Chapter 305
NO.0140: Enemies and Foes Share the Same Origin
After listening to Jim's explanation of Narcissus's path ability, Wang Ying felt a chill run down her spine.
The ability to directly implant a personality into the brain?
Is the person whose new personality has been implanted still themselves?
Subconsciously rubbing her face where the "gravel" had been blown by the wind, Wang Ying swallowed hard.
She has always firmly believed that in today's increasingly crazy world, everything may be fake or fabricated, but only her own will is real and true.
Even though this will is so small and insignificant compared to the power of a company or AI, at least they can still maintain the dignity of "free will" within the space inside the skull.
To maintain the dignity of my existence.
But in just a few days, this belief, which he regarded as the cornerstone of his life, was shaken twice.
The first time was when she learned that the adjusters of the Orpheus path could easily distort a person's cognition.
Even if Jim did this out of so-called "good intentions," the act of ignoring the most basic logical fallacies of reality and being kept in the dark like a fool still made her feel the shame of having her dignity trampled on, and the fear of such power.
And now is another moment of turmoil.
According to Jim, under the influence of Narcissus path adjusters, a person may even have a false personality.
Furthermore, Narcissus's abilities also prove that personality is not something unique—it can even be imitated, improved, and copied, and then implanted into different individuals, making everyone believe that they are "Wang Ying".
The body that originally belonged to "Wang Ying" may be occupied by another personality.
Just as Wang Ying was lost in thought, Jim walked over and patted her back, which was covered by an orange parka—he patted her twice, the first time lightly, before she could react.
"Hey!"
"what?"
This female police superintendent, who had remained calm even when facing more than twenty zombie warriors, now showed visible anxiety and confusion.
"Take this."
Without a word, Jim placed the inhibitor from the cortical puncture needle into her hand.
"It can quickly metabolize 'daffodil pollen' out of the body, of course..."
He lowered his voice as he spoke:
"If you don't trust Committee Member Bai, you can have it tested by a professional institution. Don't worry, I'll leave some Nyx factor on you, at least enough to ensure you won't be affected for 24 hours."
Although Jim's voice was already quite soft, Committee Member Bai, who was not far away, still wore a helpless, bitter smile. She sighed and spread her hands, saying:
"Do you know why I try to keep my adjustment path hidden when I'm on a mission? It's because whenever others know about my abilities, they become more wary of me than they are of the enemy."
"Since it's the ability to manipulate other people's minds, then one should be aware of the possibility of being isolated."
Jim replied rather irritably.
"Tsk tsk, it's quite convincing to hear these words coming from an Orpheus path adjuster."
Bai Rao retorted without any politeness.
Jim ignored the other person's sarcasm and continued to comfort Wang Ying:
"Also, you don't need to be too anxious about personality implants and such. You have to believe that the original personality that your body has nurtured for decades is resilient enough. Those virtual personalities are nothing more than illusions in the water to the real 'you,' and..."
Jim paused for a moment, then said:
"Trust your mandala at all times."
"At least those virtual personalities will never be able to log into your account."
Wang Ying nodded subconsciously, then, as if realizing something, she looked at Jim and said:
"Are you trying to separate from me...?"
He clearly didn't need to say these things in front of Committee Member Bai.
"Yes, I still have some things to take care of underground."
Jim answered frankly, inwardly marveling at his old partner's keen intuition.
"So having me around will be a hindrance?"
The previous vulnerability and unease vanished as if they had never existed, and Wang Ying's expression returned to its stern and indifferent state.
Jim's correct answer to this question was: Yes.
But he's not that clueless about romance.
"No, no, but your work directing the 'Emergency Response Team' investigation is more important, while my work here..."
Before Jim could finish speaking, Bai Rao interrupted him.
“I need his help to clean up some loose ends underground, more specifically, to deal with the remnants of those zombie warriors.”
At this point, Bai Rao revealed a mischievous grin, and then comforted him:
"Don't worry, with my protection, your great detective will definitely return unharmed."
