by <unknown>
That mark was about 20 cm in diameter and about 5 cm deep, which was much deeper than the mark in front of him now. Still, Chen Chen was certain that the source of these two marks was the same.
This was because the deeper dent he had come across appeared to be formed under a long-term impact whereas this mark seemed to be recently made.
'Coincidence?
'Or…'
At this moment, he seemed to understand why there were signs that the woman had pressed her ear to the wall in the room where her corpse was hanging and the traces of the wall being hit with a baseball bat.
Perhaps when that woman was alive, on a night filled with despair and darkness, she had also noticed this hollow and strange thudding sound…
A dark light flashed in Chen Chen's eyes.
He looked around. If there were any people or animals hidden in the room, they would have been noticed when the Black Knight came in earlier. This was because Chen Chen was sure that the thudding had stopped when the Black Knight opened the door.
The teachers' dormitories were all single rooms. When the door was opened, the entire room could be seen in a glance. If it had been a human or an animal, it was impossible that the Black Knight would fail to notice it.
In other words, that thing was so fast that it could vanish right in this room as soon as the Black Knight opened the door.
With this in mind, Chen Chen came to the rear window of the dormitory again. He touched the window lightly. The window was shrouded in newspaper and it was also locked from the inside. There was no way a person or an animal could have escaped from the window.
Since there was no possibility of a getaway, what was it that could avoid the Black Knight, the thermal imaging vision of the PK Armor or even the detection of an artificial intelligence near the level of Little X?
What was it that would beat against the wall deep in the night?
All of this was almost completely inconsistent with the common understanding of physics. Chen Chen narrowed his eyes and had a vague notion.
"So, I've been targeted by a 'mysterious phenomenon'."
Chen Chen frowned. He did not expect that, despite the precautions he had taken beforehand, and being so cautious when looking at the information of the doomsday survival squad, he would still be infected with a "mysterious phenomenon".
What was even more troublesome was that this particular mysterious phenomenon was not in the records of the data. That was to say, Chen Chen needed to personally obtain an understanding of this mysterious phenomenon, sum up its rules, then seek a way out within those rules.
Thinking of this, Chen Chen glanced around the dormitory one last time, then turned to leave and return to the team leader's bedroom.
He lay down on the bed tiredly again. Although Chen Chen's brain was still aching slightly, he did not continue to sleep but began to analyze silently.
"X-112, help me record a new mysterious phenomenon."
Chen Chen said softly, "The name of the mysterious phenomenon is called: Thuds."
X-112 immediately responded, "Recording has already started."
Chen Chen nodded. "The information produced by this group is still too general. I think that for a more comprehensive understanding of the mysterious phenomena, at least four categories are needed, namely: phenomenon characteristics, infection symptoms, infection conditions, and danger assessment.
"The characteristic of the 'Thuds' phenomenon is that after a human is infected, there will be rounds of thudding noises next door. And if one heads to the next room at this point, one will not see anyone, only the traces of the physical impact on the wall."
Chen Chen thought for a while and added. "It's not yet clear what triggers the thudding sounds, whether it's triggered by the infected person staying in a room for a long time or by the late night time? Plus, how long will this thudding sound continue and if it lasts too long, and a hole is knocked through the wall, what will happen…"
"What if you change rooms?" X-112 asked suddenly.
"There's no use changing rooms."
Chen Chen shook his head. "It can be seen from the room where the female corpse was hanged that the woman had two bedrooms when she was alive. She heard the thuds against the wall of one bedroom. She noticed something was wrong and apparently changed to the other bedroom. However, the thuds began again on the other side of the bedroom wall."
"No wonder she has dents in the walls of the two adjacent bedrooms…"
X-112 understood at once. "If changing rooms can't solve the problem, then how should we counter this?"
"I don't know."
Chen Chen shook his head, displaying a solemn expression for the first time. "This is something I have never encountered before. In truth, since just now, I have been prepared for death."
"Sir Commander…"
X-112 had nothing to say.
"It's okay. There's nothing much to say to that."
Chen Chen waved his hand. "I have long understood the truth that the one who wants to wear the crown must bear its weight. If I want to obtain power from the USB flash drive, sooner or later I'll experience a backlash from it. I just didn't expect that this day would come so quickly."
"Maybe this mysterious phenomenon won't kill you?"
X-112 said persuasively, "After all, that woman died not because she was killed by the thudding noises, but because she hanged herself. That is to say, it's very likely that the lethality of this mysterious phenomenon isn't that formidable."
"That is just wishful thinking."
Chen Chen retorted, "Perhaps the thuds will last for several nights and the longer it lasts, the more it will shatter the emotions of the infected person, just like the Basilisk pattern. Who knows — the sound itself may be the lethal thing.
"Maybe the power of the thudding sound hasn't been shown for now, but it doesn't mean that it's not a threat. In fact, in my opinion, there's no logic at all with a mysterious phenomenon like this, so we must not assess it with common sense. Otherwise, I'll definitely die a miserable death…"
After listening to Chen Chen's rhetorical statements, X-112 was completely silent.
