Ning Yan had been following behind Su Bai and Feng Ling, but before long, she could no longer keep up with their pace and fell behind.
With the pressure at the rear easing considerably, Ning Yan slowed her steps. When no one else was looking, she stumbled, her expression betraying exhaustion. Although she had been fighting hard to protect Sister Yao and the others, she had forced herself not to think about anything unrelated to the battle so she could focus on fighting the Ghost Creatures.
She refused to think about what those three years meant, what Yaoyao had gone through during that time, or what she and Fang Xiujie were now. She did not even dare recall the terrifying cave buried deep in her memories, or what exactly had happened inside it.
That mental self-torment had ultimately taken its toll on Ning Yan. On top of that, the energy from the food she had eaten in Room 204 was almost spent. The combined strain of an empty stomach and mental exhaustion left her with no choice but to retreat to the rear and stand with Lan Xingchen and the others.
In her exhausted state, all the memories Ning Yan did not want to recall surged up uncontrollably. Since Feng Ling had mentioned the name "Lan Xingchen" earlier, every memory associated with him came flooding back.
Ning Yan wearily raised her head and looked at the dazzling incandescent lights on the ceiling of the first-floor lobby. Images she did not want to examine flickered through her unfocused vision, but now that she had remembered... it seemed she had no choice but to accept them.
"Ah, Lan Xingchen! I was wondering why that name sounded so familiar and so annoying!"
Ning Yan turned to look at Lan Xingchen. Just as before,