Instructions
Translated by boilpoil
Edited by boilpoil
Right now, Xie Zhijin is standing outside the Tower alone.
Thoughts are flashing through his mind rapidly, having regained his mories. Outside of the Ultimate Nightmare, its influence on his brain has disappeared.
Which ans, he is now shocked and mystified.
He left the Ultimate Nightmare. Through a simple door, no less.
So it turned out that door isnt dangerous at all? It was just, a door. A path. A way
Inside is the Ultimate Nightmare, outside is the outside, of the grey fog, which is currently basically covering up the Tower already? That makes the outside of the door the Tower as well.
It almost sounds like good news. Except, why is he out? Is he even awake or insane?
If he counts as awake, then is it going to affect the Ultimate Nightmares progression now that hes left?
The Nightmare of all of humanity
besides him, now. Would there be a problem?
Damn it Xie Zhijins expression is gloomy. After thinking a little, he follows the other madn into the Tower.
He is going to see if falling asleep again would send him back into the Ultimate Nightmare.
Hed rather not be in the Tower all alone with these insane people, and do nothing.
Powerlessness is the most scary to him.
He walks inside the Tower, then imdiately notices sothing out of place
two young n walking on Respawn Avenue with their backs to him, who do not act insane at all.
Xie Zhijin thinks for a mont and imdiately gives chase, yelling, please wait! You two! Excuse .
X Beijin and Lin Qin are shocked to hear soone calling out to them from behind. They stop and turn around to face him.
X Beijin can see quite clearly this person is definitely not soone who has succumbed.
How did he end up here?
Furrowing his brows, his appearance is quite antagonistic right now.
Not that that deters Xie Zhijin any, who says, Im Xie Zhijin. I just left the Ultimate Nightmare
What did you say?! Astonished, X Beijin asks for clarification, you just left wait, did you walk through a door?!
Xie Zhijin nods, unaware of the greater implications.
X Beijin asks again, did you lose your mories regarding the Tower inside the Ultimate Nightmare?
Uh I did, Xie Zhijin looks slightly more doubtful, now, and he asks, is that sothing bad No, wait, I an, is my leaving the Ultimate Nightmare going to affect it in so way?
X Beijin scrutinises him from head to toe, then says, it wouldnt affect anything, so you dont have to worry about it.
Xie Zhijin is a bit confused now. Its a relief to hear it wouldnt affect the Ultimate Nightmare, but who is he? Why can he know?
Then, suddenly, he opens his eyes wide and asks, you must be you must be that bookstore owner Fei and Wu Jian are talking about, arent you? X X Beijin?
X Beijin, a little surprised, answers, I am
Xie Zhijin is less visibly tense, saying, thats great. Im the founder of the organisation Fei and Wu Jian are in. You might have heard of , then he looks over at Lin Qin, and this must be the dalao, Lin Qin?
Lin Qin nods calmly.
Xie Zhijin sighs in relief.
Though he then starts wondering about other things.
Why are X Beijin and Lin Qin not in the Ultimate Nightmare? Did they not sleep? Are they not humans? Did they walk through a door just like he did?
But X Beijin looked really surprised when he said he walked through a door, so that doesnt seem likely.
His thoughts are all ssed up.
X Beijin says, you should co to the bookstore with us. I can answer your questions there.
Xie Zhijin nods and quietly follows behind them. Having beco impressed, he completely agrees with Fei and Wu Jians comnts that the bookstore owner is entirely unreadable and mysterious.
And, aware of an intimate relationship between X Beijin and Lin Qin, he intentionally keeps a small distance between them.
Lin Qin, anwhile, is mumbling quietly, I thought it would just be the two of us
X Beijin, amused, gives him a glance while squeezing his finger, saying, we need to get serious things done first.
And unserious things after the serious business?
X Beijin
Lin Qin sure is insistent.
Slightly bemused, all X Beijin can answer is sure
Lin Qin appears happy with that.
Arriving at the bookstore and taking a seat, theyre finally away from all the madn crowding the streets and still gushing forth ceaselessly from the grey fog outside.
