by <unknown>
That kind of feeling was comparable to the first time he faced the Basilisk pattern. If his willpower was not strong enough, Chen Chen would have rather died than bore this kind of pain.
"That, that is… An antimeme!"
Chen Chen collapsed and sat up, panting heavily. Although he had experienced agony comparable to death, at this moment, his brain had never been so clear as if it had been washed by a clear spring.
"No wonder my memory had errors. So, it's all thanks to an antimeme!"
Chen Chen gritted his teeth, resisting the subsiding pain, and at the same time, analyzed in a low voice, "It turns out that the night I was injected with the T-virus, I had this dream…'I Saw You', is that the name of this antimeme?"
Chen Chen could not help frowning. "However, how did this antimeme find me? Could it be…"
Chen Chen's pupils suddenly shrank!
At this moment, the quantum computer of the Earth Federation flashed through his mind.
He still remembered that after he had gained power by relying on the USB flash drive, he had wanted to find out its origin. After all, the USB drive came from Shangdu Jiao Tong University, where he was located. If he began with the school, it would not be difficult to find the source of the USB flash drive.
Due to this, he used Little X to investigate in many ways, but the origin of the USB drive was always like a black hole and not a single clue could be unearthed…
However, if he linked this to the nature of this antimeme, where all traces of a person's existence would disappear after it had swallowed a person, then was it possible that this antimeme existed a long time ago?
Following this line of thinking, Chen Chen even arrived at a terrifying hypothesis —
If this antimeme had existed a long time ago, would it not be possible that the previous owner of the USB drive was swallowed by it?
In other words, the USB drive owner before Chen Chen was not non-existent. They might have used the USB drive to stir up some major events affecting the world and might even have rewritten the historical process of the world. No clues could be found by Little X because they were also swallowed by the antimeme!
This conjecture was not unfounded because the quantum computer of the Earth Federation was the strongest piece of evidence!
This thought flashed across Chen Chen's mind but it made him shudder — if it was true, would it not mean that when he got the USB flash drive, the antimeme had already followed him, only it had been lurking in the dark. Was it only activated when certain conditions were fulfilled?
"Heh heh!"
Chen Chen laughed lowly. At this time, the death-like pain had completely disappeared. He stood up a little dazedly, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.
This antimeme was silently devouring this world…
The disappearance of Li Bo was the best proof.
Not only Li Bo, Chen Chen clearly remembered that there were more than 30,000 students in the entire school, but in the interrogation room at that time, the director's memory and the information found showed that there were only more than 20,000 people.
It was not that Chen Chen's memory was erroneous, but that the remaining 10,000 people were swallowed by the antimeme.
The reason Chen Chen could still remember the real number without being affected by the antimeme was not that he was special, but that he had memories from realities.
However, this was the limit.
In the subsequent spiritual abnormality that erupted across the entire city, it was unknown how many people died at the hands of this antimeme. It silently hid in the shadow of Ju-on, devouring lives, yet no one noticed…
This antimeme was not only devouring this parallel world, but also Chen Chen's dream.
In other words, the goal of this antimeme, from beginning to end, had always been Chen Chen. Only by swallowing this parallel dimension that was mixed up with Chen Chen's dream, would it completely swallow Chen Chen…
This would explain why Shen Qi suddenly appeared to save him when he was about to be killed by the grudge-curse — because he had been possessed by this antimeme. If he was killed by the grudge-curse in advance, it would have ruined the antimeme's plan to devour him.
Even Zhou Jie's unleashing of the four horror films was probably all caused by this antimeme, so that it could hide in the shadow of the spiritual abnormality and prevent Chen Chen from detecting it…
However, would an abstract existence like an antimeme, which was more like a law of nature, have its own thinking?
A dark look flitted across Chen Chen's eyes, as a more terrifying conjecture gradually came to mind —
Perhaps there was another possibility…
Chapter 378: Eyes |
Perhaps the reason the antimeme could do everything it had done up until now was not that the antimeme had a human mind, but that someone was behind it.
"Could it be 'that person'?"
Chen Chen muttered in a low voice and a theory emerged vaguely in his mind.
Still, in the next second, Chen Chen frowned again. "If it's really 'that person', then how did 'he' do it?
"I saw you…"
Chen Chen kept chewing on this sentence, trying to find some clues, but he still did not get anything.
Thus, Chen Chen simply put aside this question for the time being and turned to look at the environment of this Ju-on's dimension.
Only then did he realize that his current location was on a hill.
It was already noon. Looking down from the top of the hill, Chen Chen could see a small town. The streets were full of bustling traffic. He could even hear the hustle and bustle of the city and the noise of the market.
"What's this?"
Chen Chen looked over in amazement. This was the world of Ju-on. According to the inherent nature of the USB flash drive, it should have been a world that was already destroyed. How could there be people?
Besides Gantz, this was the second time Chen Chen had encountered a dimension with humans.
Could it be that the Basilisk pattern vaccine provided immunity to memes?
