Chapter 1111: Chapter 110: My Love (15)
"The car has already been dealt with."
Steven’s father said, "After the accident, you sold that car and bought a sedan to prevent Mavis from being triggered."
"Oh?"
Li Ang nodded, "So, that Chevrolet SUV was also conjured by the Spirit Realm.
Alright, the main point isn’t that; it’s about the Hidden box I found on the driver’s seat of the Spirit Realm’s Chevrolet SUV.
Barbara should have seen it. The Hidden box was made of wood, with constellations painted on all six sides, and there was a layer at the bottom housing a compass with an extra pointer.
The compass continually points north and south, and the attached extra needle acts as a key to unlock a latch.
Randomly fiddling with the Hidden box won’t open it without causing damage,
one must align a specific side of the Hidden box upwards according to the constellation diagrams,
and rotate the box to a specific angle,
aligning the compass to point north and south, and the extra needle to a certain direction,
to unlock the latch,
disarm the mechanism within the Hidden box,
thus allowing it to open.
The question arises, what is the purpose of this extra needle?"
Li Ang glanced at the stagnant black gas surrounding them and said calmly, "If the intention was to create a Hidden box that could be unlocked by rotating in specific ways,
the creator could have just placed a compass inside; there was no need for an extra needle, which seems redundant.
Unless the direction indicated by the extra needle,
holds special significance for the creator of the Hidden box and the person it was intended for."
Li Ang raised his arm and pointed to a corner of the living room not far away, "I opened the Hidden box there, and the extra needle pointed southeast.
At the time, I vaguely guessed that the needle’s direction had some significance, but I didn’t think about another point,
namely, who crafted the box."
Barbara furrowed her brows at the words, "The creator of the box?"
"Exactly."
Li Ang nodded, "There was a note alongside the Hidden box, which read,
[We were born, grew up, and went to school in the same place, yet we never knew each other’s names or existence until fate brought us together. I crafted this box as a testament to our first meeting, hoping there’s still time. S]
Initially, I thought Steven himself crafted the box, because there’s an ’S’ at the end of this sentence.
Even after discovering that ’S’ might stand for the compass, I still believed it was Steven’s doing—because the tone of the note sounded like someone trying to salvage their love.
The box might represent the starting point of their acquaintance and romance,
and Steven hoped this way, his wife could be freed from her depressive mania.
But now,
as Steven’s father just stated, there isn’t such a Chevrolet SUV in the garage now.
Which means, like other things in the Spirit Realm,
the car was created from Mavis’s memory and imagination,
and the creator of the box isn’t Steven, but Mavis."
He chuckled slightly and said, "Being born, growing up, and schooling in the same place, yet not knowing each other until fate brought them together.
This description applies to both Steven and Mavis.
Here’s the question,
according to Barbara, Mavis has become a muddleheaded Evil Spirit in the Spirit Realm, acting purely on unconscious instinct. How did she suddenly recover her memory to create a sophisticated Hidden box that didn’t exist before?
Even if Mavis occasionally drifts in and out of consciousness,
able to craft a complex Hidden box like she designed other puzzles in the house,
what’s the meaning of this message?
[I crafted this box as a testament to our first meeting, hoping there’s still time. S]
There are two possibilities,
The first one is, at this moment, the person who needs saving is Mavis, not Steven.
Mavis wishes to speed up Steven’s actions through clues, thus redeeming her, freeing her from the state of Evil Spirit, and regaining consciousness.
However, this possibility doesn’t explain why the extra needle exists—could it really be that in a life-or-death moment, they would intentionally mark the direction where two lovers first met? It’s not a teen romance drama.
Then, comes the second possibility.
The ’S’ indicates both the compass clue and represents Steven’s name.
The box itself was sent by Mavis to Steven,
and the one who actually needs redemption isn’t Mavis, but Steven."
"What?!"
Steven’s parents were flabbergasted, utterly unable to believe their ears, "God, what are you talking about?"
"I am narrating a story about love, responsibility, deception, betrayal, and redemption."
Li Ang said calmly, "In the real world, November 2018, wildfires erupted in California, with flames spreading and smoke darkening the skies.
Simultaneously, in Carmel Town, California, a severe accident happened: a Chevrolet SUV lost control during driving and collided with a motorcycle."
