On the fourth day when the "memory anchor" came into effect, Chen Yu woke up.
When Chen Mo was allowed to enter the medical observation room, Chen Yuzheng leaned back on the bed and sipped the warm water handed by the nurse. Her eyes were a little distracted and confused at first. When she saw the silence, her pupils slowly focused, her lips moved, and she seemed to want to say something, but she just let out a vague "elder brother ..."
Voice is very light, with just wake up weak, but Chen Mo "see" her mouth, heart instantly filled with great acidity and joy. He walked quickly to the bed and held his sister's cool hand.
"Light rain, how do you feel? Is there anything wrong? " He asked eagerly in sign language, and also paid attention to her lips.
Chen Yu blinked, as if trying to understand what he said, and then slowly shook his head. Her eyes stayed on Chen Mo's face for a long time, from eyes to nose to mouth, inch by inch, as if to confirm something. Then, her eyes fell on the stud in his left ear, and her eyebrows frowned slightly.
"Brother ... your ear?" She finally pronounced a clearer syllable with concern.
"Nothing, a little inflamed, wearing a decoration." Chen Mo pretended to explain easily in sign language, pointed to herself and pointed to her at the same time, and made a gesture of "rest assured". He doesn't want his sister to be exposed to too many terrible truths now.
Chen Yu seems to accept this explanation, but the confusion in her eyes has not completely dispersed. She looked at the white and cold ward around her, and then looked out of the window (actually a landscape picture simulated by one-way glass): "Where is this ...? Hospital? What is wrong with me? I remember ... I was in the dormitory, and then ... "
Her voice dropped, her brow furrowed, and she seemed to be trying to remember, but there was a look of pain and loss on her face. "My head hurts ... a lot of messy pictures ... the mirror ... the face that I can't see clearly ..." She subconsciously raised her hand to press her temple.
"Don't think about it!" Chen Mo hurriedly hold her hand, shortness of tone, "before you were sick, a little fever, lethargy for several days. I just woke up now and need a rest. Don't force yourself to remember. " He explained according to Sue yat sen villa told in advance. Before Chen Yu's cognition is completely stable, it is necessary to avoid stimulating her to recall the pollution process.
Chen Yu looked at her brother's anxious face and nodded obediently, but there was still a lingering fright in her eyes that she might not have noticed.
At this moment, Sue yat sen villa pushed the door and came in. She still wears a uniform, a mask and an electronic tablet in her hand.
Chen Yu saw her, her body was obviously stiff, and her eyes were full of vigilance and a little subtle fear. Obviously, even in a coma or half-dream, she has an impression of this masked woman, and it is not a good impression.
"Miss Chen Yu, you are awake, which is very good." Sue yat sen villa's voice came through the mask, insipid, "I'm Sue yat sen villa, responsible for you and your brother's handling personnel. How are you feeling? Do you feel anything unusual except headache and blurred memory? Like a special reaction to the mirror? Or see some ... repeated and unreasonable images? "
Her question went straight to the heart, with a sense of business interrogation.
Chen Mo frowned, dissatisfied with Sue yat sen villa this almost tortured tone. But after the initial nervousness, Chen Yu gradually relaxed a little. She felt it carefully and then shook her head: "No … just a little tired, and I can't remember the specific thing … mirror?" She glanced at a small mirror in the corner of the ward to tidy up her appearance. Her eyes were calm. "What's wrong with the mirror?"
Sue yat sen villa stared at her for a few seconds, and recorded something on the tablet. "Very well. The' memory anchor' initially stabilized your core cognition. But the influence of pollution may exist in more potential ways, such as mood swings, changes in dream content, or changes in sensitivity to certain concepts (such as' face' and' identity'). Follow-up needs regular observation and evaluation. "
She turned to Chen Mo: "Chen Mo, your sister needs to continue to observe here for at least a week, and carry out psychological intervention and consolidation treatment. And you, now have a task. "
Mission? So soon? Chen Mo one leng.
Su Yat-sen handed him the tablet, which showed the title of an encrypted file: Follow-up Investigation and Preliminary Evaluation Report on the Residual Event of the Logical Collapse of Yuelai Theater (C-714) (Internal Draft).
"This is a preliminary report. The part about you has been desensitized, but you need to make sure that the account about your experiences and actions is accurate. At the same time, the report also contains an assessment of the current state of the source of the incident, the faceless woman, and some ... doubts. " Sue yat sen villa's tone, a little more subtle dignified.
Chen Mo took the tablet and scanned it quickly.
