Chapter 866: Shi Ruizhi’s Roommates
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 866: Shi Ruizhi’s Roommates
“Speaking of which… are you sure you don’t want to try reaching out to your roommates again, Senior Sister? They’ve been your friends for many years, haven't they? If you just had a chat with them…”
Just as Moon was trying to offer some persuasion, there was a soft knock on the door to Shi Ruizhi’s bedroom.
At this moment, aside from Shi Ruizhi and Moon, there was only one other roommate left in the dormitory.
Although the dorm technically housed two other people, one of them almost never returned during the day and frequently stayed out all night.
“Coming.”
Shi Ruizhi stood up and opened the door. Standing outside was the same roommate she had seen when she first entered the dorm.
After introductions, the girl had identified herself as Fang Zhi, Shi Ruizhi’s best friend.
However… Shi Ruizhi didn’t have much of an impression of her. It seemed the "bestie" status might have been a bit exaggerated.
“My dear Ruizhi~ You finally opened the door! You’ve been shut in your room for so long, you really ought to come out for some fresh air, don’t you think?”
“Sorry… I’m still having a hard time remembering our past relationship. If possible… I’d prefer if we started over. I might not be able to handle overly affectionate behavior right now.”
“Huh? You still haven't remembered?” Fang Zhi looked as if she’d been struck by a blow. “Don’t be like that, my good sister! You and I are the closest ones in this dorm! The others have all left one by one; you’re the only one willing to stay with me. And now you’ve gone and lost your memory… Waaa… my life is so bitter!”
“Senior Sister~ Senior Sister Shi Ruizhi needs gentle guidance right now. Forcing things like this will only make her like you less,” Moon chimed in.
“Eh? Really? But don’t people in TV dramas always recover their memories after being triggered by something shocking? As her best friend, it’s my duty to help!”
“Senior Sister, even a junior like me knows that TV plots are just for drama. In reality, that’s absolutely impossible,” Moon said helplessly.
“I think Moon has a point.” Taking advantage of the conversation, Shi Ruizhi pushed Fang Zhi away. She still found the other girl’s enthusiasm a bit much to handle.
It was suffocating.
“You! You, you, you! You actually pushed me away!” Fang Zhi looked at Shi Ruizhi with an expression of utter disbelief, then looked ready to burst into tears.
“No, it’s just that I can’t handle this level of intensity yet. Can you give me some time to adjust?”
“Of course! Then how about we go watch some TV? Or… a movie? I know exactly what you like! If you get into the mood while watching, we can even have a little ‘chat’ on the sofa…”
“Shut up!” Shi Ruizhi instinctively reached out and pinched Fang Zhi’s lips shut, terrified she was about to say something scandalous.
After all, there was still a junior student standing right there!
“Mmph… Ptooey! See! That’s the familiar feeling!” Fang Zhi shook her head, looking quite excited instead of annoyed.
“Come on, come on~ Let’s go out. What’s the fun in staying in the bedroom? If you don’t want to watch TV, I’ll go shopping with you!”
Under Fang Zhi’s persistent pestering, Shi Ruizhi had no choice but to leave her bedroom. However… she didn’t choose to go shopping.
She had just checked her balance and realized she was running low on money.
She didn’t know what her source of income was. She might have had a part-time job, but having been "absent" for so long, she likely couldn't resume it.
But the thought of the compensation she was owed cheered her up. Let the part-time jobs go!
Aside from that good news… she was more concerned about the messages on her phone.
During this period, her phone had received many texts. Some were from people worried about her, others were checking on her situation.
Though she had contacts saved, she couldn't understand some of the nicknames she’d given them.
It was the same with the group chats.
For instance… there were at least three different groups just for this dormitory that she could identify.
It left her quite dazed. If she remembered correctly, this dorm only had six people at its peak, right?
How did they manage that?
Now that she had lost her memory and her mind was a blank slate, looking back at her life from a third-party perspective made her realize how chaotic it truly was…
Had she really been wasting her life away on these trivialities before?
Shi Ruizhi looked at the massive TV screen in the living room. To be honest, she didn't think she liked what was playing, but according to Fang Zhi’s description, she used to love it.
For a moment, she wasn't sure if Fang Zhi didn't know her well enough, or if her tastes had simply changed.
