Old Possessions

As the calendar turned to the seventh of September, students could be seen bustling up and down the elevators throughout Wuyi Academy. The moment one class ended, they had to rush straight to the next lecture hall, scurrying about from morning to night—a sight rarely seen in the past. In Chen Chuan's impression, during his half-semester here, hardly any students were ever seen around the vast Xuan Palace Building under normal circumstances. Most spent the bulk of their time outside; even if they failed a course, they could simply settle it with a sum of money. Yet once the regulation demoting evaluation scores was issued, it threw many into an utter panic. If they did not wish to be shipped off to the arena rings as test subjects, studying with everything they had was their only way out. Amid this tense atmosphere, the leisure Chen Chuan displayed as he came and went felt rather out of place. After reaching the third limit, evaluation scores could no longer constrain him. Furthermore, fighters of this limit had numerous avenues to amass wealth and enjoyed a respectable social standing. If he had no further ambitions, what he currently possessed would already be plenty. However, putting aside his own desire to remain unconstrained, the imminent collision between worlds made such complacency impossible. He had to keep climbing upward and attain sufficient strength—or at least the means to protect himself—before the Great Collision arrived. Because the Disposal Bureau's operational plan was not yet finalized, and aside from training there was nothing else to interrupt him over these few days, he considered his options and decided it was time to visit the address left behind by this body's parents. In the morning, he contacted Wu Bei to help mask his whereabouts, then drove his Jiade car out of the Xuan Palace Building. To ensure nothing went awry, he did not drive straight to his destination. Instead, he first headed to the stronghold where he had previously exited the city and parked his vehicle there. From there, he slipped out of the city and used his Second Self to shield his field information before circling back, ensuring no method could trace him. The address could not be found on the boundary credential at first, but it was marked on an old map. After walking for roughly two hours, he arrived at the location. It was a high-end apartment building situated on the boundary of Shenwei District, with security guards patrolling all around. On second thought, this made sense. If such a place had remained uninhabited for a prolonged period, or if it had been located in some remote desolate area, Center City's public security situation meant it would have long since been broken into, looted, or squatted in; preserving anything inside would have been out of the question. Not intending to reveal his presence, he scaled the perimeter from an edge. Shielded by his Second Self, he made his way inside with ease without alerting a soul. Ascending the stairs, he went straight up to room 501 on the fifth floor. He pulled out the key retrieved from the ancestral home and tested it. Sure enough, it belonged to this room. It turned with a single click. Stepping inside, he gently pulled the door shut behind him. Just then, he suddenly heard a series of footsteps coming from within the apartment, as though someone were pacing about. He glanced at the dust settled on the table, unmoved. He took in the interior decor. The furnishings and layout bore many similarities to the old house in his hometown; it had clearly been arranged by people who shared the exact same living habits. After looking around the outer area and finding nothing, he walked toward the nearest room. He pushed open the half-closed door. No one was inside, and the sound of footsteps had long faded into silence. He searched through this room and the two adjacent ones, but uncovered nothing of value. It seemed to be an ordinary residence. A deed of ownership had indeed been left behind, and the name on it was his own. Yet this body's parents could hardly have gone to such lengths just to leave him an apartment in Center City, could they? There would have been no need for such complications. There had to be something else. Thinking back carefully, he suddenly recalled an incident from his predecessor's childhood. Returning to the room, he pulled a drawer out entirely, and sure enough, discovered a key taped to the underside. Peeled off, he scrutinized it. It was engraved with the character "Wan" alongside a serial number. This was... a key to a vault at Wansheng Financial Firm? This was almost certainly the crucial item. Slipping the key into his pocket, he did not leave in a hurry. He checked inside and out once more to ensure nothing had been missed, and only then departed, heading straight for Wansheng Financial Firm. Wansheng Financial Firm had branches across nearly every Center City in the world, and even peripheral cities and the Chaotic Lands had its branches and exchange counters. It was one of the premier global financial houses that had risen from Great Shun. The branch in Jibei Circuit Center City was located in Weiguang District, boasting its own dedicated active conscious entity as well as an independent security system. Upon arriving, Chen Chuan presented the key. A manager surnamed Lai came out to receive him. Maintaining a polite smile, he did not inquire into Chen Chuan's name or background, but said, "Sir, the client who deposited the items stipulated that in addition to the key, the guest must also present a token." Chen Chuan's mind worked quickly, and he produced the black card from Origin Corporation. Only this could serve as the token. Manager Lai accepted the black card, asked him