Memory Fragments
Luo Fu actually took the initiative to ask for an offline meeting?
To be honest, Shang Jingyan is not afraid of meeting offline.
Anyway, she gathered this group of people with the intention of causing trouble.
However, the next sentence from the other party was completely beyond her expectations.
[And according to the agreement we made, now is the time to meet. ]
Shang Jingyan: “???”
Her first reaction was that the other party had made a mistake. During the conversation during this period, she did not talk to the other party about any topics related to the agreement.
But then, Shang Jingyan's eyes blurred, as if some memory was about to burst out of his mind.
With a clang, the comb in her hand fell into the pool. Shang Jingyan covered her head, feeling a sour, hot and swollen pain in her temples.
[Yanyan! What’s wrong with you?] X71 said in panic, [Why can’t I connect to your sea of consciousness? ... Ugh!]
It made a sound similar to a cry of pain, but it was not actually feeling any pain. Instead, it was because just for a moment, it seemed to have been "bounced" out, and rolled several times in Shang Jingyan's sea of consciousness.
At this moment, in X71's "field of vision", a transparent barrier seemed to rise in front of it, blocking part of the connection between it and Shang Jingyan.
【Yanyan! ...Yan...]
Some images emerged in Shang Jingyan's mind.
It can't be called a memory, it's just a fragment of memory, like a page torn by a storm, frantically passing before her eyes.
She saw herself sitting on the simple sofa in the rental house, pushing a piece of paper on the coffee table across the table and asking the person opposite to sign.
I couldn't see the other person's face clearly, I could only vaguely remember that she had a very reserved temperament, like a big shot in some organization.
Shang Jingyan saw the piece of paper clearly. It was the contract that she found in the secret box of the "original owner". It stipulated that she needed to return the "three-year Dream Source Crystal mining rights" to a mysterious creditor.
...So the person on the other side was the creditor? Now that she recalled this memory, was it the creditor who came to collect the debt?
No, it seems that they are not simply a relationship of creditor and debtor...
More broken images crowded into Shang Jingyan's eyes.
She saw herself giving a long speech to someone, just like she was trying to trick investors into investing in her previous life. But in this memory, she was clearly still wearing the high school uniform of the "original owner", and she hadn't even taken off her schoolbag.
She saw herself sitting opposite a person, which was very similar to the state in the first fragment where she asked the creditor to sign a contract, except that in this fragment, the creditor asked her to sign her name. The room they were in was a spiritual space, and both of them were in a semi-transparent virtual state...
She sensed her own emotions in her memory: excitement, longing, anxiety, fear of the unknown, determination and perseverance...
"hiss……"
Shang Jingyan frowned, felt a splitting headache, and forced himself to stop recalling.
She opened her eyes, and the final image overlapped with her own reflection in the mirror. Her long hair was messy from sleeping, and her emerald green eyes were a little confused. It was a completely different hair and eye color from her previous life of more than 30 years.
After "traveling" for so long, she has gotten used to her new appearance and no longer feels uncomfortable when looking in the mirror. But just now, she suddenly had a feeling -
This is how she was supposed to look, this is how she looks.
There is no "original owner", it has always been herself, right?
Shang Jingyan looked down at her watch. Five or six minutes had passed since she started to lose focus, and the system had been calling her relentlessly during this time.
[Yanyan! Are you feeling better? ]
The X71's calls are a bit vague, as if you accidentally took the earphones out of your ears while listening to music.
[…I’m fine.]
Shang Jingyan rubbed her ears subconsciously, and she suddenly found that she could control whether to cut off the mental connection with the system.
Before this, she could only avoid the system when she entered her own mental picture.
After being bound to the system for so long, Shang Jingyan "saw" its appearance in her sea of consciousness for the first time. In the past, it had always been in her "blind spot".
It looked like a black ball of wool, half the size of Shang Jingyan's own ball of light, and emanated wisps of black gas, which immediately reminded her of the black mist that could cause synovial disease.
