The Gu Household.
Gu Yan lay on his bed.
"So this is the new memory?"
He stared at the aqua-blue memory bubble floating above his face, lost in thought.
According to the system, every 1% increase in affection would grant him a new memory.
That meant he could still obtain nine more memory bubbles at this point.
Honestly, the last memory was still fresh in his mind.
At the end, it seemed Leng Qingqiu had beheaded him.
That... was a bit absurd.
Why would Leng Qingqiu ever cut off his head?
When did this memory take place?
Could it be a premonition? A glimpse of the future?
Or perhaps...
Had it already happened?
Combined with the system’s vague responses...
Had he experienced something like reincarnation?
No way, no way...
That couldn’t be, right? Then what about his previous world?
After all, he had read the novel set in Leng Qingqiu’s world.
Otherwise, how would he know the plot?
Gu Yan touched his neck. Whatever the case, he should first see what this second memory held.
Maybe he could uncover some clues.
With that thought, he reached out and popped the bubble.
“Link Start!!”
……
……
Beep... beep... beep...
The sounds of hospital machines echoed in Gu Yan’s ears.
“Damn it, why did this happen? Why did Captain Gu and Captain Leng have to face something like this?”
“The monsters in that ruin were of a type we’ve never seen before. Damn it, damn it...”
“Captain, you have to hold on!”
Ugh... What’s going on?
Come to think of it, his head was spinning, and his body ached.
Did the memory playback have to be this realistic?
Couldn’t he experience it from a third-person perspective?
Gu Yan’s mind was hazy, and the panicked sobs of medical staff filled his ears.
Captain Gu? Was that him?
Then what about Captain Leng? Leng Qingqiu?
No way.
Since when were they captains?
Gu Yan’s consciousness faded.
Time passed indeterminably.
Rustle~ rustle~
A warm breeze brushed against his face.
At the same time, a voice that sounded all too familiar reached his ears.
“Gu Yan, Gu Yan, wake up! Who sleeps under a tree like this?”
“If you don’t get up, I’m telling my sister!”
Gu Yan slowly opened his eyes at the voice.
Standing before him was a familiar figure, glaring at him in frustration.
Except now, her once eye-catching blond hair was dyed black, and her youthful face carried a trace of maturity.
“Leng Ling’er?”
Gu Yan called out her name, realizing he was leaning against a large tree.
“Yes, thank you for remembering my name, you jerk.”
Leng Ling’er flicked her black hair in exasperation and sighed. “Sister’s still training like crazy at the field. Can’t you be a little more motivated?”
“Even if you’re a genius, slacking off like this will get you left behind eventually!”
“Take me, for example~”
She lifted her chin proudly. “I’ll definitely catch up to both of you and become the greatest Demon Hunter!”
Demon Hunter...
Gu Yan was thoroughly confused.
He wanted to ask about the current situation, but what came out instead was:
“Sorry, you brat. Even if you trained for eight lifetimes, your trash-tier talent wouldn’t catch up to mine.”
“Hah?! You—! Calling others trash when you’re the real trash!”
Leng Ling’er fumed, but then, as if remembering something, she extended her hand with a huff.
“Hurry up. Sister told me to fetch you for training. Today’s your turn to instruct me.”
Gu Yan stared at her outstretched hand, then at his own body moving on its own.
So, this was a fully immersive experience.
Before he could think further, he found himself replying:
“Yeah, yeah. Better prepare yourself, then.”
“Tch, obviously I will—”
But suddenly—
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
Like an old TV glitching, the scene distorted and flickered.
A sharp static noise filled Gu Yan’s ears.
Leng Ling’er froze mid-motion, her image splitting and merging with the warping surroundings.
“What’s happening?”
Gu Yan’s mind blanked.
The next second—
Snap!
Like a slideshow transition, the sky turned blood-red in an instant.
The surrounding buildings crumbled into ruins.
His vision blurred into a crimson haze, and the metallic stench of blood flooded his nostrils.
“What...?”
Gu Yan felt something warm and slick coating his hands.
Thick, scarlet liquid dripped between his fingers, splattering tiny blossoms of red on the ground.
Blood—not his own.
Then... whose was it?
“B-Brother-in-law... why...?”
“Why did you... become like this...?”
Leng Ling’er’s broken, sorrowful voice reached him.
