Chapter 9

Lan and Eric (Bug Fix) 

It seemed that tutors were in high demand. After the interview, Juan was taken to the next room, where he was given a new ID and a uniform. 

“You don’t have to wear the uniform all the time, but it’s best to wear it on your first day.” 

“Head back to the dorm to pack your things. From now on, you’ll be living in Eden.” 

“Don’t worry about your records. Eden will handle them—you just need to pack your belongings.” 

The staff member in charge of onboarding gave these instructions earnestly. Carrying the issued items, Juan took one last look at the distant egg-shaped building before boarding Eden’s private shuttle to leave. 

To Juan, this was merely a method—the simplest way to get into Eden and find that person. If it worked, great. If not, he’d try something else. 

But it wasn’t the same for everyone else! 

News of Juan’s acceptance into Eden spread even faster than his arrival back at the dorm. 

When he reached the dormitory building, a crowd had already gathered outside. A series of light strips had been installed around the building, and the moment he got out of the car, the lights lit up, displaying a red message: 

 “Congratulations to our outstanding graduate 485345 for being accepted into Eden!”

At the same time, the crowd below set off electronic fireworks. 

It was… pretty. 

Juan thought. 

The same celebration happened again when 485321 returned—he had also been accepted into Eden, becoming a research intern. 

Having two students accepted into Eden in the same year made the school principal and teachers ecstatic. They even held a celebratory banquet for the two students at the restaurant across from the dorm. 

Although Juan couldn’t eat, he sat next to 485325, watching as he loaded his plate with dish after dish, matching each one with names he had seen on TV. Juan found it quite amusing. 

Oh, and there was a small incident during the banquet. 

A girl who introduced herself as “Mia” came over specifically to talk to him. 

Plenty of people had approached Juan that evening, most of whom he didn’t recognize, so at first, he didn’t pay much attention to her—until she said her name.

 “Hey, 485345, I heard you got a green crystal from outside. Can I see it?” The girl blinked her eyes, looking at him with admiration. As she did, the male students nearby began to tease and jeer. 

Unfortunately, Juan didn’t understand what there was to make fun of. 

Recalling the names this body’s previous owner had murmured before his death, Juan looked at the girl and asked quietly, “Do we have any connection?”

With just that one sentence, the girl’s expression changed instantly—first turning pale, then showing a look as if she was about to cry. Finally, she covered her face and ran away. 

It was baffling. 

A group of male students nearby finally gave him an explanation: 

“…It seems you used to have a thing for Mia, but unfortunately, lots of people were after her, and she never really paid attention to you.” 

In fact, saying “never really paid attention” was putting it lightly. Mia had always been indifferent to 485345, the original owner of Juan’s body, and sometimes even mocked him, as he was simply too ordinary. 

 “What you said to her just now was really cool!” The boys, evidently sharing similar experiences, sincerely praised Juan for the scene they had just witnessed. 

Juan: ??? 

To him, it had been a normal question. He genuinely wanted to know if the girl had any connection to this body—whether she might be linked to the name the body’s original owner had mentioned before his death. 

 “But she took it as a jab.” 485325, who had been watching the entire situation unfold while eating a slice of cake, remarked. 

 “I skip classes a lot, so I’m not too familiar with what happened between you two. But from what others say, it seems like you used to be a ‘simp’ for her, and she never really gave you the time of day. Now that you’ve made something of yourself, she suddenly remembers you.” He summed it up. 

 “It’s a good thing you rejected her. If you’d softened and agreed just now, she might’ve either taken that crystal from you if she were short-sighted, or swallowed you whole if she thought long-term.” 485321 added, also munching on a slice of cream cake. 

 “Swallowed me?” Juan tilted his head in confusion. “She can’t eat me, and she can’t swallow the crystal either. I already sold it.” 

 “Fair point. But honestly, with your personality, I don’t see how you could’ve been troubled by love in the first place. You don’t seem like someone who understands emotions at all.” 485321, puzzled, continued. “The way people talk about the old 485345 and the version I’ve seen these past two days… they seem like two completely different people.” 

 “Troubled by love?” Juan’s brow furrowed slightly as if recalling something. “Being troubled by love is bad. The people I’ve seen suffering from it were all in great pain.” 

 “But the most beautiful poetry was written by people suffering from love.” 

