Lord of Prayer - Chapter 138 - 111: Let’s Begin
Chapter 138: Chapter 111: Let’s Begin
I have to save my daughter!
Save my daughter, save my daughter…
Save my daughter… save my daughter… save my daughter…
·
Under the assault of chaotic and complex obsessions, Zhou Chen felt himself turning into “Wu Cheng.” His personality was being overwritten!
’I wish to be immune to the effects of this artifact!’
He desperately shouted the wish in his mind. The next second, the massive flow of memories stopped abruptly, and the overwritten personality returned to normal.
Zhou Chen leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. He looked at Ya Yi, who already had his gun aimed at him, and quickly explained, “I’m fine.”
“State your information,” Ya Yi said coldly.
“I am Zhou Chen, twenty-one years old. I’m a professional writer, an amateur archaeologist, a mystic, a folklore investigator, an Operator of the Star Association, and the new Secretary for the Special Operations Team leader. My wife died in a car crash three years ago, and since then I’ve been raising our daughter alone…
My daughter’s name is Erin, and she’s very smart…”
At this, Ya Yi grew even more vigilant, even placing his finger on the trigger. Zhou Chen was stunned. “Is that not enough? Should I recite the Star Association’s oath?”
“…” Ya Yi fell silent for a moment, then leaned forward to look at the projector, which was no longer playing, and understood what had happened.
—Forbidden Object B-006: Obsession Projector.
As long as a person’s keepsake is placed inside the projector, it will play a video of their obsession from when they were alive. Anyone who sees the video will experience a kind of entanglement reaction. If they have no way to stop it, their personality will be overwritten by the deceased’s obsession, turning them into the dead person, driven to complete their lingering goal.
According to the Star Association’s records, there have been numerous cases of even Tier Three Ascenders having their personalities overwritten by the Obsession Projector, turning them into completely different people.
The Obsession Projector doesn’t just target one person, but everyone who sees it within a certain period. However, Ya Yi was carrying an Advanced Alchemy Tool that grants immunity to mental contamination, so he wasn’t affected.
Zhou Chen also seemed to have some kind of artifact that allowed him to escape the Obsession Projector’s main effect, but he was now suffering from the aftereffects of the obsession’s contamination.
He had mistaken himself for Wu Cheng, and Erin had become the “daughter” he needed to save.
A classic case of cognitive illusion.
“The Battle Armor’s diagnostics show Zhou Chen’s mental state is completely normal, aside from a certain degree of cognitive error. Lower your weapon,” Jiang Che’s voice came through. She asked, “Zhou Chen, you’re twenty-one. How could you possibly have a seventeen-year-old daughter?”
“But Erin is only six years old,” Zhou Chen replied as if it were obvious. “People get married pretty young where I’m from.”
“…And do you remember who your wife is?”
“She’s… she’s…” Zhou Chen struggled to remember, but he couldn’t recall anything. “I forgot. I was in a car crash a year ago and got amnesia.”
“It’s normal that you can’t remember, because you were never married, you don’t have a daughter, and you were never in a car crash. You’ve been affected by the Obsession Projector. These are all false cognitive memories, and you’re creating your own logic to make them self-consistent,” Jiang Che explained.
“Is that… right?” Zhou Chen stood frozen, bewildered. “But… Erin is my daughter. I remember every day of her life, from the day she was born. I remember how much she loved it when I took her to the amusement park, how much she loves bubble tea and fried chicken…”
The memories felt so real, yet Jiang Che was telling him they were fake. Zhou Chen couldn’t help but fall into intense self-doubt.
“A cognitive error of this degree isn’t a major problem. Simple hypnosis can fix it. But we don’t have the means to treat you right now, so let’s continue the mission.” Seeing that mere words couldn’t snap Zhou Chen out of it, Jiang Che didn’t waste any more time on the matter.
Ya Yi reported the situation here to the vice-captain and the others. The members of Fallen Paradise had likely already reached the stadium. They had set this ambush to thin the team’s numbers and delay them. Not everyone possessed an artifact that could resist mental contamination; if even three or four people had their personalities overwritten by the obsession, Fallen Paradise’s goal would be achieved.
After shutting down the Obsession Projector and destroying the miniature toy figurines, Zhou Chen and Ya Yi rushed toward the stadium.