His vision cleared just enough to reveal a nightmare—severed limbs, scattered organs, the twisted faces of people he once knew frozen in agony.
What...?
His heart pounded violently, breath turning ragged.
As the full horror of the scene registered, disbelief seized him.
Because right in front of him—
His own hand... no.
A claw.
Was buried in Leng Ling’er’s chest.
Thud.
Her lifeless body collapsed to the ground.
Only then did reality crash into Gu Yan.
He stared blankly at her corpse.
Wait, wait, wait, wait—what the hell?
What kind of twisted experience was this?
He... killed Leng Ling’er?
How?
His heart spasmed painfully, breath coming in uneven gasps.
Fragmented memories flashed—his own eyes, no longer human but feral, ravenous.
In the blood pooling beneath him, he glimpsed his reflection.
A monstrous, humanoid figure.
A memory surfaced: mutation, loss of control, slaughter...
Gu Yan snapped back to the present.
The air reeked of death, screams echoing endlessly.
And he—he was the cause.
“Gu Yan!”
A voice that sent a jolt through him rang out.
Instinctively, he turned.
There stood Leng Qingqiu, clad in military-green combat gear—a Demon Hunter uniform he’d never seen before.
Her gaze when she looked at him was filled with immeasurable sorrow and regret.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
"I didn’t know it would turn out like this..."
Leng Qingqiu stared at the corpses strewn across the ground, especially the moment she witnessed Gu Yan killing Leng Ling'er.
All she could do was repeat those words.
The next second—
"Hurry! Kill Gu Yan! He’s fallen into a demonic state!"
"Now!"
"Don’t hesitate! That’s not Captain Gu Yan anymore!"
Countless figures in identical uniforms rushed forward, sweeping past Leng Qingqiu’s trembling form, their expressions a mix of grief and hatred as they charged toward Gu Yan.
Meanwhile, Gu Yan’s body moved uncontrollably, fleeing into the distance.
A low, guttural growl erupted from his throat—the sound of a monster.
.........
"Hss—!!"
Consciousness returned.
Gu Yan gasped for breath as his eyes snapped open.
Only when he realized he was still in his bedroom did his tension ease slightly.
Once again, his body was drenched in sweat.
"What the hell was that memory...?"
Lying on the bed, his eyes were filled with horror.
Had he... become a monster? And killed Leng Ling'er?
No, the bigger question was—where had that memory even taken place?
Don’t tell me it was some reincarnation nonsense or something.
Tch...
Gu Yan closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down.
Damn it, he couldn’t relax at all.
He reopened his eyes and clutched his chest.
The final scene replayed in his mind—
...He had seen it.
The despair and devastation in Qingqiu’s eyes.
Why? What had happened? Why had Qingqiu looked so heartbroken? And why had she kept apologizing to him?
And back then... Qingqiu’s eyes could see?
Then why hadn’t she become the Night King?
Frustration, suffocation—countless emotions weighed on Gu Yan’s heart.
But after a moment, he steadied his breathing and muttered in a low voice,
"System, I know you won’t answer most of my questions right now."
"But just tell me this... Were those memories something Qingqiu and I actually experienced?"
[...]
[Yes.]
After a brief silence, the system gave Gu Yan the answer he wanted.
Then...
That settled it.
Gu Yan took a deep breath.
His gaze gradually steadied, his breathing evening out.
Not because of anything else, but because the system’s reply confirmed one thing for him—
From the moment he transmigrated into this world, to the fact that his "Pure Love Binding" target was Leng Qingqiu...
Every step along the way had been orchestrated by some unseen force.
So... what was that force trying to accomplish?
And why was it showing him all these memories?
Gu Yan had a feeling...
Once he saw all the memories... maybe...
He’d finally uncover the truth.
Tch, why did everything have to be so complicated? All he wanted was to live a sweet, loving life with Qingqiu!
Damn it!
And another thing—
"Can the next memory not be so damn immersive?! It leaves me completely drained when I wake up, you garbage system!!"
[Apologies... but that’s unavoidable... It’s preset...]
[...Also, I am a Pure Love System.]
The Pure Love System replied weakly.
"Tch, you better actually be a Pure Love System and not some ‘Torture the Protagonist’ System!"
[Host, please don’t slander me!]
[...This immersive setting is actually because...]
"? Because what? I’m listening."
[...Insufficient permissions at this time.]
"......"