Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 620 - 580 Little Bowl Recovers Memory

Chapter 620: 580 Little Bowl Recovers Memory

The more Void Envoys bind Divine Seal Shards, the deeper their connection with the Void Realm becomes. Considering Lady No. 7’s standpoint, her proactive suggestion of this matter inevitably leads one to speculate whether she harbors some unspeakable motives.

However, since using three Divine Seal Shards simultaneously is a requirement, Little Bowl forming a bond with it is unavoidable. Moreover, Little Bowl herself has the ability to weaken the connection with the Void Realm, and we had previously discussed relevant matters with her, so I did not intervene rashly at this moment. Little Bowl remained composed, stepped forward, and reached out to the ownerless Divine Seal Shard that Lady No. 7 was offering with her palm.

The moment of contact, that ownerless Divine Seal Shard vanished. The bound Divine Seal Shards automatically enter the Void Envoy’s consciousness, which is a normal phenomenon and can only occur with Void Envoys. The reason we called it "ownerless" earlier was simply because it hadn’t been bound yet. In reality, Huang Quan may have already used that Divine Seal Shard for many things, such as developing the Du Shuo Mountain Array.

Then, Little Bowl reached towards the ownerless Divine Seal Shard by my side, completing the binding of the third Divine Seal Shard.

I handed the Three-Life Stone Powder to her, and she received it with both hands, then looked towards Lady No. 7.

Lady No. 7 sighed as she looked at the Three-Life Stone Powder, saying, "This is the last portion of the Three-Life Stone Powder existing in the world... Originally, there were others in the Tai Sui Army, but unfortunately, all those were destroyed and vanished with the Great Demon Xuanwu’s attack."

She shook her head regretfully and then said to Little Bowl, "So, I will guide you to harness the power of the three Divine Seal Shards next, to accurately construct the time anchors of the past, present, and future within your consciousness, and to evenly distribute the medicinal effect of the Three-Life Stone Powder across these three points. Don’t fear the difficulty, it is merely a meditation technique. With your Divine Son talent, you can master it immediately after hearing it."

Little Bowl obediently said, "Please, Lady No. 7."

Lady No. 7 nodded and then explained the specific method to Little Bowl. As she herself mentioned, it’s just a simple meditation technique. It doesn’t inherently possess any formidable supernatural qualities. Even if ordinary people become proficient in it, they at best adjust their biological clocks very well, being able to roughly guess the time without looking at their phones or clocks in a completely enclosed room. Many people with regular enough biological clocks can achieve this level without learning this meditation technique.

Little Bowl listened attentively, then closed her eyes, seemingly confirming it repeatedly in her mind. A moment later, she verified the details with Lady No. 7, ensuring no errors in every aspect, before grabbing the Three-Life Stone Powder in her hand, again looking at me.

It was evident she was very nervous now. The lost memories were about to return, and the mystery of "Who am I really? Where did I come from?" was about to be unraveled. Many things might change significantly moving forward.

What if who she was in the past and who she is at present are completely opposite roles? If she’s a completely different self, what kind of impact will recovering those memories have on her current self?

"Mazao from long ago who followed Huang Quan’s orders to execute the human massacre plan," "Mazao who ruthlessly defected from the sect," and the "current Mazao" may have critical differences spiritually. If Mazao were to recover past memories, there might be conflicting changes. Little Bowl must now face the same problem.

Some issues that we had never noticed before, or even if we noticed, deemed "not something to consider now" surfaced vividly at this critical juncture.

"Little Bowl, if you don’t want to recover your memories, then that’s alright. Returning to the Living World isn’t the only path through the 15th-floor basement. We have other options," I said, "Or, if you feel it’s too hasty and you want to give yourself some time to think, that’s also fine."

On hearing this, Lady No. 7 showed a puzzled expression. We hadn’t mentioned the 15th-floor basement to her yet.

As for what I just said, it wasn’t empty pleasantries. Lies of such nature wouldn’t work in front of Little Bowl. I genuinely meant it. Even though Little Bowl’s true identity is a mystery that has intrigued me for a long time, I have already treated her as a real friend.

I have never considered myself as "a detective sworn to unravel every mystery." Not knowing Little Bowl’s true identity wouldn’t affect my future adventures. Besides, even if we can’t learn her true identity by restoring all of her memories, can’t we find it through other means in the future? With Little Bowl’s wisdom, is it not possible to solve this riddle given time?

