A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 372 Trouble
Many people have probably had this experience: when they want to do something, they get held up by something else and can't do it right away.

When you finally finish what you're doing and try to pick up the thing you just put aside, you realize with dismay that you've forgotten what you were originally planning to do. Ning Zhe has had similar experiences.

When his grandfather was still alive, Ning Zhe wanted to tell him something, but his grandfather kept talking to himself without giving him a chance to interrupt. Ning Zhe had no choice but to patiently listen to his grandfather finish his rambling. When it was finally his turn to speak, he had forgotten what he wanted to say.

Tian Zaixu's current situation is somewhat similar to Ning Zhe's back then. He clearly watched the entire television interview with 'Bai Fugui, the boss of Xinjiayuan Group' on Qinzhou local TV station, and was deeply impressed by this important figure who was related to the economy of his hometown and his future job opportunities.

He even remembered that this boss had appeared on the list of injured people in the electrocution incident at Bishuiwan Manor, but he just couldn't recall who this famous boss was.

What's your name? What do you look like? Are you male or female? Are you fat or thin? How old are you?

Tian Zaixu was completely lost; he couldn't remember anything.

"Bai Zhi forgot her father, Ji Bochang forgot Fenwu who had helped him wipe out the Yin family, and Tian Zaixu forgot Bai Fugui, the CEO of the New Home Group..."

Ning Zhe picked up his office mug, took a sip of tea, and scrutinized the bewildered Tian Zaixu before him. He had already reached a conclusion: "So far, all the people whose memories were altered by Fenwu that I have investigated have one thing in common—they have all forgotten Fenwu."

Whether it's 'boss' or 'father', these are all identities of Fenwu. Those whose memories were altered by Fenwu have all forgotten him without prior agreement.

“…Interesting.” Ning Zhe’s lips curled into a dangerous arc, a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown.

Tian Zaixu scratched his head, annoyed, and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang, I really can't remember who that boss is. It's really strange..."

As he spoke, he pulled his phone from the bag attached to his belt, opened the browser, and searched for keywords such as 'New Home Group'. A few seconds later, Tian Zaixu's eyes lit up: "I remember now, it's Bai Fugui! That boss is called Bai Fugui! Hey, look at my memory, Bai Fugui, it sounds like 'Bai Fugui' (meaning 'white wealth and honor')! I actually forgot such an auspicious name..."

Ning Zhe smiled and nodded, then subtly tapped the table with his index finger.

As Tian Zaixu recalled the name 'Bai Fugui,' Ning Zhe lost his ability to interfere with his memories.

“Through the incomplete version of ‘Tai Chong’ simulated by Tai Yi, I was originally able to interfere with this person’s memories to a certain extent, but now, I… Tai Chong can no longer sense the worm parasitizing his brain.”

Tian Zaixu remembered Bai Fugui, and Tai Chong was no longer able to modify his memories. What is the cause-and-effect relationship between them?

"President Zhang, President Zhang?" Tian Zaixu called out softly, waking Ning Zhe from his reverie.

"It's nothing, I just thought about some things and figured out some issues that have been bothering me for a long time." Ning Zhe chuckled, stood up from his office chair, opened a drawer, took out a stack of red bills, and handed them to Tian Zaixu: "Take this, it's a thank-you gift for you."

"This! How can I accept this, Mr. Zhang..." Tian Zaixu hurriedly tried to return the money, but in the blink of an eye, Mr. Zhang had disappeared. Only the office door was open, and on the empty desk was a half-finished cup of hot tea.

"Where is he?" Tian Zaixu walked out of the office with the banknotes in his hand, looking around for a while.

Meanwhile, in Qinzhou, Qinfen City.

After entering the city, Xia Yubing dismissed the driver and drove alone to the Qinling Villa area on the north bank of the Taojiang River, where her aunt Xia Chan and uncle Zhang Yangxu lived.

One of the auspicious events in today's almanac is "opening a business," which means the opening of a new store. Xia Yubing plans to go back and ask her family for a small shop to be registered under her name. It would be best to start the opening ceremony before lunch today, otherwise things might change.

"Hmm?" Xia Yubing slowed down the car, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the open notebook leaning against the side. New writing appeared on its pages:
No need to reply, I'm just reminding you of something.

【You must remember 'Bai Fugui', you must never forget him】 "Bai Fugui?" Xia Yubing lightly stepped on the brake, stopping the car at the traffic light, and picked up her notebook: "Why do you say I must remember him? You even specifically reminded me... It was the same before, asking me out of the blue if I remembered Bai Fugui."

Is it related to Fenwu? I remember Ning Zhe saying in Vivian Port that Fenwu has the ability to modify other people's memories.

"It seems Ning Zhe has already found some key information about Fenwu." Xia Yubing put down her notebook and gripped the steering wheel again. "I need to hurry too."

At this moment, she was not the only one who received Ning Zhe's reminder. Lan Shiwen, who was guarding Ji Bochang in the Yundu West Suburb Science and Technology Park, also received it, but he received the call directly.

"Time is of the essence, so I made the call directly," Ning Zhe's voice came from the phone's speaker.

Lan Shiwen silently put on his headphones: "Go ahead."

“My previous guess was correct.” Ning Zhe got straight to the point: “The strange creature that Fenwu controls, capable of altering other people’s memories, is called ‘Tai Chong.’ I have already found out its core rules.”

Lan Shiwen's pupils contracted, his expression immediately turned serious, and he turned up the volume of his headphones by two notches.

Ning Zhe continued:

“祟” means ghost, and there has been a saying since ancient times that ghosts and gods “cause trouble”.

"The rules of the Great Evil can alter other people's memories, and the medium that triggers this rule is also memory."

There are two conditions for triggering the Tai Sui rule.

1. I've seen it.

"When a person sees Taisui, or sees an ascendant who controls Taisui, a corresponding image will be left in their mind. From the moment anyone sees it, Taisui already exists in their memory, which is equivalent to being marked."

2. Forget about it.

"Anyone who has seen Taisui will already have an image of Taisui in their mind. But at this time, it will not have any effect on people. It is just an image that exists in people's memory. It has no life and does not move. Just like the various trivial matters that most people encounter in their lives, it is boring and tasteless. It will only slowly sink to the bottom in the vast sea of ​​memories and be gradually forgotten."

"The human brain has a mechanism called 'memory storage,' which means that only fresh, memorable, and frequently used memories are firmly remembered by the most sensitive neural synapses, so that they can be recalled in a minute when needed."

“Memories that are distant, unimportant, and rarely used will be sealed away in forgotten corners, piled up with the massive amounts of junk information that people receive every day. The longer they are not accessed, the fewer memory resources the brain allocates to these useless pieces of information. Over time, these vague memories will require keyword-based reminders to recall.”

"In more extreme cases, they simply can't remember."

"Just like an apple left uneaten in the refrigerator for months, which unknowingly becomes covered in worms, Tai Chong will actively hide itself in people's memories. As time goes by, the impression fades, and the vast sea of ​​memories drowns out its existence. Tai Chong is able to slowly escape the supervision of the brain's consciousness and become an invisible maggot that parasitizes the memory."

"The worm will devour the memories stored in the host's brain without the host's knowledge, leaving the brain riddled with holes. Every inch of memory it eats becomes part of the worm, until it completely empties the host's brain, leaving a pale, empty shell without self-awareness."

"Once the host becomes aware of this, the parasite can do nothing."

“Ghosts and spirits can only cause trouble when people are not paying attention; this is the rule of ‘Tai Sui’ (a type of supernatural power).

(End of this chapter)