Chapter 179

After Xiaohui finished this sentence, he found that nothing happened.

Haruko's smiling face remained, everyone was laughing and joking with him, and their relationships seemed to have taken a step forward.

It was just that sound... was it an auditory hallucination?

Something died; this was a feeling Xiaohui had, and he felt an inexplicable worry for this feeling...

But because he didn't know what it specifically was and couldn't pin it on a specific thing, this worry soon disappeared.

Not long after, Xiaohui suddenly discovered that a number had appeared on his palm.

The number 1.

Very small, very small; this 1 was in the gap between the palm prints, looking just like a dot.

But he was certain that this thing absolutely did not exist on his palm before.

After class, Xiaohui ran to the bathroom to wash his hands, scrubbing hard, but no matter how he scrubbed, he couldn't wash it off.

That 1 seemed like a brand, branded on Xiaohui's body.

At night.

Xiaohui was lying on the bed; he slept with his grandfather.

In the middle of the night, Xiaohui felt the urge to urinate and wanted to go to the bathroom. He opened his eyes and woke up, walking to the bathroom with sleepiness, suddenly feeling a bit dazed.

It seemed like something was missing.

"Nightmare. It seems I haven't had a nightmare."

Xiaohui shivered after urinating, feeling inexplicably lost. It was really strange; when the nightmare was there, he longed not to have nightmares, but after the dream disappeared...

He seemed a bit lost again.

Grandfather appeared behind Xiaohui at some point; he looked gloomy, and his face couldn't be seen clearly in the darkness.

Xiaohui also turned around suddenly and found that his grandfather had actually stood up without making a sound.

"Ah!" Xiaohui was so scared he screamed.

After this sound, the gloomy aura on his grandfather immediately disappeared.

"Xiaohui, hurry, be good, go back to bed and sleep."

"Oh oh, okay."

The grandfather and grandson soon fell asleep.

The next morning, Xiaohui got used to some things.

He got used to the refreshing feeling after no nightmares, and also got used to the unique number on his palm. Anyway, if he didn't say anything, others wouldn't be able to see anything if they didn't stare closely.

But just as Xiaohui was going to school, he suddenly encountered a masked man.

"Wen Xishu!"

A voice suddenly came, making Xiaohui a bit surprised.

Wen Xishu...

It doesn't sound like a name from the island country, but why do I always feel this name is so familiar?

The masked man looked at Xiaohui, and everyone around also looked at Xiaohui, but soon, everyone around looked at the masked man in unison.

The man began to run away frantically.

Xiaohui looked at this scene in surprise, unable to understand.

Because although the teacher taught everyone to be brave and stop those who harm others...

But in reality, shouldn't everyone avoid it as much as possible?

But what is going on now?

The masked man began to run wildly, and everyone around Xiaohui... began to chase after the masked man.

Even—

Xiaohui saw Haruko.

Haruko also had a ferocious face, chasing after the masked man.

But what did that man do? To make so many people chase after him?

He just called a name, didn't he?

The masked man was still running wildly at this time; he seemed to have extremely skilled... no, master-level parkour skills.

Everyone around chased him like zombies smelling flesh, but his figure was very flexible, always avoiding them. Even though the houses in Hujiang were not tall due to frequent earthquakes, the entire terrain began to become three-dimensional under that man's skills.

Just when Xiaohui was confused, a woman appeared beside Xiaohui:

"Xiaohui, you should go to school."

Such a familiar-looking woman.

Xiaohui looked at this woman... always feeling he had seen her somewhere.

This was truly a very beautiful woman, with a hot and sexy figure. When the word 'hot' flashed by, Xiaohui felt it was very strange... how did I know such a word.

Shouldn't I still be a child?

The woman looked at Xiaohui's thinking:

"What a troublesome guy. Clearly already killed... how can there still be a 'sense of incongruity'."

Xiaohui didn't understand.

But the woman was also very rough next:

"Be good, go to school."

Her tone carried a certain unquestionable meaning, and Xiaohui always felt that if he didn't go to school... something very bad would happen.

He began to walk towards the school, but couldn't help looking back at the man.

