Chapter 107
By the fourth day, the little town looked much more desolate.
There were fewer people on the streets, and nearly half the shops were closed.
Even in the amusement park, it was rare to see a full family of three. More often, a lone father or mother played with their child.
Vivian casually questioned a few people, only to get answers like, “The child’s father is working out of town,” or, “I’m divorced; I don’t have a husband.”
Even a couple who used to run a shop together had changed — now only the husband sat alone inside, with no memory of ever having a wife.
For players, scattered clues allowed them to identify the ones who’d been forgotten. And with their high sanity and reasoning, they could still function normally. But for ordinary people, once a memory was gone, it was gone — their minds automatically patched over the gaps.
The whistle had blown three times, and nearly half the townsfolk were gone. When all the whistles finished, would anyone still be alive?
Even knowing they were just NPCs, it was unsettling to see their plight.
“Don’t look, Vivian,” Li Lu held her hand, shaking her head. “Just treat them as NPCs. We’re barely keeping ourselves safe — how could we save anyone else?”
Vivian wanted to argue but knew Li Lu was right.
They were struggling to survive themselves. How could they possibly rescue the rest of the town?
“If only there were an ocean or river nearby,” Vivian murmured unconsciously. “Then I could…”
Li Lu glanced at her in surprise.
“What are you talking about?”
Vivian blinked, puzzled.
“Did I… just say something?”
Meanwhile, in the eyes of Number 9 and Number 18, the cracks in this dungeon were widening rapidly. Lu Chuan’s group entering had accelerated the anomaly far faster than expected.
At this rate, in three days at most, the dungeon would fully stabilize, letting them step inside — instead of just watching from outside as Xi Jiangyuan played house with the others.
“Senior, they’re close to regaining their memories,” Number 18 said excitedly. “Their souls are starting to separate from their bodies.”
From their perspective, the bodies Xi Jiangyuan created with his powers didn’t suit these players. Even earlier groups would eventually recall their true memories in the later stages of a dungeon. And for Lu Chuan’s team, the “memory shells” Xi Jiangyuan gave them fit even worse.
In a way, Xi Jiangyuan was unlucky.
From the moment they entered, Lu Chuan, Lilus, and the rest were given the looks and abilities of Xi Jiangyuan’s former teammates. The more they used those abilities, the deeper they sank, believing themselves to be his old comrades.
But Lu Chuan’s group had barely used their new powers.
Not using them meant rejecting that identity — and when anomalies appeared, they could wake up faster.
At this pace, they might recover their memories before Number 9 and Number 18 even stepped in.
Number 9 stayed silent, watching Lu Chuan intently.
He seemed to know exactly when Lu Chuan would finally remember who he was.
Inside the dungeon.
Edith, facing Lu Chuan’s questions, felt lost.
She didn’t know what to believe anymore, as if even her own memories had become unreliable.
But if she couldn’t trust herself, who could she trust?
“It’s all right, Edith,” Lu Chuan patted her shoulder. “If you can’t tell what’s true, follow your feelings. Whatever your intuition tells you to trust — that’s it.”
Edith paused, meeting his eyes.
“Brother Lu, more than the captain, I trust you.”
“What a coincidence,” Lu Chuan smiled at her. “I feel the same.”
He and Xi Jiangyuan always seemed separated by a layer of something.
It wasn’t that Xi Jiangyuan treated him badly; Lu Chuan just felt that the man’s kindness never really extended to him.
If Xi Jiangyuan truly trusted him, why hadn’t he handed over the team’s funds and finances?
Something about that didn’t sit right.
The voice he’d heard in his dreams — promising tons of gold and billions in savings — was far more tempting.
That, Lu Chuan felt, was the life that fit him.
Night was falling.
Xi Jiangyuan stood at the warehouse door, anxious.
He didn’t know when the team would return; the sky was nearly dark. Had they run into trouble? Were they in danger, unable to get back?
Should he go after them?
A flood of thoughts filled Xi Jiangyuan’s mind.
Fortunately, his worry didn’t last long. Before the last light faded, the teammates finally trickled back.
“There’ll be a fourth whistle tonight,” Xi Jiangyuan warned. “Everyone must be extra cautious. No matter who it targets, stay calm and find a way to save yourself.”
He tried to keep his tone light, to avoid burdening them.
But strangely, their expressions were off — and even their faces looked subtly different from how he remembered.
Xi Jiangyuan hesitated, comparing them to his memories.
Was this really how they looked? Or had his memory faltered under pressure?
“Captain, why are you staring at us like that?” Messiah teased, flicking his hair with a smile. “There’s nothing wrong with us… is there?”
“No,” Xi Jiangyuan shook his head. “I just feel like you’ve gotten a lot better-looking, Messiah—almost younger.”
“Captain, what are you saying?” Messiah was shocked. “Haven’t I always looked like this?”
“Yeah, I remember Messiah always being like this.” Edith confirmed. “Actually, I think he looks worse now—he should be even better-looking.”
“Lil, what’s with your hand? Why’s it bandaged up?” Xi Jiangyuan turned to Lilus, whose right hand was wrapped tightly.
“I injured it by accident, so I just wrapped it up.”