He paused, glancing at the puzzled expressions of Steven’s parents and Barbara, then smiled and said, "I’ve seen these two news items twice in the Spirit Realm.
Once in the living room, watching a wooden doll watch TV.
The second time was in the bedroom on the second floor, where Mavis, in her Evil Spirit state, also stared motionlessly at the TV.
The difference during the second view was the TV program broadcast included an additional sentence.
Two injured individuals were sent to the hospital immediately."
Li Ang paused, "Why two injured individuals?
According to your previous statements, Mavis had an accident during a family trip.
She was driving the vehicle, carrying Steven and the two kids to the destination, when she crashed into a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist unfortunately did not survive, leading to Mavis’s gradual mental collapse.
However, the news program mentioned two injured individuals.
If we assume the other injured person was Mavis, then what about the others in the car?
Steven, Robin, Rin,
were the other three completely uninjured in the accident?
And there’s no mention in the news of a car accident involving a family of four?
Or perhaps... only two people were actually related to the accident.
For instance, Steven, and Mavis."
Li Ang chuckled coldly and said, "Before I was pulled back from the Spirit Realm for the first time, I experienced a hallucination,
Steven lying on a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages all over, with a life support monitor on his right,
on the left bed lay a black-haired woman whose face was unclear.
Outside the hospital room, in the corridor, was a middle-aged couple, Steven’s parents, discussing with a masked doctor.
The conversation included something like ’Her condition is very dangerous...’
’We may need to take more aggressive treatment options...’
’Need the family’s signature...’
At that time, I thought that hallucination depicted the scene following Mavis’s failed suicide attempt.
Mavis gave sleeping pills to Steven, trying to first kill him and then commit suicide herself.
Steven was saved, but Mavis wasn’t.
That hallucination was depicting the hospital scene.
To be precise, that wasn’t a hallucination, but something that actually happened.
Steven and Mavis, indeed, lay together on two beds in the same hospital room.
The reason they were injured and hospitalized was simple,
Mavis drove the Chevrolet SUV and got into an accident, the other party being the motorcyclist, Steven himself."
Steven’s parents exchanged glances, taking a deep breath, "Son... are you crazy?"
"No, I am not crazy.
On the contrary, my state is extraordinary now."
Li Ang grinned, "In the real world, November 2018, with the California wildfires, smoke was widespread,
Steven, riding a motorcycle and cruising unknowingly, Mavis drove a Chevrolet,
colliding with each other in this neighborhood, Carmel Town.
Both were severely injured and sent to the hospital together,
Steven suffered multiple fractures, wrapped in bandages, semi-conscious,
Mavis was even more severely affected.
In his semi-conscious state, Steven began hallucinating, though, possibly, both experienced the illusion.
In an Illusion World, neither would die,
they got to know, love each other, had children, lived a harmonious and happy family life just like normal people.
Yet, as time went on,
It might be that Mavis’s physical condition in the real world is deteriorating, or maybe Mavis’s soul is gradually awakening, realizing the many issues in the Illusion World.
In the children’s bedroom on the second floor in the Spirit Realm, I heard Robin and Rin’s conversation,
Their mother Mavis had spoken to herself, saying that Robin and Rin should not have been born, that everything was wrong, nothing should have happened, Steven took her parents away from her, she was about to die, hoping Robin and Rin would accompany her.
These words are not the ramblings of The Madman, but what actually happened.
Robin and Rin do not exist, they are merely imaginary constructs created by illusions,
You two, or what are called Steven’s parents, are also illusions, constructed by Steven from Mavis’s real parents seen in the real world,
Imagining you as his own parents—the true orphan is not Mavis, but Steven."
Li Ang paused, glanced at Steven’s parents who were in disbelief, as well as the grim-faced Barbara, and calmly said: "As for evidence,
Mavis’s words are one aspect,
The other aspect is your eye color and hair color.
Both of you have brown eyes and black hair.
From a genetic inheritance perspective, in most cases, brown is a dominant gene, blue is a recessive gene,
excluding the extremely low probability of genetic mutation or cuckoldry,
you two absolutely could not have given birth to Steven with light blue eyes."