That man had already disappeared from his sight.

Xiaohui hadn't walked long before everything around started to return to normal.

He even soon met Haruko, who was jogging and telling him to slow down.

Xiaohui looked at Haruko:

"Haruko... aren't you tired?"

Haruko was confused:

"Why would I be tired?"

Xiaohui said:

"But you were just... running to chase that man!"

Haruko's expression stiffened for a moment, but only for a moment; in an instant, Haruko changed the subject:

"Xiaohui, I didn't do yesterday's homework, let me see yours."

After Xiaohui was silent for a few seconds, he said:

"Okay, I'll let you see mine."

He looked back; the man was gone, and the crowd chasing the man was also gone, as if everything hadn't happened.

But he didn't know that in a high place he couldn't see, the woman he described as 'hot and sexy' was watching him.

Beside the woman, there was an existence that a normal person would definitely be afraid of, because this existence had two heads.

One male head and one female head, like a couple.

The two-headed person said:

"We killed the wrong one, no, it's not that we killed the wrong one, but... that kid actually has multiple personalities, we killed a secondary personality. Not the main personality."

"The one just now was already killed by me, but I guess it wasn't the main personality either. Logically speaking, the main personality should be on the host of the human cave, but he doesn't know what method he used to hide very, very deeply."

"Doubt, it seems the guy who broke into the human cave this time is not simple."

Doubt was the woman's name.

The woman looked at the two-headed person beside her and said:

"Fear, you have to keep an eye on that brat. Generally speaking, the first one to be born is me, and often after I am born, I can kill the main personality."

"But this time, even you were born."

People first become suspicious of an abnormal environment, and then fear is born.

Fear said:

"But, he still said that sentence, didn't he? There is already a 1 in his palm print."

Doubt frowned:

"This is what I find most difficult to understand. Logically speaking, he has doubts and fears about this world... he shouldn't feel happy."

"But he still said that sentence."

"I'm wondering if he deliberately gave up this node."

"We cannot lower our guard; we must assume that that person has already found... a way to crack the human cave."

Fear, who had two heads, said:

"I will find him. My appearance is actually a person with two heads, and it looks like a couple. I am becoming more and more curious about his experiences."

Doubt didn't speak.

Doubt was also thinking about why she had become a hot and sexy woman this time... why such a form would be 'Doubt'.

The form of a two-headed person indeed makes people feel terrified.

But a hot woman actually corresponds to Doubt.

She was also having this appearance in the human cave for the first time.

The passage of time in the human cave seems to be completely different from the outside world.

At this moment, Xiaohui, who is already seventeen, has a feeling... he doesn't seem to have slowly experienced many things and arrived at seventeen today bit by bit.

It's more like... he arrived at seventeen in an instant, and then was stuffed with a lot of memories.

These memories, if you want to say they are profound, they are profound.

He remembers that during the entrance exam, his grandfather kept pulling strings to inquire.

He also remembers that Haruko was sad because she didn't get into the same school as him, but both sides agreed to take the Hujiang Art Academy exam together.

It's just that later, he fell in love with another girl, that girl's name was Yumi. She was a senior one year older than him and had already decided to take the art exam route.

He was surprised that his relationship with Haruko was so fragile, and also surprised that... Senior Yumi was really beautiful.

Of course, he was also surprised that over the years, his life with his grandfather had no setbacks at all; his grandfather's business was booming, his academic performance was getting better and better, and he had more and more friends.

At the age of sixteen, he submitted a manuscript to the Runp manga club in Hujiang and actually received a reply from the editor-in-chief, who thought that the protagonist who could blast all enemies with one punch and had a stable emotional core was very distinctive and was a type that had not appeared before...

But, the drawing skills were too rough. He hoped he could study and polish them well at the art academy.

This was actually already a very high praise.

Because this thing is like the writing style in the web novel world; only some laymen care about writing style, and insiders know very well that a good creative idea is worth millions to start.

Xiaohui thought about improving his drawing skills while posting his works on free manga forums, and he also attracted many fans.

Although the drawings were extremely rough, the story was good...

