I'll also work hard to conquer the dungeon today.

Chapter 628 Extra: I've Seen Different Starry Skies (Shui Qi)

What is the purpose of a person's life?

There are always some special people in this world who possess special abilities. Shui Qi, who had memories even while still in the womb, is one such person.

Most people can't remember anything before the age of five, but hyperthymesia is the opposite. People with hyperthymesia don't have the ability to forget and can remember their personal experiences clearly, even down to specific details.

He knew he was growing in an artificially simulated womb, and while he was still an embryo, he heard fragmented information about himself, such as the success of the experiment, the perfect integration of various races without any rejection, and so on.

From that moment on, he knew he was different from others. He had no parents, or rather, his parents came from various experimental subjects who eventually merged to create him. He never wondered why his hair color was so special; although it looked like everyone else's black hair, it always had a bluish sheen.

In human society, being different means being out of place, but fortunately he didn't grow up in a normal society.

When he emerged from the womb, he was considered born and was transferred to the nursery, where there were many children with the same birth as him, but only a small number of them were born without any physical defects like him.

He was special there because he was the most perfect experimental subject, and he still remembered his unique number—S7.

As he grew older, he was moved to a special building. His only memories are of a pure white wall, dim old-fashioned lights, and many books.

His fate was already set when he was still an embryo. He had no way to resist them, so he could only try his best to make his life better, such as getting first place in the monthly tests and being quiet and not causing trouble.

He gleaned some clues from the monitors' conversation: only outstanding children could be given names, and only those given names could leave.

He wanted to see the outside world, to see if the sky was really as beautiful as described in the book, if there really was a blue moon that covered a quarter of the sky, and if there really was warm sunshine.

Oh, light...

What an alluring phrase! He, who grew up in the dark underground, could never have imagined it.

Every so often, the children would gather together for roll call. However, as time went on, although the number of children didn't change much, the familiar faces became fewer and fewer. The other children were probably wondering where they had gone, and the guardians said they had been adopted.

They are lying. The missing children were not adopted, but eliminated as losers, which is what is called death.

He had witnessed it firsthand; he had seen those children treated like garbage. They were never treated as human beings, but merely as commodities, with the only distinctions being unqualified, qualified, excellent, or top-notch.

At that time, he wanted to know what a normal corridor was like, so he deliberately fell and injured himself, forcing his guardian to call him to the infirmary for treatment.

There he encountered several children he had met before who were planning to escape, but they were killed by the adults who claimed to be their guardians.

Several of the children had approached him seeking his advice, but he refused. He didn't want to participate in activities that he knew would be fruitless, risking his life for nothing; it was truly meaningless.

They were just like wild boars that wouldn't stop once they started running—so stupid. But... at least they had the courage he lacked; they chose to rebel, while he chose to obey. Perhaps he was different from them from the very beginning.

He watched them being dragged away, the flowing blood trailing far and wide, but he could only ignore it and keep going. He couldn't let those people know he had witnessed it, so he pretended he hadn't seen anything and left.

There's no way to save him; children can't fight back against adults. They can only choose to obey. In that situation, running away would only get him implicated.

Although they had different ideas, their ultimate goal was to leave the research institute, so he still gave them a little help.

They were never seen again. Perhaps they died or perhaps they escaped successfully, but since then, no one has been able to escape from the research institute under martial law.

However, not long after, due to his outstanding performance, he was given the title of Shui Qi and officially entered the so-called society. When he first saw that dazzling and beautiful starlight, he was moved by it. Next, he was selected as a member of the Crown Prince's secret team, entered the Hamman Military Academy to study, and served the Crown Prince after graduation.

That one time must have changed his entire life...

At that time, he received a message from the Crown Prince to go to the Federation to obtain a military secret. Although the process went smoothly, he was betrayed by his comrades. To be honest, if it were in the past, he would have chosen to abandon the secret without hesitation to save himself. However, after graduating from Harman, he still had a sense of belonging to the Empire to some extent.

Moreover, he knew the consequences of handing over the secret. Regardless of whether it was a gamble or not, he was determined to keep the secret from falling into that person's hands. He believed that the Crown Prince would discover that those people were lying, and he believed that the Crown Prince would definitely send someone to rescue them.

He willingly remained in the empire because there was a monarch who was willing to trust his subordinates, and he believed that person would not let him down.

To break his will, they tortured him and injected him with drugs that amplified his senses, making each torture session ten times more painful. He never once thought that death would be better, that it would bring him relief.

However, he still had a sense of mission in his heart and knew what he had to do, so he persevered.

He saw that starry sky again, though not the same one, but just as beautiful and dazzling.

Just when he felt his life force slipping away and was about to despair and give up, he heard the voice of the army, and he was saved.

He knew who saved him: Major General Mingxi, the eldest son of the Ming family, one of the three great warlord families of the empire, and also one of the companions who followed the Crown Prince.

He survived, but was left with scars ever since. Because of the special medicine, even advanced equipment cannot remove them, but fortunately, they are not noticeable when he wears clothes.

I used to always think about what the purpose of a person's life is.

Now he may have found it, in order to live a better life.

Because of his childhood experiences, all his choices were simply to survive. Only once did he act out of a sense of mission to protect something, and that was the only time.

The pain and repression he endured in the past were all for the sake of being able to live a better life on that basis, because he couldn't change his own situation on his own, so he could only try to make himself more comfortable.

Keeping yourself busy, as long as you don't stop, you won't have time to think about past pain, or recall your past indifference. Perhaps you can deceive yourself, but...

From the day he was born, from the day he chose to be himself, from the day he had a sense of mission, he has been worthy of everyone.

Shui Qi lives only for herself, even if no one understands her.

All of Shui Qi's choices were made in order to ensure his own survival. In his travelogue, he chose to cooperate with Zhu Yan because he felt that this was the only way to survive.

In fact, he did not make the wrong choice. If Shui Qi had not been there to deal with Zhu Yan and the others, and if no one had been there to hold them back, Dao Lin and his group would have been almost completely wiped out.

In the flower crown, Shui Qi single-handedly held off the entire skeleton army, allowing the others to focus on their own tasks.

This person is complex and controversial, but it must be said that he is really capable.

Preview: I've prepared a short story based on Shui Qi's childhood experiences, specifically the events that happened during Shui Qi's childhood. The male lead is Shui Qi, but the female lead is not. It's a story of wits and strategy, a story about escaping from a research institute.



(End of this chapter)