Chapter 368: The Foundation of Being Human

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

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

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

Lazily scanning the corridor, confirming everything was safe, they would shrink 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 exuding 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 all been calmly recorded by him and filed into his own research archives.

Now it was the turn of the second one.

This memory crystal presented a light blue water-drop shape, with a faint 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-Devourer" 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 boundaries 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 Ellie, twenty-four years old this year...

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

That warmth was like the sunshine on a spring afternoon, pure and completely unguarded.

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

This inn is the legacy left by Father to me and my younger brother Tom...

The scenes in the memory were so real and delicate:

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

Although the exterior was simple, every detail showed the care of the owner.

Hand-made ceramic flower pots were placed on the windowsill, with a few small unknown 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.

Ellie always wore the floral apron left by her mother, busy in the inn.

She would put hand-sewn cushions in every room, put a bunch of wild flowers at the bedside of guests, and remember what kind of tea every explorer liked to drink...

"They need more than just sleep."

She gently stroked the clean sheets, her eyes full of tenderness: "They need a kind of... 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, Ellie 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 looked serious, some pretended to be relaxed, but everyone’s eyes were mixed with fear and determination.

Just like when Tom left...

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

That was Ellie’s younger brother Tom, 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!"

Tom hugged Ellie, 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!"

Ellie smiled and sent her brother off, but Luo En could feel the unease deep in her heart.

It was a kind of vague premonition, as if her heart was being gently clenched by an invisible hand.

Impulsive, stupid, unrealistic...

Luo En evaluated Tom’s choice.

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

With Tom’s strength and equipment, entering the Abyss to explore was no different from suicide.

But his emotions were as still as dead water, as if this were just a data case unrelated to him.

Time passed quickly in the memory.

One day, one week, one month...

Ellie 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 forced, 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.

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

Ellie grabbed every returning explorer to ask.

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

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

Three months... Tom had no news for three months...

Ellie in the memory became haggard, her eyes losing the light of the past.

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 say I should give up... say Tom must have... but I don't believe it!

Despair and guilt entangled Ellie’s heart like a poisonous snake.

She began to blame herself; if she had stopped Tom from going to the Abyss, if she had accompanied him...

Countless "ifs" echoed in her mind, torturing her until she was no longer human.

Expected result...

Luo En watched all this, his heart still without ripples.

He even began to analyze Ellie’s behavioral patterns.

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

But he didn't realize that this indifferent analysis itself explained the problem.

Finally, one night, Ellie 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.

Ellie had no combat experience; her "equipment" was just a rusty kitchen knife and a few bottles of homemade herbal medicine.

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

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

But Ellie seemed not to feel fear; she just called her brother’s name over and over again.

Tragedy struck at the most unexpected time.

By a swamp, Ellie 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.

Tom?! I hear you calling for help! Wait for me! Sister is coming to save you!

Ellie, who had false memories implanted, had the fire of hope reignited in her eyes.

She "heard" her brother’s cry for help, "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 Tom... 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 slowly devouring Ellie’s brain.

And 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 protagonist of the story.

This special experience of being on the scene 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, trembling as he touched his eye sockets.

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 welled up in his heart.

When did he start to become so indifferent?

When did he start to treat other people’s pain as just data?

He thought of Eve’s longing amethyst eyes;

thought of Nari’s unconditional support;

thought of Dail and Ailan’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.