Perhaps, only until now have I truly confirmed my feelings. Indeed, what truly matters is not where Little Bowl originates, but rather, just as she consistently stands by my side tirelessly, I also wish to stand firmly in front of her, shielding her from wind and rain.

At the same time, when she makes her decisions, I will sincerely listen and respect her heartfelt voice, becoming a force that aids her in taking steps forward.

"No matter what happens, I will be your partner," I said.

Little Bowl paused for a moment and then smiled, "Brother Zhuang Cheng, such a promise should be made to Sister Mazao."

Then, she took a deep breath, opened the paper packet containing the Three-Life Stone Powder, revealing the gray granular powder inside.

"Are you really okay?" I asked.

"I’m okay," Little Bowl said, "Because, I too, want to know who I am."

Lady No. 7 took out a bottle of water from her shoulder bag and handed it to Little Bowl.

Little Bowl received it, unscrewed the cap, took a small sip, and began to slowly adjust her state. Her expression became increasingly calm and composed, evidently following Lady No. 7’s earlier guidance, arranging her spirit into the most suitable mode through the correct meditation technique.

In the end, she swallowed all the gray granular powder in one breath and then drank all the water in one go, sending all the Three-Life Stone Powder into her body.

She wiped her mouth, drying the water stains left at the corners. Immediately, just like a wandering soul from the past, her complexion changed suddenly, and her body became unsteady.

I was prepared, stepping forward immediately to support her from behind. She clung to my arm, twisted her body, and buried her face in my clothes. I simply held her horizontally; she nestled forcefully in my embrace, curling up her body, letting out a sound akin to a young beast’s whimper.

Gradually, her tense body relaxed, as if she had fallen asleep.

"Is this normal?" I turned to ask Lady No. 7.

"It is normal. Speaking of which, in the past, you should have seen wandering souls taking the Three-Life Stone Powder... They probably didn’t faint, right? Because they mostly only recover the part of memory they most want, so they can digest it quickly. However, Little Bowl has to recover all her memories, and that’s too overwhelming for her, so she has to rely on sleep to ease it," Lady No. 7 said.

"That’s good."

I let out a sigh of relief, found a place to sit down, and looked down at Little Bowl’s sleeping face.

Lady No. 7 followed behind me, watching silently. But she wasn’t looking at Little Bowl; she was watching me.

Over time, I couldn’t help but feel strange, so I asked, "Is there something on your mind?"

"Nothing," Lady No. 7 replied offhandedly.

Though it felt odd, I wasn’t particularly concerned about her thoughts. If she likes watching, then let her watch. I’m not particularly sensitive to being watched by others. In fact, I’ve always believed that treating various gazes and comments like the wind passing by represents a strong demeanor, and ignoring others’ scrutiny is a simple kind of mental practice.

But just two or three seconds later, Lady No. 7 seemed to retract her "nothing" with a strange tone, saying, "So... you can show such a gentle expression, huh?"

I deliberately said, "Though I don’t know what misunderstanding you have about me, I’m not exactly a vicious character."

"Hahaha..." Lady No. 7 surprisingly laughed.

"Quiet down. What if you disturb Little Bowl?" I said.

"Alright, alright, I’ll quiet down," Lady No. 7 said.

Afterwards, she really didn’t make any sound. Having nothing to do for the time being, I just quietly held Little Bowl, waiting for her to wake up.

Fortunately, the gas station wasn’t attacked by Doomsday oddities during this time, and I managed to enjoy a rare moment of peace in this post-mortem world.

After a long while, Little Bowl finally showed signs of movement. Like a child waking from a nap, she restlessly twisted her body, then slowly opened her eyes. I looked down at her face, meeting her gaze.

She stared at me silently for a moment, before murmuring after a few seconds, "...Brother Zhuang Cheng?"

"It’s me," I said, "How are you feeling?"

Using my body as support, she helped herself down to the ground, as if confirming the state of her soul and body. I observed her every move very carefully. Especially her soul’s color.

Compared to before, her soul’s color had changed somewhat. However, this change wasn’t fundamental, more like a shift in mood and mindset. Just like how, after learning shocking information that could change one’s view of the world, one is inevitably stunned and unable to see one’s environment with the same eyes.

In fact, ever since learning from Lady No. 7 that the "Doomsday Era" is the post-mortem world, Little Bowl’s mood and mindset have gone through similar changes. Not only hers but mine as well.

In other words, the Little Bowl in front of me should still be the one I know.

"—I’ve remembered everything," Little Bowl said.