Chapter 892: The Last Rose

“This is really too difficult.”

I shook my head, ultimately unable to offer any solution.

“Brother Goat… these stages of yours are already abstract enough for me, and now you want to use imagined things to record abstract events… I can’t think of a suitable ‘anchor point’ right away.”

“Is that so…” Goat slowly revealed a disappointed expression. “Even someone like you finds it impossible?”

“Someone like me?”

I felt I had failed Goat’s expectations. He believed I would have a solution, yet I disappointed him.

Am I not a smart dog in Goat’s eyes?

That said, while I couldn’t provide the distinct ‘anchor points’ for each stage and state Goat mentioned, I did happen to know a suitable ‘anchor point’ for that ‘pure white symbol’ he just described.

Maybe I should just tell him about this ‘anchor point.’ As for those abstract concepts he mentioned… I’ll leave them for him to figure out. Smart people do smart things—I believe he can manage it.

“Use the last rose of summer,” I said softly.

“A… flower?” Goat looked at me, clearly unfamiliar with this plant. “A flower can be an ‘anchor point’? How could something like that be tied to memory?”

“I haven’t tried it, but I think the principle is similar.” I pondered for a moment. “How should I put it? Whether it’s a marketing strategy by florists or poetic meanings assigned by romantics, every flower has its own language—essentially, it’s already a form of memory association.”

“Flower language…” Goat murmured the words.

“For example, red roses symbolize love. Just seeing a red rose makes people think of it as a ‘symbol’ of love. This simple language has made red roses the best-selling flowers in the world. Or take baby’s breath—its meaning is ‘willing to play a supporting role.’ Once you remember this, you’d choose baby’s breath when you want to silently guard someone.”

“Interesting.” Goat nodded. “Just like ‘love’—something I once thought was meaningless but now might actually be useful. It seems there’s no such thing as useless knowledge in this world.”

“Mhm… I hope that helps.” I said. “Brother Goat, maybe you can use a ‘layered encryption’ state to lock away your memories. I don’t know if I’m explaining it clearly, but think of it like an onion—peeling away layer by layer. You could separately share the meaning of this ‘flower language’ with a few people you trust, people who might only appear under certain conditions. That way, they won’t show up too early, and you can let your state ‘progress gradually.'”

“Right. That’s how I’ve always done it—I just hadn’t settled on the ‘anchor point.'” Goat said. “Now that you’ve clarified things, the situation is much clearer. If I ever really lose my memory, I can use the subconscious I’ve left behind now to awaken myself at the shallowest level and rely on instinct to act. Through action, I’ll trigger various ‘anchor points,’ unlocking different states one by one. Finally, I’ll share the ‘flower language’ you mentioned with a few key individuals… so they can activate my deepest layer of memory.”

The more Goat spoke, the more excited he became—to the point where I could barely follow.

“Yes… this way, I’ll never truly lose my memory…” Goat’s eyes flickered. “I’ll use cunningly placed ‘anchor points’ to reclaim every memory they’ve taken… and then use their own hands to destroy my psychological barriers, ascending beyond humanity…”

I started to feel like Brother Goat was losing his mind.

I couldn’t understand a word he was saying anymore.

“Dreams have ‘anchor points,’ reality has ‘anchor points,’ people are ‘anchor points,’ events are ‘anchor points,’ the brain is an ‘anchor point,’ even flowers are ‘anchor points’…” Goat continued muttering under his breath. “That way, they’ll have no choice but to return my memories to me…”

I’d always thought Goat’s talk of ‘losing memory’ was hypothetical, a rare possibility—but here he was, racking his brain for a solution.

Why was he so certain he’d lose his memory?

Almost as if this path was one he’d chosen for himself.

Knowing full well he’d lose his memory, yet insisting on planting countless ‘anchor points’ in this ‘Land of the End’ and continuing down this road.

It left me utterly baffled…

“What was the name of that flower you mentioned earlier?”

Hearing Goat’s voice, I snapped back to attention and looked at him.

“Uh… the last rose of summer,” I repeated. “I don’t know if it’s ‘karma’ or ’cause and effect’ at work, but your earlier description matches the appearance and meaning of a flower I read about just yesterday.”

“Tell me.”

“The last rose of summer is pure white, but it only blooms in one season—summer.” I recalled the contents of yesterday’s book and explained to Goat. “This flower arrives with summer and vanishes with it. When the last rose of summer falls, it marks the end of the flowering season. Its fall means all other flowers have fallen too, so it carries the meaning of ‘end’ and ‘termination.'”

“And its flower language?”

“The beauty of the end,” I said.

“The beauty of the end…” Goat nodded. “When everything has faded away… what beauty could possibly remain?”

“Perhaps the act of fading away itself is a kind of beauty,” I said.

Goat fell silent, staring blankly at his water cup. I knew it was time.

I’d solved another problem for him—now it was time to continue my own journey.

“If there’s nothing else… I’ll take my leave.”

“Wait.” Goat turned to me and added, “Do you remember Sheep?”

“Sheep…?” I nodded. “Of course I remember… he was one of the ‘Zodiacs’ who interviewed me…”

“He’s dead.”

“Huh?” I took a moment to process his words. “He… lost a gamble?”

“I don’t know.” Goat shook his head. “I only know he’s dead. It’s a real shame—he didn’t live long enough to see me become an ‘Earth-level.'”

“How…?” I asked. “Didn’t you instruct him to pick hidden game locations? And I haven’t seen him all this time either.”

“Apparently, he ran into a tough opponent.” Goat said. “There’s a group dedicated to cracking games—they studied Sheep’s game in detail and made their move. But it doesn’t seem like it was a ‘life gamble.’ They probably tricked him into breaking a rule or something.”

Honestly, hearing about Sheep’s death left me both sad and uneasy.

Sad because Sheep was, after all, a comrade from years ago—one of the few who knew the truth. Though we weren’t particularly close, his death still left a hollow feeling in my chest.

Uneasy because… Sheep, like me, was one of Goat’s pawns… and now he was dead.

Goat hadn’t protected him.

Was it because Goat never promised him ‘absolute safety’?

“Yanzhichun, I remember you said Jiang Ruoxue is on the other side of the city—where that group operates.” Goat said. “While you’re at it, gather some intel for me.”