Chapter 139 Viewing Experience (Part 3): When Those Past Events Are Bringed to the Screen
Passive viewing means that the content of the movie will not be affected by personal will—even if Fyodor twitches slightly when looking at another version of himself sneaking out to the stove to steal food in the middle of the night, he still cannot stop this scene.
Even when faced with muffled laughter emanating from throughout the studio, he could only respond with indifference.
Even if he said he never did it, who would believe him?
Isn't Fyodor D's second personality also Fyodor?
Not to mention that when people see Fyodor doing things that damage the image of [the Devil] in the film, they are particularly happy to confuse him with the person sitting in the audience.
Fyodor fumbled around in the kitchen for a while and found a few potatoes, a jar of chili powder and a vat of pickled cucumbers.
To avoid being watched from outside the window, he squatted by the stove the whole time, secretly peeling, shredding, and stir-frying the food, only occasionally peeking out to observe the color of the dishes in the pot.
After cooking and plating, he quickly ate the food with his fork to destroy the evidence, showing a clear guilty conscience throughout.
And so, during the day, Fyodor would casually mingle with the monks, working, clearly unable to eat the vegetarian food, but at night he would sneak into the kitchen to steal potatoes to eat.
This kind of life continued until the fifth day.
"So even Fyodor, at this age, didn't have enough to eat..."
This is the "empathy group".
"Oh my, it truly lives up to its name as a Siberian mouse, it's so endearing."
This is a group that enjoys watching the fun while also making fun of others.
"Why are you only taking potatoes! Since you've already eaten them, why not grab a cabbage from the side? That's obviously much tastier!"
This group has low moral standards.
"…………"
This is Fedor.
His expression remained largely unchanged, but a hint of confusion and bewilderment still lingered.
Is the food prepared by the church really that bad?
For most of the time, he ate less and simpler portions of vegetarian food than the vegetarian meals assigned to Fyodor in the film.
He could even habitually endure hunger, and it wasn't a big deal if he sometimes missed two or three meals.
But what exactly was the trigger for the emergence of this second personality? Did it come from his subconscious survival instinct?
No, that's not the case.
Fyodor calmly ignored the roundabout, sarcastic, teasing, or mocking remarks and continued watching the content playing on the screen.
The intrusion of the bearded robber with a knife broke the silence of the night and startled the little mouse that was stealing food.
Faced with the bearded robber's provocation, the little mouse carrying the stir-fried potato shreds remained completely calm, even uttering a famous line—"I, the little mouse, will soon bring you to your death."
The bearded robber didn't understand the Chinese sentence, but the audience outside the screen understood it through the subtitles.
"Ah, could this be the reason for the name 'The House of the Dead'?"
Amidst the rising and falling laughter, sometimes low, sometimes high, the entire studio was as lively as if it were watching a sitcom.
Pushkin was the only one who wanted to laugh but dared not, straining his cheeks with all his might.
"…………"
Fyodor closed his eyes in silence.
But after a moment, he silently opened his eyes again.
Because he heard a huge commotion, followed by an even louder one.
The bearded robber may not be as physically imposing as the one in the prison van, but the former was not bound hand and foot, and the sharp knife in his hand was far more intimidating.
No matter how you look at it, it would be extremely difficult for a physically weak boy to defeat such an opponent, and it would be a miracle if he could even save his life.
But to everyone's surprise, Fyodor silenced his opponent with a single, unarmed strike.
If this was surprising enough, then the bishop's appearance and the burning of the instruction manual for the world-destroying supernatural weapon were the bombshell that detonated the explosion at the scene.
"Is that the one that was said to have been destroyed by fire back then?"
"I never expected to almost have it taken by Fyodor..."
"Wait, why do I have a feeling that Fyodor deliberately achieved this result?"
"What this second personality of Fyodor has done so far has been guiding things toward a positive outcome."