Li Ang raised his hand to point at his own eye socket, continuing: "Remember that compass in the hidden box?
That extra pointer pointing southeast actually indicates the specific location of the car accident,
The pile of Lego toys on the desk in the study on the second floor pieced together the outline of the community, and southeast of this house is a location of the SUV and motorcycle accident.
Additionally, there’s the last thing I opened, the master bedroom’s door password lock.
AB=2111 3512
ABB=2111 35223
18215, 3712, 2113, 2514, 3616, 1317
This password is actually quite simple, corresponding to the password lock on the master bedroom door shaped like a computer keyboard.
AB=2111 3512,
Here 2111’s 21 means the English area on the computer keyboard, second row, first letter,
21’s subsequent 1 means letter A appears once in the AB sequence,
The following 1 indicates the position of letter A in the sequence, which is first.
The subsequent 3512, similarly, means letter B is located on the English area of the computer keyboard, third row, fifth letter,
Appears once, positioned second.
ABB=2111 35223,
A remains unchanged, still appearing only once,
B appears twice, respectively in positions 2 and 3 in the sequence.
Then, by analogy, 18215 refers to the letter i in the first row and eighth position,
It appears twice in the sequence, respectively in the first and fifth sequence.
3712, M,
2113, A,
2514, G
3616, N
1317, E
Connected together,
Imagine,
Imagine."
Li Ang snapped his fingers, speaking calmly: "This world, or what you think is the real world, does not truly exist,
everything comes from Steven’s illusions and imagination.
Mavis’s parents are what Steven hopes for himself, someone to care and love him,
Robin and Rin are Steven’s hope for a harmonious family.
Including the high-end suit Steven is wearing, the luxurious house he lives in, may not belong to him in the real world.
None of it ever happened.
Because of this, all the photos in the Spirit Realm house only have Steven and Mavis’s appearances, and none of Robin and Rin’s.
Compared to this world, the Spirit Realm is rather closer to the true reality."
Li Ang tilted his head slightly, looking at the expressionless Barbara, "As for you, Spirit Medium, I tend to think you are a level above others,
as a presence in Steven’s subconscious to fix the problem.
Mavis realized the existence of illusions, realized she was dying in the real world, wanted to achieve liberation through self-destruction.
Real world—Illusion World—Spirit Realm,
It’d be okay for Mavis to leave, but what if Steven himself awakens from the illusion?
Everything in the Illusion World will cease to exist.
When you know you’re constructed within a dream and don’t truly exist, the only way to survive is to let the dreamer continue dreaming, rather than waking him up.
Then, as a Spirit Medium, you need to make Steven accept the ’reality’, let him continue to believe the Illusion World is real,
Even if it means killing Mavis, without Mavis,
The world will not collapse.
This is why you continuously guide or seduce me to kill Mavis in the Spirit Realm."
"Evidence?"
Barbara said expressionlessly: "I need evidence."
"Evidence?"
Li Ang’s mouth curled up, saying: "16, 5, 1, 15, 4, 5, 9, 21, 11, 23, 20, 5, 14.
Remember this string of numbers?
It’s the sequence made up of the number of books on the bookshelf in the study on the second floor of the Spirit Realm house.
Used by me to play the piano, to find the safe.
This sequence of numbers serves more than just this purpose, it has another function.
By substituting these numbers into the English alphabet, you can get a string of English,
peaodeiukwten
This string of English itself has no meaning, it needs to be divided into two lines,
Peaodei,
Ukwten.
When read from right to left, top to bottom, you get a truly meaningful English phrase,
I need to weak up."
Li Ang said lightly: "This English phrase appeared more than once,
The moment I entered the Spirit Realm, my heart beat violently,
Boom... Boom!
Boom!
Boom...
If during the entire exploration of the Spirit Realm,
I consider every time my heart hurts and beats violently as a ’·’ symbol,
and when my heart stops a heartbeat for a second, as a ’—’ symbol,
Then you get the following result,
·——·
·
·—
———
—··
·
··
··—
—·—
·——
—
·
—·
This Morse code means the same as peaodeiukwten, that is, I need to weak up.
As a Spirit Medium, you can guide the thought in the Illusion World Steven, but you cannot stop Steven’s self-rescue.
It’s time to end all this."
