A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 370 Intermittent Amnesia, Part Two

Upon entering the underground Hive of the Science and Technology Park and seeing Ji Boying imprisoned there through the glass window, Ning Zhe became certain of one thing—Ji Boying's memories had also been altered by Fenwu.

With the help of the incomplete version of 'Tai Sui' simulated by Tai Yi, Ning Zhe could sense a white and slender worm parasitizing Ji Boying's brain. Through this worm deep in his brain, Ning Zhe could erase a part of Ji Boying's memories to a certain extent, without Ji Boying being aware of it.

And there is also the most important point:
“He is actually Ji Bochang. The ‘Wutong’ who died by Yunmengze Lake was actually Ji Boying,” Ning Zhe said calmly.

Lan Shiwen became interested: "I'd like to hear more details."

Ning Zhe gazed at the old man inside the window and said calmly, "Ji Bochang owes the God of Wealth a loan. He borrowed money from the God of Wealth through some means. The amount of this loan is so huge that he simply cannot repay it. Fortunately, Ji Bochang never intended to repay it in the first place."

"Ji Bochang impersonated his younger brother Ji Boying and fled overseas with the huge sum of money he had borrowed from the God of Wealth, leaving his clone, the fake Ji Bochang, to take on the debt and eventually die at the hands of the God of Wealth."

When the debtor dies, the huge debt lent out by the God of Wealth becomes a bad debt that is never settled.

It was precisely because Ji Bochang's actions emptied the God of Wealth's working capital that the out-of-control God of Wealth became possible to be subdued... However, even Ji Bochang himself could not have foreseen that he would be caught and brought back by Lan Shiwen after fleeing overseas.

“Ji Bochang still thinks his identity hasn’t been exposed and is obediently serving his sentence here as the clone Ji Boying.” Ning Zhe added, “Don’t expose him. The old guy still has some hidden tricks up his sleeve, and he’ll be a real pain to deal with.”

Lan Shiwen nodded thoughtfully: "Understood, I will continue to treat him according to the standards of 'Ji Boying'."

Then, Lan Shiwen continued, "But how did Ji Bochang manage to get his clone to obediently take on his debts, and even die for him?"

It's important to know that the will to survive is a person's most primal desire. The only thing that can make someone willingly and obediently choose to die is probably Fenwu.

“A mysterious person of unknown identity helped him,” Ning Zhe said. “That mysterious person copied Ji Bochang’s memories, deleted the part about the loan, and then wrote it into the clone’s blank brain. The clone thought he was Ji Bochang himself until he died.”

"What mysterious person? You can just say Fenwu directly," Lan Shiwen said, frowning.

“Of course you know that the mysterious person is Fenwu, and I know it too, but Ji Bochang doesn’t.” Ning Zhe shook his head: “In Ji Bochang’s memory, there is no such person as Fenwu.”

Lan Shiwen's pupils suddenly contracted.

"It seems we've grasped the crux of the problem," Lan Shiwen sneered.

Ning Zhe nodded and continued, "Forty years ago, three ascendants broke into the ancestral home of the Yin family in Yundu and slaughtered the entire Yin family, regardless of age or gender. The power of the aristocratic families in Yunzhou was wiped out from then on."

"The three people who wiped out the Yin family were Fenwu, Tuyu, and Ji Bochang, codenamed 'Wutong'."

Ji Bochang had known Fenwu for at least 40 years, and their relationship was already so close that the three of them could fight to the death against the ancient family of Yunzhou.

But now, after Ning Zhe stole Ji Bochang's identity through Taiyi, he discovered that Ji Bochang had no memory of Fenwu at all. "Just a quick question, Xiaolan, do you really know who Fenwu is?" Ning Zhe asked.

Lan Shiwen shrugged: "Of course."

“Alright, it seems you haven’t forgotten him.” Ning Zhe nodded slightly, his deep gaze passing through the glass window as he quietly observed Ji Bochang inside.

This window is a one-way mirror that allows light to pass through in only one direction. People inside can only see their own reflection when they look out. In other words, Taiyi can steal Ji Bochang's self-awareness through this mirror. It is complete and without any omissions, Ji Bochang's complete identity and all his memories, without any partial understanding or incomplete memories.

However, in Ji Bochang's own memory, there was no information about Fenwu. Even the 'mysterious person' who helped him copy his memories was just an unidentified mysterious person in Ji Bochang's mind.

"Just like Bai Zhi back then, Ji Bochang also had a period of intermittent amnesia in his memory."

It's like a celebrity making a fundamental mistake, causing the variety show he participated in to uniformly delete and censor all his scenes, resulting in a disastrous collapse of the show's narrative rhythm, making it disjointed and inconsistent.

In Ji Bochang's memory, all parts involving "Fenwu" were deleted.

"I think... I understand the rules of 'Tai Sui' a little bit now," Ning Zhe murmured to himself.

His eyes flashed with a sharp light, then quickly dimmed: "No, it's not enough. The information we have now is not enough to draw a conclusion. I need to find more people whose memories have been altered by Fenwu to prove whether my guess is correct or not."

But... is there that time?
“Fenwu will soon see through the fact that Zhao is not actually with Plumeria. He will soon realize that this is just a diversionary tactic... no, he may have already realized it.”

Ning Zhe said solemnly, "In the worst-case scenario, Fenwu is already on his way!"

"Let them come. At worst, I'll just die." Lan Shiwen shrugged, looking indifferent.

Now that Ning Zhe has found a clue about Fenwu, he just needs to follow this clue. He can take the results of his investigation back to the past at any time, until he finds out what color Fenwu's underwear is, and then grab her and refine her in an instant.

Lan Shiwen looked at Ning Zhe: "So, what exactly did you find out?"

Ning Zhe pondered for a moment, then wrote his conjecture on a piece of paper and handed it to Lan Shiwen: "This is just a conjecture, and its authenticity remains to be verified. I will go and verify it now. If I die in the process... please repeat the contents of this paper to me."

Lan Shiwen took the paper, glanced at it, and his expression changed slightly: "So that's how it is... I understand. Good luck."

Ning Zhe smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words. I'm sure I'll have exceptionally good luck today."

After speaking, Lan Shiwen stayed in the underground of the science park to look after Ji Bochang, who was imprisoned, while Ning Zhe transformed into a peregrine falcon and flew towards Yundu City.

(End of this chapter)