The Wind Outside the Door

Don't answer.

Mo'er raised his hand to cover Lin Qi's mouth, but his strength only reached his chin.

Lin Qi stepped back.

I wasn't going to answer.

You just opened your mouth.

"I want to ask who it is."

Asking is also a response.

The voice from the bottom of the well came up again.

"Lin Qi, do you remember what you did before computers came along?"

A Hui carried Mo'er on his back and walked up the stone steps.

"Put the cup upside down."

"I can't get it to work."

Mo'er leaned on his shoulder.

"The Total Echo has finished playing; the Inverted Cup now has no weight."

"It can't be fastened back even though it's lightweight?"

"The voice inside is supporting it."

Lin Qi looked down at the Black Cup.

The bottom of the glass reflected the Tavern counter and his computer, which had been turned off.

In the video, Lin Qi is sitting in front of a computer with a half-finished glass of wine on the table.

This scene occurred before the live broadcast began.

Makino stood between Lin Qi and the entrance.

"Stop looking."

It contains my memories.

"Then don't look."

"I need to know how much it got."

"Mo'er said that both questions and answers will form a response."

In the video, Lin Qi raises his hand, the computer screen lights up, but there is no system interface on the desktop.

He first opened a black file.

The voice from the bottom of the well continued, "Do you really think the system found you first?"

Lin Qi grabbed the tablecloth and covered the entrance.

The image in the Black Cup was still reflected through the cloth.

Vegapunk tried to cut off the Tavern's connection to the Inverted Cup, but the equipment did not respond.

"It doesn't use the Terminal line."

"Then where do we go?"

"Lin Qi's memories."

Mo'er patted A Hui on the shoulder.

"Put me down first."

"I won't let go."

"How did you disassemble the cup holder behind my back?"

"You're already like this, what's the point of tearing it down?"

"That Echo had no name, so it couldn't travel with other sounds."

"Let it stay."

It will keep asking.

"I'll stop asking when I'm tired of it."

"Time is never an obstacle on the Throne."

A Hui stepped onto the last stone step, Makino supported Mo'er's arm. Together, the three of them helped him out of the basement.

The oil lamp shone on the old man.

His legs had been clamped between wooden boards for many years, his trousers were clinging to his bones, a black cup pattern remained around his waist, and his right index finger was bent in his palm, unable to straighten.

A Hui put him by the door.

"Water."

Makino handed over some warm water.

Mo'er took two sips, then spilled the rest all over his clothes.

Is it bright outside?

"The Sky Screen has darkened, but the oil lamp remains."

Is it windy?

Makino pushed open half of the Tavern window.

The sea breeze, carrying the scent of grass, entered the room and ruffled the white hair on Mo'er's forehead.

A Hui sat beside her, not looking out the window.

"Haven't you asked this many times?"

"No answer was heard."

It's windy.

Are you cold?

"Don't you feel it yourself?"

Mo'er raised his bent index finger and tried to touch the wind.

His hand was only raised halfway before falling down.

A Hui held his wrist and brought it to the window.

"Have."

"Um."

"You hummed again."

"Yes, this time."

The voice from the bottom of the well was still questioning Lin Qi.

What is the title of the first file you opened?

"Lin Qi."

Makino called his name.

I didn't answer.

"You're thinking."

"Thinking about it counts?"

"For the Throne, "Mo'er said, leaning against the wall. "Remembering is the response."

"So I have to stop thinking about anything now?"

"I can't do it."

"What's the difference between your rules and farting?"

Buggy's voice came through the Den Den Den Mushi used for communication in the real world).

Although the Sky Screen was closed, all parties had already established regular communication channels.

"Hey, Lin Qi, can you hear me?"

"I can hear you."

"I received twenty-seven Echo; there are seven extra, so you'll have to pay extra."

Who just said people can't be considered goods?

"Saving lives is free, but you have to accept payment for providing paper!"

"Put it on Garp's head."

Why should I be held responsible?

Garp roared back from the naval line.

Buggy flipped through the delivery ledger.

"Isn't Mo'er a witness for your Monkey Family?"

"Witnesses cannot inherit debts!"

"Then you can inherit the alcohol debts you used to owe, right?"

"When did I accumulate so much debt?"

Mo'er leaned against the wall and spoke.

"From the first time you came to Foosha Village when you were seventeen."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the Den Den Mushi.

Garp asked, "You remember?"

"The debt is in Makino's hands."

"I'm asking you if you remember."

"Remember."

"You diluted the wine with water back then, that's why I refused to pay."

"You only realized it after drinking three pots."

"That's because I'm giving you face."

"We drank the fourth pot too."

That pot wasn't mixed with anything.

Mo'er grinned, revealing his chapped lips.

"It was mixed in too."

The sound of a table being slammed could be heard coming from the naval wiring.

"Mo'er!"

"I can hear you."

"Since you're still alive, focus on recovering. We'll settle the bill for the drinks later!"

"Don't try to renege on your debt."

Garp didn't reply; only his heavy breathing came through the Den Den Mushi.

The Sengoku took over the line.

"The naval hospital ship has already departed, Foosha Village branch will deliver medical supplies first."

Dragon said, "The Revolutionary Army doctor is also nearby."

"Don't go into the basement."

