"Lynelle, over here!"
Having just arrived at the Exalting Sanctum, Lynelle turned around and sure enough, at the far edge of her vision, spotted a pink-haired girl waving energetically in her direction.
"What took you so long... The Immortal's Delight I got for you is already warm."
Once she saw Lynelle turn, the ever-vibrant March 7th quickly jogged over and shoved the milk tea into Lynelle's hand.
An icy, cool sensation immediately spread through her palm.
"It's… cold though?"
"Yep." March nodded matter-of-factly. "I loaded it up with extra ice for you. Can't have you complaining it got warm again, right?"
"And also, why are you... wearing such a weird hood?"
"Shh, shh, keep your voice down..." Lynelle hastily stopped the loud exclamation from little March, then sneakily pulled her into a nearby alley.
"Silly, have you forgotten how famous I am on the Luofu...? If you grabbed ten random people off the street right now, probably seven would have some wild description of me."
"Stuff like the Reignbow Arbiter descending to the mortal world, or a wheelchair gaining sentience."
"There are even people who say Yaoshi and Lan are actually a star-crossed couple, and I'm their child—why else do you think I'm wearing this big face-covering hood?"
"Oh... I almost forgot you have that kind of reputation."
March immediately did a tactical lean back, then suddenly added, "Speaking of which, I remember Uncle Yang mentioned once that in his homeland, there's also a hero who looks just like you, made huge contributions, and is sung about by later generations…"
"Is it just that every version of someone with your face is some incredibly impressive figure?"
"Could it happen in the future that we arrive at some planet, and before we even do anything, the locals mistake you for someone else?"
"Ah, well..." Lynelle awkwardly twirled a strand of her fallen pink hair.
"That possibility definitely can't be ruled out..."
"Hehe, but I'm different. I'd actually love to meet a version of myself." As she spoke, March started leading the way ahead.
"In that case, maybe she'd know about my past and could clear up some of my questions."
"What, you haven't even met Fu Xuan yet, and you're already losing faith in the Divination Commission's Matrix of Prescience?"
"It's not that, it's just... Ever since that incident at Washtopia, I keep feeling like my past definitely isn't as simple as I imagined."
"Maybe it's even grander than all the dozens of backstories I've made up combined."
"Looking at it that way, if the Master Diviner really could deduce my past with the matrix, wouldn't that mean my hidden power isn't even as strong as Dan Heng's?"
"Uh... Huh? What, what kind of logic is that?"
Lynelle was momentarily baffled by March's strange reasoning.
Tilting her head, she thought for a good while before roughly understanding March's meaning:
Dan Heng's hidden power = the High Elder of the Vidyadhara, March's own hidden power < the Matrix of Prescience, both the High Elder and the matrix are Luofu assets, therefore High Elder = Matrix > March.
"Anyway, it's that complicated feeling of being nervous as you get closer to home." March shook her head, then pointed to a starskiff ahead.
"I've already called a starskiff. The Master Diviner is probably waiting at the Divination Commission. Should we get going?"
--+--
"I see. So that's your request, March..."
About ten minutes later, in the briefing hall of the Divination Commission, Fu Xuan listened to their explanation, a pensive expression on her face.
"Is it... not feasible?" March hurriedly asked.
"No, it's just that what you described in the communication earlier was unclear, so I somewhat misjudged your request... If you wish to use the Matrix of Prescience to deduce the memories you've lost, I'm afraid the matrix may not be able to accomplish that."
Fu Xuan shook her head and explained.
"First, you must understand that the Matrix of Prescience cannot predict the future or retrieve the past."
"Although its name carries a distinct Luofu flavor, the Matrix of Prescience itself is an extremely sophisticated computer."
"It collects information to deduce and simulate past or future events that require calculation."
"In principle, its role is more akin to a detective who gathers evidence and reasons, rather than a mystically muttering fortune-teller."
"For you, March, to use the matrix to deduce your past, this involves a problem: the accuracy of the matrix's deduction depends on the completeness of the information. As someone who has lost their memory, your situation merely boils down to two possibilities."
"Either your memories lie dormant deep within your consciousness, unable to be awakened, or someone used some method to erase your memories."
"Eek, erasing memories... just hearing it gives me chills." March hugged herself.
"Who could be so cruel to do something like that to a cute girl like me!"
Lynelle: "..."
To avoid being ambushed later by some strange red jellyfish, Lynelle decided to put a little distance between herself and March.
After all, even if Evernight was currently asleep, hearing that line would probably wake it up.
"Therefore, even with the computational power of the Matrix of Prescience, I worry it may face the dilemma of 'even the cleverest housewife can't cook a meal without rice.'"
Fu Xuan concluded.
"Unless..."
"Unless?"
"Unless you can provide some object related to your past to serve as a medium. Such as personal clothing, traces of your abilities, or some kind of token…"
"After all, we cannot confirm whether your memories still reside deep within your consciousness. If they are, the Matrix of Prescience Ultima can easily bring them to the surface."
"If not... we would need to rely on these objects connected to your past to deduce those lost memories."
"But... I don't really have any keepsakes from my past..."
"Actually, usually in situations like this..." Lynelle couldn't help interjecting, "I'd suggest using yourself as the medium. This is also recorded in the ancient legends of the Holy Grail on Penacony..."
"Just what story have you wandered into now?!"
"Ahem, just joking." Lynelle cleared her throat.
"Seriously though, March, you really don't have many options for a medium."
"Think about it. Besides your own sunny, cheerful, and adorable self, the only thing connected to your pre-amnesia life is the Six-Phase Ice on your hand, right?"
"Wait, no need to praise me so bluntly, hehe..." March rubbed her head sheepishly, then condensed a piece of Six-Phase Ice in her hand and handed it to Fu Xuan.
"Master Diviner, can this work as a medium? Like Lynelle said, I really don't have anything else on me connected to my past. Um, if needed, I could use myself as the medium too..."
"That won't be necessary. This should be sufficient. The Matrix of Prescience's method of information collection is quite abstract. If we actually put you in it, the effect might be worse than this not-so-icy ice block."
Fu Xuan took the Six-Phase Ice and walked ahead toward the Matrix of Prescience.
"Follow me then. Don't worry, if nothing goes wrong, it should be over quite quickly, and there shouldn't be any danger..."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.