Hunting: Memories (I Transmigrated as a Memory Hunter)

Intruder

Chapter 1: Intruder

[The Core, Galaxy 521, Era X 1521]

"M-master Xei!"

Xei looked up from the data he was scanning. Above his desk, four-dimensional hologram files surrounded him, each containing records submitted by either travelers or registered soul hunters, the annoyance in his teal-colored eyes clearly visible.

Xei brushed his bluish silver hair with his long slender fingers. His gaze rested on his assistant, Zireon, who rushed into the office like thousands of savage beasts just chased after him.

"Speak."

Zireon wiped his sweat. It would have been more convenient to call Xei over the private line. But because of the current situation, he could only directly inform him. Once he closed the door behind him, his tone changed from a lowly subordinate to a casual one, as if he shared a close relationship with his master. He sat down on one of the swivel chairs in front of Xei's desk, not even waiting for the other person to offer.

"Someone was able to access their soul records," Zireon informed Xei matter-of-fact.

Xei leaned back on his swivel chair, eyes not leaving the hologram file he was checking. He slid his hand in a repeated up and down motion, scrolling. “So? It's not uncommon."

Xei had been the Head of the Record Bank for more than a thousand Central Years. He witnessed different problems that arose before. It includes Souls acquiring their records.

Soul records are data collected throughout the years by travelers and stored in the Record Bank as a reference for the next summon.

Though it was not common, a Soul accessing their records was also not extremely rare.

"He accessed all the major data on his records. The managers were calling you about the system breach." Zireon countered, his irritation upon recalling those people appeared in his voice. He glared at Xei, “Their nagging was still echoing in my ears!”

Though both of their ages were probably above thousands based on the Central Calendar, their appearances were frozen in their late 20s per the standard of the ordinary human realm. Linear time doesn't exist in the Core and the Central Calendar was solely for documentation.

Xei stood up and massaged his temples, trying to hide his shock. How was that even possible? he thought to himself.

It was now clear to him why his assistant informed him personally. Zireon did not risk such crucial information passing on the communication line. The chance that it was breached was indeed high.

Seeing the urgency of the situation, Xei waved his hand. The holographic files followed his hands as he made a closing gesture, merging it, then slammed it back into the tablet. He grabbed his stuff and walked out of the office with Zireon following behind him.

"Didn't I ask for a system update at last quarter's meeting," Xei asked.

The moment Zireon stepped outside the door, he lowered his head, his voice a little shaky, as if his master would punish him for one wrong word.

"Yes, however, I was just informed that the security department wasn't able to do it right away. They said it was all bad timing. This person was able to find his key to access it."

Xei sighed as he entered the conference room.

He went to the side podium and prepared the files, "Call all involved personnel fast."

A person who can access their soul record can be a danger or asset to society depending on how they access it.

They need to investigate this soul, and if the situation requires it, subdue it at all costs.

__________

Nephrite thought he was still dreaming. But as he noticed the spinning scenery in front of him was his room, he groaned inwardly.

His dream earlier kept shifting one after another, shifting faster and faster until he got dizzy. He covered his eyes with his left arm and noticed the high temperature.

He sighed. This fever was probably the reason why he had such a weird dream.

He fumbled for his phone and dialed his friend, Agase's number.

"What now?"

Confused, Nephrite looked on the screen to check if he dialed the wrong number. However, the number was indeed Agase's.

So, who is this girl in line? He then checked the time and frowned. It was almost midnight.

A girl with Agase at this hour? Is the world collapsing already?

"Who is this? Where is Agase?" Nephrite asked, his voice filled with worry.

"Agase is sleeping. Why do people even bother him at this hour?" Click.

What bad luck!

.

Nephrite put down his phone on his chest after he saw that the call had already ended.

She didn't even wait for me to explain. As if people will randomly call someone at this time just for fun!

Nephrite called to ask if Agase could accompany him to the hospital out of habit. But if his friend had a companion in the middle of the night, then he had no right to complain or disturb him.

Even if he was upset, he knew his place. It was just that he relied on Agase so much through all these six years.

Though it was more troublesome, Nephrite had no choice but to call an ambulance for himself.

He did not know what virus he had caught. The pounding pain on his head and upset stomach already felt miserable. So, even if he could barely pull himself up later to answer the door, he had no choice but to endure it.

Good thing he didn't unpack the bag he brought from the camping a month ago. Except for the dirty clothes that he had already removed the moment he arrived at the apartment, the remaining things in his bag could be used at the moment. He can just grab his things before leaving.

The ambulance arrived fifteen minutes later.

After he wore his eyeglasses, he grabbed his phone and wallet from the side table. Then he picked up his bag, and dragged his body to the front door slowly, holding on to the furniture for support. The dizziness he felt from earlier didn't subside, making it harder for him.

