Yu Jiajia looked at Chen Xiaolian with innocent and puzzled eyes, then she approached with concern, wanting to pull Chen Xiaolian up from the ground. However, Chen Xiaolian shrunk away from Yu Jiajia's hand, causing her gaze to dim once again. "What's wrong with you?!"
"I..." Chen Xiaolian stood up by himself, but he stopped Roddy, who wanted to speak, and threw him a glance, signaling him to go outside.
"Hey!!" Yu Jiajia shouted loudly, but Chen Xiaolian dragged Roddy out, and the two of them rushed out of the door as if fleeing.
...
Standing downstairs in the residential area, Chen Xiaolian and Roddy ran to the lawn in the green belt. After exchanging a glance, Roddy's expression became somewhat restless. "What's... going on?"
Chen Xiaolian's face became even more unpleasant. He glanced silently at Roddy and uttered three words:
"The leaker."
Roddy's body trembled, and he deeply understood something in an instant.
Then, Roddy seemed a bit frantic. He suddenly took out his phone and quickly dialed a number.
Chen Xiaolian glanced at Roddy, then walked a few steps away, standing on the lawn and looking up at the sky.
Beside him, Roddy hurriedly made the call...
"Hello? Xiao Li? It's me, Roddy! I have a question for you, about Queen Qiao Qiao... What? What did you say?"
"It's me, Roddy! You knew Qiao Qiao before, right? What? Who is Qiao Qiao?! You..."
"Wang Chao! It's me, Roddy! I'm asking if Qiao Qiao has contacted you recently... What? You don't know this person?"
"Hello! I'm Roddy..."
Suddenly, Chen Xiaolian walked over, snatched Roddy's phone, and hung up directly.
"What are you doing!" Roddy growled angrily.
Chen Xiaolian looked at Roddy. "I should be asking you that. What are you doing?"
"I... I..." Roddy's lips trembled. "I wanted to prove Qiao Qiao's existence!"
"Prove? Prove to whom?" Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath, staring into Roddy's eyes. "You already know the answer in your heart, don't you? So why do you still want to prove anything?"
"I... I just can't accept it! I can't accept that she's just gone... but why did she have to disappear so completely! It's like she never existed in this world..."
"We are Leakers!" Chen Xiaolian pounded Roddy's chest forcefully. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "If she were an Awakened, after death, the system would refresh her into an ordinary person, then reset with memories unrelated to the game. All relevant 'history' would be reset by the system! This would prevent anomalies from appearing in the ordinary world.
But Leakers are different!
Don't you understand?
Once a leaker dies, they disappear completely, not refreshing into an ordinary person, nor appearing as a 'backup' ordinary person like Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Qiao disappeared completely! And the system reset this world, resetting all relevant history and memories. As a result... every trace of Qiao Qiao's existence in this world has been erased.
She was Qiao Yifeng's daughter, a role taken over by Yu Jiajia. She was my girlfriend, a role also taken over by Yu Jiajia!
Her school, her childhood experiences, everything has been wiped out!
Her classmates won't remember her, her teachers won't remember her, and her friends certainly won't remember her!
We remember, because we are not ordinary people. But for the ordinary people in this world... after the system refreshes and resets, Qiao Qiao is someone who never existed!
Don't you understand?!"
Roddy yelled angrily, "How can this be allowed?!"
"Don't believe it? Come with me!"
Chen Xiaolian grabbed Roddy and ran out of the residential area at lightning speed.
...
Over half an hour later, at the Qiao family mansion.
The two easily bypassed the security system and found themselves in the pitch-black mansion. Roddy was silenced by the reality before his eyes.
This was Qiao Qiao's home!
As Qiao Qiao's close friend, Roddy had been here before. However, as they searched the house now, they found no trace of "Qiao Qiao" whatsoever.
Her room, her wardrobe, her everyday belongings, her photos...
All had been "replaced" by something else.
