The motel camp, in room "05."
Jiang Baimian sat on the edge of her bed, looking at Shang Jianyao and saying:
"How is it going? Have you gained a better understanding of diseases lately?"
Shang Jianyao put down the book in his hand and said seriously:
"I've discovered that most diseases come from external infections. As long as we take good precautions and strictly follow the procedures, we basically won't get sick."
"That's a valid understanding," Jiang Baimian commented.
Shang Jianyao had always been one for action, and immediately lay flat on the bed, raising his hand to pinch his temples.
…………
Inside the shimmering "Sea of Origins," he followed the previous strategy, using the "Reasoning Clown" to make himself believe, "I am 'Pangu Biology,'" and then climbed onto the Island of Disease.
The figures draped in white sheets emerged as expected, presenting an overwhelming presence.
Shang Jianyao looked at them with a smile, splitting himself into countless figures, just like "Pangu Biology" was composed of countless employees.
Some of these figures gathered in large numbers, evolving into well-equipped hospitals, divided into disinfection areas, patient areas, and other different places, strictly implementing measures to control infection.
The remaining Shang Jianyaos each performed their duties, some wearing Shang Jianyao masks, creating a local advantage in numbers, knocking down the terrifying figures draped in white sheets one by one, tying them to Shang Jianyao stretchers, some carrying Shang Jianyao stretchers, quickly entering Shang Jianyao hospitals, and according to procedures, sending the figures draped in white sheets into the patient area, some transforming into Shang Jianyao doctors, using Shang Jianyao disinfectant, wearing Shang Jianyao masks, Shang Jianyao goggles, and Shang Jianyao protective suits, along with Shang Jianyao nurses passing through the disinfection area, and using Shang Jianyao injections to treat the patients.
During this process, Shang Jianyao disinfectants, Shang Jianyao masks, Shang Jianyao medical alcohol, Shang Jianyao protective suits and other things were constantly consumed, but Shang Jianyao doctors and Shang Jianyao nurses remained healthy, and no one got sick.
This greatly improved the attrition of the Shang Jianyao group, allowing one figure after another draped in white sheets to be successfully "treated," and dissipated on the hospital beds.
For the first time, the Shang Jianyaos had the upper hand.
After a long period of confrontation, the figures draped in white sheets became less and less, and in the end, only the Shang Jianyaos remained on the island.
The Shang Jianyao doctors and Shang Jianyao nurses saw this, slowly exhaled, and sat down on Shang Jianyao chairs.
At this moment, they felt intense fatigue.
This fatigue made their bodies very weak, as if something inexplicable was growing.
Shang Jianyao doctors and Shang Jianyao nurses raised their heads and looked at each other, discovering that the white coats and white clothes on each other had become white sheets at some point.
These white sheets were very large, enveloping them inside, leaving only a shadow.
Disease struck again.
…………
Shang Jianyao opened his eyes, sat up, and gasped twice.
"How is it?" Jiang Baimian asked, sitting at her bedside.
Her waist rested against the folded quilt, and her head against the upright pillow.
Shang Jianyao's eyes had a faint glow as he said:
"Almost won!"
"Oh?" Jiang Baimian expressed her question with tone.
Shang Jianyao "explained" in detail:
"We've already controlled the infection, beating them to a pulp, into utter disarray.
"It's just that at the end, near the finish, we inexplicably got sick again."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Jiang Baimian quickly stopped him, "Back in reality, don't use 'we' to describe yourself, it will worsen your condition. In the mind world, no matter how much you split, there's still only one body coming out."
"Yeah, it would be great if there were multiple bodies in reality," Shang Jianyao agreed.
"..." Jiang Baimian cleverly didn't dwell on this topic, lest she deepen Shang Jianyao's understanding in this regard, she instead asked, "What did you feel before you got sick last time?"
Shang Jianyao responded:
"Very tired, very exhausted, very weak."
Jiang Baimian nodded thoughtfully:
"Diseases don't just come from infection, they can also be caused by certain organic lesions or malignant mutations in cell division.
"This is related to genetics, mental state, physical condition, living habits, and other factors. It's not like if you prevent infection, you'll definitely not get sick."
Shang Jianyao said "um":
"That's what I think too."
He hadn't read his books in vain during this time.
"It would have been better if you didn't think so," Jiang Baimian sighed instead, "The fears in the mind world are more related to your own understanding. If you subconsciously believed that diseases only come from infection, you might have already defeated those white sheets and passed this 'island.'"
Shang Jianyao's eyes lit up:
"I can try to make myself not think that way."
Jiang Baimian said amusedly:
"It seems that it's not possible right now. Your 'Reasoning Clown' only misleads superficial cognition, making people unconsciously ignore certain memories, and make up some situations, but it doesn't actually manipulate the content of memories, so it doesn't affect the corresponding subconscious. And the different islands in the 'Sea of Origins' should be different reflections of your memory and subconscious. No matter how much you deceive yourself, they will be presented according to the actual situation you know."
