Chapter 1228: Chapter 55: The First Millennium Stake (Extra for Alliance Leader Jiuge Hulu!)_2

“Is my name… Mai Mai?”

Mai Mai looked at Lin Xian.

“That’s right.”

Lin Xian nodded:

“Judging by your age, you should be around 17 or 18 years old. Considering that you were born in the year 2222, it’s highly likely you’ve been in hibernation since around 2240.”

He pointed to the storage cabinet nearby:

“Under normal procedures, you should first view the memory storage disk in there, which contains your recorded memories. However, that’s obviously impossible now. All the surrounding equipment is destroyed, and the disk can’t be played.”

“So… you might as well take a look at this novel instead.”

As he said this, Lin Xian handed her the manuscript:

“You can sit over there and read the contents of this novel. See if it happens to trigger any memories. It doesn’t matter what you recall or remember, we’ll exchange thoughts afterward.”

After all.

Since this novel was penned by Mai Mai herself, maybe she could recall fragments of her memory through the words within the book.

Maybe even…

In an extreme scenario.

What if this seemingly ordinary novel was actually conceived as a memory encryption–a coded message for herself?

Mai Mai obediently took the manuscript, sat down against the Hibernation Pod, and began to read by its faint light.

She kept flipping through the pages.

Sometimes she gasped in surprise; other times she frowned in contemplation.

This greatly surprised Lin Xian.

Judging by her reaction.

Could it be that she really remembered something?

Seeing Mai Mai so caught up in reading, Lin Xian didn’t want to disturb her. He simply waited… waited… and waited…

In the end.

Mai Mai seemed unable to stop reading the novel. After waiting for two whole hours, Lin Xian was bored to the point of yawning, yet Mai Mai remained entirely focused on the book.

Lin Xian glanced at his watch.

The time showed 00:10.

When they discovered this crevice, it was already dusk, and they had climbed, crawled into the cave, waited for Mai Mai to wake from the Hibernation Pod, and given her plenty of time to read. That’s why it had dragged on to this late hour.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

If he delayed further, he’d break out of the dream.

Lin Xian cleared his throat twice, interrupting Mai Mai’s reading, and asked her:

“So, how is it?”

Mai Mai looked up.

Her gaze was firm as she stared at Lin Xian:

“A masterpiece!”

“Huh?”

Lin Xian was briefly stunned.

Mai Mai pointed to the manuscript of “Demon Emperor Devouring the Heavens” on her lap and gave a thumbs-up:

“This novel is absolutely a masterpiece! It’s amazing!”

“…”

Lin Xian was utterly speechless.

This woman–was she seriously praising herself, shamelessly boasting?

“I’m asking if it triggered any memories for you.”

Lin Xian patiently explained:

“For example, the very first line–something about April 17, 2025, the mist of despair brought by the Demon God descending upon the earth–what does that mean?”

“Oh, that’s what you meant.” Mai Mai replied casually.

Hmm?

Her casual response ignited a glimmer of hope in Lin Xian:

“Do you know what it means?”

“Of course, I do!”

Mai Mai answered confidently, bowing her head and swiftly flipping through the manuscript to Chapter 16:

“It’s written plainly in the book. The Demon God refers to the villain embedded inside the 11th layer of the Annihilation Realm, with the 7th layer of the Oblivion Realm at its pinnacle. On April 17, 2025, it unleashed the mist of despair that cut off the future, engulfing the entire world.”

She raised her head, noticing Lin Xian’s curious and slightly odd expression:

“What’s wrong?”

“…”

Lin Xian was once again plunged into speechlessness.

Sure enough, had he grown old?

Was there already a generation gap in communication with young people?

“That’s literally what the book says.”

Mai Mai sensed skepticism in Lin Xian’s eyes and directly handed him the manuscript:

“If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”

Lin Xian sighed heavily:

“So, after all this effort, you really were absorbed in the novel.”

“Because it’s just too good!” Mai Mai responded.

“Ah, right, right.” Lin Xian knew time was running out and had no interest in arguing further. He flipped to the page titled “Catalyst” and pointed to the final sentence:

“Look, it says here that the story’s setting is based on real events. What I want to ask is–what exactly are those [real events] it’s based on?”

“Oh, that.” Mai Mai scratched her head, her eyes clear:

“Well, that I don’t know.”

She chuckled sheepishly:

“You said it yourself–I can’t recover my memories right now, so of course I don’t know what these so-called real events are.”

“Alright then.”

Lin Xian felt like today had been a complete waste–everything he’d done had been futile.

“So… can you give me the novel?”

Mai Mai blinked:

“I still want to keep reading!”

“Ha, you really don’t discriminate.” Lin Xian smiled helplessly and handed back the self-congratulatory novel:

“You’re such a strange person: sleeping for so long and waking up, yet you’re not interested in the state of the world or your own life–just utterly absorbed in this novel.”

“I don’t know why either.”

Mai Mai quickly flipped through the manuscript and chuckled:

“But I just feel like it’s a fantastic novel, and I really enjoy reading novels!”

“Not only that, reading such an amazing book… I’m incredibly inspired to write one myself! I really, really want to write a novel of my own!”

Lin Xian leaned against the damaged Hibernation Pod, observing this girl whose thoughts seemed almost outlandish:

“Could it be that… writing novels is your [Obsession]?”

“Obsession?”

Mai Mai touched her cheek with her index finger, contemplating for a moment:

“Maybe that’s what it is. Just the thought of creating a world and telling a story thrills me to no end.”

Lin Xian chuckled softly.

He stepped forward and flipped to the cover of “Demon Emperor Devouring the Heavens,” pointing to the author’s pen name written there: