Three Years Old
After two item searches, Li Chuan had figured out some patterns in how the Myriad Worlds Mall displayed its goods.
It categorized items into three types based on the buyer’s purchasing power: high-tech, parasitic, and miscellaneous. From this filtering method, he inferred that the mall prioritized technological products first, with parasitic items barely qualifying as biotech.
As expected, the items related to memory backup also fell into these three categories.
Item 1: Nano Memory Chip
Value: 2000 Myriad World Coins
Origin: High-Tech World
Features and Function: An invisible chip, only the size of a regular cell. It had high permeability and would automatically embed itself into the brain when placed on the forehead, becoming an unnoticeable cell. It could store approximately 500 points of acquired knowledge, which the user could access at any time with a thought.
Side Effect: The chip connected to the High-Tech World’s network, and any stored memories were simultaneously shared with that world.
Li Chuan deleted the “Nano Memory Chip” without hesitation.
Though its price was highly tempting and the function extremely convenient, not even desperation would drive him to consider such an item.
At Fuyou Academy, there had been a crucial course on preventing invasions from the High-Tech World, and this chip had been a major topic.
The High-Tech World had long attempted to invade other realms through the Myriad Worlds, looting resources and developing colonies. However, the Laws of the Myriad Worlds forbade the entry of advanced thermal weaponry.
At one point, the High-Tech World had tried to smuggle such weapons through trade: they had planned to sell items like starships and mechas to the Myriad Worlds Mall and then repurchase them at over ten times the price. Though this incurred some extra cost in Myriad World Coins, it was worth it compared to the value of conquering an entire world.
But when they tried to repurchase the weapons, they discovered that the mall no longer listed them at all.
Only then did everyone realize that once a high-powered thermal weapon was received, the Laws of the Myriad Worlds immediately converted it into energy, leaving nothing behind and giving no one the opportunity to retrieve it.
Even nuclear weapons exchanged within the Human Realm had been similarly consumed as energy.
Maintaining a balance of technological advancement across worlds was the first and foremost rule of the Laws of the Myriad Worlds.
Despite the tight safeguards, the High-Tech World still managed to find loopholes.
They began selling high-tech products like the “Nano Memory Chip.” Once someone purchased one of these items, the High-Tech World could access the buyer’s memories, assess their world’s technological level, and quickly draft plans to manufacture thermal weapons using local materials.
One newly industrialized world had been invaded in exactly this way. Its information stolen and then used against it. The High-Tech World had seized its resources to build advanced weaponry and eventually occupied it entirely. From then on, that small world lost its autonomy and became a colony, drained until it was reduced to a barren wasteland.
Li Chuan had earned a perfect score in security and secrecy. He would never make such a rookie mistake.
The remaining two items also fell into the categories of technology and parasitism. Li Chuan used the mall’s filtering function to block both categories, and finally, some strange and unusual items appeared.
Item 2: 2D Flashback Reel
Value: 10,000 Myriad World Coins
Origin: 2D World
Features and Function: A conceptual item from a 2D dimension with no physical form. Upon purchase, the user could trigger a flashback sequence simply by thinking something like, “Am I going to die? But I haven’t yet…” and instantly reliving their life.
Side Effect: The outcome would go one of two ways: either the user would tearfully die, entrusting everything to someone they trusted, or they would unleash a sudden burst of potential, resurrecting at full strength.
Fuyou Academy had noted that 2D Worlds did not naturally intersect with 3D ones, so items from 2D sources were generally safe and free of serious side effects—as long as the drawbacks weren’t extreme.
The “2D Flashback Reel” seemed interesting. However, it was too expensive. Li Chuan didn’t have enough Myriad World Coins to buy both it and the “Earth Dragon Marrow Solution.” Plus, since the Flashback Reel carried a risk of death, he was reluctant to buy it.
He decided to check out the next item first.
Item 3: Mirror Copy
Value: 3000 Myriad World Coins
Origin: Human Clan Capital, Myriad Worlds (an ability from a certain Human user)
Features and Function: This was an ability. Upon purchase, the user would receive a virtual mirror. When they stood before it, the mirror would produce a duplicate of themselves. The duplicate would possess all of the original’s memories. To recover those memories later, the user could simply absorb them from the copy.
