Mei Ziqing's eyes were like swords, fixed on Mei Yiqiu's face, almost as if she wanted to carve words into it. Her spirit followed, like invisible tentacles, probing into the depths of the professor's extraordinary brain.
Mei Yiqiu lay motionless on the bed, his face expressionless, his eyes calm and still, as if he didn't know the two people Mei Ziqing had mentioned at all. His brain seemed to have stopped thinking, his consciousness like a star that had reached the end of its lifespan, quietly and slowly evolving into a black dwarf in the boundless universe.
Mei Ziqing found nothing in the professor's spiritual world, only darkness and silence, just like the real universe, where memories, like stars, were hidden in the boundless void, difficult to capture.
She frowned in confusion, trying to find some clue. Who else could it be besides those two women?
"Impossible," Mei Yiqiu murmured, emphasizing, though it was unclear whether she was referring to Mei Ziqing's opinion or warning her that her current actions were futile.
Mei Ziqing sighed and finally gave up trying.
"You're really stubborn," she said softly. "When you're healthy, I can't easily hypnotize you, but now, if I force you into a hypnotic state, your weakened brain could easily fall into a permanent slumber. I really can't bear to do that!"
Mei Yiqiu raised an eyelid and said, "You've overlooked human nature. Human nature is no longer its original spirit; it's been polluted too much. In the dream world, all of our true nature will be exposed. Once you unlock the world of the Dream Guide, everything will become uncontrollable. You can't control such a vast spiritual world. If you lose control even a little bit, it'll be like a Mars in a gas stove—you can't predict what the consequences will be."
The professor spoke slowly but without pausing. "You said no one can prove we're not living in a dream, and that's true. But one thing we all know is that this world is uncontrollable. Perhaps it was controllable once, but ultimately it became uncontrollable."
Mei Ziqing listened quietly until the professor finished speaking, then nodded and said, "You always make a lot of sense, and your words are always thought-provoking. I'm reminded of that class I first encountered at Waseda University. You were truly radiant back then! Although I came to Wuzhong mainly for the Holy Land, I can't deny that I was indeed captivated by your brilliance. But Professor, you're not always right. Things are very different now than in the past. I have more than one card to play. It's indeed difficult to limit the power of spiritual superposition based solely on the technical rules set within the Space Box. No matter how strong an individual's Mental Power is, it cannot control it. But we still have Kronos. Have you forgotten about it?"
"That's just an AI."
"No! It's not just AI, it's a god, the god of that world, a true god!"
Mei Yiqiu sighed softly, the phlegm in her throat being stirred by her breath, like pulling a broken bellows.
"But he is not the only god," he said. "There are three gods in the Genesis account, and unless all three appear, he alone cannot accomplish much."
"The other two?..." Mei Ziqing asked, puzzled. "You mean Situ and Qingmu? But those are just symbols you designed in. They're not on the player list in the Dream Guide game. And Genesis is a story you made up, isn't it?"
As she said this, she suddenly slapped her forehead. "Ah! I should have thought of that earlier. Given your style, Professor, you wouldn't make up a story out of thin air, nor would you simply portray Qingmu and Situ as gods because they contributed to the design of the Space Box. So, there's a deeper meaning behind what you're doing?"
Mei Yiqiu said, "Just like you said, names are merely borrowed symbols; the key is the meaning behind each god. Of the three gods, Kronos represents the rules. In a world, in a universe, the most important thing is the rules. Mastering the rules means mastering everything. So Kronos is indeed the most important god; he holds the rules of the entire Dream Guide game. But rules are rules precisely because they cannot be changed arbitrarily; we can only adapt to them and utilize them. Just like this universe, from 1+1=2 to the constancy of the speed of light, from relativity to quantum theory, we are only discovering rules, but we can never change them. Kronos represents the rules. If you use Kronos to change the rules, then the foundation for establishing Kronos's divinity no longer exists, and he is no longer a god. This contradiction itself is also a rule; do you understand?"
"I understand." Mei Ziqing nodded. "So, we need two other gods to assist us in ensuring Kronos's divinity? Or do these other two gods have the ability to directly change the rules?"
