The Game Is About to End...? / Memories Restored...?

Lin also lacked suitable ranged weapons. Unlike Elysia, who carried a bow, he was merely an ordinary person with slightly better physical abilities without weapons and equipment. It was unrealistic for him to use limited tools for effective ranged attacks.

So, what follows is close combat...?

A sharpened wooden spear shot towards her from above. The harm caused to the human body by such a weapon, which could pin large wild animals to the ground, could not be ignored. Elysia raised her hand again to try to knock it away.

Just then, a dark figure burst out of the bushes, wielding a wooden stick in each hand, and charged toward Elysia.

"Oh dear, Lin, are wooden sticks even useful against Flame-Chaser?" Elysia laughed and raised her bow. Without deliberately pulling the bowstring, she shattered the wooden spear with the bow itself. Then she turned around and used the bow to strike two wooden sticks.

"Bang!"

The wooden stick was no match for the weapon of the Fire Moth, and it broke instantly. But at that moment, Lin took a big step and kicked Elysia's left leg, while at the same time slapping the broken wooden stick in mid-air.

It was just a thin stick, and with the physique of Flame-Chaser, there was no need for defense, but Elysia's expression changed slightly.

Because the wooden stick Lin slapped over contained Honkai Energy.

In the past few days, Lin exchanged combat experiences with Hua. Hua seemed to be trying to combine the fighting techniques of the Fire Moth with her martial arts, and then use Honkai Energy to achieve unconventional effects.

After trying it, Lin was surprised to find that he could instinctively use Honkai Energy.

Could this be a remnant of "muscle memory" from the past?

Back in the present, Elysia raised her bow to defend herself, but the stick struck the bow and shattered into pieces. She was then swept down by Lin's leg.

Lin was about to press his advantage when Elysia rolled up to retaliate...

"Boom!"

The ground beneath their feet shattered with a deafening roar.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Game Is About to End...?

Falling downwards...

Weightlessness, a strong wind whistling past your face, endless darkness...

There's also the feeling of falling into an unknown abyss.

Everything felt so familiar.

"..."

Lin suddenly awoke in mid-air. He stared at the shrinking light in the distance, a feeling of unease that he couldn't quite describe washing over him.

It's as if everyone and everything in the world has disappeared. The next second, the next moment, even the concept of the world will collapse, leaving only the useless self existing in this meaningless place.

A body devoid of senses, and a scene almost entirely devoid of anything.

"I..."

Pupils, unfocused, something stirring deep within.

"Whoosh!"

A pair of hands lifted Lin's knees and back, holding him firmly and cushioning his fall to the ground.

The restless "thing" shrank back the moment it landed, and Lin looked up to see the pink-haired girl smiling at him, like sunlight shining on his shoulders, dispelling all the darkness.

He was caught in a princess carry by Elysia. The pit was only fifty meters deep. Even if Lin fell directly to the ground, he would at most suffer a broken bone. So this was probably another of Elysia's "interests".

"Let me go." Lin struggled in dissatisfaction, but Elysia just laughed and increased her strength.

"Hehe, my dear Lin, you smell so good, let me hug you for a while~"

"Stop messing around, let me go."

After a struggle, Lin finally escaped from Elysia's arms. After getting down, he looked up and estimated the distance between the entrance where they fell and the bottom of the pit. It was about 54 meters, so getting up would be easy.

"... That's strange."

Logically speaking, Prometheus should have discovered this unnatural deep pit long ago, and he and Elysia didn't make much of a commotion, yet they still managed to collapse the middle partition.

At the same time, Elysia waved to Lin: "There's an entrance here~"

"..."

It's really not surprising.

Lin carefully walked across the dimly lit ground covered with bits of earth and came to Elysia's side. In front of them was a hidden door that blended into the surrounding colors.

"Challenge Room?"

Elysia casually brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and pouted, "But the challenge rooms are all placed directly on the island, right? They're not this hidden."

So this must be... a hidden room?

Some games do indeed have hidden rooms, so it's not surprising now. Lin and Elysia walked forward in unison. There was no point in fighting now, so they decided to see what was inside the hidden room before deciding whether to continue.

Behind the door was a deep tunnel, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. The two entered one after the other, moving forward in the pitch-black passage.

"By the way, Lin, who do you think is behind this game?"

Because they were so close, the girl's voice sounded louder and clearer.

Lin strained his eyes, which weren't very good in the dark, to see the path beneath his feet, and replied, "Anyone could be, including you."

"Me? Didn't I already tell you? I'm not."

"You may be lying. Until I find conclusive evidence, you are a suspect."

"Oh dear, Lin doesn't believe me at all, this is so heartbreaking..."

"It's not that I don't trust you," Lin said softly, lifting his chin. "It's just that I can't ignore this possibility."

"Hehe, if I were to organize this game, things would definitely be different now." Elysia smiled and raised her swan-like neck. "I would definitely be the big boss from the start, instead of having someone find me."

That's definitely something that fits Elysia's personality.

