Chapter 385

Late at night, most of the facilities at the Abyss Observation Station entered a low-activity state.

Those living buildings slowly retracted their tentacles, emitting slight breathing sounds like babies.

Occasionally, a few eyeball-shaped monitoring organs poked out from the walls.

Lazily scanning the corridor, confirming that everything was safe, they shrank back into the depths of the stone wall.

Luo En sat alone in the center of the laboratory, the magic crystal lamp on the desk emitting a soft blue light.

Before him, two memory crystals of different shapes lay quietly on a silk cushion.

One of them (pale green leaf-shaped) had already been parsed by him, obtaining precious information about the ecology of the Twisted Jungle.

How those flesh-and-blood trees devoured vitality, how those deformed flowers spread mental toxins...

These pieces of knowledge had already been calmly recorded by him and filed into his own research archives.

Now it was the turn of the second one.

This memory crystal appeared pale blue and water-drop-shaped, with light like seawater flowing on the surface.

When Luo En held it up to the magic crystal lamp, the light inside began to rotate slowly, forming a complex vortex pattern.

Those light spots were like fireflies trapped in amber, carrying an indescribable sadness.

"Another tragic story, I suppose..."

He muttered to himself in his heart, his tone as flat as if discussing today's weather.

The long-term practice of *The Whisper of the Star-Eater* made him increasingly numb to this kind of emotional fluctuation.

Those things that once could touch his heart were now firmly frozen by the ice layer of rationality and logic.

Luo En carefully probed his mental power into the depths of the crystal.

The boundary of reality began to blur, and his consciousness was pulled by a gentle force, sinking into the memory world of a strange woman.

I am Ai Li, twenty-four years old this year...

The voice of the memory owner sounded in the depths of his consciousness, carrying a unique warmth.

That warmth was like the afternoon sun in spring, pure and completely defenseless.

Luo En could feel her every emotional fluctuation, experiencing her ordinary yet fulfilling life.

This inn is the legacy left to me and my brother Tang Mu by Father...

The scenes in the memory were so real and delicate:

The small inn was located on the edge of Ash Town and was a two-story wooden building.

Although the exterior was simple, every detail revealed the owner's care.

Ceramic flower pots made by hand were placed on the windowsill, with a few unknown small flowers planted inside.

Under the influence of abyss radiation, the flowers presented strange but beautiful purple colors, like the brightest stars in the night sky.

Ai Li was always wearing the floral apron left by her mother, busy in the inn.

She would put handmade cushions in every room, put a bouquet of wildflowers at the head of the guests' beds, and remember what kind of tea every guest liked to drink...

"What they need is not just sleep."

She stroked the clean bed sheets, her eyes full of tenderness: "But more of a... feeling of home."

Luo En felt this simple kindness, but there was no ripple in his heart.

This kind of emotion was too far away for him, like watching someone else's life through thick glass.

He even began to calculate how much extra cost this "gratuitous kindness" would bring to the inn's operation...

Every dusk, I would stand in front of the door, watching those brave explorers walk from afar...

When the sun set, Ai Li always stood in the small garden in front of the inn door.

Her figure appeared so small under the blood-red sky, yet so firm.

Those explorers who were about to step into the abyss walked from afar.

Some had serious expressions, some were pretending to be relaxed, but everyone's eyes were mixed with fear and determination.

Just like Tang Mu when he left initially...

The scene shifted, and the figure of a young male appeared in the memory.

That was Ai Li's brother Tang Mu, a boy who had just turned eighteen.

He had a bright smile and a stubborn chin, carrying pitifully simple equipment, but his eyes burned with the desire for adventure.

"Sister, I will definitely come back safely!"

Tang Mu hugged Ai Li, his voice carrying the impulsiveness unique to young people:

"When I earn enough money, we will move to the Central Land and open a bigger inn! By then, you won't have to work so hard!"

Ai Li sent her brother off with a smile, but Luo En could feel the unease deep in her heart.

It was a kind of unclear premonition, like the heart being squeezed gently by an invisible hand.

Impulsive, stupid, unrealistic...

Luo En evaluated Tang Mu's choice.

