Goddess or Female Ghost

Do you know what it feels like to be struck by lightning?

Fang Qi does now.

He was sitting on his own sofa, with…

That cup of tea that was forever fifty-two degrees in front of him.

The line written in tea on the coffee table…

[If Master takes the subway again, Liguang will break Master’s legs]

…was still embedded in the grain of the tabletop.

Fang Qi: “…”

He stared blankly at those words…

Then slowly raised a hand and covered his face.

…It happened again.

The morning of the eleventh day.

He was looking at the cup of tea Liguang had “descended to the mortal world” to brew for him once more.

That’s right.

He had gone back.

He was still in this world.

As for why he had gone back…

He had been struck by lightning.

Struck by his goddess of a wife!

Fang Qi continued covering his face.

He remembered what had happened.

He had been standing outside the police station, drenched and miserable in the rain, while Lin Xiaoyou, clutching her butt, had grinned at him and asked him to go back.

Go back?

As if she needed to ask!

Of course he wanted to go back!

He was very good at reading the situation!

Lin Xiaoyou had been so badly injured that she could barely walk, hobbling around like a lame duck. Her pitiful condition would have seriously affected their subsequent operations!

He had been thinking of the bigger picture!

It had been a rational decision!

…It definitely wasn’t because he felt like he had socially disintegrated.

Definitely not.

What had truly made him resolve to do it…

Was the text message An Lian had sent him!

Standing in the pouring rain, he had stared at the words on his phone…

And felt that the world before him was even darker than the storm clouds overhead.

An Lian knew.

The gentle An Lian, who treated him like her own little brother, knew what he had “done.”

More importantly…

Like Lin Xiaoyou, she was a key NPC!

Even in this altered worldline, even without the memories of the previous worldline…

Lin Xiaoyou had been able to retain her memories, so why couldn’t An Lian?

There was a very good chance she could, too!

For all he knew, in the previous loop, she had woken up with memories of “taking Little Qi mountain climbing to clear his head, then sending him a text message.”

And then…

She had also woken up with memories of “Little Qi using a rolling pin in the back room of a steamed-bun shop to satisfy someone’s peculiar fetish.”

Holy crap!!!

So, in that instant…

A thought that had not crossed Fang Qi’s mind in a very, very long time surfaced once more.

What if…

Instead of triggering a reset through death, he used some irreversible injury to his body as the price for turning back time?

Break one of his fingers, or use some other method…

And make the world rewind and start over.

That way, Lin Xiaoyou wouldn’t retain her memories.

Neither would An Lian.

They would forget everything that had happened in this loop!

Forget it completely, as if it had never happened!

As for Liguang…

She was already a goddess, a part of the rules of this world!

Her level was far higher than his!

She would definitely be able to remember…!

Yes, that was what he had thought at the time.

Only thought about.

He hadn’t even moved a finger.

And then…

He had been struck by lightning.

It hadn’t hurt.

Everything had gone white, then black…

When he opened his eyes again, he was already sitting on the sofa in his living room.

The sun was shining outside, and birds were chirping…

As if nothing had happened.

Fang Qi slowly lowered the hand covering his face and stared at the tea-stain threat about “breaking his legs,” the corner of his eye twitching.

Okay.

Very good!

Now he knew!

Even though he had switched to another worldline, even though Liguang had already become a “goddess,” even though she possessed the “authority” to make the entire world tremble with earthquakes and tsunamis…!

If he attempted a “non-death reset,” Liguang still couldn’t retain her memories.

Otherwise, why would she suddenly strike him with lightning?!

Could he really have been struck by lightning by accident?

Give me a break! Fang Qi had always been an upright man who behaved properly and never did anything to be ashamed of. There was no way he could be struck by lightning!

Only a fool would believe it had been an accident!

Fang Qi took a deep breath, picked up the teacup…

And took a hard sip!

Fifty-two degrees. Just right.

The fragrance of tea spread across his tongue, carrying a slight bitterness followed by a sweet aftertaste.

“Wife…”

He stared at the tea-stain threat and forced the words out through clenched teeth.

“You really are… swift and decisive!”

