277: Chapter 277 The Amputated Arm Reborn with a Strange Mutation! A Trillion Souls Hidden Within the New Arm

Three seconds after the 50 trillion arrived, Arrogant Dragon's severed arm began to glow.

It wasn't the regenerative glow of an Immortal Emperor's origin, but a more ancient, eerie light—grayish-white, with countless tiny specks of light swimming in the blood vessels like a living star map.

"Something's wrong." Number Zero (Employee Version)'s expression changed drastically. "This isn't normal limb regeneration! The money from the Abyssal Civilization was mixed with something else!"

Lin Chen pulled up the capital flow chart.

50 trillion dimension points were indeed sent from the deepest part of the Abyss.

But at the bottom of the transfer channel, a thinner, more hidden tributary was concealed.

What flowed in that tributary wasn't money, but data.

It was the residual consciousness of countless deleted civilizations.

They attached themselves to the funds and flooded into the wound of Arrogant Dragon's severed arm together.

"They're using Arrogant Dragon's body as a container!" Golden Glazed cried out. "Stop the repair program immediately!"

Lin Chen raised his hand.

But he didn't stop it.

Because he saw the look in Arrogant Dragon's eyes.

The man who had just severed his own arm and said "I trust you" was now staring at his regenerating arm. There was no fear in his eyes, only a strange... listening.

"Aotian?" Lin Chen called out tentatively.

Arrogant Dragon didn't answer.

He tilted his head as if listening to a distant voice that only he could hear.

Then, he spoke:

"...Three million eras..."

"...No one has called our names..."

"...We... just want... to be heard..."

That wasn't Arrogant Dragon's voice.

It was a whisper of countless voices layered together—ancient, weary, and carrying an endless wait.

"He's been possessed by dead souls!" Number Zero drew his weapon.

"Wait." Lin Chen stopped him.

He walked up to Arrogant Dragon and looked directly into those eyes that were now shimmering with countless specks of light.

"What do you want?" he asked.

Arrogant Dragon—or rather, the countless dead souls controlling his body—fell silent for a moment.

Then, the layered voice spoke again:

"...You promised... to call our names..."

"...But you are a merchant... merchants forget..."

"...So... we found someone... to remind you... for us..."

The voice pointed toward Arrogant Dragon.

"He's your 'Reminder'?" Lin Chen understood.

"Yes," the layered voice said. "He will remember for you... how many lives you owe... how many names... when to call them..."

"Is he willing?"

This question caused the layered voice to fall silent.

Then, Arrogant Dragon's original consciousness suddenly struggled to the surface, roaring in his own voice:

"I am willing!"

His eyes were bloodshot and veins bulged on his forehead as he clearly fought trillions of souls for control of his body.

"Boss... you spent 1.6 quadrillion for me... I'll use my life to remind you... to call the names... it's fair!"

Lin Chen looked at him.

He watched this man, who had fought his way out of a Xianxia world, now using his last shred of clarity to fulfill his promise.

"Fine," Lin Chen said. "Then let him be the Reminder."

Number Zero became anxious. "Are you crazy?! He'll be completely consumed by the dead souls!"

"He won't." Lin Chen pulled up a newly drafted contract. "Because the souls also need him alive to remind me."

The contract was projected in front of Arrogant Dragon:

【Tripartite Coexistence Agreement】

Party A: Arrogant Dragon (Body Host)

Party B: Trillions of Dead Souls (Consciousness Inhabitants)

Party C: Lin Chen (Witness to the Debt)

Terms:

1. Party A permits Party B to inhabit his body; Party B must not usurp Party A's primary consciousness.

2. Party B may occupy Party A's body for no more than 1 hour daily to 'remind' Party C.

3. Party C promises to call the names according to progress; if breached, Party B may permanently take over Party A.

4. This agreement is permanently valid.

Using his final bit of consciousness, Arrogant Dragon pressed his thumbprint onto the contract.

The trillions of souls also pressed down—a blurry mark formed by countless points of light.

The moment the contract took effect, most of the strange light in Arrogant Dragon's eyes faded, leaving only a few tiny specks of light swimming deep in his pupils like diamonds embedded in the starry sky.

He looked down at his new arm.

It was a perfect, muscular Immortal Emperor's arm.