Chen Chen quickly took out the material from his pocket and looked at the image recorded in it, but when he saw the image, Chen Chen suddenly felt himself becoming lighter.
It was as if a weight was taken off his heart. Chen Chen felt himself quivering, overcome by a sense of vigor and vitality…
It truly worked!
Chen Chen was overjoyed as if something had been removed from him. It was like being relieved of a burden, which he knew must have been the Ju-on meme.
"Sure enough, I was right."
Chen Chen whispered. The reason this occurred was that the Basilisk pattern was invalid in reality and it was only effective after one had entered the movie's world, probably because the Basilisk pattern had limitations.
After all, the Basilisk pattern was not a complete meme but was more similar to an artificially processed inactivated vaccine, which had lost its effectiveness due to the environment. The dimension of the new Ju-on and the dream world where Chen Chen was located were essentially distinct.
If it were a complete meme, a little difference was not a big deal and it could still spread, and even actively mutate and evolve like a virus. However, for the Basilisk pattern, it was difficult to do this.
Therefore, this type of Basilisk pattern was extracted, yet it was invalid. Chen Chen needed to come to Ju-on's dimension to suit it.
Thinking of this, Chen Chen looked at the cave-like passage behind him. At that time, the situation was extremely urgent. Chen Chen had no other choice, so he came through here desperately, but he was indeed too lucky, now that he thought about it.
He had no idea what was the situation on the other side of the passage now. After entering the passage, the laptop must have fallen from a high altitude. If the laptop was broken, would it mean that the passage was closed and he could not go back again?
Still, now it appeared that the channel had not disappeared.
It see
med that there were indeed many undiscovered rules of the USB drive and this was likely one of them.
This thought flashed by in Chen Chen's mind. Now that the passage had not disappeared, there was no rush to return. Therefore, Chen Chen took a big stride forward and rose into the air as if breaking free of gravity, and flew toward the town at the foot of the mountain.
The closer Chen Chen was, the more he could see that this town was obviously a typical Japanese town. The surrounding area was full of wooden Japanese-style self-built houses, and the commercial area in the center of the town was filled with the sleazy, gaudy atmosphere of shops and pubs. There were even ramen restaurants.
As he flew closer and closer, the noises of the town got louder and louder. Countless pedestrians and vehicles passed by on the street and in a park, he could even see hundreds of children playing raucously in large crowds. The children were all wearing kindergarten uniforms, which were dark blue.
However, when Chen Chen saw this scene, his expression gradually stiffened.
He hovered halfway up the hill and did not fly down.
Indescribable anxiety gripped Chen Chen's mind. He gradually realized that this city seemed to be too lively.
From the top of the hill, the area of this town indicated it was a small town that could accommodate tens of thousands of people, but if he put together all the densely packed pedestrians on the street, there seemed to be something inexplicably fishy.
Surely the streets of this small town were a little too busy.
Not only that, but Chen Chen was also looking at the only park in the town. The park was crowded with thousands of children chasing and playing, creating an extremely festive atmosphere.
However, in a small town with ten thousand people, where would more than a thousand kindergarten children come from?
Chen Chen stood in the high distance and drifted over the town, but only found one kindergarten. No matter how one looked at it, the kindergarten was of average size and could only take in over a hundred children at most.
Even so, the number of kids in the park was more than ten times this number.
Something was wrong, very wrong…
This town seemed to have an evil aura.
Chen Chen narrowed his eyes. After noticing these unreasonable scenes, he finally stopped hesitating, turned, and flew toward the sky.
However, the moment he turned around, the hustle and bustle of the town behind Chen Chen fell silent!
It was as if a TV had been blaring in a room, but someone had suddenly switched it off without any warning. In an instant, it was so quiet, one could hear a pin drop.
This peculiar development sent a chill over Chen Chen's scalp. As he flew further up, he turned to look back…
Chen Chen could see all the pedestrians walking on the streets and the children playing in the park across the town. At this moment, they all stopped their activities. They stood stiffly in place while raising their heads, staring fixedly at Chen Chen.
This sight caused Chen Chen's heart to shiver. He blinked involuntarily.
However, when he looked again, he found that the entire town was empty. There were no pedestrians on the streets or children playing in the park, none at all.
The entire town was empty without a single soul as if the scene just now was an illusion in his mind…
"Sure enough, I was too optimistic."
Chen Chen did not look back and rushed straight to the top of the hill, returning to the passage of the black hole.
Just when Chen Chen was about to head back, he suddenly thought of something and the movement of his feet suddenly froze.
He suddenly realized that if he went back right now, everything he had inferred just now would be forgotten again. This was the most basic ability of antimemes and it was impossible to prevent it anyway.
If he wanted to defeat the antimeme, the only way was to find "that person"…
Nonetheless, even if he saw that person, how was he supposed to remember everything under the influence of the antimeme?
Just when Chen Chen was stalled by uncertainty, a weird cry suddenly came from behind him.
