Chapter 271
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Chapter 271: The Great Memory Erasure
Just as Lin Qingliu grew increasingly bewildered by the state of the world, he suddenly felt a peculiar wave sweep over his body.
It was as if he had been momentarily plunged into icy water, the chilling sensation fleeting and ephemeral.
"What is… happening?"
Lin Qingliu snapped back to full awareness, activating his abilities to optimize his physical condition and heighten all his senses to their maximum capacity.
After a few minutes of intense focus, listening to every sound around him, Lin Qingliu lay back down, feeling rejuvenated.
It seemed… as though nothing had occurred.
The inhabitants of the surrounding two blocks continued to sleep peacefully, oblivious to any disturbance.
Simultaneously, several others opened their eyes in the darkness.
—
On the morning of November 1st, the official appointment letter was delivered to the training base of the direct superpowered group.
After a three-day process, Wang Xiao officially assumed the role of captain of the superhero team, commanding three members: the former captain Fresnel, the Puppet Master, and Beacon.
Strangely, although the team’s composition remained unchanged, the shift from Fresnel, who could only function effectively half the time each day, to Wang Xiao, who was perpetually on standby, made the team appear far more cohesive.
Fresnel himself felt this change acutely; as a mere member now, the weight on his shoulders seemed significantly lighter.
"Why didn’t we do this sooner? The old man even thought I was being mistreated here."
Fresnel muttered under his breath, then stood tall and proud beside Wang Xiao.
He harbored no envy toward the man he had personally recruited; instead, he hoped Wang Xiao would continue to prove his worth.
With the external Exploration Plan reaching a phase of completion, the team’s vacancies needed to be filled by other units.
However, Wang Xiao’s team, currently understaffed, lacked a ranking.
To rejoin the combat roster, they needed to find suitable members in the upcoming selection.
Fresnel’s mind raced through these captain-level concerns, but he suddenly realized he might have been overthinking.
He shook his head, chuckled at his own expense, and noticed the messenger who had delivered the appointment letter walking away. He nudged the new captain with his elbow:
“The selection for new members is in a couple of days. Have you thought about what kind of team members you want to add?”
Wang Xiao shook his head:
“I’m still considering; the detailed profiles haven’t arrived yet.”
“That’s true, but it might indeed be challenging to find someone with abilities akin to ‘Obscure’; our team’s tactics might need to adapt.”
“Hmm?”
Wang Xiao turned his head sharply, sensing something odd in Fresnel’s words.
“Haven’t we been out of sync with ‘Obscure’s tactics for quite some time?”
He asked, puzzled.
“Yes, so we’ve had this vacancy for a while; it’s time to fill it.”
“Not quite.”
Wang Xiao suddenly grasped the crux of the issue. He looked at Fresnel with a serious expression and asked, "Does that mean Shi Jin isn’t considered part of our team?"
"Who is Shi Jin?" Fresnel scratched his curly hair.
At that moment, the life force within Wang Xiao surged rapidly, strengthening his muscles and organs beneath his skin as if they were turning to steel.
If his teammates continued to show any signs of trouble, he wouldn’t hesitate to knock them out and report the issue.
Wang Xiao took a step back and observed his three teammates, each wearing identical looks of confusion.
"Who did we have dinner with three days ago?"
The three glanced at each other and replied in unison, "It was just the four of us; there was no one else."
"And who participated in the exploration outside the city?"
"Of course, just the few of us. Are you feeling okay?"
The Puppet Master’s words were blunt, but they echoed the thoughts of the others at that moment.
"Then, what about the last selection for new team members…?"
"Didn’t we come back empty-handed? The versatile and strategic ones were all taken, and we were grumbling about it back then…"
Wang Xiao’s body tensed, but a strange feeling crept into his heart.
Shi Jin, such a vibrant and alive person, couldn’t just vanish overnight, even if she had her own secrets (like using strange signals to communicate).
Her file had indeed been taken by a higher-level agency, but why were their memories now in question?
Along with Shi Jin’s disappearance, all traces of her existence had vanished. How terrifying was that?
Seeing the concerned looks from his teammates, Wang Xiao even began to doubt himself.
But soon, a thought struck him—a strange incident that had happened not long ago.
Last night, he had abruptly woken from a dream.
It felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him in his sleep.
"So… are you okay?"
"I’m fine… I didn’t sleep well last night. Did any of you experience something similar?"
The three exchanged glances and all said they had slept soundly.
"Alright, then continue with your training. I’m going to take some leave and rest this afternoon."
With that, Wang Xiao left the lounge to request leave; he needed some time to verify his thoughts.
Watching their new captain walk away, Fresnel scratched his head: "Is it excitement? It can’t seriously be a lack of sleep, can it? His abilities are no joke."
"Then again, would someone like Wang Xiao really get approved for sick leave…?"
"Hard to say."
—
Wang Xiao successfully secured sick leave for the latter half of the day.
Despite possessing Hope City’s unique and powerful recovery abilities, the sick leave review system at the headquarters of the direct superpowered group treated everyone equally.
After all, the variations of superpowers were too numerous; categorizing them would significantly increase the workload.
The rules clearly stated that as long as it wasn’t during an emergency task, leave would be approved.
Fresnel and the other three were unaware of this, simply because they almost never took leave, let alone sick leave.
Holding the leave note, Wang Xiao wandered around the training grounds, chatting with several acquaintances.
During the conversations, he instinctively brought up Shi Jin, either asking directly or hinting.
But the result was always the same; no one had heard of Shi Jin’s name, as if she had been completely forgotten by Hope City.
Sitting in a chair in the lounge, Wang Xiao contemplated his next move.
Clearly, continuing to ask ordinary superpowered individuals was pointless.
As for Shi Jin herself, she had no family to consult.
Her former coworkers?
That wouldn’t work either; after all, being granted amnesty involved deleting a file. Even if those people remembered her, they would only think Shi Jin had died some time ago, raising further suspicion.
As he pondered, a person suddenly crossed Wang Xiao’s mind.
