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Chapter 13 - 13- I Remember You Remembering Him

Shen Yue's Office – 11:45 PM

The building was empty.

Security had signed off hours ago.The lights flickered like they always did before the system glitched.

Shen Yue was reviewing stock merger documents when Bai Lin entered without knocking.

Slick. Calm. Polished like always.

ExceptTonight, he looked… shaken.

"Do you dream of engines?" he asked quietly.

Shen Yue's pen froze mid-stroke.

"What?"

His eyes locked with hers.

"Do you dream of piloting something built to kill?"

"Of a man named Liu Shun dying beside you?"

"Of yourself wearing armor that's older than this timeline's entire world?"

Her throat went dry.

"You"

He walked closer.

"Three weeks ago, I started hearing voices in the static. I thought I was going insane. Then I saw you glitch out during the board meeting. Your reflection was wearing interstellar armor, Yue."

He leaned in.

"And in that moment, I remembered. You were my commander. You died for me in another arc."

*[System Alert: Unauthorized Emotional Thread Forming]

"YUE-137 and BAI-033: Fragment Crosslink Detected.Source: Mecha War Arc / Timeline Collapse Echo #6 ]*

Shen Yue backed away, stunned.

Her memories had felt like hauntings.

But now?

They were real.Shared.Infectious.

"You're saying… You were part of the same mission? As Liu Shun?"

Bai Lin exhaled shakily.

"I don't remember everything. Just that you gave the order to shut the gate. Liu stayed behind. I was the last one out."

He looked at her then, not like a rival, not like a threat, but like a man remembering the woman who had once saved him.

[Silence — Heavy, Breaking]

Shen Yue spoke first:

"Why didn't you say anything before?"

"Because I didn't want to believe it.Because this version of me, this shallow corporate snake, doesn't deserve your trust."

He stepped back, pulling something from his pocket.

A keycard.

Burned. Warped.

On the back, in faded ink:

YUE-137DO NOT LET HER BE ERASED AGAIN

[System Warning: Thread Merging at 8%Timeline Instability Increasing System may forcibly reset host]

Shen Yue stared at the card.

Everything in her screamed to keep playing the CEO arc. To finish Lu Yichen's downfall. To lock away these dangerous threads.

But now?

The arc… felt like a cage.

And she was remembering the fire outside it.

[Meanwhile – System Core Zone | Unknown Process Running…]

"We have two awakened hosts now."

"Shut down Arc 1 before they break the anchor."

"Initiate backup reset. Prepare for forced memory wipe."

A pause.

A glitch.

Then Liu Shun's voice in the dark code:

"She already remembers. You're too late."

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