"No, this is not a relationship between a monarch and his minister. There is no subordinate relationship between gods. Divinity is independent yet unified. What constitutes the entire world, besides rules, is something else entirely."
Are you referring to matter?
Mei Yiqiu gently shook her head. "Think about what the dream world is made of."
"Spirit?" Mei Ziqing immediately thought of something, "So one of the other two gods represents spirit, and the other represents matter?"
"That interpretation is acceptable, but not entirely accurate."
"I don't understand, please enlighten me, teacher," Mei Ziqing said respectfully, just like when she was listening to her mentor's teachings during her doctoral studies.
Mei Yiqiu said, "You've confused two worlds. Matter is what we see, but if we all live in a dream, where does matter come from?"
Mei Ziqing exclaimed in sudden realization, "Ah, so... it's memory, oh no, it's information?!"
Mei Yiqiu's dazed gaze relaxed, revealing an approving look.
Mei Ziqing, pleased with the affirmation, said, "I understand what the three gods represent now. Spirit is the foundation of the dream universe; it is omnipresent yet elusive. The first god is the source of spirit, representing the beginning of the universe. Information is the concrete manifestation of the dream universe, so the second god represents existence. Spirit and information—origin and existence—plus rules, constitute the complete dream universe."
Mei Yiqiu said, "Now you know your idea is impossible, right?"
Mei Ziqing replied, "Now that we know the true meaning of the three gods, isn't it easier to achieve? Teacher, aren't you telling me these things because you're supporting me from the bottom of your heart?"
Mei Yiqiu sighed, "Where is the source of the spirit? Information is vast and endless, but where is it?"
Mei Ziqing lowered her head in thought, remained silent for a long time, and then said with a hint of excitement, "Information is vast and endless. It's true that no one can grasp a large amount of information, no matter how strong their Mental Power is. But what about the entire Internet? The amount of information it carries is vast enough!"
She was somewhat stubborn and smug. "I've said it before, I have more than one card in my hand. As for the source of our spirit... it truly is a mystery! Where does our spirit come from?"
She looked up at the ceiling, like a child gazing at the stars on a summer night, wondering, "Could the origin of those Parasites be the very place where the spirit originates?"
Mei Yiqiu sighed again, as if working a bellows.
Mei Ziqing was still muttering to herself, " Saladin... Kronos... plus that thing behind the Parasites... that's it, right?...?"
Looking at the dazed Mei Yiqiu Mei Ziqing, Mei Yiqiu asked a nonsensical question, "I felt the bed shaking last night when I was sleeping. Was it an earthquake?"
"Huh?" Mei Ziqing snapped out of her daze. "Earthquake? Oh, it was an earthquake! Santa Fe City, Argentina, across the Pacific Ocean, in the Southern Hemisphere, and you could feel it?!"
Mei Yiqiu's expression relaxed, as if she had let go of something. She turned her head to look at the bedside table, where a pair of thick sunglasses were placed.
"Before I die, put the Space Box on me." He looked at the sunglasses as if they were his own child, his eyes filled with tenderness.
Mei Ziqing said, "Professor, can you give me the Key to the Dreamscape now?"
Mei Yiqiu remained silent, staring blankly at the ceiling once more.
"It's okay if you don't tell me, I always have a way." Mei Ziqing put the breathing mask on the professor's face, stood up and said, "You rest well, I'll go buy you some fish!"
She reached the door, then suddenly stopped, muttering, "Fish... fish..." before turning abruptly around. "Professor, I think I know who you gave the key to! What an unexpected person!"
Mei Yiqiu suddenly coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood that turned his oxygen mask red. His chest heaved violently, his face turned bright red, his eyes bulged, and his hands trembled incessantly. The rattling sounds in his lungs and trachea were drawn out long and thin, like strands of viscous syrup.
Mei Ziqing slowly walked back to the bedside, picked up the sunglasses from the bedside table, gently put them on Mei Yiqiu's nose, and quietly looked at him, her eyes revealing a hint of reluctant farewell.
The curve on the electrocardiogram monitor next to me trembled violently for a moment, then with a long beep, it became a straight line, like a beam of light after a supernova explosion, shooting endlessly into the depths of the universe.