Xiaohui always felt that this life was so damn smooth, and this life was full of déjà vu, as if he had plagiarized someone else's life. Plagiarized the life of a manga artist he liked very much in his heart.

But he couldn't remember.

"Xiaohui, are you going out with me tonight?" Senior Yumi suddenly shook Xiaohui's body.

Xiaohui then reacted:

"Sorry, Senior, I was distracted."

Yumi didn't care and smiled with pursed lips.

"I bought black silk stockings, do you want to..."

Xiaohui swallowed his saliva, although he felt he really should polish his drawing skills... but it didn't seem to be urgent for this day, so he nodded.

"See you tonight then." Yumi left.

In the classroom corridor, Xiaohui attracted the envy of countless classmates.

"Xiaohui, you are too happy. Do you think you are happy?" The person speaking was Zheping.

Zheping was really ordinary, but kind-hearted, and was Xiaohui's friend.

Because they were assigned to the same dormitory, their relationship was relatively better than others. Xiaohui was actually also thinking...

He seemed to have suddenly had such a good friend as Zheping.

This feeling was really strange.

But he could only accept it, because reality was like this.

"Are you happy?"

Xiaohui asked himself...

This question, of course, could just be answered casually. But Zheping's attitude seemed to slowly become serious.

"You must be very happy, Xiaohui? Before you became a manga artist, you already had a large number of fans, and they were the kind of fans who didn't look at your drawing style but only appreciated your storytelling..."

"Now your grades are the best in the school, and the family business is getting bigger and bigger..."

"Even the most beautiful Senior Yumi in the school favors you. I think the next step, maybe the admission letter from Hujiang Art Academy is coming. You kid... are really cheating."

Yes, such a life is really good.

Who would have thought... that I, a mentally disabled person, would actually reach this step.

No...

Did I really have an intellectual disability once? It seems like a very distant, very distant memory, so much so that Xiaohui was a bit uncertain.

No, I am not mentally disabled. It is difficult for a mentally disabled person to achieve true happiness. Even if in some movies, a mentally disabled person achieves success, those are idealized states and are all avoiding the heavy and focusing on the light.

The true hardships in the lives of disabled people are only known to themselves; all beautification is essentially ignoring them.

And over the years... Xiaohui never had nightmares again, and what he dreamed of were people praising him.

You are truly a genius. You are a genius, you are a genius... you are a genius!

Yes, there was someone in the dream who kept instilling in Xiaohui that you are a genius. And in the real world, many of the evaluations Xiaohui received were also 'genius'.

After a while, he shook his head.

Zheping immediately sank his face:

"Do you think you are not happy?"

Looking at Zheping's expression, Xiaohui scolded:

"Crazy, of course I am happy. I just think... some past things don't seem necessary to be serious about."

Zheping immediately smiled:

"What past things?"

Xiaohui really wanted to say: You wouldn't believe it if I told you, I feel... I seem to have suddenly had many years of memories, I feel that the deepest impression of my childhood is that one day I encountered a masked man being chased by a group of people.

I also remember that the man shouted a name towards me. That name was Wen Xishu.

Everything was so... clear, as if it happened not long ago.

But when I wanted to grasp this ethereal sense of clarity, the details of these years of memories began to tear that feeling apart.

Xiaohui really wanted to say it out loud.

But he didn't think anyone would understand if he said these things.

It was as if, from one node, he suddenly jumped to another node. Life is complete, but it was skipped.

At night, in a youth hostel in Hujiang.

The pink light reflected Yumi's charming body.

After both reached the depths of human harmony, Xiaohui only felt bored and seemed to start conceiving a manga story again. Yumi beside him was panting, her eyes blurred.

Just at this time, Yumi asked:

"Such days are not bad, right? Did I bring you inspiration? Do you want to add a... woman like me to your story."

"It's best to arrange small leather boots and a small whip for me, and then those who are whipped by me will fall in love with me," Yumi said.

Xiaohui smiled; indeed, he could really create such a female villain in the story.

He felt he had inspiration again all of a sudden.

"Yes, such days are not bad."

Yumi asked another question that Xiaohui was very familiar with:

"Then are you happy?"

