After My Death, the Female Lead Breaks the Heartless Path - Chapter 46

The white light was so intense it was almost blinding. Even after quickly closing her eyes and shielding them with her hands, Ye Shuran could still feel the light seeping through, causing a burning pain.

When the light finally faded, the pain in her eyes remained. Even after opening them, she was temporarily blinded, startling her into closing them again. “Xiao Qiu?”

Fortunately, Ye Shuran heard a response from beside her: “I’m here. Wait a moment.”

Ye Shuran didn’t know what she was supposed to wait for, but just as she was about to ask, she felt a cool, soothing ointment being applied to her eyelids. The stinging sensation quickly subsided. When she opened her eyes, she wasn’t surprised to see Xu Jingqiu standing in front of her, holding a tube of ointment.

Seeing that Ye Shuran’s vision had cleared, Xu Jingqiu explained, “This is medicine for eye injuries. I found it here.” She pointed to a table cluttered with experimental equipment. “It had the usage written on it, so I tried it out.”

“Well, they certainly prepared thoroughly,” Ye Shuran couldn’t help but remark sarcastically. “They even anticipated our eyes getting injured.”

Xu Jingqiu glanced at the ointment in her hand, also finding it novel, and nodded in agreement.

Once her vision had fully recovered, Ye Shuran began observing their surroundings. Petri dishes, screens displaying unknown data, and various experimental equipment were scattered everywhere, piled haphazardly without any apparent logic. The only thing clear was that all of it came from the Abnormal Research Institute.

But who had set this up? Ye Shuran glanced at the confused Xu Jingqiu and nodded knowingly.

No one but Xu Jingqiu would have the capability to create so much experimental equipment in a world where technology was so underdeveloped. The chaotic way everything was piled up also matched Xu Jingqiu’s personal habits she had been like this since their school days, appearing neat and tidy on the surface while her living space resembled a dog’s nest.

Suddenly receiving a look of disdain from Ye Shuran, Xu Jingqiu had no idea what was going on. When she looked back in confusion, Ye Shuran had already averted her gaze.

Xu Jingqiu: “…”

Never mind, she thought. It wasn’t worth dwelling on, she could never guess what Ye Shuran was thinking, and it was probably nothing good anyway.

If her intuition was correct, it should be here, right? Xu Jingqiu tentatively pressed an inconspicuous button. Instantly, a camera-like device above the screen activated, emitting a blue light.

It was a holographic projection device.

Xu Jingqiu took a few steps back, standing beside Ye Shuran, who was holding her breath in anticipation. They watched as a humanoid figure gradually materialized, identical in appearance to Xu Jingqiu.

“Xu Jingqiu” opened her eyes, her emotionless gaze locking onto the two of them. A cold voice rang out: “Greetings. I am a holographic memory entity preserved since the establishment of this base. I only appear when my original self presses the activation button.”

The voice of this “Xu Jingqiu” was almost identical to her own, albeit with a slight electronic undertone. She had left this as a contingency plan had she already anticipated this situation back then?

“What did you leave behind?”

“Xu Jingqiu” pointed around the room. “This entire laboratory, a piece of Primordial Chaos Crystal, and a memory chip from before the base was established. Which would you like to retrieve first? Personally, I recommend the memory chip.”

After all, neither the research lab nor the Primordial Crystal could sprout legs and run away now that they were here. But if she left this room today, there was no telling whether she’d ever be able to return.

Coincidentally, Xu Jingqiu was thinking the same thing: “Then let’s extract the memory chip. Is there an inhibitor here?”

“Xu Jingqiu” pointed to the right: “There’s a fingerprint lock over there. The inhibitor is inside. Her fingerprint works too someone registered it in the system.”

Ye Shuran blinked, pointing at herself in disbelief. “Huh? Me? Why am I involved here? Has someone been here before?” She had only arrived in this place a few years ago, how could someone have foreseen this to such an extent?

“Ninety years ago, Senior Zero came,” “Xu Jingqiu” said calmly.

Zero again? How had she predicted that Ye Shuran would come here? Ye Shuran was utterly baffled, but she still went over to retrieve the inhibitor. Meanwhile, Xu Jingqiu herself lay down in the hibernation pod, tapped something on the screen, closed her eyes, and the pod door sealed shut.

The inhibitor needed some time to activate before it could be used. Taking advantage of Xu Jingqiu’s treatment period, Ye Shuran studied the device and managed to activate it before hurriedly tossing it aside. Even with brief contact, she could already feel her abilities being suppressed and a faint stinging sensation.

Clearly, this wasn’t something someone of her strength could handle. Ye Shuran shook her hand, lost in thought.

The memory restoration process took less time than Ye Shuran had expected. When the alarm sounded, the pod door opened immediately. “Xu Jingqiu” swiftly grabbed the inhibitor and clamped it around Xu Jingqiu’s neck to prevent her out-of-control abilities from affecting her brain.

Once the inhibitor was in place, Xu Jingqiu’s previously ragged breathing gradually steadied. When she opened her eyes again, the crimson hue in her pupils had faded.

“This is the latest model of inhibitor from that time,” “Xu Jingqiu” explained. “It can suppress corruption to the greatest extent possible. If even this doesn’t work, you might as well start preparing for the worst.”