to wait a moment, then pulled a document from his bag to cross-reference it. A red light flashed across his implanted boundary credential, and he nodded, returning the card to Chen Chuan. Rising from his seat, he said, "Sir, please follow me." Chen Chuan stood and accompanied him into the elevator down to the underground vault. Along the way, Manager Lai explained: "This is our Wansheng Financial Firm's Class C independent vault, featuring sixty-four identical coded empty lockers. Every three hours, the encoder generates a new sequencing passcode. "If they are not unlocked in the correct sequence, one cannot locate the proper storage locker even with the key. After three incorrect attempts, the entire system enters a full lockdown, and another attempt can only be made three days later..." Chen Chuan was led into the vault area and brought before an isolated bank of lockers. Manager Lai gave a few final instructions, bowed slightly, and stepped outside. Waiting until the man had departed, Chen Chuan began opening the locker doors one by one according to the sequence numbers that had just been generated. Even with the instructions and his swift movements, without making a single error, the entire process still took him about two minutes. An ordinary person could not hope to finish in under seven or eight. By this point, he was genuinely curious as to what could be important enough to warrant such precautions from his predecessor's parents. As the key slid into the final locker door, a succession of mechanical rotations sounded from behind, and a drawer popped open by a crack. Stepping back two paces, he pulled the drawer out slightly to find a package securely wrapped in sealing paper. Taking the package out, he brought it over to a side table and unwrapped it carefully, doing his best not to damage the original packaging. Inside was a small coded lockbox that required a passcode to open. A passcode... He recalled the string of digits he had received along with the address. Running through them in his mind, he entered them one by one. The passcode was undeniably correct. With a crisp click, the lid popped open, revealing two glass syringes within—one containing red liquid, the other blue. A note was enclosed beside them. He recognized the handwriting; it belonged to this body's mother. It informed him that the blue one was a memory needle and explained its function. This was an agent based on memory replication technology, functional only between direct blood relatives. Through this, critical information and memories could be transferred and passed down. Chen Chuan picked it up and injected it into his arm. There should be no problem with it, and even if there were, with the Second Self, he had no reason to worry. After the injection, no immediate effects manifested. The transfer of memory information required a gradual process; sometimes it took effect in dreams, and sometimes it surfaced unexpectedly, rather than appearing all at once. Still, now that he had it, he was in no rush. He would come to understand in due course. As for what the other syringe contained, the note left no explanation. Presumably, the answer would only be found within the memories. At this thought, he could not help musing that the contents utilized memory transfer technology restricted to direct kin. If his predecessor had truly perished on that day without him taking over the body, then even if someone else stumbled upon this package, the knowledge within might never have been known to anyone outside. He did not take the second syringe with him. Instead, he placed it back inside, locked the box anew, and returned it to the locker. When coming down earlier, he had already asked: this locker had been contracted thirteen years ago, with twenty years of storage fees paid upfront in a lump sum. That was sufficient to last until he turned twenty-five. Leaving it here was the safest option. Emerging from the vault, he exchanged pleasantries with Manager Lai, signed a document, and walked out of Wansheng Financial Firm. Yet the moment he stepped past the main entrance, an image surfaced unbidden in his mind. From that perspective, it seemed he was standing at the foot of Wansheng Financial Firm's steps, looking up toward the top, and ascending step by step. He knew this was the memory transfer at work. Coming into contact with the same physical scene in reality had triggered a resonance. Just as he was about to reminisce further, an incoming communication alert chimed on his newly reactivated boundary credential. He glanced at it. It was an invitation from Qingnang Jade Workshop requesting that he continue testing drugs, accompanied by a voice message from Fan Qingshan, the supervisor he had dealt with before: "Enforcement Officer Chen, we have learned of your recent progress. Congratulations on becoming a fighter of the third limit. In light of our previous fine cooperation, we will continue to provide you with medicinal formulas at preferential rates." Then, with meaningful weight in his tone, he added, "The world's landscape is shifting rapidly. Everyone ought to find their place and a way forward as early as possible. If Enforcement Officer Chen is willing to join Qingnang Jade Workshop upon completing your studies, we will provide you with exceedingly generous compensation and conditions. Whenever you reach a decision, feel free to contact me." With a soft beep, the voice message ended. Chen Chuan stood upon the steps. He looked at the flashing lights on the skyscraper's projection screen, watched the endless stream of people and vehicles below, and cast a glance toward the sky above. Then he descended the stairs, walking at an unhurried pace along the broad avenue ahead toward a certain direction.