No one knew how much time passed before Ayin finally let out a quiet sigh.
"Fine. I'll agree."
Hearing the answer he wanted, Zhou Zhuang threw both hands into the air in triumph—yes!—but the next sentence made him freeze mid-celebration.
"However, I have one condition."
Ayin's golden eyes carried a heavy pressure that instantly reminded Zhou Zhuang of a strict discipline director from his school days.
Zhou Zhuang shrank back a little. "Then… what's your condition?"
"This condition isn't for my benefit," Ayin said. "I trust you've heard the saying: the free things are the most expensive."
"In the future, I want you to help me complete one thing."
"Don't worry. It won't involve you personally, it won't exceed what you're capable of, and it won't leave you with any troublesome 'little tail' that can't be shaken off."
Zhou Zhuang hesitated for a heartbeat.
Then he smiled and extended his hand anyway.
After all… he lived in the present. Future problems were for future Zhou Zhuang to handle.
Ayin's expression softened into a faint smile. He took Zhou Zhuang's hand.
"Pleasure doing business."
"Pleasure doing business."
With his objective achieved, Zhou Zhuang's heart erupted into fireworks.
Unfortunately, he had no idea that—in this Light—his inner celebration could manifest.
An absurd scene appeared around them, like the ending of the EVA TV series:
A crowd of faceless men and women surrounded Zhou Zhuang and Ayin. Before Zhou Zhuang could even process what was happening, the crowd began clapping, smiling, and repeating congratulations over and over.
The sheer abstractness of it made Zhou Zhuang's brain blue-screen.
Ayin, on the other hand, watched with evident interest.
To be honest, during those ten years inside Lobotomy Corporation, Carmen's wish had chased Ayin relentlessly from behind, and he'd had no choice but to trudge forward along a road bristling with thorns and fire—until the innocence he'd once had when he first met Carmen was long gone.
The scene before him stirred memories of his sin-soaked life.
But the memory didn't last.
The vision began to fade, cutting his thoughts short.
Its disappearance meant Zhou Zhuang's mind had calmed down again.
Ayin considered what had happened: that strange "mind-made-real" event seemed capable of pulling others into a rapid review of their own lives—but the duration was short, and what happened afterward was still unclear.
Zhou Zhuang stood there with his cheeks slightly red, practically wishing the floor would open up and swallow him.
Ayin spoke to explain.
"What happened just now is because your thoughts were too active," he said. "And this Light belongs to the sea of human consciousness."
"So your heart resonated with it."
Zhou Zhuang, still trying to dig a hole through existence, stammered, "S-so that's how it is…"
Ayin was about to continue—when a light, cheerful piece of music drifted through the Light.
He paused, then said, "Don't panic. This is all normal."
"But music this gentle should be heard in a place that suits it."
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Zhuang found himself—together with Ayin—inside an empty café.
"This is a café I often visited when I was a student," Ayin said. "Whenever I wanted to relax, I'd come here and drink a cup."
"What would you like?"
Zhou Zhuang blinked. "Uh… you can drink stuff in a dream?"
"Strictly speaking, we aren't only in a dream," Ayin replied. "Rather than drinking, you could say we're revisiting memory."
"Then give me a cola."
Ayin shook his head.
Zhou Zhuang assumed that meant it couldn't be conjured—and was about to retract the request—when a cup of cola appeared on the table in front of him.
"I've never had this kind of drink," Ayin said, taking a small sip of the coffee that had appeared in his own hand at some unknown moment.
"But since this is memory being recalled… that cola belongs to your memory."
Zhou Zhuang took the cup, drank, and discovered the flavor was perfectly identical to what he remembered—down to the carbonation.
With familiar music in the air and familiar cola on his tongue, his spirit loosened and settled into a rare satisfaction.
Ayin watched him for a moment, then spoke.
"You said you need my help. But frankly, I don't know what you actually want me to help you with."
"Ah… that." Zhou Zhuang took another sip. "Honestly, I don't even know what I want to ask you right now."
"I don't know the future, and I don't know the present—I only figure out what I'm going to do once something is right in front of me."
"But if I had to say something… it's probably tomorrow. The first real workday."
"And… how to get the company running properly."
He rubbed the cup in his hands, staring at the liquid that didn't seem to decrease at all.
"Ayin—back then, how did you even build connections with other Wings and companies?"
Ayin drank his coffee and fell into remembrance.
"To be honest, I didn't put that much effort into the company's early establishment."
"In the early days, the one who contributed the most was Benjamin—my student."
"He successfully broke apart the former L Corp and formed partnerships with W, R, and T."
"But unfortunately, once the script began to run, he and I split due to disagreements."
"As for what happened after… I believe you already know."
Zhou Zhuang nodded.
"Yeah. Later, when you met your student again, it was in the Records Department… but you were only the memoryless Manager X."
"And he had become Hokma—made of machinery."
"So, sadly, I can't really help you with much," Ayin concluded, taking another calm sip.
Zhou Zhuang slammed both hands onto the table, suddenly urgent.
"How can that be?! You have 'someone who's been through it' experience!"
"I don't care—we've talked this long, we're basically Jβ-brothers now."
"You must—immediately, right now—become my cheat-code grandpa!"
"Even if you can't help me operationally, you can at least be my 'truth-only' vent tree when I'm off-duty!"
He was about to keep going—
—but his voice warped, like a radio signal breaking up.
His body flickered with static, snow-like noise.
Ayin watched, unhurried, and took another sip of coffee.
"Mmm. Looks like your body is waking up."
"I enjoyed this conversation."
"And—one more thing. That worry you had at the start… was correct."
Zhou Zhuang blinked, confused. "What worry…?"
Then he remembered how he'd first regained consciousness in that space.
His face turned instantly pale with horror.
"…Damn it."
Ayin saw Zhou Zhuang's mouth form those three syllables, calmly finished the last sip in his cup, and set it down.
The moment the cup touched the table, the entire café vanished.
The cause-and-effect chasing behind you… is truly terrifying.
Ayin looked at the place Zhou Zhuang disappeared, shook his head, and turned—fading back into the Light.
The once-peaceful brightness suddenly rang with the sound of chains.
Space rippled in waves—
—and then everything returned to stillness, as if nothing had happened.
....
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