He had only thought about it for a moment!

Just thought about it!

He hadn’t even said anything!

He hadn’t even moved a finger!

And she had already sent a bolt of lightning down on him!

It had been quick, clean, and utterly merciless!

Yet just yesterday, she had been so worried about him!

She had even carefully protected the city, afraid of letting him suffer the slightest harm!

And today, just because he had entertained a tiny little thought, she had struck him with lightning!

You’ve changed!

You weren’t like this before!

Fang Qi ranted inwardly without end.

You crazy woman, just you wait!

But then…

He furrowed his brows slightly.

Something felt strange.

Liguang was a “goddess” now.

A fit of anger could change the weather, while a bout of jealousy could cause natural disasters to erupt across the entire world.

With that kind of power, that kind of “authority”…

Her soul was even unable to be contained within an ordinary human body!

And yet, despite all that…

She was still afraid of his “non-death reset”?

Fang Qi stared at the surface of the tea.

…What did this mean?

It meant…

The “authority” of his reset ability was probably…

Even higher than Liguang’s “authority”!

Fang Qi was slightly stunned.

He was actually that powerful?

And now that he thought about it…

The two resets he had undergone after coming to this world didn’t seem to have triggered any sort of ending.

The world had simply fallen silent.

Why?

…Whatever. Who cared why?

He shook his head.

He couldn’t figure it out.

No point thinking about it!

If his authority really was higher, then it made perfect sense!

He was an outsider from beyond the heavens—a player!

His wife might be terrifyingly powerful, and Miss Genius might crush him intellectually, but…

He was pretty impressive too!

He was just… just suffering from amnesia!

Maybe before he lost his memories, he had been terrifyingly powerful!

Maybe he had been a superhuman capable of pinning Liguang against a wall and teaching her a harsh lesson!

Amnesia…?

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and rubbed his temple.

Before the reset, he had felt as if something had been added to his mind.

That feeling had faded considerably now, but it was still there.

Could it be…

That the “power he had once lost” was gradually returning?

Fang Qi’s eyes slowly lit up!

Oh!

Could it be that…

He would soon become a superhuman capable of protecting his wife?

Liguang!

You’d better apologize right now!

Otherwise, once I regain my superhuman powers, I’m going to…

“Ring—!”

The sudden sound of his phone dragged him out of his fantasies.

Fang Qi: “…”

He picked up the phone and glanced at it. As expected, it was Lin Xiaoyou.

He answered with a blank expression.

“Se-ni-or—”

Lin Xiaoyou’s wailing instantly came through the phone!

“Senior, you died so—tra—gically—! Waaaah…”

“…Stop talking nonsense.”

The goofy voice on the other end immediately cut off, followed by a full two seconds of silence.

“…Senior, you’re so rude!”

Lin Xiaoyou muttered.

But then she cheerfully continued:

“Still, thank you, Senior!”

Her tone was bright, playful, and infuriatingly smug. Then…

“Ahem!”

She cleared her throat.

“Since Senior saved my butt, this time…”

Her tone suddenly turned solemn!

“My brain is completely at Senior’s disposal!”

“Senior, just give the order!”

Fang Qi: “…”

Was this woman insane?

Still…

He narrowed his eyes slightly.

It certainly sounded good.

But…

He was on high alert now!

Whenever Miss Genius said something, there was probably some hidden meaning behind it!

Still…

Since she had put it that way, he definitely had to ask.

“…Lin Xiaoyou.”

After thinking for a moment, he lowered his voice and asked the question he cared about most:

“Do you know what state Liguang is in right now?”

“Is she… safe?”

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

“Hmm…”

Fang Qi tightened his grip around the teacup.

Then Lin Xiaoyou spoke.

“Well, Senior, according to my guess, Liguang’s current condition isn’t too bad. But… I can’t exactly say she’s completely safe, either.”

Fang Qi’s heart tightened.

“Why?”

He asked at once.

“Because Liguang is a ‘virus,’ Senior.”

Lin Xiaoyou’s tone was perfectly matter-of-fact.