Side Effect: Due to the seller’s limited strength, the copy could not develop its own self-awareness.
Note: The seller was in desperate need of money and promised to cover the transaction fee for any buyer who purchased “Mirror Copy.”
Li Chuan was extremely tempted. Despite looking rather sketchy, the item had many advantages.
First, it saved money. With no transaction fee, he would only need to pay 3000 coins.
Second, the “side effect” was actually a benefit—he had been worried the copy might become sentient and try to take over.
Third, the provider was a fellow Human.
In a place like the Myriad Worlds, Li Chuan still placed trust in his own race.
Still, “Mirror Copy” had its risks. He added it to his shopping cart, then continued searching for more memory backup items. But all of them, without exception, carried either the risk of self-erasure or parasitism.
Compared to those, “Mirror Copy” was the safer option.
Its biggest advantage was that if anything ever went wrong, he could simply choose not to restore the memory.
Not to boast, but Li Chuan’s acquired knowledge was capped at 150 points only because his brain capacity was limited to 150, not because he lacked the ability to learn.
In recent years, he had spent minimal time studying and most of his time meditating while staring at white walls, deliberately avoiding unnecessary thoughts to reduce brain load.
If he truly committed to relearning, he could recover all his lost knowledge within three months.
The backup was just insurance. It wasn’t absolutely necessary.
After weighing his options, Li Chuan decided to purchase “Mirror Copy.”
He still had 4700 Myriad World Coins left, enough to buy it without needing to convert anything.
Before paying, Li Chuan asked the Myriad Ring, “Can I know the seller’s name?”
If he could learn the seller’s identity, he might be able to find this person in the Human Clan Capital, evaluate their character, and decide later whether it was safe to restore the memory.
Myriad Ring:
[You may leave a message for the seller through the mall system, but they may not reply. A maximum of five messages is allowed.]
Li Chuan messaged the seller and asked for their name.
The seller responded almost instantly:
[I can give you my name, but that’s a risk for me too. You’ll have to pay extra!]
Li Chuan: “…”
The seller seemed really desperate for money.
Li Chuan asked: [How much?]
Seller: [300… no, 500 Myriad World Coins!]
This man was broke enough to sell his own safety for 500 coins.
Li Chuan: [Deal.]
That made five messages in total.
Myriad Ring: [The 500-coin payment also requires a transaction fee, but the seller has agreed to cover it.]
Li Chuan purchased “Mirror Copy.” After spending 3500 coins, he also received a name—Shen Nianxiang.
“Shen Nianxiang…” Li Chuan could feel the weight of longing for home in the name.
The Myriad Ring had listed the origin as “Human Clan Capital, Myriad Worlds”—not the Human Realm. That meant the seller was currently in the Myriad Worlds.
So, was the “home” he missed the Human Realm?
Li Chuan had known even before coming to the Myriad Worlds that it was difficult to enter and even harder to leave.
They weren’t going there to enjoy themselves. They were there to guard the gate to the Human Realm.
The Myriad Worlds connected countless other worlds, and anyone could use the Myriad Gate to travel between them. Any world connected to the Myriad Worlds was required to station guards at the gate.
Without sufficient strength and merit, no one from the capital was allowed to return to the Human Realm.
This was to prevent people from other realms from disguising themselves and sneaking into the Human Realm and to keep corrupt individuals from returning to stir up trouble.
Some people lived their entire lives in the Human Clan Capital without ever earning enough merit to return home. They married and had children there. Those children, though human, had never seen their own world.
Li Chuan wondered if Shen Nianxiang was one of them.
He took a small notebook from his pocket and wrote down the name “Shen Nianxiang.”
Then, in the Chinese of his past life, he jotted down the major events he had encountered since arriving and reminded himself to cultivate the Forging Spirit Art, register at Fuyou Academy, and visit the library to restore his lost knowledge.
He activated the “Mirror Copy” ability. Before a virtual mirror that appeared out of thin air, he left behind a clone of himself. The mirror then shrank to the size of a compact. Next time he opened it, he could restore his memory.
He placed the mirror and notebook together and carefully stored them in the inner pocket of his school uniform.
