Chapter 111 - 46: "Major Discovery

Chapter 111: Chapter 46: "Major Discovery

Yu Xian shook his head helplessly at Shi Zuozhou’s question, setting down his teacup.

He had already considered it. In the face of the current situation, they were almost completely powerless.

There were really only two conventional courses of action.

The first was to warn the students not to get addicted and inform them of the potential risks and dangers.

But that path was clearly unworkable. Never mind the fact that they would become thorns in the side of the masterminds behind these audio files. Just look at the near-fanatical addiction displayed by Zhang Yang and Li Boxue back in the dorm. Any rational attempt to dissuade them would likely be seen as being a "buzzkill" or "old-fashioned."

You can never wake someone who’s pretending to be asleep, nor can you wake an addict who actively wants to "sleep" and is willingly lost to their addiction.

The second option was to seek official intervention.

But Old Shi had already reported it to the police, and Yu Xian had also spoken to his cousin about it. The police’s stance was consistent: under the current legal framework, it was just an audio file. When listened to outside of a dream, it was perfectly clean.

It contained no obscenity, no violence or gore, no incitement to commit crimes, and not even any financial fraud.

Even inside the dream, it merely sets up a scenario. Whatever the dreamer does is subjective and private. No one can know what happened in the dream, so it doesn’t meet the clear legal criteria for prohibited content.

With no victims, no evidence, and only the "conspiracy theories" of two students, it would be difficult for any authority, even if they were aware of the situation, to find just cause for taking forceful action against a "sleep-aid audio file."

’Or maybe intervention is just... delayed?’

’Still, Yu Xian found it hard to understand. If even he, a student, could sense something was obviously wrong with the audio, why weren’t the authorities stepping in?’

’He could only surmise that since the audio files had only been spreading for three days, and with flood control being the main priority recently, the authorities couldn’t do anything by the book without being officially notified.’

’Besides, this kind of audio wasn’t like a game or a piece of software. It didn’t need a server. It could even be spread offline. It was completely "decentralized." Even if they wanted to ban it, Yu Xian couldn’t imagine how that could be enforced.’

"For now, at least, there’s nothing we can do," Yu Xian said, looking at Wen Xiao.

"We need evidence. We need to figure out what’s really inside that ’black box’ before we have the solid proof we need to demonstrate how dangerous it is."

Although he was speaking to everyone, he knew Wen Xiao would understand his true meaning.

’He hadn’t voiced his deepest fear yet.’

’His greatest fear, in fact, wasn’t the "source memory confusion" issue.’

’Memory confusion was terrifying, but it was, after all, a long, gradual process.’

’The dream’s "possession" of reality would take time. The shift in the weighting of dream memories and their encroachment upon reality also needed to accumulate.’

’In the short term, the worst it could do was make people’s memories hazy and cause cognitive dissonance. It wasn’t enough to immediately trigger a large-scale catastrophe.’

’But...’

’What if that black box contained more than just a patch to suppress forgetting? What if it held other, malicious commands?’

’What if it hid a self-destruct command, one that could make people walk to their deaths without any warning, just like those "smiling suicides"?’

’If that suspicion proved true, then the current viral-like spread across campus was tantamount to planting a time bomb in everyone’s brain, one that could detonate at any moment.’

’He thought about the "major discovery" Wen Xiao had mentioned on WeChat before she arrived.’

’Had she cracked some key waveform code?’

’But that might involve the source file provided by Senior Sister Yiyi, and it couldn’t be discussed openly in front of Shi Zuozhou and Shao Yiyi.’

...

"Alright, we’re pretty much done eating."

Yu Xian checked the time. It was still raining outside. The dinner rush had passed, and the crowd on the commercial street had thinned out considerably.

"Old Shi, Yiyi, what are you two doing next?"

Under the awning by the entrance, Yu Xian looked at the two of them.

"What about you?" Shi Zuozhou asked, glancing from Yu Xian to Wen Xiao.

Yu Xian thought for a moment. Since everything was out in the open, there was no reason to hide anything. He started to explain,

"Wen Xiao and I still have to go..."

"Ooh~ Are you going to go ’fix-the-com-pu-ter’ with my dear Xiaoxiao again, Brother Cos? Remember to bring the computer with you this time!"

Evil Bun Head was back to her usual mischievous self, drawing out her words with heavy emphasis.

Hearing the three words "fix the computer," Wen Xiao’s face, which had just returned to its normal color, instantly flushed bright red.

"Ahem... Well then, we won’t be a third wheel."

Although Shi Zuozhou didn’t know what "fix the computer" was code for, that didn’t stop him from waggling his eyebrows suggestively at Yu Xian, giving him an "I’m being your wingman, bro" kind of look.

"Let’s go, let’s go! Master Shao! I still wanted to ask you about that fortune-telling stuff!"

Shi Zuozhou glanced at the rain outside and called out to Shao Yiyi.

"Aww, can’t you guys just take me on your date with you..."

Shao Yiyi said with a look of mock despair as she reluctantly opened her umbrella.

The lively atmosphere gradually faded as he watched the pair walk away under their umbrella, disappearing into the curtain of rain at the end of the commercial street.

Under the awning of the stone pot fish restaurant, only Yu Xian and Wen Xiao remained.

Rainwater streamed from the edge of the awning in a broken line, splashing into the puddles on the steps below and creating circles of bubbles and ripples.

The world seemed to fall silent all at once.

Yu Xian pulled his gaze back and turned to look at Wen Xiao beside him.

Wen Xiao’s head was bowed, the toe of her shoe gently nudging a small pebble on the step.