Are You Sober?

I really want to watch a movie...

Those movies you haven't seen before, perfect for watching while eating popcorn and drinking cola...

Why can't he?

Why not... try it now?

A voice kept ringing in Zhao Yijiu's ears from the depths of her being.

His gaze was fixed on Yu Xing's face, and he was afraid that if he didn't control himself, he would look at the already opened door of the screening room.

Then I went inside and saw a person facing the big screen.

The voice kept repeating and emphasizing, instilling in him the desire to watch the movie. Zhao Yijiu took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with a coldness for a moment. Yu Xing could answer the question, he said again, "No, it's nothing. Pretend I didn't say anything."

"But I heard you. You asked me if I'd seen the movie." Yu Xing tilted her head, a faint smile on her face. "Why pretend I didn't say anything? It's perfectly normal to casually ask at the movie theater."

No, that's not normal.

Zhao Yijiu knew that her mind was gradually becoming muddled.

Something is trying to influence him.

He had absolutely no desire to watch movies. Not at all. They were boring things, just a pastime to pass the time when he was bored. If no one invited him, he would never sit in a movie theater for two hours.

It was the virus that was twisting his will.

Zhao Yijiu was actually quite familiar with this feeling. After entering this simulation, he had already fought against four viruses that were capable of infecting him. The process of fighting against them was just like this: after the virus entered the body, it would gradually pollute the mind, modify memories, and distort cognition until it completely turned the infected person into something like the source of the virus.

He made a careless mistake—partly because the virus in the movie theater was indeed too infectious—and didn't notice the virus's invasion process, which led him to say something he would never normally say, as if he were having a seizure.

Why did he even ask Yu Xing if she had seen a movie? If Yu Xing answered no, could he then say, "Then let's watch a movie together?"

It does not exist.

Zhao Yijiu resisted the desire that seemed to come from instinct, but her gaze eventually shifted from Yu Xing's face to the screening room behind Yu Xing.

I really want to go in.

I really want to sit down.

I really want to see it...

"Let's go see a movie together."

A voice said.

Moreover, this time the voice didn't come from memory, but from reality.

Zhao Yijiu was startled, thinking that she had lost control again and blurted out what she had just thought of under the influence of the virus.

He closed his eyes in frustration. "I'm sorry, I can't control myself, the virus is infecting me, so whatever I say now, please don't..."

"Ah, I was the one inviting you just now." Yu Xing slapped Zhao Yijiu on the forehead, and black curse mist surged and dissipated, hovering over Zhao Yijiu's head like tentacles.

Although it looks a bit strange, the power of the curse is still a kind of ability of ghosts. Just like Yi Qing felt crowded, the power of the curse and those viral factors also have contact area. With it there, the viral factors around Zhao Yijiu's head were pushed outward.

Although it cannot change the state of the factors that have already been inhaled into the body, it can at least make Zhao Yijiu feel more relaxed when breathing.

Yu Xing also used this method to relieve the feeling of suffocation. Yi Qing, who was next to him, was still using his jade bone fan, as if he couldn't hear anything, wandering around and fanning himself left and right. He would also dart into the screening room to take a look.

In fact, Zhao Yijiu in her ghost form could also use her power to envelop herself and isolate herself from the virus, or rather, any desperate-level deducer with a ghostly state could do it, such as Xu Shu.

However, since Zhao Yijiu himself did not have the ability to use Ghost Wine, Yu Xing agreed that the problem with Ghost Wine remained significant during the year Zhao Yijiu was away, and it could not be allowed to reappear at will.

It's just a small thing; he can take care of it.

Zhao Yijiu was a little stunned by the slap. Yu Xing's palm hit his forehead with a crisp "smack".

His mind briefly broke free from the virus's influence, and in a moment of clarity, he realized what Yu Xing had just said.

"You said you wanted to see a movie?"

"Yes, I said that." Yu Xing matter-of-factly, pointing to the last screening room, "That's the only screening room that hasn't been explored yet. The infected must be in there. We were going to go in anyway."

"And to be honest, this virus is pretty serious. Now I really want to go to the movies," Yu Xing said with a smile. "It's infecting me too. I guess I'm in the stage of fighting off the virus now?"

They were determined to go in to find infected people, and because of the virus, they also really wanted to go in to watch movies. This shows that they felt the same way as those who were infected. "Watching movies" is a manifestation and a necessary process of virus contamination in movie theaters.

There are two ways to combat pollution. One is to experience a complete pollution process. If you don't completely lose your mind, you will slowly recover on your own after the process ends.

Another option is to tough it out. No matter what the process of viral contamination is, as long as your willpower is strong enough, you can completely ignore it and then rely on your willpower to walk out of the viral circle. The absorbed viral factors will be slowly broken down by your body and the contamination will end.

And just like the first method, the body will develop antibodies, thus preventing a second infection by the same virus.

Ordinary people have no choice; they can only passively choose the first option, and in the end, they are lucky if they don't completely lose their minds.

These were all things that Zhao Yijiu already had a lot of experience, told Yu Xing.

Zhao Yijiu experienced four infections. Only during the clinic infection, because the virus was relatively weak, did he barely get infected. He didn't pay much attention to it and simply went through the infection process, eventually getting rid of the infection without any major incidents.

The other three times, he persevered through sheer willpower.

As far as Zhao Yijiu knew, the survivor base was also using this method; they would take advantage of weaker viruses and fight off stronger ones.

The virus in the movie theater is so powerful, he never thought of following what the virus wanted him to do. If he relaxed even for a moment, he could easily be completely overwhelmed.

But now he realizes that Yu Xing, who has also begun the infection process, has chosen to comply.

"Come on, let's go to the last theater and watch a movie with the victims." Yu Xing seemed to be in good spirits.

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Yijiu's desire swelled even more, the virus clamoring, "Go see! Go see the movie!"

He suddenly grabbed Yu Xing's arm. "Are you awake right now?"

Yu Xing is usually someone whose thoughts are hard to read, so his decision now makes Zhao Yijiu a little unsure.

This guy isn't planning to fight the virus with a "what the hell" attitude, is he?

Even if this guy can hold out...

Zhao Yijiu tightened her grip on Yu Xing's hand.

If he stubbornly resists, he should be fine and can handle it. But to go along with the virus's desires and experience it is too dangerous; he might not be able to control himself.

Right now, he just wants to watch a movie. What if he suddenly remembers things from his childhood and regrets not doing something terrible back then, transferring those negative emotions onto Yu Xing?