Chapter 100

Chapter 100

Priestley kicked open the door leading to the rooftop.

With a loud bang, the two people on the roof instinctively turned to look at him.

“Dean…” He Ling stared at him blankly, her voice a mere murmur.

Priestley looked at the familiar scene, a headache brewing.

“What have I done…”

He Ling lowered her head, staring at her own hands.

“What on earth have I done…”

Priestley sensed the building beneath his feet beginning to tremble and sway.

He let out a long sigh.

*

It was a new day.

Tu Nan opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She felt as though this scene was incredibly familiar.

It was likely because she woke up in this very bed every single day.

She climbed out of bed, greeted her roommate He Ling, and then headed into the bathroom to wash up.

The dormitory building at their hospital wasn’t in the best condition. The bathroom was dilapidated and run-down, and there was even a slight leak.

Accustomed to it, she turned on the faucet and lowered her head to splash water on her face.

The cold water helped clear her mind a bit.

Tu Nan wiped the water from her face with a towel and glanced at herself in the mirror.

Her complexion was slightly pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes; she clearly hadn’t slept well.

Expressionless, she turned and left the bathroom.

A nurse’s daily workload was saturated, and time was tight. There was no room for her to waste a single moment.

“I’m heading out first,” He Ling said, greeting her before she left.

Tu Nan nodded.

She took off her pajamas, intending to change into her nurse uniform, when she suddenly saw something dark flash past her eyes.

Tu Nan raised her arm and saw a line of small words written in black ink.

Strange. When had she ever written on her arm?

Feeling puzzled, she lifted her arm and carefully squinted at the small black characters on her wrist.

“Fairy Tale… Compendium…”

What was that?

Before Tu Nan could reach a conclusion, a book appeared before her eyes without any warning.

Her eyes widened.

Was she dreaming? Why would a book appear out of thin air?

Tu Nan pinched herself, trying to determine if this was a dream.

“It seems you really don’t remember.”

The pages of the book flipped on their own, despite the lack of wind, revealing a large mouth hidden within.

She really must be dreaming, Tu Nan thought to herself as she watched the bizarre scene unfold.

“Don’t bother looking; you aren’t dreaming,” the book said, as if it had guessed her thoughts.

“Oh, wait… strictly speaking, you are in a dream.”

Tu Nan: “…”

“Have you forgotten everything so completely?”

The Fairy Tale Compendium flew above her head. “Do you even remember what your name is?”

Ridiculous. How could she not remember her own name?

Wait…

Tu Nan frowned. What was her name again?

“Do you remember what you’re supposed to be doing?”

What she was supposed to do…

The more Tu Nan thought about it, the more her skin crawled.

Why didn’t she have a single shred of memory regarding her past?

She tried to recall her history, but inside her head, there was nothing except the knowledge that she was an Intern Nurse at the Fairy Tale Hospital.

Her breathing began to quicken.

The Fairy Tale Compendium didn’t rush her, giving her plenty of time to think.

Tu Nan pulled over a nearby chair and sat down.

She was no longer in a hurry to go to work.

If she didn’t even know who she was, what was the point of going to work?

The current situation was clearly wrong. Even in a dream, it was impossible for her to forget her own name.

Furthermore, it was highly unlikely for a non-human creature like this to appear in normal life.

It had appeared without warning and said such nonsensical things.
Wait… it wasn’t without warning.

It had appeared suddenly the moment she read the small words on her arm aloud.

Was there a connection between the two?

Tu Nan lowered her head and rubbed the black ink on her arm.

It wouldn’t come off. The person who wrote it seemed terrified that the words might vanish, using a great deal of force so that every stroke was thick and heavy.

Who had written these words on her arm?

They were located on the inner side of her forearm, a place not easily noticed by anyone but herself.

Furthermore, she felt that, given her personality, she wouldn’t just let someone else leave such ambiguous words on her body.

The most likely possibility was that she had written them herself.

Why would she write this?

Tu Nan stroked the patch of skin, a hypothesis forming in her mind.

“If I say ‘Fairy Tale Compendium’, you appear?”

The Fairy Tale Compendium flew in front of her eyes, its pages flipping back and forth with a rustle.

“And why did I want you to appear?”

Tu Nan looked up at it.

What was the first thing it said when it saw her?

-“It seems you really don’t remember.”

That sentence indicated it wasn’t surprised by her amnesia; it had even expected it.

She had left these words for herself to summon this strange object, perhaps because her pre-amnesia self had anticipated this situation and left a hint behind.

“Don’t you have anything to tell me?” Tu Nan looked at it. “I must have instructed you to do something, right?”

“How did you know?” the Fairy Tale Compendium asked, sounding quite surprised.

“A guess,” Tu Nan said succinctly. “And now it seems my guess was correct.”

Talking to smart people was so boring.

The Fairy Tale Compendium felt slighted and stopped trying to be mysterious.

“Alright, Tu Nan. It’s time to wake up.”

Those words were like an incantation. As the sound of its voice faded, the lost memories suddenly flooded into her brain like a deluge.

Tu Nan couldn’t process so much information at once. She clutched her head and doubled over in pain.

It took a long while before she slowly straightened her body.

“Remembered now?”

Tu Nan glanced at the Fairy Tale Compendium and nodded. “You can go back now.”

“You’re burning the bridge after crossing it!” it shouted indignantly.

Tu Nan put it away without mercy.

Her expression was grim as she rubbed her throbbing temples. With the external distraction gone, she could finally think properly about her current situation.

She already understood the circumstances of Yi Weichun’s death, yet this dream was still continuing.

And she had indeed lost her memory, just as she had predicted.

Fortunately, she had left an Anchor Point for herself.

Tu Nan had considered many methods, but she had rejected every single one.

In this dream world, everything could change; only she herself would remain constant.

She could only use herself as the Anchor Point.

Coincidentally, while she was contemplating how to leave an Anchor Point, the System had notified her that the Fairy Tale Compendium had finally finished digesting Lilith’s Heart.

Not only had she obtained a powerful Skill Card, but the Fairy Tale Compendium itself had upgraded because of the Heart.

The specific manifestation of this upgrade: it could now speak.

Thus, Tu Nan had taken the opportunity to write the words “Fairy Tale Compendium” on her arm and instructed the upgraded Fairy Tale Compendium that if she ever lost her memory, it must wake her up.

She had planted this suggestion in her own subconscious, and that specific phrase from the Fairy Tale Compendium served as the Trigger.

With this Trigger in place, she no longer had to fear losing herself within the dream.