Although this was asked after many years, he seemed to have a feeling of being frequently asked in a short period of time.

"You just need to answer me with your feelings," Yumi said.

Xiaohui thought for a while:

"Um, I think I am quite happy."

After he said this, for some reason, he suddenly remembered something, and he immediately raised his hand to look at his palm prints.

With this look, Xiaohui's pupils changed.

Fear was written on his face.

Opposite the youth hostel, on the top of a bustling building, a guy with two heads appeared.

Not long after, a woman with a hot figure also appeared.

"It's number 2. Everything is about to end, a new human cave will be formed soon, we won, the intruder will die soon," the two-headed person said.

Seeing the woman didn't speak, the two-headed person smiled:

"What's wrong, you don't think everything can be turned around, right?"

"The only thing he can do now is hide. Once he causes any misfortune, it will cause us to appear around him instantly."

"You don't think he can turn things around in this situation, right?"

The woman said:

"To leave the human cave, the host must realize his past unhappiness. But it's strange... in the first node, he tried to tell Xiaohui in a nightmare that he had an intellectual disability and his life was full of misfortune."

"And because of this, he was found by us."

"In the end, the happiness in reality made the host say that sentence. We won the first battle."

"But we also learned because of this that the intruder this time possesses the power of the dream series... and possesses multiple personalities."

"The most outrageous thing is that these two powers complement each other; he can make personalities concrete and can let personalities hide in the host's dreams."

"But no matter what, as long as he tries to make the host unhappy, we will perceive him."

The two-headed person said:

"So, what are you worried about? Isn't all this favorable to us?"

The woman shook her head:

"It's abnormal; the intruder's behavior is becoming more and more abnormal... in his first node, he told the host he was a moron. But in the second node, he kept hinting in the dream that the host was a genius..."

"Because the act of hinting that the host is a genius is not bringing misfortune to the host... so I cannot lock onto him."

"And in the real world, as long as he appears, he will be found by our rejection reaction, but he doesn't appear in the real world."

"He does nothing, just blindly hinting in the dream that the host is a genius."

The two-headed person chuckled:

"I thought you were worried about what? No wonder you have always existed."

Doubt always exists. This means that the host's heart always maintains doubts about the current environment.

The two-headed person is Fear, and the woman is Doubt.

And the two-headed person was born not long ago... when Xiaohui looked at his palm and found the number in the gap of the palm prints changed from 1 to 2—he felt fear.

The two-headed person didn't realize what was wrong; he just sneered:

"I don't care about this or that; the host is getting happier and happier. Next, he only needs to say it a third time..."

"Everything will be settled. We won."

"As for that intruder, it's easy to explain; he is afraid of you, he can't figure out the rules of the human cave, he doesn't know that the rules of the human cave are to collect... 'that thing' that didn't exist in the human cave originally."

"He just discovered that once he tries to make the host realize the truth, it will attract your pursuit, so he is afraid. He realized in node 1 that we are invincible. In order not to be hunted by you, he started to do the opposite in node 2, pleasing the host."

"This is a good thing, isn't it?"

Indeed.

Many intruders are like this. Once, an intruder who knew everything appeared. That intruder killed the host's closest relatives without saying a word.

So not only Doubt and Fear, but Sadness and Anger also appeared.

The four of them were extremely powerful and severely damaged the intruder in an instant. This led to the intruder having no choice but to choose to live in humiliation in the subsequent nodes, and even please the host... to prevent being targeted by Doubt, Fear, Sadness, and Anger.

Trying their best not to let these four psychological activities appear on the host.

But the ending of living in humiliation is still death.

The host only needs to say 'I am so happy' three times in the many subsequent nodes...

Once said three times, the rules will end everything.

"Now, the number in his palm print has become 2."

"In the next node, he will only be more successful and achieve more fame," the two-headed person said.

"Although this number caused his fear... but I will disappear soon—"

Before the words were finished, a change suddenly occurred.

Doubt said coldly:

"It's here!"

In the process of the two talking...

A change occurred inside the youth hostel opposite.

Doubt's figure disappeared instantly, and the next moment, she actually appeared directly inside the youth hostel.

