https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-330-Invading-Brain-Cells-Thirty-/13547816/
Chapter 331: Invasion of Brain Cells (Part 2)
Chapter 331: Invasion of Brain Cells (Part 2)
“You do not belong to my world nor fall under my jurisdiction. Thus, you need not address me as Boss,” the System Voice continued, “My name… is Zhuan Jie Zun.”
“Just from the name, this boss sounds super powerful…” Qiu Feng muttered under his breath.
Ji Chang, ever cautious, drew a handgun from his satchel menu, disengaged the safety, and warily raised his gaze upward.
“Put away those useless weapons, otherworld travelers,” Zhuan Jie Zun said calmly. “Bullets pose no threat to me.”
As the words faded, a mercury-colored metallic sphere roughly one meter in diameter materialized into the players’ field of vision.
The orb hovered between the bookshelves and the ceiling, slowly drifting until it hovered directly above the players’ Hexagon Area.
Zhuan Jie Zun’s voice, identical to the System Voice, emanated from the metal sphere: “However, I’d prefer you not use those crude, mundane weapons to damage these books around you.”
“You’re the master of this ‘reasoning club,’ right?” Feng Bu Jue looked up. “Earlier, we were trapped in your mental world.”
“Hmph… saying ‘trapped’ isn’t quite accurate,” Zhuan Jie Zun countered. “Your phrasing makes it sound like I forcibly locked you in and refused to let you out.” He chuckled. “In reality, you entered of your own volition… didn’t you?”
The players couldn’t deny this. After all, this was just a scenario within a game, and they had willingly queued in.
“Fine, we’ll admit we barged in uninvited… So, what do you plan to do now?” Hong Hu asked, eyes fixed on the metallic sphere above.
“I’ve come to reclaim something,” Zhuan Jie Zun replied. “Then, I’ll politely ask you to leave.” As he spoke, the sphere descended steadily.
The four players stood at the four corners of the Hexagon Area. The metal orb bypassed the iron cage, landing calmly in the center between them.
In the next second, Zhuan Jie Zun’s form shifted. The sphere transformed into an elderly man seated in a wheelchair. Dressed in a black suit, his hair snow-white, his face bore a ten-point agedness, his demeanor wise and serene.
“This appearance… and this voice…” Zhuan Jie Zun’s tone had also softened into a warm, resonant timbre. “Perhaps it will make you feel more at ease.”
“That ‘at ease’… basically means lowering your guard, right?” Qiu Feng said.
“Hmph… Did you know? Two qualities I despise most in you otherworld travelers are combativeness and paranoia,” Zhuan Jie Zun scoffed. “If I truly wished to kill you, your consciousness would’ve been torn apart the moment you arrived here.”
“You said you came to take something,” Hong Hu pressed. “What is it? We shouldn’t have anything that belongs to you.”
“Nonsense…” Zhuan Jie Zun smiled, shaking his head. “Each of you carries a Key, don’t you?”
The four exchanged glances.
“I did obtain a Key in the memoryspace,” Ji Chang admitted. “But when I came here, it vanished.”
Feng Bu Jue turned to his teammates, asking, “Wait… did you also get a cursed key in the memoryspace?”
“Cursed key?” Ji Chang frowned. “No… Mine was called ‘Key of Amnesty.’”
Qiu Feng added, “I had one too—‘Key of Blessing.’”
Hong Hu, after hearing the others, simply stated four words: “Key of Repentance.”
Feng Bu Jue pondered briefly before addressing Zhuan Jie Zun: “After arriving in this real world, all our items reverted to their original states.” He paused. “The Keys you mentioned have already disappeared.”
“Disappeared? Heh… After deciphering the ‘truth,’ didn’t you grasp anything?” Zhuan Jie Zun chuckled. “Here, there… reality, illusion… where exactly lies the boundary?”
“You’re trying to convince us that world was real too?” Feng Bu Jue mused.
Zhuan Jie Zun replied, “Suppose I told you… a fantasy world constructed within a creature’s brain and the so-called ‘real world’ it inhabits are actually two parallel Spaces.” His gaze swept across each player’s face. “Which world, then, would you deem real?”
“By your logic…” Hong Hu interjected, “Doesn’t that mean every sentient being becomes a creator?”
