But in the end, Le Yu still had dinner with Qian Yuya.
Or rather, Le Yu ate, while Qian Yuya watched him eat. He went upstairs to bring the food to the living room and finished it all under Qian Yuya's strange gaze.
Fortunately, the embarrassment was on Qian Yuliu, and not on Le Yu.
To be fair, the Qian family's dining standards are quite good, offering both fish and vegetables. After all, the Star Engraving County is adjacent to the seaport, so seafood is affordable, though there's not much seasoning, making the dishes relatively bland.
After the meal, he washed the dishes. Although Le Yu had never lived a day in this home, he was adept at doing housework, indicating that Qian Yuliu often did the dishes.
'I've almost fully assimilated Qian Yuliu's memories…' Le Yu naturally understood what this phenomenon meant; it showed that he was becoming more and more like Qian Yuliu.
Le Yu had also pondered a philosophical question: Is a person's self-will a collection of memories? If so, does an amnesiac mean the 'former person is already dead'?
And now, he was facing a problem that no one had ever experienced before—he had assimilated someone else's memories.
If nothing unexpected happens, or rather, if many unexpected events occur, Qian Yuliu would not be Le Yu's first 'meal.' In the future, Le Yu will inevitably transfer multiple times and assimilate the memories of many people. By then, will he still be Le Yu, or just a collection of countless memories?
He felt like Theseus' ship; his body had changed, his memories increased, so was he still his original self?
Thinking too much about these questions would only add unnecessary troubles.
Le Yu went to take a shower, changed into pajamas and found the living room lights already turned off. The living room lights were quite bright; Qian Yuya usually studied in the living room and returned to sleep after studying.
It was now 9 p.m., and Qian Yuya would get up at 6 a.m., giving herself 9 hours of sleep. The long sleep was due not only to the lack of entertainment at night but also because young people's Spiritual Power growth required longer sleep.
Qian Yuya had not yet awakened her Spiritual Power. When she did, she would need 15 to 24 hours of sleep. The longer the sleep, the deeper the Spiritual Power. When Qian Yuliu awakened his Spiritual Power, he slept for a full 20 hours.
Le Yu entered Qian Yuliu's room; his first impression was its simplicity.
A desk, a chair, a bed, nothing else.
There was a lamp by the window. Le Yu turned the switch, emitting a not very bright white light. The lamp was like a streetlight, placed by the window during the day to absorb solar energy. However, the Qian family's house wasn't well oriented; the bedroom window didn't face the street but the side of the neighboring building, so even during the day, there was little sunlight, making the lamp naturally dim.
The living room light was connected to the Celestial Platform's Luminous Stone energy panel, hence it was quite bright, but it could only last for three hours as civilian-spec energy panels have small storage capacity—the streetlights outside last longer because the lamp posts have more energy-storing Luminous Stones.
There was a book on the desk; Le Yu opened it to find the title "Detailed Explanation of the Hundred Family Combat Techniques." Inside was a bookmark, placed in the chapter "Characteristics and Weaknesses of the Sima Clan Wolf Eagle Fist."
This was Qian Yuliu's life: work, finish work, practice Combat Technique, read books. He had no entertainment. It wasn't that he disliked entertainment, but rather he looked down on it.
Fighting with people offers endless delight.
Kui Zhao was skilled in the Wolf Eagle Fist, and Qian Yuliu was studying the Wolf Eagle Fist. This, of course, was no coincidence. As a spy, Qian Yuliu was loyal to his duty. Not only did he want to be undercover, but he also aimed to infiltrate the top levels of the Statistical Department. If Qian Yuliu drove Kui Zhao away and became the Deputy Director, he might even aspire to be the Director.
If things continued, such a conversation might occur:
"Teacher, I've become the Deputy Director."
"Great, keep it up, we'll soon liberate Star Engraving County!"
"Teacher, I've become the Director."
"Great, we're just one step away from liberating Star Engraving County!"
"Teacher, I've become the Governor."
"Great, we… huh?"
Le Yu suddenly recalled something from Qian Yuliu's memory, turned to his side, searched under the desk, and found a booklet.
This was a secret treasure every man had.
Le Yu flipped through a few pages and clicked his tongue in amazement: Qian Yuliu had quite a taste! Uniforms, big waves, long hair, classrooms… No wonder it was the only designated treasure Qian Yuliu cherished for many years, definitely practical.
Well, it was quite normal. Although Qian Yuliu revered celibacy, he still experienced some youthful hormonal stirrings. However, he had no interest in marriage or romance, so he could only resort to this traditional method of solving it.
Moreover, the art style of the booklet wasn't bad; it even had a bit of an anime flavor. Le Yu almost felt the stirrings of the heart, hurriedly hiding it away, planning to throw it out one day—Qian Yuliu, to avoid tarnishing your reputation, I can only help you this far.
Le Yu lay on the bed, completely relaxing.
It seemed as if he was influenced by Qian Yuliu or maybe because it was genuinely quiet around, Le Yu felt as if he had returned to a safe zone, allowing him to let down all his guards.
No one would suddenly come in to kill him, nor would anyone expose his identity as a spy.
Today, he survived.
Le Yu let out a long sigh.
