Chapter 25: Sisyphus (III)

January 13, 2074, 18:15

Clementine walked hand in hand with Joel through the neon-drenched streets of Japan Street.

"Life on earth has no place to dwell; the world calls it a dream…"

"Hatred in the heart is endless; the world calls it love…"

She strolled slowly, humming softly to the music playing along the street.

The wind gently applauded her.

Clementine used her free hand to smooth her wind-tousled long hair, turning her head to look at the man beside her.

"Do you speak Japanese?" Joel asked, breaking the silence.

"A little," she nodded, tapping her lower lip with her index finger. "I work at a bookstore on Charter Hill; when I'm not busy, I use Japanese Crystal Yuan to practice pronunciation…"

"A bookstore on Charter Hill?" Joel raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I often buy books there—I sometimes even find old paper treasures…"

"No wonder I kept feeling like I'd seen you before…" He exhaled in relief, the cloud of doubt in his heart finally dissolving.

"Déjà vu is just an illusion—did you really believe it?" She tilted her head slightly, mocking him with her nostrils.

"Only at first… then I figured it out," Joel retorted stubbornly.

"Oh oh oh…" Clementine rolled her eyes dismissively and squeezed his palm hard.

"They're surprisingly optimistic…" Yahweh shook his head, speaking to Hita, who sat in the driver's seat.

After learning the target was returning from Heywood District to Westbrook, Hita and Yahweh had boarded the subway early, parked Sky Hera near the Japan Street subway station, and waited in silence.

"Humans always like to deceive themselves…" Hita lay sprawled across the driver's seat, gazing at the couple who had just exited the subway station in the distance.

"So many red flags, yet they comfortably convince themselves to ignore them…" She shook her head with a weary sigh, then started the car and trailed them from afar.

"The comparison results are in: they've visited three hospitals together; the most recent joint visit was to Night City Mental Health Center—Clementine was treated there a week ago, Joel two days ago…" Yahweh spent a moment scanning Night City's medical records.

"Matches the time when the client noticed Joel's strange behavior…" Hita rubbed her aching neck. "Let me write the mission report—we'll go to Night City Mental Health Center."

"Sure…" Joel agreed without hesitation to Clementine's request to spend the night at his place.

"Why aren't you shy this time?" Clementine patted him, teasing with a smile.

Joel scratched his head awkwardly and led her toward the apartment building on Charter Hill.

"What's wrong?" He felt his hand tugged—he turned back instantly, surprised to find her frozen in place.

"Nothing…" Clementine shook her head lightly. "Let's go…" She wrapped her arm around his, strode ahead of him, and stepped into the apartment building.

"Déjà vu…"

The nighttime clamor of Night City drowned out her whispered murmur.

"Do you think Clementine realized the truth, Yahweh?" Hita watched silently through the window as the two entered the building, exhaling a slow, heavy breath.

"Perhaps she's confused… but she still unconsciously chose to believe the man she forgot…" Yahweh propped his chin on his hand, his blue eyes silently absorbing everything.

"Are you finally understanding the complexity of human emotion?" Hita rarely saw a look of "dullness" on his face—she couldn't help laughing, pinching his cheek lightly.

"Mmm…" Yahweh mumbled in reply.

"Sending the report now…" She released her mischievous hand and tactfully changed the subject.

"Night City Mental Health Center is located at City Center…"

"Wow, prices there must be insane…" Hita made a face toward the passenger seat, unsurprisingly earning a glare from Yahweh.

January 13, 2074, 19:20

"This is Night City Mental Health Center?" Hita slammed the old car door shut and turned to stare at the single-story building nestled in a side alley.

"Looks pretty ordinary…" Hita kicked the fallen trash can back into the roadside bin with her foot.

"Good kick," Yahweh nodded approvingly, his gaze fixed on the elegant arc of her leg as she exerted force.

"Is this really the place?" Hita rolled her eyes—her tension eased slightly.

She gripped his outstretched hand tightly and walked in beside him.

"Welcome, guests…" A stylish, curly-haired nurse sat at the front desk, offering a polite, mechanical smile to potential clients.

"Please wait in line here," the beautiful blonde nurse pointed to two empty seats near the door.

"There are quite a few people here…" Hita glanced curiously at the other four waiting clients, surprised to find most wore expressions of sorrow, each holding large boxes filled with assorted belongings.

"Hello, beautiful lady and handsome gentleman. Are you two together?" A doctor descended the stairs from the second floor, his round face beaming with a smile as he approached Hita and Yahweh directly.

"Yes," Yahweh stepped in front of Hita, subtly shielding her behind him.

The doctor's fake smile was nauseating.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Assistant Ilya Wood…" The round-faced doctor forced a nervous smile and retracted his outstretched hand. "Are you here together for Memory Erasure Treatment?"

"Memory Erasure? Explain in detail," Yahweh coldly sized up the doctor, ensuring no threat to himself or Hita.

Ilya Wood involuntarily shivered, instinctively pulling his neck in—like a round-faced turtle.

"Our clinic is affiliated with Night City Health Center and has deep partnerships with multiple major corporations such as Biotechnica…" Dr. Wood recited the hospital's promotional script.

"Cut to the point!" Hita leaned on Yahweh's back and growled.

"Yes!"

Yahweh's cold blue eyes clearly exerted immense pressure on Dr. Wood—he nodded hastily in response.

"Memory Erasure Technology… simply put, it uses technology to erase all memories of a specific person from the patient's mind…"

"What are those boxes they're holding?"

"They're… they're…" Dr. Wood wiped sweat from his forehead, glancing back quickly. "All personal items related to the person they want to forget…"

"Only erase memories of one specific person?"

"Yes."

"Is recovery possible after memory erasure?"

"This… we have no precedent… the human brain is too complex…"

Dr. Wood trembled uncontrollably all over; after seeing Yahweh's gesture of annoyance, he immediately bowed and ran back to the second floor.

"Why does he look so afraid of you?" Xida leaned close to Yahweh and whispered softly.

"Perhaps... he believes in God..." Yahweh curled his lips into a mocking arc, silently watching Dr. Wood's panicked retreating figure.