Zi Yan was at Commander's mansion to ask Chen Sha to authorize base's archives. "When Lorraine did her strength test, she set records in all the stations. The first three were the worst performances ever whereas the last, was a chart-topping result."
He continued with a stern expression "I remember studying her as she underwent her tests. She was very frail and adapted poorly to the scenarios. There is no way that she's a spy."
Chen Sha tried his best but he only had vague memories.
"You can't remember anything? You must have really despised her." Zi Yan remarked thoughtfully "Though you were the one who rescued her in the final station."
As though a veil was cast over the scene, Chen Sha only had sepia tinted images in his mind. He tried to shake off the uneasiness he felt and hit the play button and the screen pulled up the scene from eleven years earlier.
In the simulation room, Luo Xun donned her training attire as she thoughtfully mulled over her options. She eventually settled on the Wilderness although she appeared pensive, as if she was guarded about her performance.
She started running.
Shortly after, Zi Yan spoke up "She'll endure it for 7 hours. Nothing of consequence happened. We can fast forward."
Chen Sha continued watching as if Zi Yan's suggestion was directed at someone else.
As night turned into the break of dawn, Chen Sha still studied the screen intently. By this time, on screen Luo Xun was struggling with every step and her whole body strained under the immense exertion.
Chen She could identify with Luo Xun's plight, when pushed to the limit, people's minds would start playing tricks on them and it would become hard to discern virtual from reality.
On the screen, she was desperately seeking salvation.
Beyond the screen, he finally grasped how lost she was.
But between them, was a chasm of eleven years.
Chen Sha asked "Why didn't you stop her from going on?"
"Feng Lin had intended to as well but we had no control authority to terminate the test. We could only inform you."
Right on cue, Chen Sha burst onto the screen.
Luo Xun's spirits visibly lifted and she appeared to be crying tears of relief.
She stumbled the final few steps towards Chen Sha and tried to grab onto him before she mouthed something and fainted.
On screen Chen Sha's disgust was palpable as he turned his body slightly causing Luo Xun to collapse directly onto the ground.
With a tightly knitted frown, Chen Sha studied her before eventually bending over and carrying Luo Xun out of the simulation room.
Chen Sha stared numbly at the ghost of himself of years past. Was that how he used to treat her?
Zi Yan pressed him pressingly "So what did she say?"
"I … I can't remember."
Zi Yan glared at him "Do you really not remember or did you not even care to hear what she had to say then?"
With a few quick taps of the keyboard and a flurry of fingers, Zi Yan had rewound the scene, enlarged the image and raised the volume. Chen Sha was treated to the never ending loop of Luo Xun smiling sincerely at him and he coldly avoiding catching her.
After a few more edits, they could make out Luo Xun's faint whisper "… Who am I?"
Chen Sha stared aghast at the screen and felt his chest tightening. She had begged him for help in recovering her identity but only now, eleven years and three months later, was he going to take her request seriously.
.
.
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VKG track 3 pleasant memory / VK Track 14 hidden truth
Late at night, Consul's Mansion
Yin Nanzhao sat next to the treatment pod, staring at Luo Xun who was unconscious.
The medicine solution was stimulating healing of her injured area. She probably felt uncomfortable, her brows had been frowning tightly, seemed to be very suffered and tensed.
Yin Nanzhao thought for a while. He picked up a book he would occasionally read, and read it aloud.
...
The little prince said: "I'm here to find friends. What is 'to tame'?"
"This is something that has long been forgotten." The fox said, "It means to build a relationship."
"Build a relationship?"
"Totally correct," said the fox. "For me, you are just a little boy, just like other hundred thousand little boys, nothing different. I don't need you, and you don't need me. For you, I'm also just a fox, no different from other hundred thousand foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be my unique in the all world. To you, I will also be your unique in the all world."
"I kind of understand." The little prince said, "There is a flower...I think, she had tamed me..."
"It is possible." said the fox, "Any kind of things can be seen in this world..."
...
Perhaps because she felt that someone was with her, Luo Xun's brows gradually relaxed. The whole body became relaxed and eased.
Yin Nanzhao closed the book. He opened his personal terminal and called up the video of Luo Xun being interrogated by Zong Li. He continued to watch from where Chen Sha had interrupted off.
Watching such a video was absolutely uncomfortable, like self-abuse, and it had already happened, even if he watched the whole process, there was no way to do any remedy, but he wanted to know everything she had experienced.
...
Luo Xun was in hallucination, not knowing what she was going through, instantly smiled brightly, and the next instant tears streamed down her face.
Zong Li patiently asked persuasively: "What's your name?"
"Luo Xun."
Zong Li's eyes were full of anger. He suppressed his anger and continued to ask: "Who are you?"
"I, I am... fe."
Zong Li heard a different answer for the first time. His spirit was refreshed and his tone became tender, "Who are you? Say it again."
"I'm... Qian Xu's wife."