“Why not?” Zhuan Jie Zun countered. “A grain of sand holds a world, a flower contains paradise, a tree embodies Bodhi, a leaf mirrors Tathagata.” He recited fluently. “Perhaps you and I are merely figments of another will’s imagination—a part of some ‘scenario’—trapped in an endless cycle built from conflict and contradiction, death and rebirth.” He paused, smirking as if recalling something amusing, then added, “You may not grasp this yet, but that’s fine. Time is plentiful. Let me explain fully, then we’ll revisit the matter of the Keys.”
After this, Zhuan Jie Zun’s head suddenly twisted and morphed. His upper body transformed into the visage of Sherlock Holmes, his voice shifting accordingly: “Shakespeare once said, often quoted—a thousand eyes, a thousand Hamlets.” He raised a hand, pointing at his face. “The Sherlock Holmes you just saw… was my interpretation of him.”
To be honest, the sight was bizarre—
But Zhuan Jie Zun seemed unfazed. He continued: “This man is cold, humorous, sharp, composed… He has a carefree side, yet in most moments, his will is unshakable. His appearance: long face, thick brows, black hair, aquiline nose, thin lips. Speech carries a crisp British accent, rapid and high-pitched… His trademarks? Pipe and cane.”
At this point, Zhuan Jie Zun’s head reverted to the elderly man’s form: “In another’s mental world, Sherlock Holmes’ image would necessarily differ. Even in Conan Doyle’s own mind, Holmes constantly evolved. Initially a brilliant consulting detective, eventually becoming a phantom pursued by greedy publishers and ardent readers—a figure who ceased to shine, yet no one cared.”
Feng Bu Jue said, “So… every character we met in the Testing Building was just your own ‘Hamlet’ crafted after reading the original works?”
“No, each possesses autonomous consciousness,” Zhuan Jie Zun replied. “I am not their creator, but I am the creator of their world.” He waved a hand. “As Professor Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes, and Little Red Riding Hood told you, in that world, they have their own rules. Some matters… even I cannot easily interfere.”
Qiu Feng interrupted, “So… it’s like a long-running comic series. In later arcs, even the author might lose control of the plot’s development.”
“Heh… Correct. Your comprehension surpasses those from my own dimension.” Zhuan Jie Zun chuckled.
His words startled the players. A game character spouting middle school-level musings was normal, but this line suggested he fully understood he was merely data.
Feng Bu Jue, having encountered derivative beings multiple times, found this incomprehensible. He mused: Could these high-level data possess uniqueness and memory storage? Were they no different from derivative beings?
What unsettled Feng Bu Jue most… if these Ais truly understood their plight, what actions might they take?
Zhuan Jie Zun continued: “But you’re not as lofty as you imagine.” His gaze turned meaningful. “You ask paranoid questions, I hold all answers. Yet from your perspective, some answers you’ll grasp, others you won’t…
For example… your most urgent question right now… how to clear the game.”
The players fell silent, unsure how to respond to this hidden boss—or whether Zhuan Jie Zun qualified as a boss at all.
“I could explain in a way you comprehend, guiding you toward a simple, direct choice with inevitable results,” Zhuan Jie Zun said. “Or I could speak of answers you can’t grasp—what phenomena might that trigger?” He spread his arms. “Sadly, I don’t know. Only beings of lesser intellect—flawless, arrogant humans like yourselves—can find the answer.”
“You’re the sharpest philosopher I’ve ever met. Please take my knees…” Qiu Feng joked, half-seriously wanting to kneel.
“Hahahaha…” Zhuan Jie Zun burst into laughter. “Enough. You should leave.” His wheelchair rotated, facing Feng Bu Jue. “Bi Li sent me a message for you.”
Feng Bu Jue hesitated a second. “Puppet Bi Li?”
“Yes. He said this time, it’s repayment for the help you offered during the prison break,” Zhuan Jie Zun replied.
Feng Bu Jue pondered briefly. “Was that the reason you personally released us?”
Zhuan Jie Zun nodded. “Otherwise, you’d have had to retrieve the Keys yourselves and find the exit.” He snapped his fingers. Four Keys of varying shapes appeared before the players, paused, then flew into Zhuan Jie Zun’s grasp.
The players recognized them instantly—their Keys from the memoryspace.
“I’ve reclaimed my property,” Zhuan Jie Zun pointed at the center of a bookshelf. A book fell instantly. “The club’s Back Door… is now open to you.”
With that, Zhuan Jie Zun transformed again—into a White Crane.
Flapping its wings upward, it cried sharply, “Hope you won’t return here again, humans.”
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