As they were idling away the time, the front door of the villa opened.
Shi Ruizhi turned her head curiously toward the entryway around the corner. A figure soon appeared in her line of sight.
Shi Ruizhi looked at the newcomer. She was a complete stranger. This tall woman with a strong air of maturity left even less of an impression on her than Fang Zhi did.
At least Fang Zhi gave her that "I can't remember, but it feels familiar" sensation. This woman gave her nothing.
“Shi Ruizhi, you’re back at the dorm and you didn't even tell me? You didn't even reply to my messages?”
“And you are…?”
“Ha?” The figure frowned at Shi Ruizhi, her voice dripping with impatience. “Playing the amnesia card with me? ‘Who am I’?”
“Ji An! Shi Ruizhi really did lose her memory. Can you stop throwing your weight around the second you get back?”
“Amnesia? And you’re playing along with this boring trick too?” The student named Ji An said dismissively, her tone quite aggressive.
“I’m trying to talk to you nicely! Ruizhi was in the hospital for so many days and just got back. Is this really necessary?”
“Seems fine to me. Doesn't look like someone who’s been lying in the Infirmary for that long.” Ji An glanced at Shi Ruizhi, still refusing to drop her haughty act.
“Senior Sister, Senior Sister Shi Ruizhi really has lost her memory…”
“And who are you? Why are you in our dorm!” Ji An cut Moon off directly, acting as if she didn't need to show respect to anyone here.
However, when she saw Moon’s white hair, her brow furrowed with a hint of loathing.
“I am responsible for taking care of Senior Sister Shi Ruizhi. She just got out of the hospital and has amnesia, so I volunteered to move in and help with her daily life.”
“Then you can leave. Shi Ruizhi doesn't need you to look after her. She’s a grown adult; even with amnesia, she can survive on her own.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. I’ve already moved in to care for Senior Sister Shi Ruizhi. I heard that Senior Sister Ji An doesn't usually return to the dorm, so I assumed you wouldn't mind.”
“I mind very much! Get out right now! Not just anyone is qualified to live here!”
“I have a room card, though~” Moon was clearly not intimidated by the girl in front of her.
The reason she chose to be confrontational was that she could tell something was wrong with this girl.
Whether it was just poor manners and a bad temper, or something deeper, the girl’s attitude toward Shi Ruizhi was undeniably hostile.
Moreover… and more importantly, Moon knew through the Great Knowledge Seed that Ji An had once been Danielle’s student!
Though she hadn't needed a mentor for her final two years of school, it was unclear if the two still maintained contact.
“Ji An! Why are you taking your anger out on a junior? She didn't do anything to you!” Fang Zhi interjected, trying to be fair.
“Fine. You just wait. I’ll show you what a senior student is capable of. You’ll regret this sooner or later.”
After dropping that threat, Ji An didn't stay a moment longer. She left immediately.
She hadn't even been in the dorm for five minutes.
“Wait! Sigh…” Fang Zhi had wanted to stop her, but Ji An slammed the door behind her. The impact was so loud it made the entire villa shudder. One had to admit, the quality of the dormitory villa doors was truly exceptional.
“Junior Moon… I’ll just call you Little Moon… You shouldn't have done that. Ji An is just like that, really.”
“Sorry for causing trouble for you both…” Moon apologized quickly. But an apology was just an apology; she had already driven the woman away.
There was no point in wasting effort trying to please someone who couldn't communicate civilly. If she had, she might have ended up being treated like a servant.
“It’s fine~ But Little Moon, you should probably lay low for a while. Ji An is… well, she can be a bit much.”
“I understand. But you don't need to underestimate me, Senior Sister~ My strength isn't to be scoffed at!”
“Sigh… alright. Just stay close to Ruizhi. Even though she’s lost her memory, she’s actually very strong!”
“Is that so?” It was Shi Ruizhi herself who asked.
Even she didn't realize that others considered her "very strong."
She didn't feel strong at all.
“It’s okay~ Even if I’m not that strong, I have incredible connections. I can call Sister Xiao Han over whenever I want~” Moon said nonchalantly.
“Huh? Sister Xiao Han? That legend? Little Moon, don't talk big. I can guess you’re part of the Xiao Han Fan Club, but in that club, probably no one except that Millian has the right to just call that legendary teaching assistant over.”
