The ULTIMATE EXPERIENCE SYSTEM
Chapter 72: MEMORIES?CRYING?

Chapter 72: MEMORIES?CRYING?

Chen paused mid-step, his boots crunching over the brittle, blackened soil of the Anomaly Zone.

The air here was thick with the scent of ozone and decay, the remnants of a world torn apart. The trees, twisted and skeletal, reached toward the sky like the fingers of the damned. Shadows clung to the earth, shifting unnaturally, as if the land itself was alive—watching, waiting.

Something felt... off.

His mind, which had been confidently sorting through memories of his past life, suddenly hit a wall of doubt. A realization flickered—cold and unwelcome.

"Wait... this doesn’t add up."

He narrowed his eyes, replaying the timeline in his head.

The Anomaly Zone was discovered ten days after the walls between worlds crumbled. Back then, Earth was already a battlefield. Demons and beasts from the fused planets tore through civilization like wildfire. Humanity was barely clinging to survival. The Challenger Association had collapsed. Governments were ash. Blood ran thicker than law.

So how... how did he remember this place so clearly?

He had never personally entered it in his past life. It was always hearsay—rumors whispered among the last survivors, stories passed in firelit shelters and shattered forums. Yet now, the details were vivid. Too vivid.

"This isn’t memory... it’s like the moment I chose this path, the knowledge just appeared in my mind."

It wasn’t déjà vu.

It was implantation.

His breath slowed. For the first time in days, a chill swept through his spine—not from fear, but from the weight of a terrifying possibility.

What if these aren’t my memories?

What if the system is... feeding me thoughts?

The air around him tightened, pressing against his skin like an invisible hand. Then—

PING!

A harsh chime rang out, louder than any system prompt he’d received before. It wasn’t the calm blue of notifications. It was red—a deep, glowing crimson that pulsed like a heartbeat in front of his eyes.

[SYSTEM WARNING]

Challenger is becoming suspicious.

Alert Level: PEAK

Challenger is nearing revelation of system secrets.

Recalibration protocol in progress...

"...What?"

Chen’s heart thundered.

This wasn’t a regular system prompt. It felt different—darker, more sentient. He’d always assumed the Ultimate Experience System was mechanical, coded, precise.

But this... this was a reaction. It was aware of his thoughts.

A flicker of pressure ignited inside his skull. He stumbled slightly, clutching his head as a piercing wave of heat lanced through his mind. His vision blurred. The world around him warped—the trees bent unnaturally, the ground beneath him rippling like liquid.

And then—his aura surged on instinct.

Golden light erupted from his core, wrapping around his body like a storm breaking free of its cage. His Lawrenderer essence surged forward, cutting through the pressure like divine fire.

And in that instant... he saw it.

Deep within his own mind, something pulsed.

Not metaphorically—literally.

A structure hovered inside his consciousness, veiled by layers of illusion. It wasn’t neural. It wasn’t natural. It was foreign—like a scar carved into the fabric of his soul.

Floating within his mental sea was a crimson circuit—an intricate web of runes, rotating symbols, and locked sigils... all embedded inside his brain.

Chen’s eyes widened.

"This... this is a memory forge."

He had heard whispers of such things—artificial constructs used to implant false histories, to shape a person’s perception without their knowledge. But to find one inside his own mind?

He reached toward it mentally, but the moment his aura touched its surface, a new notification exploded across his vision.

[FORBIDDEN SECTOR ACCESS ATTEMPTED]

*Memory Seal Layer: AL-03 (Divine Interference Detected)*

Error. Error. Error.

Lockdown Initiated.

The rune structure reacted violently. A shockwave blasted through his psyche, and Chen staggered backward, blood trickling from his nose. His knees buckled, but he forced himself to remain standing, teeth clenched.

His surroundings warped—trees shriveled more, the wind howled unnaturally, and the Anomaly Zone itself pulsed like it was watching.

But Chen didn’t retreat. He wiped the blood from his lips, gaze burning with fury and curiosity.

"So it’s true."

"My past life’s memories... they’re not mine. They’re the system’s guidance—implantations meant to shape me, push me down a specific path."

And if that was the case...

What else had it hidden from him?

Who had created the system?

Why was he chosen?

And most chilling of all—

Was he truly reborn?

Or was this all a simulation, and he was just a pawn playing out a role he’d never chosen?

He looked up into the pitch-black sky of the Anomaly Zone, no longer seeing just trees and beasts and EXP.

Now he saw a stage—an elaborate theater built to evolve him, push him, break him.

Chen exhaled slowly.

"If you’re watching me..." he said calmly, voice low, "...then listen carefully."