Standing in what was supposed to be Qiao Qiao's room, Chen Xiaolian looked at the furnishings... the wardrobe filled with girlish clothes, and the photos on the bedside table, all unmistakably proving that the owner of this room was no longer Qiao Qiao.
In the picture frames, smiling brightly at the camera, was another familiar face.
"This room now belongs to... Yu Jiajia," Chen Xiaolian said coldly.
"The system really did a thorough job," he continued.
"So, now the only ones who remember Qiao Qiao are us, and the other members of the team?" Roddy asked.
"In theory, it's all the Awakened and Leakers, anyone who had a relationship or contact with Qiao Qiao will retain their memories. But in the ordinary world, ordinary people have been refreshed," Chen Xiaolian explained.
In the dark room, Chen Xiaolian stood, then glanced at Roddy. "Now, there's a question we probably can't avoid."
"What's that?"
"Qiao Yifeng," Chen Xiaolian took a deep breath. "Qiao Yifeng was once an Awakened, but he died, then refreshed into an ordinary person. Later, he was found by members of Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild, who told him the truth. Qiao Yifeng accepted it and has been helping Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild manage their assets in the secular world.
But fundamentally, the current Qiao Yifeng is an 'ordinary person.'"
Roddy was stunned after hearing this, and after a while, he muttered unconsciously, "You mean... Qiao Yifeng's memories will also be reset by the system? He might not even remember that he had a daughter named Qiao Qiao?"
"It's hard to say," Chen Xiaolian sighed. "It depends on the circumstances... When Qiao Qiao died, where was Qiao Yifeng? If Qiao Yifeng was in Zero City at the time, the system's reset would be blocked by Zero City, so perhaps Qiao Yifeng would retain memories of Qiao Qiao. But if, by chance, Qiao Yifeng was outside Zero City during this instance of the dungeon... then... it's possible..."
"Possible that Qiao Yifeng's memories were also reset by the system?" Roddy was stunned. "That's absurd! A father completely forgetting he had a daughter?"
Chen Xiaolian looked into Roddy's eyes. "Absurd? Roddy, that's not the crucial point here."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Chen Xiaolian sighed helplessly. "If Qiao Yifeng's memories weren't reset, if he still remembers Qiao Qiao, how do we explain Qiao Qiao's death to him?"
Roddy froze.
Chen Xiaolian's tone became complex. "Explaining Qiao Qiao's death might not be the hardest part... The hardest part is that Qiao Yifeng was once an Awakened. He understands everything about Awakened! So, when Qiao Qiao died and her traces were completely erased from the world, rather than being refreshed into ordinary people according to the rules of the Awakened...
Think about it. When Qiao Yifeng realizes this situation.
How do we explain it to him?
Also! Qiao Qiao has stayed in Zero City, where many people from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild have seen her!
Bluesea has seen her, and many others from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild have seen her.
They all thought Qiao Qiao was an Awakened. And when an Awakened dies and isn't refreshed into an ordinary person but completely erased from this world.
In such a situation, what will people from Blade Mountain Flame Sea Guild think?"
Roddy was completely stunned.
"Our Leaker's secret might be exposed."
...
It was 8:10 PM.
Qiao Yifeng woke up from his sleep, and the plane was slowly descending at the airport in Tokyo.
Inside the Bombardier private business jet, Qiao Yifeng woke up according to his habit, stretched lazily, then sat up and looked out the window. The plane was already descending slowly.
Beside him, a stewardess with obvious mixed Chinese and Western heritage greeted Qiao Yifeng with a bright smile and offered him a cup of warm water— the crew were well aware of their boss's habits, knowing that he would always take a nap during flights and his first request upon waking up would be a cup of warm water.
"What time is it?" Qiao Yifeng completely ignored the charming smile of the stewardess—this action made the stewardess's eyes show a hint of disappointment.
Though Mr. Qiao was a bit older, he maintained his appearance and physique quite well. His substantial wealth and astonishing personal charm undoubtedly made him the target of many women's hearts.
Working in his private crew offered good pay, but if one could climb into the bed of this super billionaire, perhaps the rewards would be even more astounding?