“Well~ It seems Senior Sister Fang Zhi knows quite a lot~”
“Not really~ Haha, just things I’ve heard!”
* * *
The Laboratory.
After seeing off the Academy Dean, I focused my energy back on the experiments.
As for Moon, whom I’d placed with Shi Ruizhi, I only checked in on her occasionally and otherwise left her to it.
After all, Shi Ruizhi was the first—and only—person I had ever elevated to a soul through Soul Depiction.
Naturally, I was very interested in her changes.
Helping her get used to daily life and identifying the people she interacted with were just secondary tasks.
What I hadn't expected was that even with the barriers of the Experimental Zone between us, Shi Ruizhi could sense a slight abnormality from my experiments with the Primitive Dream Realm.
It seemed the gap between a soul and mere soul essence was quite large; at the very least, their sensitivity to the Primitive Dream Realm was on entirely different levels.
I wondered if she would give me any other surprises. As one of the only two beings in the Main World with a non-transcendent soul essence, I wondered if she would become similar to me.
By "similar," of course, I meant in terms of Talent.
From what I could see, the change in Shi Ruizhi before and after her reawakening in her soul stance was significant enough to alter her social dynamics with her roommates.
This was evident by comparing her current behavior with her roommate to the historical records in the Ley Line Information.
Actually, I wanted to train Shi Ruizhi to become a Transcendent. After nine years of accumulation, her life level was already close to reaching Real Time.
This wasn't an exaggeration. After all, of the hundred or so people Millian had selected, who wasn't a genius?
The Witch Academy never lacked geniuses; it only lacked geniuses who aspired to transcend.
Since Shi Ruizhi was favored by Millian, the analysis from the Great Knowledge Seed confirmed there were no issues with her.
The current problem lay in… the reliability of the Ley Line Information.
Modifying Ley Line Information was actually quite simple. It didn't even require much technical skill; brute force would suffice.
After all, the Ley Lines only had regional characteristics, and their energy levels weren't that high.
According to the information shared by the Academy Dean, she had already confirmed traces of tampering in the Ley Line Information. She didn't say how she confirmed it, though.
So, this was clearly a man-made accident.
“Sister Xiao Han~ We’ve finished sorting the labeled Nightmares using our method~” Yulan walked over and spoke to me.
“Wonderful~ I only spaced out for a moment and you’re already done? That’s incredibly efficient.”
I pushed aside my thoughts about Shi Ruizhi and the self-generated mana experiment accident and walked over to the experimental platform.
The "labeled Nightmares" Yulan mentioned referred to an experiment I’d designed to "purify" Nightmares in different ways to extract Dream State Soul Essence.
I was using the instinctive revulsion of the Fool’s Dream spirits to filter the effectiveness of the methods through staged progress.
In truth, this was just a small experiment to coordinate with the Fool’s Dream spirits. Before having a definitive result, I needed to find the optimal solution. Only after succeeding would I have the luxury of wasting time to refine efficiency.
“Oh? All four of you put Nightmare No. 3 at the top of the list.” I picked up the "specimen" for Nightmare No. 3. Because of the nature of Nightmares, this wasn't an ordinary specimen.
It was trapped within a special information cage inside the Primitive Dream Realm, meaning it had to remain within the Primitive Dream Realm at all times.
While this wasn't strictly necessary, being at this depth of the Primitive Dream Realm allowed one to perceive subtle things that were otherwise undetectable.
Since the Fool’s Dream spirits ranked this Nightmare first, it meant the purification method represented by this label was the most effective.
At least, the best for this stage.
The method represented by this label was what I called the "Incubation Purification Method." It wasn't the "Information Deposition Method" I had initially favored.
“Hmm… I’m having a hard time choosing now…” I muttered to myself, feeling conflicted.
I currently had at least a dozen methods to choose from. Running them all in parallel would severely drag down my progress. While many methods seemed ridiculous at first glance… I had to admit, the Incubation Purification Method had originally been in that "ridiculous" category.
But now, this method had leaped ahead of the most conventional approach.
“Whatever… I’ll do both together and use them as a control group. I’ll have to temporarily set the others aside. Once one of these two succeeds—or if they both fail—I’ll look back and see which one might be a miracle of efficiency.”
In the end, that was the decision I made.