Rules of the Strange: Starting with the Weird Peppa Pig

Wuyin silently repeated those four words again, and a terrifying word surfaced in his mind. He suddenly burst into laughter, stood up, and shouted.

"I see!"

The group of people who were deep in thought were startled by the shout.

Li Fan patted his chest.

"Brother, don't suddenly shout like that, you'll scare people to death."

Oh wait, even ghosts would be scared to death by you.

Wu Yin ignored Li Fan's complaints and a fanatical smile appeared on her lips.

"I know what the dean meant by those four words before he died. He didn't say 'just the seed escaped,' but rather... 'brain in a vat.'"

"Brain in a vat?"

Everyone gasped. They knew what those four words meant, but they simply couldn't believe it.

The term "brain in a vat" refers to placing a live, beating brain into a glass vat filled with a special nutrient solution that allows the brain to survive indefinitely.

Then, a supercomputer is connected to the brain to simulate all the sensory experiences that would occur.

What you see of the world is actually the visual signals transmitted to your brain.

You may think you've spent your life surrounded by family and friends, but in reality, your entire life is a computer-generated, precisely transmitted, and accurate representation of your true feelings to your brain.

The most despairing thing is that you can never prove whether you are actually that brain soaking in nutrient solution.

Perhaps your entire life is an inescapable illusion woven by a machine for a brain.

Wuyin's face turned pale, and he looked at everyone with a bitter smile.

"The answer has been found, but..."

But he couldn't accept this answer.

If the information about the brain in the vat that the dean mentioned is true, then this brain soaking in a nutrient vat is a silent brain.

Everything and everyone else is just a virtual illusion.

Even this world is fake!

Lucas instinctively wanted to refute, but after thinking about it, he finally lowered his head with a solemn expression.

Even if he refutes Wuyin, in Wuyin's eyes it might just be pre-written computer code.

Because Yin can never stand in their shoes and perceive their own consciousness.

Moreover, the homonym the dean just mentioned, combined with all the previous clues, all point to the same answer: the truth that Wuyin just revealed.

What if this conjecture really is the secret hidden in the orphanage?

No, this is no longer just a secret of the orphanage, but a secret of the whole world.

Wu Yin looked at the fact that there were less than 10 minutes left until midnight, and leaned weakly against the wall without saying a word.

Whether the guess is right or wrong, once it's spoken, there's no going back.

Moreover, there is still some time, and things may still turn around.

Seeing everyone looking down in silence with grim expressions, Li Fan spoke up, somewhat exasperated.

"My older brother could never be the brain in the jar!"

Because I believe I can't be a fictional person. I have emotions and consciousness; how could I just be a string of code?

Wuyin's expression softened slightly upon hearing Li Fan's words.

Although Li Fan's words could still be a computer-generated response, the emotional tone of his words did give Wu Yin a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps the words the dean uttered weren't what I thought, but truly referred to a special seed?

But when all the clues point to the same answer, can that answer really be wrong?

Seeing that everyone was still silent, Li Fan finally couldn't help but speak in a low voice.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking. I only know that my little sister is about to leave us. I’m heartbroken. I really can’t hold back my tears.”

He had been able to hold back his emotions, but the moment he spoke, he couldn't hold them back any longer. The tears he had been holding back earlier now flowed down his face like a vengeful stream.

He pulled Wuxin over and hugged her tightly.

"Waaaaah, if I had known this old man was going to die, I shouldn't have agreed to Liu Yan's threats back then...!"

Little sister, I don't want you to die, I'd rather it be me who dies! Aaaaaaahhhhhhh…

He cried, tears and snot streaming down his face, wiping them haphazardly before tightly hugging Wuxin again.

Wu Xin only felt a little dampness on her back. Although she was a little disgusted, she was about to die and didn't want to care about such things anymore.

She gently hugged Li Fan back, and spoke in a seemingly casual tone.

"Brother Li Fan, your crying sounds awful."

She paused, then her tone softened.

"Don't be sad for me. If there is a next life, I still want you to be my brother."

But after hearing this, Li Fan cried even harder.

Originally preoccupied, Wuyin was instantly pulled back to reality by the sound of crying that sounded like a duck's quack, and he spoke helplessly.

"Alright, alright, stop crying. Who told you your little sister was going to die?"

Chapter 255 No Core, No Death

Upon hearing this, Li Fan suddenly raised his head and stared blankly at Wu Yin.

His face was still covered in snot and tears.

"Huh? Big, big brother, what did you just say?"

“I told you my little sister won’t die, so please don’t curse her to die.”

Silently and helplessly shrug.

Hearing this, not only Li Fan, but even Wu Xin was stunned.

"But you only recognized Liu Yan as your younger sister..."

She hesitated before speaking, not really wanting to recall what happened back then.

"Ah~"

Wuyin sighed deeply, shook her head, and then asked with some confusion.

"So you all thought Wuxin was going to die, and you were sad and upset for most of the day, right?"

Why didn't you ask me sooner?

When Li Fan heard Wu Yin's words, he was completely stunned. It turned out that all the emotions he had suppressed for so long had been wasted!

He looked at his older brother speechlessly.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but you knew how to save your little sister, why didn't you tell me sooner? Honestly, you made me worry for so long."

Wuyin raised an eyebrow.

"Who said my little sister needs saving? She won't die at all, because no matter who I adopt as my sister, the one who will die will always be Liu Yan!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Wuyin with confusion.

Wuyin quickly explained.

"I thought you all knew, so you all cooperated with Liu Yan in the play before. I even wanted to praise you for your excellent acting."

“I recognize Wuxin as my younger sister not just because I like her, but because she has the same energy as me.”

Li Fan wiped the tears and snot from his face with his sleeve, deliberately wiping them on Wu Yin's clothes, and spoke angrily.

"Who's acting!"

I was really angry at the time, and you didn't even tell me after Liu Yan left, which made me sad for so long.

I kept it to myself because I was worried that if I told you, you would be even more upset than I was. It seems I was just being presumptuous.

Lucas thought for a moment, then asked with some doubt.

"What do you mean? Does having the same energy mean she won't die?"

Wuyin glanced at the time; there were still 5 minutes left, so she decided to finish her explanation in one go.

"Yes, this energy is faint, sometimes very faint, sometimes very strong."

We can also sense danger to each other; if one of us is in mortal danger, the other will have a strong feeling of it.

If Wuxin were truly about to die, I would definitely sense it by now.

He thought for a moment, then continued speaking.

"Furthermore, haven't you noticed that all the other strange occurrences in this ghost story have one thing in common?"

That is, all of them exist to create difficulties for us. They have no subjective ideas of their own and do not know what they should do. Instead, they are like puppets on strings, constantly being controlled.

These puppets will naturally be destroyed once they lose their usefulness.

Perhaps their superiors gave them the wrong information, or perhaps they heard the wrong answer from the wrong place, thinking that as long as I recognize someone as my sister, that person will not die.

But actually, there's only one who can be my sister, and that's Wuxin.

Everyone's eyes widened upon hearing this analysis.

Perhaps because both Lin Yi and Liu Yan, two strange beings, said so, they subconsciously regarded this as a rule.

However, there is actually no evidence to prove this, so it may not be true.

Li Fan was overjoyed to learn that his little sister wouldn't die, but soon, an even crueler reality confronted them.

There are less than 3 minutes left until midnight. Is the answer to what Brother just speculated about—that something about a vat or a brain—correct?

Lucas thought for a moment and decided to speak out about the anomaly he had just sensed.

Whether it's right or wrong, it's better to tell Wuyin.

He's so sharp-minded, what if he could actually find a clue in this seemingly insignificant detail?