But looking closely, there were faint, tiny points of light flowing under the skin, as if stars were coursing through his blood.

"How does it feel?" Lin Chen asked.

Arrogant Dragon clenched his fist, released it, clenched it, and released it again.

"A bit itchy," he said. "Like there are many people... swimming in my veins."

"What are they doing now?"

Arrogant Dragon listened for a moment.

"They are... lining up."

"Lining up?"

"Lining up for you to call their names." He pointed to his temple. "There's a list here. Sorted by time of being forgotten. The first one is the earliest deleted civilization, what was it called..."

He closed his eyes and frowned, seemingly trying to hear the voices inside him clearly.

Then, he opened his eyes:

"The name of the first civilization is—"

"Yixie."

"Population: 1.37 billion."

"Time of deletion: 3.27 million eras ago."

"Reason for deletion: The Author thought they were 'not interesting enough'."

Lin Chen opened the system and searched for 【Yixie Civilization】.

Search results: None.

There were no archives.

Not even a record of them being "deleted."

Only the memories of the trillions of souls in Arrogant Dragon's head still held proof of this civilization's existence.

"They were the first batch," Arrogant Dragon said. "Twenty-four thousand eras earlier than Eden. They left no writing, no buildings, not even legends. The only remains are these... souls waiting to have their names called."

He looked at Lin Chen:

"Boss, do you plan to start with them?"

Lin Chen was silent for three seconds.

Then he opened the financial backend and created a new folder:

【Resurrection Project · Prologue · Yixie Civilization】

The folder was empty—no files, no data, no usable information.

Only the scattered bits of word-of-mouth information provided by the souls inside Arrogant Dragon:

"They lived in a star region called the 'Sea of Light'."

"Their script consisted of 'glowing lines'."

"Their greatest work was 'a song sung for three million years'."

"The song was called... 'Waiting for the Wind'."

Lin Chen stared at those few lines of text.

For 1.37 billion people, only these few lines remained.

"What is needed to resurrect them?" he asked the system.

The system popped up a price estimate:

【Resurrection of Yixie Civilization · Basic Cost Estimate】

【Required Energy: 370 trillion dimension points】

【Required Data: At least 10% civilization archives (Currently available: 0.0003%)】

【Required Time: Unable to estimate (Due to severe data loss)】

370 trillion.

Lin Chen's current account balance: 0.

But he didn't frown.

He pulled up the 【Cross-Era Indefinite National Debt】 issuance interface.

This time, the system did not prompt him about insufficient credit.

Because his collateral had changed—

It was the queue order of the trillions of souls inside Arrogant Dragon.

He turned the "priority for having names called" into a futures product.

Product Name: 【Yixie Civilization Priority Resurrection Rights Futures】

Underlying Asset: The "name-calling order" of the Yixie Civilization in Arrogant Dragon's queue list.

Contract Content: After purchase, investors obtain the "priority transfer rights" for that order—if Lin Chen resurrects the Yixie Civilization in the future, the investor has the right to resell this order right to other civilizations wanting to cut in line.

Current Order: 1st

Starting Price: 1 trillion dimension points

Bid Increment: 100 billion

This was equivalent to turning the "order of being remembered" into a commodity.

Being remembered first was the most valuable.

Because souls who had waited for three million eras were willing to pay any price to have their civilization's name called sooner.

The product went live.

First bidder: Anonymous Account.

Bid: 10 trillion.

Lin Chen stared at the account ID.

The ID was: 【Nameless One 01】

Behind the anonymous accounts were civilizations in the Abyss currently waiting in line.

They were using their last remaining conscious energy to buy the right to have their names called earlier.

Second bidder: 【Nameless One 07】—12 trillion.

Third bidder: 【Nameless One 33】—15 trillion.

The bidding grew increasingly intense.

It wasn't greed; it was desperation.

Every civilization wanted to be remembered sooner, to break free from that eternal darkness a bit earlier—even if only by a day, an hour, or a second.

Ten minutes later.

The 【Yixie Civilization Priority Resurrection Rights】 was sold for 47 trillion.

The buyer was a small civilization ranked 17 millionth.

They used all their remaining energy to trade for a chance to cut in line.

And the Yixie Civilization, using this 47 trillion, gained the qualification to be remembered first—but the price was that they had to wait another round until the name of the civilization that cut in line had been called.

