He had only been gone for two days, so the room hadn't even had time to gather dust.
Everything looked more or less the same as it had before he last left. The crude alarm trap he'd set by the door didn't seem to have been triggered either.
The only real difference was that there were now two extra flyers stuck to the door.
Same familiar room, same familiar scent.
"I'm home, Dad. Mom."
Looking at the family photo of the three of them on the shoe cabinet, Fang Wen stood quietly in the entryway for a while.
In truth, almost no one around him knew much about his background, and there were many things he himself had never fully understood.
For example, why his mother could go for weeks or even months without coming home. Or who exactly the "students" she always spoke of were. Or what those obscure technical terms she casually used were supposed to mean.
But back then, Fang Wen had never made a fuss the way children his age normally would.
After all, even though he had the body of a child at the time, deep down he already carried the soul of a twenty-four-year-old man.
Others were astonished by the abnormal rationality and intelligence he displayed, and almost always attributed it to his parents' education and exceptional genes.
"Just as expected of Doctor Carlos Alna's son."
That was something he heard often.
And every time, his mother would wear that loving smile of hers and gently, but firmly, reject such remarks.
"My son has never been anyone's accessory. He is simply Fang Wen."
It was probably when he was eight that Fang Wen first went with his father to visit his mother's research institute.
There, for the first time, he met his mother's "students."
It was also the first time he realized that, besides himself, his mother had raised so many other "former selves."
From that point on, he no longer felt upset over the fact that his mother was often away and rarely had time to stay with him.
Because for someone like him, who had lived through two lifetimes, simply having met his mother at all was already a gift beyond measure.
And through that, he also came to know some of her "students" as well—like the cereal-seller siblings from Sixth Street he had run into that very morning.
A few years later, a disaster struck Eridu on the centennial of its founding—a catastrophe that changed everyone's future.
And his mother, Doctor Carlos Alna—the woman who, in his memories, had always looked at them with loving eyes—vanished in that disaster and was branded the sinner responsible for the fall of the Old Capital.
Now, ten years had already passed since that distant past.
…
Fang Wen set down the slightly rusted dumbbell and stretched his aching limbs. Under the pale wash of moonlight, he opened RopeNet—the gray-market site everyone understood for what it was.
Then he sent a message to an account named Star.
[Daily commissions refreshed.]
[How to Raise a Route Heroine: In truth, even Miss "Morning Star," who seems no more than a background extra, dreams of becoming a heroine one day.]
[Complete a mission posted by Miss "Morning Star."]
[Reward: Skill draw, Denny x3000, Morning Star Affection +?]
So even an information broker he had only worked with a few times could become a mission target?
Fang Wen realized he had still underestimated just how low this system's standards could go.
[A Maiden's Longing: Since separating from you, Zhu Yuan has found it strangely difficult to focus. She keeps tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Perhaps you should give her a call.]
[Lull Zhu Yuan to sleep.]
[Reward: Skill draw, Denny x2000, Zhu Yuan Affection +?]
[Note: Zhu Yuan's affection missions have now been unlocked, but whether you can trigger them from here on depends on your own effort. Affection missions can unlock major rewards.]
Lull her to sleep?
He had never even had anyone lull him to sleep before.
As for Zhu Yuan's affection missions—
He had originally thought that even if they unlocked, he wouldn't do them. If the two of them really did end up together, then he would absolutely have to take responsibility.
And right now, he couldn't even properly protect himself.
But when he saw the words major rewards, Fang Wen hesitated.
Better wait and see. If the rewards were good enough, then maybe it was worth considering. If he became strong enough, taking responsibility shouldn't be difficult either.
Fang Wen continued on to the third entry.
[The Shadow Hidden Beneath the Surface: Sharp as you are, you noticed that something about Senior Qingyi is off. You have a feeling this may completely change your life.]
[Resolve the special Ethereal appearing at Pioneer Memorial Square.]
[You may be able to uncover a fragment of the truth from it.]
