Chapter 88
Jiang Liu knew in her heart that Xiao Si was definitely not the “silent type” Gao Yuan described.
Ever since entering the instance, whenever she brought up matters concerning herself, Xiao Si would either clam up or her eyes would flicker as she changed the subject. In a way, this was also a hint.
Perhaps it wasn’t that she didn’t want to say it, but that she couldn’t.
Yang Caisi and Qiao Ke were two separate, opposing entities. One desperately tried to cover up the truth, while the other racked his brains to make her regain her memory. From this, it was clear that these past memories were the key.
Jiang Liu’s expression was calm, her entire being exuding an air of confidence. Rather than saying she was seeking confirmation from Qiao Ke, it was more like she was stating her own conclusion.
She was certain of her guess and believed that when it came to the past, Qiao Ke would tell her everything he knew.
There was a moment of silence.
The chirping birds seemed to have sensed the gravity of the situation and fell silent, hidden in the dense foliage. It was as if the wind in the sky had stopped blowing, and the rustling leaves fell silent, waiting together for that answer.
Qiao Ke narrowed his eyes slightly, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“That’s right.”
He answered with certainty, without any hesitation from beginning to end.
Jiang Liu realized this, and her hands and feet grew cold. For a moment, the world spun before her eyes, and the memory that had repeatedly appeared when she touched the car at the bottom of the sea jumped out at her again.
Amidst the sharp sound of a car horn, mixed with the screams of the crowd, the dark fog in the memory fragment gradually dissipated. She could clearly recall that moment.
The moment she pushed Yang Caisi away, the only thought in her mind was—
So I really can die.
She could clearly feel the blood flowing out of her body, and her vision was already turning black. Before she was plunged into complete darkness, she saw Yang Caisi’s stunned face.
Xiao Si’s face still held the smile from their previous conversation. When an accident happens, people often can’t switch their emotions so quickly. She just stood there, smiling with wide eyes, staring blankly at Jiang Liu on the ground, at a loss for what to do.
Jiang Liu could even clearly see her own disheveled reflection in those bright eyes.
This was her last memory while she was still alive.
Pulling herself out of the fragments of the past, her brain seemed unable to bear it and let out a buzzing sound. Jiang Liu staggered and grabbed the doorframe, her back already drenched in a cold sweat.
So what was she now? A living dead person?
She shook her head, her fingers gripping the doorframe so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She used all her strength to support herself, trying not to let Qiao Ke see her in such a state.
“Do you need to rest for a moment?” The curve of Qiao Ke’s lips rose, but his tone carried a hint of insignificant pity as he extended a hand to Jiang Liu from his high horse.
The moment she heard his voice, Jiang Liu took a deep breath, finally let go of the doorframe and stood firm, her tone returning to one of calm and restraint. “That won’t be necessary.”
At first, she was puzzled as to why Qiao Ke, who had sent Zhang Xiaochen to deal with her, would hypocritically remind her to be careful of those around her.
Now, she finally understood Qiao Ke’s profound scheming.
Jiang Liu looked up, her gaze fixed on the young man opposite her. She said slowly, word by word, yet with extreme pressure, “Zhang Xiaochen’s betrayal was also under your control, wasn’t it?”
He was a pawn of Qiao Ke’s, but not the decisive one.
Reminding her to be wary of her teammates and making Zhang Xiaochen doubt his mission was to make both sides suspicious of each other. Only in this way could Zhang Xiaochen be determined to tell Jiang Liu everything, thus making her remember the past.
Otherwise, how could Zhang Xiaochen have found out about those secret matters on his own?
In a sense, Zhang Xiaochen had completed his mission very well.
He had reminded Jiang Liu of the truth and then calmly went to his death. It seemed magnanimous, but he was just a small ant crushed in Qiao Ke’s hand, unable to break free from his shackles in the end.
Understanding this, a sense of sorrow welled up within her.
Without waiting for Qiao Ke’s response, Jiang Liu continued to stare at him. “After going to such great lengths to make me remember, what do you really want?”
A hint of surprise finally appeared on Qiao Ke’s usually calm face.
The person before him still looked the same as in his memory, but she no longer spoke in a soft, gentle voice. Instead, she had learned to be rebellious, standing straight at his doorstep and questioning him about what he really wanted.
Perhaps it was because he hadn’t been in contact with reality for too long, but he actually found this version of Jiang Liu difficult to read.
But this surprise was only momentary. Qiao Ke quickly recovered, and his eyes seemed to sparkle with some light. His whole voice softened, as if he were facing that little girl from the past.
“I want to help you.” Qiao Ke reached out to pat Jiang Liu’s shoulder, having to admit that the little girl who was once shorter than his shoulder had grown into a graceful young woman.
He said this with sincerity, but Jiang Liu was unmoved. She even instinctively turned quickly to avoid his hand, frowning in disgust. “Don’t touch me. You’re dirty.”
Qiao Ke’s hand froze in mid-air. A flash of annoyance crossed his eyes, which he then forcibly suppressed. He looked at Jiang Liu with a fake smile and threw out the question she was most concerned about right now.