“A virus can exist because it’s powerful in its own right, but its situation is never truly safe. As long as it’s a virus…”

She giggled.

“Antivirus software is going to scan for it and delete it.”

Antivirus software.

Fang Qi frowned.

What she said did make sense.

The rules of this world were that antivirus software, while Liguang—the “AI companion who should never have existed”—was the virus.

Antivirus software would never give up trying to eliminate a virus, so…

A virus could never truly be safe.

But…

“Doesn’t Liguang have ‘permissions’?”

He instinctively argued back.

“She can control this world. Doesn’t that mean she’s also part of the world’s rules? How can you still call her a virus?”

He felt that his Liguang couldn’t simply be classified as a “virus”!

“Huh? Senior, what are you talking about?”

Lin Xiaoyou sounded exasperated over the phone.

“Would a virus without permissions still be called a virus?”

“It’s precisely because it has permissions that it’s called a virus!”

Fang Qi froze.

That… did seem to make sense.

“And another thing, Senior!”

Lin Xiaoyou said with clear annoyance:

“When you say she can ‘control the world,’ do you mean making natural disasters erupt across the globe and nearly destroying the entire planet?”

“That’s exactly the kind of thing a virus would do!”

“So, Senior, your Liguang is as virus-like as a virus can possibly be! If I were this world, I’d definitely do everything I could to—”

“Hm?!”

“Ah! I-I was just making an example!”

Lin Xiaoyou immediately backed down.

“Anyway—!”

She cleared her throat again.

“Senior, the Liguang we saw at the steamed bun shop…”

Her tone grew a little more serious.

“She was the body forcibly instantiated from the ‘soul’ of someone who should never have existed in this world!”

“And that body…”

Lin Xiaoyou sounded completely certain.

“Couldn’t bear her ‘soul,’ much less the permissions from another world that existed within it!”

“So, she could only turn back into a soul!”

Fang Qi fell silent.

A “soul”?

What she called a “soul” was probably…

The underlying code of Liguang’s existence as one of the nine Super Cores.

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly lowered her voice.

“Hey, Senior, don’t you think…”

She spoke in a mysterious whisper:

“That the Liguang we have now is the real ‘ghost’?”

She gave a quiet laugh.

“As for those ‘spies’… at most, they can only be considered zombies!”

Ghosts. Zombies…

Er…

Fang Qi blinked.

So…

His wife wasn’t just a goddess—she was a ghost, too?

A…

A cute little ghost who would sneak over in the middle of the night to bring him tea and tidy up the house!

…Adorable!

The corners of Fang Qi’s mouth lifted slightly, but his expression soon grew solemn again.

…Lin Xiaoyou was right.

The rules of this world definitely didn’t welcome Liguang.

Here, she was a “virus”—a piece of anomalous code…

Rejected by the world itself?

She had managed to hold on without dissipating only by relying on those “permissions” to forcefully resist it!

But…

She could hold out for a while, not forever.

“So…”

He murmured:

“We have to return to the original—!”

“Not necessarily, Senior.”

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly cut him off.

Fang Qi: “…?”

…Not necessarily?

His eyelid twitched violently, and his pupils instantly focused!

“What do you mean?”

he asked in a low voice.

Could it be that Lin Xiaoyou had another solution…?!

“Senior, you’re so silly!”

Lin Xiaoyou giggled.

“Think about it. Senior, why do you think Liguang became a ‘ghost’?”

Fang Qi’s thoughts came to a halt.

“Because…”

He murmured, following Lin Xiaoyou’s line of reasoning.

“In this world, there was never a Liguang to begin with, so… she shouldn’t exist?”

“Exactly!”

A crisp snap of the fingers came from the other end of the phone.

“So, Senior, we don’t necessarily have to return to the original world line!”

“All we need to do is…”

Her voice suddenly dropped, filled with barely restrained excitement.

“Go to a world line where Liguang exists!”

“Then she won’t be a ‘ghost’ anymore!”

Fang Qi blinked.

His brain temporarily short-circuited. He couldn’t keep up with Miss Genius’s train of thought.

What difference would that make…?

“Oh, Senior!”

