Chapter 13 Chapter 6 Awakening

Chongshi spent a sleepless night without changing his clothes, just lying motionless on the bed.In fact, I may have fallen asleep for a while, but this was not my intention. It is normal to not be able to fall asleep when encountering such a thing. In the end Mayuko didn't come back either. However, he was not surprised by this matter. Based on all the circumstances and making a calm judgment, it was easy to deduce that she would not come back here.Although a little sad, on the other hand I also feel relieved.Since the two of them lived together, Mayuko has never spent the night outside without saying a word. If it was normal, she would definitely be worried.

Takashi spent the night recalling the old memories, especially about Tomohiko and Mayuko. He remembered that since he gave Mayuko the emerald brooch as a birthday present, he missed her even more than before.He also gradually realized that it is an indisputable fact that he hopes that the relationship between Zhiyan and her will have a rift, and he has to admit that he is still a person who values ​​sex over friends in the end.Thinking of this, Chongshi felt a burst of sadness, he originally thought that his relationship with Zhiyan was even stronger than that of father and son. The bits and pieces between Zhiyan and Zhiyan in middle school kept appearing in my mind, it was like watching "Nostalgic Movie Memoirs", there are many moving scenes that often appear in youth inspirational movies.

It was the second year of junior high school, and Chongshi was hospitalized because of appendicitis, so asking for leave from school was irrelevant, but he had things that he couldn't worry about.A very popular game software will be released in a few days, and I wanted to rush to the store early in the morning to queue up.But there was no hope for him to be discharged from the hospital before the release day. Just when he was about to give up, Zhiyan came to the hospital to see him on the night of the release day, and slowly took out the game software he had dreamed of.When I asked him what was going on, he replied nonchalantly, "I know you really want it, so I went to line up to buy it."From the evening paper that day, Chongshi learned that only those who lined up three hours before the store opened could buy this software. Zhiyan actually dragged his inconvenient body and queued in front of the store for several hours.

Zhiyan undoubtedly regards Chongshi as his best friend, so Chongshi also tries to behave competently as his best friend.To say that the greatest role Chongshi played in junior high school was to protect Zhiyan from the insults of those bastards who laughed at his physical defects.Such ignorant people are everywhere. On the day of the sports meeting, a man saw Chihiko wearing a gym suit and said sarcastically, "Didn't you just come to watch the game?" He would make insulting remarks and jokingly say some discriminatory words, "Is there any sports suitable for so-and-so?" Chongshi dragged that person to a place where Zhiyan couldn't see, and beat him violently.After the man was beaten, he was crying, still uttering discriminatory terms, and yelling loudly, "What's wrong with me telling the truth?" After hearing that, Chong Shi punched the guy again.The homeroom teacher found out, and after he called Chongshi to understand the situation, he only said, "Don't use violence," and didn't continue to pursue the responsibility.Chongshi was convinced that he had done nothing wrong.

Chongshi does not think that his anger at the time was a disguise, and it was not done out of self-satisfaction and superiority.However, when he recalled his behavior a year ago, his self-confidence began to waver.He couldn't deny that behind his trying to get Mayuko, there was an arrogant subtext, "Between Chihiko and me, no woman would not choose me", and the basis was Chihiko's physical defects. How is it different from the man who repeatedly used discriminatory language—— The mood at this moment is as if he has clearly seen the essence of what he once firmly believed in. Chongshi feels that he is not qualified to talk about friendship, and he has no right to look down on those who are discriminatory.

So, do I still have to give up Mayuko?That's the only way it could be, he thought.However, Chongshi had no intention of repenting at all, because he thought that if she married Zhiyan just like this, he would definitely suffer a lot. I am such a cowardly person, Chongshi sighed, although thinking this way can make him feel better, but at the same time he also realized that it was just an escape. He slowly got up from the bed, changed his clothes and went to wash up.When brushing his teeth, his eyes stayed on the pink toothbrush, Mayuko seemed to have forgotten to take it away. Even so, why, Takashi thought while brushing his teeth in the mirror, why did Mayuko choose herself instead of Tomohiko?According to her own memory, it should be impossible for her to be inclined to Chongshi.

There is only one possibility, that is, the cohabitation of Mayuko and Chongshi is also part of this series of conspiracies.The disappearance of Chihiko and Shinozaki is not unrelated to the falsification of Takashi's memory.In other words, Mayuko is acting. "I like you" "I like you too, very much" Chongshi recalled having such a conversation with her in bed, could it be that this was planned long ago? Absolutely impossible - Chongshi shook his head, the toothbrush was still stuffed in his mouth, but there was no basis for this stubborn insistence. Chongshi walked into the company dragging his heavy body, his head was filled with lead, and he felt pain after wave.

After inserting the ID card as usual, the door of 'Reality System Development Department Section 9' opened. Immediately something feels wrong. Originally, after Chongshi opened the door, he would immediately hear the commotion of Wupi the chimpanzee in the cage next to the door. This was the beginning of every day, but there was no such sound this morning. Looking back, he was still here yesterday The cage is gone. He walked into the room with his head tilted and noticed an even bigger change. All the experimental equipment of Chongshi's team disappeared, not only the equipment, but also the desks of Chongshi and Sudou, leaving only the white writing board in the window.

Confused by this sudden situation, Chongshi walked to the center of the empty office area and stared blankly around, completely directionless. On the other side of the plastic baffle, members of another research team were all present, and they were also looking at Chongshi with puzzled expressions. Keiko Kiriyama, who joined the company at the same time as Chongshi, was also among them. It seemed that their office area had not changed in any way. He saw a piece of recording paper stuck on the whiteboard, and Chongshi went over and took it down, "To Tsutsuka-kun, please come to my room to come to Onuma once after you leave the company."

After reading the contents of the recording paper, Takashi couldn't help becoming nervous. Onuma is the director of Vitec and the person in charge of the Reality System Development Department.Chongshi only met him at meetings, but never talked with him in private.Chongshi was originally a new employee, so it was only natural. What's going on here? When Chongshi was puzzled, someone called him from behind, "Your class has moved?" He looked back in surprise, and saw Keiko Kiriyama, who joined the company at the same time, standing behind him, with her hands in the pockets of her white coat, her eyes in the big-rimmed glasses were full of curiosity, and her brows were slightly frowned, indicating that she was going to listen to the other party seriously. Consistent expression.

Chongshi shook his head, "I don't know, it's possible." "Haven't you heard about the migration?" "Not at all, what time did you get here today?" "About 9:10." Kiriyama Keiko glanced at his watch and replied, "I was the first one to arrive, and it had already become like this by then. Everyone guessed that it must be an emergency relocation." "Where's Sudou?" "I haven't seen him today" Chongshi nodded, looked down at his watch, he should be here by this time. "I'll go to the chairman's side first." "Director?" Seeing Jingzi frowned, Chongshi pointed to the message, and she couldn't help but widen her eyes. The chairman's office and Chongshi's research office are on the same floor, at the corner of the corridor.There was an intercom by the white door, Takashi took a deep breath and pressed the button. "Which one?" A low voice came from the speaker immediately. "I am Tsuruga," Chongshi said. "Come in" came the sound of the door lock opening at the same time. Chongshi pushed open the door, "Excuse me" Onuma sat facing the desk, with his back to the window that was covered by shutters. There was a laptop on the table, and Onuma's eyes were fixed on the computer screen. "Sit there and wait for me." After finishing speaking, Onuma tapped the keyboard.The chairman of the American Vitec company engaged in software development has soft fingering like a pianist. Chong Shi immediately sat down on the sofa. The chairman's office is actually not very spacious. There are bookshelves full of documents against the wall and a giant monitor dedicated to video conferencing. It feels that the reception equipment is barely qualified. "Okay, it should be ok." After knocking the last key to himself, he took off his glasses and stood up, walking to Chongshi's side.Although it is said that he is over fifty years old, his slender figure and wig-like black hair make him look like he is only in his early forties at most.Chongshi heard that he believed that getting fat would make his mind dull, so he has been on a diet.In short, he is a figure with a lot of rumors. "I don't want to waste time, let's make a long story short," Onuma said, and sat down opposite Takashi. "Your research needs to be temporarily frozen at this point in time" "Ah?..." Chongshi couldn't help straightening his chest, "Freezing? May I ask why?" "The judgment of the company is that it is meaningless for you to continue to study, and this is the reason" "Uh, but, I don't quite understand why it doesn't make sense?" "From the perspectives of foresight, development, and feasibility, I made this conclusion. It will not be changed now, and this matter has been settled." Onuma looked straight into Takashi's eyes, articulate like a voice actor As clear as it is, his voice has an indefensible force. Chongshi was a little confused and couldn't accept this sudden incident for a while, but he still thought of a question that was appropriate to ask on this occasion. "So, uh, what should I do next?" Yes, Onuma nodded, and took out a brown envelope from his jacket. "I want you to be transferred to the patent department. This is a transfer order. You can go to Director Sakai of the patent department." "Patent Department..." He felt his eyes go dark, which was unexpected. "You don't have to worry, the ability you have accumulated in MAC will not be used for physical labor all the time. You should understand this transfer as a standby period before deciding on the next research topic." "What is the so-called next research topic?" "The U.S. headquarters is currently discussing this, and you will be notified immediately after the decision is made. Before that, you should thoroughly investigate the patents of other companies in the Reality discipline in the Licensing Department. Although it is on standby, you are not allowed to be lazy. "Speaking of which, it seems that the important matter has been explained, Onuma got up and returned to his seat. "Excuse me," Chongshi said. Is there anything else, Onuma turned around with such an expression. "What job was Instructor Sudou assigned?" "He went to America" "United States……?" "As I said just now, in order to explore the next research topic, I decided to ask Sudou to go there once. Do you have any other questions?" "No, it's gone" "So work hard." Onuma put on his glasses and faced the desk. "Then I'll take my leave." Chongshi bowed, turned and left the room, and immediately felt an indescribable suffocation.He resisted so much that he didn't cry out. Director Sakai of the patent department is a man wearing pomade to fix his gray hair and wearing a dark blue suit. The creases on his trousers are as straight as if drawn with a ruler.Seeing Chongshi approaching him, Sakai put the half-read document on the corner of the table. "I've heard about you. This time, I would like to invite you to be responsible for some patents and licenses related to the Reality discipline. Because it is a newly developed technology, we hope to find a professional." After Sakai finished speaking contentedly, Chongshi looked at the corner of his mouth, unavoidably feeling a little ups and downs.Onuma clearly meant that he was transferred here temporarily, but hearing Sakai's tone, it was like getting a right-hand man.I really wanted to question this in my heart, but I held back and didn't say anything.He guessed that this matter might not be so simple, if he left a bad impression on Sakai by inadvertent words, it would be bad.No matter how short the time is, he is still Chongshi's boss at the current point in time. Chongshi was taken to his office and got to know his immediate leader.That man's title is director. Vitec company abandoned titles like section chief and minister a few years ago. The seats here are arranged almost in a square, and Chongshi's desk is arranged in the corner closest to the corridor.The desk is still the one that was placed in Section 9's laboratory until yesterday.It is the company's consistent policy to change jobs but not to change desks.Only after being removed from his seat did Chongshi deeply feel that he was just a cog in this large organization. The director with a face as thin as a skeleton confessed to Chongshi that his first duty here was to sort out the patents related to the Reality System.He roughly explained the working process, but the explanation was too rough, which caused Chongshi to ask questions many times.His way of answering was also very unfriendly, not so much transactional as it was more appropriate to say that his attitude was blunt.From Chongshi's point of view, his sullen face seemed to be complaining, why would a guy like you come to our