The system remained silent. Therefore, Lu Yan could clearly confirm one thing: this was not reality at the moment. Even if the person in front of him appeared real, it didn't matter. Lu Yan was just unsure whether Tang Xun'an was a pollutant or something else.
At this moment, the importance of transferring the detector to the phone for two hundred contribution points became evident. Tang Xun'an's values appeared on Lu Yan's phone, with a morbidity level of 933, not much different from the real Tang Xun'an.
Lu Yan's emotions gradually calmed, and he replied slowly, "I've been a bit tired lately." With that said, he casually recorded a series of numbers in the phone's notes.
"If you're tired, then take a nap," Tang Xun'an replied with a gentle tone and a smile.
Lu Yan clicked his tongue mentally, feeling that Tang Xun'an looked better when he was acting cool; his smile now wasn't as charming. Well, maybe it was because the fake in front of him only had a face and lacked that aura.
Tang Xun'an suggested, "I'll take you to the Disease Prevention and Control Center."
Lu Yan thought for a moment whether to follow him, but considering the uncertainties, he answered, "No need, Mr. Tang. We're not that close."
Tang Xun'an's expression suddenly appeared hurt. Lu Yan remained unmoved and hailed a taxi using his phone.
"Then, let me see you off to the car. I won't feel at ease otherwise," Tang Xun'an said.
Lu Yan hesitated. Standing at six feet, he could handle most situations unless a high-level pollutant suddenly appeared. However, he soon discovered that speaking in absolutes was not wise.
A taxi with a thoughtful driver stopped at the roadside.
Yes, thoughtful. This driver had no face above his neck, only a red, wrinkled brain. The surface of the brain was oozing red blood vessels, emitting a terrifying aura.
The pollution level instantly soared to 6000 in the surroundings. Lu Yan's phone indicated that the driver had arrived, urging him to get in quickly.
Lu Yan scanned the situation; damn it, even the license plate matched. Could this brainy person really obtain a driver's license and drive on the road?
Lu Yan immediately chose to report the driver for violating regulations and canceled the order. However, it seemed he was a bit too late.
The brainy driver opened the door and walked out of the car.
Tang Xun'an's expression slightly changed. He stood in front of Lu Yan, raised the yellow dust in his hand, and decisively swung it like a blade.
The brain was cleaved in two. It fell to the ground, brain fluid mixing with blood on the asphalt.
Instead of dying, the broken brain grew into small brains. Like legs sprouting, they scattered, chasing their prey.
Some brains directly burrowed into the heads of ordinary people, displacing the original brains. Those who had their minds occupied quickly displayed a sickly smile on their faces.
Other brains grew large mouths, biting through the scalps of ordinary people, sucking out their brain marrow, and then leaving to find the next victim.
Lu Yan's head throbbed, a needle-like pain. Tang Xun'an's face turned serious. "This is a contagious pollutant. A City can't afford any mishaps. Lu Yan, I want to use Dragon's Breath; I need to borrow your blood."
Lu Yan took half a step back. "And if I don't agree?"
Tang Xun'an stared at him, a complex expression on his face. "Sorry, Lu Yan. I can't gamble with the lives of the entire A City." In the consciousness space, Tang Xun'an, no different from reality, possessed absolute, irresistible power.
Lu Yan was pulled into his embrace, like a gazelle pounced on by a lion. Besides weak struggles with his limbs, there was no strength left for resistance.
Lu Yan felt sharp teeth puncture his neck. Blood rapidly drained from his body, and with excessive blood loss, a chilling sensation enveloped his body.
Lu Yan's consciousness became blurred. Through the glass window, he saw Tang Xun'an's reflection.
In those golden eyes, there was no emotion, only the most primal desire for nourishment.
"Tang... Xun'an..."
It was too similar; even though he knew it was fake, Lu Yan felt a moment of dizziness. Very real. Sensations, pain, vision—everything was no different from reality. Because it was real, it was painful.
In the face of imminent death, Lu Yan's body instinctively struggled. However, this struggle was in vain; the opponent's embrace was as firm as iron. Soon, Lu Yan ceased to breathe.
...
"Sir, you don't look too good. Do you need help?" The flight attendant's voice was full of concern.
Lu Yan suddenly lifted his head, subconsciously covering his neck. The experience of being sucked dry of blood and dying was too vivid, leaving the pain lingering in his mind even after waking up.
Lu Yan glanced at his phone; it was August 29th, 11:00 PM. The plane from K City to A City had just taken off.
Yes, he had returned to a few hours earlier.
The flight attendant said, "Sir, you've sweated a lot. Is something uncomfortable?"
Lu Yan stood up from his seat. "It's fine, just had a nightmare."