Bai Rao's words made Wang Ying subconsciously turn her face away. Then, as if realizing that such behavior was too self-deceptive, she simply turned around and walked stiffly toward the elevator.
"It's alright, it would be better if he were dead."
After entering the elevator, Wang Ying, with her back to them, said this.
Jim sighed softly.
But just as the elevator doors were about to close, her last words drifted out from the crack in the door.
"That way, I won't have to worry about that bastard anymore."
As soon as the words were spoken, the door closed, and the elevator began to ascend rapidly.
Bai Rao glanced at Jim with a half-smile, then teased:
"I'm pretty considerate, I didn't mention anything about Hayashibara Eri in front of her."
Jim sighed deeply, then said:
"These zombie warriors all have the Hayashibara family crest on their armor, of course she could tell that... she just couldn't be bothered to mention it."
As he spoke, he walked to the corpse of the Hungry Ghost Realm, squatted down, and then took off the "General's" head that was tucked into his waistband.
"But there is a big difference between whether something is said to your face or not—human beings will deceive themselves if they don't say it out loud."
As Bai Rao spoke, he also picked up a samurai's head from the ground.
"What am I deceiving myself about... Is it my fault that Eri Hayashibara wanted to hunt me down?"
Jim stood up and rolled his eyes.
"To be precise, she came after you because she loves you, but this love has been reversed in its expression by the Rainbow Bridge Parasite. As for why this girl fell in love with you, that's your problem."
Bai Rao walked over and said.
I'm afraid you won't bring this up on your own initiative...
Jim thought to himself, then looked at the other person with righteous indignation and said:
"Then I'd like to ask, how did things turn out like this when I asked you to forcibly take Huili to quarantine?"
The moment Jim saw the Hayashibara samurai, he was certain that these guys were sent by Eri to kill him—just like when he first went to the Thrace Club.
In other words, Bai Rao had no control over Hui Li's condition at all, and instead allowed the sole heir of the largest underworld force in the Nord resettlement area to run amok with the resources at his disposal.
“I visited the Lin Yuan residence myself long before you gave me this instruction. At that time, Hui Li’s condition had indeed improved a lot. Her mother found a mental health doctor through her connections on the dark web. He used some method to stop the proliferation of the iridoid region in Hui Li’s brain, and her mental state also improved a lot—at least it didn’t deteriorate to the point where she would rush out and kill you immediately.”
Jim looked at Bai Rao with disbelief at this answer.
"And then you just left like that? Don't you see how suspicious this is?" The illness, which even the committee's technical staff couldn't handle, was brought under control by a doctor found on the dark web.
Even assuming there was no ulterior motive in the doctor's techniques, shouldn't this medical method be obtained immediately and then applied to the current infected individuals?
Bai Rao said with a sense of helplessness:
“You don’t understand… The dark web channels used by that anonymous doctor are very difficult to trace, and the medication used for treatment was also sent anonymously through Theseus Freight. Theseus Freight, let alone the committee, even if we invoked the influence of the Olympian Order to exert pressure, we still couldn’t get any user data from those AIs. I only decided to play the long game after confirming that I couldn’t get any clues from the Lin Yuan family through coercive means.”
"And then it was the Air Force, right?"
Jim couldn't help but complain.
But it's Theseus Cargo again... Speaking of which, the cartographers also obtained a bunch of impressive-sounding weapons and equipment through this company.
I wonder if there's any connection between these two things.
“Originally, the entire Lin Yuan family was under my control—I implanted virtual personalities into more than twenty people in the mansion, including the head of the Lin Yuan family. I had them infiltrate the depths of those people's consciousness, and if they discovered anything unusual, they would immediately report to me. But then…”
As Bai Rao spoke, an extremely displeased expression appeared on his face.
"My instructions were to have them control their bodies and transmit intelligence to me every day while the original owner was resting, and they did this very well until the day before yesterday. And as long as they contacted me, I could immediately take over the entire Lin Yuan residence with my orders. But just last night, all of the more than twenty people I implanted with virtual personalities went missing."
