Chapter 453: Explanation and Completion

Modify memory?

Read memory?

Subconsciously, Lin An thought a lot, a lot.

My memory... has it been modified?

Moreover, did Chu An ever say he had a plan?

Not giving him much time to think, Chu An quickly drew a logical deduction diagram on his notebook:

"Actually, all the questions you asked are just one thing."

"Moreover, it's very simple, and I haven't hidden or deceived you about anything."

"Let's start from the very beginning."

"Since coming into contact with you and arriving at Long'an Base, I've realized we mainly face three problems."

"First, the city defense battle."

"Second, another city defense mission issued by the system on you."

"Third, the second Lin An sealed in your memory, that is, the Lin An who once participated in the Long'an Project."

"The first two are merely mutants with unknown abilities appearing, but they're nothing to fear."

"What's truly critical is the third point, namely you."

After a brief pause, Colonel Chu continued speaking rapidly:

"When we first met, I told you I was the person in charge of the Splendid Peace Project."

"Likewise, I also participated in the Long'an Project. With my position, I naturally know your past."

"However, before answering your question, I want to ask you something."

"Lin An, just how much of your previous memories do you remember?"

Upon hearing that Colonel Chu knew his past, Lin An's body shuddered.

After hesitating a moment, he took a deep breath and replied somewhat hesitantly:

"In my memory, I indeed remember those death trials."

"Rather than calling them memories, they are more like gruesome fragments."

"In my memory, I kept completing one task after another."

"The further back it goes, the stronger I became in memory, but my methods also became..."

"inhuman."

"So-called slaughtering cities and destroying nations, in some memory fragments, is as simple as eating and drinking."

"Even, I can feel... in the end, killing has become a kind of... pleasure..."

"So, I usually don't think about these things. Even for a long period, I chose to actively forget."

That's right.

He essentially knew the details of the Long'an Project, having seen those fragments.

But every time he recalled those scenes, he deliberately avoided them.

Especially after rebirth, Lin An almost wanted to 'forget' these.

Chu An turned the pen in his hand and nodded slowly.

"Well, so you remember part of it, but it's incomplete, right?"

"Because you're afraid you'll become the self in those memories, you've been instinctively rejecting him."

"But deep down you actually know, you know that to become stronger you must rely on 'his' power."

"After all, the other you can be called the strongest test subject in the Long'an Project."

"A perfect warrior."

"So you've been suppressing your emotions, restraining yourself from turning into him."

"But unfortunately, you are originally one entity. Your behavior will only grow closer to him."

While speaking, Chu An suddenly shook his head.

"Lin An, what you're doing is actually wrong."

"You have been exposed to the Eye of Fear."

"When you choose to rely on spiritual power, it means you can no longer suppress him."

"Like an erupting volcano."

"Blocking it all the time will only lead to a more violent eruption in the end."

"So you need to vent."

Lin An blinked slightly, realizing the meaning of Chu An's words.

"You mean, you're doing this..."

"That's right."

Chu Colonel squeezed out a smile and nodded:

"I heard Zhang Tie talk about this. Mo Ling also mentioned it."

"So, after you returned from the Amoeba Worm Instance, I've been considering how to resolve this."

"I can tell you without reservation."

"The Lin An sealed in your memory is indeed strong, able to be called the most perfect warrior."

"But I also don't want him to replace you."

"As for the reason, you'll find out later."

"Let's skip this topic; I'll first tell you why I want you to guard the core fortress and only act at the end."

After a brief pause, Chu An spoke slowly and deliberately.

"First, I didn't discover the spider maker inside the base."

"It was only after Yun Lin reported the future event that I realized this must have been done by an existence outside the mission."

"Otherwise, the scene should have shown zombies breaking through the core, not just Mo Ling alone."

"It's very simple."

"Since the change belongs to outsiders, to an unknown enemy, the best solution is to wait for it to act."

"Therefore, I haven't hidden this from you at all."

"The facts prove that if you had then taken a chance and joined the city defense early, you would likely have been held up, and thus not had time to return to deal with the second Mo Ling in the core fortress."

"If I'm not mistaken, the second Mo Ling is the ghost infant plus the spider maker, right?"

Lin An nodded, indicating for Chu An to continue.

Raising his glasses slightly, Colonel Chu continued without pause.

"Next, let's talk about AnXia's matter."