“You’re out of healing items?” Xi Jiangyuan rummaged through his system space. “I can heal you again.”
“No need, Captain.” Lilus shook his head. “It’ll heal fast anyway. This dungeon is only half done—we should save our medical items for when we really need them. If it gets bad, I’ll tell you.”
Xi Jiangyuan nodded.
Others had also changed in small ways, but they still seemed respectful toward him.
That evening, during dinner, Xi Jiangyuan noticed something strange: the others had subconsciously sat in a circle, leaving him outside of it. Only when they saw him approach did they shift, making space for him.
It looked like nothing had changed, yet at the same time everything had.
The atmosphere among them—felt like it didn’t include him.
“Captain, you don’t look well. Maybe you’re exhausted from using your dream ability every night.”
“Yeah, Captain, you should stop pushing yourself. Just sleep, we’ll wake you in a few hours.”
Their words of concern made Xi Jiangyuan’s unease and tension dissolve, as if by magic.
“Alright, maybe I really am just too tense.” He quickly convinced himself, then slowly drifted to sleep under everyone’s watchful eyes.
It’s fine, he thought. Once I wake up, everything will go back to normal.
His breathing steadied.
The moment he fell asleep, Lu Chuan and the others exchanged glances and simultaneously pulled out their new phones.
They had bought them in town, along with fresh SIM cards, just to make communication easier.
Lu Chuan: Captain’s asleep. Didn’t expect everyone else bought phones too—guess we all realized something’s wrong.
Lilus: I don’t remember everything, but I recall one thing: my captain has never been Xi Jiangyuan. It should be my sister.
Shen Li: I remember being the captain.
Starry Shasha: I remember the captain was Brother Lu.
Messiah: I remember I was the captain.
Edith: …I remember both Brother Lu and Messiah being captains. Sorry, my memory’s messed up.
Vivian: +1. I remember being captain too.
Li Lu: I remember Vivian was the captain.
Things just got interesting. Out of eight people, several remembered themselves as captain—yet no one thought Xi Jiangyuan was.
Lu Chuan didn’t recall much, but he did remember that his ability wasn’t [Rewind]. The voice calling him in the dream—that was his real cheat.
He’d only bought Edith a phone so they could contact each other, but apparently the rest had done the same.
Lu Chuan: So here’s what we know, we might be players from different teams, each with our own captains. Xi Jiangyuan isn’t one of them. Our memories are compromised, like when those two teammates vanished—their disappearance took our memories too. Also, our texts might not be safe. If Xi Jiangyuan sees them… his dream ability is too strong.
Lilus: Didn’t you say he can drag people into dreams? His power can blanket the entire town. If he suspects us, he’ll see all this. But judging from how he fell asleep, he hasn’t noticed yet. If he does… tough luck.
Messiah: True. Since we’re regaining memories, we’ll likely recover them fully with time. But that also means Xi Jiangyuan will realize we’re not his teammates. I’ve never seen a boss like him.
Vivian: We acted well enough just now. He seems to trust us. If we hadn’t talked tonight, it would’ve been more dangerous later. Let’s hope luck is with us.
Shen Li: Don’t forget—the whistle will sound tonight. We can’t let our guard down.
***
The chat went on, but one thing was clear:
Lu Chuan, Shen Li, Starry Shasha, Edith, plus Messiah and Lilus—were closer and more in sync.
Vivian looked grim. She realized only Li Lu firmly sided with her. Meaning she and Li Lu were at a distinct disadvantage in this team.
That didn’t make sense. If she’d entered this dungeon with her own team, she couldn’t have only brought Li Lu. Could it be that the two who vanished earlier had been hers?
She shot Li Lu a look—be careful.
For now, they were the weak ones. Whether Xi Jiangyuan or the others, either side could turn into enemies.
Meanwhile, Lu Chuan created a private group with Shen Li, Edith, and Starry Shasha. After some thought, he added Messiah and Lilus too.
Lu Chuan: Vivian and Li Lu aren’t with us. Be careful. As for Xi Jiangyuan, we can’t just sit and wait. We need a way to test him. Any ideas?
Lilus: Keep it simple. Tomorrow we’ll see if we can find an item that lets us enter his dream. If his power is the dungeon’s core, his dream might hide the key to our memories.
Messiah: Don’t forget—he’s a powerful dream-user. Ordinary items won’t work, and might even make him suspicious.
Starry Shasha: The whistle’s coming tonight. If someone gets attacked, we could use that chance to test him. Lil said we can act freely during attacks, right?
Lilus: Don’t call me Lil, I’m older than you.
Shen Li: Still, she’s got a point. I suspect Xi Jiangyuan can act during the whistle too. If that’s true, we should be ready to confront him.
Lu Chuan: …That’s fine. Our memories will keep returning anyway—we’ll clash with him eventually. Also, to be safe, let’s minimize using our abilities. I think they aren’t really ours. Using them too much might slow memory recovery.
Shen Li: Got it. I haven’t used mine anyway.
Lilus: Same here.
…
They moved cautiously, hiding their intentions.
But they didn’t know—Xi Jiangyuan, in his dream, was quietly watching.
Every word, every move—he saw it all.
