Chapter 159

After Lin Ran worked overtime to clean up a large batch of natural disasters, she finally had a day off of her own again.

In fact, Lin Ran doesn't need to be this busy; cleaning up natural disasters has long become a habit for her, and for the entire Alliance it is also a beacon guiding the way forward.

The starry river stretches vast; besides the increasingly rampant natural disasters, there are countless civilizations struggling desperately. As the Vigorous Alliance, the Star Sea Patrol bears a fate that is no longer that of a mere civilization.

Lin Ran spent a leisurely day with Zhang Jie, playing games released by the interstellar company, watching variety shows of galactic stars, discussing what to eat later; the two seemed like a plain‑living couple, ignoring outside affairs and just enjoying their leisurely life.

Such leisure gave Zhang Jie great comfort, but he had already lost interest in playing games; after all, in the simulation he had nearly driven himself mad trying to beat games.

All that can be said is, if one were to treat this as a profession to play, it's really not much different from being a beast of burden working a job...

Beautiful times always pass in a flash; soon, the artificial star inside the Alliance warship gradually dimmed, the entire interior of the warship entered nighttime, as if living on a real planet.

At this moment, Zhang Jie and Lin Ran lay side by side on the outdoor observation deck, looking down from above at the entire interior of the warship, each still holding a specially made Alliance alcoholic drink.

Gazing at this wondrous night view, Zhang Jie sipped his drink, and a feeling of melancholy rose again.

The simulator's rewards had already been settled, but he didn't go to claim them actively; for some reason, he actually felt a lack of anticipation for this simulation's reward settlement.

Lin Ran beside him quietly watched Zhang Jie; she could sense his mood wasn't very pleasant, yet she didn't proactively ask.

She was waiting for Zhang Jie to speak first.

"Lin Ran... you say, is our world false?"

Zhang Jie turned his head, gazing at Lin Ran; as for this question, Lin Ran merely pondered briefly before giving her own answer.

"This question... probably won't have a definite answer."

"As long as feelings are real and the people around are real, what does it matter if the world is fake?"

Lin Ran watched Zhang Jie's contemplative look, secretly tiptoed up and pecked his cheek.

"What's up? Suddenly asking this question?"

"Is it... that you've remembered something again?"

"As expected of you..."

Zhang Jie sighed, then nodded, his face full of melancholy.

Hearing this answer, Lin Ran, though already mentally prepared, still couldn't help but feel her heart tighten.

Zhang Jie occasionally awakens memories of his past life, and after each awakening, a girl from that past life might possibly come to find him, but this is actually unimportant to Lin Ran.

As a 'old monster' who has lived nearly thirty centuries, Lin Ran understands best the impact and wear that memory has on a person.

This is what she worries about most; she fears that one day Zhang Jie will suddenly awaken some memory he shouldn't have, and will no longer be Zhang Jie—what should be done?

That never-wilting rose is now cherished and stored by her; Lin Ran dare not imagine what she would do if it one day suddenly withered.

Unlike before, previously she knew that a natural disaster had killed Zhang Jie, and she could rely on sheer obsession to endure.

But now? She has no idea what causes this situation; even she has arranged many advanced checkups, yet found nothing useful on Zhang Jie.

He is like a riddle, appearing suddenly, and who can be certain he won't suddenly disappear?

"We still have to take it step by step; at least for now, Zhang Jie is still the Zhang Jie I know."

"Right now, the most important thing is...."

Lin Ran pondered for how long, and Zhang Jie stared at her for that same length of time, but Zhang Jie didn't know that Lin Ran's thoughts had already drifted far away....

And just as Zhang Jie casually brought the drink to his mouth, Lin Ran suddenly blurted out a sentence.

"Does that mean a new girl will come to find you?"

"Pfft!!"

Zhang Jie spat out a mouthful of water; he never expected, after thinking left and right, that Lin Ran's first words would be this.

"Cough cough cough...."

"Sorry sorry! I didn't mean it that way!"

Lin Ran's slip of the tongue wasn't a one-time thing; after all, she could utter the miraculous line 'Obviously your parents are also dead,' so saying such an astonishing thing isn't surprising...

However, seeing Lin Ran flustered and humble, Zhang Jie couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

Obviously she is the Alliance Empress revered by ten thousand, decisive in slaughter, yet before him she has become a pitiful sight, constantly apologizing for misspeaking.

Damn! I truly am heinously wicked!!

"No... it's fine!"

"I understand what you mean."

Lin Ran kept patting Zhang Jie's back, her embarrassed little face flushed red.

Zhang Jie took a moment to compose himself, and ultimately decided to speak frankly.

"Actually this time, indeed just as you said, there really is a girl."

"But whether she will come to find me, I think it's quite likely she won't."

"As I said before, this is after all a low-probability event; you should also know how hard it is for a civilization to reach the Star Sea relying solely on its own strength."

"What's more, let alone not mentioning what era my past-life memory belongs to, I simply don't know how long ago that era was from now."

"Even if all of the above were ignored, she still managed to see me...."

Zhang Jie paused, as if recalling some unpleasant memory.

"She probably doesn't remember me either."

Lin Ran looked at Zhang Jie's appearance, felt a pang of heartache, not wanting him to recall this matter again, so she abruptly interjected.

"Um... um, you'd better not think about it for now; I believe you."

"By the way... lately I haven't seen the dream disaster for a long time, how strange hahaha...."

Lin Ran laughed, while observing Zhang Jie, never expecting that he seemed to have triggered some keyword, suddenly lifting his head.

"You say, the dream disaster has disappeared for a long time?"

Looking at Zhang Jie's appearance, Lin Ran's heart suddenly welled up with a faint bad premonition....

"No... it couldn't really be this much of a coincidence...."

"Could it be... I'm really some kind of plot trigger???"