Xie Zhijin has so many questions along the way.
Why is he outside the Tower when he walked through the door? Why are there countless madn erging from the grey fog? Is it related to the Ultimate Nightmare in any way?
Is he supposed to be insane as well, having ca here through a door in the grey fog? Even though he feels he is awake and definitely hasnt succumbed?
Why are X Beijin and Lin Qin not in the Ultimate Nightmare? Theyare human, right?
X Beijin says, lets start with why youre here at the Tower again back from the Ultimate Nightmare.
Xie Zhijin nods a few tis.
X Beijin starts explaining, I believe you are now aware those who succumbed to Nightmares, Missiontakers and Actors alike, both end up in the grey fog, right there, outside the Tower.
The sa is true for the Ultimate Nightmare. Succumbing to the Ultimate Nightmare naturally ant entering the grey fog.
But with the grey fog almost having consud the Tower, so you can imagine why, ending up in the grey fog from the Ultimate Nightmare is equivalent to ending up just outside the Tower.
So now, all these madn you see in the Tower, are those that have succumbed in the Ultimate Nightmare.
But, all this has implied that those who step through the grey fog and end up back outside the Tower in other words, those who left the Ultimate Nightmare via the grey fog, should have succumbed to the Nightmare and lost their true sense of self.
Xie Zhijin nods along with the explanation.
What confuses him is how he is still awake, even regaining his mories the mont he returned to the Tower.
X Beijin continues explaining, youre exceptionally special.
This makes Lin Qin examine Xie Zhijin with especially critical eyes.
Though probably then thinking that this thirty-sothing middle-aged man has no qualities that would be attractive to X Beijin, Lin Qin finally looks away in disinterest.
Xie Zhijin, who was paying full attention to X Beijin, doesnt know he just brushed past mortal danger.
X Beijin is still explaining, Ive heard from Fei and Wu Jian that, it was because you felt a certain Nightmare reflected your own experience in so way, that you created the organisation?
Xie Zhijin appears a little surprised, but he confirms, yes. In that Nightmare, it just felt really unnatural.
Its like, the place, and what is happening there was familiar.
X Beijin is quiet.
When the Fyecas cast humans into the ga, they erased all mories in their minds of the Apocalypse
sothing easily achievable with their advanced level of technology.
However, it was comprehensive enough that it also erased other things indirectly.
For example, things in the Nightmares that might trigger their mories. Little signs and pieces of familiarity, etc.
They would beco wholly ignorant of anything that might trigger their repressed mories, like theyve been brainwashed.
Wu Jian should not have a reaction towards the word Cangcheng or realise he was soone from Cangcheng;
Mu Jiashi should not recall he was a student at Qcheng University.
But, they would still have a vague sense in their subconsciousness.
The Fyecas, while they did censor all these potential triggers in their mories relating to the Apocalypse and their lives on Earth, Xie Zhijin appeared to be special, because while his mories were erased all the sa, he still seed to possess a sharp sixth sense, like an instinct, like a type of muscle mory in his body.
X Beijin suddenly realises sothing, and says, and if my mory, serves, before you entered the ga, you are in a vegetative state?
Xie Zhijin seed a little lost, but he answers, I think well, yes?
He replies, if that Nightmare really depicted my past, then I think, I was the person who was hit by a football and hit my head on the concrete stairs, and ended up as a vegetable.
He describes his past experience with quite the calm tone, having co to terms with his past, it seems.
Or possibly, even if he knows this is what happened to him, he is unable to resonate fully.
As he has forgotten. Like how, when he left the Ultimate Nightmare, he found his nostalgia for the past life on Earth disappear with it.
Its all in the past; none of it can co around.
Xie Zhijin looks down at his own hands, losing himself in his thoughts. Gripping his fists, he can feel the feedback and reality firmly.
It is difficult to dispel the disbelief, therefore, that he is actually inside of a ga.
A ga that is artificial, inorganic, ford by data alone. And they, the ghosts, that wander through it.
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