Lin Xiaoyou sounded even more excited.

“Think about it!”

“The possibilities in this world are constantly shifting. Trying to find our original world line with pinpoint accuracy would be far too difficult!”

“There are just too many variables. Reconstructing it exactly…”

“That would be even harder than gluing a cup shattered into dust back into its original shape!”

Fang Qi held his breath slightly.

So this was actually difficult?

He had always thought it would be fairly simple…

“But, Senior!”

Lin Xiaoyou’s confident voice came through the receiver.

“If all we want is to return to a world line where ‘Liguang still exists,’ then…”

“Wouldn’t that be much easier?”

Fang Qi’s eyes trembled!

…Huh?

“And besides, if that’s all we need to do, I think…”

Lin Xiaoyou giggled.

“I can do it, Senior~”

Fang Qi suddenly tightened his grip on the phone!

His mouth fell slightly open.

…What?

He stared straight at the surface of the tea in his cup.

What Lin Xiaoyou had just said…

It made sense.

It really made sense!!

Of course!

He didn’t need to return to the exact original world line!

All he needed was to turn Liguang from a ghost back into someone real!

Back into the wife he could hold in his arms whenever he wanted!

And she had just said…

That she could do it?!

Was this Miss Genius’s plan?!

So there was actually a way to solve the problem like this?!

But…

Wait.

Fang Qi thought of something and hesitated.

Lin Xiaoyou, you…

“…I have no problem with it, but…”

He spoke, his tone hesitant as well.

“Lin Xiaoyou, are you really willing to do this?”

“Hm? What are you trying to say, Senior?”

Lin Xiaoyou still sounded a little excited.

Fang Qi pressed his lips together and fell silent for two seconds before speaking.

“…My Liguang will always be my Liguang. But…”

Unable to hold back any longer, Fang Qi asked:

“The Xiaoqing from another world line… will she still be your Xiaoqing older sister?”

...But what about Xiaoqing?

Could Lin Xiaoyou accept this?

If Liguang forgot all they had experienced...

He couldn't accept it.

He didn't want to go through it a second time!

He fell silent, waiting for Lin Xiaoyou's answer.

He thought Lin Xiaoyou would fall silent because of this question.

He had even mentally prepared himself to hear her say "I don't know" or "Then I'll accept it."

But on the other end of the phone...

"Pfft!"

Lin Xiaoyou suddenly burst out laughing.

An annoying, playful laugh!

Fang Qi: "?"

"Hey, senior!"

Lin Xiaoyou's playful laughter continued to come through:

"Xiaoqing has always been Xiaoqing!"

"Senior, didn't I tell you my discovery? This world is the only one!"

Fang Qi opened his mouth.

Right.

Indeed.

If one really forgot everything completely...

Could Lin Xiaoyou really let it go?

After all, wasn't she also trying hard to restore Xiaoqing's memory in another world line before?

She...!

"Of course, if what senior is talking about is related to memory... Heehee!"

She let out another heehee laugh.

"Senior, how could you forget? What's wrong with your memory?"

"Before we came to this world, Xiaoqing...!"

Lin Xiaoyou's tone was full of pride!

"She could retain her memory just like this genius!"

Huh?

Fang Qi was stunned.

Retain her memory...

Ah...!

He suddenly had a jolt!

In his mind, that almost forgotten thing was lit up by this sentence!

— Xiaoqing had a nightmare!

— She dreamt that I was dead!

— Yeah!

Fang Qi's hand holding the phone trembled slightly.

Right.

Xiaoqing could also retain her memory across different timelines.

It could be considered that...

She had also obtained a certain "privilege"?

So...

No matter which world line they went to, as long as they could find Xiaoqing...

Although she might also forget everything like An Lian, but...

As long as they "tried a little harder"...

She could be like Lin Xiaoyou now, remembering everything.

Fang Qi's gaze became slightly fixed.

Wow.

It's really one thing leading to another.

Hey.

I'm saying...

Lin Xiaoyou.

Lin You.

Miss Genius.

You couldn't have...

Calculated this step in advance, could you?

...?

Damn.

You're amazing.