department?He glanced around with this impression, and found that everyone had a feeling of disgust for him, like a student from an unknown origin transferred to a primary school class. Chongshi believes that it is unusual for them to come here to work. While searching the patent data with the computer, he was thinking about the personnel deployment this time.He had a strong premonition, which was definitely related to the series of incredible events that happened before.After Chongshi realized that his memory had been tampered with, and found out that it was related to Vitec, the sesame seed disappeared first, and then even his job was changed.Sudou was also missing, which was certainly no accident. What is it for? Chongshi suddenly had an urge to shout, why did he do this, and what purpose did Vitec put itself in this situation? He raised his head and looked forward. The backs of these new colleagues stood silently like tombstones. He couldn't help but feel that the company had abandoned itself like that. Although the meal time flexible system has been newly implemented, everyone still eats lunch at roughly the same time.Chongshi went from his room to the staff canteen with others, but no one spoke to him along the way.Reluctantly, he had no choice but to go up by himself, the man in Chongshi's front left walked quickly, Chongshi saw his name tag and knew his name was Manabe. "There are more people in the patent department than I imagined, and this is the first time I know it." Chongshi walked to Manabe and started a conversation with him.Manabe didn't seem to realize that he was talking to him for a moment, and when he met Takashi's eyes, he was startled.Immediately, he looked around with a goat-like face. From Chongshi's point of view, he seemed to be asking for help.And the people around them tried their best to avoid getting involved with themselves and speeded up their pace. "How many people are there?" Takashi asked again, Manabe showed a nervous expression for some reason. "Huh?...how many people?" "It's the Patent Licensing Department. How many people are there in total?" "Uh, it should be thirty-four people," Manabe replied with his neck tilted, beads of sweat dripping from his nose. "Is there not enough manpower with so many?" "No, there should be enough staff." Manabe's gaze was clearly avoiding Takashi. "But Director Sakai seemed to tell me that you don't have enough manpower, so you transferred me here temporarily." Chongshi deliberately hinted that this was what Sakai meant, and Manabe immediately began to feel restless. "Oh, if the minister said it, it might not be enough. I can only focus on the work at hand, and I can't grasp the overall situation. Well, I'm sorry, I have something to go somewhere." He said in a hurry He hurriedly walked to the other end of the corridor.Chongshi stopped in his tracks and watched him leave. When he came back to his senses, he found that there was no one around. After he finished his lunch alone, he dialed the switchboard of MAC in the public phone booth and transferred to the Brain Function Research Group, where Mayuko should be a member.He didn't announce his family name and asked her to answer the phone, but as expected, Mayuko no longer worked there. "It just so happened that Tsuno was transferred to another department yesterday." The man who answered the phone said very coldly. "Can you tell me the contact information of that department?" "No, I'm sorry, we can't do it. This is the rule above. If you must contact her, please tell me your name and contact information, and we will notify Tsuno." The man refused bluntly. Exactly the same, Chongshi thought, exactly the same as the answer he got when he called the US head office to contact Zhiyan. He was about to tell his name and contact information, but then he thought about whether they would notify Mayuko, no, even if they informed her, he didn't have any hope that she could contact him.If she wanted to contact her, she should have called home last night. Forget it, Chongshi hung up the phone. In the afternoon, while repeating the boring search work, Chongshi desperately searched for a breakthrough to solve the mystery in his head.Although I suspect that there is a connection with Vitec behind the whole incident, as long as there is no evidence, it is impossible to startle the snake.Now we can only wait and see what the attitude of the company is. While retrieving patent information related to Reality System, he saw his name appear on the screen, so he stopped. "Takashi Tsuruga, a magnetic pulse device dedicated to importing visual information (MAC Reality Research Laboratory)" This is a patent filed the year before last. The title looks great, but in fact he just made some improvements to the probe of the magnetic pulse device.However, this is Chongshi's first patent after all, and it can be regarded as a memorable memory. Looking at it, he came up with an idea. All the research conducted at MAC will be reported to Vitec in the form of experimental research reports. It stands to reason that all reports should be entered into the company's database, including Zhiyan's research of course. . Chongshi tapped on the keyboard. Although he couldn't see the content of the report, if it was just a title, he could easily search for it.He estimated that as long as he saw the title, he could know what Chihiko's research was and how far it had gone. Chongshi entered the name of Miwa Tomohiko to search, trying to find out all of Tomohiko's reports. However, after seeing the text displayed on the screen, Chongshi wondered if there was something wrong with his eyes.Could it be a misuse?He tried again, and the same text as before came out. "Number of matching reports 0" Is there such a thing?He exclaimed in a low voice, it is impossible that none of Zhiyan's reports were included, he submitted the most reports among students in the same grade at MAC, Chongshi knew this very well, and he even read some of them with his own eyes. There is only one possibility that can be thought of. All his information has been deleted by the company. At six in the evening, Chongshi left the company.However, he didn't go straight to the station, but went into a coffee shop he passed by on the way.It was a bright and spacious store overlooking the street. After Chongshi sat on the seat for a few minutes, Kiriyama Keiko walked in. She looked around for a while, and after seeing him, she walked towards him with a smile on her face.Seeing her in orange-red clothes, Chongshi estimated that few men could tell that she was a researcher. "It's the first time you made an