Chapter 862: Shi Ruizhi’s Awakening
“What is this…”
Shi Ruizhi felt as if she had just had a long and scary dream, but she could no longer remember the content of the dream.
When she opened her eyes, what she saw was a strange ceiling and… that familiar smell from the medical room.
“Eh? You’re awake?”
Suddenly, a strange voice came from the side, and Shi Ruizhi turned her head to see a nurse in a white uniform bustling around.
Once she confirmed that Shi Ruizhi was awake, she immediately came over to check on her.
“Hello, can you feel any discomfort now? If you’re unwell, you can tell me right away.”
“Um?”
Shi Ruizhi felt weak all over, but when it came to pinpointing where it hurt… she couldn’t say. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong that stood out.
“Doesn’t seem like it… just… feeling weak all over.”
“Really? Are you sure? Then I’ll go get someone.” The part-time nurse, after confirming that the patient didn’t have any other conditions, prepared to notify someone immediately.
After all, this “patient” was the academy head and was entrusted to her by the well-known teaching assistant, Yang Yuelan.
She couldn’t afford to be careless.
However, just as she was about to go out, the door swung open.
“Head… Principal! And Sister Xiao Han!”
“Um, you can go out first; we’ll take care of it here.” I nodded gently at the nurse.
After the other party left, she closed the door thoughtfully.
“You are… the Academy Head?” Shi Ruizhi struggled to sit up and had heard the nurse call the two girls in front of her, one “Principal” and the other “Sister Xiao Han.”
Both names sounded familiar yet somewhat… strange?
This contradiction stimulated her to keep recalling. The more she thought, the more chaos she felt in her mind. It wasn’t a painful sensation, but rather as if a mist had risen in her brain, obscuring her vision.
“It seems you still remember, so do you remember your name?” Principal Mei stepped forward to inquire.
After I helped this girl undergo the soul sublimation and “reshaping,” she fell into a deep sleep, and no one knew how long she would sleep.
But I could sense that in her slumber, Shi Ruizhi’s consciousness was wandering through shallow dreams beneath the first guise of her soul. Yet, since this was a new experience, it was likely she would forget everything upon awakening.
Thus, after completing the soul drawing, the Principal and I left. Before departing, I made some records on Shi Ruizhi to easily know the moment she awakened.
Therefore, even if that nurse didn’t come to find us, I would still inform the Principal’s clone immediately.
“I… What was my name again?” Shi Ruizhi looked dazed, then instinctively tapped her forehead with her hand. It seemed this simple question which most people could answer was quite difficult for her.
At this moment, Principal Mei instinctively looked at me, given that she wasn’t quite familiar with Shi Ruizhi’s current state.
However, having witnessed these “two miracles,” she was very clear that I had accomplished everything I mentioned earlier.
Non-deprivation life essence restoration.
And… non-extraordinary soul sublimation.
“Am I… Shi Ruizhi?”
After a while, Shi Ruizhi finally asked uncertainly.
“Yes, Shi Ruizhi is your name.” I nodded, affirming the answer she provided. It seemed she still held some basic common knowledge; at least she could communicate and remember her name.
“Then… can you remember anything else? Anything at all, like your background, what you were going to do, or what you used to do—does anything come to mind?”
“Impression…” Shi Ruizhi instinctively shook her head. “It seems like there is a lot, but I don’t know how to describe it… as if… as if…”
“There’s a fog in your head, familiar yet unrecallable. You might remember if you encounter something familiar, right?”
“Yes! That’s the feeling.” Shi Ruizhi nodded quickly. Although her description might not be entirely accurate, it was close enough.
“Alright, that’s a normal phenomenon.” At this point, I softened my tone, “So… do you remember the Self-Generated Magic Experimental Project promotion plan?”
“Self-generated… what?” Shi Ruizhi realized that the sequence of specialized terms I mentioned was beyond the basic memory anchor range, falling into specific memories. Clearly, she wasn’t sensitive to that memory.
“You’ve forgotten that as well… Do you remember that you participated in an experiment before?”