However, Qiao Yifeng had no interest in paying attention to the stewardess. After casually asking the question, the one answering beside him was his personal attendant, the man in a black suit.
"It's 8:10 PM," the man in the black suit whispered, "We're expected to land in about ten minutes."
Qiao Yifeng nodded. After finishing the cup of water, he said softly, "Phone."
"Yes." The man in the black suit immediately took out a satellite phone. "Who do you want to call?"
"Call my daughter," Qiao Yifeng sighed. "It's been several days since we last spoke. I wonder how she's doing with that boy."
A knowing look flashed in the eyes of the man in the black suit, who quickly dialed the satellite phone...
But after handing the phone to Qiao Yifeng, he listened for a moment with a frown and then looked up at the man in the black suit. "Did you dial the wrong number?"
"Huh?" The man in the black suit was taken aback.
He was always meticulous and composed, how could he make such a strange and low-level mistake?
Qiao Yifeng shook his head. "Are you perhaps too tired? When we land, go back to the hotel and rest. These past few days have indeed been quite tiring."
As he spoke, Qiao Yifeng dialed the phone himself. After a few seconds...
"Hello, Jiajia, it's me," Qiao Yifeng's voice was gentle.
The man in the black suit was momentarily stunned, then suddenly realized: Oh, when the boss said to call his daughter, he meant Miss Jiajia, I thought it was Miss Qiao Qiao... Hmm, my own mistake.
Just as he was feeling relieved, he heard a sentence that made him pause.
"Jiajia, what's wrong? Why does your voice sound teary?" Qiao Yifeng frowned, listening for a few more seconds. "What happened? Did that boy, Chen Xiaolian, make you angry? You young people, when you're in a relationship, you're in a relationship. You shouldn't always be quarreling... sigh!"
Upon hearing this, the expression on the man in the black suit's face became extremely odd.
Miss Jiajia... and Chen Xiaolian?
In a relationship?
This...
Doesn't seem right!
Shouldn't it be Qiao Qiao and Chen Xiaolian together?
His cautious nature kept the man in the black suit silent. He waited quietly for Qiao Yifeng to finish the call. After taking back the satellite phone and hearing Qiao Yifeng grumble a few words about "that damn kid."
The man in the black suit carefully considered his words and tentatively asked, "Mr. Qiao, would you like to call Miss Qiao Qiao as well?"
"Hmm?" Qiao Yifeng turned to look at the man in the black suit, his expression becoming very strange. "What did you say?"
The man in the black suit cleared his throat lightly and raised his volume slightly, "I said, would you like to call Miss Qiao Qiao as well?"
"... Who is Qiao Qiao?" Qiao Yifeng frowned, looking at the man in the black suit.
...
Ten minutes later, the plane landed smoothly at Tokyo Narita Airport.
After the plane came to a stop, Qiao Yifeng walked out of the cabin, accompanied by two stewardesses bowing respectfully. As he descended from the plane, he saw a black luxury car waiting on the runway.
The man in the black suit approached and opened the car door. With a sharp gaze, he glanced into the car, and almost casually, his wristwatch scanned the interior space.
"Safe."
The man in the black suit signaled for Qiao Yifeng to enter the car first, then he himself sat in the passenger seat.
As the car started moving, Qiao Yifeng in the back seat had already closed his eyes to rest, while the man in the black suit in the front passenger seat became increasingly strange.
After pondering for a few minutes, he sent a message on the team channel.
"Personal Armor calling Night Hawk on duty, Personal Armor calling Night Hawk on duty."
Soon, there was a response on the team channel.
"Night Hawk on duty here, Armor, what's up?"
"The proxy is experiencing abnormal conditions," the man in the black suit thought for a moment before continuing to send: "The situation level is X, I need to report to the team leader as soon as possible!"
Upon receiving this message, the tone on the other end immediately became solemn.
"X level? Night Hawk received. I will report immediately. Armor, continue to protect the proxy. The team will contact you as soon as possible!"