Chapter 2943 - 1396: Plans and Hypotheses (Part 2)

"But there’s one thing to keep in mind."

Motan in sportswear frowned, then raised his hand and pointed at his head, adding: "If this assumption holds true, we should try to avoid actively switching mental states as much as possible. Even if we were lucky to escape this time, if we keep doing this... you all know what could happen."

Motan in pajamas shivered, nodded, and said with lingering fear: "Right, we should avoid switching if we can. Do this a few more times, and even if the brain can handle it, the heart certainly can’t."

"Heh... wishful thinking."

Motan in a black trench coat sneered coldly, glancing at the other two: "Let me ask you, what does ’avoid switching if possible’ mean? Don’t forget, the premise for switching is that both the current mental state and the target mental state agree. In other words, it’s like voting—out of three votes, two must be in favor to proceed. Since we joined this game for over half a year, have we ever exited the game and switched personalities when there was room to maneuver? Ever?"

Motan in sportswear and Motan in pajamas remained silent.

"Ultimately, we’ve always been trying to ’avoid switching if possible’. But the reality is, as our social circle expands to include Yu Chen, Ji Xiaoge, and those jinxes, and as we get more involved in the affairs within The Realm of Innocence, the situations and occasions necessitating a switch have only increased."

He casually brushed away a lock of hair from in front of his eyes, extended his index finger and gently wiped his forehead, saying slowly and deliberately: "So the essence of the matter won’t change."

"You’re right."

Motan in sportswear accepted reality easily, smiling bitterly: "At this point, all we can do is try to avoid such situations in the game as much as possible..."

"And it might not even work since we’ve always been doing that."

Motan in pajamas added, his expression not looking too good.

"In any case, we’ll have to take it one step at a time, and that’s assuming a relatively peaceful premise."

Motan in a black trench coat looked indifferent, saying calmly: "Then there’s... the second assumption. If we wake up and maintain this multi-threaded thinking model where we can converse with ourselves, with all three thoughts existing in one person’s mind, what would happen?"

"Go mad?"

Motan in pajamas speculated unhelpfully, earning a white-eye from Motan in a black trench coat.

"I don’t think we’d immediately go mad, but some mess is likely."

Motan in sportswear analyzed rationally, speaking in a deep voice: "For instance, if we’re thirsty and too lazy to make coffee, and open the fridge, will Motan’s hand reach for mineral water, Dr. Pepper, or ice-cold cola? Personally, I would definitely go for mineral water."

"No doubt, ice-cold cola."

Motan in pajamas answered without hesitation.

"Anyone stopping me from drinking Dr. Pepper must die."

Motan in a black trench coat succinctly stated his position.

"That’s the issue. If things were as before, it’d be fine. But if the second assumption becomes reality, and we turn from ’I’ into ’we’, with each having a third of Motan’s time but then all appearing simultaneously, it’s easy to end up in a bad situation."

Motan in sportswear shrugged, helplessly saying: "The problem is clear, the so-called ’one-third’ of us cannot add up to become a whole."

Motan in pajamas cringed with a bluish face: "Isn’t that still madness though?"

"No, not completely."

Motan in sportswear shook his head, softly saying: "Don’t forget, we’re discussing the issue peacefully now."

Motan in a black trench coat snorted coldly at this time, saying icily: "Don’t be naive, that’s only because Dr. Pepper isn’t involved."

"Shut up!"

Motan in sportswear glared viciously at the other, speaking in a determined tone: "So perhaps now we should discuss what to do if that situation arises."

"Who knows..."

Motan in pajamas let out a long sigh to the sky, feeling emotionally and expressionally complex, to the point of giving up.

Motan in a black trench coat was bouncing around while vigorously gesturing.

"What are you doing..."

Motan in sportswear looked at him with twitching eyelids, gritting his teeth: "Just say it if you have something to say!"

"Didn’t you just tell me to shut up~"

Motan in a black trench coat chuckled, then said lightly: "I think no matter how we discuss, the outcome probably won’t change, so let’s just say it frankly, math is the only way to solve this problem. First, we subtract 12 hours of game time, leaving the remaining 12 hours—from 7 AM to 7 PM—divided equally into three parts, with each mental state having 4 hours of body control. During these specific times, barring extraordinary situations, control rights shall not be interfered with. In terms of how to allocate specifically, I’ll leave that to you."

He showed a disdainful look, raising his hand to point at Motan in sportswear.

The latter hesitated slightly, somewhat surprised: "You’re deciding to leave that to me?"

"Yeah, because if I handle the arrangement, neither of you would trust it."

Motan in a black trench coat said lazily, shrugging: "As for someone like the lazy fish, who turns brainless whenever it involves Yu Chen, as the saying goes, people in love are big fools—letting him handle it isn’t wise. As for you... you should do a passable fairness job, right?"

"Should I feel honored then?"

Motan in sportswear twitched slightly, his expression turning a bit peculiar.

"You’re welcome."

Motan in a black trench coat waved grandly, continuing: "Regarding the remaining 12 hours—the full 24 hours of game time—is an unknown. If the body-controlling state logs into their corresponding character, it splits into three eight-hour... no, factoring in fragments, three six-hour segments would be best. Specifically, how we divvy up isn’t entirely up to us. We’ll have to play it by ear and go online/offline as needed. For example, some night time certainly needs to be reserved for Tan Mo, as he’ll be coaxing Diana to sleep~"

Motan in sportswear furrowed his brows: "Speaking of Diana..."

"Stop, that’s not something we should be discussing right now."

Motan in a black trench coat immediately interrupted, expression becoming serious: "We’re only discussing the three of us."

"Alright, we’ll do it your way."

Motan in sportswear didn’t press further, merely nodding with a bit of exasperation: "That leaves us with about ten minutes or so..."

"Let’s analyze our next moves."

Motan in pajamas sighed after getting that over with, rubbing his hair while saying: "After waking up, when it comes to the game, there are only three scenarios. One, it’s the same as before. Two, we can independently control the characters. Three, God knows what mess might occur. We’ll exclude and not discuss the third scenario. Let’s talk about the first two."

"Okay."

Motan in sportswear nodded slightly, speaking in a deep voice: "Based on the latest round of intel, our target likely already realizes that we don’t intend to let him off the hook easily."

"But the current situation has that Yin-Yang person in the open and us in the dark, so it’s best if we continue as originally planned and keep the current pace."

Motan in a black trench coat withdrew his smile, speaking calmly: "Personally, I believe the odds of catching that man aren’t negligible, but they’re certainly not a hundred percent either. His ability is too convenient for disguising, lurking, and fleeing."

"There’s nothing more to be done then. After all, the opponent is a player, and catching him isn’t the main focus of the plan. You all must have noticed by now..."

Motan in sportswear took a deep breath, squinting slightly: "After leaving our sight, he has only two clear destinations."

"That cafe to test if NPCs are watching him, Treia’s Light Snacks, and—"

"Glaze Pavilion in the Central District."

"No doubt about it..."

"That place..."

"Has a problem!"

Chapter 1396: The End