As early as a long time ago, the drawbacks of this ability were obviously exposed.
The Bizarre will not die, and the consciousness of a living person will always undergo unpredictable changes in the endless time... until one day, the destined accident happens, and the consciousness of the living person is polluted by the Bizarre and completely lost.
This gamble was unfair from the beginning. The best outcome that humans could achieve by racking their brains was nothing more than a draw.
Because they would not lose, the final winner would definitely be the Bizarre.
I came to the Previous Civilization through sacrifice. Although the process is not clear, it... should not be a projection. Can I... project myself?
Li Mo was a little confused.
"Since you haven't refuted, I'll take it that I'm right," MEI returned to her original seat from the table and adjusted her black-framed glasses that were about to fall off. "The academic community generally believes that time develops linearly. Of course, more accurately, time itself does not exist. It is just a conceptual scale used to reflect the changes of objective things."
"Coincidentally, the Bizarre is very good at polluting concepts. Polluting people and things is actually the most common thing. Once the concept of the world, that is, the rules of the universe, are polluted, many things can no longer be inferred with common sense."
"For example, it is impossible for two identical people to exist at the same point in time. If they exist, then one of them must be in a 'false' state. They can exist, and they can also not exist. Existence must not appear as the self, but as another role. In the past life, the Li Mo of this civilization did not show the cognition and ability that surpassed his peers."
"But... that doesn't mean he doesn't have it. Just like you now, it seems that you have replaced him, but in fact... you have just 'woken up'. If I have to make a comparison, this situation is similar to a drunk person who has lost his balance and normal thinking ability, walking wobbly, thinking that this is the right way to do it, and can only do it this way."
"But after waking up, they will walk like a normal person, even if they can still repeat the posture when they were drunk."
MEI shook her head, "Sorry, I said something unrelated to the plan. Back to the topic, about the matter of the Bizarre being able to pollute concepts."
"Perhaps the Bizarre itself is the 'Ultimate' of 'Omniscience and Omnipotence'."
Li Mo: "!!!"
Li Mo in the state of three deaths suddenly stood up, his hands tightly clenched, his eyes sharp as he looked at MEI, who had proposed an extremely absurd conjecture.
The "Ultimate" of "Omniscience and Omnipotence".
In the original world, his most trusted MEI had also mentioned this conjecture.
But at that time, Li Mo only found it incredible and thought it was not very realistic.
After all, "Omniscience and Omnipotence" did not exist from the human perspective. Just like God could not create a stone that He could not move, this was a paradox.
Can God create a stone that he cannot lift?
If He can, why can't the omniscient and omnipotent He lift a stone? If He can't, why can't the omniscient and omnipotent He create such a stone?
Based on human's own logical reasoning, this was a complete paradox, a contradiction.
"Oh, it seems that before me, you have already heard this view. Or, you have found some related clues. Then my guess is quite accurate."
Seeing Li Mo's reaction, MEI smiled with relief. Although she was a leader, she was also a scholar.
For a scholar, there was nothing more exciting than having one's unique views recognized and even confirmed.
Just like Nicolaus Copernicus denied the geocentric theory and proposed the heliocentric theory; Stan Ain overturned the absolute view of time and space and proposed the theory of relativity; Watson and Crick revealed the double helix structure of DNA, subverting the traditional concepts of biology.
Walking on the correct path that was not understood by the world always made scholars' blood boil.
Is this probably considered rebellious?
"You continue..." Li Mo adjusted his emotions and sat back in his original position, his voice low.
MEI did not keep him in suspense. She had a good impression of the person in front of her, although these good feelings came out of nowhere.
"From the information I have at present, the rules of the Bizarre are different, and their abilities are also strange and varied. Some are similar, and some are completely different. The strength of the ability is related to the amount of pollution. The more pollution, the more complete the rules and abilities."
"Then is there a possibility that all Bizarre are actually 'omniscient and omnipotent', but due to the limitation of the amount of pollution, the rules and abilities are always incomplete? Just as I said above, a drunk person will forget a part of 'common sense' and 'behavior'."