If Le Yu had been Qian Yuliu, he surely would have accepted his situation with a 'since I've come, I should settle and take it easy' attitude. But Le Yu couldn't; before crossing, he was just an ordinary person. If not for the 'Residual Blood Physique' giving him absolute calmness and immunity to pain, he would have slipped up facing Blue Flame Kui Zhao.
However, Le Yu still held onto a sliver of hope.
With the Substitute, Attribute Panel… since supernatural factors like crossing, superpowers, and the Attribute System have appeared, doesn't it mean that Le Yu still has a chance to cross back?
This world, although very interesting, ultimately wasn't his home.
But for now, the information Le Yu had was still too little. He could only follow the hints from the Attribute Panel.
"Name: Le Yu/Qian Yuliu"
"Number of Deaths: 1"
"Available Points: 0"
"Qian Yuliu's Trial: Have dinner with Qian Yuya, maximum interval 120 hours. (Remaining time 120 hours) (1/12)"
"Personal Skills: Beginner Level Eight Paddy Flow Biting Battle Technique (+), Residual Blood Physique (+)"
"Eternal Skill: Substitute"
"Challenge (Refreshable): Survive for 15 days, difficulty ☆."
"Reward: 3 usable points, and a chance to upgrade an eternal skill (can upgrade any skill of the current body by one level and transform it into an eternal skill)."
Le Yu noticed that a (1/12) counter had been added to the trial information bar. Paying attention, he obtained a more detailed explanation: "After crossing the tribulation 12 times, your Spiritual Power will be permanently enhanced, 1 time completed."
Just need 11 more meals with my sister, and I can permanently enhance my Spiritual Power, huh? Am I living off her? Le Yu couldn't help but laugh, and took out his phone.
He took back this phone from his own corpse, and it was still usable, but without a charger, it would soon become a brick.
Without the internet, the phone didn't mean much, so Le Yu turned it off, and suddenly, a wave of sleepiness hit him, and his breathing gradually steadied.
He was too tired today.
…
…
The next day, when Le Yu changed and went downstairs, he saw Qian Yuya opening the railing to go to school.
"Be careful on your way." Le Yu said casually, causing Qian Yuya to pause slightly, nodding before she left.
After speaking, Le Yu remembered that Qian Yuliu seldom communicates with his sister, not even much greeting, as if they were neighbors living under the same roof, the type who never interact until death.
Great, truly siblings. Le Yu even felt some closeness—he had a sister in a past life, who, since middle school, ignored him like Qian Yuya does.
But greeting proactively was Le Yu's habit, whether at home or in the dorm, he would say something before others went out. Although it was somewhat inconsistent with Qian Yuliu's character, Le Yu didn't mind—he realized, instead of forcing a disguise for survival, it's better to keep his personality according to his wishes.
Forced into this world, Le Yu couldn't change it, but he could prevent it from changing him.
After finishing washing up and eating breakfast made by his sister, Le Yu headed off to work at the Statistical Department. The morning bustle in Star Engraving County made him feel rather nostalgic—no matter the world, the voices of the aunties were always that loud.
Half an hour later, he arrived at the Statistical Department, right on time, neither too early nor late. Entering an office suite, he unexpectedly encountered Kui Zhao.
"Good morning, Deputy Director Kui."
Kui Zhao glanced at him, nodded, and turned to leave: "Work hard."
"For Luminous Stone, we burn bright." Le Yu performed a salute by striking his chest, a bit puzzled as to why Kui Zhao was in the suite so early.
Inside the office, the team members were gathered discussing, and Le Yu curiously asked: "What's Deputy Director doing here?"
Chen Fu looked a bit troubled, handing Le Yu a document: "He's here to assign us a mission. This is the arrest list; we need to capture these people today."
Le Yu took the list.
Ou Liu, Star Engraving Military Academy 98th term student.
Gou Huo, Star Engraving Military Academy 99th term student.
Mu Feihong, Star Engraving Military Academy lecturer.
Feng Chuanliu, Star Engraving National Middle School lecturer.
…
In total, nineteen suspect names were listed, with descriptions of their appearances, residential addresses, and workplaces attached.
Le Yu quickly understood why Chen Fu was in a bad mood: half of the people on this list were classmates, teachers, or even close friends of him and Qian Yuliu!
But this world has no avoidance regulation, and Kui Zhao deliberately arranged this task so that the two of them had to personally capture these people!
"Why do we need to capture them?" Le Yu asked.
"Old Lin... last night, the search team found many exchanged letters at Lin Jinyao's home, with enough evidence proving these people are involved with the Backlight Organization." Chen Fu expelled a heavy breath: "Blue Director Ghost, use firearms engagement restrictions, if met with resistance, execute on the spot."
Aili Li said fiercely: "These Backlight rebels are dangerous, we can't let a single one get away!"
Le Yu asked: "Aili Li, is your injury better? Don't you need to take leave to rest?"
"No need, last night, I only got a scratch when fighting Lin Jinyao, no serious harm." Aili Li clenched her fist: "I must help the Director, and purge these Backlight rebels for Star Engraving County!"
Le Yu looked at the list again, expressionless, and nodded.
"Let's move out."