City A.
Spring in this city was always accompanied by continuous drizzle. Lin En walked into a convenience store, folded her umbrella, and glanced at her cellphone. At this time, her sister, Lin Li, hadn't yet finished school. As the phone screen dimmed, it reflected her own face—a face she had grown unfamiliar with, accustomed as she was to the face belonging to the Supreme Domination Witch.
The phone lit up again, and her reflection vanished in the light. Lin En habitually opened her social media app, where people were still avidly discussing those events—
In recent times, City A had been filled with explosive news. Less than two months ago, many people—primarily from the gaming community and some criminals with records—had suddenly vanished, leading to a proliferation of missing persons reports and wild conspiracy theories.
Just days ago, most of the missing persons suddenly reappeared at their places of disappearance, with no memory of what had happened during their absence.
Lin En, of course, knew what had happened. Aside from allies like Anakin, Solo, and Dorothy, who knew the truth about Tahe, all other Players had their memories related to Tahe erased.
Not all Players returned safely, however. Thanks to some Demon Players, several Players were forcibly "logged out", dying in that distant world.
As punishment, those Demon Players weren't allowed to return. They likely became the prey to the Mad Monk.
Lin En bought a bottle of warm grapefruit tea in the convenience store and sat near the store's glass window. The clouds churned, and rain gently pelted the puddles. She tapped the search bar on her phone, typing in "Joy Garden".
The bizarre story of Joy Garden was even more discussed than the "mass disappearance".
On a late July night, an unexplained explosion occurred in Joy Garden, a high-end residential area in City A. At the time, several young people from nearby districts had captured the sky turning red and the explosion of the neighborhood.
Following the disaster, Joy Garden was leveled to the ground, leaving only a huge crater and charred debris, not even the remnants of buildings remained intact. The rescue operation lasted a long time, but only a few human tissue fragments were found. The remains were too few and fragmented for forensic scientists to reconstruct a relatively complete body.
However, shortly after the return of the missing persons, the residents of Joy Garden also reappeared. They collectively emerged in a forest on the outskirts of City A, with the returning population comprising over half of Joy Garden's residents.
Regrettably, they also had no memory of what occurred during their disappearance. Except for a few who had served as administrators in the Lost Tower.
Officer Luo was one of the first to return to his unit, privately reporting the true details of the incident to the authorities. Dr. Zhu also decided to continue working and, along with Lin En and Lin Li, served as witnesses for Officer Luo.
To ensure the credibility of Officer Luo's testimony, Xu Yue considerately left them with some monster abilities—for example, Officer Luo's fire magic, Dr. Zhu's top-tier strength as a werewolf, and Lin En's ability to manipulate dolls.
The situation was much as Xu Yue had predicted: there had never been a game called "Tahe World" on Earth. Their human witnesses in the story all tacitly omitted this point.
They simply honestly described the situation of Joy Garden's residents and Players, not mentioning Xu Yue's identity as the "God of Creation". They were inexplicably pulled into an unknown world, achieved victory, and successfully returned—it was that simple.
Everything was ready. Now they were just waiting for an "official" explanation from the authorities.
Lin En propped her cheek, sighing.
Officer Luo and Dr. Zhu were fine. Given the special nature of their work, they could easily return to the workforce with a little attention from the higher ups. Her situation was more complicated… Her original position was neither high nor low and had already been replaced. And frankly, she didn't like that kind of work environment.
Once things settled down, the officials would likely arrange a job for her, but she always felt something was missing.
Most neighbors chose to return because they had relatives on Earth. To completely sever any lingering attachment to Tahe, they also chose to give up their memories.
But Lin En only had her sister Lin Li. She had never been particularly fixated on "going home".
Lin En opened the original homeowners' group chat, accurately locating "7-1-701-Xu".
[5-2-302-Lin: You were right. I really do prefer my old job.]
[5-2-302-Lin: But my sister has to finish university first.]
This was the code Lin En and Xu Yue had agreed on, indicating her willingness to return to the Lost Tower.
Xu Yue had promised her that if she was willing to work in the Lost Tower, she could use their world-crossing capability. This way, she could regularly make purchases on Earth and check on her sister's academic progress.
It might be tiring, but at least she could earn gold as a salary, Lin En thought seriously. Besides, with most neighbors gone, the job shouldn't be as hectic as before.
After sending the message, she smiled, turning off her phone and looking outside the convenience store. A few kids, having bought snacks, were passing by, chattering. The dolls on their backpacks all turned their heads to wave at Lin En.
"Those two are probably going to have a honeymoon lasting several years. Someone has to manage the Lost Tower."
