Soul and Personality, Residual Memories

At this very moment.

A long cordon has been set up outside the steel factory.

Hundreds of drones and unmanned vehicles are patrolling back and forth around the warning line.

They are arranged in several rows, with each row spaced about 500 meters apart.

They themselves serve as a warning: once they are gone, it means the strange radiation range has expanded even further.

The others were naturally on the outermost edge.

They looked at the factory from a distance; most of it was ruins, with only a few plastic and wooden structures still standing.

The young man, nicknamed "Brother Hua," casually picked up an iron shovel and threw it directly into the factory.

After the shovel had traveled a long distance, it quickly landed on the ground.

The number of shovels was visibly decreasing rapidly.

In the end, only the wooden handle remained.

Everyone witnessed this bizarre and terrifying sight and couldn't help but gasp in shock.

"What are we going to do?" The young man, "Red Wolf," was immediately at a loss.

Gao Linzhi thought for a moment, took out the Anomaly Dungeon Ticket, stuck it on a stone, and threw it directly onto the ruins of the factory dormitory building.

It landed right near that strange square iron block.

They had supposedly come face to face with the strange entity, but nothing had happened.

Gao Linzhi thought for a moment and then understood.

Because this is the real world, not the game world, these rule-based and instance-based items are not effective.

However, this doesn't make sense either, because those recovery items are usable in the real world.

Gao Linzhi couldn't figure it out for a moment, after all, he was just a driver, not a car manufacturer.

Everyone was stunned by what they saw.

Gao Linzhi was also at a loss for what to do.

At this moment, Lin Qing thought for a moment and said, "It seems that we can only use strange things to fight strange things."

"Use other strange rules to counteract this strange rule that absorbs iron."

"But doing so would introduce new strange phenomena."

Everyone nodded.

This tactic is irrelevant in the Skyfall World, since one is never too worried about having too many lice or too many debts.

Everyone sighed.

Gao Linzhi could naturally think of this method as well, but he didn't say it out loud because it would be useless. Using strange things to deal with strange things was the right thing to do.

The question is, who should take responsibility for introducing new and bizarre phenomena?

What if the acquisition fails?

Wouldn't that attract new monsters?

"Yes, since it attracts iron, let's find a monster that can infinitely convert iron to achieve a balance."

"Or, find another anomaly that prohibits magnetism; in this way, the two rules will conflict, and they will become harmless."

"But if we do that, it's like adding another weirdo."

"If new mutations occur between these two anomalies in the future, then it will never end."

At this point in the discussion, everyone started to feel a headache coming on.

For a moment, they didn't know how to solve the problem.

They could guess that the Long family probably knew about this method, but they didn't do it themselves.

It's really just that they don't want to take responsibility.

Introducing another anomaly would require killing a player, which isn't too difficult.

The difficulty lies in what happens if the problem cannot be solved, or if it is solved but leaves hidden dangers.

From now on, the responsibility for this bizarre and rampant disease will fall on their shoulders.

This is no small matter.

That was a crime against all of humanity.

"Don't you all have a way to completely cure this?" The Long Family elder, who had led everyone to the scene, looked at the crowd and said with a hopeful expression.

"There's no foolproof way. The only way is to sleep, close your eyes and see nothing, and then the world will be at peace," the young man "Red Wolf" sneered.

He saw through the Long family's wishful thinking.

This is making them take the blame.

Gao Linzhi was also having a headache. No matter how high his two-dimensional attributes were, it was useless against something that couldn't be killed with a single punch.

The game has invaded the Skyfall World, and its rules have been overridden in Skyfall World.

However, in the real world, the rules of the game have not yet been covered.

It's estimated that the real world is much larger, and it will take a long time for the game to take over.

Since the rules don't govern the real world, the Anomaly Dungeon Ticket is ineffective.

The crowd remained silent, each feeling troubled, and they began to rack their brains.

After a while...

Lin Qing spoke first, "Right now, we can only try to contain it."

"First, hollow out the surrounding area and completely replace it with a filler such as plastic to slow down its expansion rate."

"Yes, we'll use this method for now."

