The Person Behind It All

After school.

On the playground, the setting sun was sinking in the west.

The light of the setting sun travels through the dense atmosphere near the ground, where it is scattered significantly. Most of the blue and violet light is scattered, leaving more red light, so the sky at this time is orange-red.

Qin Yiguan dared not look at the sun, but could only admire the reflection on the ground.

Some students are practicing long-distance running, but they only need to step on the blue circles on the ground to complete the 21.0975-kilometer half marathon.

Some students were practicing shot put, but instead of a shot put, they were equipped with high-precision sensors. The moment they were thrown, the system calculated their precise scores and identified their weaknesses.

"Hehe."

"All of this is because of me; otherwise, they wouldn't even have bones left."

Qin Yiguan smiled strangely, turning to look at the young man in the white suit sitting on the steps. "What do you think?"

Jiu Zhengxuan sighed softly, "To be honest, your metaphor is quite inappropriate in such a beautiful and peaceful setting."

Qin Yiguan pursed his lips and placed his hands on the railing.

A moment of calm.

Jiu Zhengxuan began, "In front of the prosecutor's office and my classmates, I pretended to be strong. But in reality, after Zhiliao my father's true colors, my heart was filled with darkness. I truly felt like I couldn't find a way forward."

Jiu Zhengxuan looked at the limiter on his foot and said, "You experienced so much in your childhood, and your [Gestalt Collapse] means that you are most afraid of the dark. Before that, you also Zhiliao the truth about your parents' tragic death... I know that you also fell into darkness at that time, but your current mentality seems to be unaffected."

Jiu Zhengxuan looked up, gazing intently at the young man before him. "I really want to ask, how did you emerge from the darkness?"

Qin Yiguan remained silent for a long time before leaving behind a sentence that Jiu Zhengxuan found endlessly thought-provoking.

"Take a few more steps."

Jiu Zhengxuan was stunned, "Walk... a few... more... steps???"

At first glance, this statement seems like nonsense.

However, upon closer examination, this statement contains some profound truths.

I savored it for a long time.

Jiu Zhengxuan saw that Qin Yiguan had taken a few more steps, and in reality, he had walked more than ten meters away.

Jiu Zhengxuan asked, "Where are you going?!"

Qin Yiguan slowly turned around, "If I told you that Lu Zun might not be the real mastermind behind the Leviathan incident, or that Lu Zun wasn't the only one behind it, would you believe me?"

Jiu Zhengxuan's eyes widened. "What's your basis?"

Qin Yiguan smiled and said, "The reason I came to school today is twofold: firstly, to welcome Teacher Qing back; and secondly,..."

But Qin Yiguan turned around, looked at the ruins not far from the school, and slowly said, "Investigate that memory archive!"

The Memory Archives near 053 High School was destroyed by Lu Zun after Qin Yiguan discovered its secrets.

Now, the place has been mostly cleared out, but because Lu Zun is dead, no one has suggested rebuilding it.

An elderly man, leaning on a cane, sat on the edge of the ruins, his eyes filled with despair and loss.

"Old Mr. Zhong, please accept my deepest condolences."

Qin Yiguan and Jiu Zhengxuan appeared before the old man.

This old man had met Qin Yiguan briefly once before.

When Qin Yiguan first investigated the Memory Archives, he encountered this man, who claimed to be the inventor of memory storage technology. The Memory Archives were made a reality because of his technology.

The old man introduced himself as Zhong Yi at that time.

He was very kind. He discovered Qin Yiguan breaking in late at night and tacitly approved of Qin Yiguan's behavior. He even reminded Qin Yiguan that the little fat boy Taotie Gala had also secretly broken into the Memory Archives.

"It's you."

Zhong Yi, leaning on his cane, smiled forlornly, "The Memory Archives are my life's work. Now that Lu Zun's conspiracy has been exposed, I'm afraid all the Memory Archives will have to be demolished. I have to say, it truly breaks my heart."

Qin Yiguan shook his head. "That's not what I meant. What I meant was, Lu Zun is dead. You should accept this loss with composure. After all, he was an important partner of yours."

