"Trapped in a ti loop?" Wu Chang couldn’t help but ask.
He Yun opened the can in his hand and said, "Everyone in the Underground Shelter, like the two people you just saw, our lives are anchored at a certain point in ti. Once we die or our lives undergo a drastic change, Life will revert back to that node."
"No matter what happens in between, physical or ntal traces will fade together, as if nothing ever happened."
Wu Chang was silent for a mont, not knowing how to respond, and could only say, "It sounds like a different kind of immortality."
"Immortality?" He Yun sneered.
"Here, everything is unchanging. No matter what we do, we can’t leave a mark on our lives. Those important monts we vowed to rember forever might leave us with no mory as soon as we wake up."
"When you work hard to learn, gain enough knowledge, push your body to its limits, and possess skills everyone praises. When you win ga after ga, becoming the center of attention in the Shelter, standing on the final stage, the mont you change too much, you reset back to being the confused teenager staring at the ga poster ten years ago."
"Can you imagine that feeling?"
Wu Chang just thought for a mont and couldn’t help but frown.
For those who just want to lay flat and do nothing, it’s great, but for those with dreams, who yearn to accomplish sothing, this setting of change equals reset is just too brutal.
If it’s just one person, it might be okay. After all, losing all mory would an not knowing how far one had co.
But in a city, everything you’ve done leaves traces elsewhere. When you know you were just one step away from your dream’s end, only to be reset to the starting point the next mont, that contrast would surely drive anyone insane.
He Yun crushed the empty can and casually tossed it to the ground, where a garbage robot ca by, grabbed the trash with its chanical arm, stuffed it into its mouth, and after beeping, a tal coin rolled out of its recycling slot into a tal storage bin below.
"When you realize all your efforts only lead to more regret and maddening disappointnt, people stop changing and strive to play their original roles."
"Do you still think this is a form of immortality?"
Wu Chang didn’t answer. No wonder the original inhabitants of Underground Shelter No. 88 all seed to have superman complex, teetering on the edge of danger or rushing madly toward it.
Maybe this is the only way they can feel alive.
He looked at He Yun and asked, "You’re not as crazy as the others, aren’t you afraid?"
He Yun turned to go upstairs, leaving behind a quiet reply.
"In this underground office, whatever happens is not a major change for ."
Before long, He Yun ca back downstairs, dressed, and began to usher him out.
"I have to go work, and you need to leave too."
Wu Chang excitedly ca to He Yun’s side and asked, "What are we doing today?"
He Yun paused for a mont, as the word "we" sounded particularly jarring in her ears.
"There’s no ’we,’ only you and . I do my things, and you go your way."
Wu Chang said to himself, "What I need to do now is to get familiar with this Underground Shelter. In my experience, there’s no better way to understand the local customs than hanging around with local friends."
He Yun looked at Wu Chang in surprise, "You have local friends?"
Wu Chang looked at her and nodded.
He Yun realized sothing wasn’t right, pointed at herself, and asked, "You’re not talking about , are you?"
Wu Chang naturally responded, "Where I’m from, staying at each other’s house already signifies a close relationship. So I consider us friends."
He Yun took a sharp breath, realizing she was really stuck with this guy.
Wu Chang continued, "Besides, people here are very unfriendly. I’m afraid that if I can’t control myself, a big noise might arise from self-defense. If I’m not within your sight, you won’t feel at ease."
If before he was just thick-skinned and persistent, his words now carried a slight threat.
Wu Chang’s words hit He Yun’s worries head-on. As a native and one of the strongest in the Underground Shelter, He Yun understood the weight of the Underground Shelter well.
With Wu Chang possessing teleportation ability and great Destructive Power, if a conflict arose with locals, it would likely be the locals suffering a big loss, with little ans to deal with Wu Chang.
After all, the Underground Shelter is on the technology side of the Plane, incapable of preventing spatial jumping.
After hesitating for a mont, He Yun compromised.
"Listen, you can stay by my side, but don’t cause trouble. Without my permission, you can’t make a move, or don’t bla for being unkind."
Wu Chang grinned, "I knew we were good friends."
The ancestors were right, when dealing with gentlen, you must deceive them skillfully.
He realized He Yun didn’t like using violence or killing recklessly, and so he repeatedly achieved success by being thick-skinned, pushing to stay at her place overnight.
He also saw that He Yun, unlike the other locals, was rational and responsible, which allowed him to semi-threaten her into binding their actions together.
If it had been those lunatics he encountered last night, Wu Chang’s tricks wouldn’t stand a chance. Those superhuman kids would have emptied their magazines long ago.
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