appointment to meet me in this kind of place," she said after ordering a cup of lemon tea. "Sorry to call you out in such a hurry, are you busy?" "It's not particularly busy, and the tasks under the head office are not so tight." "That's good" This afternoon, Chongshi called Jingzi and asked her to meet after get off work. "I was surprised to hear about you," she said. "Transferred to the patent department? What's the matter?" "I'm at a loss as well. It's said that it's a temporary place until the next project is decided." "Oh? Will there be such a thing?" Jingzi shook her head slightly. "How is the research going?" Chongshi asked. "To be honest, it's a bit stagnant. I guess we need to re-examine the plan." "I heard from MAC a few days ago that Vitec has given up on the 'Audio-Visual Cognitive System Research Group'. Is this true?" Chongshi repeated what Xiaoshan said in MAC. Kiriyama Keiko's expression darkened immediately, not because others spoke ill of her research, but because it was indeed true. "As far as the allocated budget is concerned, I don't think the head office has given us great expectations" "Funds have also been cut?" "yes" The lemon tea was brought over, and Kiriyama Keiko took out a pack of cigarettes from her bag before drinking it, and asked, "Can I smoke?".Although Chongshi was a little surprised, he still replied "it doesn't matter".He had never heard of her smoking. Smoking was not allowed in the laboratory. "I also heard from MAC that Vitec believes that the key research object of the sub-real space should be memory processing." Kiriyama Keiko breathed out a halo of smoke diagonally upwards, and said, "It's possible." "Is that true? Did you hear any rumors?" "I can't talk about rumors, I'm also a newcomer" "But to me, you are considered a senior." "It's just in form, you will surpass me soon" "Don't be joking, I heard you have a good reputation" Kiriyama Keiko did not study at MAC and worked at the Central Research Institute two years ago.She did not graduate from a bachelor's degree, but came from various colleges. This is the only reason that can explain this personnel transfer, Chongshi often thinks so. "I just feel depressed because I don't deserve this kind of praise. If I don't talk about this, the topic is too far away. I just said that the company is committed to memory processing, right? Although I don't know the details, I heard that the brain research team Added members" "Then it's the same as what I heard from MAC. They also said that the brain function research class seems to have more staff, but that's all..." "Not only that, but Director Sugihara is said to be in charge of it himself." "Sugihara?...Is it to study the substances in the brain?" "Yes." Jingzi picked up the teacup and nodded, "That person is also an active member of the brain research group advocating memory processing. His recent reports are basically all about the principles of memory." "Sugihara... I've never heard of it" Takashi remembered the MAC research presentation a year ago, and Sugihara asked Takashi a question about the chemical reaction in the brain. And he also recalled that Sugihara went to the research room of Takashi's group with Brian Fred from the head office that day. Everything is consistent, Chongshi thought, after collecting these, and then arranging and combining them in a specific way, we should be able to figure out what happened.It's just that at the current point of time, he can only look at the pieces of the puzzle but is helpless. "Have you heard of the research results on memory processing? For example, discoveries across the ages" Keiko shook her head, "I haven't heard of it, but since Director Sugihara will be specially appointed as the person in charge, maybe there will be some results worth looking forward to." "Will the study of memory processing be carried out in the brain research?" "Although it was carried out there, the leadership may still be on the other side of the ocean." "Headquarters?" Chongshi thought it was possible, and Brian Fred's blond hair reappeared in his mind. "Why do they specialize in memory processing?" After asking, Kiriyama Keiko nodded as if he had found the answer, "By the way, maybe that's the next research topic." "No, it's impossible" "Why?" Jingzi looked straight at me with her head tilted.The smoke from her mouth just now was still echoing above her face. Chongshi had an urge to tell her everything that happened to him, in short, he had to find someone to confide in.However, he was not sure whether this move was correct or not, and it might lead to irreparable consequences, and it might bring unnecessary trouble to Kiriyama Keiko.On the other hand, it cannot be concluded that Keiko Kiriyama is necessarily reliable. "Because this information is not very reliable, let me tell you part of it first." After much deliberation, Chong Shi decided to tell her a small part of the whole matter.He leaned closer to the dining table, lowered his voice and said, Jingzi also moved his face closer, "It seems that there is a person whose memory has been tampered with, and someone deliberately changed it." She looked at Chongshi's face and frowned, "Where did you hear the news?" "I can't tell you this, sorry" She shook her head and said, "I don't believe it" "Me too, but the credibility is really high" "Isn't it caused by a disease? For example, affected by brain dysfunction, or mental illness such as neurasthenia" "If the memory is lost or blurred, the possibility of what you said is very high, but that person's memory is complete, and it is contrary to reality. Of course, the degree is far more than a simple misremembering." "Is the spirit in a normal state?" "Yes." Because he was too sure, Chongshi quickly corrected, "I think it's normal." "It's unbelievable," Jingzi repeated, "Although it's hard to say anything without seeing the data related to that person's memory, it's impossible to memorize it, whether it's the virtual reality technology in the past, or the technology we're researching now. A complete overhaul, at least in theory. It's not as simple as the illusion of being in the game world created by a child who is keen on the game." "I think so too, so I really want to know about memory processing." "Hey" Jingzi crossed her arms and thought about it, then smiled lightly, "It's really too much for you to tell me so much without mentioning the source of the information." "I'll tell you later, definitely" "I ask again, is that person's mental state really normal?" Chongshi nodded, then thought about it, and replied, "Let me go and check again." That's a prerequisite, she said.