“You're talking about Dr. Chadwick, aren't you? He's already been taken from Penacony by Screwllum.”
Ruan Mei saw Jiang Lin's confusion and took the initiative to explain, then added, “We saw you were in the zone just now, so we didn't disturb you.”
Jiang Lin nodded, then asked, “Where is he now?”
Star came to their side at this moment and said, “They're on the Astral Express. Ms. Herta is there too.”
Jiang Lin didn't say much, so a moment later, the three of them appeared in the observation car of the Astral Express.
“You're finally back. If you didn't come back soon, Screwllum and I would have gone to find you ourselves.”
As soon as they returned to the car, they heard Ms. Herta's disgruntled complaint, but none of the three paid attention, as anyone who knew Ms. Herta understood her personality.
Meanwhile, Screwllum also spoke, “Welcome back, three. Now that everyone is here, I think we can begin.”
Screwllum paused, then continued, “Two Amber Eras later, Dr. Chadwick finally gained his freedom—he is now with us.”
Although Star had seen Chadwick's memories, she was still a little confused at this moment.
“Why did he become like this?”
Hearing Star's question, Screwllum showed no impatience and explained in a gentle tone, “Dr. Chadwick's nightmare became a reality.
When his physical body died, the Company used advanced technology provided by the Garden of Recollection to extract the mnemosyne from his brain and seal it in a memory bubble.
They must have been prepared long in advance, so the entire process of mnemosyne migration was extremely fast—so fast that even Chadwick's self-consciousness at his dying moment was preserved...”
Ms. Herta thought for a moment, then added, “If it's just like this, it might not be enough.
The mnemosyne preserved in that way is, in the end, just stagnant water.
If it's not stirred for a long time, the things in the water will eventually die out.”
“So, the Company came up with a solution—sending Chadwick to Penacony to maintain the vitality of the mnemosyne through dreams.”
Screwllum skillfully completed Ms. Herta's next sentence.
“Speculation: The Technology Research Department must have managed to reach some agreement with the Family.”
“I'm not surprised at all.”
Jiang Lin calmly expressed his exasperation with the Company.
“At least, he can rest now.”
Star put away her usual unreliability, speaking very seriously at this moment.
Screwllum nodded in agreement, “I think he really should rest.”
“It's a miracle. With that tiny trace of self-consciousness remaining in the mnemosyne, he was actually able to contend with the Company until now...”
Jiang Lin's tone was a little emotional, and also a little curious, wondering if the soul of a genius would be different from that of an ordinary person... Hearing Jiang Lin's words, Ms. Herta looked strange and asked, “You're not going to do some experiment with Chadwick's memory bubble, are you?”
Jiang Lin nodded, but then shook his head.
“I will respect Dr. Chadwick's wishes, and besides, this isn't some strange experiment.”
Ms. Herta stopped speaking, and at this moment, Ruan Mei's gentle voice suddenly appeared.
“The equipment on the Astral Express is relatively crude, and all of it was made by us on site. I think it would be better if we went to see Dr. Chadwick first.”
Screwllum nodded, pointing to a complex device in the corner, his tone as calm as water.
“Those devices can temporarily maintain the vitality of the memory bubble. As soon as it stops working, Dr. Chadwick will quietly fall asleep.”
The group gathered closer, and Star also uncharacteristically fell silent, just following quietly.
Ms. Herta looked at the life support device she had also participated in manufacturing, and after a moment, turned to Jiang Lin and said, “Aren't you going to do something else? Start now. Once you're done, we'll see Chadwick off on his final journey.”
But Ms. Herta remembered something else at this moment and continued, “However, you can't go too far. He's tired enough.”
Jiang Lin was a little helpless, looking at Big Herta and asking, “In your eyes, am I that kind of person?”
“Who knows? None of the geniuses are normal people.”
Ms. Herta said indifferently, and Star thought for a moment, then imitated Dan Heng's tone, “Hard to say.”
But as soon as she finished speaking, she immediately squatted on the ground, holding her head and wailing... Jiang Lin silently withdrew his hand and focused his attention on the memory bubble inside the device before him.
But just then, a sentence from Star interrupted Jiang Lin... “I'm going to report this to Himeko, and I'm going to report it to the Conductor's office...”
“Oh, shut up.”
Before Jiang Lin could speak, Ms. Herta somehow produced a roll of tape and directly sealed Star's mouth.
“Mmm mmm mmm~”
Star wanted to tear it off, but for some reason, she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried, only able to emit protesting mmm mmm mmm sounds.
“If you make another sound, I'll tie up your whole body.”
Star immediately fell silent, quietly retreating to a corner and drawing circles... The Stellaron was wronged, but the Stellaron didn't speak, because it couldn't speak, and it couldn't win the fight.
The car finally fell silent. Just as Jiang Lin was about to say something to Chadwick, Chadwick spoke first.
“Mr. Jiang Lin...”
Jiang Lin paused, then said seriously, “Speak.”
“I... want to make a... deal... with you...”
“I'm listening, please continue.”
“In exchange for all my... wisdom... I ask for one promise from you...”
Jiang Lin's brows furrowed tightly, but he still said, “Please state the content of your promise first.”
“I... hope... that during your lifetime... you can ensure that the Imaginary Collapse Pulse... never appears in the universe again...”
As Chadwick spoke these words, the three people beside him turned their gaze to Jiang Lin, seemingly anticipating his response.
But Jiang Lin merely frowned in thought, expressing no intention.
“Alas...”
Chadwick's remaining consciousness thought Jiang Lin wasn't going to agree and prepared to activate his alternative plan... His alternative plan was to tell Ms. Herta, so that this technology wouldn't be exclusively enjoyed by the Company in the future.
But just then, Jiang Lin spoke.
“I promise you, Doctor. If you are willing to go to that extent, I can promise that in my lifetime, I will never allow this weapon to come into existence again.”