This kind of reckless behavior, in his view, had no rationality at all.

With Tang Mu's strength and equipment, entering the abyss to explore was no different from suicide.

But his emotions were like stagnant water without any rise or fall, as if this were just a data case unrelated to him.

Time passed quickly in the memory.

A day, a week, a month...

Ai Li stood in front of the inn door every day, looking toward the direction of the abyss.

Her eyes changed from anticipation to worry, from worry to despair.

The originally bright smile slowly became reluctant, and the vitality in her voice disappeared bit by bit.

Other explorers returned one after another, some with scars, some mentally dazed, some missing arms or legs, but none were the person she was waiting for.

"Tang Mu? Do you know Tang Mu? Brown hair, a boy who loves to laugh..."

Ai Li grabbed every returning explorer to ask.

Her fingers unconsciously twisted the edge of her apron; that was her habit when nervous.

But what she got was always shaking heads and sympathetic eyes.

Three months... Tang Mu had had no news for three months...

Ai Li in the memory became haggard, her eyes losing their past luster.

She began to suffer from insomnia, often standing by the window in the middle of the night until dawn.

Guests in the inn could hear her soft sobbing, but no one knew how to comfort a sister who had lost her brother.

People in town all said I should give up... said Tang Mu must have... but I don't believe it!

Despair and guilt entangled Ai Li's heart like poisonous snakes.

She began to blame herself; if she had stopped Tang Mu from going to the abyss, if she had accompanied him...

Countless "ifs" echoed in her mind, torturing her until she was not in human form.

An expected result...

Luo En still had no ripples in his heart while observing all this.

He even began to analyze Ai Li's behavioral patterns.

Thinking about what kind of psychological intervention could more effectively help her get rid of this meaningless pain.

But he did not realize that this cold analysis itself was exactly what explained the problem.

Eventually, on a certain night, Ai Li made a decision.

I want to find him... even if it's a corpse, I want to bring him home...

The exploration journey in the memory was full of tragic colors.

Ai Li had no combat experience; her "equipment" was just a rusty kitchen knife and a few bottles of homemade herbs.

Every inch of the abyss land was soaked in blood, and every gust of wind carried the breath of death.

Twisted monsters lurked in the dark, ready to tear apart any intruder at any time.

But Ai Li seemed unable to feel fear; she just called her brother's name over and over again.

Tragedy descended at the most unexpected moment.

By a swamp, Ai Li encountered one of the most vicious creatures in the abyss—the memory parasite.

These tiny creatures invisible to the naked eye permeated her consciousness like smoke and began their most evil work.

They not only devoured the host's real memories, but more viciously, they would implant carefully manufactured false memories.

Letting desperate people see hope, letting painful people feel false comfort, and then slowly hollowing out the host's brain at this time.

Tang Mu?! I heard you calling for help! Wait for me! Sister is coming to save you!

Ai Li, who had been implanted with false memories, had the fire of hope reignited in her eyes.

She "heard" her brother's cry for help and "saw" the scene where he was trapped deeper.

These illusions were so real that even her sense of touch and smell were perfectly deceived.

Almost there... almost found Tang Mu... I can feel it, he is right in front... he is waiting for me...

But Luo En knew the truth.

Through the memory crystal, he could see the parasite eating Ai Li's brain bit by bit.

Just at this moment, the memory came to an abrupt end.

Perhaps because of the parsing of the memory crystal, he was completely substituted into the story's protagonist.

This kind of immersive special experience brought him enough touch.

When Luo En slowly woke up, he actually found that his eye sockets were slightly moist.

"I... shed tears?"

He raised his hand, stroking his eye sockets tremblingly.

This sudden emotional reaction made him feel somewhat surprised.

How long had it been since he was touched by the death of a stranger?

But immediately, a deeper fear surged in his heart.

When did he start becoming so cold?

When did he start treating other people's pain as just data?

He thought of Yi Fu's longing amethyst eyes;

Thought of Na Rui's unconditional support;

Thought of Dai Er and Ai Lan's silent companionship all along...

The traces left by these people's efforts and these sincere emotions in his heart were becoming shallower and shallower.