The medical staff assisted him right after he opened the door. After making sure the door was locked, they headed for the ambulance.

On the way to the hospital, one of the medical staff checked his vitals, the other took his personal information.

His temperature was almost 40 degrees Celsius and his vision kept swirling.

A few minutes later, Nephrite felt anxious, "Why are we taking so long? We should have reached the hospital by now, right?" Am I that disoriented? It feels as if we were traveling too long.

The nurse hooked him on an IV, "We are almost at the hospital, sir." The nurse's tone sounded calm but for some reason, it also felt cold.

Soon enough, they reached the hospital.

Nephrite's hearing was more sensitive than other people's. Expecting to be brought to the usually noisy emergency room, he prepared himself. However, the noise did not come. A bad feeling rose in his heart.

He asked one of the two nurses who received them in the hospital.

The nurse smiled, "A different room," he said simply.

Nephrite still felt something was off. However, he couldn't place the reason for worrying so he decided to ignore it.

A man in a white lab coat approached the nurse who took his information earlier. He could not understand what they were talking about. He just knew it was about him because he heard his name but couldn't understand the language they used.

Nephrite noticed the man in a lab coat staring at him. He was not fazed by it.

Nephrite liked languages a lot. Though he couldn't speak most of the languages he was familiar with, he could always recognize what country the words were from. Even so, his knowledge was still limited. If others did not use the official language and instead spoke a dialect, he might not recognize it. Again, he shoved his worries into the drain.

He was calm until they reached the room.

Despite his blurred vision, he saw large, capsule-like storages with human bodies inside the white-walled room.

The heck?! Was this a hospital room!? It's a f*cking weird lab!

What the hell?! Did I offend someone powerful?

Even if he racked his brain, it was impossible to come up with an idea.

Nephrite lives and works at home alone with very few friends. The only one he met often was Agase, who always helped him with things that he could not pay for through the mobile payment settlement system. Also, even though he had a social media account, he was too busy to interact with other netizens. Offending someone through it was impossible.

Living alone and not even stepping out of the house for a month, how the hell would he offend someone?

In the end, he could only blame it on bad luck.

______________________________________

Xei approached Zireon, who was currently wearing a nurse uniform and looked at the boy on the stretcher.

Zireon gave him the young man's information.

His name was Wang Yu Zhen. English name: Nephrite, 20 years old, 180 cm. Following it was the details regarding the young man’s personal information and health.

Using advanced medical technology of the Core, they had already determined Nephrite's illness.

Xei glanced at Nephrite. The young man’s skin was already as white as a thin sheet of paper, probably from staying too long at home. He wore thick eyeglasses. Under his glasses were a pair of deep-brown irises, now gazing at both him and Zireon, his eyes full of curiosity.

Xei’s eyes unconsciously drifted to Nephrite’s lips. His lips was already pale due to his current illness. A fleeting, unfamiliar feeling flashed through his chest. But it was so fast that he did not recognize it.

They still need to investigate this person regarding the Soul Record case.

Good thing that he was conscious at the moment. If he didn't invade the Soul Records intentionally and willing to compromise, things could go smoothly.

As they reached the lab, he ordered Zireon to prepare a cryonic just in case Nephrite agrees to their request.

Zireon nodded then gestured to the nurse to follow.

Xei looked at the person on the stretcher. Panic was written in Nephrite's eyes as he looked around.

Seeing bodies stored for freezing was a familiar scene for Xei. It slipped his mind that this world's travelers were not familiar with cryonics yet.