However, they are not exactly the same. The system's black ball of wool looks like it has been flattened, the black fog ball is 3D, and it is a poor piece of paper in 2D.
Next to the black ball of wire in the system, there was a small, dimly flickering bright light. Shang Jingyan sensed that it was X71.
X71 and the "system" are indeed two different individuals.
Shang Jingyan couldn't help but reach out his light ball and touch X71. X71's surprised cry came from the small light spot:
[Wow! Yanyan, I can feel you! Is this what humans call "touch"? How wonderful.]
When Shang Jingyan touched X71, the sound of its speech became clearer, as if the earphones were back in his ears.
She decided to do the same thing next time she talked to X71 in her mind.
Shang Jingyan had a complex and subtle feeling. In this way, her relationship with X71 became closer to that of equals and friends.
Shang Jingyan actually couldn't accept the fact that there was an intelligent entity in her head 24 hours a day, watching her activities all the time.
She instinctively blocked the view that connected the system to her. X71 was confused and said: [Oh, why is there a part of my vision missing...Did you do that, Yanyan?]
It realized it later, [Yanyan, you can control me now? Awesome! ]
[Yes.] Shang Jingyan said, [Just now... I suddenly had an idea and learned it.]
It was obvious that she behaved abnormally after receiving the message. X71 could not have been unaware of the perfunctory and illogical nature of her words, but Shang Jingyan did not know how to explain it for a while, mainly because she did not want to explain.
Fortunately, X71 didn't care and said "Oh" obediently: "This is the personal privacy you mentioned, Yanyan, I understand!"
In a place where the system could not see, Shang Jingyan replied to Luo Fu on the other side.
【I see. 】
She didn't mention her "amnesia" but asked directly, "When and where shall we meet?"
[Next Thursday, 20:00 on the official Interstellar calendar, is that okay?] Luo Fu replied in one second, with a rather strict wording, [The location is at your convenience, let's set it in the purple mist.]
She sent an address, and Shang Jingyan searched it and found out it was a private cafe.
In just a few words, the other party even booked the box number and sent a list of tea and desserts: [Are these okay? ]
Shang Jingyan: “…”
I have to say, it’s really thoughtful.
She replied "No problem" and ended the conversation.
While combing her hair again, Shang Jingyan looked at her reflection in the mirror and felt a little dazed.
——She understood what those memories meant.
Although it is not complete, she has restored the rough course of events.
The "original owner" once tried hard to persuade someone for something and reached a certain agreement with her. The two parties exchanged contracts and formed a constraint.
The restriction on her side was the mining rights of the Dream Source Crystal, and Shang Jingyan couldn't remember what the restriction she imposed on the other party was.
And her original agreement should have included this clause: You come to me after I accomplish certain things, such as becoming a famous dream builder in the interstellar space.
That’s why Luo Fu said that.
And what role does the system play in this?
What Shang Jingyan could be sure of was that neither the "original owner" nor she, who lived to be in her thirties in her previous life, had a system in her brain.
It can't be that it is specially used to help her adapt to the interstellar world after she lost her memory, right?
There is absolutely no need for that, and if that were the case, the system would not have set a goal for her to "become a master of romance literature" in the beginning.
[…X71, do you know how you bound me? ]
Shang Jingyan asked softly, [Is it a coincidence? ]
When she first woke up, X71 just said that it would help the host become a master of literature and art and collect heartbeat points.
Shang Jingyan might have realized that there was a problem with the system, but he just didn't want to ask X71.
But now, a strong desire to explore prompted her to ask.
[Eh?] X71 was stunned and said stupidly, [It's bound like this... In those literary works, there is usually no reason. For example, the system is the product of a certain advanced civilization company, and it binds hosts from different planes to help them change their lives...]
From what he said, you can tell that X71 has been surfing the Star Network a lot and has read a lot of novels, movies and TV series.
