Chapter 1115: See You Soon, Grand Prize
That night, when Bohemia entered the Astral Plane, she didn"t have high expectations. The puppets outside were still carrying the bed, and she hadn"t seen any signs of reaching their destination. She couldn"t help but come in because she was worried and wanted to check on the progress.
She never expected that Lin Sanjiu would find Magus in just a day"s time.
"Bohemia, right?" Magus"s brow furrowed slightly, then relaxed, and the leaf-like texture on her skin disappeared. It took her half a second to recognize who was standing in front of her—not because Bohemia"s consciousness was diminished and faint, but because her memory had faded to the edge of the time when she knew Bohemia.
Bohemia was still a bit slow to react; her gaze moved back and forth among the three people several times before she opened her mouth, "So fast? Is everything resolved?"
"That"s good," Lin Sanjiu sighed with concern and glanced at Magus, then briefly explained her situation, "We"re trying to figure out what to do after she leaves..."
"She can"t enter either of our bodies," Bohemia immediately made the same judgment as Magus, "Otherwise, she will slowly disintegrate. She either has to return to her own body or enter the body of someone without consciousness... What"s with that expression on your face? I don"t really like your current face."
Lin Sanjiu coughed slightly in embarra.s.sment and wiped her face.
"There are people without consciousness around us," Lin Sanjiu said patiently, "Other than Meowie Hu, there is still—"
"Lalala!" Bohemia suddenly covered her ears and shouted loudly, as if her life depended on it. She didn"t even dare to look at Lin Sanjiu and the others again. "Lalala! Don"t tell me who it is, I won"t listen! Shut up!"
Lin Sanjiu closed her mouth and patiently waited for a while. Bohemia"s "lalala" gradually subsided, probably because she felt safe after seeing the expressions of Ji Shanqing and Magus. She hesitated and raised her head, and Lin Sanjiu immediately seized the opportunity, "Puppeteer."
1
Looking at Bohemia at this moment, she completed her sentence, "Puppeteer has no consciousness, at least that"s what I think."
"Why... do you have to tell me?" Bohemia"s face flushed and paled alternately. If it weren"t for the presence of others, she would probably have rushed over and started a fight. "If he finds out that I know his weakness..."
"You"re afraid of him, so you won"t dare to lie, and he knows that," Magus looked at her with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt, "Do you think he would agree to let me temporarily reside in his mind?"
As long as she returned to a physical body—regardless of whose body it was—this gradual memory loss would stop. It was a temporary solution, but it was the only option they had until they found Magus"s physical body.
The colors of blood and hope gradually faded from Bohemia"s face.
"Tempo—"
She stopped. Changing her tone, her voice sharpened. "Temporarily reside? Reside in Puppeteer"s mind? Who will tell him? What are you looking at me for?" She couldn"t bring herself to shout at Magus, so she just stared at Lin Sanjiu resentfully. "He would only agree if his mind is messed up, but if it"s messed up, it won"t work anyway, so there"s no point in asking him in the first place—"
Even someone who was easily fooled could be led astray by her.
Lin Sanjiu quickly rea.s.sured her, "Don"t worry, I"m not asking you to talk to him alone... What I mean is, you send him a paper crane, telling him that I have an urgent matter to discuss with him and ask him to come back."
"I shouldn"t have come in today," Bohemia muttered.
"When we see him, Magus will temporarily enter my consciousness, and then we"ll talk to Puppeteer together... So if she has anything to say, I just need to relay it. If it"s only for a short time, my consciousness won"t erode her much."
Lin Sanjiu was afraid that Bohemia would turn around and run away—after all, Bohemia was capable of doing such things—so she firmly held her wrist and persuaded her with kind words, "I just need your help while you"re here. He doesn"t have much consciousness and will probably be skeptical, so I need you to explain the situation..."
"Skeptical?" Bohemia was poked by that word again. "Skeptical? He won"t believe it at all! Besides, will my explanations even work?"
The grand prize, who had been silently standing by with folded hands, leaned forward and spoke at the right time, "It will work. Because you"re afraid of him, you won"t dare to lie, and he knows that. I think you have to be present."
Bohemia turned her head and looked at Ji Shanqing"s face. If gazes could emit warmth, the current grand prize would have turned into a pile of ashes long ago.
"I"m here, and I won"t let anything happen to you," Lin Sanjiu patted her shoulder, knowing that when coaxing a child, one couldn"t do it empty-handed, "Before we leave, there"s one more thing. You"ve always wanted to restore Potential Growth Value and corresponding conditions, right?"
