Echoes of the Past, Shadows of the Present

Will I be forgotten?

On the way home from school, Xiu Lan obsessively scrolled through the chat history.

The three of them had clearly arranged to hang out, yet one unlucky soul had been left behind at home, and now that abandoned person was furious.

‘Should I reach out first?’

‘No, no, if they found out, I’d be laughed to death.’

“Could it be… those two are *nantong* (TL Note: A Chinese slang term for gay men)? If so, that would explain why they’d leave a beautiful girl of my caliber… Pfft, pfft, pfft, a beautiful boy of my caliber, to go play by themselves.”

On the school path, the more Xiu Lan thought about it, the angrier and more agitated she became, until she raised her right foot and forcefully kicked a small stone by the roadside.

“Ouch!”

A human cry of pain echoed.

‘I’m completely, utterly, totally doomed.’

‘Why am I so unlucky?’

‘Please tell me I didn’t hit anything important. How much am I going to have to pay?!’

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry.”

Dashing to the spot from which the sound had come, Xiu Lan, without a moment’s hesitation, first bowed in apology.

‘Please forgive me quickly; I’m just a student, I can’t afford to pay a single cent.’

The girl cried out in her heart.

However, like an ugly daughter-in-law inevitably facing her in-laws, no matter what Xiu Lan thought, it wouldn’t change the incident itself.

The moment the stone struck, the man clutching his head had already composed a thousand-word condemnation in his mind. He turned around, ready to reprimand, “Student, what you did was wrong… you…”

‘What’s this guy doing, stopping mid-sentence?’

Tired of bending over, Xiu Lan straightened up, her eyes meeting the man’s as he turned. Amidst her bewildered expression, the man had already plastered on a smile:

“Hello, student, do you have a moment to talk?”

That smile held not a hint of falsehood.

‘Why does it feel so familiar?’

“You look a lot like a friend of mine. If he hadn’t died a long time ago, I’d even suspect you were his son.”

‘What kind of novel pickup line is this, reminiscing about a dead person to a living one? Could it be some kind of ‘substitute meal’?’

“Were you and your friend very close?”

After speaking, Xiu Lan almost wanted to slap herself. ‘If they weren’t close, why would he be reminiscing about him?’

“Hahahaha.”

The man chuckled, rubbing his hands together, and reminisced, “We met in elementary school, lived in the same village, and were in the same class until junior high. He was a bit dull, not good with words, but he was very open and friendly with his friends.”

“Is… that so?” ‘It sounds a bit familiar.’

“But he died before the disaster struck. I still remember that afternoon, he ran over, urging us to ‘run, run!’, saying some monster had appeared. Everyone just laughed at him for being a coward then.”

At this, his initial smile faded, his tone becoming both sorrowful and angry:

“To this day, I remember that monster charging into the village, wantonly destroying houses. Even the police station’s firearms couldn’t harm it in the slightest.”

“…What happened next?” Xiu Lan’s voice grew exceptionally low.

‘It seems my storytelling skills aren’t bad.’

Observing the somewhat somber expression on the young girl’s face, the man felt he had successfully stirred her emotions.

He continued, “Not long after the monster’s rampage, the [Vanguard] arrived. Unlike her current appearance, she looked more troubled, more sorrowful back then. Even I could sense a thick aura of malice clinging to her.”

“At the time, no one could have imagined that our—no, humanity’s—fate would be altered by that slender, petite girl.”

“She effortlessly slew the monster, then rallied everyone in the village to leave with her.”

“It truly was a miracle.”

“There were no quarrels, no chaos; everyone believed she was right, willingly following in her footsteps.”

“Thus, along the way, she encountered countless monsters and slew just as many. She steadfastly led us through hordes of creatures without leaving a single person behind.”

“In that moment of escape, I felt deep in my heart that the word [Hero] was practically forged for her.”

“…It’s funny, but during the escape, I even confessed my feelings to her. Then I got kicked flying and she called me ‘sperm-brained’ (TL Note: A crude Chinese slang term for being overly horny or lust-driven), hahahaha!”

Despite recounting his past embarrassment, the man showed not a trace of shame, saying with lingering satisfaction:

“That’s all for today. If you want to hear more stories from before the Great Migration, remember to attend my class.”

“You’re… a teacher?”

‘Even a hooligan like you can be a teacher now…’

“I’m from the Inner Realm, just arrived here recently, and I’m responsible for teaching history.”

The man’s smile was exceptionally dazzling under the sunlight.

