Sometimes, the way fate unfolds is beyond prediction. Just ten minutes earlier, when Lin Sanjiu was hiding behind the orange-red planet, she had thought she was about to face a battle, that she'd need to subdue the controller of this space in order to find a way out for her group.
Now, she was sitting on a small stool in front of a fruit stall, watching this space's controller use an old electric kettle to boil tea.
The situation had shifted so quickly, and it seemed to have started from just one sentence Lin Sanjiu had said a few minutes ago.
"Are you also trapped in this space?" she instinctively replied. "Don't worry, I'll find a way out. I've overcome countless crises before. I'll take you with me when I leave."
The flyer distributor fell silent for a moment.
When the man didn't use these animated figures to speak, they returned to their original routines, continuing their everyday activities. The flyer distributor stepped towards a young woman, but as he was halfway through handing out the flyer, his hand froze in mid-air.
It wasn't just him. The entire city street froze. The bustling noise that had been mingling with the gray haze above suddenly collapsed into a complete silence.
It was the second time Lin Sanjiu had witnessed this scene. When she saw a car door suddenly swing open across the street and a face peek out from the rooftop, she wasn't surprised by the sight. Instead, she was taken aback by the man's decision to show himself. 'Did I really say something that convincing?'
The two of them stared at each other across the street for a while. Lin Sanjiu didn't dare make any sudden movements, afraid she might scare him away again—this man was like a skittish rabbit, and the entire city was filled with his burrows.
"I'm not trapped here," he said, resting his face on the car roof, looking utterly drained as he sighed.
Lin Sanjiu was taken aback.
"Then... what's going on?" she asked cautiously. "Do you want to leave? If you do, you could come with us—"
The man waved his hand, cutting her off. "No... It's a long story."
He looked her up and down before asking, "Do you really not know what this place is?"
Lin Sanjiu nodded.
"Hmm, judging by what you said later, it seems you really don't." He sighed again as he stepped away from the car. He was still wearing his flip-flops, dragging his feet along the road as he glanced around before pointing in a direction. "It's not convenient to talk here. I don't like pausing everything like this. I feel better when the city is running normally. If you're willing to chat, we can go to my shop."
The so-called "shop" was actually just a fruit stall tucked away in a narrow alley beneath Exodus.
Following his direction, Lin Sanjiu awkwardly perched on a small stool. She was still a bit dazed—hadn't this man been wary of her just a moment ago, refusing to show himself? Now, he had already plugged in an electric kettle and prepared cups, though the tea cups were slightly dirty upon closer inspection.
"My name is Lin Sanjiu," she said, stretching her arm across a pile of fruits to offer a handshake.
The man glanced at her hand but didn't reach out to shake it. Instead, he continued fanning himself with a magazine. "No need to be so formal. Just call me Ah Quan. Your name sounds familiar. I'm not sure where I've heard it before."
He really did seem like a typical idle loafer.
Lin Sanjiu awkwardly pulled her hand back and scratched her face. "Haven't you been trapped here for many years? Where could you have heard my name?"
"I told you, I'm not trapped here," Ah Quan said, glancing at the electric kettle. "I receive a lot of information. I don't remember names so clearly. Maybe there's a memoir here belonging to someone you know."
Lin Sanjiu immediately straightened up. "What exactly are these memoirs? Can you bring my friends back from them?"
Ah Quan smiled and said, "Have a few cherries first."
What was he trying to pull now?
Even though the tension between them had eased, Lin Sanjiu wasn't about to eat something from a stranger just like that. Ah Quan seemed to read her hesitation, so he closed his eyes, reached over, grabbed a pear, and took a hearty bite. The crisp, juicy sound made her instinctively swallow.
"See, it's fine." Ah Quan spoke clearly despite the pear in his mouth. He extended the bitten pear to her. "You wanted to know about memoirs? Try it, and you'll understand."
It seemed both were testing each other—without a foundation of mutual trust, he might never bring the grand prize and Yu Yuan back, would he?
Lin Sanjiu hesitated, then finally took the cool, heavy pear in her hand and bit into the spot he had already bitten.
She had imagined many scenarios—the pear tasting incredible, having no taste, being poisoned, or triggering some kind of trap... but she hadn't expected her teeth to meet only air, as if she had bitten into nothingness.
The moment her teeth clicked together, she heard another crisp, juicy sound in her ears.
Before she could look up, the refreshing sweetness of the pear's juice washed down her throat, and the pear flesh seemed to roll in her mouth, yielding more juice with each press of her teeth. She froze, fully aware that she wasn't chewing—the inside of her mouth was completely empty.
"Tastes good, doesn't it?" Ah Quan said, looking pleased with her expression. "This is the best pear I've ever tasted, just like ice cream."
Lin Sanjiu stared blankly at the pear in her hand, then looked back at him.
"This is also my favorite variety of cherry—you'll miss out if you don't try it," he said, as if proudly showing off his treasures. Pointing at various fruits on his stall, he continued, "See this one? I only got to taste this type of berry once; it didn't grow where I used to live."
Her gaze moved over the array of fresh fruits before she asked, "These... they're all formed from your memories?"
Ah Quan nodded. "Their appearance, texture, flavor... every detail is refined based on my memories. Everything here—the wooden stool you're sitting on, the electric kettle you see—all of it comes from my memories. I extracted the best moments of my life, and they formed this city—my memoir."
He continued, "The memoirs you've experienced, you've probably noticed, belong to different people. Some have poor memory, so their memoirs are rough and blurred; others remember well, and everything is crystal clear. The people left their memories, but they didn't stay in them, so each memoir varies in detail. But I'm different. I live here, in my best memories, with all the time I need to perfect every detail."
No wonder... No wonder the city's landscape was so sharp and richly detailed. A city of this scale, so intricately crafted down to the smallest detail—just how long had this seemingly thirty-something-year-old man existed here?
Leaning forward, Lin Sanjiu put the pear back down. Ah Quan glanced at it, and it returned to its untouched state.
She stared intently at the man's face across from her. It looked completely human—skin texture, faint stubble, stray hairs clinging to his forehead.
"I have a few questions."
"Ask away."
"You said you extracted your own memories and created this memoir. So, what about the other memoirs? Did you create them as well?"
Ah Quan spread his hands and nodded, as if to say, "Of course."
"My next question might be a bit rude; don't take offense," Lin Sanjiu said with a wry smile. "Are you... are you still human?"