After the checkup was over, Meng Yinuo was brought to a vacant private room to rest. She was yet to be permitted to move around, but at least she was allowed to intake food in the form of a liquid diet.
"I'm still far from being able to move freely, but this should do." She muttered, opening and closing her fist to check. "But still... the density of Qi in this place is all over the place."
Back in the medical pod room, the Qi was so scarce that it was hard to even feel it. However, now that she was in a private room, the abundance of Qi around her was almost similar to a location near a dragon vein, where Qi was overflowing!
"And here I thought this world's Qi was thin..."
Sitting down cross-legged above her bed, Yinuo closed her eyes and meditated. Earlier, she forced her body to absorb Qi, causing particularly heavy damage to her core. However, as luck would have it, the medical pod managed to fix the damage before it even became worse.
'Is Quinlan the Son of Heaven or something? He's too f*cking lucky,' Yinuo thought with discontent.
Anyway, now that her body is completely recovered, as soon as she can recover some stamina, she should be able to begin understanding Quinlan's world.
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Hmmm?"
Just as she was about to go deep into meditation, a knock came from the door to her room. "Who is it?"
"Quinlan? Can I come in?"
A female voice echoed from beyond the door, making YInuo doubt the other party's intentions. Still, due to the fact that the person mentioned Quinlan's name, she partly lowered her guard.
"It's open."
*PSSHHHH!*
The door slipped to the side, revealing a brown-haired girl carrying a basket full of fruits. With hesitating steps, she walked to the side of the bed, placing the basket atop the bedside table.
"I heard the doctors say that you're already fully recovered, but that you lost your memories... Is it true?"
Yinuo narrowed her eyes, thinking about what the best response to her question was.
'Seeing that she's talking freely with Quinlan, could she be someone close to him?' Such an idea crossed her mind. 'Maybe his lover or something?'
"Unfortunately..." Yinuo replied, her eyes showing a hint of sadness. "And you are...?"
The girl gasped for a moment, with her fist trembling lightly. However, it lasted only for an instant. A fleeting smile, which looked like it was masking a crying expression, appeared on her face.
"You really... Then, let me reintroduce myself. I'm Melody Gregory, the daughter of Chairman Gregory, the owner of Ragrain College of Robotics, where you and I study."
"Daughter of the Chairman?" Yinuo raised her brows. 'Chairman? Is that something like a clan leader? Then this woman is a princess?'
Yinuo's vigilance went up a level after learning her background.
"Melody, was it? I'll remember it."
"..."
"Hmmm?"
The ponytailed girl's mouth went agape as her green eyes opened wide. "My... name... Quinlan finally said my name!" She whispered, her voice sounding elated.
"Melody?"
Yinuo did hear her whisper; however, she was clueless as to why Melody was happy about just having her name called. If she knew about Quinlan being antisocial, to the point that he's literally pushing everyone away, then the puzzle might've been solved instantly.
"A-Ah, sorry, Quinlan. R-Right, I've brought fruits for you. You can eat them later, or should I peel an apple for you now?"
"Ah, thanks for the offer. However, the doctor said I'm not allowed to eat solid food for two days."
If she could, Yinuo wanted to eat a lot and recover her stamina, but following what the experts said would be for the best... At least until she completely grasps the rules of Quinlan's world.
"Is that so? Well, that's understandable."
Seeing the sadness hidden behind her smile, Yinuo was convinced that this girl, Melody, had feelings for Quinlan. 'This girl, I can use her...'
"T-Then, I've finished my business here, so I'll be taking my leave."
Just as Melody stood up, Yinuo reached out, holding her hand right before she turned around. "Wait!"
"Eh?"
Her expression was telling that she was confused but, at the same time, embarrassed by Yinuo grabbing her arm. Still, a trace of unbridled happiness could be felt in her actions.
"Actually, I feel anxious since I lost my memories," Yinuo muttered, looking all lost and anxious, but it was nothing but a show.
"From how you talked to me, you and I seemed pretty close before. Can I ask you to talk to me about anything? Maybe that would cause my memory to return..."
"R-Really?!" Melody turned around as fast as lightning and leaned forward. "Then, then, where should I start?"
Happy to have found a reason to talk with Quinlan, Melody became extremely excited and started talking nonstop. Yinuo listened to her patiently, asking about things she didn't understand and slowly expanding her knowledge about the world.
The first thing she realized was that in this world, cultivation was not a thing, but rather, something called "science" was booming. Using science, humans created gigantic humanoid battle frames, later dubbed Doppels, and used them to protect their borders from the incessant attack of monsters called Echoes.
The battle against Echoes had been going on for over a millennia already, but a winner had yet to be decided. The humans were losing land to the Echoes before. But after the advent of Doppels a century ago, the status quo was maintained, and they neither lost nor regained more land.
"What does this Echoes thing look like?" Yinuo asked directly, wanting to satisfy her curiosity.
Melody answered without delay, explaining with gusto. "They are monsters that take a myriad of bizarre shapes. Still, they all have a similar property, in that they have a crystal embedded somewhere visible on their bodies."
Like a teacher explaining to her favorite student, Melody didn't spare the details and described everything from the top. She also explained that the echoes were partly the reason for humanity's current situation, but they were also a blessing in disguise.
"The crystals in their bodies are extremely radioactive and are being actively used as a power source for most cities currently."
Furthermore, the byproducts retrieved from them after being used as nuclear cores are one of the hardest materials known to man. Diamonds.
"As such, there's even some voices that push to not exterminate the Echoes and keep them like pets... What a disturbing line of thought."
"Hmmm..."
Despite listening with full attention, Yinuo was still unable to understand most of what she said. Still, one thing was clear to her now.
"This world... isn't as peaceful as what this system thing was saying."