“Experiment… I think I have a vague impression.” Shi Ruizhi seemed to recall something, but it was merely a sense of familiarity, with no concrete details coming to mind.
“Do you remember me? I’m the lead of that experiment.”
“You… Sister Xiao Han? That nurse called you Sister Xiao Han…”
“Looks like your memory is quite good?”
“No… it seems like there’s a tree in my head… something I just instinctively recalled…”
“Alright…” I was surprised; I hadn’t expected the Knowledge Tree to assist her memory.
Unfortunately, the gap between the Knowledge Seed and the Great Knowledge Seed was considerable. If sorted in order, this tree would equate to a secondary Knowledge Tree.
It wouldn’t be able to fully record all her memories in the form of knowledge.
After all, the purpose of the Knowledge Seed initially was to entirely replace the special phones provided by the academy.
“However, I need to sincerely apologize. You were the only experimental volunteer who experienced an accident in the experiment you participated in.”
“This incident caused you some irreparable losses, including your amnesia, and for that, I will make compensation. Additionally, we will arrange for a junior sister to take care of you and help you familiarize yourself with academy life once you confirm you can be discharged.”
“Ah? This…”
Shi Ruizhi was caught off guard by my apology and the series of arrangements. Even though her memories were blurred, she instinctively felt that she had never been treated this way before.
“Moreover, the academy will also compensate for this. This experimental project is a key project favored by the academy, so if you have any needs, you can communicate directly with the academy.” At this point, the Principal also spoke up.
This entire speech made Shi Ruizhi feel overwhelmed!
The person before her was the Principal!
She instinctively felt some reverence for the Academy Head status, although she wasn’t quite sure which academy she had enrolled in… After recalling for a moment, she remembered it was… Witch Academy?
After the Principal and I chatted with Shi Ruizhi for a while longer, we left.
It seemed that matters were concluding here.
As long as the matter of the “fatal incident” was smoothed over, the issues related to the Self-Generated Magic experiment could actually be easily resolved.
Afterward, with the Academy Head’s intervention to search for evidence proving that someone was targeting and maliciously harming her, this matter could basically be put to rest.
Though the Self-Generated Magic promotional experiment ended so hastily, appearing to have “failed,” the accumulation of hundreds of successful cases and technical experience made it not entirely incorrect to call it a success.
It was just that a small issue had arisen due to an accident.
At this moment, Shi Ruizhi watched the two figures leave and felt an indescribable confusion in her heart.
After all, who would want to wake up and suddenly find their memory fuzzy, discovering themselves in a medical room?
However… Shi Ruizhi couldn’t help but grow curious about her own body.
After all, she had just learned that an accident occurred due to the experiment; what if her body had undergone some mutation?
While Shi Ruizhi was exploring her body, after a while, two figures arrived at the medical room again.
Interestingly, both of them had white hair, just like the one called “Sister Xiao Han.”
However, unlike Sister Xiao Han’s silver-white hair, which appeared very natural, it was obvious that the leading one here had dyed hair.
For some reason, a strange term “Sister Xiao Han’s Support Group” popped into Shi Ruizhi’s mind, as if this answer could resolve her confusion.
“Hello, Senior Shi Ruizhi. Let me introduce myself; my name is Millien, and this behind me… this is Yue. We are here to discuss compensation matters on behalf of Teaching Assistant Yang Yuelan.”
“Compensation? Such efficiency?” Shi Ruizhi was somewhat surprised; she thought this so-called compensation wouldn’t arrive so quickly.
“Naturally, our Sister Xiao Han’s promises must be firmly executed. Regarding the compensation matter… Would you prefer to discuss it directly with us or shall we proceed according to the pre-established plan we created?”
“Considering that you have just woken up and have yet to be discharged, we recommend choosing the pre-reserved plan, or… delaying the decision until you feel ready to make an initial decision on your own.”
“Let’s… delay for now.” After all, she still didn’t fully understand the situation. Though she could sense their sincerity, she cautiously chose to wait until she was more familiar with the life here before making a decision.
“Is that so? Well, good.” Millien responded pleasantly upon hearing Shi Ruizhi’s choice.
