Corpse Recovery Diver-Chapter 867 - 155
Li Zhiyuan doesn't know who he is, at least, the current Li Zhiyuan doesn't.
But the boy can get an intensely strong sense of familiarity from the blurry figure in front of him, as if he had spent every day and night with him.
Yet, searching every corner of his memory, he still cannot find any trace of him.
The boy takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and now confirms one thing:
He must have amnesia.
The "brain fog" covering his memory provides more room for maneuver in the Dream, it's a kind of shackle that confines you before punishing you.
Normally, given the Dream Ghost's level and its current conditions, the dream it creates is almost unsolvable with the "brain fog".
Li Zhiyuan's advantage lies in not becoming numb to penalties, but actively overcoming and adapting to them.
Such an opponent requires the Dream Ghost to spend more energy to deal with.
In reality though, if he can see this blurry figure every time in this Dream, the impact that forms is enough to pry open the shackles of brain fog.
Even if it's just a slight opening, with the boy's intelligence, he can quickly analyze and deduce more things, thus breaking open the entire set of shackles.
After realizing he has amnesia, Li Zhiyuan stands there and starts thinking.
He begins to re-examine the world he is in, the people and things here.
His mother, the old man on the pirate ship, the girl in the bumper car area, the four scenes in the haunted house that touch his heart, what symbolic meaning do they truly hold?
When self-awareness begins to appear, the Dream no longer has a perfect sense of immersion; when self-awareness becomes intense enough, it's the start of the Dream's collapse.
Many times before, at this stage, the Dream Ghost would pull Li Zhiyuan out of the Dream and then "deliver" him back in.
This is its successful path dependency; no matter how tough, throw them in enough times and the edge can slowly be smoothed.
This is also why when Li Zhiyuan first entered the amusement park, he could clearly sense the "brain fog" gradually forming, and memory being slowly covered.
The shackles on him are continuously put on and then pried open repeatedly... and over time, they naturally become loose.
The person sitting in the chair looks down and says to the boy:
"You've started again."
Li Zhiyuan forces his eyes open and, while continuing to think intensely, asks:
"Can you stop it for me?"
"Tsk."
The blurry figure makes a clicking sound, each time he talks to the boy, the boy can extract something from the tone and content and ask something different.
The first time he asked: Who are you.
The second time he asked: Where is this? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
The third time he asked: Am I dreaming?
...
This time, he directly requested his intervention.
The figure knows the stage the boy is in, his memories of each Dream aren't connected, each time seeing him is the first time, yet he relies solely on the words to conduct layered analysis.
This boy assumes what responses he himself has made in so many past instances.
This way of thinking is remarkably rational.
However, this boy is about to disappear soon.
As many times before, right when the boy is about to reach enlightenment, he immediately vanishes, then, after a while, he walks back again.
But next, the boy's actions make the figure subconsciously sit a little straighter.
"Pop!"
The boy slaps his forehead hard, then shakes his head.
While others do this to forcibly awaken themselves, the boy does it to interrupt his own awakening.
He halts his thoughts, stops analyzing the current environment, and forcibly maintains the sense of immersion of staying here.
It's rare to be confused.
"Hehehe..."
The figure lets out a laugh, finding this child becoming interesting.
Li Zhiyuan then begins to take deep breaths, forcing his mind not to keep drifting, making it turn as slowly as possible, and not overthink.
The boy turns his head again, looking at the blurry figure, he asks:
"What should we do next?"
The intense sense of familiarity makes Li Zhiyuan subconsciously regard the other as one of his own.
The figure asks in return: "Why is it us?"
Li Zhiyuan: "I don't know."
Figure: "I don't know you."
Li Zhiyuan: "I don't remember you either."
Figure: "So, what relationship do we have?"
Li Zhiyuan: "We, should have a relationship."
Figure: "Kid, don't just recognize relatives arbitrarily."
Li Zhiyuan: "Aren't you planning to do something?"
Figure: "What do you think I should do?"
"For example, leaving here."
"Oh?"
"You seem to dislike your presence here."
"Not really."
Li Zhiyuan asks again: "Then you don't like the fact that you can appear here?"
"Tsk."
This is the second time the figure makes a clicking sound.
A child with his memory covered can still be so smart.
Most people in the world, when looking back at their younger selves, always find them adorably naive.
Figure: "How old are you?"
Li Zhiyuan raises his hand: "I can't think about this right now."
If he thinks, he'll disappear; then seeing this figure again, everything starts over.
The figure touches his own face; this question actually carries no weight, because no matter how old the child really is in reality, even if he's an old man, it still can't change the fact that he was already exceptionally smart as a child.