Xu Jingqiu fell silent. After a long pause, she turned to Ye Shuran and asked, puzzled, “Do I usually speak so bluntly?”

Ye Shuran snapped out of her thoughts and rolled her eyes at Xu Jingqiu. “What do you think? Can’t you tell? It started around the time Yin Ruolan was taken away and you were severely injured and lost your memory. It’s like you became a different person sometimes you’re normal, but other times your words are just so sharp!”

“I think that was actually quite polite.”

Xu Jingqiu thought back to the contrast before and after and fell silent again. Now that she considered it, it really was true. Perhaps after losing her memory, she no longer had any reservations and no longer forced herself to put on a cheerful front for others, allowing her true nature to surface.

In the past, after her parents passed away and she had to rely on others, she naturally had to be more cautious. But after losing her memory, she grew stronger and found someone she could trust and rely on, so there was no longer any need to pay attention to such things.

Seeing Xu Jingqiu standing there in silence, Ye Shuran worried that her words had been too harsh and scrambled to find the right thing to say. “Um, well, I think it’s actually a good thing. Since then, you’ve seemed more at ease, right? It’s a good change.”

Xu Jingqiu looked at Ye Shuran with slight confusion before understanding the reason behind her words. She smiled faintly, reached out, and patted Ye Shuran’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m not upset. No need to be nervous.”

But speaking of Yin Ruolan, Xu Jingqiu felt a headache coming on. Previously, she had forgotten about her existence and could be at ease with this Yin Ruolan. But now that her memories had returned, she had some reservations especially since the two looked exactly alike.

There was another possibility Xu Jingqiu’s eyes darkened as she glanced at the other version of herself. “Was the world coordinate where Yin Ruolan was taken to back then confirmed?”

Ye Shuran perked up, practically wishing she had a melon in her hands to munch on.

The other “Xu Jingqiu” tilted her head, processing for a moment before realizing she was referring to her ex-girlfriend. She had indeed asked Zero to investigate the matter. “It’s confirmed,” she said, extending a hand. A screen immediately displayed a string of numbers.

Ye Shuran couldn’t understand it, but judging by Xu Jingqiu’s grim expression, she could guess what it meant. After a moment, Xu Jingqiu asked in a slightly hoarse voice, “Pull up this world’s coordinates.”

The screen flickered, but the numbers remained unchanged. Yin Ruolan was in this world, and it was highly likely that she was the current Yin Ruolan. If that were true, did this Yin Ruolan know about what had happened in the past?

Xu Jingqiu couldn’t help but spiral into more thoughts until someone snapped her out of it. “Stop overthinking it. When you go back, just ask her directly, alright?” Ye Shuran patted Xu Jingqiu’s shoulder, relieved only after seeing the dark aura around her and the abnormality in her eyes fade away.

It was another episode of corruption. Whether the return of her memories was a good thing or not remained unclear. Both the Dao Companion Contract and the Divine Shackles had reacted Yin Ruolan was helping her suppress the corruption.

First, solve the problem; personal grievances could wait. Xu Jingqiu closed the holographic projection and began typing on the keyboard, extracting the Primordial Chaos Crystal. With nothing left for her to do, Ye Shuran simply took out her phone to check if anyone had messaged her.

As soon as she opened her phone, a message from Fang Yu popped up: “Report, Leader, the situation has changed. The rebellious demons are not backed by Penglai but by the Resistance. They followed the orders of the Resistance leader to contact the demons and instigate the series of events in the demon realm.”

“The Resistance?” Ye Shuran exclaimed in surprise, catching Xu Jingqiu’s attention.

Pressing the final key, Xu Jingqiu turned to look at her. “What about the Resistance? The traitors in the demon realm are backed by the Resistance?”

Ye Shuran nodded while replying to Fang Yu. “Yes, they’re supported by the Resistance. But it’s not a big issue. In a few days, the Resistance probably won’t exist anymore. My informant in Penglai reported that Penglai is planning to ambush the Resistance’s base. Given the Resistance’s strength, it’s uncertain how many of Penglai’s soldiers they can even injure.”

After sending her reply, Ye Shuran explained her plans and added, “While you’re in this world, I intend to hand over the actual control of Tian Zhi to you. I’ll assist you. It’s clear now that this involves battles between deities, which is beyond my capabilities. Tian Zhi needs someone who can command authority, just like Penglai and the demon realm.”

Xu Jingqiu nodded in agreement. Originally, she had planned to just take a nominal role, but Ye Shuran’s proposal was clearly more effective the influence of a figurehead and that of a leader were not the same. However, regarding that Qu Tao.

“Alright, but we must not let our guard down with Qu Tao. I suspect many issues we previously overlooked now have answers. Though she herself is insignificant, the forces behind her are not to be underestimated.” After a moment of contemplation, Xu Jingqiu made up her mind. “I need to prepare some things. It will take some time to mobilize the Primordial Chaos Crystal, so be ready to assist me when the time comes.”

With that, Xu Jingqiu vanished right before Ye Shuran’s eyes. Ye Shuran stared wide-eyed, then, as if struck by a sudden realization, muttered in disbelief, “No way! Could she be planning to? It can’t be.”

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