His aura flared again, brighter this time, bending gravity and air around him. The ground beneath his feet cracked, fissures spreading like spiderwebs.

"You might control the path."

"But I’ll decide where it leads."

A quiet hum answered. No system message. Just silence.

But Chen knew. It heard him.

And for the first time, the game board had shifted.

With blood still wet on his chin, and defiance burning in his eyes, he turned back toward the depths of the jungle.

"Let’s see how deep the rabbit hole goes."

And with that, he stepped into the shadows—seeking monsters, power, and the truth behind the system itself.

The Shattered Seal

Chen didn’t stop.

The moment he realized the truth, he attacked.

His aura lashed out like a blade, carving into the crimson circuit in his mind. The runes resisted, pulsing with a malevolent energy, but he refused to yield. He poured everything into the assault—his will, his rage, his desperation to know who he really was.

The circuit fractured.

Then—

It shattered.

A flood of memories surged through him, raw and unfiltered.

Real memories.

His vision whited out. Scenes flashed before him—fragmented, chaotic, but his.

A childhood he didn’t remember. Faces he had forgotten. A life before the system. A life before the apocalypse.

And then—

The truth.

He gasped, staggering as the final piece locked into place.

His hands trembled. His breath came in ragged bursts.

He needed to get out. Now.

Without hesitation, he activated a teleportation talisman, the world around him dissolving into streaks of light.

The Villa

The familiar scent of sandalwood and steel greeted him as he materialized inside his villa. The walls, lined with weapons and relics, should have been comforting.

They weren’t.

He collapsed onto his bed, his body shaking.

The memories kept coming.

His parents. His real name. The day the world ended—not as he remembered it, but as it actually happened.

He had never been reborn.

He had been taken.

The system wasn’t a gift.

It was a cage.

And now that he knew—

Now that he remembered—

Tears burned in his eyes. He didn’t fight them.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Chen let himself break.

SORRY CANT FIND WHERE I SAVED THE REMAINING PART JUST PASTED SOMETHING BELOW TO COMPLETE DAILY QUOTA

The Shattered Seal

Chen didn’t stop.

The moment he realized the truth, he attacked.

His aura lashed out like a blade, carving into the crimson circuit in his mind. The runes resisted, pulsing with a malevolent energy, but he refused to yield. He poured everything into the assault—his will, his rage, his desperation to know who he really was.

The circuit fractured.

Then—

It shattered.

A flood of memories surged through him, raw and unfiltered.

Real memories.

His vision whited out. Scenes flashed before him—fragmented, chaotic, but his.

A childhood he didn’t remember. Faces he had forgotten. A life before the system. A life before the apocalypse.

And then—

The truth.

He gasped, staggering as the final piece locked into place.

His hands trembled. His breath came in ragged bursts.

He needed to get out. Now.

Without hesitation, he activated a teleportation talisman, the world around him dissolving into streaks of light.

The Villa

The familiar scent of sandalwood and steel greeted him as he materialized inside his villa. The walls, lined with weapons and relics, should have been comforting.

They weren’t.

He collapsed onto his bed, his body shaking.

The memories kept coming.

His parents. His real name. The day the world ended—not as he remembered it, but as it actually happened.

He had never been reborn.

He had been taken.

The system wasn’t a gift.

It was a cage.

And now that he knew—

Now that he remembered—

Tears burned in his eyes. He didn’t fight them.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Chen let himself break.The Shattered Seal

Chen didn’t stop.

The moment he realized the truth, he attacked.

His aura lashed out like a blade, carving into the crimson circuit in his mind. The runes resisted, pulsing with a malevolent energy, but he refused to yield. He poured everything into the assault—his will, his rage, his desperation to know who he really was.

The circuit fractured.

Then—

It shattered.

A flood of memories surged through him, raw and unfiltered.

Real memories.

His vision whited out. Scenes flashed before him—fragmented, chaotic, but his.

A childhood he didn’t remember. Faces he had forgotten. A life before the system. A life before the apocalypse.

And then—

The truth.

He gasped, staggering as the final piece locked into place.

His hands trembled. His breath came in ragged bursts.

He needed to get out. Now.

Without hesitation, he activated a teleportation talisman, the world around him dissolving into streaks of light.

The Villa

The familiar scent of sandalwood and steel greeted him as he materialized inside his villa. The walls, lined with weapons and relics, should have been comforting.

They weren’t.

He collapsed onto his bed, his body shaking.

The memories kept coming.

His parents. His real name. The day the world ended—not as he remembered it, but as it actually happened.

He had never been reborn.

He had been taken.

The system wasn’t a gift.

It was a cage.

And now that he knew—

Now that he remembered—

Tears burned in his eyes. He didn’t fight them.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Chen let himself break.