The report is very detailed, with pictures and texts. With calm and objective brushstrokes, it records the abnormality discovered by the monitoring (initially residents near the cinema reported "seeing people without faces"), the association intervened in the monitoring, the incident suddenly escalated (three people including Lao Li were transformed, and many people such as Chen Yu were polluted), and then Chen Mo broke into, destroyed the media and rescued Chen Yu. Finally, the association ended (capturing the remaining secondary faceless people, blocking the area, and so on).
The description of Chen Mo in the report is basically in line with the facts, omitting his "touch echo" and the detailed information provided by earrings, and only emphasizing that he "destroyed the key media by keen observation and luck". The judgment of "stealing earrings" is similar to what Su Yat-sen told him.
But when Chen Mo turned to the "Analysis and Doubts" section at the end of the report, his eyes froze.
[Doubt 1: the cause of the sudden escalation of the incident. ]
According to the historical monitoring data, C-714 (faceless girl) has been at a very low level for a long time since the establishment of the reception file, and its influence range is stable in the building of the theater ruins. In this incident, its activity increased sharply in a short time, and its logical influence scope expanded to a radius of 100 meters, and it has the ability to actively transform secondary derivatives. This phenomenon does not conform to the natural evolution law of conventional logical residues, and external stimulation or intervention is suspected.
[Doubt 2: the circulation of logical media (ancient mirror fragments). ]
The core logical medium of the incident-fragments of ancient mirrors of the Republic of China suspected to be homologous to C-714-was repaired by the target person (Chen Mo) entrusted by unidentified persons a few days before the incident. The client has no information, and the payment method is anonymous digital currency. The source of this batch of debris cannot be traced back. This behavior is highly targeted, and the timing is coincidental, which does not rule out the possibility of artificially guiding the escalation of the incident.
[Doubt 3: The behavior of the secondary derivative (faceless) is abnormal. ]
Although the behavior patterns of the secondary derivatives (numbered D-112 to D-114) produced in this incident follow the basic logic of C-714, they show a certain degree of "purpose" and "cooperation", far exceeding the secondary derivatives completely driven by instinctive logic in historical records. For example, D-112 (security guard) took the initiative to go to the target person's workplace; D-113 (the cleaner) tried to chase the target after the core media was damaged. Whether this anomaly is related to the external intervention mentioned in Doubt 1 remains to be investigated.
[Preliminary conclusion:]
* * Based on the above doubts, it is not excluded that this C-714 incident was a premeditated "test" or "guidance" using the remnants of known logical collapse. Its purposes may include: testing the response and potential value of a specific individual (Chen Mo) to conceptual pollution; A method to verify the collapse residue of some intervention logic; Or pave the way for subsequent larger-scale actions. It is suggested that the incident risk level should be raised from "low" to "medium", and the monitoring and protection of relevant areas and personnel (Chen Mo and Chen Yu) should be strengthened. At the same time, the investigation of anonymous clients and the sources of ancient mirror fragments was initiated. ]
Human intervention? Testing? Guide?
Chen Mo looked at these cold words, and a chill rose from his spine. He recalled the client who visited in the middle of the night and the package was sealed, the strong fear echo on the ebony box, and the "return to one religion" mentioned by Su Yat sen villa before ...
Did you fall into a well-designed bureau from the moment you received that commission? He and his sister have become experiments or chess pieces of others?
"Finished?" Su yat sen villa's voice interrupted his thoughts. "What do you think?"
Chen Mo looked up, his face ugly: "Do you suspect that someone is deliberately cheating? The client ... "
"This is one of the possibilities." Sue yat sen villa did not deny, "association, including me, have this doubt. But the evidence is insufficient. The clues of the client are almost completely broken, and the ancient mirror fragment itself is only a relic with a strong' concept' and cannot directly point to anyone. Moreover, there are more than one person and organization that has the ability and motivation to do such a thing. "
"To teach?" Chen Mo blurted out.
Su Yat-sen villa's eyes suddenly sharpened behind the mask: "Do you know Guiyijiao?"
Chen Mo realized that he had made a slip of the tongue and could only mumble: "The name was mentioned in the information of the ear nail, saying that it worshipped strange organizations."
Su yat sen villa gave him a deep look, without asking about the specific content of the earring information, but nodded: "It's one of the suspects. They believe in "logic return to zero" and believe that human beings should take the initiative to embrace strangeness and become part of the new order. Often carry out all kinds of dangerous experiments and summoning ceremonies. If it is them, it is completely in line with their style to test a potential contractor with a known' faceless woman'. "
She paused in a serious tone: "But you know, Chen Mo, it's not just external cults that are hostile to the association. Within the association ... It's not monolithic either. There are different factions and sometimes fierce struggles about how to deal with strange and contractual people. There may even be people who secretly collude with external forces for some purposes. "
Chen Mo felt suffocated. He thought that the association was at least a relatively orderly and safe place, but now it seems that the water here is equally unfathomable.
