Chapter 1917: Chapter 1915: The Change in the World
The difference between this world and the one Fang Zheng is familiar with is that the technological advancement of civilizations in various regions seems quite balanced.
That’s right, originally according to historical development, because of the Industrial Revolution, Europe and America should be the leaders in the electrical industrial revolution, but in this world, it seems like Asia, North America, and Europe each have their own Einstein or Stella or Newton, giving off the illusion, as if in a civilization game, where all factions are elevated to the same stage of civilization.
In this world, Huaxia and Japan also have the same level of civilization improvement, Fang Zheng even saw a China Airlines aircraft at Tokyo Airport—hmm, with the characteristic bulky Russian style and the gaudy paint job, there’s nothing more distinctive than this.
Who knows if this world will develop towards Command & Conquer or Red Alert in the future.
With the help of the Little Angel’s information modification, Fang Zheng successfully came to Tokyo University Medical School as a psychology doctorate. Here, he will carry out his subsequent work, and as for Miskatonic University... Well, let’s just say that because of a sudden fire, their collection was burned to ashes, which is truly a tragedy.
But what does this have to do with me, Fang Zheng?
Fang Zheng just donated hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars and then left.
Tokyo didn’t feel any different to Fang Zheng compared to other places. The newspapers here, like elsewhere, only used a small portion of their pages to describe issues in politics, economy, and military, while the rest were entirely dedicated to various kaidan, urban legends, and explorations and introductions of mysterious villages.
Moreover, through browsing the news, Fang Zheng discovered some strange happenings.
That is, the "supernatural phenomena" occurring in each region seem quite different.
According to the newspapers from Asia, in Huaxia, many stories are similar to those Fang Zheng had read in Strange Tales of Liaozhai, where stories about animals turning spirit-like are everywhere, even forcing the government to enact special laws prohibiting animals from turning spirit-like. In addition, there are stories about the travels of Taoists and ghost hunting, and some feng shui tales—simply putting it, it’s like the 193X edition of a city supernatural novel section.
Fang Zheng even found a section titled "Diary of Taoist Mao Xiaofang’s Travels," dedicated to recounting a Taoist named Mao Xiaofang and his adventures of vanquishing yokai and exterminating zombies... news records?
But Japan’s situation seems a bit peculiar.
After all, based on Fang Zheng’s past experience, these things in the news generally have causes. For instance, on European and American newspapers, if you see something about collective riots, mysterious disappearances, or other strange occurrences, it’s mostly the cultists of Outer Gods and Elder Ones causing trouble.
And in China, tales of yokai becoming spirits or zombies being released have their own reasons.
But in Japan, many things seem senseless, as if they suddenly appear and then disappear out of nowhere.
Take the newspaper in Fang Zheng’s hand as an example; it describes last year’s "Human Head Balloon" phenomenon in Japan, where suddenly in the Northeastern Region, giant human-head balloons looking exactly like real people appeared, finding their owners and hanging them. Not only that, but these balloons couldn’t be destroyed because if you destroy one, its owner would die just like the attacked balloon.
For a while, people thought the world was ending, but then suddenly one day, everything just stopped; those human head balloons disappeared without a trace, as if they never existed.
Many similar things happened; in brief, these events seem to have no logic or reason, just appearing, causing trouble, and then disappearing.
As for why they appeared? How did they appear? And how did they disappear?
Though television and newspapers had various explanations, none of them were definitive.
"Doctor, the patient in bed 203 has woken up."
At this moment, Ryoko Asakura, dressed in a nurse’s uniform, entered with a radiant smile and spoke to Fang Zheng.
"Mm, I know."
Looking at Ryoko Asakura in her nurse outfit, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but nod. He had to admit, Japan excels at playing the allure of costumes to the extreme. Look at Ryoko Asakura in front of him, wearing the pure white nurse dress, white tights, and little white slippers, hmm... it reminded Fang Zheng of the "Night Shift Nurse" series he had watched in his previous life...
Should he have Eiriri and the others wear this to "take care" of him when he gets back?
That seems like a good idea.
By the way, this time Ryoko Asakura came to the hospital as Fang Zheng’s assistant, while Nymph could only stay at home, but with the personal terminal contact, Nymph wasn’t bothered by this small matter.
Fang Zheng picked up the white coat, put it on, then walked out of the office, greeting some patients and nurses along the way before arriving at a psychiatric ward. He gently knocked on the door and then pushed it open to enter.
Quickly, Fang Zheng saw a young man, looking like a university student, lying in bed, staring at the door with fear and anxiety. Upon seeing Fang Zheng and Ryoko Asakura entering, his face displayed a noticeable expression of relief.
"Hello, doctor."
"Hello, Mr. Niohsaka, how are you feeling today?"
