——"There must be some idealists in the world."

For some reason, this phrase surfaced in Bai Youyou's mind. She envisioned a misty beach, with someone holding her hand, strolling along the shore, the warmth of memory emanating from the palm. The more she tried to recollect, the more turbulent the sea of memories became, an indescribable sting spreading out.

A sense of helplessness rose up. Bai Youyou's hand was held by a blonde-haired girl, and she heard a concerned inquiry beside her, "Are you all right?"

Bai Youyou's throat moved as she looked at Xu Xiaoyou, whose eyes were filled with concern. That feeling of helplessness grew stronger. Bai Youyou was certain she had met this girl somewhere before; there must have been a past between them, whether pleasant or unpleasant. The other clearly knew something, yet deliberately hid it from her, pretending to care, acting as if she didn't recognize her.

The sorrow felt like aged wine, bitterly blocking Bai Youyou's chest. She wanted to directly question why the other was hiding the truth, and if she refused, resort to force to make her speak. However, what if the other was truly innocent?

"Perhaps you have many doubts in your heart, why not leave these doubts to time?" Xu Xiaoyou suggested.

Hearing this, Bai Youyou was momentarily stunned. Xu Xiaoyou's gaze was calm as she continued,

"Perhaps forgetting is a better state for you; perhaps it is a protection given by someone with intent. I've seen too many people deeply stuck in the quagmire, unable to extricate themselves. If you doubt your origins, why not leave the troubles and bitterness to tomorrow? Even a sprout needs to gather energy to break through the seed and face the storm."

The blonde girl gently expressed these words, imbued with a kind of innate charisma and convincing power.

Bai Youyou found a certain truth in what she said. Having just woken up not long ago, she felt like a newborn baby arriving in this world, everything was unknown and novel to her. The mystery above her cradle not only covered her eyes but also blocked the snake's gaze.

"Can you solve a confusion in my heart?" Bai Youyou asked after a moment of thought.

After weighing options, Xu Xiaoyou nodded, her voice gentle: "Of course."

"Did you know me before?"

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Bai Youyou suddenly felt much lighter, as if she had found an anchor point in the storm. This blonde girl became the mental anchor for her little solitary boat.

"Am I important to you, or are you important to me..."

"Forgive me, but I can't answer questions beyond the first one; it's not within my service scope." Said Xu Xiaoyou, sipping her drink.

Bai Youyou didn't push more; it seemed her memory was indeed incomplete. Solving a part of her inner confusion was enough to give meaning to her venture today.

"Isn't solving my confusion also your job?" Bai Youyou asked somewhat defiantly.

"At least answer our past relationship."

"More than friends, less than lovers." Xu Xiaoyou replied half-jokingly.

Bai Youyou: "..."

Seeing the girl really contemplating and even self-doubting, Xu Xiaoyou quickly interrupted, "Just kidding, you can consider me a confidant friend. I'm willing to listen if you share your troubles."

"Honestly, even though this is our first meeting, why do you say such boundary-less things? Is everyone in your shop like this?" Bai Youyou, her ears a bit hot, used the cool drink to hide her reaction.

Surprisingly, she didn't mind these boundary-less words. As a Four-winged Investigator, she could easily discern that the other was subtly trying to close the social gap between them. In the Light Chasing Tower simulated by Oasis, others had tried the same to approach her, but were scared away by her cold demeanor.

Conversely, she didn't mind this blonde girl at all. Could it be true, as she said, that their past relationship was more than friends, less than lovers, as confidants?

"Senior, I'm having trouble over here, she threw up on me. It's really bad, come help!"

A Little Green Leaf poked their head out, shouting at Xu Xiaoyou.

Xu Xiaoyou stood up, but was pulled back by Bai Youyou, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to handle a situation over there, I'll be back soon." Xu Xiaoyou was cut off by Bai Youyou before she could finish.

"Don't go." Bai Youyou pinched the hem of Xu Xiaoyou's clothes.

"Youyou, you seem a bit tipsy."

"I'm your client right now, and it's our time together. Serving me is what you should be doing. Your current time belongs to me." Bai Youyou turned her face, "If you really have to go, I can pay more, stay with me."

Xu Xiaoyou smiled helplessly, gestured encouragement toward the frantic Little Green Leaf in the distance, and sat down again. Realizing she said something odd unwittingly, Bai Youyou hid her lightly blushed face beneath her long hair, laying out a few photos on the table.

"What's been troubling me is not just memory issues, but also this."

Xu Xiaoyou picked up the photos and examined them. They were pictures of Dragonfly Town streets; some houses were circled with a red marker. Flipping through a few more, she saw many brutally disfigured corpses, mostly emaciated, their flesh severely decomposed, mouths agape as if someone had strangled them before death, fear evident in their eyes.

"A new type of Moon Sugar surfaced in Dragonfly Town a few days ago. It has a strong hallucinogenic, addictive nature. Due to hallucinations, these individuals have been disrupting social order, and after repeated use, these drug users self-harm, either by choking themselves until suffocation, or cutting themselves until they bleed out, jumping into rivers, hanging themselves. I've been receiving many cases like this."

"Revealing these matters to outsiders won't violate investigator rules?" Xu Xiaoyou twitched her mouth.

"Rules and regulations don't matter; the outcome is all that matters. As long as we can uncover the mastermind behind this, nothing else is relevant." Bai Youyou downed the Red Pomegranate Ocean in one go.

Xu Xiaoyou looked at Bai Youyou with some puzzlement.

"Sticking to the rules only leads to destruction."

Her personality was vastly different from what Xu Xiaoyou remembered, but she didn't dwell on it. She assumed the other must have experienced some incident causing an altered, twisted change of character.

"I'm investigating the source of this Moon Sugar. My information contacts have all gone silent, likely due to being noticed by the sugar traffickers behind this. The enemy hides in the shadows, crafty and vigilant." Bai Youyou said.

"These photos were given to me before they lost contact. Try giving your opinion."

Bai Youyou: "I personally suspect that this Moon Sugar is related to the recent rise of a gang in Dragonfly Town named Octagonal Spider."

Xu Xiaoyou studied the details in the photos seriously: "They look like a disorganized mob lacking professional skills, both in sales channels and their leading backbone."

"I suspect the creator and distributor of this Moon Sugar is not a resource-abundant sugar trafficker, but a professor familiar with chemistry, taking their first steps into the forbidden."

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