"And what do you think the reward will be for finding the mastermind behind it all?"

"It's a terrible joke."

In recent days, Kevin and Sue have been so exhausted that their eyes have become lifeless. Under these circumstances, it's hard to believe that the mastermind behind this would actually offer any reward, or that the reward would simply be a prank.

"Hmm... that's true. Suddenly I don't really want to continue the mission." Elysia said, pinching her chin with her fingers and pouting.

"I'm more worried about punishment than rewards."

"No," Elysia laughed nonchalantly, "I think punishment would be more interesting, especially after knowing what Kevin and Sue were punished for."

It seems Eden told Elysia about their story, and she must have laughed so hard she was doubled over, and was thinking about whether to use it to prank them later.

"Then why did you..."

"Because it's also fun to go against Lin."

... Unexpected, yet reasonable.

Even if Elysia's mission wasn't to interfere with others finding the treasure, she would probably still go against him.

As the two talked, they unknowingly passed through a narrow tunnel. It was probably a perfect example of the saying that "it is so narrow at first that a person can pass through."

Suddenly, the area was filled with light. Compared to the dark and cramped terrain before, the spacious area was so large that it didn't seem like an underground place. Moreover, compared to the somewhat rudimentary rooms before, the walls here were all soft colors that were easy on the eyes, and the decoration looked very complete.

"This place can't just be used for pranks anymore..."

Elysia observed her surroundings with great interest; clearly, she was excited to be in a new place.

"Well then, congratulations to you both for successfully reaching the last treasure location."

The familiar electronic sounds echoed in the room, indicating that this was indeed the last treasure location.

"Originally, it was impossible for you to find this last treasure location. When I was designing it, I even thought about whether I should just not have a last treasure location at all, so that you would be busy for a whole week. But I found out that it was impossible to complete this game from the very beginning."

... Sure enough, the organizer of this game is practically overflowing with a twisted sense of humor.

"But unfortunately, this is more than just a game."

"..."

What?

This seemingly random statement caught Lin's attention. What did he mean by "this is more than just a game"?

"In short, everyone should have had a great time on the island, and this game should be coming to an end."

"Or rather, it had to end."

"Then, the last treasure— Qianqi. Please obtain her, Lin."

In the very center of the room, a crystal coffin slowly descended, inside which lay the sleeping Qianqi. At that moment, the surrounding walls opened one passage after another, and amidst gasps of surprise, and to the astonishment of Lin and Elysia, everyone else except them slid into the room through these passages.

Where am I?

"What's going on? Is it another prank?"

"Huh? Why are there other people here too?"

In the center of the room, a strange device came into view.

"Gentlemen, do you want Lin to regain his memory?"

The noise suddenly disappeared.

Chapter Thirty: Memory Recovery...?

How can we help Lin regain her memory?

Even the scientists from the Moth Chaser, who are almost godlike in their respective fields, couldn't solve this problem. It's not a simple case of amnesia, yet they're saying it so casually now.

Who exactly are you?

At first, Lin was stunned for a moment, but what followed was a palpitation that was by no means happy.

He looked around at everyone, trying to find clues on their faces, but he couldn't tell who the organizer of the game was, and the other party showed no intention of coming forward at this time.

"This is the final challenge, and also the way to help Lin regain his memory."

"By using the device in the room to upload your memories, we can organize the parts about Lin and allow him to 'recover' in this way."

"Even though those weren't his original memories, he could still vividly see our past."

"Once completed, the final treasure can be obtained."

"In mourning of the nameless, who gave their lives without a name..."

When Mei entered the new anchor point, what she saw was this sentence floating in mid-air.

At the same time, a soft, murmuring voice entered her ears, and she shuddered. That voice was... her own?

But she clearly didn't say anything.

"May the 'Rain of Destiny' bless him and grant salvation to the [Nameless]..."

The voice continued, and she realized it was echoing in her mind. What was it? [Nameless]? Was it related to the [Nameless] imprint?

"The nameless man, walking on a path of thorns, aspires to become Holy Child, cutting through the thorns, burning away the darkness, bearing the cross."

"He was born from a divine body that no one expected, a son of sin forged from sinful delusions, unloved by the world and unfavored by fate, his heels treading on a muddy path, and what he saw was a unique world."

"The darkness of the past coalesced into his pupils, and the departed souls drifted behind him. He was born in evil, grew up in evil, and became a person in good."

What's this...

It sounds like an epitaph...

Mei clutched her chest, suddenly feeling an immense sadness, as if she had suddenly lost something, the suffocating feeling so vivid.

Whom is she softly reciting an epitaph to?

Forest...

Mei knew who it was almost without even thinking.

But after learning the truth, she felt lost.

Why would she read that person's epitaph? Was he a hero or a sinner?

"Aponia, who is really the mastermind behind this?"

Lin strode forward, his tone calm, but his hurried steps carried a hint of accusation in his words.

Under the watchful eyes of many, the Nun calmly said, "It's not too late to talk about it after we finish this game, is it?"