“By the way, I forgot to ask, do you know how many days I was unconscious?” Shi Ruizhi seemingly recalled something and asked.
“I apologize; I’m not quite clear on the exact time, but it’s been almost a week since the day you got into the accident.”
“A week?” Shi Ruizhi didn’t have much of a concept of time; she just felt like lying around for a week had wasted a lot of time.
“Yes, and let me reintroduce this person to you.” At this point, Millien stepped back a bit, allowing the white-haired figure behind her to come into Shi Ruizhi’s view.
“This is Yue. She will be your guide for daily living. Given your special circumstances, to avoid any inconvenience caused by your amnesia, she will take full care of your life and help you adapt back to your original lifestyle.”
“Eh? This… isn’t necessary, right?” Shi Ruizhi instinctively refused.
“Really not necessary? Although I hesitate to discourage you, you are already a ninth-grade student. Do you remember what your graduation project was? Who your previous instructor was? What knowledge you’ve learned? How to conduct project research, and… how familiar are you with the Witch Academy now? The teaching building, the experimental building, the cafeteria…”
Millien rattled off a list of daily matters that Shi Ruizhi might experience, instantly increasing her stress.
She began to recall seriously, but she realized that without someone to guide her, she might really struggle to even take care of herself in academy life!
“So please don’t worry, Yue will guide you through everything until you have adapted to your former life.”
“Hello, Senior Shi Ruizhi.” The pushed-out “Yue” said politely to Shi Ruizhi, her voice delicate, softly woven with a hint of nervousness, as if worried about not doing well.
“You… hello, Yue… classmate.” Shi Ruizhi awkwardly greeted back, but upon seeing the petite junior sister in front of her, she instinctively thought she was quite cute.
“Senior Shi Ruizhi can just call me Yue.”
“Alright… Yue.”
“Um, is there anything you would like to ask, Senior Shi Ruizhi?”
“Not… for now… Oh no, could you help me check when I can be discharged? I feel like I’m actually doing quite well right now…”
“I’ll go ask right away.” Yue, demonstrating strong initiative, said before quickly sprinting out.
“Looks like Yue will become a good friend of yours. So, I have no reason to continue disturbing you here. Oh—here, this is my business card. You can contact me directly, or you can have Yue contact me as well. You can even have Yue get in touch with Teaching Assistant Yang Yuelan or the Principal.”
“This…” Shi Ruizhi instinctively took Millien’s business card.
“If you have any matters, feel free to contact me, not just limited to the compensation discussions; everyday matters as well. Well then, until we meet again.”
After Millien said this, she directly left the medical room.
Her task was mostly complete.
The reason she emphasized this girl Shi Ruizhi… was naturally at Sister Xiao Han’s request.
Amnesia, essence of the soul, self-generated magic… all these hinted that the achievements of this senior would be quite high.
Moreover… amnesia also signified a clean slate with the past, free from being trapped by it.
Whether Shi Ruizhi was innocently affected or had malicious intentions was no longer important.
If she really had any issues… prolonged contact would reveal everything.
As for the girl called “Yue.”
She was merely a clone of Sister Xiao Han’s mimetic soul, essentially a “watcher” deliberately made to look different from Xiao Han, yet unmistakably signaling to others that she was part of Xiao Han’s support group.
If people didn’t engage with Shi Ruizhi, Millien would pull her into Xiao Han’s camp, considering she was a “pseudo-genius” molded entirely by Xiao Han where all her previous issues would be wiped away.
The so-called active compensation was merely a method to nurture that relationship.
If someone did engage her… they could uncover who orchestrated this series of events, and once the matter concluded, it would be easy to mend fences and bring Shi Ruizhi over. The specifics would depend on how it was handled.
After all… Shi Ruizhi was likely to become the second individual under Xiao Han’s guidance to achieve the extraordinary!
Her inherent value was highly commendable.
To this… Millien expressed considerable anticipation. Of course, the key was that Shi Ruizhi had been chosen from among the 147 people by Millien herself!
She needed this opportunity to redeem herself from the shame brought by this oversight!
Even if Xiao Han didn’t care at all, Millien herself did.