“How… disgusting.”

“Huh, what are you saying?”

“I didn’t say anything; you must have misheard.”

Xiu Lan offered an innocent smile. “I forgot to ask for your esteemed name, Teacher. Would you be so kind as to tell me?”

…Pan Jun.

“My name is Pan Jun. And yours, student?”

“Hello, Teacher Pan, my name is Xiu Lan.”

‘A familiar face, a familiar smile. Even after so long, I can still recall it. Is it just that old age makes one prone to reminiscence?’

Pan Jun patted his face, watching Xiu Lan depart, her receding figure gradually overlapping with that of his old friend.

‘If only you were still alive, Liu Yu.’

****

Was it just now that she truly realized?

‘Was it just now? Or even earlier?’

‘No, no, neither. It was from the very beginning.’

The same culture, the same language, even overlapping place names—yet she had still deceived herself.

It wasn’t until the past caught up, brutally tearing open her old wounds, that the self-imprisoned girl was forced to look at the world.

‘Who am I? The Vanguard, Liu Yu, or Xiu Lan?’

A fragmented body, jumbled memories, a life skipped over—all forced the girl to contemplate her future.

‘If that Vanguard “returned.”

‘What would become of me?’

‘Would I coexist as a tiny fragment of her life?’

‘Or…?’

‘Insignificantly disappear?’

“Perhaps it’s just a simple case of amnesia.”

Gazing at the unfamiliar yet familiar girl in the mirror, Xiu Lan forced out an awkward smile. “As long as I wake up, everything will be fine. As long as I just wake up.”

‘Yes, as long as I just wake up…’

****

“Are you awake?”

An offhand tone echoed in his ears. Wu Liyun rubbed his eyes, grumbling, “Is it time?”

Though vampires could go without sleep for days and nights, Wu Liyun had still taken a short rest to face the [Doctor] tonight with ample energy.

He rose and glanced at the clock; it was almost the appointed time. Then he looked up and out the window. The sky was now enveloped in darkness, pedestrians on the street were few and far between, and the usually bustling night market lay deserted.

This was due to the rampant [Vampires] at night; the Regulatory Bureau had issued a curfew, urging citizens to avoid going out unless absolutely necessary.

In other words, anyone daring to casually stroll the streets at this hour was either suicidal or extraordinarily bold.

“And then there are righteous individuals like us, right?”

Yao Jing, with his hands clasped behind his head, declared, “The Regulatory Bureau is determined to resolve the [Vampire] incident within the next few days.”

“Then why don’t we just find a spot to hide and watch their decisive battle?” someone suggested timidly.

“We are naturally a part of that resolve. And why have you suddenly become so timid? Is the [Doctor] really that terrifying?”

“The [Doctor] was a friend of my father’s. After my father passed, I don’t have many elders left.”

Wu Liyun’s voice dropped. “Unless it’s absolutely necessary, I don’t want to cross swords with him.”

“Alright then, you can just stand by and watch when the time comes; I’ll handle everything.”

Yao Jing touched his light blue wristband, where the faint icon of a greatsword shimmered. He had already equipped his gear.

Reaching the doorway, seeing Wu Liyun still unmoving, Yao Jing urged, “Hurry up, it’s time to go.”

“Oh, oh, I’m coming right away.”

****

“According to intelligence from the Regulatory Bureau, tonight marks the [Vampires’] trial. Our mission is to monitor the suspects’ movements and, if necessary, take direct action.”

On the rooftop, Rosa’s golden hair swayed in the night wind as she explained to the woman behind her. Today, she was, to put it mildly, fully armed.

“I understand. I’ll just stick by you; I’ll hit whatever you point at.”

Tina, clad in a black catsuit, her tall figure fully revealed in the moonlight, stretched languidly. Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she said with a teasing laugh:

“How about we go check on that kid first? He’s a suspect anyway, and it’ll save you from constantly fretting over him.”

“…No need. His location is too far from ours. Let’s focus on what’s directly in front of us for now.”

“Understood, copy that.”

Tina comically saluted, her exaggerated gesture almost making Rosa lose her composure.

[B1-F in position.]

[B5-A in position.]

[A7-Q in position.]

…

Reports on the suspects’ movements, from Regulatory Bureau members stationed at various locations, echoed one after another in their earpieces.

“Get ready to move, Tina.”

Gazing at the faint figures on the road below, Rosa tightened her grip on her firearm.

The sleepless night had arrived.