"That my sister ..." He was most concerned about the safety of Chen Yu.
"Chen Yu is now under the protective monitoring of the association and is relatively safe. But as the report says, your brother and sister have been involved. " Sue yat sen villa looked at him, "want to really safe, want to cure Chen Yu, you can't wait passively. You need to show enough value and gain more resources and voice. At the same time, we must also learn to distinguish the dangers around us, whether it comes from strangeness or from ... "
Her meaning is clear: Chen Mo needs to work for the association, accumulate capital, and learn to protect himself in the undercurrent within the association.
"What task?" Chen Mo sink a voice asked. He has been mentally prepared.
Su Yat-sen brought up another document on the tablet, entitled: Report of Abnormal Events: Preliminary Investigation of "Shadow Eating" in Dongcheng District.
"Since three days ago, there have been four bizarre deaths in the area of Binhe Road in Dongcheng District. The dead were all pedestrians alone at night. Their bodies were intact and there was no trauma, but … their shadows disappeared. It is not blocked by light, but in the environment with light source, there should be a shadow position next to the body, and there is nothing. On-site monitoring captures a vague picture of a suspected shadow' separating' from the ontology and moving. "
She showed Chen Mo some photos of the scene and monitoring screenshots. The body in the photo is lying under the street lamp or in front of the window, and its posture is natural and even peaceful, but there is really no shadow under it, and the picture shows an indescribable strangeness. The surveillance screenshots are even more frightening. A humanoid, blurred darkness is "standing up" from the fallen person, and then it melts into the shadow of the building next to it and disappears.
"Initially judged as a new' logical collapse' event, it is suspected to be strange related to the concepts of' shadow' or' light and darkness'. The risk level is tentatively set at' medium', and the scope of influence is expanding. " Sue yat sen villa looked Chen Mo, "your first field assistance task is to participate in the preliminary investigation of this incident. Come with me. "
She added: "In this mission, I will temporarily remove your" silent ring "so that you can use the ability of" whispering earrings "to a limited extent. Your task is to perceive the residual logical reverberation at the scene, help analyze the strange laws, and find the clues of life and source. This is an opportunity to test your actual combat ability, and it is also the first step for you to earn' contribution points'. Contribution points can be exchanged for resources, including more advanced treatment programs for Chen Yu. "
Chen Mo looked at the photos of the bodies without shadows, then at her sister who was still weak in the hospital bed, and clenched her fist.
He has no reason to refuse.
"When shall I start?"
"Tonight." Su Yat-sen put away the tablet. "During the day, you need to receive some emergency training for actual combat preparation, including the use of basic communication equipment, simple self-defense skills, and most importantly, how to cooperate with me in the task and how to safely transmit information when you perceive dangerous logic."
She turned to the door and said, "See you in the training room in an hour. Remember, Chen Mo, this is not a game. In the face of real weirdness, any mistake can be fatal. Cheer up for yourself and your sister. "
The door closed and the ward was quiet again.
Chen Yu looked at his brother anxiously. Although he didn't fully understand their conversation, he could feel the breath of tension and danger: "Brother, what are you going to do? Is it dangerous? "
Chen Mo went to the bed, held her sister's hand, tried to squeeze out a soothing smile, and gestured with sign language: "Nothing, just helping Captain Su handle some ... special cases. I have a special ability and can help. You have a good rest here, cooperate with the treatment, and wait for my brother to come back. "
Chen Yu looked into her brother's eyes. There was concern, determination and a heavy determination that she had never seen before. She knows that her brother must be hiding something, but she also knows that there are some things that my brother doesn't tell her to protect her.
She finally just nodded and said softly, "Then you should be careful. Come back early. "
Chen Mo nodded heavily and stayed with her sister for a while until the nurse came to remind her that it was time to rest.
Leaving the medical area and walking in the cold white corridor, Chen Mo's heart beat faster and faster. Tonight, he will take the initiative to step into the dark world full of "unspeakable" for the first time, not to escape, but to fight, to survive, and to the future of his sister.
On the wrist, the cold touch of the silent ring seems to remind him that the bondage is still there. But soon, it will be lifted. And the earrings in the left ear seemed to sense his determination, and there was a faint, almost undetectable throb.
Night is coming, and in the shadow of the city, new strangeness is wandering.