“Don’t you want to know why Yang Caisi is in the system?”
Jiang Liu didn’t miss that momentary change in his expression. She sneered and looked at Qiao Ke mockingly, but her hands had already deftly moved to his neck.
“No matter what I was like in your memory, the current me has no desire to listen to nonsense.”
Similarly, she didn’t feel like she was here to ask Qiao Ke for the truth.
She preferred to use another word—threat.
A dagger with a cold glint was almost instantly pressed against Qiao Ke’s neck. Qiao Ke knew Jiang Liu’s capabilities. If they fought in such a secluded place, he might not really be her match.
Besides, in order not to alert certain things, he didn’t want to make too much of a commotion.
He stood still, and the faint air of pity around him finally disappeared. His face turned cold for once as he spoke quickly, his words rushed and urgent. “You must be curious why you entered the system, right? Because the person who made the wish wasn’t you at all! It was Yang Caisi!”
Yang Caisi’s wish was to resurrect Jiang Liu, so the system captured the consciousness of the deceased and projected it here to fulfill her wish.
At this point, Qiao Ke sighed almost imperceptibly, his tone carrying a hint of persuasion. “But there’s a time limit for ordinary people to enter the system. She has one year left. If she continues to indulge in this, the consequences will be unimaginable.”
Sensing a slight loosening of the blade at his neck, Qiao Ke struck while the iron was hot and continued, “So you must remember. Only then can she return to reality!”
After speaking, he took a moment to catch his breath, as if he had completely let down his guard against Jiang Liu, and patted his chest earnestly. “I was your former supervisor, after all. That’s why I tried everything to make you remember.”
Jiang Liu wasn’t dazed by his long speech. Instead, she calmly sized up his eyes and thought for a moment before speaking. “How can you prove it?”
Qiao Ke immediately pointed to his living room. “The service years of all NPCs can be checked. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask 082.”
He spread his hands and said earnestly, “You two have been together for so long, after all. I’m sure you wouldn’t want her to be trapped in a fantasy forever, right? She’s still young and has a better life ahead of her. She shouldn’t be wasting it in the system.”
Seeing that Jiang Liu still seemed to have reservations, Qiao Ke gritted his teeth and laid his cards on the table. His emotions finally lost their former calm and erupted for once.
“I admit I have my own selfish motives. Yang Caisi has done a lot to survive in the system for so long, and she has caused me a lot of trouble. That’s why I wanted to help you, and at the same time, help myself get rid of this major problem.”
Although he spoke quickly and his emotions were slightly agitated, Qiao Ke’s words were extremely logical, without any loopholes or contradictions, making it difficult to tell whether he was telling the truth or not.
Jiang Liu stared at him for a long time, then silently put away her dagger. She looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow. “So what do you want me to do?”
Her expression clearly showed that she was somewhat moved, which made Qiao Ke inevitably feel a surge of joy. As if he had prepared it long ago, he stated his proposal, “As long as you are willing to give up the game, everything will be over, and in a year, Yang Caisi will return to reality.”
As if afraid Jiang Liu would disagree, he added a sentence at the end, “Of course, after she leaves, all her memories will be erased. She won’t remember these painful memories.”
He then swallowed nervously, his eyes looking at Jiang Liu with what could almost be described as eagerness, as if he would do anything as long as Jiang Liu was willing to nod.
Under this extremely fervent gaze, Jiang Liu slowly lowered her head. The dagger spun rapidly between her fingers, and her brain was also thinking quickly.
Qiao Ke didn’t try to persuade her further, just waited quietly, looking forward to Jiang Liu’s final decision.
After a moment, she asked suspiciously, “Are you sure she’ll forget me after she leaves?”
This was the sentence Qiao Ke was waiting for. A smile of complete control appeared on his face as he nodded affirmatively. “You can rest assured on this point. Zhang Xiaochen should have mentioned it to you as well. Players lose all their memories here after leaving the system, so it won’t affect their normal lives.”
“He did mention that.” Jiang Liu nodded in understanding, seeming a little hesitant.
Qiao Ke thought she was reluctant. After all, telling a person she had been dead for a long time and must wake up from a dream to accept her non-existence was a very difficult choice.
Looking at the complex expression on Jiang Liu’s face, he decided to add a little more weight to his argument.
“She once supervised several players. I sent the photos to Zhang Xiaochen. You saw them, right?”
Seeing Jiang Liu nod, a smile lifted the corners of Qiao Ke’s lips, and his eyes seemed a little wistful. “The instances are dangerous. You’ve been in a cycle with Yang Caisi many times. The you of today dies in an instance, and tomorrow a new consciousness will be born to meet and get to know her, until she dies again—
Can you bear to see her like this?”
As his voice fell, Jiang Liu was suddenly stunned. In a moment of distraction, she made a mistake, and the sharp dagger, without her noticing, sliced her thumb. A subtle stinging pain mixed with blood fell, making her gasp.
Staring at this familiar dagger, Jiang Liu pursed her lips and finally made up her mind.
Under Qiao Ke’s expectant gaze, she finally gave her answer.