"For the Bizarre, 'common sense' and 'behavior' can correspond to 'ability' and 'rule'."
"As time goes on, the amount of pollution gradually increases, and the rules and abilities of the Bizarre will also be greatly expanded. And time is endless, which means that the final Bizarre will inevitably have the most complete rules and abilities, that is, the 'omniscient and omnipotent' that is beyond human cognition and not defined."
"It is the Finality, and also the 'Ultimate'."
MEI carefully interpreted her understanding, and Li Mo listened very seriously.
Understanding these things did not help much in dealing with Bizarre events, but it revealed the essence of the Bizarre.
Understanding the essence might make it possible to completely cut off the birth of the Bizarre.
Everything in the world has its own law. The law must exist, and there must be a corresponding way to deal with it.
"It seems that she has sworn to use everything she has to destroy you, in order to change the future. But you didn't die. Instead, you let everything develop in the direction of the future."
"What do I need to do?"
"Since the past has not been changed, then she will not become a completely Bizarre, and will still retain her human consciousness. You just need to wait for the moment she wakes up and kill her. It's that simple."
"...I understand."
Li Mo stood up, holding his sword, and walked towards the outside of the research lab.
MEI quickly followed, asking in confusion, "Where are you going now?"
"To find Rin and kill the ghosts."
"Actually, it's not that urgent. You can rest for a while tonight."
"I don't need to rest."
With that, Li Mo flickered and disappeared from MEI's sight. In the silent corridor, MEI stood in place, her lips moving slightly, but she did not say another word.
He was very smart. At least in this ghost-like state, his thinking and judgment were far superior to those of ordinary people.
He could easily extract useful information from his redundant memories, like a machine, quickly processing the core elements and adding them to his action commands.
But...
He still retained a trace of humanity, which could not be discovered without careful consideration.
"A little accident..." MEI nodded and couldn't help but smile faintly. Her fingers gently slid across her fair cheeks, and she muttered to herself curiously, "Is it because my name is MEI, or because of this face? The plan was clearly full of loopholes, yet he promised to fulfill it."
Li Mo trusted her too much. This trust had even reached a blind level.
The plan she had proposed was actually not comprehensive, and there were still many risks and imperfect points. But Li Mo still gave a definite answer and said that he would do what he should do within the plan.
"But that's right. After all, I did hide some things. Killing the source of the Impostors will not end this farce. The only one who can end this farce is him alone."
"Anyone, including me, is just playing a role in a drama, so that the drama can continue to be staged until the end."
MEI stared blankly at the place where Li Mo had left and slowly said:
"I have already hinted many times, Li Mo, you have always been projecting yourself."
"The concept of projecting yourself has been distorted in the 'one after another' pollution, giving birth to such a strange Bizarre."
"The source of the Impostors is you."
————
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On the other side, Li Mo woke up the sleeping Rin and carried his cursed blade through the floors of the city's buildings.
The night was a mysterious veil, and the neon lights could not even illuminate the shadows.
"Brother, Dr. MEI said that dealing with ghosts isn't that urgent... can't you just let me sleep well?"
"..."
"Brother? Are you listening?"
"I can hear you."
"I can't hear you. The wind is so strong, my voice is being blown away!"
"..."
Rin bickered with Li Mo as usual, constantly refuting his statements.
But today, all she could get was silence.
It was not that there were no words to answer, but that when Li Mo wanted to open his mouth, every character faded in color, and everything was empty and pale.
It was as if even the action of opening his mouth had lost its meaning.
No need to open his mouth, no need to make a sound, no need to breathe, no need to respond...
Just carry out the only goal in his mind. Only by completing the goal would it have meaning, and that was the only thing to do...
"Brother, you smell so good (╯▽╰)~~"
"...Then I'll throw my clothes in your room, and you can smell them slowly."
"Hey, hey, hey? Don't! It stinks! I was just kidding. Who told you not to speak, and only have ghosts in your eyes... wait, let's make it clear first. I'm not jealous of ghosts."
"I know."
"What do you know?"
