The craniotomy was proceeding smoothly.

There was a sudden knock on the window. Rex looked up and saw his assistant outside the window gesturing for him to answer a phone call.

The only person who knew that surgery was taking place here and called him could only be Gong Yao.

Rex nodded, signaling his assistant to put the phone on speakerphone.

"Hello, Yao?"

"Rex, did you just draw a slanted cut three centimeters above her right arm?"

“That’s right.” Rex was a little confused. “This is our latest implantable anesthetic technology. How do you know the specifics of how it works?”

The person on the other end was silent for two seconds.

"Now, make another cut anywhere on her body."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Just do as I say."

“Uh, okay.” Rex picked up the scalpel and gently sliced ​​it across the woman’s left arm.

"Stroke harder, make the wound deeper," Gong Yao continued to give instructions.

Rex had no choice but to comply: "Is this enough?"

Gong Yao remained silent.

Rex found it rather strange.

"Even if she is guilty, shouldn't the case be handled according to normal procedures? Why do I have to abuse this young girl on the operating table?"

A low, muffled groan suddenly came from the other end of the phone.

Gong Yao then asked, "Look at her right leg, is there anything unusual?"

"Something's wrong? No, everything's fine."

"......I see."

Rex noticed something was off about his voice and quickly asked, "Yao, what's wrong?"

Gong Yao pulled out the dagger with his backhand, and warm blood gushed out instantly.

He pressed down on his left arm with one hand and his thigh with the other, his voice unusually solemn.

"Rex, the situation has changed. Stop the surgery immediately."

-

Rex stepped off the operating table and hurried to Gong Yao's office.

"Yao, my schedule is very full. I finally managed to free up this afternoon. Why did you suddenly cancel the surgery?"

A tiny calculator sat in front of Gong Yao, its glowing green light making his features appear even sharper and more defined.

"Rex, do you remember what happened before you were purified?"

"What? You mean purification?" Rex replied without hesitation. "Of course I don't remember."

"You know, the main system selected us as the imperial transmigrators. Before that, they will conduct a thorough and comprehensive memory wipe on us."

Rex, with his hands behind his back, began to chant to himself.

"It is a great blessing and honor to be free from the suffering of the world."

"To transform from a confused participant into a clear-headed observer is the greatest wisdom and insight."

This is an inscription carved on a stone tablet in the main city, which everyone here remembers by heart and can recite from memory.

Gong Ming's brows furrowed deeper and deeper.

His voice was deep and resonant: "But those are also my memories, a part of my body. Moreover, my loyalty to the Empire will never waver because of any factor."

"Of course I know you will always be loyal to the Empire. Wait, why are you bringing this up all of a sudden?"

Rex's tone held a hint of fear: "Have you remembered what happened before?"

"No."

Rex breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little calmer.

“That’s the problem.” Gong Yao said with a solemn expression, “I have lost my memories, so I can’t break this life-and-death contract.”

Rex stared wide-eyed at the sky, and after a full ten seconds of stunned silence, he suddenly let out a thunderous scream.

"You signed a life-or-death contract?!"

"Um."

"A life-and-death pact, an irreversible bond of life and death?"

"Um."

Rex froze on the spot: "Yao, how come I had no idea you had signed something like this before?"

"Before this, even I didn't know this existed." Gong Yao pursed his thin lips, his gaze falling once again on the calculator screen.

Rex followed his gaze and immediately realized, "It's her. The person you signed the life-and-death contract with is that woman, right?"

"Yes. I've already verified it."

Gong Yao lifted his clothes, revealing his injuries: "All the injuries she suffers will be felt on me at the same time, but if I were the one who gets injured, it wouldn't have any effect on her."

"What?!"

Rex angrily rubbed his thick blond hair: "Yao, were you out of your mind? You actually signed a one-sided life-or-death contract!"

Gong Yao glanced at him indifferently and said nothing.

Rex realized he had misspoke, patted his mouth, and quickly said...

"It's alright. Although in principle, once a life-and-death contract is signed, it cannot be revoked, if it were you, you should be able to apply for its forced cancellation."

"Things are not that simple. The cancellation of a unilateral life-and-death contract requires the participation of both parties. I have lost my memory, so naturally I don't know where I hid the 'key' back then."

"Damn it," Rex couldn't help but curse. "This is a one-sided sacrifice. You weren't betrayed by your enemy and forced to sign this piece of junk, were you?"

Gong Yao's expression was very calm.

"We can't rule out that possibility." Gong Yao even felt that it was highly likely.

Rex regained some of his composure: "So what do you plan to do now? Secretly retrieving memories is a violation of the covenant; if discovered, you'll be executed!"

"I don't want to regain all my memories; all I want is that key."

"I only need a few short segments, I can finish quickly and get out of there in no time."

Rex's throat was dry: "Are you going to...?"

Gong Yao tapped the flashing red button on the screen, his eyes lowered and his expression indifferent.

"Rex, I need your help."

"Dream-making".