34: Chapter 34 Fragments of Memory

The smell of disinfectant, like needles piercing through everything, jabbed deep into Lin Fan's nasal passages.

He lay on the hospital bed, his eyelids as heavy as if they were weighted with lead.

The sunlight from outside the window filtered through the white curtains and spilled onto the back of his hand, warm, yet it couldn't dispel the chill deep in his bones.

His consciousness was like a feather floating in mid-air, drifting up and down, unable to distinguish between reality and the virtual world.

"Michael... watch your back!"

"Franklin, to the left! There's a car about to hit us on the left!"

"Why is the sky in Los Santos grey?"

These fragmented voices played repeatedly in his mind like an old cassette tape.

The images were terrifyingly clear—Michael with a cigarette hanging from his mouth, cursing as he reloaded; Franklin flooring the gas pedal, driving his sports car like a streak of red lightning; Ghost's dagger flashing coldly under the moonlight; and those NPCs, their faces filled with genuine fear and hope.

Were those dreams, or things that had actually happened?

Lin Fan opened his eyes abruptly, his chest heaving violently, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"You're awake?"

A gentle voice rang out beside his ear.

Lin Fan turned his head and saw Kate sitting on a chair by the bed, holding a laptop with dense brainwave data flickering on the screen.

Her eyes held a trace of fatigue, yet they also shone with deep concern.

"I..." Lin Fan opened his mouth, his throat feeling incredibly dry. "I had that dream again."

Kate put down the laptop, picked up the water glass from the side, and brought it to Lin Fan's lips. "Drink some water first."

Lin Fan took small sips of water; the cold liquid slid down his throat, clearing his muddled consciousness a little.

"It's the dream about Los Santos again, right?" Kate asked.

Lin Fan nodded, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Those images are too real. Michael's smile, Franklin's complaints, and Ghost's silence... I always feel like that wasn't a dream."

Kate's eyes dimmed slightly. She reached out and gently placed her hand on the back of Lin Fan's hand. "Lin Fan, listen to me. Those are just memories from the virtual world. You stayed there for too long, and the connection between your consciousness and the virtual world hasn't fully severed yet."

"Virtual world?" Lin Fan repeated the phrase in a low voice, his heart feeling as if it had been pinched by something. "But them... Michael and Franklin, do they really exist?"

Kate fell silent.

How should she answer?

Should she say they were just virtual characters built from code? Should she say those days of fighting side-by-side were nothing more than a dream woven by data?

Looking into Lin Fan's expectant eyes, she really couldn't bear to say such things.

"They..." Kate carefully chose her words. "They are NPCs in the virtual world, but they are different from ordinary NPCs. They possess self-awareness and independent thought. In a sense, they are real."

Lin Fan's eyes lit up.

"Then how are they doing now?" Lin Fan asked impatiently. "Has the Prophet hurt them? Is the Survivor Base still there?"

Kate's expression became somewhat grave. She picked up the laptop and turned the screen toward Lin Fan. "Look."

The screen displayed a monitoring interface for the virtual world. On the interface, the map of Los Santos was entirely red; the red areas represented the territory controlled by the Prophet. The location of the Survivor Base was completely surrounded by the red zone, like an isolated island without any help.

"I just hacked into the virtual world's server to find this." Kate's voice carried a hint of heaviness. "Ever since you left, the Prophet has intensified his attacks on the Survivor Base. He is also recruiting the consciousnesses of players who remained in the virtual world to grow his own forces."

"Player consciousnesses?" Lin Fan frowned.

"Yes." Kate nodded. "Some players are addicted to the virtual world and don't want to return to reality. The Prophet exploits this, promising them benefits to make them work for him. Now, he has both controlled NPCs and players who joined willingly; his strength is growing stronger and stronger."

Lin Fan's heart felt heavy, as if pressed down by a stone.

He thought of Michael's smile, Franklin's sarcasm, and the hope in the eyes of the survivors when they looked at him.

They were still waiting for him to return.

"I have to go back." Lin Fan sat up abruptly, but because the movement was too sudden, he pulled at the wound on his shoulder, making him wince in pain.

"Are you crazy?" Kate's face turned pale instantly, and she held down Lin Fan's shoulder. "You just escaped from the jaws of death! Your body is still very weak! Moreover, the connection to the Brain-Computer Interface is extremely dangerous! You could be trapped in the virtual world forever and never come back!"

"I know." Lin Fan's eyes, however, were exceptionally firm. "But I can't abandon them. Michael and Franklin are my brothers. Those survivors have held on until now because they believe in me. I can't let them down."