"At present, it seems that the characteristics of the mysterious phenomenon 'Thuds' have yet to be explored. The symptoms and conditions of infection are even more unknown. We don't even have leads for the danger assessment as we lack sufficient clues."
Chen Chen said, "So, after this, I'll lie on the bed first to see if there'll be more thudding noises tonight. If the thuds occur again, it means that they're related to how long I stay in a room. If not, it means that there's no connection there.
"I also recall that during the day, other than myself, the three Black Knights also saw the hanged female corpse, so would they also be infected with this mysterious phenomenon?"
After thinking for a while, Chen Chen added again. "X-112, let the Black Knight who is in charge of guarding me go to another dormitory. Just find any room that's not the one next door. I want to see if the same thuds will occur for him."
"Got it."
After X-112 replied, the Black Knight turned around and left.
After watching the Black Knight leave, Chen Chen nodded and asked again, "Didn't you notice? This kind of mysterious phenomenon is quite interesting and there are almost limitless possibilities we can try.
"For example, if I install a camera next door, what do you think I'll see? Or if I move to a room made entirely of glass, what will happen then? And if I stay in a detached room that has no other rooms around it, will the thuds still become knocks on the door?"
As Chen Chen said this, there was a cheerful glimmer in his eyes. "In a nutshell, with this mysterious phenomenon, I can carry out many, many attempts, just like a rigorous experiment. And this is the kind of experiment that I'm best at…"
Chapter 309: Hyperthymesia |
In this manner, Chen Chen conversed with X-112 while waiting for the sound of the thudding to begin again.
However, as time ticked by the m
inute, the sound never resumed. It was not until four o'clock in the morning the next day that Chen Chen sank into sleep again.
When Chen Chen opened his eyes again, it was already noon the next day.
After a night of sleep, Chen Chen's head finally did not hurt as much as it did yesterday. Although there was still a slight ache, at least it was within a tolerable range.
"Sir Commander, after you fell asleep last night, the sound didn't start up again and the Black Knight in the other room didn't experience any strange phenomena."
X-112 reported.
"Then what about the two Black Knights guarding the group, have they encountered anything unusual?"
Chen Chen sat up, rubbed his temples, and asked.
"No. Everything was as usual."
"In that case, it's likely that the problem is with me…"
Upon hearing this, Chen Chen's expression suddenly sharpened. "Although the Black Knights don't have a brain, no matter what, they are still living beings. If even I were infected by a mysterious phenomenon, it doesn't make sense that the Black Knights wouldn't be infected, unless these mysterious phenomena can distinguish between normal humans and controlled humans?
"So, it must be because I did something in that room before that the Black Knights didn't, which led to the mysterious phenomenon only infecting me, but not the Black Knights."
Thinking of this, Chen Chen began to recall everything that happened yesterday. What he had done was simple — he had gone to the room next door and touched the dent of the impact. At that time, he had gotten white plaster all over his hand.
"Is it because I touched the marks left by the thuds?"
Chen Chen was not sure about this.
After putting on the PK Armor again, Chen Chen led the Black Knight out of the room and came to the hall of the teaching building again. After a night of being supervised in a group, the expressions of these survivors were a little haggard. After the group was captured, their mentality had changed.
"How did they behave last night? Is the situation still stable?"
Chen Chen observed everyone and suddenly asked.
"It's fairly stable. In truth, several of these people had plans to escape or even fight back. After all, they are people living in a doomsday, so they're not averse to taking risks. However, the Black Knights are too good at keeping watch and this group of people never found the opportunity to do so."
X-112 replied, "But these people definitely don't know that, even if they are whispering, every word can be clearly heard by us. Last night, I heard the team leader making quite a few offers to Yoru Kamidera such as promising that he'll no longer be their slave and will instead, become a full member, and other arrangements with food and living facilities.
"Again, Yoru Kamidera didn't agree right away, but replied that he had to think about it."
Hearing this news, Chen Chen nodded. Sure enough, Yoru Kamidera must have some specialty that was extremely beneficial to the team. Otherwise, the team leader would not possibly risk offending Chen Chen by trying to get Yoru Kamidera to stay.
"Yoru Kamidera, what have you decided?"
As soon as he entered the hall, Chen Chen immediately asked Yoru Kamidera.
"Your Excellency, I'm willing to go with you."
Yoru Kamidera immediately replied upon hearing this.
"Very good."
Chen Chen nodded. "In this case, come with me to locate the military base now."
Although Yoru Kamidera was a little puzzled about Chen Chen's objective in finding the military base, he did not say anything, only stood up and walked to Chen Chen's side.
At this moment, the Bugatti Spaceship arrived, driven by X-112, and landed in front of Chen Chen.