Inside the youth hostel.

Looking at the number 2 in his palm print, which was so small it was hard to notice, Xiaohui felt a fuzzy fear in his heart.

It was like seeing a giant spider spinning a web, the web layered and coming towards him.

He suddenly remembered... many things.

Just at this time, a figure suddenly appeared beside Xiaohui.

It was a masked man. The man appeared suddenly, making Yumi on the bed gasp instantly, but the next second, Yumi's expression became ferocious.

"Wen—"

The man wanted to speak.

But the next second, a white blade flashed, and a cold light pierced through the man's neck.

A head flew up, and blood splashed!

"Ah!!!!" Yumi's originally ferocious expression turned back into normal panic.

"Forget everything," Doubt said.

This sentence seemed to carry some kind of magic again; the masked man's body suddenly disappeared, the head was gone, and the scattered blood was also gone.

Even the woman was gone.

Xiaohui was surprised.

But next, Xiaohui suddenly felt... some of his emotions were fading.

Doubt and Fear were both fading.

His emotions calmed down all of a sudden.

In the distance, in a dark corner.

Doubt pulled out the blade inserted into her flesh, and blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Didn't expect that it would be necessary to go to this extent."

Fear also pulled out the blade inserted into his body, coughing up blood:

"In this way, we can eliminate the host's fear and doubt. Hmph, that intruder still underestimated us too much. This world is full of our eyes; as long as he appears, we can immediately come to the intruder's side."

Doubt didn't speak.

She always felt the scene that just happened was very strange. Perhaps because she is the embodiment of Doubt, she is always very calm and suspicious.

"That intruder didn't say a word. He was killed by us... he must also be a secondary personality. Does this intruder have too many personalities? Are they going to have a party with so many personalities!"

She clenched her fists and began to review what had just happened.

Due to the change in the number in the palm print, it caused the host's doubt and fear, Doubt began to be vigilant, and Fear was also summoned.

The next second, the intruder arranged for a personality to flash, walking out of the dream.

But it was discovered in time, so in an instant, this secondary personality was killed before it could do anything.

Of course, a person suddenly flashing and then being killed by another woman who suddenly flashed... this inevitably caused great fear and doubt in the host.

If this negative emotion is too high... it will naturally affect the host's happiness index.

So, Doubt and Fear both stabbed themselves, letting themselves enter a weakened state; in this way...

The host's fear and doubt would both fade rapidly.

In general, it was like the intruder's death struggle, but it was quickly resolved by Doubt and Fear.

Doubt felt that she should have won.

But she couldn't be happy; she became more and more suspicious...

That intruder still had other personalities and some means that had not been used.

Node 03.

Xiaohui ignored the sexual hints of his female assistant, Lisa Hashimoto.

With his current status, there were too many women willing to throw themselves into his arms, so many that he felt it was meaningless.

He now only wanted to study his craft and let his works break all existing records.

The island country also has many genius manga artists, such as the author of 'Kaiji', whose things can become explosive phenomenal works after being casually plagiarized by novel authors in the neighboring Whatever Longxia.

But his manga sales are not the top.

Because he can't earn money from the sinking market. Xiaohui is always thinking that the depth of manga determines the threshold; if the threshold is high, the audience will be small, but if the threshold is low... he will be scolded for being shallow and cliché.

He has been thinking about how to maximize revenue and strike a balance in the middle. For example, the movie 'Ne Zha 2' that exploded in Whatever Longxia not long ago did a good job of balancing; it can withstand deep interpretation but can also be watched as a popcorn movie just for fun.

Xiaohui is a genius, a genius who likes to think. So he hopes he can create hall-level works.

As for those women in the past, Haruko, Yumi, and even the beautiful Lisa Hashimoto who just graduated from college... he could get them all easily.

He finally discovered that the only field left for him to conquer in life is to think about how to break through himself and surpass himself.

Because he likes to think, it also leads him to always hold doubts about this world.

Now he is thirty-three years old.

Under the hint of a certain dream, he firmly believes that he is a genius, although... once that dream also told him that he was not a genius, but a moron.

