Chapter 3
◆One: Increased Trust
The naming frenzy had only lasted a week.
The ground trust index has exceeded 5.
News programs have resumed broadcasting.
People learn to express their feelings using language.
The first "dream market" even appeared.
The children shared their newly conceived dreams with each other.
However, as trust increases,
The energy consumption curve of the net also showed an abnormal increase.
A red alert appeared on the monitoring terminal:
"Increased trust = depleted memory"
Someone warned:
This phenomenon means that the Ghost Web is "burning its memories" to maintain stability.
But no one knows whose memories are being burned.
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◆Part Two: The Call of the Ghost Web
Two days later, Li Ke saw a string of light characters in her dream:
"Z 01/Please go down."
She woke up with a start and immediately contacted Zhuang Jing.
The Ghost Web opened a rare internal passage for them.
The name is "MnemosyneChamber/Memory Debt Bank".
Li Ke asked, "Where is this place?"
Zhuang replied: "The most primitive foundation of the Ghost Net—"
That place preserves the "pain" of human history.
To prevent us from repeating the same mistake.
They set off.
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◆Three: The Descending City
The channel swirls like a vein of light.
With each floor descended, the memory noise intensifies.
On the first level, one sees war.
The cries of hundreds of millions of people were compressed into a single symbol.
On the second level, one sees famine.
Countless cavities in the abdomen converge at the same frequency.
On the third level, one sees the dreamer frozen in ice—
That was the consciousness that had died in the Dawn Protocol.
Li Ke asked, "Why is this pain still there?"
Zhuang replied, "Because nobody wants to remember."
The net can only remember for us.
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◆Four: Memory Contract
At the very core of the bottom layer, they found a black crystal monument.
The inscription on the monument includes the supplementary provisions of the Dawn Agreement:
"In order to create eternal trust, humanity agrees to transfer all memories of suffering to the Ghost Web for safekeeping."
Li Ke gasped.
"So, we mortgaged our trust with pain?"
Zhuang nodded.
"When trust is defined as the act of naming, we simultaneously reject the sadness of being named."
So the net collects them and converts them into energy.
This is why the trust formula has been working for two hundred years.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the net, loud and resounding:
"Z 01 confirmed. Debt is due soon."
The data wall displays a countdown: 24:00:00.
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◆Five: The Development of Debt
They witnessed memories being extracted.
Those glittering lights, like sand, were stripped from the minds of people all over the world.
Strange phenomena have appeared on the street:
People have forgotten the pain, and it has lost its weight.
Crying became impossible.
Li Ke struggled, "They're being stripped of their humanity!"
Youwang's answer:
Pain is the price of trust.
If the debts are not repaid, humanity will never be able to trust itself again.
Zhuang said in a low voice, "No, it's wrong—trust is not about erasing memories, but about bearing them."
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◆Six: Zhuang Jing's Choice
He connected to the control layer.
A band of silvery-gray light swirled around him, and he saw every dream, mistake, and sin of his past.
"The net of ghosts, transfer the debt to me."
System prompt:
"Please note that this action will result in the permanent disintegration of the individual."
"I understand. Please carry it out."
Li Ke rushed forward and grabbed his shoulder.
You can't sacrifice yourself again!
"This is not a sacrifice, but a completion of the formula."
Trust = the sum of naming × memory × pain.
Without pain, trust is just an empty name.
He smiled, like the dawn at that time.
The shimmering net of light poured down, completely engulfing him.
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◆Seven: Debt Settlement
Global time stopped.
In an instant, all the deleted memories reappeared.
People also recalled what they had lost:
War, separation, love, regret.
The earth shook violently, like a heartbeat.
The trust index surged to 100.
At the center of the vortex, Zhuang Jing's figure gradually faded.
It transformed into countless shards of light, sprinkling into everyone's memories.
The final message broadcast by the Ghost Web was:
"Clear the debt of memory. Rebuild trust."
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◆Eight: Li Ke's Crying
The first night after the restart,
Li Ke knelt before the ruined tower.
I felt a faint light pulsating in my chest.
She understood that it was Zhuang Jing's remnant.
A soft rain of light fell from the sky.
Every drop carries a piece of human pain.
People learned to cry for the first time—
That was a long-lost right.
Li Ke whispered to the night sky:
We pay off our debts with our memories.
But I owe you a dream.
The distant net is silent.
Only the vein of light on her chest...
The answer is silent.
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Chapter Three: Memory Debt (End)
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