Chapter 12 Chapter 12 (1/2)
Ouroboros
Chapter 12
Hyperthymesia?
Tianqiong’s interpersonal relations were messy and there are also a lot of gossip. As early as two years ago, when Song Qinglan was a Guardian without any major achievements, he had heard about it at the Guardian training camp. At that time, the ranks following a certain exam was released and the teacher with an abundance of knowledge was ranked second. In class, the teacher joked to the students, “Actually, it doesn’t count as a loss. Ji Yushi in first place has hyperthymesia. Who can beat him?”
It was a line that sounded like a joke. It sounded like he was using an exaggerated descriptive term to describe how good this person called Ji Yushi’s memory was.
In fact, Song Qinglan had also thought it was just a description.
But……it was an illness?
Standing so close, the dampness around the roots of Ji Yushi’s eyelashes were clearly visible.
His skin was extremely pale and when he was angry, his capillaries didn’t dilate or flush. He looked like an ice-cold sculpture.
“My caudate nucleus and frontal lobe are a little unusual and will uncontrollably store memories long term. I remember the colour of the socks I wore the first day I went to elementary school, I remember whether it was raining or not on the first weekend after I started working and I also remember whether I stepped into this bookstore earlier with my right foot or my left foot first.”
Ji Yushi’s eyes were clear and his gaze didn’t carry any emotion. He spoke like he was narrating.
“As long as I have seen, heard or felt something, no matter whether it is important or not, I will remember it. There is no screening or filtering process. In other words, I don’t have the ability to forget.”
Song Qinglan’s frown smoothed out. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, “……..”
Don’t have the ability to forget?
Ji Yushi continued, “What you think is abnormal is however completely normal for me. As long as it is something I have experienced, it doesn’t make any difference whether I have experienced it once or countless times. In other words, I am just like you. I am going through this again after the first time.”
“So the reason you appear to be almost omniscient is because you remember it all?”
“Yes.”
“Anything?”
“Anything. You can test me.”
Ji Yushi didn’t look like he was lying.
Of course, Song Qinglan didn’t know the other party well enough and he also didn’t know if the other person was in any way related to their current circumstance. He just asked, “Then why the bookstore?”
“I saw it on the drone projection.” Ji Yushi seemed to think that this question was very stupid, “With no internet, all the electronics are only there for show. Upon arriving at an unfamiliar place, where would you go if you want to quickly learn about the history of it?”
Song Qinglan: “………”
Ji Yushi’s words carried double meaning, “Cap Song, don’t just think about using force.”
Reaching Song Qinglan’s ears, that tone was almost as good as saying ‘read more when you have time’ and ‘don’t rely on force to bully others’.
Guardians have a clear purpose when carrying out their missions and are required to be fast and accurate. When encountering an obstacle, they are expected to charge on.
This wasn’t the first time the two have confronted each other since they’ve met but for the first time Song Qinglan had to admit that the other party’s words were right. In this unfamiliar world, it was impossible to be fast and accurate. Lack of caution had become a Guardian’s shortfall. At present, Ji Yushi just happened to make up for it.
“But you are right on one point. My medicine really us used to keep my mind clear and alert.” Ji Yushi poked Song Qinglan’s shoulder with his finger, “Cap Song, can you move aside?”
Song Qinglan only now realised how ambiguous their positions were.
This scene was fine if it was another person of the same sex, for example, Li Chun. This scene usually meant that Li Chun who had been slacking off with his training was about to get a beating but, with Ji Yushi who was half a head shorter than himself, slender, pale and big-eyed, taking that place, it felt a little strange.
Most importantly, the entire Tianqiong knew about Ji Yushi’s sexual orientation: Men.
Cap Song who dared to casually press someone down with his tall stature was finally willing to move aside letting the weak and delicate Advisor Ji out.
It was just that the expression on that handsome face was a bit unsightly.
The small rectangular medicine box was thrown away just now.
With so many bookshelves and books, it would be hard to find the medicine box without seeing which direction it was thrown in. Ji Yushi looked around several times but was unable to find it.
At this moment, the teammates who had left returned.
“Bang, bang, bang——”
Gunshots suddenly sounded outside the bookstore.
“Cap Song!!” Zhou Mingxuan’s sounded, “Close the door, hurry!!”
The three people rushing in were covered in zombie blood.
Twenty or thirty zombies poured towards the door. Seeing the living people inside through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the bookstore, they growled as they slapped at the glass and some used their teeth to gnaw at the glass, leaving behind pieces of flesh and blood stains.
As soon as he was out of danger, Li Chun cussed, “Fuck, all the food was taken. We found a supermarket with nothing but just a couple of these cans. Seeing that there were several of them on the shelf, it seems no one wanted them.”
Zhou Mingxuan thrown over the remaining cans, “Probably doesn’t taste good.”
“How bad can it be?” Song Qinglan picked one up, “It’s the end of the world and people would worry about that?”
As soon as Tang Le entered, he saw a bottle of mineral water on the bookshelf and drank it without another word. He was clearly very thirsty, “There is something wrong with this place!”
Ji Yushi looked at the bottle of water but didn’t speak up to stop him.
He just picked up a can and inspected it.
The can was decorated with green beans and the packaging wrote ‘Kemeng Beans’. It looked no different from ordinary beans. Turning the can around, the ingredients listed also seemed very normal but the small print at the bottom caught Ji Yushi’s attention. There were two lines written in both Chinese and English: PU-31 Golden Crow No. 2’s first batch of organic vegetables since establishment.
From early morning to midday and with the intense scuffles earlier, no matter how physically strong this group of young people are, it was no surprise they’re hungry.
Li Chun who had long emptied the contents of his stomach at the beginning no longer cared about whether the canned food tasted good or not. He pulled out his dagger and began to open the can, “It’s not just this place that’s strange. It’s like this everywhere!”
Tang Le downed half the bottle of water in one go, “I was going to say that I ran into a dog just now but I don’t know if I saw wrong.”
Song Qinglan, “The dog was also infected?”
Tang Le hesitated for a moment with a grimace, “No, it seemed to have two tails. Forget it, take it as if I hadn’t said anything.”
Everyone: “…….”
“Pei—–” Li Chin took a bite of the Kemeng Beans and immediately spat it back out, “Fucking hell, it’s disgusting!”