have forgotten a lot of things. So, even if you told me now, I wouldn’t remember anything.”
Since I was too lazy to explain further, I just said that.
Lily showed a look of realization, her dejected mood returning to normal, and her tone became much more cheerful.
“I see! No wonder you were spacing out in an empty classroom. Someone might think your soul had departed your body. And you even called me Lily.”
*I heard that.*
“…Ah, well, I’m heading back now.”
“Since you have amnesia, aren’t you going to report it to the organization? The organization should have many ways to recover memories… Ah, Juncheng, do you still remember what the organization is?”
“That, I do remember.”
But the organization…
To be honest, my trust in the organization wasn’t as high as it used to be.
Ever since I traveled back in time and learned that the so-called zombie crisis was actually a grand stage play orchestrated by the organization to find the Witch of Calamity, I had begun to consider leaving the organization.
Although I knew the organization’s methods were somewhat inhumane, because their principle was to maintain balance, they shouldn’t favor any side, and I understood that.
But resolving a crisis and actively causing one were two completely different concepts.
Did the zombie crisis also serve to maintain balance?
I certainly didn’t believe it.
“Don’t trouble yourself. Actually, I already have some ideas on how to recover my memory, but that’s not what’s bothering me.”
“Hm? You have other worries?”
Of course, I do. Otherwise, would I have been so absent-minded and out of sorts all day?
I didn’t want to say more, but with a mindset of giving it another try, I said to Lily.
“There’s just one person. Today, I suddenly discovered she was gone. After asking around, I learned that no one even recognized her anymore. It was as if she had completely vanished…”
“Hm? Who are you talking about?”
“Lan… do you remember?”
Lily frowned and thought for a moment before shaking her head.
Just as I expected, no one remembered her.
“But even if no one remembers her, it doesn’t mean she’s disappeared. Have you tried looking for her?”
Right! I couldn’t be sure Lan had disappeared yet!
Maybe everyone just forgot about her, but she still existed… If that were the case, I had to find her as soon as possible!
Finally realizing what I needed to do, I immediately prepared to act.
“I understand! Thank you, Lily!”
After shaking Lily’s hands up and down, I slung my bag over my shoulder and turned to run.
“Huh? Wait! Where are you going?”
“Like you said, I’m going to look for her!”
That’s right!
I should go to Lan’s house first to look!
Just thinking here by myself is useless! The important thing is to take action!
SF Light Novel
I still remembered Lan’s home address. I also remembered she lived with her aunt.
Even if she wasn’t at home, she might be somewhere else… I wish I had some item to help find people…
Ah, right. I remembered Zi’ai telling me that she had used an anomaly item to solve a problem before, called Ariadne’s Thread? That item could also be used to find people, right?
Should I go borrow it from the organization?
Inspired by Lily, my thoughts became more active. I stopped dwelling on what exactly happened or why it happened and started thinking about how to resolve the situation.
I will definitely find Lan Hua!
But when I arrived at Lan Hua’s house, I was met with only despairing news that left me completely helpless.
That was…
Not only Lan, but even Lan’s aunt was gone. There wasn’t even a trace left…
How could this be…
Has she really disappeared? Lan…
“What kind of joke is this!”
Didn’t we agree that this future would be a happy ending where everyone was safe?
Why did this happen!
Damn it! I should go to the organization first! Borrow an anomaly item!
I won’t give up! I won’t give up even if I have to go to the ends of the earth!
At this moment, my phone rang, a little too inconveniently. It was that number from last night…
Intuitively, I sensed that this matter might be related to Lan’s disappearance, so I immediately answered the phone.
“Juncheng An.”
I couldn’t tell if the voice was male or female. They must have used a voice changer.
This time, there was no static mixed in with the call. The voice sounded very clear.
“Who are you?!”
“Are you looking for Lan Hua?”
That single sentence made my eyes widen.
*Getting straight to the point!*
SF Light Novel
“You… did you do this?!”
“Putting aside whether I did it or not… you don’t actually care about what happened, do you?”
Yes, I really didn’t care about the reason. How it happened or who caused it wasn’t important.
*Hoo*, I spoke, calming my emotions.
“All I want to know now is how to get Lan back.”
I have a responsibility for this.
I can’t just let this go.
I won’t allow anyone to be missing!
“Then gather nine Destiny Marks.”
“Gather nine Destiny Marks?”
“That’s right. Gather nine Destiny Marks, and you can do anything you wish.”
“What do you mean?!”
If I can do anything, can I bring Lan Hua back?
“Do you know the Number Grabbing Game? It’s like that. Nine is the final digit. You just need to be the first to gather nine Destiny Marks.”
“How do I gather them?”
Can Destiny Marks be transferred?
“You actually know, don’t you? How to gather them… whether by threat or by deception, use your Destiny Mark to corrupt the other Master of Destiny and the Witches of Calamity, and claim them as your own.”
“What!”
“It’s not just you; the other Masters of Destiny have already started acting… each with their own objectives. If you want to achieve your wish, then strive to seize them.”
“Hey, hey?!”
*Hiss…* The call hung up again.
Damn it!
A Number Grabbing Game measured in Destiny Marks…
This must be what Shirley said I would eventually know.
Gathering nine Destiny Marks.
Alright! If I’m going to do it, I’ll do it!