 “Humans are strange.” Juan concluded. 

For a moment, 485325 and 485321 were stunned. Then they laughed together. 

 “You make it sound like you’re not human.”

 “Though honestly, you don’t really feel human either.” 485321 added thoughtfully. “Speaking of Mia, though, I do know of someone named Mia.”

 “324836, one of the school’s outstanding graduates from five years ago. She was also the last person from our school to be accepted into Eden before us. She gave herself the name Mia, too.”

 “She was incredibly talented and became an idol for many girls at school. Lots of them secretly named themselves Mia after her. The girl from earlier is probably one of those copycats.” 

 “Actually, Mia was my idol too. I hope we can meet her in Eden someday.” 485321 added. 

Juan… committed the information to memory. 

As he had said, he didn’t understand human emotions. 

He had buried three human corpses in the wilderness before, simply because he had seen others do the same during his travels. 

And as for the names murmured by this body’s original owner before death, Juan remembered them only because he had a good memory—nothing more. 

Just that. 

However— 

 “I have a question. Why do some people have names, while others are only called by a string of numbers?” Juan asked. Using numbers as names wasn’t necessarily unreasonable—just unfamiliar to him. But now that two people with proper names had appeared, he thought it was worth asking. 

“Uh… everyone started out with just numbers for names. We’ve been called by them since childhood, so no one found it inconvenient.” 485321 explained. 

 “But the top researchers in Eden all have names. Then, a few people who ventured outside and came back started giving themselves names. After that, those planning to leave also began choosing names. Eventually, people started thinking that only exceptional individuals deserved names, and some began secretly naming themselves.”

He smiled sheepishly and lowered his voice. “To tell you the truth, I’ve already picked a name for myself—Lan.” 

 “I planned to only use it officially in my research papers once I’d made a major discovery and became a great researcher, but…” 

 “For now, I’m only telling you two. Don’t tell anyone else.” He glanced at the other two meaningfully. 

485325 also lowered his voice. “I chose the name Eric.”

Both of them turned toward Juan. 

 “Juan.” He said. 

Feeling like they now shared a secret, Lan and Eric smiled at Juan. 

The three of them were genuinely happy to have made good friends before graduation. 

Unfortunately, their time together was brief. The next morning, after tidying up his room, Juan was ready to leave. 

He didn’t bring any luggage—nothing in that room had ever belonged to him. 

He only carried a bag of crystals in various colors. 

At that moment, he removed the black school uniform this body had always worn and changed into the uniform provided by Eden. 

It was a suit—Juan had seen advertisements for such clothes on TV. 

He fastened the vest buttons, tied the necktie, tucked the tie’s end neatly into the vest, and then put on the suit jacket.

He put on his coat and stretched both arms upward, revealing two sections of snow-white cuffs.

Then, he began combing his hair in front of the mirror. 

He himself had black hair and black eyes, but the owner of this body had flaxen hair and green eyes. 

This was the first time since his possession that he had carefully examined the appearance of this body. 

Fortunately, the original owner also had long hair, though slightly shorter than what he was used to, but still long enough to tie up. 

However, the original owner always used various hair gels to make the hair messy, half his face obscured, giving off a gloomy vibe. 

Now, after washing the hair thoroughly and smoothing it with water, he tied it up neatly. 

Habitually placing the ends of the hair over his right shoulder, he glanced at the mirror again—and saw a completely different person. 

Although this wasn’t his original face, the reflection looked remarkably similar to how he used to appear: cold, calm, and methodical. 

Pressing his lips together, he left the temporary lodging without looking back. 

Outside the door, he encountered Lan, also dressed sharply. 

Lan wore the same Eden research uniform, the white lab coat suiting his demeanor. His luggage was minimal, consisting of just a small suitcase by his feet. 

Eric, however, looked the same as always. He sized up the freshly dressed man, then turned to glance at Lan—whom he had already inspected fifty times—and finally shook his head in amusement. “Uniforms really do make people look better. If the girls at school saw you two like this, they’d regret not giving you a chance earlier.” 

“Come on, hop on.” He patted the backseat of the hover bike, gesturing for them to get on. Once they were seated, he started the bike, zooming through the long corridor, pausing briefly on the elevator, and then shooting out the gate like an arrow.