Actually, even now, he still wasn’t sure whether You Chumu was really suffering from memory loss.
Because in the original novel, You Chumu didn’t lose his memory.
But he really couldn’t think of any reason why You Chumu would pretend to have amnesia… why would he fake it just to stay with him instead of carrying out his plan as in the original story?
But if it really was an act, that would be terrifying…
And whether You Chumu was pretending or truly had amnesia, the fact that he was actually tugging at his sleeve so carefully and asking those pitiful questions…
For a moment, he couldn’t answer.
“Yes” or “no” would both be wrong.
His hand, which was holding the pen, tightened. You Chumu seemed not to hear the male officer at all, as if he were only waiting for his answer.
“Yes,” Xu Chi replied.
His voice was a little hoarse.
His heart suddenly started pounding wildly.
He had lied. He had deceived this child, who perhaps knew nothing at all yet still held out hope for his parents.
But he wasn’t wrong. He was someone from outside the book in the first place; even if You Chumu was only cannon fodder in the story, he wasn’t someone Xu Chi could afford to provoke.
All he could do was send the person away. Only then might he be able to live longer.
Besides… as a passerby, he knew nothing about You Chumu’s past, so this answer was reasonable.
After answering, he lowered his head and wrote quickly.
He didn’t notice that beside him, You Chumu’s expression had frozen for a moment, then twisted almost imperceptibly. The innocence in his gray-blue pupils vanished without a trace, leaving only bone-chilling indifference.
The male officer at the front desk looked up, didn’t even glance at You Chumu, stood up, and waved Xu Chi over:
“Come with me. Our management office recently got a superpowered individual… a vision superpower. He can see the memories in your brain, and then we’ll know who your parents are.”
“Normally we don’t use superpowered individuals, but since you have amnesia, there’s no other way.”
After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at You Chumu. The boy smiled at him, but there was something eerie in his eyes.
The male officer unconsciously shrank his shoulders, feeling a chill. He wondered if it was just his imagination. When he looked again, You Chumu had already withdrawn his expression, cold and detached, completely unlike the person who had just been standing beside Xu Chi.
Xu Chi’s hand froze again when he heard the officer’s words.
If he could see You Chumu’s memories, then wouldn’t he know You Chumu’s identity? An experimental subject… an experimental subject that this small management office couldn’t control.
You Chumu had destroyed one research institute, but that was only one of several. There were higher-level people above, stronger enforcers.
The management office would definitely report You Chumu’s situation upward. By then… it would no longer be a matter of Xu Chi taking him away.
You Chumu still hadn’t recovered his memory. He might wait cluelessly for his parents, only to be taken away by people in research uniforms and brought back to that white, hopeless laboratory, repeating his former life.
Or he might recover his memory and start killing.
Xu Chi’s hands went numb.
He had already finished writing, but he was still holding the pen.
He watched You Chumu follow the male officer into the adjacent corridor, and the male officer even closed the door.
The huge fan-shaped door closed in front of Xu Chi, cutting off the male officer and You Chumu.
Xu Chi’s heart lurched, and a wave of immense panic surged up all at once, nearly swallowing him whole.
He shouted instinctively:
“Wait!”
The male officer and You Chumu both stopped. The male officer’s hand on the door paused.
Before the male officer could speak, You Chumu asked first:
“Brother, what’s wrong?”
A faint flicker of excitement suddenly burst in his eyes, as though he was anticipating something, though it was hard to detect.
After shouting, Xu Chi still didn’t know what to say. His nose twitched. He looked at the male officer and said:
“Um… is the superpowered individual really that accurate? Could he make a mistake and identify the wrong parents?”
As soon as the male officer heard that, he burst out laughing, nearly clutching his stomach. “Young man, you really have no idea how powerful superpowered individuals are. The superpowered individual who just came to our office is an S-rank vision superpower. S-rank, you know? Have you never even heard of it? He only needs to place his hand on your temple, and he can see every story in your brain.”
As he spoke, he even mimicked the superpowered individual’s action, his eyes full of admiration for the superpowered individual.
“Doesn’t that violate privacy? He’s only looking for his parents, and you’re letting him see all of his past,” Xu Chi raised another objection.
The male officer smiled. “So, do you want to find them or not? The superpowered individual is helping you… why are you accusing him of violating privacy? If you want to find his parents, this is the only way. He’s lost his memory. Besides a superpowered individual, who else could know who his parents are? Of course, the superpowered individual doesn’t have the spare time to look through all ten-plus years of his life. Once his parents are found, they won’t keep looking.”
Then, as if something had occurred to him, a sharp glint flashed in the male officer’s eyes, and he smiled again. “Why are you worrying about this? Could it be that there’s something in his head that can’t be seen?”
At that, Xu Chi’s hand tightened at once, then quickly loosened. He pretended to be relaxed and said,
“Everyone has secrets they don’t want other people to know, even children.”
The male officer nodded. “Exactly. So now that you’ve said all this, do you not want to help him find his parents?”
Xu Chi paused slightly. “Use another method. He fainted at the entrance of my neighborhood. You can ask around nearby. Maybe someone will know.”
The male officer laughed as if he’d heard a joke and shook the keys in his hand. “Young man, what do you think we brought a superpowered individual in for? Isn’t it to solve these kinds of problems for us? If one superpowered individual can handle it, are we so free that we need to send several people out in shifts to look for him?”
“When you came in, you should have seen it… someone graffitied our door. We’ve already sent half our staff to catch those brats who don’t know their place, and there’s also that explosion from a while back… You should know what this city is like. Our office doesn’t have that many people to spare for your request.”
“We’ve received your request. The only solution now is to have the superpowered individual probe his brain. If you agree, we’ll proceed. If you don’t, then take him and leave. Any problem with that?”
Xu Chi understood. The management office would not send anyone to look for You Chumu’s parents. They would only take him to see the superpowered individual.
In other words, if he let You Chumu go see the superpowered individual, then You Chumu’s situation would definitely be known today.
But what could he do? He couldn’t possibly take him away. Otherwise, he didn’t know when the one who would die would be him.
Xu Chi looked at You Chumu.
You Chumu seemed to truly know nothing, his peach-blossom eyes pure and clear as they moved between Xu Chi and the male officer, as if weighing whose words were more correct.
In the end, he looked at Xu Chi.
Xu Chi fell into thought for a moment, then nodded. “All right.”
You Chumu suddenly smiled, but there was not the slightest trace of warmth in his eyes.
He tilted his head toward Xu Chi and said, “Brother, be careful on the way back.”
Then he turned and went into the inner hall with the male officer. The door closed behind them.