After that farewell behind the cemetery gate, he never expected that he would see his own brother again in this form.

 

Xing Ye tried to control the little character on the app to move, but received no response. The screen looked as if it had frozen; the character would not move at all.

“Could it be that this game is still in development?” Xiao Zhang said curiously. “Or is my phone just too laggy?”

“It shouldn’t be the phone,” Xing Ye said. “I suspect there’s a problem with the game itself. It needs some adjustment.”

After saying that, he handed the phone back to Xiao Zhang. “Thank you.”

Xiao Zhang said, “Well, this does count as a lead. Why don’t you try to think of some other QR codes? Maybe there’ll be more clues.”

Xing Ye shook his head. He had already obtained enough clues.

The system prompted that his beginner task was “retrieve your own identity.” The wording used was “retrieve” rather than “obtain,” which meant that he already had an identity in this world. Since that was the case, the most suitable method was to recover it through the public security system.

Claiming amnesia was merely one of Xing Ye’s explanations, used to brush off questions that could not be avoided. It also placed him in a helpless position, making others more willing to help him.

Had he not claimed amnesia and demonstrated an extraordinarily strong memory at the same time, he would never have been able to borrow Xiao Zhang’s phone.

“Comrades, may I ask what I need to do next?” Xing Ye asked.

Xiao Zhang said, “Here’s the situation. Once work officially starts later, we’ll report to our superiors and see whether you should be sent to the municipal bureau to verify fingerprints and other information. During this time, you can wait on the bench over there.”

“Then could I borrow a few books?” Xing Ye said. “Anything is fine—even maps. I want to understand the environment I’m in. I know nothing about my surroundings, and knowing even a little more would be helpful.”

Xiao Zhang was actually about to get off the night shift. He rummaged through the office and really couldn’t find much to read. Xing Ye looked up at him—clearly someone with a very high IQ, yet unable to do anything because of amnesia. He suddenly seemed rather pitiful.

Xing Ye flipped through the books Xiao Zhang brought him, sighed softly, then obediently carried them back to read.

He lifted his head and glanced at the phone in Xiao Zhang’s hand, looking at it with clear longing. Xiao Liu and Xiao Zhang both saw his gaze plainly. Then he restrained himself, withdrew his eyes, lowered his head, and obediently continued reading.

Police officer Xiao Zhang: “……”

Xiao Zhang stared at his old phone. At that moment, Xing Ye looked up again and said, “I forgot to uninstall the software just now. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, I’ll uninstall it myself,” Xiao Zhang said. After thinking for a moment, he handed the phone to Xiao Liu. “How about you help me keep an eye on the phone and lend it to him for the day? When he goes to the municipal bureau later, just help me take it back, alright? Otherwise, with a grown man just sitting here—if a leader comes and asks questions and he answers nothing, that wouldn’t look good.”

Xiao Liu said, “Alright then. You go back and rest.”

Xiao Zhang had worked the night shift and was already extremely tired. He handed the phone to Xing Ye and said, “I’m lending this to you. You’re not allowed to take it away. My colleague is watching. The phone has GPS—wherever you take it, it can be found. Once you’re done, return it to my colleague.”

Xing Ye showed an expression of deep gratitude, stood up, and accepted the phone with both hands. “Thank you very much.”

“Just one hour,” Xiao Zhang said, still uneasy. “When the leaders arrive to take you to the municipal bureau, you hand over the phone immediately!”

“Alright,” Xing Ye nodded.

After Xiao Zhang left, Xiao Liu began organizing the desk. Xing Ye opened the Challenging Fate app again to see whether there were any other clues.

The character’s inability to move was likely because the in-game character was not controlled by the phone, but by the player. Only when the player physically moved would the character in the app move.

All the buttons on the side were in a locked state. It seemed that all skills would only unlock after completing the beginner task.

This was similar to the game progression Xing Ye had experienced before, except that the current beginner task was much simpler. It appeared to be a simplified version of Challenging Fate.

When Xing Ye saw Mirror Reflection, he suspected that this world might be a mirror world. Perhaps he had brought Lu Mingze directly into the mirror that once trapped Lu Mingze inside an item. However, after observing Xiao Zhang and Xiao Liu, he dismissed this idea.

Both young police officers were right-handed, and their handwriting was normal. The West District on the city map matched exactly the West District in Xing Ye’s memories of the real world—it was not reversed. The likelihood of this being a mirror world was extremely low.

Xing Ye tapped every icon on the app interface. All of them were in an unlocked state. The initial game points were still 100. When he opened the character inventory, there was only a lump of wet, tattered clothing inside.

Xing Ye lowered his head and looked at his feet. The bag of torn clothes was already gone. He tapped the inventory once, and the tattered clothes appeared again at his feet.