Listening to the whispers and murmurs over there, Gogol turned his gaze with a smile and stared intently at his dear friend who hadn't spoken for a long time.
"My dear Fyodor, was it because of the interference of your second personality that you didn't get that instruction manual back then?"
“…” This time, Fyodor spoke up, “He’s dead.”
Gogol: "Oh?"
Fyodor's gaze as he looked at the screen was deep and unfathomable, as if even the darkness itself could hardly stir any ripples in it.
"To prevent me from taking it, the bishop, sensing something was wrong, simply burned everything. The church, the monks, the instruction manuals," Fyodor said calmly.
"And himself."
This forced him to scrap his plans and start over, postponing them until now.
But in this film, the fire lit by the bishop only actually destroyed one thing, while everyone else's lives were saved.
The story on screen continues.
If we consider Fyodor, who is skilled in both fighting and cooking, as the second personality that was born in this body, then after this incident, the main personality began to realize that something was wrong and changed its plans, going instead to the Moscow Conservatory.
There, Ivan Goncharov, a teacher, would unknowingly assist him in a test.
The reappearing alternate personality, Fyodor, was clearly somewhat at a loss for what he was doing in his new situation. He also performed a set of sword moves with his cello bow, completely lacking any musical talent, leaving the girl carrying a violin nearby stunned.
It was at this moment that Fyodor took the initiative to reveal that he was a second personality and sincerely explained that he did not speak Russian and did not remember the name of his body.
Ivan Goncharov would then take care of his life for a period of time—and gradually be won over by his pure inner will.
Besides playing the cello.
After all, the people sitting in the studio are all "acquaintances," so they don't really need to worry about whether their discussions will disturb other viewers' viewing experience.
Rather, the real torture is seeing such content but forcing people to remain silent.
"Great! This is the real good guy version of Fyodor!"
“I liked what he said to Ivan. Besides, treating mental health issues by removing areas of the brain is both too cruel and too brutal.”
"If it really is removed, there should be a way to cure Crystal's superpower, right?"
"Ah, that's right. Strictly speaking, this is an external injury. We can treat him after we beat him to the point of near death."
"It's just that the cello playing is so awful..."
"Look, aren't other people racking their brains to praise him? All they say is his posture is beautiful..."
"It's understandable that Ivan fell for it, sob sob, I would fall for it too if I met him, all the food he makes looks so delicious...slurp."
"Dun, it's fine if you slurp a couple of times at the person on the screen, but the one sitting in the studio is the purely wicked Fyodor. You'd better be on your guard when you run into him."
"Yes, sir!"
Faced with these words, Ivan simply smiled, showing no other reaction. Or perhaps, having had a portion of his brain removed by Fyodor, he was no longer capable of expressing normal human emotions.
While Fyodor wasn't deprived of his right to speak, it was no different from being forcibly silenced...
The content shown on the screen was too bizarre, allowing him to witness firsthand the slow changes brought about by his second personality.
He could also see himself on the screen, who had noticed something amiss and was beginning to tentatively uncover this little tail that hadn't been hidden at all.
As another version of himself who was essentially the same, Fyodor could even see that this forced change of the original plan contained a hint of displeasure.
Even if the other party's displeasure is buried deep beneath a calm exterior, never showing the slightest hint.
However, in reality, anything that slipped out of Fyodor's control made him feel a kind of... weightless unease.
Regardless of which Fedor.
This storyline set in Russia has finally come to an end, with one more member joining the [House of the Dead] team.
The actions of the master, Fyodor, after taking over the body clearly indicate that he has realized his own abnormality and has begun to lay out a targeted follow-up plan.
As the screen went black and then brightened again, the scene had changed—the difference between the two personalities was now so obvious that no one would mistake them for each other as long as the alternate personality Fyodor opened his eyes.
The organization appearing this time is [V].
"By the way, why can't Fyodor, the main personality, clearly determine that he has a second personality? Usually, it should be easy to tell, right? Is there no gap in his memory?"