She waved back at the dolls, cheerfully saying goodbye.
...
Outside a health complex in the suburbs of City A.
"It's bright." Teest marveled, poking Nol's phone screen repeatedly. "Our Supreme Domination Witch is willing to come back and do the hard work."
"Just work," Nol corrected seriously. "This time, I'll make sure to properly agree on a labor contract with her."
"Alright, work." Teest continued to curiously poke the phone.
Nol sighed nervously, biting into his bun.
Before their return, he had specially accessed the neighbors' memories, reconstructing their bodies for them. His own dangerous memories, however, had been mostly destroyed by Teest, leaving him with no reference.
Thus, he used his own appearance from Tahe, only changing his blue eyes to black.
To avoid drawing attention, Teest turned his long hair black and specifically wore a hoodie to cover up. Even though a face mask hid his face, his unusual physique was still eye-catching in a peaceful society.
Plus, with his curiosity about every corner of Earth, Nol had to stay close to Teest at all times, even buying a bunch of Earth's specialties to distract him, fearing he might lose his knight accidentally.
After returning to Earth, there were simply too many things to verify. The emotion of returning home was quickly overwhelmed by the ensuing busyness.
Nol first ensured that the neighbors were discovered by the police, quietly observing the entire process. Only after confirming that Officer Luo's report went smoothly did he leave with Teest.
Now, he had to face the issue that had been making him anxious—
He was going home.
Nol's situation was a bit different from the other neighbors. Before the destruction of Joy Garden, he had been under the control of Star Stealer Sol for several years. He specifically asked Officer Luo to help with the search, and no missing person case related to "Xu Yue" was found.
Indeed, since Star Stealer Sol remembered to have him speak in the Joy Garden homeowners' group, he likely maintained contact with his family. The problem was, how did that guy communicate?
Nol also checked his call logs with his family over the years and found nothing. His phone had been destroyed in the Joy Garden explosion, and without backup for his chat logs, there was no way to trace them.
"Haa…" His parents' home was just a stone's throw away, yet Nol didn't know how to properly appear before them.
"You seem very troubled," Teest said as he unwrapped a lollipop, crinkling the plastic wrapper noisily.
"I can't be as composed as you. I really miss them," Nol murmured. "I know nothing about those blank years, and I also want to properly introduce you to them…"
A son who hadn't been seen for years and had zero romantic experiences suddenly bringing home a foreign man—there was no way that was going to start off smoothly.
"I indeed find it difficult to understand," Teest commented, sucking on the lollipop. "Honey, you seem to easily overthink your own issues."
"What?"
"You know you were imprisoned in the Joy Garden neighborhood, and none of those people have ever seen you," Teest pointed out. "Your past few years are a blank, and there are no missing persons cases… Do you need me to continue?"
"You already gave me a good plan. You forgot again—you are the god of Tahe. 'Reversion' now belongs to your powers."
Nol stared at Teest, his eyes growing brighter and the bun in his mouth nearly falling out.
One summer, several years ago.
Father Xu was picking vegetables in front of the TV, his mobile phone on the coffee table. Suddenly, a new friend request popped up.
[Xu Yue: Dad, I'm not using my old number anymore. I'll contact you with this one from now on.]
[Xu Yue: [Voice message 60′]]
[Xu Yue: I'll come home for dinner tonight.]
"Our son changed his number," Father Xu said a bit louder.
"I saw," Mother Xu replied, looking up as she wiped the table. "That's our son. Xiao Yue said he found a good job, because of which he needed to change his number. He even asked me to delete the previous one."
Father Xu nodded seriously. "As long as it's not a scammer."
"The kid has changed a bit." Mother Xu felt somewhat emotional. "He rented an apartment right after graduation. I thought he didn't want to live with us. Less than a month later, he says he'll come home to stay once a week."
"Let him cancel the lease and come back," Father Xu instantly responded. "That way, he can save on rent. I told him, but he wouldn't listen at the time."
"That might not be feasible." Mother Xu chuckled. "He said he's bringing his partner home tonight to meet us. He must be sharing the place with someone."
Father Xu's hand that was picking vegetables froze mid-air. "Partner? When did he get a partner?!"
"I was also shocked… But our son's tone wasn't as rigid as before. The girl must be quite gentle," Mother Xu said. "Let's go out and buy some more groceries this afternoon. We'll prepare well."
"Let's celebrate our child finding a job and having a successful relationship."
Father Xu pondered for a long while. "Should we buy a cake?"
"I think that's a good idea."
"Then it's settled."
The author has something to say:
Parents' guess: A gentle young lady.
In reality: The God of Destruction from Tahe ♂