NOVPUBChapter 95: Chapter 94: Memories in a Dream
Chapter 95 -94: Memories in a Dream
Dane had also said that the miners who escaped used the abandoned mining area as a base and gradually grew to a size that could not be ignored, so the appearance of mine tunnels in his memories seemed quite normal.
However, Chaoyang noticed that this place didn’t look abandoned at all; there were rail mine carts operating in the distance, and closer by, one could see machines spewing steam from their engines.
At this time, someone walked over and said something to Jin Kefu.
Faces are often the most blurry in memories, and even when two people were only a step apart, Chaoyang found it difficult to see the other’s features clearly. However, he noticed that this person had an identity tag hanging on his chest, which not only had a name but also the words “Gaotian Mining Company.”
After that person left, another approached.
All of a sudden, Chaoyang realized they were reporting to Jin Kefu!
Jin Kefu wasn’t any kind of laborer, nor was he a fugitive hiding in the fog-covered area; he was from the Gaotian Mining Company! And his position wasn’t low either!
This unexpected discovery left Chaoyang feeling astonished—the methods the mining company used against him didn’t seem like something they would do to a manager. The man was neither a lowly miner nor a Seaguardian abducted from the sea. Couldn’t they just fire him if he did something wrong? Why treat him like this?
Private punishment of legal residents was a serious violation of Magnificent Castle’s laws.
Moving past this block of memory, Chaoyang continued to go deeper—generally speaking, the deeper memories were hidden, the more unbearable they were likely to reflect. For Jin Kefu, the change from a company manager to a prisoner at the mercy of others must have been agonizing. Similarly, it might also contain important information.
The newly appeared memory still depicted the depths of the mine, but the space here was much narrower, and the surrounding walls appeared to be composed of hard rock; he could see countless dense chisel marks on them.
Clearly, the company had put a lot of effort into digging this far.
Moving forward… there was a row of man-made wooden walls, with a warning sign next to it: “Danger! Be sure to calculate the time before entering, a maximum of two minutes and thirty seconds.”
“Those who exceed the time within five minutes, please contact Scholar Duaeri immediately.”
“For those who exceed five minutes, —”
The writing after was blacked out.
Wait, what are they digging? Something doesn’t feel right. Is Gaotian Mining Company really focusing on production? It looked like a pit mine earlier, but what about now? Why do they need to build a wall to divide such a narrow mine shaft? And what’s with calculating time before entering?
They couldn’t have dug up radioactive materials, could they!?
Right at that moment, the wooden door was suddenly pushed open, and a group of people streamed out from inside. They were evidently divided into two categories by their clothing: the miners, ragged and gaunt, and the company overseers, wrapped in leather clothing with felt hats that had both headlights and glass eye masks, so to speak, “armed to the teeth.” The latter hurried along, carrying stretchers, while most of the former lay on the stretchers, seemingly so exhausted from mining that they were nearly fainting.
The scene was somewhat chaotic for a moment.
The perspective was also shaking violently, with two figures appearing on each side, as if clutching tightly to Jin Kefu, not allowing him to step forward.
Were they having an argument?
Chaoyang concentrated his spirit, straining to see through the blurry memories—yes, someone was shouting something at him loudly, very agitated, and Jin Kefu was pushing back, showing no sign of yielding.
Just then, that person accidentally bumped into the passing procession behind, causing a stretcher to tip over onto the ground.
The miner lying on top also rolled off with a tumble.
Jin Kefu seemed to want to step forward to lift the person up, but when the miner’s blanket slid off, revealing his bare upper body, the view suddenly froze!
Chaoyang also drew a sharp breath!
The man was covered in sweat, and the closer it got to his hands, the redder his skin became. When it reached the forearms, his skin was covered with numerous short barbs, which looked like transparent buds. This flesh-like structure protruding from the body is medically referred to as warts, generally caused by a virus, but this man’s “warts” were not only numerous but long. Around his palms, these flesh barbs had grown to three or four centimeters long, and the tips had started to show a strange bifurcation, making them look not like buds but like tiny hands!
The surroundings blurred…
Only these tiny hands were exceptionally clear.
They could swing side to side and also kept reaching out towards the direction of the viewer’s perspective, as if trying to climb onto Jin Kefu’s shoes!
The scene immediately descended into chaos!
Clearly, not everyone was aware of what the situation actually entailed.
Jin Kefu was no exception; he scrambled backwards in retreat, his gaze nearly always fixed on the ground until it all turned pitch-dark.
Chaoyang couldn’t help but scratch his own hand—even though he knew that during dream entry, he didn’t have a body, conceptually speaking.
There was no doubt that Gaotian Mining Company had dug up something extraordinary, and so far, there had been no news about it. The press didn’t know, the journalists didn’t know, and even the lord probably hadn’t a clue.
And the Jin Kefu they had rescued was one of the very few eyewitnesses.
Unfortunately, this memory was quite old, indicating that these events hadn’t occurred recently. Looking deeper, the darkness was nearly impenetrable; lingering in the subconscious sea any longer wouldn’t be very meaningful. 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
Before ascending, Chaoyang decided to leave a mark on his memory.
If one wasn’t a trained professional, it would be difficult to distinguish which memories originated from dream production and which from intentional imprinting. Marks laid down by demons, while unable to change a person’s consciousness, could provide subconscious guidance—just as he had enticed Shidong to go to Wonderful Divination House, in search of a predestined answer.
After the dream entry concluded, he saw Jin Kefu in pain, uttering indistinct moans, unable to escape from the nightmare the memories brought on, even with his eyes tightly closed.
“Is it over?” Ailuodi peeked in from the door, “I can feel his vitality has strengthened a bit.”
“Because the Dream Entering Technique consumes my wishing power, some of it integrates into his body.”
The amount remaining was minuscule, translating to about three or four points at most.
“You used this same method to peek into my memories,” Ailuodi crossed her arms, “Rather than convincing directly, demons truly prefer sneaky backdoors.”
Your choice of words is dangerous, Angel.
“Some people just can’t be convinced, their heads are as hard as rocks,” Chaoyang spread his hands, “…I’m not talking about you.”
“If you hadn’t added that last part, it would’ve been more believable,” Ailuodi looked towards the man on the hospital bed, “So, what all did you find out?”
“Quite a bit. See for yourself.” Chaoyang provided that part of his memory to her—unlike when players get information, he didn’t charge extra.
Ailuodi spent several minutes understanding it before her expression turned to one of surprise, “What is that thing!? It looks… utterly sinister.”
“I knew you’d think the same,” Chaoyang shared her sentiment, “I’ve mentioned before that this isn’t Earth, many things can’t be measured with common sense. In any case, Jin Kefu’s current predicament is definitely related to this matter, he’s hiding more than one secret. I’ll try to get him to talk later. As for Gaotian Mining… it’s not of much concern to us for now. If it truly poses a threat to Magnificent Castle, the city guard will surely not stand idly by.”
“Can’t you just stuff this memory into the brain of the city guard commander or the lord?”
“It’s futile, ordinary people who discover an unfamiliar memory in their minds would only panic and try to reject it, let alone believe it. So the Dream Entering Technique can only be used to guide, it’s impossible to directly alter memories.” Chaoyang sighed, “Even a demon’s powers ultimately have limits, I suppose!”