Along the way, Zhou Chen was torn. ’Erin is my daughter. I have to save her… No, Jiang Che said this is a false cognition, not a real emotion…
But she’s so cute, so full of life… she loves to wrap her arms around my neck and rub against my stubble, she loves to sit on my back and pull my hair… How could she be fake?…
No, no, no, Jiang Che wouldn’t lie to me. Zhou Chen, you have to think clearly. This involves Extraordinary Power. You have to be vigilant. What’s real, what’s fake… what’s fake, what’s real…’
Finally, he let out a weary sigh. ’Jiang Che, I really can’t tell the difference…’
He thought about using a wish to end it all countless times, but a voice in his heart kept reminding him: ’This is all real. You have to save Erin, save your daughter. You must save your daughter. Don’t let those Cultists sacrifice her…’
“Jiang Che, is Erin a real person?” Zhou Chen suddenly asked.
“Yes. Her real name is Erin Elizabeth. She’s a young noblewoman from Zone 052, seventeen years old…” Jiang Che recited a series of facts about Erin, but to Zhou Chen, this person was clearly not his daughter.
“Then, did I join this mission to save her?” Zhou Chen asked again.
“Perhaps. Maybe it was a moment of hot-headedness, or maybe you’d genuinely formed a friendship.”
“I understand.” Zhou Chen let out a heavy breath, no longer agonizing over whether the memories were real or fake. ’Since I have to find a way to save Erin regardless, what’s the difference?’
By now, the two had exited the Barrier Bubble and were once again submerged in the viscous Cursed Black Sea. Zhou Chen felt it was a shame; the Barrier Bubble was only a single-use Alchemy Tool. ’Otherwise, finding its core and carrying it around would be a lot more comfortable than doing the butterfly stroke in a cesspool, wouldn’t it?’
As they drew closer to the stadium, another Barrier Bubble appeared ahead. This one covered a much smaller area, forming only a semicircle with a fifty-meter radius.
“The Fallen Paradise members are probably here,” Ya Yi’s voice grew serious.
The detection device showed nothing, but after what had just happened, neither of them chose to rely on it too heavily. Who knew what kind of methods Fallen Paradise had to interfere with their equipment.
“Heh. I caught a familiar scent and thought my nose was failing me. I didn’t expect you’d actually have the courage to show up.”
Suddenly, the Gentleman emerged from the shadows of the trees, a pleasant smile on his face. He glanced at his watch. “By my calculations, Erin has probably been assimilated by the Curse already. She’s one of *them* now.”
He pointed to the sky. In the viscous darkness, countless despairing faces were pressed against the barrier of the Bubble, roaring and screaming down at them.
With that, he gave a sinister smile. His Walking Stick sank into the ground, and a vast shadow spread out. One by one, Corrupters with deformed, twisted bodies emerged from the Shadow Pool.
“I’ll send you to join her right now!”
Zhou Chen and Ya Yi raised their guns and pulled the triggers. A dense downpour of bullets wreathed in pale flames rained down on the Corrupters. Their flesh was instantly pierced and shredded, bursting in splatters of gore like exploding rotten tomatoes.
At the same time, the ground shook. A sacred aura erupted, not covering their location, but surging madly outward, annihilating the Cursed Black Sea.
“All units, attention. We’ve detected Gate of Heaven fluctuations originating from Fallen Paradise!” Jiang Che’s voice sounded over the comms channel.
Amidst the roar of gunfire, Ya Yi asked, “I’m going to stop the Lover from opening the Gate of Heaven. Can you handle things here?”
“Leave it to me,” Zhou Chen nodded. He had come fully armed this time.
Receiving an affirmative answer, Ya Yi rushed unhesitatingly in the direction of the spreading sacred aura.
The Gentleman tried to delay him by expanding the Shadow Demon Pool, but in the next second, a grenade flew through the air. A burst of fire erupted, blasting the spreading pool apart.
“Not so fast. You still have me to deal with.”
Zhou Chen unclipped another grenade and threw it. “We’ve been at this for so long. Isn’t it about time we settled this, once and for all?”
“If you’re so eager to die, then I’ll be happy to oblige.” The Gentleman sneered. He struck the ground with his Walking Stick and his entire body submerged into the vast Shadow Demon Pool, vanishing from sight like a lurking viper waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Zhou Chen deftly swapped in a fresh magazine. Beneath his Battle Armor’s helmet, a smile brimming with fighting spirit spread across his face.
“Then let’s…”
“—Begin!”
