Zhang Shan walked a few steps forward before finally slowing to a stop, leaning against the wall and staying in place.

The feeling right now was very strange. The effects of “Heavenly Movement” were clearly still active, but his mind was already in a daze.

Massive amounts of memories were lighting up in his mind like a meteor shower.

In these memories, he wasn’t on the “train,” nor was he at “Heaven’s Mouth.” Instead, he was in a blood-stained city.

The nights there had no “ants,” but the streets were filled with burning ruins and corpses everywhere.

The stench of rot and decay mixed with the scent of burning permeated everyone’s surroundings. Deep into the night, everyone sat quietly on the street edges, resting.

Their faces were all written with exhaustion. They quietly lowered their heads to look at the ground—whether they were looking at the dried blood in the cracks between the street bricks or contemplating their own crumbling lives barely clinging to survival was unclear.

A massive mountain of corpses stood in the city center. In his memory, Zhang Shan was sitting atop this corpse mountain with another person.

Beneath them were not only the corpses of “Participants,” but also the corpses of “Zodiacs.”

“Dashan… we’re… really going to lose.”

The person spoke. Zhang Shan looked toward the voice—a clean-cut crew cut, a dark and lean face, plus wounds covering his entire body.

“Should we surrender?” Zhang Shan asked.

“There’s no such thing as surrender.” The dark, lean man shook his head, his eyes and brows filled with despair.

“But you can see the current situation too…” Zhang Shan sighed. “Our total annihilation is only a matter of time. How much longer can we hold out…? A few more cycles? A few more months? What’s the point of us persisting until now…”

“In my dictionary, there’s only ‘death in battle,’ no ‘surrender.'” The dark, lean man said. “But… although we’re going to lose this city, the ‘Participants’ will ultimately be victorious.”

“The battle is bigger than we imagined.” The man said. “The reason our city has fought until now is to greatly weaken the ‘Zodiacs” power, paving the way for future victory.”

“What…?” Zhang Shan felt the man in front of him was talking about things he had never heard before.

“We’re not the only city here.” The man sat on the corpse mountain, looking down at those lifeless campfires below as he continued. “Our sacrifice isn’t meaningless. I’ve lied to all the ‘Ripple Soldiers’ in this city. I told them if we persevere to the end, we’ll achieve victory, but none of us will live to see that victory.”

After saying this, he shifted his body on the corpse mountain, turning to face Zhang Shan.

“Dashan, only you.” He said. “Perhaps only you will be able to see that victory.”

“Me?”

“I’ve made a deal with someone else.” The man wiped the dried blood on his face with a bitter smile. “When the city falls, we’ll find a way to send you out.”

In his memory, Zhang Shan felt the situation was escalating to a scale he couldn’t comprehend.

In the past, he only knew to lead various teammates rushing and fighting throughout the city. Just when it seemed this resistance was about to be completely annihilated, he was suddenly being told there was an even bigger war?

“You’ve been fighting alongside me ever since we had memories.” The dark, lean man said with a smile. “You remember almost every person who’s passed away in this city. We need someone who can preserve memories the longest to make it to the end.”

“What does that mean…?” Zhang Shan paused. “Damn, I’m getting more confused the more I listen… What do you mean ‘send me out’?”

“Send you to another city to live with a new identity.”

“Why not send you out?! You remember those people too.”

“‘Heavenly Movement’ is more suitable than ‘Eagle Eye.'” The man said. “I can only oversee the entire battlefield but can never effectively intervene. In comparison, your chances of survival are higher than mine.”

“Damn, but your ‘Ripple’ is more stable.” Zhang Shan retorted. “Although my ‘Ripple’ looks very powerful, it can’t necessarily burst forth every time… What if I don’t remember? All our comrades… what if one day I forget?!”

“It’s okay.” The man said. “I’m prepared to take a gamble.”

“Gamble…?”

The man stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky above them both.

Zhang Shan followed his finger and looked up. The sky was pitch black, with no stars visible.

“Today I received some news.” The man pointed at the sky and said. “Someone has placed a peculiar ‘Barrier’ above all of our heads.”

“‘Barrier’?” Zhang Shan frowned as he stared at the sky, feeling the situation was becoming increasingly abstract.

Because there was nothing there, let alone any “Barrier.”

“The ‘Barrier’ has been in effect all along. It can help the ‘Land of the End’ sever all of our memories.”

The man tried to explain the news he heard today to Zhang Shan in just a few words, but Zhang Shan wasn’t particularly smart to begin with and only felt more confused the more he listened.

“How should I put it…” The man lowered his finger. “Back when I was in school, I heard that all energy in this world is conserved and fixed. But at that time, I was thinking—when people die… although their flesh and blood return to mud, where do their memories and thoughts get transferred to?”

Zhang Shan blinked and softly said, “Damn, are you saying… memories all float in the sky?”

“That’s roughly the idea.” The man nodded. “Memories are like children away from home… they also float in the sky searching for their owners. But you know… each of us is constantly being reborn.”

Zhang Shan followed the man’s words in thought and quickly understood what he was trying to express. “You’re saying… the memories of my previous self might float to my current self?”

“Right.” The man smiled. “Each of us lives here by will and reason. We clearly know who we are, and our subconscious clearly knows what kind of memories we should receive. But once we enter a state of ‘Deep Ripple Transformation’… in other words, when we approach madness, we’re very likely to receive chaotic memories.”

Zhang Shan thought about it briefly after hearing this, then asked back, “So that means when I feel like I’ve been to certain places before… or done certain things before, it’s because I received incorrect memories?”

“You understand the general idea.” The man replied. “So ultimately, I’m not afraid of you losing all your memories. As long as you’ve experienced all of this, one day those memories will come flooding madly into your mind, including… the words I’m saying right now.”

“But didn’t you say there’s a ‘Barrier’ in the sky…?”

“He told me that the person who cast the ‘Barrier’ will die, and the ‘Barrier’ will disappear on the spot.” The man said. “At that time… everyone’s level of rationality will decrease, and those past memories will converge, including… the memories of Qinglong and Heavenly-Dragon.”