"But..." Kate wanted to say something else.

"There are no 'buts'." Lin Fan interrupted her. "Kate, do you know? In the virtual world, we stole cars together, robbed banks together, and fought against Victor's men together. Those days, although dangerous, were very happy. I have never before tried so hard for a goal."

He looked into Kate's eyes and said, word by word, "They need me. I must go back."

Kate looked at Lin Fan's determined eyes, her heart filled with mixed emotions. She knew she couldn't persuade him.

That was just Lin Fan's personality. Once he made a decision, not even ten oxen could pull him back.

She sighed and released her hand from Lin Fan's shoulder. "I know I can't talk you out of it. But at least wait until your body is a bit better."

A smile appeared on Lin Fan's face. "Okay."

Over the next few days, Lin Fan began to actively cooperate with the treatment. He did rehabilitation training every day, working hard to recover his physical strength. Kate stayed by his side, helping him treat his wounds while monitoring his brainwave data.

One day, while Kate was analyzing Lin Fan's brainwave data on the laptop, her eyes suddenly widened.

On the screen, Lin Fan's brainwave curve and the fluctuation curve of the virtual world's server had perfectly overlapped.

Like two intertwined vines, they were inseparable.

"This... how is this possible?" Kate murmured to herself, her face filled with shock.

She had been engaged in Brain-Computer Interface research for many years and had never seen such a situation.

Generally, a player's brainwaves and the virtual world's server fluctuations would only show brief synchronization when connected. Once the connection was severed, they would return to normal.

But Lin Fan's brainwaves, even while disconnected, were maintaining a high degree of synchronization with the virtual world's server fluctuations.

What did this mean?

A bold guess suddenly emerged in Kate's mind—Lin Fan's brain might have already established a two-way channel with the virtual world's server.

This channel could not only allow Lin Fan's consciousness to enter the virtual world but could also allow information from the virtual world to be transmitted into Lin Fan's brain without restriction.

This explained why Lin Fan kept having dreams about Los Santos.

Because everything in the virtual world was constantly being transmitted into his mind through this two-way channel.

A strong sense of unease rose in Kate's heart.

If this guess was true, the risks Lin Fan would face upon reconnecting to the Brain-Computer Interface and returning to the virtual world would be much greater than she had imagined.

It wasn't just that he might be trapped in the virtual world forever.

His consciousness might even be completely devoured by the virtual world's server.

Just as Kate was lost in thought, Lin Fan's phone suddenly rang.

Lin Fan picked up the phone and glanced at the screen. A strange number was displayed.

He hesitated for a moment, then pressed the answer button.

There was no sound on the other end of the line.

Only a crackling sound of static.

"Hello? Who is this?" Lin Fan asked, frowning.

Still no sound.

Just as Lin Fan was about to hang up, a faint, intermittent voice suddenly came through the other end of the line.

"Lin... Fan..."

"We... need... you..."

"Come... back..."

The voice was hoarse, as if rubbed by sandpaper, but Lin Fan recognized it immediately.

It was Michael's voice!

Lin Fan's heart was in turmoil.

"Michael! Is that you? Michael!" Lin Fan shouted excitedly. "How are you? Where's Franklin? Is the Survivor Base okay?"

The voice on the other end remained intermittent.

"The... Prophet... is... very... strong..."

"We... can't... hold... on... any... longer..."

"Come... back... quickly..."

"Bzzt—"

After a burst of ear-piercing static, the call was completely disconnected.

Lin Fan looked at the phone in his hand, his eyes instantly turning red.

He knew this was a distress signal sent by Michael through a code loophole.

They really couldn't hold on any longer.

Lin Fan stood up abruptly and looked at Kate. "Kate, I can't wait any longer. I'm going back now."

Kate looked at Lin Fan's reddened eyes and sighed inwardly. She knew Lin Fan couldn't avoid this battle.

She nodded. "Okay. I'll help you."

Kate took Lin Fan to her laboratory.

In the center of the laboratory stood a massive piece of equipment. Countless data cables were connected to it, and at the other end of the cables was something that looked like a helmet.

This was the Brain-Computer Interface.

"This was left behind by my father." Kate looked at the equipment, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. "He once said that this instrument could connect two worlds."

Lin Fan walked over to the equipment and reached out to gently stroke the helmet.

A faint warmth still lingered on the helmet.

"Are you ready?" Kate asked.

Lin Fan took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm ready."

Kate helped Lin Fan put on the helmet, then walked over to the computer and began typing commands.

