Was it that one of her glances lingered a little too long? Or was her attitude toward Wu Yiliu a little too friendly compared to how one would treat a stranger?
She had been so careful. How had he still noticed?
Lin Sanjiu stared blankly at the young man standing two steps away. Her mind went completely blank, and she didn't know how to respond. They stood in the walkway, their surroundings filled with the hushed conversations beneath the botanical garden's ceiling. It was as if they stood amid swaying, blurred waves of water. The crowd split around them like a stream, flowing past and closing back together, no one giving them a second glance.
No, this wasn't right. From what she knew of Wu Yiliu, he wouldn't jump to conclusions or expose himself based on ambiguous details. He must have been certain.
Was it the mention of Big Fish Market that gave her away?
Why would Big Fish Market be a clue to him? Lin Sanjiu couldn't figure it out. It was a real place in Cloudwalk Heights. Why couldn't she live there?
"Was it the address? After all, that's the easiest thing to raise suspicion," Wu Yiliu said, his expression as calm and friendly as before. While Lin Sanjiu tried to figure out where she had slipped, he was also examining where he might have gone wrong.
"But I can't quite understand. Even the tour guide didn't think twice. She assumed she'd just forgotten about leaving an address. There's no reason for you to notice something off after you two separated."
Lin Sanjiu suddenly remembered what Bee Sting had said: "I didn't even remember I'd left my address."
"So you found Bee Sting's address afterward and tracked me down?" she asked softly. "Your organization was following me from the start. You should know Bee Sting had nothing to do with this; she was just caught up in it. Since we've parted ways, there is no point in going after her."
"So it really wasn't the address." Wu Yiliu wasn't surprised. Instead, he seemed more curious. "Then what was it that gave me away? You even had enough evidence to link me to the organization that sent the one who attacked you earlier... No matter how I think about it, I don't know what made me seem connected to her."
That gray-haired woman must have failed her mission, which led to them sending Wu Yiliu.
Given Wu Yiliu's intelligence and abilities, sending him meant the Shark Nexus was deploying a heavy weapon. Did they really value Pete that much? Or was it the memory pocket dimension they were after?
Lin Sanjiu tried to analyze the situation rationally, but she couldn't deny that her heart had already sunk.
Now that Wu Yiliu had laid it all out, he confirmed her suspicions and shattered her sliver of hope: he had indeed become a member of the Shark Nexus, the true masters of the memory pocket dimension.
Beyond the memories she had seen, in those strange and unknown years, Wu Yiliu had been broken, tamed, and reshaped.
"No, the issue wasn't you. Unlike me," Lin Sanjiu said with a bitter smile. "Maybe... I shouldn't have mentioned Big Fish Market?"
Wu Yiliu smiled understandingly.
Even now, with everything out in the open, the confrontation she had anticipated didn't happen. Instead, it felt like two students who had made a mistake, calmly discussing where they'd gone wrong. For a moment, she had the illusion that when she first met Wu Yiliu, he had felt something for her, too. Otherwise, how could he be so kind now?
1
"That's right," Wu Yiliu explained slowly. "Since you knew I was part of the organization, you should have guessed that I came to you because of Pete."
"I don't get it," Lin Sanjiu said, scratching her face.
Wu Yiliu thought for a few seconds before saying, "You just arrived in Cloudwalk Heights, and it's your first time here, right? When we investigated, we assumed you'd only just entered this world. I noticed you didn't try to hide that fact."
"You think someone who just arrived wouldn't have an address so soon?"
"Whether it's an address or a landing site for your craft, you obviously have a place to stay right now," Wu Yiliu continued calmly. "Don't be surprised. I told you, our organization has investigated you. From the moment you clashed with Pete on Ship 26 until his disappearance, we've tried to understand everything we could. So I know you have a white ring-shaped craft."
"A-And then?"
"Then it's simple." As he spoke, they naturally started walking toward the exit of the botanical garden. "You didn't want to tell me your true destination, but you also worried that giving a fake name would make me suspicious. So, you chose a place name you knew."
Lin Sanjiu began to understand.
"But since you're new here and unfamiliar with the areas outside Cloudwalk Heights's CBD, you subconsciously chose one of the two names that left a strong impression on you. Besides your actual landing site, those might be the only two places you know. You and Pete clashed on the route from Big Fish Market to Giant's Gathering on Ship 26." Wu Yiliu smiled at her, stopping just outside the garden's entrance. "After that, you've been flying in the skies, haven't you?" ᚱ𝓪₦օΒƐs̩
Outside the garden stretched a long, winding sky highway. The wind howled against the waist-high metal railings along the road, making them hum and vibrate. It seemed as if they might suddenly bend, break free, and whirl off into the sky.
"Your landing site is neither Big Fish Market nor Giant's Gathering. But your reluctance to give me the real location means you're trying to take me somewhere without raising my suspicion... You have an intention toward me." Wu Yiliu's voice was half-drowned by the wind, traffic, and ambient noise, but his certainty was unmistakable. "If you thought I was just a dismantler, you wouldn't be doing this."
Lin Sanjiu exhaled.
His explanation made everything seem clear and simple. It was almost funny. After leaving Ship 26 and before arriving at Old Sea's Crest, she had looked at a map of Cloudwalk Heights. Complete maps were rare commodities in the Twelve Worlds Centrum. Without Yu Yuan, she never could have gotten one so quickly. But back then, she'd only cared about finding desolate hiding spots and hadn't thought to remember the names of human settlements.
"I don't know if you'll believe me, but I have to tell the truth." Lin Sanjiu looked at him, her resolve firm. "I know you're not a dismantler because I've known you for a long time. That's how I guessed you were connected to the Shark Nexus."
"Pete told you the name of the organization? Because I never mentioned it, and neither did the woman who chased you." Wu Yiliu immediately latched onto the words "Shark Nexus," his reaction so quick it startled Lin Sanjiu.
Talking to him was dangerous. Who knew which detail might give away information she hadn't even realized?
"Yes." Lin Sanjiu had no choice but to continue. "I do have an intention toward you. I want to help you."
"Oh?" Wu Yiliu raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What do I need help with?"
Lin Sanjiu knew the truth was hard to believe. But she also knew that nothing but the truth could earn Wu Yiliu's trust.
"Since you're after Pete, you should know what your organization invested in him, right?" Seeing no reaction on his face, she took a deep breath and said, "It's a pocket dimension that can alter memories."
Wu Yiliu nodded. "And?"
It was hard to tell if this was new information to him. Would the Shark Nexus really let altered people know about the memory pocket dimension?
"You were one of the people whose memories were altered by the pocket dimension," Lin Sanjiu said softly, meeting his eyes.
Wu Yiliu was silent for two seconds.
"I know."