But the existing success and his story creation level all make him think that he is indeed much smarter than most people, much, much smarter.

"My life is always very smooth. When I was a child, I wanted to get good grades... so I could get good grades. I wanted to get attention from others, so everyone loved me."

"In high school, I wanted to mix into the manga field, so I mixed in very easily. Although I was sprayed for having poor basic skills, the most difficult thing for a manga artist to conquer was naturally conquered by me."

"My grandfather is still in good health after I am over thirty. I don't lack women, and I don't even lack love... the people I love are always easily chased by me."

"It's a life that is excessively smooth."

"I once kept hinting to myself in my dreams that I was a genius... over the years, my analytical ability and reaction speed have been constantly improving."

"I seem to be growing in reverse. Logically speaking, after I passed thirty, my memory and IQ should slowly decrease, and experience would correct this decrease..."

"But it's really strange, all my brain power indicators that are favorable to me are increasing. Because I hinted that I was a genius... so I became more and more of a genius."

"Where is my limit? As long as I desire it, and I determine that this will bring me happiness, it seems I can get it..."

Lisa suddenly froze.

She didn't expect the boss to suddenly talk to himself for such a long time.

Is this reflecting on himself?

Lisa felt that it was most important to find a way to sleep with the boss first, and she couldn't be compared by the boss's other mistresses.

She prepared to lift her long legs onto the table to perform a stunt of taking off her stockings.

But at this time, Xiaohui suddenly showed a look of disgust:

"Lisa, stop your posturing. I like smart women, do you know? I like the kind of woman who can chat with me and bring me growth."

Xiaohui is actually doing a test.

Just as he was constructing this desire, he suddenly received a phone call.

"Hello... hello, may I ask if you are Mr. Yoshida?"

"It's me, who are you?"

Although it was a question, Xiaohui's heart had no waves.

"I am... your reader. I think there are some problems with the settings in your manga. Sorry, I used some irregular ways to get your phone number. This is really because you were not careful."

Xiaohui said:

"Sorry, I don't like high-IQ women who can bring me growth anymore."

He hung up the phone.

So smooth.

Just after he constructed a desire, this desire was soon satisfied.

If it were an ordinary person, they would have probably started to conquer the world, right? But fortunately, learning is endless, and his desire has never expanded because he has not reached the deepest part of the manga realm.

But if he wants to become vulgar, it seems he can too.

"I seem to have figured everything out. I seem to have remembered everything. Lisa, do you want to sleep with me, and then after you show superb skills, ask me... am I very happy?"

Lisa was stunned.

At this moment, not only Lisa, but even Doubt, who was preparing to harvest the third node in the distance, was stunned.

On the top of the Hujiang Golden Building...

Doubt suddenly felt a very strange aura.

"My body is disappearing... why? Why is this happening?"

Doubt has always existed, from the childhood of node 01, to the youth of node 02, and the prime of node 03...

Doubt has always existed.

She has always been monitoring this world, preventing anyone from bringing misfortune to the host.

But at this moment, she began to disappear bit by bit.

Doubt looked at the location of the host.

But suddenly discovered that the host's eyes were also looking at her.

At this moment, as Doubt, she suddenly understood.

So that's how it is...

So this is his operation.

So the intruder had already figured out the rules?

"So... node 01, node 02... you were just laying out the layout."

Doubt's figure became lighter and lighter.

Because the host no longer doubts; Doubt only appears when the truth is confusing.

And once the truth appears, Doubt also disappears.

Yoshida Xiaohui looked at the woman in the distance and said softly:

"Because the real me actually has an intellectual disability, you think that my constant becoming smarter is a kind of happiness. So you acquiesced that my other personalities kept hinting in the dream that I was very smart and that I was a genius; you thought this was them compromising."

"But you just made a fatal mistake."

"The people who feel the most happiness in this world are often just smart enough; if they were any smarter... they would become unhappy."

Yoshida Xiaohui waved at the window, as if saying goodbye to Doubt:

"Sorry, I have already remembered."

"I am not Yoshida Xiaohui, my name is—Wen Xishu."

(End of chapter)