"Actually, I discovered AnXia's matter before you went to the Amoeba Worm dungeon."

Upon hearing this, Lin An froze.

Before he could say anything, Chu An reached out his arm, signaling him to calm down.

"Lin An, I didn't intentionally hide this news."

"Do you still remember telling me you wanted to use the broadcast license to look for AnXia?"

"In fact, before that, I had already found her trail."

"That's how it is."

"Through Zhang Tie and Wen Ya, I learned what happened the day AnXia escaped."

"It's a simple deduction."

"Have you ever thought..."

"If she hadn't regained some of her sanity, why would she run away?"

"The answer is simple."

"After you injected the serum, AnXia became a mutant due to special reasons, but the serum's effect restored part of her sanity. With that remaining sanity, she didn't want to hurt you, so she chose to flee."

"She's just a little girl, she's too scared."

"So, conversely, an AnXia who doesn't want to hurt you will, whether she regains her sanity intermittently or not, instinctively track your scent."

"So, after realizing this, I took your related clothing and found AnXia's trail."

"During the pursuit, I specially placed an auto-detonating serum device on her."

"That's why I proposed to save the broadcast license, rather than let you 'waste' it on searching for AnXia."

Lin An remained silent, he had always thought AnXia had fled to a faraway place.

After all, he thought AnXia had become a monster, never imagining she had been hiding nearby all along.

As for Chu An, he had actually found AnXia early on and could even rescue her, but he never realized this detail.

Who would have thought that Colonel Chu's original intention was this?

He merely thought Chu An had a sudden whim, wanting to use the broadcast license to create a catastrophe-level weapon.

Seeing Lin An feeling somewhat self-blame, Colonel Chu just shook his head and continued speaking.

"Actually, my plan is very simple."

"My original plan was to have you stay in the core fortress to handle the most important matters first."

"When you fight the zombie tide, then lure AnXia over."

"Anyway, the anti-toxin serum had been pre-placed on AnXia; I can transform her back at any time."

"It would be better to just have her cooperate with the plan."

"After all, to detonate the 'volcano' and force you to use the power of the second Lin An, you need to give enough pressure, and you must not let the second Lin An realize this."

"I told you before, after dealing with the surrounding forces, you must immediately enter the Secret Realm and break through to the third rank."

"Otherwise, once the Fearful Body's progress increases rapidly, everything is over."

"Letting the second Lin An come out briefly can delay the Fearful Body's progress. After all, the Fearful Body is essentially the projection of the second Lin An's consciousness."

"So, I only concealed this from you on this point."

"Originally, according to the plan, I intended for AnXia to fight you, or to flee again."

"Only in this way could it reasonably make you use the second Lin An, unleashing power."

"Wait for him to act, ease the Fearful Body's progress, then detonate the anti-toxin serum on AnXia to restore her sanity."

"When AnXia realizes you've become the second Lin An, her newly restored sanity will surely want to help you take revenge."

"That way, I can force the second Lin An to voluntarily retreat into the memory seal."

"After all, he doesn't want to die, and he can't afford to gamble."

"But I didn't expect the spider maker's methods to be not bad."

"So I simply went along with the plan, letting Gao Tian and them fall into the spider maker's trap, so that when you faced the thousand-eyed zombie, you would release the second Lin An."

"Just right to let him kill the thousand-eyed zombie, then have AnXia force him to return."

Lin An frowned slightly after hearing that.

He always felt something was off.

AnXia had pre-installed anti-toxin serum? How did Chu An manage to equip the third-rank AnXia with anti-toxin serum?

Leaving Lin An time to think, Chu An suddenly turned his head to look out the window.

"Eh, so actually there's not much of a layout."

"You don't need to think too much about anything."

"Moreover, the second Lin An actually taught you quite a few 'things', didn't he? You should have remembered his combat skills."

"Moreover."

Chu An turned his head, pointing at the suddenly knocking door:

"The last zombie has been brought over."

"Lin An, kill it."

"Claim your reward."

Outside the door, Gao Tian, excited, held up a zombie with only half a body left, standing at the doorway, behind him stood a dense crowd of members.

Everyone looked at him with eager eyes.

The last zombie, the mission is over.

They, have won.

In the panel, the progress bar from the Savior mission has already reached %.

Cain's Blade, representing the Epic Tier weapon, continued to flicker.