Chapter 525
“If this is entirely a ‘nightmare’ ability causing a collective memory disorder, there’s really no way to make others use it,” Imogen said after a moment of contemplation about what she could and couldn’t say. “But this was created by that esteemed individual using my flesh and blood…”
Xia Er listened intently, quickly grasping why entering the simulation would have such a terrifying effect.
She did want to experiment with this ability, but more importantly, she aimed to uncover what kind of sealed object or extraordinary item it was, so she wouldn’t be caught off guard in reality.
From Imogen’s explanation, this wasn’t a sealed object but rather a “modulator” crafted through the collaboration of two 4th-tier extraordinary beings.
It was a chaotic potion produced by a 4th-tier “Disaster Apostle,” a follow-up to the “Poison Master,” combined with the memory manipulation of a 4th-tier “Nightmare,” resulting in this unique extraordinary item.
At that moment, this object was laid out directly before Xia Er.
It was a peculiar sand table encased in a semi-transparent glass panel, circular and only the size of a palm, yet the fine sand inside intricately sculpted nearly the entire landscape and architecture of Ansu City. Different colored grains of sand wriggled within, seemingly representing various individuals.
“I’ve set up the emitters in different locations; this is the control terminal,” Imogen explained, pointing at the sand table.
“The emitters continuously release a hallucinogenic potion inscribed with the ‘nightmare’ ability, and I can directly modify the amount of the hallucinogenic mist released through the control terminal.”
“If there’s a memory that needs altering, I just have to modify a regular person inhaling the mist, and the altered memory will spread like a virus, infecting others with the same modified memories and common knowledge.”
“If you have something you want to… play with, I can help you modify it.”
Xia Er gazed at the sand table, her eyes reflecting a hint of contemplation.
The fact that the other party dared to present these items to her indicated that they were not of great importance.
The real key lay in the potion formula within the emitters and the memory-altering ability of the 4th-tier “Nightmare.” The so-called “emitters” and “control terminal” were merely auxiliary tools.
Essentially, this was just a fusion technique combining the bizarre infection ability of the 4th-tier “Disaster Apostle” and the memory-altering ability of the 4th-tier “Nightmare.”
Xia Er had also experimented with different extraordinary paths, such as the “Coroner” and “Queen Bee,” which often yielded unexpected combinations.
She estimated that upon entering the simulation, she had been infected by the hallucinogenic potion released from the emitters, causing her common knowledge to shift… Since this infection didn’t directly destroy or damage her memories but merely made her subconsciously forget the original ones and remember new ones, it didn’t trigger any defensive countermeasures.
Later, when Imogen attempted to directly attack her mind, she sensed the existence of a defensive counter and forcibly halted her assault.
Meanwhile, the “Calm Reflection” merely ensured that Xia Er continued to think, but the conclusions drawn from erroneous memories were inherently flawed.
If the “Subverter’s” ability was to plunge someone into a collapse of uncertainty between truth and illusion, then the “Nightmare” allowed one to live on, completely unaware, believing in a false worldview as if it were true…
As long as the consciousness didn’t deliberately distort or contradict human instincts—like suicide—there wouldn’t be any awakening among the infected, thus avoiding a counterattack.
However, the knowledge or “common sense” in Xia Er’s mind exceeded the modifier’s imagination—she possessed the worldview and memories from her previous life, and with the help of “Calm Reflection,” she could easily identify numerous inconsistencies.
When the inconsistencies piled up sufficiently, Xia Er would directly “self-reboot,” clearing the erroneous memory cache and re-evaluating this world—after all, it was just a simulation.
“Interesting,” Xia Er clapped her hands lightly, as if praising the other’s creativity in extraordinary abilities.
“Previously, I only thought about inserting bacterial gene fragments into a virus to attempt to create a ‘new species,’ hatching new infectious, parasitic life forms… I never expected that by combining it with ‘Nightmare,’ we could directly create something so fascinating… a virus carrying memories for memetic infection… this could change the world.”
Xia Er rested her left hand on her right elbow, her right hand pinching her chin as she murmured to herself.
But her words caught Imogen off guard.
“Not really?”
“Isn’t the previous idea far more terrifying?”
The destructive power of memetic infection wasn’t high; it existed more to achieve a certain purpose, and once that purpose was fulfilled, if the aftermath wasn’t handled properly, everything would collapse, and everyone would awaken, falling into chaotic memories—of course, that scene would be quite spectacular.
But the method that the girl named Xia Er mentioned earlier about hatching new infectious parasites… that was the real world-changing idea, wasn’t it?
In a sense, that could be considered the creation of new life!
Suddenly, Imogen recalled the vision she had seen in the girl’s memories—the desolate Ansu covered in terrifying blood-red mycelium, and the towering pillars of flesh…
Was this the future that Xia Er envisioned in her mind?
“I just wanted to play in Ansu; you really want to see it perish, don’t you?”
“Ahem… just to clarify, you can play if you want, and I can cooperate, but no large-scale destructive actions…” Imogen hesitated before speaking. “It can’t interfere with the original plan…”
Although Imogen had many other objectives in Ansu, her primary mission was still to cancel the repeal of the Grain Law, ideally ensuring that those in power would no longer focus on North Ansu, allowing it to wither away on its own.
That would align with the interests of that esteemed individual.
Xia Er slowly raised her head, looking at Imogen before her.
Through her probing, she had already gleaned quite a bit about the other’s intentions and thoughts…
Xia Er initially thought this was an action directed at her, but it seemed more like a “coincidence.”
She hadn’t been the other party’s target from the start; their initial goal was to resolve the issue of the Grain Law.
As for the later encounter with Mond, from the information she gathered about herself to discovering her exaggerated “talent,” leading them to want to cultivate her into an extraordinary being on the “Poison Master” path… those were merely spur-of-the-moment decisions.
As long as she stopped William from repealing the Grain Law, Imogen wouldn’t have a reason to come here. Meanwhile, Mond could directly modify her memory to send her out to a place where she wouldn’t be found for at least a few years—killing her outright would only raise suspicions.
By doing so, they could minimize direct conflict with the members of the Pleasure Society, snuffing out the issue at its source.
As for the survival of the starving people in North Ansu, that had never been Xia Er’s primary concern; her foremost goal had always been to protect her own life and the safety of those around her.
With the most urgent matter resolved, Xia Er felt a slight sense of relief.
Now that the critical issue was settled, she would see if she could pull some strings to extract more information from the other side…
“I have no thoughts on your plans,” Xia Er shook her head and said, “but there’s one thing I’m very curious about.”
“What is it?”
“You all seem very concerned about Mond’s life and death… why? He’s just a ‘source of cholera,’ after all.” Xia Er looked at Imogen and asked. “You even prepared to capture me as a substitute… this should also be related to me, right? I have the right to know.”
“This…?” Imogen looked at Xia Er, certain that she wasn’t joking, and asked in confusion, “Haven’t you already integrated the ‘uniqueness’…?”
“The transcendent potion has no traceable patterns or rules; it can only be explored through trial and error. We’ve already discovered a viable method and executed it; the ritual was completed smoothly.”
“But for the potion, we can only use the most primitive method… using the flesh of two other 4th-tier beings of the same path as materials…”
At this point, Imogen’s pupils slightly constricted.
Could it be…
Had they taken a wrong turn?
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