Was it fair?

No.

But this was the market.

The market isn't responsible for fairness, only for closing deals.

47 trillion arrived in the account.

Adding the 50 trillion previously borrowed from the Abyssal Civilization (used for Arrogant Dragon's arm), Lin Chen's account balance was now: 97 trillion.

Compared to the 370 trillion needed to resurrect the Yixie Civilization, there was still a 273 trillion gap.

The deficit was huge.

But Lin Chen did not continue financing.

He took that 97 trillion and did something else.

He bought a patch of void.

Coordinates: Southeast corner of the Oblivion Graveyard, a no-man's land three thousand light-years in diameter.

Purpose: Construction of the Yixie Civilization Temporary Resettlement Area.

"You haven't even resurrected the people, yet you're buying the housing first?" Golden Glazed was puzzled.

"If I wait until they're resurrected to buy, the property prices will rise," Lin Chen said. "This is called planning ahead."

The resettlement area planning map popped up:

【Yixie Civilization Temporary Resettlement Area · Design Draft】

Residential Area: Can accommodate 1.5 billion people (with reserved expansion space)

Commercial Area: Markets, exchanges, bank branches

Industrial Area: Basic manufacturing, energy production

Cultural Area: Archives, museums, Memorial Hall for the Forgotten

Special Facility: 【Echo Wall of Names】—Dedicated venue for calling names

There was a line of small text at the bottom of the planning map:

【All buildings in this resettlement area can be dismantled, reorganized, and sold. If the Yixie Civilization moves back to their original star region, the 'Sea of Light', in the future, the land in this area can be converted to commercial use, with an expected return rate of no less than 300%.】

"You've even considered the demolition and relocation?" Golden Glazed was speechless.

Lin Chen didn't answer.

He stared at the 【Echo Wall of Names】 on the planning map and remained silent for a long time.

Then, he asked Arrogant Dragon:

"Do you remember all 1.37 billion names of the Yixie Civilization?"

Arrogant Dragon closed his eyes and listened.

The trillions of souls within him began transmitting information.

Three seconds later, he opened his eyes:

"I remember."

"How many?"

"1.37 billion, not a single one missing."

"How can you remember them all?"

"I don't have to memorize them." Arrogant Dragon pointed to his head. "They are right here, each one reporting their own name. Like... counting off in a line."

He paused and added:

"24 hours a day, without stopping. It's very noisy."

Lin Chen looked at him and, for the first time, felt that there might be a reason why this reincarnated Immortal Emperor was chosen as the Reminder.

Anyone else would have gone mad long ago.

But Arrogant Dragon just said it was "very noisy" and continued to bear it.

"Once the resettlement area is built," Lin Chen said, "we'll call the first batch."

"How many in the first batch?"

"Ten thousand."

"Why ten thousand?"

Lin Chen did not answer.

He pulled up the design for the 【Echo Wall of Names】.

It was a massive circular building with the inner walls covered in grooves—each groove could only hold the echo of one name being called.

The circle was three kilometers in diameter, with a total of ten thousand grooves.

"Because the Echo Wall can only store ten thousand echoes," Lin Chen said. "Once ten thousand are called, the wall is full. It must be cleared before the next batch can be called."

"How is it cleared?"

"Only when the echo dissipates is it truly considered remembered."

Arrogant Dragon fell silent.

He understood.

Calling the name wasn't the end.

It was the beginning of being remembered.

And "remembering" took time.

The echoes of ten thousand names would be enough to let the entire Narrative Layer hear that the Yixie Civilization had once existed.

Only after the echoes dissipated could the next batch of ten thousand names enter.

For 1.37 billion people, it would take 137,000 batches.

Each batch would take three days (the cycle for an echo to dissipate).

Total time: approximately 1,125 years.

"It will take over a thousand years of calling," Arrogant Dragon said.

"Yes."

"You'll be the one calling?"

"I'll call them," Lin Chen said, looking at the design of the Echo Wall. "I promised."

Arrogant Dragon said no more.

He just stood by Lin Chen's side, looking together at the void that was about to become the resettlement area.

After a long while, he suddenly said:

"Boss."

"Hmm?"

"I'll stay with you when the time comes."

"You won't find it too noisy?"

Arrogant Dragon grinned:

"I'm used to it."