Chapter 1 Past Events
The scene shook and even shattered, causing Qi An to withdraw his consciousness.
After a moment, she recounted the memories she had seen to Chen Yuezhou.
Chen Yuezhou already knew about and accepted her ability to see people's memories.
It wasn't easy. His expression was very complicated when he first found out, then he sighed and smiled.
"This superpower seems to have been specially prepared for me?"
Qi An said, "That man probably has dwarfism; his physical characteristics are very prominent."
Is there any software that can reconstruct an appearance based on a description? If so, I can show you what he looks like.
Chen Yuezhou snapped out of his daze: "No need, I should be able to remember."
He should be able to recall it, because after his surgery, his mental enhancement level was slowly recovering, and his memories were thawing like a deep pool.
He might dream about this incident tonight.
But it seems he doesn't need to dream? Doesn't need to remember? His intuition already told him who it was.
Is his past related to the initial outbreak of the Kuroshio virus?
Chen Yuezhou was lost in thought again, but Qi An's voice pulled him back to reality once more:
"If I help restore your memories, will the guild leader personally cook two dishes as a reward?"
He mimicked Chen Yuezhou's words in response... Chen Yuezhou's eyes immediately lit up with a smile again: "Alright, stir-fried mutton with scallions and spicy diced chicken."
Qi An's mouth watered, and he nodded repeatedly, but he was more concerned about repairing the zither. He picked up his zither case and left.
"I brought the key. Remember to lock the door before you leave."
The words were still lingering in the doorway when the person had already rushed downstairs.
Liu Chen Yuezhou was taken aback and burst into laughter.
Qi An truly loves music; now, at least half of her personality is relaxed, cheerful, and full of energy.
The weather was also pleasant and bright, and everywhere was full of lush green life.
Qi An went to a general store on the street.
Now, nearly a year after the construction period, the foundation of the new base has been firmly established on this land.
Several mining areas started operations at the beginning of this year, with smelters, precision machining plants, and chemical plants operating day and night.
The rationing system in the base has also ended, and everyone now needs to spend contribution points to buy things, thus forming a small commercial street.
Qi Anlai's general store was one of the first shops to open.
The shop has everything: stools and basins made by the owner, old appliances, daily necessities, and small tools scavenged from ruins... a miscellaneous collection, scattered and haphazardly arranged, filling the small room and giving people a great sense of fulfillment and security.
The boss's surname is Wang. He is over 50 years old, with a broad forehead, thick lips, and deep smile lines.
He came from Southeast Base No. 5. He wasn't among the first group of pioneers and builders, but rather the first of the second group. Taking advantage of the abundance of empty houses at the time, he acquired this shop almost for free.
Qi An was surprised to discover that the shop owner could play, repair, and maintain guitars. This was her second time coming to the shop to have her guitar repaired.
Although the first time it was just a loose knob, and Qi An stood there for a moment before leaving, the two weren't familiar with each other, but the shopkeeper still recognized Qi An at a glance and greeted him:
"Oh, Miss Qi is here! Please have a seat!"
Qi An carefully put down the zither and sat down on the well-maintained high stool in front of the counter.
This damage can't be repaired immediately; she'll definitely have to wait a while.
The shop owner very gently took out the guitar, looked it over, and smiled:
"The wear and tear isn't severe, so it doesn't need to be replaced. However, the condition of the frets is quite different from when you came two months ago. You've been practicing the piano very diligently, young lady."
“I have some time recently, and I’m also very interested,” Qi An said.
"Ha! I was the same when I was young. I didn't pay much attention to my major courses in college, but I bought a guitar and practiced diligently," the shopkeeper laughed.
He reached under the counter for some tape and carefully wrapped it around the cardboard between the threads.
“I felt a sense of familiarity with you the moment I saw Miss Qi, really.” He started chatting while making repairs.
But this opening seemed a bit cheesy, so Qi An smiled politely.
Seeing Qi An's expression, Boss Wang quickly said, "This isn't just a casual chat. You look a lot like a celebrity I liked when I was young."
Qi An raised an eyebrow slightly.
"He was a singer, a talented singer-songwriter." The shopkeeper reminisced fondly, and seeing Qi An's skeptical look, he pulled out his old phone from under the counter.
“I have a special connection with her.” The boss said this with a mix of happiness and wistfulness. “Once, I was rummaging through those old USB drives at the base and I actually found her photo. It’s been so many years.”
He pulled out that touching photo and handed it to Qi An.
Qi An glanced at it casually, but his gaze sharpened slightly.
The woman in the photo is in her early twenties and appears to be standing on a stage in darkness, with all the lights following her.
She wore a bright green sequined tank top and shorts, with one hand on a microphone stand and the other holding a microphone, looking casual, beautiful, and confident.
The photo is a full view, so the facial features aren't very clear, but looking at it this way, it already looks like the person, really like them!
That bright green dress reminded Qi An of...
Her gaze lingered for half a minute, making Boss Wang smug: "It really does look like her! That's why I said you have a kind face, young lady, I wasn't just saying that casually."
Qi An asked, "What's her name?"
"Ye Xiao. She wasn't a top star back then, but she was quite famous. I joined her fan group and went to her concert."
Mr. Wang squinted, recalling the hoarse voices, the waving arms, and the unwavering enthusiasm of thousands at the concert—that noisy and glamorous era.
But the memory quickly transformed into a desolate and stern underground fortress, with its sealed rooms and echoing cries of despair.
"I'm destined to be with her." As Mr. Wang pondered this, the file stopped.
“I’ve seen her three times: once at a concert, once at a fan meeting, and once in the quarantine facility.”
"What quarantine facility?" Qi An asked.
Mr. Wang looked back at Qi An, hesitated for a moment, and then realized that this was no longer a secret:
"Everyone knows that the apocalypse begins with a viral pandemic, but not many people know that contamination existed before the apocalypse."
"At that time, only a small number of people were contaminated, but the mutation was too terrifying. The government set up secret quarantine facilities to control those who had been exposed to the contaminated information but had not immediately mutated," he said.
Qi An was slightly taken aback; she had never heard of this.
The virus caused devastating damage to human society, followed by pollution, plunging the world into complete chaos.
When people talk about these two disasters, they always mention the virus first.
"At that time, my sister came into contact with polluting information from her messy websites, and I, as her family member, went to the quarantine center once."
We now know that if people who are contaminated experience prolonged fear and anxiety, the contamination levels can become uncontrollable.
But we didn't know that at the time. The doctors inside observed for a long time before reaching this conclusion and allowing relatives to visit those who were quarantined.
That was the time I met Ye Xiao. Mr. Wang murmured again, as if in a dream:
"A big star! My idol! He's also locked in a glass enclosure."
The big star was without makeup, with her long hair down, wearing only a loose white dress.
She paced slowly back and forth in her cubicle, one hand supporting her lower back and the other stroking her protruding belly.
She was pregnant, and somehow she came into contact with deadly contamination information while pregnant, and was trapped here.
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