Can't Remember Anything

The winding tracks vanished into the night.

The train arrived with a whistle, and the doors slid open. A mechanical female voice announced, "Liming Station. Please remember to take your belongings. Next stop, Yongchang Station."

Tu Ran followed Xi Chunzhi onto the train.

Her heart was a tangle of emotions.

Though she disliked this chaotic world, she couldn't deny how much she envied the bond the original body had shared with Xi Chunzhi.

The Administrative Building and the Medical Department weren't in the same place.

Xi Chunzhi had been on her way to a meeting at the Administrative Building, but the moment Tu Ran encountered the alien, she rushed over, demanded answers from the Medical Department, and secured a full year of free treatment for her.

That kind of friendship...

But the original Tu Ran was gone.

Red and green neon lights reflected on the windows, brilliant and fast-receding, like fireworks that vanished in an instant, leaving only brighter hues in their wake.

"Yongchang Station. Please remember to take your belongings. Next stop, Yongchang Station."

Wait, the announcement repeated. The train pulled into a station surrounded by flat land.

Tu Ran followed Xi Chunzhi into a dim residential area.

Unlike the neon-lit, bustling heart of the city where the Administrative Building and the Medical Department stood, this neighborhood was darker, with only a few flickering signs at the entrance marking small private shops.

The air smelled damp, and the ground underfoot was soft, as if it had just rained.

Streetlights scattered along the road cast a faint glow, just enough to illuminate the path ahead.

The buildings here were low—only about twenty stories—which, compared to the hundred-story towers of the Administrative Building and the Medical Department, looked like shabby relics.

*Ding.*

"Seventeenth floor."

Fortunately, the building itself wasn't too bad—clean and tidy, with bright lights that made the corridor feel spacious.

On this floor, there were only two doors facing each other.

"The one across is yours," Xi Chunzhi said, inputting the code to her door without turning around. Her voice was flat—the first words she'd spoken since they left the elevator at the Medical Department.

She said the one across was Tu Ran's place.

Tu Ran caught the implication.

She was certain Xi Chunzhi had figured out a good deal of it.

Glancing around, she saw no visible surveillance cameras.

Likely, the cameras in this world were just as concealed as in her own—she knew from experience that cameras could be hidden beyond the naked eye.

But if Xi Chunzhi was willing to say "the one across is your room," this place was probably safe enough.

She trusted Xi Chunzhi.

"I've lost my memory," Tu Ran said, staring at Xi Chunzhi's back, her voice calm.

She wouldn't risk saying she wasn't the real Tu Ran.

After all, every bit of kindness Xi Chunzhi had shown her so far was based on her being "Tu Ran."

Xi Chunzhi showed no surprise. She pushed open the door, and the smart sensor light flicked on. She stepped inside, leaving the door ajar for Tu Ran.

Tu Ran followed.

Xi Chunzhi headed straight to the fridge and pulled out a can that looked like beer.

She tipped her head back and took several long gulps before wiping her mouth and turning to face Tu Ran.

"You don't remember anything?"

Tu Ran touched the spot on the back of her head where she'd been injured. It no longer hurt at all. "No, I don't. I hurt my head."

"Not even me?"

Tu Ran shook her head.