"However, we discovered that it can be further developed underground, and as we all know, the underground is where iron accumulates," the Long Family elder said, shaking his head.

"Therefore, unless we completely contain it underground, there's no way we can prevent it."

"Furthermore, it can absorb free iron from the air, which can of course be addressed by building a plastic greenhouse."

"However, as time goes on, its territory will continue to expand."

At this moment, Red Wolf suddenly said, "In that case, can we just launch it into space?"

"This seems like a solution."

"That's impossible. This strange thing is more of a conceptual thing. Don't be fooled by its square shape; it's actually immovable."

"We tried using plastic clips and the like to move it, but it didn't work."

"You can throw one over there and see," the Long Family elder said, then handed Red Wolf a plastic hammer.

Red Wolf immediately waved his hand and threw the plastic hammer at the square iron block on the dormitory building ruins.

Finally, right before everyone's eyes, they discovered that the plastic hammer had pierced right through them.

"I see."

"It's actually a conceptual oddity—absorbing iron."

"But where does the iron it absorbs go?"

"We don't know either."

The more they discussed it, the more troubled they became.

The mouse was pulling the turtle, unable to find a way to bite it.

They brainstormed and came up with various solutions.

However, there was only one way they could find.

Someone said, "Since it's a conceptual oddity, we should look for a solution in the game."

"After all, only the people in the game truly know how to solve it."

"That's right."

"Only people in the game world have seen and dealt with the most strange things."

"Yes, we humans in the real world have very little experience with the supernatural."

At this point, everyone suddenly felt that there was no point in staying any longer.

Soon, everyone went back to rest.

The Long family arranged a five-star hotel villa suite for them, but it was visibly dilapidated.

This shows that the Long family's economic conditions were not very good.

This is normal.

Heavy industrial cities are all facing decline.

Only war can stimulate it.

Then, one by one, everyone returned to the game.

They need to go into the game to find a way to deal with the monsters.

After Gao Linzhi returned to Wolf Snake Island, he immediately gathered several elders together.

He also summoned Hai Zida, who was researching the Longevity Water, to discuss the matter together.

He briefly explained the situation.

After hearing this, everyone was immediately worried.

"This thing can absorb iron indefinitely, and it's an invisible object that can't be pulled away or brought back. It's quite bizarre," the Second Elder said, frowning.

However, they are, after all, very experienced.

Soon someone suggested a method.

"Great Elder, there is a method, though it is rather cruel: using Method of Sacrifice."

"It can soothe most strange creatures, especially those transformed from humans."

Gao Linzhi suddenly realized.

I understand. The other party is using regular sacrifices to some people to quiet this iron-eating beast and stop it from absorbing iron.

Indeed, this was a normal option for people in feudal dynasties.

The Journey to the West records such an event: someone sacrificed a child to a monster in order to protect the village from bad weather and ensure a good harvest.

It now seems that this is the only way the people of this Skyfall World deal with strange phenomena.

It's impossible to expect people from feudal dynasties to have any fundamental solutions.

They only know one thing: to be perfunctory, to get by, and to muddle through.

To truly resolve a problem, one often needs exceptional talent, coupled with a hardworking and resilient population.

"The Imperial Observatory is said to be a specialized agency of the Sky Wolf Dynasty. Do they have any ideas?"

"This is too advanced and too far beyond our Imperial Observatory; we truly do not know."

Gao Linzhi his hand, dismissing the others and leaving Hai Zida behind.

"What are your opinions?"

"This issue should be studied carefully. In my opinion, we should first find out the whole story, who that player was, how he died, and what he experienced before he died. These things need to be clarified..." Hai Zida said in an orderly manner.

Professionals are just different.

Gao Linzhi nodded.

Then, he summoned Qingcheng*Bored: "Find a few player detectives who specialize in the bizarre and have them investigate this."

"OK."

Two days later.

Gao Linzhi then obtained the relevant information.

The Long family has concealed many things.

It turns out that the deceased was from a branch of the Long family, and had suffered greatly from the oppression of the main branch.

It's just a typical feud between powerful families.