Without exception, they have all lost contact.
"Have we been discovered?"
Jim asked.
This question may sound silly, but just yesterday afternoon, Wang Ying and I went to Lin Yuan's house. At that time, the underworld family seemed quite normal, and no one's eyes suddenly started rolling around in their sockets.
"More than twenty people, covering all positions and responsibilities in the entire mansion, were all discovered and identified within a single day."
is it possible?
Bai Rao asked a counter-question.
Jim didn't reply, but turned to look at the "general's" head in his hand.
"So, this is probably the answer."
Jim stared at the head.
Those implanted virtual personalities, along with the body's original personality, were erased by the zombie-like transformation.
Overnight.
Bai Rao nodded.
"Among the aid team sent by the Olympian Order, one investigator chose to start his investigation with the Hayashibara family."
She clearly hesitated for a moment when she said the word "investigation".
Of course, Jim understood what the other party was hesitating about.
"In short, let's leave aside the specific details for now and just get to the result. When he arrived there, there was only one living person left in the entire Lin Yuan mansion—and that living person had been transformed into a zombie."
As Bai Rao spoke, she spread her hands, and the head she was holding swayed with her movements.
"As for the others, some were killed, and some were transformed into what we have now. In short, there is no one left alive in the entire Lin Yuan residence."
Bai Rao summarized it this way.
Jim crossed his arms and pondered for a moment, then said:
"Can the zombie transformation of more than twenty people be done overnight?"
"Many companies' medical institutions can easily do this. But with the Lin family's resources, they can't do it, no matter what type or level of zombie they want to modify."
Bai Rao was very certain about the tunnel.
"In other words, the Lin family possesses the technology to turn more than twenty people, or even more, into zombies overnight without arousing suspicion from any of the virtual personalities?"
Jim looked on incredulously.
If you add the conditions he mentioned, even some Olympus companies might not be able to meet them.
There are almost as many ways to create zombies as there are types of zombies, or rather, those different ways create different types of zombies.
The simplest surgery may only require an ice pick and an electrode inserted into the scalp; while the most advanced may require atomic force manipulators and nanowires to complete the modification.
As for the level of these zombie warriors, at least in Jim's knowledge, they are undoubtedly among the most advanced—perhaps only slightly weaker than the Six Paths of Theseus that Persephone personally modified.
But Fanny's research focuses on deciphering the modified Pegasus of the Theseus Path Depth 3!
"Just to be on the safe side, I should ask: does the Lin Yuan family possess any high-precision equipment like atomic force manipulation devices?"
Jim asked.
Bai Rao shook his head.
"How did they manage to create so many advanced zombies in just one night?"
Jim had an answer as soon as he asked the question.
He and Bai Rao exchanged a glance, then said in unison:
"Dark Web Technology".
Yes, that's the only possibility.
What is impossible with human technology can only be accomplished with the black technology from the dark web.
“Previously, when these zombie warriors were fighting, once they or their comrades fell, they would prioritize destroying the brain—this action was even more important than the battle itself.”
Jim looked at the head in his hand and recalled.
Of the more than twenty zombie warriors, only these few heads remain intact.
In fact, if Bai Rao hadn't arrived in time, even these few wouldn't have survived.
Anyway, let's see what's inside.
As Bai Rao spoke, he took out an echo scanner from his pocket and pointed it at the face of the zombie warrior in his hand.
As a buzzing sound rang out, several beams of pale blue light swept across the head.
At the same time, a blurry outline of the brain was projected from the scanner.
As the scan progressed, the model became more and more detailed, eventually transforming into a complete brain model projection.
Once the model was complete, Jim immediately understood what these zombies were.
Pegasus...
When Jiang Zhou, who was on the fifth basement level of the resettlement area, saw that familiar brain region, he felt his heart skip a beat.
It turns out to be an adjustment to the Theseus Path Depth 3, Pegasus.
What he desperately sought to completely cure his radiation sickness was something he could not obtain.
And those samurai from the Hayashibara family now actually have human brains? (End of Chapter)