"You're not jealous."
"I'm not jealous of ghosts."
"It's all the same."
"What do you mean, the same? Brother, you've changed. You never used to be so perfunctory with me. I'm angry, the kind that can't be coaxed."
"As long as my ability is of use to me, it's fine."
"You! Sister Beichen was right. Talking to a straight man is a kind of torture, unless the other person is someone you really like. Then you'll want to talk all the time, and you'll be happy no matter what you talk about. It's too boring to talk to you. Of course, I'm not saying I don't like you, but this is the like of a family, which is different from the like between lovers that Sister Beichen talked about... speaking of which, how does Sister Beichen know so much? Does she have someone she likes? Brother, you've been with Sister Beichen the longest, do you know? I'm really curious what kind of boy is worthy of a woman as extraordinary as Sister Beichen. You can't even find a few in a whole city. No, no, no, Sister Beichen is the first. She's beautiful, kind-hearted, and has a nice voice..."
Rin was like a chatterbox with the play button pressed, chattering endlessly, talking about strange things.
She had pressed the play button herself.
Li Mo did not answer, but just carried his cursed blade and numbly swung it, killing one after another the ghosts wandering in the city.
Beichen, the Keeper of Wangchuan, Mei. He had never seen this character in the original work.
That was not important. What was important was that she knew Irene.
Irene Adler was the most complete Bizarre confirmed by the notebook. She could even surpass the completeness of Bizarre Kiana. One could imagine how long Irene had lived.
Being able to maintain human consciousness after living for so long was itself an inexplicable point.
But that was the reality. Li Mo had no way to go deeper.
But what Li Mo cared about the most was that Beichen had said that there were three people who would never change: Kiana, Irene, and him.
Li Mo couldn't quite understand the meaning of this sentence, especially the three words "never change".
It was obviously not their identities, since Kiana's and his identities were constantly changing.
It was even less likely to be related to the amount of pollution and human nature.
Then where was the unchanging part? Li Mo couldn't figure it out.
While thinking, Li Mo killed a few more ghosts.
Even without paying attention, his body, with the help of the rules of the cursed blade, would instinctively find and kill ghosts, turning them into nutrients for Crimson-Dyed Sakura.
"Brother? Are you listening? Moshi moshi?"
Rin on his back stretched out her right hand and waved it in front of Li Mo's eyes.
Li Mo came back to his senses and directly replied, "No."
Rin: "??? Okay, I feel like you're even more annoying than before. I want to ask you if Sister Beichen has ever had a boyfriend before."
"Yes," Li Mo blurted out.
Two seconds later, Li Mo stopped on the top floor of a building and fell into deep thought.
After hearing Li Mo's definite answer, Rin immediately became interested and asked excitedly, "Really? Really? Who is it? What's his name?"
"..." Li Mo was silent for a long time, then perfunctorily said two words, "Forgot."
Did he forget? He shouldn't have known. At least in his memory, he had never seen Beichen have a boyfriend. Then why had he just said "yes" reflexively?
Strange...
"Hee hee, I think it's not that you forgot, but that you don't want to say! Brother, you actually like Sister Beichen very much, right?"
"It's not important. The topic ends here. I know you want to liven up the atmosphere and make me go back to my old self. I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible. This is the real me. Now is the only real Li Mo."
Li Mo pierced through Rin's little thoughts and did not stay any longer. He continued to throw himself into the darkness and hunt the wandering ghosts.
And this time, Rin was much more well-behaved. She honestly hugged Li Mo and did not make another sound.
She silently absorbed the faint life force emanating from the broken limbs, fresh blood, and struggling hearts of the places she passed.
This was a fact that both of them were well aware of, but were unwilling to expose.
Was Li Mo still the sunny and lively Li Mo who occasionally teased his family?
Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't.
In Rin's opinion, Li Mo had become very strange. The strange Li Mo was not her brother.
Only Li Mo himself knew that his state corresponded to MEI's interpretation from a while ago—a drunk person gradually sobering up, and a flawed bizarre gradually reviving.
The process was—
constantly picking up.