As he spoke, Fang Zheng walked to the bedside and carefully observed the young man in front of him. His name was Ikki Niohsaka, a victim of a car accident. Although he didn’t appear physically injured, he seemed to suffer from some form of cognitive dissonance disorder—hmm, Fang Zheng could understand this kind of situation.
After all, his SAN value had dropped to zero.
In fact, currently, in Ikki Niohsaka’s eyes, everything in this world appears disgustingly bewildering and indescribable. According to his description, apart from himself, every other creature he sees looks like a monster, except for Fang Zheng and Ryoko Asakura, who appear as normal humans in his eyes. Because of this, Ikki Niohsaka divulged his condition, hoping to get help and return to normal life.
Naturally, Fang Zheng agreed, as for him, Ikki Niohsaka was also an excellent test subject. Unlike those whose SAN value dropped to zero because they witnessed an Outer God or suffered mental pollution, Ikki Niohsaka underwent changes due to physical impact; therefore, Fang Zheng wanted to try if he could physically give him another impact to revert him back.
If it succeeds, then this could serve as a good reference for the situation in the Main World being eroded by Chaos.
"Thankfully..."
Looking at Fang Zheng, Ikki Niohsaka’s expression was somewhat complex, while Fang Zheng gave a chuckle and sat beside him.
"Well, let’s talk about it. Do you now have the feeling of being able to discern again?"
"Um... Let me think. Regarding food, I seem to be able to distinguish which are fruits, which are vegetables, and which are meat... But that’s just taste. In my eyes, they still appear as rotten lumps of flesh, and when talking to people other than Dr. Haruno, their voices are still full of noise, very piercing and annoying."
"I can understand, but this is already a significant improvement. Alright, close your eyes."
"Yes."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s words, Ikki Niohsaka obediently closed his eyes, and Fang Zheng quickly signaled to Ryoko Asakura. She immediately left the hospital room and closed the door. Then Fang Zheng extended his right hand, and soon, a trace of Holy Light emerged, enveloping Ikki Niohsaka. The feeling of the Holy Light made Ikki Niohsaka’s expression gradually relax.
"Alright, now listen to me talking, recall your past memories, and carefully think about the grasslands, flower fields, lakes in your memories... Think about your friends..."
Fang Zheng spoke softly, his voice filled with divinity echoing in Ikki Niohsaka’s ears.
"Remember their original appearances, that’s right... their rightful appearances..."
What Fang Zheng was attempting was actually a form of information pollution. After communicating with Yog-Sothoth, Fang Zheng’s "Appearance of the Ancient God" Skill was upgraded to LV2, gaining a Skill named "Demon of a Thousand Throats." Although this Skill was as incomprehensible as ever to Fang Zheng, after a Little Angel conducted experiments and informed him, it allowed Fang Zheng to subtly alter others’ information bias through sound and whispers.
Simply put, it’s similar to how those in Cthulhu myths who hear too much of Ancient God Whispers eventually become neither human nor ghost-like. Fang Zheng can also use this method to achieve a similar effect.
This time, Fang Zheng utilized this ability. However, the original "Demon of a Thousand Throats" shifted human information bias towards other things, whereas this time, Fang Zheng intends to correct the information bias back to human.
Fortunately, Ikki Niohsaka cooperated very well, and indeed the situation has undergone some Transformation. For instance, initially, everything in his vision appeared in distorted forms intolerable to humans, but now he can gradually distinguish smells and some colors, which has also invigorated Ikki Niohsaka, making his cooperation in the treatment even somewhat urgent.
However, as far as Fang Zheng is concerned, naturally... haste makes waste.
Very soon, Ikki Niohsaka’s emotions calmed down again, and Fang Zheng glanced at the time, then stood up.
"Well then, that’ll be it for today’s treatment."
"Ah, doctor."
At this moment, Ikki Niohsaka suddenly spoke up.
"Um..."
"Is there anything, Mr. Niohsaka?"
"Yes, um... last night, I seemed to hear a very clear girl’s voice coming from outside the door."
"...Girl’s voice?"
"Yes, not Miss Asakura’s voice, but younger... I heard it clearly, different from other people’s voices..."
"Hmm..."
Facing Ikki Niohsaka’s words, Fang Zheng pondered for a moment, then smiled slightly.
"Perhaps you were lost in dreams and heard it there."
"...Is that so?"
"Even if it’s a dream, it’s a good start, isn’t it? The ability to experience normalcy in dreams means it’s just a matter of time before you fully recover normal life."
"Is that so... That’s good."
Regarding Fang Zheng’s words, Ikki Niohsaka did not seem suspicious. He breathed a long sigh, closed his eyes, and lay back on the bed. Fang Zheng then left the hospital room, signaling to Ryoko Asakura standing not far away, who quickly approached.
"Is there anything, Master?"
"You’re responsible for night watch tonight. Pay attention to this hospital room; don’t let anything come near."
Saying this, Fang Zheng’s lips curled up slightly.
"Anything."
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