It was a baffling crying noise. The voice stretched on forever as if there was no need to breathe. Every cry was heart-piercing and Chen Chen's whole body shuddered in terror…
Moreover, this cry was just one voice at first, but as time passed, one after another, more voices joined the crying. In an instant, it seemed that thousands of people were crying together, rushing from the foot of the hill in the direction of Chen Chen…
What kind of people could cry ceaselessly without gasping for air?
In Chen Chen's mind, the answer faintly emerged.
"D*mn it!"
Chen Chen cursed. Now he must return to the passage immediately, otherwise, he would only end up dying here. Still, if he returned, everything he had remembered just now would be forgotten again.
At once, Chen Chen was caught in a dilemma.
"Wait, hold on!"
The sound of crying behind him was getting closer and closer. When he was about to reach the top of the hill, his mind suddenly made a connection and he thought of a movie —
Event Horizon!
"So, is that it?"
At this moment, Chen Chen seemed to understand something and it all suddenly became clear in his mind. The next second, Chen Chen gritted his teeth and promptly raised his hands to clasp his eyes!
"Win or lose, it all comes down to this!"
As Chen Chen muttered in a low voice, his fingers directly gripped his eyes while he exerted a violent force. Suddenly, his index and middle fingers were inserted straight into the gap between the eye socket and the eyeball!
"Agh agh agh agh agh!!"
Strips of blue veins protruded from Chen Chen's forehead and an extreme pain seized him. Chen Chen could only sense countless gold stars twinkling in front of him and he could not help but let out a spine-chilling scream!
Even so, he still did not let go, but clenched his fingers and tugged at the same time!
"Splat!"
With two sharp sounds of nerves and muscle fiber snapping, Chen Chen's vision that was dazzled with golden stars now disappeared totally. His eyes were fully plunged into endless darkness!
Chen Chen let out a stifled wail and the intense pain caused him to tremble like a leaf, but at this time Chen Chen had no time to recover at all. He immediately stepped forward and entered the passage!
This was because, at this time, the crying behind him was already close at hand…
The moment he entered, Chen Chen seemed to hear an angry roar behind him but before he could hear it clearly, his body suddenly turned weightless, and he tumbled out of the passage!
The moment he returned from the passage, Chen Chen collapsed directly to the ground. He covered his eyes and rolled over in pain, unable to recover for a while.
About half an hour later, Chen Chen sat up again. His eyes were closed tightly and the two lines of blood stained his cheeks, flowing from the eye sockets.
At this time, Chen Chen's hands were tightly gripping two spherical items…
Those were the two eyeballs removed by Chen Chen himself.
"What happened?"
Chen Chen kept his eyes closed and murmured in a low voice, "What happened across the passage? Why did I make up my mind to blind myself?"
At this moment, Chen Chen had once again forgotten everything about the antimeme on the other side of the portal. The only thing he could remember now was that he had blinded himself for a certain purpose.
"The channel has the ability to cut off memes. Doesn't this mean that after entering the channel, I've recalled what the antimeme is?"
Chen Chen looked thoughtful.
However, now was not the time to think about this. Chen Chen, who had lost his eyes, must instead try to find something to replace his vision.
Obviously, "Field" would be a very good method.
Thus, Chen Chen began to try observ
ing the surroundings with the power of "Field".
He did not know why, in this dream world, his Field energy was more than ten times stronger than in reality. This also meant that the range he could explore by relying on Field energy had expanded, reaching a range of 20 to 30 meters.
At this time, under the sensing of Chen Chen's Field energy, he had "seen" everything in a radius of more than 40 square meters.
This was the middle of a wide road. Chen Chen realized that the exit of the passage was still on the computer screen, but the Alienware notebook he was holding had fallen to the ground from a high altitude and broken to pieces.
On the smashed wreck of the computer, there was also a USB drive flickering with stars.
Chen Chen slowly squatted and pulled out the USB flash drive from the wreckage of the computer. Only then, the dark portal on the computer screen vanished completely…
"As long as the USB drive was not unplugged, the channel will always be retained and will not even disappear due to equipment damage?"
Seeing this scene, Chen Chen could not help sighing silently.
This rule had not always been the same. Chen Chen once tested it. When he opened the channel of the USB drive by himself before, if he moved the computer, the channel on the computer screen would also move.
Nonetheless, now, even if the equipment was damaged, the formed channel had not disappeared due to the destruction of the equipment. What this indicated only raised more hypotheses for Chen Chen.
Still, now was not the time to think of this. Chen Chen put away the USB drive and thought for a while. Then, he took off again and flew shakily in a certain direction.
"According to the layout of the towns in my memory, this direction should be where the city of Shangdu lies…"
Chen Chen murmured in a soft voice. He adjusted his bearings and flew in that direction unsteadily.
The reason he was wobbling was that after lift-off, he had no surrounding reference objects, so it was difficult to pin down his own position.
After all, the distance that he could survey was no more than a radius of about 20 meters.