Zong Li was furious. He slammed a fist on the metal torture instrument, yelling loudly at Luo Xun: "Damn it! First played amnesia, and now dragged out a dead man!"
Suddenly, Luo Xun's tears fell like rain. Her body trembled violently, probably suffered from hallucination's intense stimulation, and her heart suddenly stopped again.
Zong Li carelessly cursed and hastily ordered: "Resuscitation! She hasn't confessed anything yet, can't let her die!"
...
Yin Nanzhao abruptly pressed pause.
One heart in the chest was beating so fast as if it was about to pop out. But in front of him, Luo Xun's heart had stopped beating.
Yin Nanzhao fixedly stared at Luo Xun.
He was a living dead who crawled out of hell. He thought there was nothing in this world that he could not bear, but now he found that he already had something that he could not bear it anymore.
After a long while, Yin Nanzhao clicked to continue the video.
...
After injecting treatment medicine, Luo Xun's heart resumed beating.
The prison guard who assisted in the interrogation had reading the monitoring report and told Zong Li that he could not continue to use torture. Otherwise her life would be in danger.
Zong Li's stomach was full of fire with no way out and ordered Luo Xun to be locked in the coffin chamber.
...
Yin Nanzhao let out a long sigh.
When he was on a mission in the death squad, he was buried alive for several days. He knew clearly how desperate one would be in that situation.
Zong Li and Zi Yan, although they had not personally experienced it, they knew clearly how to use it to achieve their goals. If the case was not to deal with Luo Xun who knew nothing at all, Zong Li's tactics was quite correct.
Having just experienced cruel punishment, body and mind were on the verge of falling apart. Just kept putting pressure on, one would be completely swallowed up by abyssal darkness of human nature and gave up all beliefs and faith. Whatever it was, it would all be revealed.
...
Luo Xun was locked in the coffin chamber.
The screen was completely dark. Nothing could be seen. Nothing could be heard.
Only in the corner of the screen, the electrocardiogram monitoring Luo Xun's heartbeat was displayed, some moment was slow, and some moment was intense.
...
Everything was quite, but it was actually more ruthless than the torture just now.
Yin Nanzhao's body couldn't help leaning forward slightly, motionlessly staring at the video. On the ice-cold masked face had no slightest expression, only a slight change of breath in the rhythm of the heart wave, sometimes light sometimes heavy.
Long time later, the interrogation room's door was kicked open. The lights suddenly lit up, and Yin Nanzhao in a mask and black gown appeared on the monitor screen.
Outside the screen, Yin Nanzhao leaned back against the chair.
In the screen, Yin Nanzhao opened the coffin chamber and carefully carried Luo Xun out. In a hurry to heal her injuries, he immediately left without staying.
Outside the screen, Yin Nanzhao yet pressed pause and stared at the empty coffin chamber.
There were only blurred and dark splotchy bloodstains inside, nothing unusual. But Yin Nanzhao remembered that when he picked up Luo Xun, he glanced past her and there seemed to be something strange.
Yin Nanzhao kept tapping the screen, lens kept zooming in. The screen repeatedly enlarged and fixed in one place.
Dark and blurred blood marks traced up horizontally and vertically.
Carefully identified a crisscross pattern, it looked like each single letter. But unfortunately they were overlapped on each other, completely unable to see clearly
Yin Nanzhao cut the video and sent to his subordinate, "Give me an analysis report in ten minutes."
Less than ten minutes, the report was sent over.
After went through a specialized examination and analysis, the intellectual brain replicated blood mark's trace rendering.
Fingers dripping with blood wrote each letter with difficulty stroke by stroke, as heavy as thousand stones, as if to engrave directly into one's soul.
...Zi Yan, Zi Yan …Feng Lin, Feng Lin...Chen Sha, Chen Sha...
Yin Nanzhao first thought that she was venting her resentment, until he discovered that there was no Zong Li's name, he suddenly realized with sharp pain in his heart.
Although she fell in desperation, although her whole body was bruised, although she was deserted by everyone, but she had no hatred or resentment.
She thought of their good and wanted to remember only warmth and beautifulness. She used the light she had carefully collected for eleven years to stand off the darkness others imposed on her.
Yin Nanzhao's heart filled with hundreds of feelings, tangled and complicated. He couldn't help looking at Luo Xun in the treatment pod.
He remembered that many years ago, when Feng Lin reported to him about her work, saying with a smile: "I like Lorraine. She is like a sunflower that can turn darkness into light. When I stay with her, I feel more energetic and happy."
Yin Nanzhao returned to his senses, and when he looked back, the names on the screen were all: Qian Xu, Qian Xu, Qian Xu...
Stroke by stroke, all written in blood
Each scarlet letter was overlapped on top of each other, bloodstain dripping, eyes shocking.
Yin Nanzhao looked at it for a moment and thought mockingly to himself. Certainly it could only be the warm and beautiful, clean and sunny Qian Xu! How could the sunflower like darkness?