He took a small case from his coat pocket. He opened it, revealing a pair of silver earrings, and walked towards Nephrite.

~~~

Panicked-stricken, Nephrite tried to get up, struggling.

He tried to pull himself from the stretcher and moved his body as far away as he could.

What do they want from me?

The man said something, his hand trying to reach out to him. However, he still could not understand his words.

"No!"

Nephrite threw the first thing he grabbed at the man.

Xei caught the pillow. He frowned and pulled Nephrite by the ankle and dragged him close. He moved fast and attached one of the magnetic silver earrings to Nephrite's right ear.

"Can you understand me now?"

Nephrite's eyes widened. He didn't expect this sudden turn of events. He nodded reluctantly, his heart accelerating.

Xei put the other earring on his own right ear. "I apologize for the improper treatment. I know you don't feel well. However, the thing I want to say to you can't wait any longer. Please listen to me."

Nephrite was still dizzy but he did not lay on the bed again. Instead, he sat down and held his forehead. He observed the other man.

Though the other person treated him roughly earlier, it was only because he struggled. Now that he calmed down, the other person put a safe distance away from him, maybe in an attempt to make him feel at ease. Nephrite knew his situation might be unfavorable for him but just this effort made him calm down. He asked, "Who are you? What is this place?” He paused, “Why did you take me?"

Xei knew that introducing himself was useless. Once this conversation ends, Nephrite will forget every piece of information about him depending on how things will turn out. However, he still obliged.

"I am Xei, a representative of the Record Bank."

He took another small box from his coat pocket and gave it to Nephrite, "It is called paracetamol in this world. Have some to deal with your fever temporarily."

Xei could give Nephrite highly effective medicine. But without trust between them, he doubted the other person would take it. So, he decided to give something familiar first.

Nephrite checked the label as Xei walked to the nearby refrigerator, took a sealed water bottle, and gave it to him.

Nephrite consumed the medicine. Despite not knowing the origin, he believed Xei had no plans of killing him. At least, not yet.

Soon after, he started to feel better.

"Record Bank? Never heard of it."

"Of course... It doesn't exist in this world."

Nephrite raised an eyebrow but didn't comment.

Xei continued, "Did you have weird dreams lately?"

"What dream? Almost all my dreams are weird."

It was a fact.

Nephrite usually had weird dreams. Though some of it was just normal, there were times he could see the future. It has already happened many times.

"Based on our records, you infiltrated Record Bank's system and accessed your own soul's memory."

"What!? I don't even know that goddamn Record Bank?! How will I?"

Xei nodded, "Yes, that is why I came here to confirm it." he paused, "It is not safe for you now that you witnessed all your soul's data."

"But I can't remember which dream you are talking aboutㅡ"

Nephrite stopped, and suddenly remembered the dream he had earlier.

"I think I did. Just before I left for the hospital, I had these connected dreams."

Nephrite recalled his dream. There were two people. Every time their lifetime ends, a yin and yang symbol will roll and lock in the middle. Then it will open again, and a new lifetime will start. However, every life ended tragically. As the number of dreams increases, the speed of the dream ascends as well. The ending also became less tragic than the previous one. That continued until he woke up.

"So, the dream you were talking about... Is that from my past life?"

"You could call it like that, but... the reason is more complex. Anyway, if you accessed it naturally in the form of a dream, then it was fine, at least for us. It is an ability of your soul, hence you’re not our enemy nor a target. Despite that, it will cause you trouble. There are Soul hunters who rob quantum light from people with abilities like you and turn it into something usable for them."

Nephrite felt a chill run down his spine. He looked at Xei, wide-eyed, "Will they kill me?"

For an unknown reason, Xei felt a pang of unease in his heart, but he had no time to ponder over it.

He nodded at Nephrite, "In this case, you have some options. First, we can erase your memory, but it won't guarantee your safety. Since you access your soul record with your own ability, illegal soul hunters might aim at you soon. I can't guarantee that they have no means of knowing this information about you.”

“Second, be a soul hunter yourself."

"So, there is no option to live a normal life, huh?" He sighed, "If you guys are not the villains here, then what are those?" He pointed to the capsule-like human storage on the other side of the lab.

Xei answered him truthfully, "Those are cryonics. It holds the original world's vessel. In other words, the real body of the hunter. A person going to the Core only needs his soul. If he can be a hunter, he can go to the Core without problems. Cryonics are invincible body-freezing storage. These are one of the most desired items in every world, to be able to preserve bodies until humans discover the key to eternal life."

"Are these bodies physically dead?"

"No. You can check the vitals on the monitor."

"May I see?"

Xei didn't answer him. Instead, he called over the assistant to bring a wheelchair.

Xei helped Nephrite to settle in the wheelchair and went beside the system control of the cryonics. The assistant pushed Nephrite's wheelchair, following him.

Nephrite saw large and small monitors. Four of those indicated the heartbeat of each body and other vital indicators. The large monitor seems like the cryonic's control system.

"Technically, you mean I don't have a choice but to agree to become a soul hunter?"

Nephrite asked again. This was all too much information to take in, even if he knew that Xei did not reveal too much. Even so, he could guess that Xei did not lie to him.

Nephrite had no choice but to fully absorb the situation. He could not act carelessly. For now, he will observe what will happen. Now that things came to this, he must pay attention to his ignored gut feeling earlier.

"There is a third option," Xei looked at him intently, "Be a Memory hunter and work with us."

__________________________________

Word guide

Travelers - humans and other entities with souls.

Vessel- empty bodies without souls

Next summon - next life/next world

Cryonics - Cryonics is the low-temperature freezing and storage of a human corpse or severed head, with the speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future. Cryonics is regarded with skepticism within the mainstream scientific community. (source: Wikipedia). However, in this story, cryonics are already highly advanced. It could preserve and maintain an alive, hibernating body.

Soul Hunters - people who hunt souls to gain benefits