Following Chen Chen's directive, Yoru Kamidera boarded the spaceship with a lively expression. Then, Chen Chen and the three Black Knights went in after him. When the gull-wing door closed and the Bugatti Spaceship took off, the group in the teaching building seemed to awaken from a stupor and sighed in relief.
Both Chen Chen's arrival and departure had happened so quickly without any warning signs. They felt as if they had just woken up from a dream.
Fujiwara Aoki tapped his plaster cast with his right hand as he stared after the departing spaceship with a complicated expression. If it were not for the hostility of his team yesterday, they would not have suffered a double loss.
Of course, Chen Chen would not be concerned about the thoughts of a group of bugs. After only half an hour of journey, under Yoru Kamidera's guidance, Chen Chen finally located the North American military base stationed in the East China Sea Continent.
As a country that was defeated in World War II, the East China Sea Continent did not have the right to form an army, only the right to self-defense. Therefore, there was a large number of North American military bases in the East China Sea Continent.
The reason Chen Chen wanted to find this place was for the sake of tracking down Gantz's technological information.
In Chen Chen's view, it was very likely that humans had not fully grasped the technology given to them by the alien civilization and could only create machines far beyond human cognition through blind imitation, such as the Gantz sphere. Nonetheless, this was also enough.
This was because if humans could replicate the Gantz black sphere, then as long as the methods were not too unreasonable, perhaps in reality, Chen Chen could also achieve mass production of the Gantz sphere.
If this was the case, then Chen Chen would essentially have a super army that could shuttle around the world at any time, coming and going like phantoms. It would not be like before when they had to rely on international flights to carry out activities all over the world.
Although this kind of military base might not necessarily have the technology of the Gantz black sphere, Chen Chen could find more clues about the black spheres through the military base, thereby resuming the investigation and greatly reducing the time taken to find the needle in the haystack.
Perhaps because it was Yoru Kamidera's first time in a flying vehicle like this, for once his eyes were shimmering with wonder throughout the entire journey. Only then was there a trace of naivety, unlike his previous self — evidently a youth, yet with dull, dejected eyes as if he cared for nothing in this world.
"This is it. This is the port of Yokohama, on the west coast of Tokyo Bay in central Honshū. It's also the largest seaport in the East China Sea."
Currently, Yoru Kamidera pointed to a position on the holographic screen and said softly, "Because this is the largest port in the East China Sea, it was regulated by North America. The Yokohama North American military base in the East China Sea was established here."
"You seem to know all this very well."
Chen Chen asked reflexively, "Is that your specialty?"
"No, my specialty is very simple, it's just a kind of hyperthymesia."
Yoru Kamidera shook his head. "It's what people also call a photographic memory. I can remember everything that happens each year, month or day, every hour, minute, and second. The scene of any day can be rewound like a cassette tape and reconstructed in my mind."
"Hyperthymesia?"
Chen Chen was startled. Did this not mean that Yoru Kamidera could even remember things like the Basilisk patterns?
Chapter 310: yygq |
Chen Chen had also once looked up this neurological disease that seemed to be a superpower.
In the past, the scientific community believed that forgetting was a passive process and those memories that were used less often would disappear slowly and automatically.
However, with more in-depth research, an increasing amount of evidence showed that the loss of memory was not a passive process. On the contrary, forgetting was more of an active process.
Human brains were constantly forgetting. This was a preset function of the brain, like a program that was continuously running in the background. One could not see it, but it truly existed.
It was not until 20
17 that scientists verified this process. This was a mechanism of active forgetting, called "essential forgetting". It involved a specific subset of cells inside the brain. These cells were called "forgetting cells," which broke down the imprints of the memory cells.
The prefrontal cortex of the brains in hyperthymesia patients was very different from that of ordinary people. Whenever this region tried to compress information, it became abnormally active, preventing the compression of information. Therefore, they could not forget certain memories.
Nonetheless, although patients with hyperthymesia had an exceptional, unique memory, not all of them would reach the apex of life as ordinary people might assume. On the contrary, they could not even become the top student in their class.
This was because, despite hyperthymesia patients having powerful storage and memory capabilities, there was usually a problem with the function that halted memory retrieval.
In other words, the brains of patients with hyperthymesia were often in a state of nonstop retrieval. This caused them to be in perpetual anguish and their work and study were often affected by recollections of the past. In severe cases, this could lead to insomnia and excessive dreaming, even resulting in mental illness.
"Of course, I haven't always had this ability."
At this time, Yoru Kamidera continued. "Strictly speaking, I must've obtained it when I woke up after seeing the 'Eye' and falling into a coma for three hours."
Chen Chen's expression sharpened after hearing this. It was true that most patients with hyperthymesia were not born with this ability, but rather, they only acquired it after certain incidents. However, this must be the first time someone had obtained this ability through a Basilisk pattern.
"Doesn't this mean that you can even recall the Basilisk pattern?"
Chen Chen looked at the military base that was getting closer and asked with interest, "So, do you remember the image of the 'Eye'?"