Lin Qi looked at the dark light shining through the tablecloth.

"You can rescue people upstairs at the Tavern, but that thing downstairs hasn't been dealt with yet."

Akainu asked, "Can it be sealed off?"

"Sealing it will lock Lin Qi's memories inside as well."

"Vegapunk replied."

"Can it be destroyed?"

"His voice originates from the same source as Lin Qi's; directly destroying it would damage his memory."

How much damage was caused?

"The entire period from before the time travel to the system activation may disappear."

Lin Qi scratched the back of his head.

"It doesn't sound like much; at most, they've forgotten how I got here."

Makino placed the bowl of water in front of him.

"You even forgot about the tin box."

These two things shouldn't be discussed together.

You will forget your original home.

Lin Qi did not answer the call.

The scene at the bottom of the well changed.

He didn't open the system on his computer; instead, a cup appeared in the black file.

The cup emitted many overlapping cries for help.

In the video, Lin Qi presses the confirm button.

The God's Live-Streaming Q&A System then appeared on the screen.

Mo'er looked up toward the entrance.

"I see."

Did you understand?

"The system did not select you."

"This was mentioned before."

"You heard the Echo first, and then the system used your memories to open the Sky Screen."

Lin Qi stared at the light reflected off the tablecloth.

"Then why don't I remember the black file?"

"It took that memory and replaced it with the authority to set questions."

Robin asked through a regular Den Den Mushi, "Why did the Throne do this?"

It didn't intend for Lin Qi to save anyone.

Mo'er finished the water in his bowl.

"It wants to use someone who knows the future to bring all the key figures into the same live broadcast, and then follow their responses to reach all over the world."

The dragon said, "Every question and answer helps it complete the list."

"The people we rescued also gained protection through the live stream."

"It underestimated how Lin Qi would set the questions."

Lin Qi sat back down behind the counter.

Is that a compliment?

"Consider it bad luck."

Mo'er replied.

A Hui draped an old blanket over him.

"Stop talking, lie down until the doctor arrives."

"I still need to seal the cup."

You can't even hold a cup now.

"With you."

I won't help.

"Who just said they were coming back to find me?"

I've come back to take you out.

"They're out."

"That's it."

"A Hui."

"It's no use yelling."

Mo'er turned to look at him.

"Come down with me once."

"I'm not going."

"The last time."

"You always say 'last'."

"This time, there were witnesses."

A Hui looked at Lin Qi.

"Don't speak."

I haven't said anything yet.

You want to persuade me.

I want you to decide for yourself.

That statement also sounds like advice.

Makino placed a small oil lamp in front of A Hui.

You can refuse.

A Hui stared at the lamp wick for a long time.

What are we going down there for?

"Take my name off the Maintainer's shelf."

What happens after you take it?

"Silence the Nameless Echo."

Will it hurt you?

"I tend to forget things."

Forgot what?

"Have no idea."

"I'm not going."

"But it will keep asking Lin Qi."

"Make him plug his ears."

"This is something you ask from your memory."

A Hui picked up the oil lamp.

"If you can't walk, I'll carry you."

"Um."

"If you say 'yes' again, I'll throw you into the well."

"Good."

The two headed back towards the basement. Lin Qi prepared to follow, A Hui reached out and stopped him.

You stay outside.

"That Echo below was coming towards me."

"So you absolutely cannot go."

"Do you know how to seal it off?"

Mo'er patted the old ledger pages in his arms.

Cover it with my name.

What will happen to your name?

"Disappeared from the Maintainer's identity."

"The records of my life are still there."

Makino held up the Tavern's ledger.

Your money for the drinks is also there.

Mo'er glanced at Garp's long list of debts.

"That's enough."

A Hui carried him down the stone steps.

Lin Qi, still opening the file in the Black Cup, had moved the scene to the moment before he pressed the confirmation button for the first question.

Mo'er retrieved the identity page that Void Seven had filled in and tore off the "Maintainer" section.

The sound from the bottom of the well changed the subject.

"Lin Qi, if you had known that every question you set was helping to position the Throne, would you still have started live streaming?"

No one in the Tavern answered for Lin Qi.

A Hui carried Mo'er to the Black Cup.

Where should we put it now?

"Cover the bottom of the cup."

You put it there yourself.

I can't lift my arm.

"I'll support it."

A Hui grabbed Mo'er's wrist and pushed the identity page to the bottom of the cup.

Before the paper touched the black light, Mo'er glanced back at the door.

"Lin Qi."

"How?"

"Please make fewer multiple-choice questions in the future."

"Why?"

There are always people who don't give people a choice.

Lin Qi leaned against the counter.

"I've got it."

The identity page covers the bottom of the cup.

The image in the Black Cup disappeared, and the wellhead closed along the stone wall.

Just as the last crack was reduced to half a palm's width, the voice that sounded like Lin Qi's stopped asking questions.

It reported a location.

"The Grand Line, the Calm Belt, the Echo Source."

Mo'er's identity page was completely suppressed.

The Black Cup closed.

The computer in the Tavern, which had been off for a long time, turned on by itself. There was no system on the screen, nor was there Throne Mark.

There is only one upside-down cup.

A line of handwritten text appeared beneath the cup.

The first person to hear Lin Qi's voice is still waiting for him in the Calm Belt.