The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

Of course, this time the aroma was much more complex—it was the smell of food.

"It's time to eat."

The woman changed her previous demeanor and greeted Qiao Yelan happily like a young girl, handing him the chopsticks.

"Thank you."

"Mmm, try it, these are all your favorite dishes."

Qiao Yelan picked up her chopsticks and tasted each dish.

Shu was absolutely right—these were all his favorite dishes.

"Eat more. I brought a lot of rice from the Great Wilderness City. It will be enough for you to eat for a long time."

The man had already started eating.

He was really hungry.

Shu didn't touch her chopsticks; she just sat opposite Qiao Yelan, happily watching him wolf down his food.

This was probably the most relaxing and satisfying meal Qiao Yelan had eaten since waking up.

"Thank you, Shu."

"If you like it, I'll make some more. You can reheat it tomorrow. Although it won't taste as good, it's a rare opportunity, so I'll make more—and there's some of the pack animal meat I've marinated..."

Qiao Yelan listened attentively to Shu's rambling, much more attentively than when the Grand Tutor was explaining the plan to him.

"...That's about it. I'll go cook some dishes now. You can eat slowly. I'm going back to Great Wilderness City tonight."

Are you going back today?

Shu nodded.

"Well, Ji said he could cover for me for a while, but I think the longer it goes on, the more flaws will appear. I don't want to cause him any trouble—and seeing that you're alright is enough for me. I have a long time, a very long time, as long as you're still you."

"What if... I'm not actually me?"

Qiao Yelan said slowly.

"You mean, your amnesia?"

The man nodded.

"I know—it's just amnesia."

"Shu said seriously."

"What I can't accept is losing you, Yelan."

Qiao Yelan was taken aback.

“I am immortal, and I will not die until the Year Beast sweeps across this land again—my emotions are too heavy compared to the lifespan of a human.”

“I’m really happy that when you said you could actually live a long time, even though you’ll lose your memory, you’re still Qiao Yelan, you’ll still study hard according to your grades, and you’ll still like to eat the food I cook.”

She got up from her chair, walked to Qiao Yelan, and hugged him tightly.

"But I'm also sorry... I overestimated myself. After years of waiting, what I saw was your indifferent and scrutinizing gaze—I admit, at that moment, I was very scared and desperate."

“Especially... every twenty years, I have to go through this again. Last time, you didn’t even come to see me once.”

"sorry......"

Qiao Yelan buried her head in Shu's beautiful hair, closed her eyes, and gently inhaled the fresh aroma of malt.

"No, that was the result of my greed—"

The millet whispered her heart to Qiao Yelan.

“I know you’re not living for me. You have things you have to do, but that’s okay. I can wait for you to finish everything.”

“I will wait, whether it is the years or the demons, I will not be killed by them until the day you say, you are finally free.”

After saying this, the woman did not let go of Qiao Yelan. She simply closed her eyes and listened to Qiao Yelan's breathing.

She has been waiting for a thousand years.

Until a long silence followed.

"Yes—I already know what I need to do."

Qiao Yelan said softly.

"Thank you."

Thank you for completing the last piece of the puzzle for me.

----------------------------------------------------------

Back when Qiao Yelan woke up, he was puzzled by his previous self's behavior—why did he have to completely erase his memories? Shouldn't he have kept some memories of the plan he was currently carrying out?

At the very least, she should remember why she participated in this plan—otherwise, why would Qiao Yelan bear this responsibility that she had no recollection of and that was imposed on her out of thin air?

But no, Qiao Yelan simply and directly returned to her 26-year-old self, both physically and in terms of memories.

Kal'tsit explained to herself that this awakening was an accident and was premature; otherwise, she should have slept longer so that she could have woken up in her complete form.

This explanation was reasonable at first, but after Qiao Yelan finished reading the description of the stone coffin, she discovered a contradiction in the passage.

The sarcophagus serves as a device that continuously reverses the timeline of the creatures inside, and I am undoubtedly also working towards the goal of "rejuvenation."

If Qiao Yelan continued to sleep for a while, wouldn't she have become younger when she woke up?

—Wouldn't his memories go back to a place even further back?

Going further back, it would be better to be where we are now.

However, according to Kal'tsit, although she would lose a lot of memories upon waking up normally, she should have no doubts about the current inheritance plan.

That's strange—does it mean that the longer you stay in the stone coffin, the younger your body becomes, but the more memories you retain?

Before him, perhaps Qiao Yelan and others had never doubted this matter, or perhaps they had never verified it.

However, the previous Qiao Yelan—let's call him the "Old Qiao Yelan" for now—not only doubted the truth about the stone coffin, but also verified it.

But if he lies in the stone coffin, he will lose his memory. How can he ensure that the results of this verification plan can be effectively communicated to his next self?

[Old Qiao Yelan] began his own unique plan—verification and hints.

The first step in the verification plan is to verify whether there will be any discrepancies in the restoration of the body and memories when the sarcophagus is in operation.

So he arranged for his final resting place to be in Kazdel, and left behind a short but concise letter.

The carefully selected key information was to ensure that the new self, even when his mind was a complete mess, could suppress Therese's ambition in the shortest amount of time and at the fastest speed.

At the same time, the letter also served an additional purpose: to inform Qiao Yelan that she had carefully considered her decision to choose Kazdel as her resting place, rather than acting on a whim.

The key to validating the plan lies in the second step that follows:

Qiao Yelan, who may have lost crucial memories, is young and bewildered, but he is still not a puppet that can be manipulated.

Qiao Yelan himself was perfectly aware of this.

How can we get him to continue taking responsibility?

Perhaps this explanation is not entirely clear—we can certainly use another description to explain the purpose of the second step of the [Old Qiao Yelan] plan.

How can we make Qiao Yelan, who may have lost key memories, act as if she hasn't lost those memories?

Single chapter explanation

Chapter 107, the PS section already covered the issue of taking leave.

I don't read the author's PS at all; if the author doesn't write a separate chapter for it, it's as if the author didn't write anything at all.

The author will take 2-3 days off each month, but will guarantee 12 words per month. It's okay to say that there are 34 chapters in arrears now, as it was definitely going to be made up in the first place.

Unless there is a break of more than one day, I will not write a separate chapter to explain it.

As mentioned later, I'll be returning to Nanjing on the afternoon of March 3.8th and serving as a groomsman on March 3.9th. If things end early on March 3.9th, there will be more updates; otherwise, there won't be any, and I'll add them later.

Chapter 148 Chess Players and Chess Players

Ever since Qiao Yelan woke up, he felt like he was being chased by a dog, never stopping for a moment.

If anyone in the know were to see this, and whose brain hasn't degenerated into that of a piece of char siu, they would be quite astonished.

Why did Qiao Yelan participate in Babel's manipulation of Terra without any doubt or reservation?

He had no memory, no longing, no feelings—yet he resolutely took on this responsibility without any bargaining or willingness to back down.

The answer might surprise you—

Because Qiao Yelan likes this kind of life.

From the moment Qiao Yelan saw the Babel Tower database, he realized that this was actually a simple transaction.

That was a deal between the old Qiao Yelan and the current Qiao Yelan.

It doesn't leave behind lengthy explanations or empty, useless platitudes, but rather a vast and all-encompassing database.

Qiao Yelan remained skeptical of explanations and completely rejected platitudes—those things could not possibly convince Qiao Yelan, who had lost crucial memories.