According to the method told by Pig Eyes, peeling off the Potential Growth Value and injecting it into someone else"s consciousness was not much of a trouble. However, when it came to restoring the corresponding conditions and convincing Bohemia to allow Ji Shanqing to a.n.a.lyze her consciousness, it took Lin Sanjiu much more time than she expected. Somehow, Bohemia seemed to naturally harbor a sense of distrust towards Ji Shanqing. Even the joy of restoring the Potential Growth Value couldn"t diminish that.
Would they become friends once they got to know each other better?
As this thought arose, Lin Sanjiu was gently stroking the grand prize"s waterfall-like long hair, feeling the cool sensation between her fingertips. At this moment, the grand prize had closed his eyes, seemingly asleep, or perhaps his soul was wandering in some distant place, leaning unknowingly against her shoulder, motionless.
The a.n.a.lysis was only the first step, extracting the data from Bohemia"s consciousness. Next, Ji Shanqing needed to continue a.n.a.lyzing the vast amount of data. Because he was in the Astral Plane and not in his original body, this process might be slow. While waiting for his a.n.a.lysis, despite Bohemia"s reluctance, Lin Sanjiu managed to coax her into leaving the Astral Plane and sending a paper crane to Puppeteer.
Puppeteer"s reply came quickly and was quite succinct, with only a cold laugh and four words: "Asking me to return?"
The tone of the last word lifted like a hook.
After thinking for a long time, Lin Sanjiu didn"t have much confidence that Puppeteer would agree to return. However, asking him to pause and wait might be possible. The grand prize was currently in the process of a.n.a.lysis, and they couldn"t leave him unattended. Plus, Magus could be discovered by pursuers at any time, so Lin Sanjiu couldn"t risk going out to send the paper crane herself. She had to coerce Bohemia into going out to reply. This time, the paper crane seemed to have vanished without a trace, as there was no response at all.
Now, besides waiting foolishly, it seemed that they had no choice but to hurry on their way.
During the next two anxious and uneasy days, Magus"s newly formed memories disappeared once again. Fortunately, she was prepared for it, and with the help of her notes, she quickly reacquainted herself with Lin Sanjiu and Ji Shanqing. However, it was evident that her condition wouldn"t hold for much longer.
Yet, there was no trace of confusion or imbalance on Magus"s face. It was as if she considered it nothing more than entrusting her life to a few people she had just met while gradually losing her memory. How could that be considered a big deal?
Coincidentally, when Bohemia entered the Astral Plane again, rus.h.i.+ng towards them like a small fireball from a distance, the grand prize also opened his eyes at that very moment.
"Come here quickly," she shouted anxiously from a distance, "Hurry, let"s get out quickly! Dr. Hu has already seen him on the tree branch!"
Since swallowing a portion of the Pig Eyes" Potential Growth Value, Bohemia"s starry appearance was like a cl.u.s.ter of golden sand burning with flames, with its radiance jumping and flickering as if it were breathing. It was said that this was due to her consciousness not yet being fully restored.
"How much longer?" Lin Sanjiu had been on guard and waiting in the Astral Plane these past few days, but now she breathed a sigh of relief.
"I just dragged your body off the bed, and those two puppets suddenly accelerated their pace," Bohemia spoke rapidly as if she could bite her tongue out of haste, "I think we"ll reach him in a few minutes. Hurry up and stop talking! We"re both lying on the ground now!"
Lin Sanjiu turned her head and made eye contact with Magus, giving her a slight nod.
"Then let"s go out first," before leaving, she whispered to the grand prize, "As soon as there"s a result outside, regardless of whether it succeeds or not, Magus and I will come back again. Stay here and don"t wander around. See you soon."
Ji Shanqing obediently nodded. Some strands of hair were still stuck to his face, making him look like he had just woken up. "When you come back in, I should be able to restore your corresponding conditions." He smiled at Bohemia and spoke softly, but she still had a stiff face and didn"t say thank you.
As he saw everyone disappearing from the Astral Plane, the grand prize remained in place, floating in the interweaving starlight, motionless for a long time. After an unknown period of time, Ji Shanqing suddenly turned his head.
A glimmer of starlight approached from afar, and within a few breaths, the light was already reflecting on their bodies. When Ji Shanqing straightened his body slightly, the flickering metallic light of the starlight also stopped not far away.
"Eh?" A faint voice rang out. Although the voice sounded flat like a robot, it somehow carried a hint of shyness. "Excuse me... Is Lin Sanjiu not here? I"m her friend, I had some matters to attend to, and I just became available to come over."