Chapter 35: Chapter 33 - The Non-Existent Memories Increase
"Wende... you must remember, some people's fates are sealed. To go against that fate is to invite disaster."
One day, his "Master" had suddenly said this to him.
The still-young Wende could not understand the meaning behind his "Master's" words. He only nodded and silently committed the phrase to memory.
"Sigh... all fates are predetermined..."
His Master's long sigh woke the dazed Wende from his thoughts.
"Doctor Wende... are you alright? Do you want to take a break?"
Inside the clinic, a female nurse saw Wende sitting in a corner, his face weary, his hand pressed to his forehead. She immediately walked over, concerned.
If it weren't for this strange doctor who had come to help, she couldn't imagine how many of the wounded would have died while waiting for treatment...
"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll be alright after a short rest."
Wende waved the young nurse away, indicating he was okay.
That memory...
Wende couldn't figure it out. Could a Light Cone... really have such a powerful influence? He had just fabricated a background, and the Light Cone was giving him a real memory in return...?
Tap... tap... tap...
The crisp, heavy sound of footsteps echoed on the floor. A woman in a white uniform, her expression a mixture of exhaustion and gentleness, slowly walked up to Wende.
"Thank you, Doctor Wende... Without your help, many people would have likely died today..."
The gentle woman's eyes dimmed. The sudden attack by the Fragmentum creatures had caught her completely off guard. Many members of Wildfire had sacrificed themselves in the battle... If not for the "Trailblazing team" introduced by Sampo, Wildfire would have suffered immense losses, and Boulder Town would have been plunged into danger.
"It's what I should do. A healer's heart is a benevolent one. I wouldn't leave a group of patients to fend for themselves," Wende said, shaking his head.
"Doctor Wende, you truly are a selfless doctor..." Natasha said, looking at the exhausted Wende with heartfelt admiration.
"..."
Wende didn't reply, his gaze shifting to the patients who had already been treated.
Selfless?
"Master? Why did you save her? She's clearly a bad person..."
A young Wende looked on, confused, as his "Master" treated the wounds of a "bad person."
The "bad person" looked at the young and naive Wende and shook her head with a bitter smile.
"Sigh, silly child. In this world, there are no good people or bad people. It is merely a matter of the perspective from which we stand."
His "Master" stood up and patted the "bad person's" shoulder, signaling that she could leave.
The "bad person" got up and gave the "Master" a respectful bow. She tilted her head to glance at Wende. Although he couldn't see the eyes beneath her blindfold, Wende quickly scrambled behind his "Master," poking out his small head, his large purple eyes filled with vigilance.
"Sigh, go on, go on..."
The "Master" ruffled Wende's little head and waved the "bad person" away.
"All pitiful souls..." the "Master" lamented.
Wende recalled the woman with the black cloth. Who was she? Why was she so respectful to the Master in his memory... Wait! Why am I...
Wende's brow furrowed. He was unconsciously treating that memory as something that had actually happened again... That's right, these are just memories I fabricated. It's the system creating a background for my character in the real-world game... Yes, that's it!
Wende was still trying to console himself, completely oblivious to the fact that the Trailblazing team had returned to the clinic at some point.
"Wende, we're done! Huh? What's wrong with you?" March 7th said as she pushed open the door, looking puzzled at the exhausted Wende.
"March, shh..."
Noticing the strange looks from the wounded patients, Stelle, who was beside March, immediately poked her in the waist.
"Ah... oh, oh... sorry..." March 7th scratched her head, embarrassed.
"It's alright, little sister. Thank you for your contribution to Boulder Town," Natasha said, smoothing things over. She had already heard about the team's deeds from the wounded who had just been brought in. If they hadn't reinforced the "Wildfire" front line in time, Boulder Town wouldn't have been able to secure its defenses so quickly.
"Ahaha, it's what we do, right?" March 7th said, winking at Dan Heng.
"Mm..." Dan Heng merely nodded, his gaze then settling on Wende. That inexplicably familiar feeling... why was it getting stronger?
Real World
Fanyin was a story-focused content creator. Her videos were mostly plot playthroughs of various games, providing a great medium for those who wanted to know the story but were too lazy to play. As such, her viewers called her "Our Go-To Girl."
As a well-known immersive-viewing streamer, Fanyin was currently live, preparing to record the latest story content for the recent hit, Honkai: Star Rail.
At this moment, a large number of viewers had already flooded Fanyin's stream.
Fanyin started her screen recording and launched her playthrough of the Jarilo-VI story.
"Bros, the train is leaving the station!"
Fanyin's progress was right at the point where the Trailblazing team entered the Underworld. As soon as the game loaded, a connecting cutscene began.
At first, Fanyin was diligently following the plot. But then, prompted by her bullet chat, she discovered that the large trash containers in the Underworld were also glowing with a shimmering light!
And so, with great resolve, she ignored the next quest objective to go to the Goethe Hotel and reached her clean little hands toward the unclean trash can...
"BZZZZZZZZZT!"
As expected, the moment her sinful little hand touched the trash can, she was electrocuted by Wende and sent back to the teleport anchor.
"I think we should continue with the main quest," Fanyin said solemnly to her chat, her body still numb from the shock.
[What is this, Thunder King Wende?]
[Dad! Just one more time! Just once!]
[If I were Wende, I'd shock her too! Who can just stand by and watch their own kid dig through a trash can!]
[Wait, isn't Wende our teammate? How did he become...]
[What teammate! That's Dad!]
[Dad? Mom!]
[Kafka: "?? I've become the replacement?"]
"Sigh, let's just go to the hotel first. By the way, why does this hotel have the same name as the one in the Overworld? And this one provides lodging too?"
Fanyin was completely confused.
Perhaps she would find out the answer after talking to the hotel owner.
After entering the hotel and a round of fierce bargaining with Sampo, Fanyin successfully got Sampo to pay for a week's lodging for them, leaving behind a considerable sum of Winter City Credits.
As the story continued, Fanyin's dialogue choices did not disappoint. By consistently choosing to eat the "indescribable meat" during dinner, she unlocked a special scene where Wende cooked for the team!
This came as a complete surprise to Fanyin.
[This family would fall apart without Wende!]
[As expected of the Trailblazer, stuffing so much weird stuff in their mouth and still living!]
[Compared to Himeko's coffee, this stuff is just small fry~]
After dinner, Fanyin thought the next scene would be the team exploring the Underworld after waking up the next day. But to her surprise, the game's camera suddenly cut to the bed, focusing on the sleeping Wende...