Shang Jingyan asked back: [Then are you a product of advanced civilization technology? ]
[…It doesn’t seem so.] X71 said awkwardly, [Yanyan, it’s a bit strange for you to say that. My “factory memory” before I met you is also very vague, with only a “System Rules”.]
It started to wonder, "Did I encounter an accident and lose the file?"
[Who knows?] Shang Jingyan said jokingly, [Maybe you are not a system at all, but you think you are a system.]
[Wow!] X71 very humanely sent a [scared puppy] expression, [Yanyan, don’t suddenly tell me a horror story QAQ]
It’s hard to say, maybe it’s true... Shang Jingyan muttered to himself.
After the first episode of "Forest Singer" was aired, the audience strongly requested Director Shang to add another episode, but Shang Jingyan was determined not to satisfy the audience's wish.
The episodes she has released so far are actually previous inventory.
Currently, Shanite, who plays the leading role of Lan Qing, and Wu Rui, who plays the role of General Hua, are both still recording "Light Years Love Song". They are too busy to spare time and the stock is decreasing with each episode used, so they have to release them sparingly.
After the rest day, the series of "Light Years Love Song" started again, which somewhat diverted the audience's appetite.
In the following few days, the development of "Light Years" was extremely changeable.
Rong Qing, as the guest with the lowest favorability value at the beginning, still couldn't escape the fate of being eliminated. He encountered a ghost in Cupid Lake and died gloriously.
The ghost created an abnormality in the villa dance room. The audience could only see a pair of red dancing shoes walking and jumping, leaving bloody footprints with every step, but could not see its whole body. This scene is hard not to remind people of the famous fairy tale "The Red Dancing Shoes" from the last star calendar.
But Rong Qing did not leave the program crew. To the surprise of all the audience, he gained a new identity after waking up from fainting: a newcomer among the pink-clad staff.
From this, the audience saw another set of rules, namely the staff rules -
1: You are a staff member of "Light Years Love Song", and the program team is your home;
2. During the recording of the program, it is forbidden to go outside the shooting range;
3. There are no goats in the program group. If you see black goats, please do not panic, kill them in time and send them to the basement of the villa, and the superiors of the program group will deal with them;
Four: It is reasonable for a white tiger to appear in the back mountain. If you see a white tiger hunting a black goat, please help;
5. The loft area of the villa is an important office area, please do not approach it;
6: During the location shooting of "Light Years Love Song", please continue to abide by the employee rules in the villa.
[A new location has appeared, the basement, one above and one below the attic, just opposite each other. ]
[This employee code of conduct is really scary. It feels like brainwashing from the first sentence...]
[Who would have thought that the guest has transformed into an NPC? ]
[I suddenly thought of a possibility. Could it be that there are previous guests among the current NPCs? The rules don't allow guests to ask about the pink-clad person's past because it might remind them of the past! The black-clad staff are the guests who have maintained a certain level of clarity and have not been brainwashed.]
What the audience never expected was that after Actor Rong stopped being a guest, he actually liberated himself.
He disappeared for a whole day, and when the remaining three guests thought he had left the show, he brought them breakfast in his pink work clothes. Before leaving, he lifted up his pink baseball cap so that the three could see his face.
The actor's acting was naturally flawless. Rong Qing looked like he was really brainwashed, with the same mechanical smile on his face as all the people in pink.
This scene was so terrifying that it was no less than a horror movie. Even Wu Rui was so scared that she stood up on the spot.
[I'm sure the guests are cursing in their hearts at this moment: Did you get the script in advance? How could you turn into Rufeng like this! ]
[I am dying of laughter. It turns out that scaring others is more fun than being scared.]
[I have experience with this, too. When I was playing “Catch Me If You Can”, I loved being a ghost the most. ]
[When scared: I am timid and don't even dare to close my eyes when sleeping; when I scare others: I will hit you hard, and none of you will be able to sleep well! ]
[Speaking of which, will you invite another guest now that you are short of one person? Otherwise, Shanite will have to be single. ]
[It’s good to be single, go back early and perform "The Forest Singer" for us (dog head).]