The other party's game qualification had always been coveted by the main branch, which sent many people to force the other party to give up the game, cancel the Game Character, and hand over the Game Poster to the main branch of the family.

It's cliché, but it happens every day.

This also happens in ordinary families; favored children often enjoy more resources, while unfavored children are often forced to become like Voldemort.

The fact that the deceased lived in a factory dormitory building was clearly a sign of poor treatment.

The other party became a player precisely because they were pursuing power, wanting to become stronger quickly, and ultimately achieve a triumphant state like Gao Linzhi. That's why they chose to approach the supernatural, and even absorbed it into their body.

He probably thought that after bringing the anomaly into reality, the anomaly would disappear, but it would leave behind rules, giving him the power to "absorb iron"!

This can be seen from the other party's last words:

"Don't stay inside my body! This is the real world; you should disappear!"

The other party thought they had arrived in reality, and since there was no space for the Presence of Anomalies in reality, the supernatural should have disappeared. However, the supernatural did not disappear; on the contrary, it was they who disappeared.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

Upon seeing this information, Gao Linzhi suddenly had a new idea.

"Actually, judging from this person's obsession, he shouldn't be completely dead," he said to Hai Zida.

Do you have any proof?

"It's my intuition, or rather, my gaming skills that tell me."

Gao Linzhi has a lot of random game skills, and he's basically got most of them to advanced level. He even has Advanced Inspiration, so he told him that the person possessed by the strange entity had turned into a cube of iron, but was actually not dead.

At this point, Hai Zida continued:

"In that case, I've discovered they have a strange method of communication."

"It's about communicating with these weirdos, controlling them through their remaining consciousness."

"If we can communicate with the remaining consciousness, we can shape it into a certain personality through psychological means."

"Use this personality to suppress that weirdness."

"All we need to do is find someone who knows psychic abilities, communicate with them, and use the plan I designed. That should work."

Then Hai Zida came up with a plan.

After flipping through it, Gao Linzhi nodded.

He does know psychic abilities, but his greatest skill in psychic abilities and divination lies in Dragon Fruit.

So he called the Dragon Fruit over.

The other party seemed quite interested when they heard about the task.

"To mold a remnant of consciousness into a fixed personality, how interesting."

"This is something only an elderly person could do."

Gao Linzhi smiled and, just to be on the safe side, gave her a Revival Stone in advance.

Although the other party has it themselves, this is his attitude.

Gao Linzhi never makes empty promises, makes others take risks, or provides them with food.

That kind of way of living is not sustainable.

He's not the kind of boss who does those fancy tricks.

Afterwards, Gao Linzhi brought the Dragon Fruit back to the vicinity of the steel factory.

The security here was now even tighter.

The number of drones has increased more than tenfold.

Moreover, the warning area is now larger.

Clearly, the range of that strange radiation was now much larger.

Afterwards, Gao Linzhi took the Dragon Fruit, found a place, and began to perform divination and spiritual communication.

This is an abandoned house, empty except for dust and rats.

After the two entered, they began making arrangements.

The Dragon Fruit soon bore fruit.

"The deceased's name was Long Xi, 32 years old, unmarried, and his parents were still alive."

He wasn't completely dead.

"A fragment of the soul still exists in the world, near that piece of iron."

After communicating with the spirits, she finally discovered the clues.

"Can the plan be implemented?"

"Yes, but it requires the other party's cooperation."

"We must find out what the other person is obsessed with."

Subsequently, the Dragon Fruit summoned a remnant soul.

"Long Xi, Long Xi..."

"Where are you?" the Dragon Fruit asked.

"I'm here, I'm doing my homework... After I finish, I need to send my English homework to the teacher." A voice rang out.

Then, a shrunken, broken, grayish-white cloud of gas appeared before them.

Gao Linzhi frowned.

"I need to write another self-criticism."

"I won't take this lightly. I'm an adult now, tall and strong, and I can't just hit people."

"I know I hit hard, I won't hurt anyone else."

The grayish-white cloud of gas was spouting a lot of incoherent nonsense.

This clearly indicates that the other person has lost their memory, and only has memories from their middle school days remaining.