Memory Fragments - Mu Qing's Past

Star City Academy.

Night, the moon bright and stars sparse.

By the lake in front of the dormitory building, Mu Qing sat curled up under a willow tree, her lips gently touching a harmonica, playing quietly.

A gentle breeze brushed her cheek, lifting a few strands of dark hair.

As she played, Mu Qing's pupils turned vertical, and the Rune Crystal embedded in her arm flickered with light.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to suppress the restlessness in her heart, but memories kept surfacing uncontrollably in her mind, making it increasingly difficult to control herself.

Her eyes gradually turned scarlet, and two small fangs appeared at the corners of her mouth.

Enduring the throbbing in her heart, Mu Qing's face showed a pained expression, and her body curled up, beginning to tremble.

She was once again close to the edge of losing control.

Just then, Feng Qi, who had arrived as promised, appeared not far away.

Noticing that something seemed wrong with Mu Qing, he immediately took a few steps forward and came to her side:

"Senior, what's wrong?"

As he spoke, his hand pressed against Mu Qing's shoulder. In an instant, a strong suction came from Mu Qing.

Because Mu Qing's spirit was extremely chaotic, the "Nightmare" ability she had just acquired automatically triggered at this moment, and many fragmented memory images appeared in his mind.

In the images, a little girl appeared. It was clear that this little girl, about seven or eight years old, was Mu Qing. At this time, she was lying in front of a wooden bed, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

On the wooden bed lay a man with a swollen body and blackened skin. He reached out and grabbed the little girl's hand, speaking with difficulty:

"Don't blame us, we had no choice. You'll have to walk alone in the future. I'm sorry, I have to go find Mom first... You have to learn to take care of yourself, and you must live strongly."

Looking at the still crying girl, the man began to cough violently, black blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth. Then, with difficulty, he picked up the harmonica beside him and handed it to the little girl:

"This is the only thing Mom and Dad can leave you..."

"Mu Mu, don't be afraid. When you're full, you'll have the strength to stand up."

The images in his mind flickered and jumped at this moment.

When the images became clear again, the little girl was holding several documents, standing timidly in the lobby of the Star City Civil Affairs Bureau, waiting silently.

"Number 024, window 3 for service!" The electronic broadcast echoed throughout the Civil Affairs Bureau lobby.

Upon hearing this, the little girl immediately trotted to the window and, with some difficulty, climbed onto the seat and sat down.

The staff member inside the window was very surprised to see that the person who came to handle the matter was a little girl:

"Little friend, what can I do for you?"

"I'm here to apply for an Orphan Certificate," the little girl said, pursing her lips.

Looking at the surprise on the staff member's face, the little girl took out the death certificates of her father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, and maternal grandfather and grandmother one by one, and then said:

"I just went to get my dad's death certificate. Now I have no relatives, and I need to be sent to an orphanage, so I came to apply for my own Orphan Certificate."

The images in his mind stunned Feng Qi.

He couldn't imagine how Mu Qing had endured that dark period.

He also suddenly felt very sorry for this strong girl.

"After getting the Orphan Certificate, I'll be considered an adult and can take care of myself, right?" At this moment, the little girl looked timidly at the staff member inside the window and asked.

Hearing this, Feng Qi felt a mix of emotions.

Resources in Star City were relatively abundant, but also limited. When a child lost all their relatives and had no cash savings, they would lose the opportunity for education and be sent to an orphanage, raised by the state.

After reaching the age of thirteen, they would have to support themselves, and the common outcome was to become a low-level resident of Star City, doing the hardest and most tiring work.

The reason he could receive education was that his parents left him an inheritance, and he didn't need to struggle for a living.

But orphans with no cash savings were completely different. After getting the Orphan Certificate, their life could already be seen to the end.

Facing little Mu Qing's question, the staff member opened her mouth and forced a smile to comfort her:

"Yes, after getting the Orphan Certificate, you'll be an adult."

The images in his mind flickered and jumped again, the scene changed, and a tall woman in a black uniform appeared beside little Mu Qing. She bent down and whispered in Mu Qing's ear:

"Their blood flows in your body, that's the result of our experiment, so you have to come back with me to continue the subsequent experiments."

Saying that, she took Mu Qing's small hand and walked away step by step.

At that moment, Feng Qi could feel Mu Qing's inner resistance and struggle.

The images abruptly cut off at this moment, and then he felt a pain in his chest, and his body flew straight back several meters, falling heavily to the ground.

Coming back to his senses, Feng Qi quickly got up, narrowly dodging Mu Qing's punch that came at him.

Boom! A dent was made in the ground.

"Senior!" he quickly shouted.

Hearing Feng Qi's shout, a struggling expression appeared on Mu Qing's face. After standing still for a moment, she took a deep breath, and the scarlet light in her pupils slowly dissipated.

"I'm sorry," Mu Qing said, looking somewhat flustered as she recovered, not even daring to look at him.

During her time at the academy, Feng Qi was the only student who wanted to be friends with her.

But she knew that Feng Qi would soon be like the other students in the academy, only avoiding her, or even discriminating against her.

"I'm fine. Now, shouldn't you teach me how to play the harmonica?" Feng Qi grinned, saying nonchalantly.

Hearing this, Mu Qing looked up, somewhat disbelievingly:

"You... aren't you afraid I'll lose control again?"

Looking at the dent in the ground, he forced a cool demeanor and said:

"Not afraid. Do I look that feeble? That punch was alright, it didn't hurt much."

Mu Qing: ...

Looking at the complex expression on Mu Qing's face, he then smiled and said:

"Senior, you don't seem to be in a good state today. Go back and get some rest. Let's reschedule the harmonica lesson for next time. Oh, and remember to have breakfast together tomorrow." Feng Qi grinned.

Mu Qing heard this, opened her mouth, and finally nodded with a complex expression:

"Okay."

After Mu Qing had walked away, Feng Qi rubbed his chest, making a "hissing" sound, his expression finally unable to hold up.

Mu Qing's punch had the power of a prehistoric beast, almost knocking his soul out when it hit his chest.

If his body hadn't been strengthened several times in the future Nightmare, he would definitely be in the emergency room right now after taking that punch.

Lifting his shirt, he found that his chest was indeed bruised.

But miraculously, these bruises were fading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He wasn't surprised by this, because his Prefix Title in the Nightmare had changed from Feeble to "Strong," and one of the abilities granted by Strong was accelerated self-healing.

After staying in place for a moment, he turned and walked towards the dormitory building.

Recalling the scenes he had seen in Mu Qing's fragmented memories, a fierce glint appeared in his eyes.

Now he really wanted to know who that woman in black was.

Mu Qing becoming a Rune Modifier was perhaps because she was used as an experiment by that woman in black.

He even felt that the cause of death of Mu Qing's parents might also be due to some kind of evil human experiment.

He felt that he seemed to be one step closer to the truth.

Behind all of this, there might be intricate connections with the "Scarlet Institute."