The discussion of "Light Years" continues to rise, and has already exceeded the peak data of the previous issue. The opening of the Star Network has changed the direction of the wind. At present, if nothing unexpected happens, the annual award of "Dream Builder Executive" will be awarded to Shang Jingyan.
Four days passed in a flash, and it was Thursday.
Shang Jingyan took a half-day leave, saying that he wanted to relax. He drove his aircraft across half the planet in purple mist and came to the cafe where he had agreed to meet Luo Fu.
She dressed a little more formally today, changing her down jacket for a coat, because she had a feeling that today's conversation might not be in a casual atmosphere.
The cafe was hidden in an alley, low-key and quiet, but it didn't look cheap. The waiter robot at the door silently led her to the private room on the second floor.
Luo Fu, who was sitting at the table, turned around and held out her hand with a smile: "Are you Ms. Shang Jingyan? Please take a seat."
Shang Jingyan took a quick look at her without leaving any trace. Luo Fu's temperament was very similar to the person in her memory fragment, but she was obviously in a more subordinate position, such as a secretary or assistant.
She was wearing a white silk shirt, black trousers, tailored to fit her perfectly, and gold-rimmed glasses.
Shang Jingyan remembered a saying circulating on the Internet that if you see someone wearing glasses on the street, then the other person is either a scholar or a government official.
Because myopia can be cured in the interstellar era, people who still wear glasses now do so in pursuit of the image of "wiseness", "elegance and modesty". However, company executives generally do not do this because they also need to leave others with the impression of being "physically healthy" and "capable of working".
And Luo Fu must be the latter.
"Hello." Shang Jingyan nodded and said briefly.
She still didn't understand the situation very well, so the less she said, the less mistakes she made. The other party was not surprised to see her when he opened the door, which meant that he had known her alias and identity for a long time.
"Ms. Shang, you can just call me 'Luo Fu'." The strange thing is that Luo Fu actually said such a sentence, which proves that the "original owner" did not know her either.
"I'm sorry. Did you feel strange when you opened the door and saw me? It wasn't me who made the agreement with you, but the person who assigned me." Luo Fu confessed, "I don't actually know the specific content of the agreement between you and my superior."
Shang Jingyan raised her eyebrows, not knowing whether to be happy or disappointed. Although her question could not be answered, the other party would not discover her "amnesia".
"Then why didn't she tell you?" Shang Jingyan asked.
After just a few words, she felt that this Luo Fu was not that "Luo Fu". The other party's tone of voice was very different from that on Starnet.
Luo Fu poured Shang Jingyan a cup of tea and sighed, "This question... is a long story."
"We contacted you this time because of the order from my superiors and because..."
Luo Fu paused, her tone lowered slightly, "To be honest, my superior is now in a synovial coma. I came to you for help. She has been in coma for more than a year."
Shang Jingyan was really shocked by this development. When synovial syndrome is at its most serious, there are two states. One is that one cannot fall asleep no matter what and is extremely excited. The other is that one is in a coma all day and all night, loses self-awareness, and cannot be awakened no matter what.
Having been in deep sleep for a year, this meant that the patient was terminally ill and almost in a vegetative state, which was more serious than any other patient Shang Jingyan had treated before.
Not to mention entering the mental picture, it is hard to say whether the patient still has mental fluctuations.
"I'm not sure I can help you." Shang Jingyan said bluntly, "From your tone, I'm afraid you've already consulted the top experts in the universe. Even they can't help, let alone me. I'm just an ordinary dream builder."
"Please listen to me first. This request for help is not that bad." Luo Fu said, "Her...the patient's mental fluctuations have been extremely active, which is inconsistent with common sense."