I was whispering among myself after listening to the science presentation; I was very curious.
"Perhaps his subconscious was denying the existence of the [good] personality, so he filled in his memories and pretended that the other person did not exist—but on the other hand, the rationality above the subconscious could keenly detect the abnormality, so he began to struggle with himself."
Osamu Dazai, the armed detective, stroked his chin and offered a guess that was similar to Fyodor's.
“I never expected that Fyodor would also be connected with [V],” the president, who had dealt with the organization before, pondered. “But in my memory, the person in that seat was definitely not him.”
“Speaking of [V], isn’t that it?” Ranpo, who had been lazily watching the movie, suddenly sat up straight. “The [Angel Murder] case!”
“That’s right,” the president said. “After you became unemployed and homeless and started clinging to me, I had no choice but to take you to the World Theater to look for work. As a result, we got involved in a murder case and I witnessed you running on the stage and talking big.”
The rest of the detective agency: "Oh my—"
Ranpo: "...Ahem, cough! Well, there's no need to go into such detail! Just know that I'm the world's greatest detective!"
As soon as he said that, a playful "Oh?" came from behind.
—From Ayatsuji Yukito, who had no cigarettes to smoke and whose face was full of displeasure.
"That confidence is really impressive; even my dozing off is applauding you."
Mizuki Tsujimura quickly intervened, "Hey, hey, Ayatsuji-sensei, you..."
Upon hearing this, Ranpo also let out a provocative "Huh?" and turned his head to glare intently at the direction from which the voice came, in order to boost his own morale.
"What's wrong, old man? You're not convinced? I don't mind having a few more detective duels, just don't end up crying from losing—"
"Ranpo," the president, almost recalling his stomachache from years ago, quickly interrupted, "you..."
"You really dare to say that." Ayatsuji Yukito slightly curled the corners of his lips. "I'll make you cry at least three times after we get out."
Tsujimura Fukasuki, President: "…………"
There's absolutely no stopping them; these two detectives have an insatiable competitive spirit.
Off-screen, Ranpo is full of confidence, making a detective duel with Ayatsuji after they leave; on-screen, Ranpo is still a boy, still suffering from his own special nature.
The alternate personality Fyodor was forcibly taken to the World Theater by the [V] organization to watch their murder performance, and along the way he also had a brief encounter with Ranpo and the president from back then.
Immediately after the murder, the police quickly cordoned off the scene and investigated suspects, but unexpectedly they found the decoy, Fyodor, who could not provide identification, and took him to the detention center.
And under the intentional or unintentional instruction of Inspector Mita, the mastermind behind the [Angel Murders] incident and a high-ranking member of the [V] organization, this alternate personality, Fyodor, was imprisoned with someone else.
As the camera slowly moves and switches to follow the footsteps, a scene that leaves the three adult Dazai and one Oda Sakunosuke utterly astonished is revealed.
No one has any memory of Fyodor and Oda Sakunosuke being imprisoned in the same cell!
————————
In the original text, "The Secret Story of the Establishment of the Detective Agency," Ranpo spoke these lines under the spotlight on stage:
"A 'Why?' look on your face. I am the savior! The great detective, the superhuman, the prince of God—meaning I appear at the very end of this drama, able to dispel all mysteries and anxieties with a single word, allowing everyone to say 'Ah, that's great!' and go home with a sigh of relief. The Arbiter of Time! Ah, you are all such lucky guys, I envy you, because you will be the first witnesses to see the unprecedented, unparalleled miracle I will perform! This is the only solution in your lives! Those who need to go to the toilet, go now, I'll wait for you!"
The stunned audience.
The blessing that begins with stomach pain.
Who...who told you to go this far...?
The entire audience stared wide-eyed and mouth agape, completely bewildered by the scene before them. Hundreds of spectators shared the same sentiment.
—What's going on?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