He had 1200 Myriad World Coins and 130 points of exchangeable intelligence remaining. The Earth Dragon Marrow Solution, after fees, required 11,000 coins. If he converted another 98 points of intelligence, he would have enough.
It was said the Myriad Worlds were vastly different from the Human Realm: low oxygen, strong gravity, and frequent extreme weather. Someone as physically frail as Li Chuan—who struggled even to walk—wouldn’t survive long without upgrading his body. He had to use the Earth Dragon Marrow.
Li Chuan asked, “How much memory do I need to exchange for 9800 Myriad World Coins?”
Myriad Ring: [All of Li Chuan’s post-three-years-old memories are worth 100 points of acquired knowledge, which equals 10,000 coins.]
“Wait, my pre-three-year-old memories are worth 30 points?” Li Chuan asked in surprise.
He had previously traded a ton of academic knowledge for just 30 points. Most toddlers barely had any memory. Even 10 points would be generous.
The Myriad Ring didn’t answer.
Li Chuan thought about it and guessed that it referred to the current life’s “three years old,” not his previous life’s.
Only by including the untraded memories from his past life could it add up to 30 points.
That was good news for him.
With memories from his past life, even if he only retained those from before age three in this one, he’d still function as an adult—fully capable of adapting quickly.
He asked, “Can you inject the Earth Dragon Marrow Solution for me?”
Myriad Ring: [User Li Chuan may enable ‘Auto Use on Purchase.’ Once permission is granted, the ring can administer the item.]
Following the instructions, Li Chuan set the purchase to auto-use and enabled “Auto Deduct on Sufficient Balance.”
Everything was ready. As soon as he exchanged enough memory, he’d gain a stronger body.
“Use all my post-three-year-old memories to exchange for 10,000 coins,” he said.
He planned to keep 200 coins as emergency funds for life in the Human Clan Capital.
Myriad Ring: [Understood.]
Li Chuan felt his memories being rapidly stripped away—and soon realized something was wrong.
The ring was taking not only his current life’s memories but also those from his past life.
“Why?” he asked, confused.
He could barely remember anything from before age three in his past life—not even his parents’ faces. How could that be worth 30 points?
Finally, the ring responded like a sleazy merchant: [Li Chuan’s pre-three-year-old memories contain initial cognition of a parallel world—a foreign world outside the Myriad System. That qualifies as new knowledge, and new knowledge is highly valuable.]
“…Damn…” Li Chuan reached for the notebook in his pocket just before his memory faded completely.
He had forgotten one crucial thing. He hadn’t learnt how to read before he was three!
That thought flashed by and then his eyes became pure and blank.
He looked around the void and asked curiously, “What is this place? Where’s Mommy? Where’s Daddy?”
Myriad Ring: [This is the Void Transit Path. The ring is currently injecting you with the Earth Dragon Marrow Solution.]
Since Li Chuan couldn’t read anymore, the ring kindly switched to voice output.
Fortunately, the language of his past life was close enough that he could still understand it.
A needle extended from the white wristband and precisely pierced a vein, injecting a tube of magma-like liquid into his bloodstream.
His state was extremely odd.
He remembered being three years old, but his body was tall and developed—around seventeen or eighteen.
Although his memories only went up to age three, his innate intelligence was still 150. He could clearly tell he wasn’t just a child.
“I might have amnesia,” Li Chuan thought. “Was I kidnapped? Are the kidnappers injecting me with drugs?”
As the liquid entered his veins, his blood began to boil. Pain seared through every part of his body.
Any other three-year-old might have cried, but Li Chuan knew he wasn’t an ordinary child. He was strong and didn’t cry.
Instead, he calmly threatened, “The police are on their way.”
The Myriad Ring only responded dutifully: [User Li Chuan has reached the maximum duration in the Void Path. Initiating transfer to Human Clan Capital.]
In the next moment, Li Chuan found himself standing in an unfamiliar city.
But he had no time to look around, the Earth Dragon Marrow had begun transforming his body. Agony wracked him. Ash flaked off his skin as if he had been burned to a crisp.
At the same time, a warning blared in the sky above the Human Clan Capital:
“Alert! Alert! Extreme heat wave approaching! In the next two hours, temperatures will exceed 70°C! All residents, close your doors and remain indoors!”