"Brain-Computer Interface connection program initiated."

"Consciousness synchronization rate detection."

"Virtual world coordinate positioning."

Lines of code flickered constantly on the computer screen.

Lin Fan's body began to tremble slightly. In his mind, those fragmented memories surged up like a tide.

Michael, with a cigarette in his mouth, smiled at him: "Kid, you did a good job this time."

Franklin patted his shoulder: "Next time we steal cars, can you try not to drive them into the ocean?"

Ghost stood behind him, silent, yet serving as his most solid support.

And those survivors, their faces filled with hopeful smiles.

"Lin Fan, remember." Kate's voice suddenly became exceptionally serious. "As soon as you feel your consciousness starting to blur, tell me immediately. I will disconnect the connection right away."

Lin Fan nodded, a smile curling the corners of his lips. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Kate looked at Lin Fan, her eyes full of worry. She gritted her teeth and pressed the Enter key.

"Connect!"

A blinding white light suddenly shot out from the helmet, enveloping Lin Fan's body.

Lin Fan's consciousness felt as if it had been violently yanked by a powerful force.

His vision instantly went pitch black.

Then, countless images flashed through his mind like a carousel.

He saw the sky of Los Santos, still grey.

He saw the fortifications of the Survivor Base, already in ruins.

He saw Michael and Franklin, back-to-back, fighting fiercely against a group of NPCs controlled by the Prophet.

Their bodies were covered in wounds, yet they refused to back down.

"Michael! Franklin!"

Lin Fan shouted, his consciousness like a bird breaking free from its restraints, rushing rapidly toward the virtual world.

In the laboratory in the real world, Kate watched the brainwave data on the computer screen, her expression growing increasingly grave.

The synchronization rate between Lin Fan's brainwaves and the virtual world's server fluctuations was rising rapidly.

10%... 30%... 50%... 80%...

Soon, it reached 100%.

And it was still rising.

"How can this be?" A strong sense of unease rose in Kate's heart. "How can the synchronization rate exceed 100%?"

Just then, a warning window suddenly popped up on the computer screen.

WARNING! Abnormal expansion of the two-way channel detected! Consciousness engulfment risk level: S!

Kate's face turned pale instantly.

She reached out abruptly, wanting to press the disconnect button.

Just then, a line of text suddenly appeared on the computer screen.

This line of text was written in the code of the virtual world.

Kate recognized it; it was Lin Fan's handwriting.

Don't worry. I will come back.

Kate's hand stopped in mid-air.

She looked at that line of text, and tears flowed down her face without her realizing it.

In Los Santos of the virtual world, at the Survivor Base.

Michael and Franklin were almost at their limit.

Their ammunition was depleted. Their bodies were covered in wounds.

The Prophet stood before them, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Give up." The Prophet's voice was like a whisper from hell. "Your hero isn't coming back."

Michael gritted his teeth, using his last ounce of strength to raise his empty gun and aim it at the Prophet.

Franklin also clenched his fists, his eyes filled with unwillingness.

Just then, a dazzling golden light suddenly lit up in the center of the base.

Amidst the light, a familiar figure slowly emerged.

He was wearing a black combat suit, his eyes firm, a smile playing on his lips.

"Who said I wouldn't come back?"

Lin Fan's voice echoed throughout the entire base.

Michael and Franklin looked up abruptly.

When they saw that familiar figure, tears instantly streamed down their faces.

"Lin Fan!"

"You're back!"

The Prophet's expression turned incredibly grim instantly. He looked at Lin Fan, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"Player, you've returned again." The Prophet's voice was ice-cold. "This time, I won't let you leave alive."

Lin Fan smiled slightly and flexed his wrists.

"Is that so?"

As his words trailed off, the golden light around him surged instantly.

"Then let's see you try."

Meanwhile, in the laboratory in the real world.

Kate watched the flickering line of text on the computer screen, a smile slowly curling the corners of her lips.

She knew Lin Fan wouldn't lose.

Because he was the hero of Los Santos.

And the hope of both worlds.

In the corner of the laboratory, an inconspicuous camera was quietly rotating.

On the other end of the camera, a man wearing a white lab coat was watching Lin Fan on the screen, a strange smile on his lips.

He was holding a file in his hand.

On the cover of the file was a line of text.

New World Project—Two-way Channel Subject: Lin Fan.

The man gently stroked the file, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

"Lin Fan, my child." The man murmured to himself. "You truly did not disappoint me."

A sinister smile appeared on his face.

"The real show has only just begun."