[Reward: Skill draw, Denny x50000, Qingyi Affection +?]
Pioneer Memorial Square…
Fang Wen vaguely remembered that place from before the fall of the Old Capital, though at the time it hadn't been anywhere near completion. By now, it should already have been swallowed by one of the subsidiary Hollows of Hollow Zero.
What was there?
It?
Did that mean an Ethereal?
No—more importantly, why had this mission appeared in the first place?
Fang Wen smelled the scent of a conspiracy.
Right. The videotape Qingyi had given him.
He had a feeling that whatever Qingyi wanted to tell him was probably on that tape.
Because really, would she be so busy that she couldn't even return a single videotape herself? Especially after telling him just before that they'd be making a trip to Sixth Street in a few days anyway.
With all those questions weighing on him, Fang Wen played the videotape.
When it was over, he licked the corner of his lips, which had gone dry enough to crack.
The story itself was simple: one day, an Ethereal appeared outside the Hollow, and from that moment on it brought the protagonists one terrifying experience after another.
Perhaps because the subject matter hit so close to reality, Fang Wen found it unusually easy to immerse himself in it.
There was no doubt about it—it was a horror film.
And it also involved an Ethereal.
Could this have something to do with the special Ethereal mentioned in the third commission?
Fang Wen frowned, but soon relaxed again.
By tomorrow, everything would reveal itself naturally.
But before that…
Fang Wen still remembered that someone right now was supposed to be lying awake, unable to sleep.
So without hesitation, he dialed Zhu Yuan's private number.
The phone had only rung once before it was immediately answered.
"Hello? Fang Wen, did something happen?"
"Huh?"
"Sorry. I thought you were calling because something was wrong."
Even through the phone, Fang Wen could feel Zhu Yuan's stiffness on the other end.
"It's nothing. I just wanted to ask whether you'd fallen asleep yet."
"…No. And even if I had, your call would have woken me up already, wouldn't it?"
"Well…"
That was what she said, but the moment Fang Wen had received the second mission, he had already known for sure that she was still awake.
Naturally, he wasn't about to say that out loud.
"Just take it as me missing you," Fang Wen said, instantly driving the truck straight off a cliff.
"Y-you-you… what… what are you saying?!"
A burst of frantic fumbling came from the other end of the line. Clearly, Fang Wen's self-destruct tactic had been extremely effective.
After finally calming down, Zhu Yuan puffed out her cheeks and said in a mildly huffy tone,
"Enough. Stop teasing me and just say what it is."
"Alright. To be honest, I can't sleep either."
"Mmm—"
"…Fine. Actually, I can't sleep either…" Zhu Yuan admitted in a small voice.
"I knew it. That thing we watched today really hit too hard, didn't it?"
"! Th-that's not why!" Zhu Yuan's face flushed bright red as she protested shyly.
Hearing that, Fang Wen felt a wave of satisfaction.
So this was the legendary tsundere?
Not sure. Better test it again.
"Then next time, let's watch it again at your place."
"Y-you—you! Fang Wen!!!"
"Alright, alright. I'll stop bullying you." Fang Wen forced down the corner of his mouth, which was even harder to suppress than an AK's recoil, and continued, "You've got work tomorrow. Go to sleep early and stop overthinking things."
"Mm…"
Fang Wen was quiet for a moment.
"I probably really do miss you a little."
He said it with a slightly wicked edge.
Though it wasn't entirely without truth. Whenever he had to face the long night alone, Fang Wen couldn't help but think of Zhu Yuan, with her warm, complete family life.
That counted as missing someone too, didn't it?
He wasn't lying, was he?
"!!!"
[Zhu Yuan Affection +2. Current Affection: 51.]
It seemed Zhu Yuan had completely misread Fang Wen's meaning, taking his words as a direct confession, and was so overwhelmed she nearly blacked out on the spot.
[Completed: A Maiden's Longing.]
Huh?
That counts too?
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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