"The intersection of the Gray Realm?"
Chen Yifei recalled that this term did exist in his memory; the original host should have seen it somewhere.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten even about the Gray Realm," Dr. Lin stood up, poured the blood from the teacup into the drain, and spoke slowly,
"Before the Great Catastrophe, someone proposed a hypothesis that in this universe, there are countless parallel spatiotemporal existences, all formed from the earliest birth of the universe, like the light rays released after a candle is lit, spreading in all directions. But because light is infinite, they extend infinitely towards all possibilities without ever intersecting."
"But after the red meteor streaked across, everything went into chaos."
"Each spacetime was stirred into fluctuations, and an unknown and eerie gray world began to overlap with the real world."
After washing the teacup, Dr. Lin didn't discard the water but placed it on the table. Due to the force used during the process, the water surface inside the cup rippled.
Dr. Lin tore off a piece of paper, stuck it above the rippling water, and the undulating waterflow began to wet the paper, gradually permeating the entire surface from unevenly distributed small water stains.
"Initially, only a small part intersected, but as time passed, more and more regions intersected. The matter and creatures from that world began to appear in our world. Even now, most of the original human habitats have been occupied by that world, leaving only nine 'Domains' to shelter humanity and perpetuate the flame."
"Because the sky of that world is gray, we call it the 'Gray Realm'."
"When the Gray Realm intersects with reality, it produces a series of bizarre events beyond cognition, and even monsters from the Gray Realm will descend, which we call 'Calamities'."
"Generally, among survivors who encounter the intersection of the Gray Realm or are attacked by Calamities, 80% will suffer mental disorders, and most of them will never recover..."
"I suspect that your current situation is related to the 'Gray Realm'."
"Think carefully. Have you ever encountered the intersection of the Gray Realm and been involved in it?"
Facing Dr. Lin's inquiry, Chen Yifei tried hard to search through the original host's memories but ultimately found nothing... No matter how he recalled, he couldn't remember anything else from last night.
"I don't know," he said bitterly.
Dr. Lin pondered for a moment, took out a letter paper from the drawer, and quickly started writing.
"Your situation is not just a simple mental illness... I'm just an ordinary person, and I can't cure you.
However, I know someone who might be able to help with the aftermath of Gray Realm contamination.
After all, he is a true [Doctor]."
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of light appeared in Chen Yifei's eyes, "Where should I go to find him?"
"He lives in Aurora City, but he likes to travel around for free clinics. I heard that wherever there are incurable diseases, he goes there. This is their path to becoming gods...
In short, give this letter to the law enforcers at the gate of Aurora City, leave your name and address, and they will forward it for you.
Within three days at most, that [Doctor] will come to you."
"Thank you!"
Chen Yifei received the envelope and thanked him sincerely.
In fact, when he saw the salt grains melting on the road, Chen Yifei already felt something was wrong. What happened to him seemed impossible to explain with just an illness anymore. He came to this small clinic partly because he was halfway there and partly because he didn't know where else might be able to help him.
Listening to Dr. Lin, this [Doctor] seemed to have something special, and he also mentioned the path to becoming gods...
Could it be that this world also has a unique human cultivation system? Otherwise, according to Dr. Lin's words, all humanity should have perished during the so-called Great Catastrophe and the intersection of the Gray Realm.
Chen Yifei even felt that the distorted scientific level of this world might also be related to the great catastrophe.
"Don't mention it. Say hello to your brother for me," Dr. Lin smiled slightly.
"He's still hospitalized in Zone 2... I'll let him know when I visit him next time."
Chen Yifei rose to say goodbye to Dr. Lin and left, pushing the door open.
As the figure gradually disappeared under the sky with flowing aurora, Dr. Lin's eyes slightly narrowed.
"An actor, huh..."
...
"The audience's expectation was 29% when I first saw the screen in my dream."
"It jumped to 30% when I tried to escape."
"On the way here, it dropped back to 27%..."
"Just now, Dr. Lin was pranked, and it rose to 29% again."
"Assuming that the 'audience' is really in my mind and these numbers are not illusions, what exactly influences the rise and fall of the expectation value?"
The cold wind was bleak. Chen Yifei, wrapped in a thick cotton robe, walked towards his home while pondering seriously.
Stage, audience, expectation value... Every time the expectation value increased, it seemed to be accompanied by an event. Could these events be seen as "plots" on the stage?
The more interesting the events happening around him were, the greater the attraction of the "plot" to the audience would be, thereby increasing the expectation value?
The screen said that when the audience's expectation value was below 20%, the safety of the actor would not be guaranteed...
Chen Yifei didn't know what the specific danger was, but given that the "audience" could interfere with reality to some extent, he might end up becoming their tool for venting anger and being pranked to death!
Chen Yifei felt that his thinking was correct, but he needed to take practical actions to prove it.
"Maybe I should try to actively design 'plots'," Chen Yifei muttered to himself.
"Yifei, have you eaten breakfast?"
Chen Yifei turned around and saw an uncle with a towel wrapped around his head fanning the stove in a breakfast stall on the street, warmly calling out to him.
The moment he saw him, an idea suddenly flashed through Chen Yifei's mind.
"Not yet, Uncle Zhao," Chen Yifei's mouth curved up slightly, and he walked towards the stall.
"Come come come, I'll get you some soy milk and fried dough sticks. There was a heavy downpour yesterday, and the humidity is high. You must eat some breakfast to warm up," Uncle Zhao came over with a bowl of steaming soy milk.
"Thank you, Uncle Zhao."
Chen Yifei dug into his pocket, took out three copper coins, and handed them to Uncle Zhao, but the latter pushed them back.
"Uncle will buy you breakfast. How can I let you pay?"
"Oh, Uncle Zhao, although we've been neighbors for more than ten years, we still need to calculate things properly."
"You kid, Uncle doesn't need your money. Just help our Xiaoyi with his schoolwork when you have time, and Uncle will bring you breakfast every day," Uncle Zhao grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"Hasn't he already graduated? Does he still need tutoring?"
"With his grades, he can't even get a job assignment. I plan to let him repeat a grade. He can't just do odd jobs every day, can he?"
"Oh..."
"Yifei is so good, smart and filial. If Xiaoyi can be like you and become a law enforcer one day, I'll be overjoyed even in my dreams."
Uncle Zhao sighed deeply, "Unfortunately, this kid is not promising."
Chen Yifei's hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly. After a moment of hesitation, he still spoke up,
"Uncle Zhao... Do you know why Zhao Yi's grades are so poor?"
"Ah? Why?"
Chen Yifei was about to say something, but then fell into silence for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, Uncle Zhao. Just let it go... I promised him to keep it a secret."
"No way!"
Uncle Zhao's heart rate accelerated. He added a braised egg to Chen Yifei's plate and scratched his head anxiously, saying,
"Yifei, I know you're Xiaoyi's good friend, but there are some things... even as a father, I should know a little bit, right? I've raised Xiaoyi alone, working hard every day to earn money for his schooling, just so he can have a better life in the future...
If you know anything, you must tell me! We all want what's best for him..."
Seeing Uncle Zhao's urgent inquiry, Chen Yifei was slightly moved. He hesitated for a moment, as if making a decision, and said,
"Uncle Zhao, you're right. As a friend, I really can't bear to see Zhao Yi falling into decadence like this..."
"Falling, decadence? What's wrong with him?"
"He's in a relationship."
"Ah?" Uncle Zhao was taken aback. "Does this kid have that kind of charm?"
Chen Yifei took a bite of the fried dough stick without changing his expression and calmly said three words:
"With a man."