"That's why we didn't give up. Since her spirit still exists, it proves that her brain is not dead yet, and there is a great possibility that she can be awakened. However, at the same time, her mental defense awareness is also very strong, and the consulting experts are unable to intervene in her mental fluctuations through conventional means."
"Therefore, we need to use a roundabout way to wake the patient up and guide her inconspicuously."
Luo Fu said so much, but they were all abstract concepts. Shang Jingyan didn't know what she wanted him to do specifically, so he remained silent.
As if she realized that she hadn't explained it clearly enough, Luo Fu directly took out a document and said, "The more specific requirements are all on it, Ms. Shang, you can take a look."
Shang Jingyan took it and found that the document was just an invitation for a work, just like the one customized by Qu Licong before.
She realized that the other party, or at least her subordinate Luo Fu, did not know what her real method of treating synovial syndrome was, but only knew that her work had "miraculous effects."
I guess Qu Licong’s publicity also contributed to this.
She quickly went through the document and distilled the requirements:
In short, she would use the patient's remaining mental power and data to create a "protagonist" so that the patient could form a mental resonance with him, and then put this protagonist into the story, experience a series of stimulations, and be awakened from his slumber.
——Just like the name “Dream Builder”, building a dream for the patient.
The requirements of the story are also very simple, trying to create a strong sense of crisis and keep the patient alert and stimulated in his dreams.
"If you are sure you will lend a helping hand, you will need to sign a confidentiality agreement." Luo Fu took out two contracts at the same time. "If you don't want to participate, although we are sorry, we won't say anything. But you still need to sign this small confidentiality agreement to ensure that today's conversation will not be leaked."
The blue logo belonging to the official document made Shang Jingyan take a deep breath, and he realized that the other party's identity must be very unusual.
...I was really amazing before I lost my memory. I actually reached a contract with such a person!
At the same time, Shang Jingyan also realized that the "contract default" she had thought of a year ago was impossible. With the other party's identity, she would be caught even if she escaped and became an interstellar pirate.
Shang Jingyan pondered for a while. Her mind told her that it was best not to get involved in trouble. But emotionally, as a creator, she was quite moved by the form of work proposed by the other party, which she had never done before.
After thinking it over, she said, "I will take it, but I won't sign the contract today. I need to find someone I trust to review the contract for me."
In case there is a hole inside.
"Okay." Luo Fu agreed immediately, and her attitude became noticeably warmer. "Does the requirements of this story embarrass you? Our expert team has also discussed it. If they can't come up with an idea, we can make an infinite copy."
"It's best not to overdo the stimulation, and not to have too many supernatural elements, otherwise it will easily make the patient realize that this is a dream..."
No creator can tolerate being told “you can’t figure it out” in front of a dream builder, even if the other person means well.
"No, infinite flow is not suitable." Shang Jingyan said directly.
In fact, she thought of two topics the moment she saw the specific requirements.
When it comes to real horror without any surreal elements, the first type that comes to mind is crime.
Bloody and gory films with the theme of murderers, such as "The Black Chainsaw Massacre" and "Han Ba", and even the superhero Joker can be included.
The patient is an official, which makes him a perfect fit for the role of a police officer who is tracking down a murderer in the film. The thrill of confronting a pervert and being targeted by a madman is absolutely incomparable.
The second type is doomsday disaster movies, such as "2012", zombie movies caused by medical disasters, and science fiction monster movies.
This type of subject matter is generally not classified as a horror film, but it can also arouse tension and fear in the hearts of viewers, and this kind of fear is extremely immersive.
The audience will put themselves in the shoes of the tiny human beings in the film, racking their brains to preserve their lives under overwhelming pressure, with the crisis of extinction always chasing them. As an official, I am afraid that I will be even more nervous when facing this situation.
"I have two ideas now." She turned on the screen and started to prepare for the presentation. "I will talk about both, and you and your team will decide and choose one. How about that?"
I have recently entered the key plot of the whole article, and I am very stuck in writing. Sorry little angels orz
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