The old man's expression changed. "What do you mean!"

At this moment, Jiu Zhengxuan, who was standing beside him, was also completely bewildered, staring blankly at Qin Yiguan.

Qin Yiguan recalled, "When I first explored this memory archive, I discovered a few oddities. When I went down to the basement level, I noticed that the staircase was unusually wide. A normal person wouldn't need such a wide staircase. This puzzled me. Why waste so much construction cost?"

As he spoke, Qin Yiguan glanced at Zhong Yi's cane and chuckled, "Also, after I entered the basement, I found that all the file display cases were extremely low. Based on the average adult's height, this height is not suitable."

As he spoke, Qin Yiguan looked Zhong Yi up and down his hunched figure.

At that moment, Jiu Zhengxuan's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had realized something.

Zhong Yi trembled as he asked, "What exactly do you mean by telling me all this?"

"Didn't you say in the news that you had no idea the Memory Archives had a basement level?"

Qin Yiguan chuckled, "As the designer of the Memory Archives, you must have designed some conveniences for yourself, right? For example, did you design wider stairs so that it would be easier for you to go downstairs with a cane? Or did you design shorter display cases so that it would be easier for you to retrieve or store the memories inside?"

In other words...

"Not only did you know about the existence of the basement, you also participated in its construction!"

But Zhong Yi remained calm, tapping his cane heavily. "Child, don't talk nonsense. Why would I go to the basement level, and why would I access those memories of being tortured and killed?"

"Huh?"

"You let it slip, didn't you?"

Qin Yiguan suddenly laughed, "This memory archive was destroyed long before Lu Zun's plan was exposed. At the inauguration ceremony, I only said that Lu Zun would access terrifying memories, but I didn't say where those memories came from. Lu Zun himself didn't admit it either. So how do you know that the memories hidden underground are of torture and murder? Unless, you've seen them?!"

"You..."

Zhong Yi's eyes widened, and he suddenly realized the flaw in his words.

Qin Yiguan frowned and said, "I've been thinking about this. Lu Zun's Reality Enhancement is ' Absolute Hit,' so it's natural that he can throw objects. But why can he also throw other people's thoughts? How does he control something that can't be touched or seen?"

"Unless there is an expert, scholar, or genius who is well-versed in human memory, who guides him in some way to materialize memories into some kind of 'object'."

"You, Mr. Zhong Yi, are second to none in this regard; Lu Zun is simply a match made in heaven."

Zhong Yi's body trembled even more as he gritted his teeth and said, "Please stop spouting these fabricated lies!"

"How?"

Qin Yiguan's expression was somewhat amused. "You're going to use your Reality Enhancement to silence us? Speaking of Reality Enhancement, that's the main reason you were exposed!"

"I learned from Lu Zun's battle that he might not need to touch the target, but he must touch the projectile to achieve Absolute Hit."

"This is what the iron plate used to attack the Three-Legged Cat was like."

"This is the pen that sniped 'me'."

"Those metal cones under the stage are the same."

Even when projecting memories, he has to touch Yi Zheng Xuan's brain first.

This raises a question.

"I've already spoken with Teacher Qing. His purpose in piloting the Snow City of Heavenly Light last time was to kill Lu Zun, but the Snow City of Heavenly Light suddenly went out of control halfway through its flight, which was the main reason for Teacher Qing's defeat."

"Because Snow City of Heavenly Light has been imbued with ' Absolute Hit '!"

"When did Lu Zun come into contact with the Snow City of Heavenly Light?"

Qin Yiguan tilted his head. "The answer is, Lu Zun couldn't possibly have touched the Snow City of Heavenly Light. Within that city, Teacher Qing is the god who controls everything. As his enemy, how could Lu Zun possibly enter the city?"

PS: You might have forgotten that Zhong Yi is quite well hidden. He appears in Chapter 169, "In-depth Investigation," and there are some clues there as well. I've taken screenshots for you to easily sort through.

Chapter 169, Zhong Yi makes his appearance.

Chapter 170, Staircase Clue

Chapter 170, Clues from the Display Case