He walked towards the restroom and whispered in his mind, "System?"
The system still didn't respond.
Lu Yan opened his phone and checked the notes. He couldn't find the numbers he had left before the last death. The numbers he wrote were a coded message translated as—"This is fake, you are Lu Yan."
Lu Yan looked at himself in the mirror; his eye color had turned silvery at some point.
Wang Yu, perhaps sensing his bad mood, split a cut in his palm and licked Lu Yan's fingertips.
Lu Yan could feel that he had forgotten something. His memory was usually excellent; in his brain, there were many file cabinets safeguarding various things for him. Now, some of these drawers were empty, and Lu Yan didn't even know what he had forgotten.
There's a saying that a person is made up of memories. Memories give a person a "self" and are a characteristic that distinguishes one "brain" from another.
If all memories were to disappear, what would be left? An empty shell? Would that shell still be him?
Lu Yan was not sure, but he felt it wouldn't be something good. There had to be a way to remember.
If not with the mind, then with the body.
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Yan rolled up his sleeve. He took out the knife from his side and made a deep cut on his arm.
He said to the fish inside him, "Remember this for me."
The fish twisted for a while, not knowing how to form the word "good." So, its split tongue made a thumbs-up gesture.
...
This time, Lu Yan died in a plane crash. Once again waking up, time rewound a bit. He found himself back a few days ago when he was still at the Pollution Disease Prevention and Control Center in City X.
He fell asleep in the room where he was treating Zong Yan. When he woke up, he was lying on Zong Yan's legs, and the red-eyed Zong Yan looked at him with gentleness.
"Have you been too tired lately, Doctor? How did you fall asleep?" 07 inquired.
Lu Yan lowered his head, immediately looking at his arm under the long sleeves. The marks were still there, a single scar.
Lu Yan believed in himself. Regardless of remembering or forgetting, in each cycle, he would use this method to make the next "self" remember. So, his mindset gradually became calm, and he began to try to find ways to unravel the mystery.
Calmness and sufficient information were the keys for humanity to find hope in despair.
This time, Lu Yan died under the butcher's knife.
...
...
Divine realm.
The largest brain and other brains shared brainwaves. What it could see, others naturally could see.
In the scene, Lu Yan had traced back to the encounter with the frog people in City K.
A larger brain sighed, "This person is really tenacious."
Other brain flowers echoed chatteringly, "Yes, ordinary people lose consciousness after dying five or six times. This has been ten times, and he's still in the cycle."
"What a strong consciousness. When he joins our family, he will surely become a beautiful brain flower!"
"Why make him join? Why not just eat him?" a brain flower weakly suggested.
Its proposal received unanimous agreement from others. "Exactly, for killing him, we've lost several believers. We're trapped here, and losing one believer outside means one less. Not to mention we still have Brother 23."
"Yeah, Brother 23 has been lurking outside for a long time. It says that the person brought by God messes around every day, making its body exhausted."
In the divine realm, brain flowers were ranked by weight. Like Brother 23, ranked 23rd because of its weight of 507g.
The largest brain flower occupied seventy percent of all brain flowers' weight.
This brain flower's skin breathed in and out like it was alive, opening and closing. If its skin could be connected to power lines, the bioelectric energy generated by its thoughts would be enough to power the streetlights for the entire street.
All brains were optimistic, except it seemed unusually silent.
With the assistance of believers, it successfully, under the effect of hypnosis, allowed Brother 23 to enter Lu Yan's consciousness space.
The so-called consciousness space referred to the place where a person's autonomous consciousness and subconsciousness resided. According to the iceberg theory, the subconsciousness was like the nine-tenths of an iceberg buried under real memories.
In the past, brains nested here, occupying and dominating. It was clear how to erode the uppermost tenth of a person.
Subconsciousness was uncontrollable, much like how people found it challenging to control their dreams.
Therefore, it also provided room for the true master to play. Here, it should have been an all-powerful ruler.
However, Lu Yan's consciousness space was not under its control. Although the opponent's memories were fading, and the gateway of the subconsciousness was slowly unfolding towards itself, the true master understood that it was merely an intruder and a spectator, unlike the past where it manipulated everything like a god.
There was a more terrifying presence occupying this space. The true master didn't know what it was, and it could even sense that it was still in slumber. But the deep breathing in its dream made the true master feel an urge to escape.
Yet, it couldn't escape. Unless the consciousness space was completely occupied or Brother 23 was annihilated. Otherwise, no one could leave.
This even made the true master vaguely feel a bit of regret. Believers dying was no big deal. Small brains disappearing wasn't a problem. As long as it had enough brains, death couldn't catch up with it.
It could only pray that everything was just its illusion. After all, how could a human have such a terrifying thing inside their body?
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