Speaking of this, Jiang Baimian pondered and said:
"I just don't know if the real 'Father's' memory alteration or the company's Awakened's memory deletion can play a role in this regard. Um, lacking sufficient examples and practice, I can't judge whether their ability truly and completely changed the memory content, or some kind of more long-term misleading."
As Shang Jianyao listened, he took out paper and pen and began to write quickly.
"What are you writing?" Jiang Baimian turned over and got out of bed, leaning over.
By the time she saw the contents of the paper clearly, Shang Jianyao had already written the title:
"True 'Father' Capture Plan"
"..." Jiang Baimian's smile stiffened a little.
She raised her hand and pinched the corners of her mouth:
"I think there should be considerable hidden dangers in taking shortcuts by relying on other people's abilities.
"The simplest reasoning is: although you passed the 'Island of Disease', you will immediately face the 'Island of Memory', which comes from your subconscious fear of modifying memories.
"Memory is one of the most essential characteristics of a person. The fear from this aspect is probably ten or a hundred times that of 'disease', and it is impossible to overcome. And if you give up modifying memories and restore them to their original state, the 'Island of Disease' will make a comeback.
"Think about it, isn't the fake 'Father' always stuck on a certain 'island', unable to move forward?"
Seeing Shang Jianyao nod slightly, Jiang Baimian breathed a sigh of relief:
"You're about ninety percent of the way to winning now. As long as you have a clearer understanding of your own disease, and change your methods slightly, I think you'll be successful before long."
"Um," Shang Jianyao fell into thought, as if thinking about where to improve.
Jiang Baimian also helped to consider, and said tentatively:
"How about getting some medical supplies and doing some free clinics in Redstone Town?
"This doesn't require formal medical training, but through this method, you can come into contact with various patients and gain a deeper understanding of diseases.
"Anyway, for patients, having one more channel to get medicine is also a good thing, at least it can give them a little more hope."
Shang Jianyao put down the paper and pen, clenched his right fist, and slapped his left palm:
"Why didn't I think of that?"
Seeing him suddenly excited, Jiang Baimian began to suspect that she had made a bad suggestion.
Fortunately, the people in Redstone Town are very vigilant, and they must be the same when it comes to taking medicine and seeing doctors... She tried to reassure herself.
…………
Because there were no spare medical supplies for the time being, the "free clinic" plan was forced to be postponed. After taking an afternoon nap, the four members of the "Old Task Force" leisurely refined their contact plan with "Mechanical Paradise" in their room, talked about stories of the Old World, and practiced fighting in the open space of the camp.
The day passed just like that.
In the middle of the night, Shang Jianyao, who was lying in bed, suddenly opened his eyes.
He quietly turned over and got out of bed, picking up his mask.
Jiang Baimian on the next bed had also woken up.
Shang Jianyao quickly put on his mask, bent his back, and tiptoed towards the window next to the door.
The curtains were drawn here, blocking the moonlight and starlight from outside.
Shang Jianyao squatted down and grabbed the curtains, suddenly pulling them to the side.
With a swish, he stood up and looked out the window.
In the faint moonlight, a face appeared there.
The skin of this face was grayish-black, with a faint glow, and looked like scales upon closer inspection. There were constantly shaking gills below the ears to both sides of the neck, and the eyes protruded, with more white than black.
It was pressed tightly against the glass, so that the muscles were flattened, making it look unusually hideous.
At this moment, the "monster" outside the window also saw the scene inside clearly.
Standing there was a scary "monkey" with a hairy face and a pointed mouth, inherently fierce-looking!
The "monster" made a frightened sound, turned around suddenly, and ran wildly towards the outside of the camp.
Shang Jianyao was stunned for a moment, then became extremely excited, and was about to open the window, jump out of the room, and chase after it.
"It's already run out of the range of 'Affected'," Jiang Baimian, not far behind him, prompted, "Don't chase in the dark, lest something unexpected happens."
Shang Jianyao stopped his movements, gazed at the outside of the window, and sighed regretfully.
"Did you see it clearly?" Jiang Baimian asked curiously.
At that moment, Shang Jianyao's body blocked her view, so she couldn't see the appearance of the peeper, only heard the sound.
Shang Jianyao immediately described what he had seen and heard with great interest.
At this time, Bai Chen and Long Yuehong, who had been awakened, also put on their clothes and came over.
After listening, Jiang Baimian muttered to herself thoughtfully:
"A Subhuman distorted towards fish?"
"This is the Angry Lake area," Bai Chen added.
This meant that there was a large lake in the area, suitable for similar Subhumans to survive.
Shang Jianyao suddenly realized:
"No wonder I thought we could be friends."
Long Yuehong glanced at him:
"Weren't you scared just now?"
Shang Jianyao was stunned for a moment, and answered regretfully:
"I might have scared him."