The “items” tab was not locked but empty. After Xing Ye clicked it, a prompt appeared: “Item currently out in the field.”

Xing Ye: “……”

What exactly was the purpose of this game?

After spending ten minutes studying the game app, Xing Ye uninstalled the software. He discovered that once the app was uninstalled, the black-and-white wristband on his wrist lit up, changing from a dim gray to an active, usable state.

It seemed that even without a phone, the game could still be played—just far less conveniently.

“Retrieve” his identity. Since the word “retrieve” was used, it implied an element of “seizing back”. Had someone taken everything from him? Who? The system?

While browsing today’s and yesterday’s news on the phone, Xing Ye pondered silently.

It couldn’t be the system. If the system were able to directly take away his points and initial skills, it would not have gone to such great lengths in the Train World.

Now it was obvious: when he entered the Final Level, some force had stripped him of everything. And this had clearly occurred with the system’s assistance—meaning that, from the game’s perspective, this seizure was legitimate and rule-compliant.

His thoughts stopped there. What would happen next would depend on how the plot unfolded.

At 8:30 a.m., when the leaders of the police station came on duty, they listened to Xiao Liu’s report, consulted the district authorities, and decided to send Xing Ye to the municipal bureau.

Normally, a homeless person like Xing Ye would be sent to a social assistance centre. However, his situation was clearly different. Without an ID card, he couldn’t find work, and even if he were sent to a shelter, he wouldn’t be able to escape reliance on social aid. The priority was to first confirm his identity—ideally, to locate his family.

Xiao Liu escorted Xing Ye to the municipal bureau. During the trip, Xing Ye handed the phone back to him. The game app had already been uninstalled; its functions had been transferred to the wristband. However, the wristband was clearly inferior to a phone. He would need to get a phone later—preferably by buying Xiao Zhang’s old one.

After arriving at the municipal bureau, Xing Ye underwent a physical examination according to procedure. Once it was confirmed that he was not under the influence of drugs, his fingerprints were scanned.

Xing Ye knew that when he applied for a passport, his fingerprints had been recorded at the local immigration office—using his right thumb. He had checked earlier: the fingerprint on his right thumb was clear and unscarred. This time, he again used his right thumb.

The household registration officer searched the fingerprint database via the internal network. After the software automatically searched for a while, the officer suddenly exclaimed, “Ah.”

“What is it? You found it?” Xiao Liu asked.

The officer nodded. He glanced at Xing Ye, then at the computer again, and said to Xiao Liu, “This is not something I can decide on my own.”

Xiao Liu leaned over to look at the person displayed on the screen—and froze as well.

The two of them quickly filed a report to their superiors, carefully making sure that Xing Ye did not see whose fingerprints they belonged to.

Xing Ye already had a guess in his mind, but he remained calm, watching the officers and cooperating fully.

When the report reached the municipal bureau leadership, the leader also froze for a moment. He frowned and thought for a long time, then finally said only a few words: “Contact the family first.”

After hearing this, Xing Ye asked, “So you really found my identity?”

None of the officers answered directly. Xiao Liu wiped sweat from his forehead and said, “It—was found, but… ah, we’re actively contacting the family.”

After a while, the officer responsible for contacting relatives said, “His parents didn’t answer the phone, but his younger brother did. He said he’s on his way.”

“Is his brother an adult?” Xiao Liu asked. “Does he have full legal capacity?”

The officer lowered his voice. “A postgraduate from one of the country’s top-tier universities. What do you think?”

Hearing this, Xing Ye unconsciously rubbed his hands together in tension.

It seemed that the possibilities he had previously guessed were not singular—but had all merged together.

About half an hour later, a refined-looking young man wearing glasses walked into the office. He first glanced at Xing Ye, then scanned the room. After confirming that a certain director from the municipal bureau—who had been waiting with them—was the highest-ranking official present, he stepped forward and politely extended his hand.

“You must be Director Hao? Were you the one who contacted me?”

Director Hao stood up and shook his hand. “Mr. Xing, here’s the situation. This morning, a gentleman came to a street police station under our West City sub-bureau to report a case. He claimed to have lost his memory. When he woke up, his entire body was wet, and he had no items that could prove his identity, so he sought help from the police. We checked his fingerprints and found a 99% similarity with the fingerprints recorded when your elder brother, Mr. Xing Ye, applied for his passport. As Mr. Xing Ye is a major taxpayer of our city, we did not dare draw conclusions lightly, so we invited you here to confirm.”

Director Hao spoke with great precision, stating only objective facts and completely avoiding personal opinions or speculation.

After hearing this, the bespectacled young man turned to look at Xing Ye. Xing Ye stood up as well, meeting his gaze.

After parting behind the cemetery gate, he had never expected to see his own brother, Xing Shuo, again in this form— though, unfortunately, there was a very high probability that this was fake.

 

Translator : DarNan