don't open your eyes [unlimited]

Zero:"……"

To be honest, he actually doubted how much the other party understood what he explained.

"You probably misunderstood, this is not a spell, and there is no magic."

Zero looked down: "I mean—"

He met those eyes, paused unconsciously when he was about to say something, and quickly glanced at the lollipops that looked like stalls.

... Strictly speaking, this understanding cannot be judged as completely incorrect.

Although no one has ever asked him to do this, and he himself has never considered that cognitive adjustment can be used in this kind of place...but he can indeed do it.

Number zero propped up his arms, staring silently at the colorful lollipops that had been automatically sorted and changed in taste, and even came with several limited-edition special flavors for free.

This happens, and the only explanation is that before his subjective will clearly make a decision, the subconscious mind has already instinctively and even actively met the requirements of the other party.

……

Number Zero felt that it was really necessary for him to check his mind.

He pressed his temples hard, closed his eyes and took a breath.

Little Curly's eyes on him have completely changed to looking at the lamp god, and it is still the kind that can be taken home, and as long as the body is recuperated, it can make unlimited wishes.

This sparkling stare made him instinctively resist, and it didn't take him a second to realize that this resistance stems from some kind of ridiculous self-defense mechanism that humans naturally have - just like being in a dark, icy world. It was like walking around for a few days and nights and suddenly entering a warm and bright house.

The physical sensations faced at that moment were almost scalding pain and dazzling unease... The fear brought about by this kind of change will make people instinctively want to reject it in the first reaction.

Zero looked at his right hand.

Not long ago, his right hand had once become translucent, and even the metacarpal bone had some kind of icy luster that only belonged to metal.

Before this, he had no doubt that after his consciousness was completely transparent, those bones would be pulled out by the teacher and the first cocoon and recast, and he would get a scalpel of quite good quality.

But now it's fine again.

He can be sure that this is not the result of self-deception by modifying his cognition. The touch of his palm and fingers are warm and real, and there is no abnormality at all when he moves.

Number Zero moved his right hand twice, and he raised his eyes to look at the curly-haired young man who was happily closing his stall.

The other party didn't seem to take his provocation as an offense at all, and ran around wearing bear pajama pants and Pikachu slippers casually, labeling the lollipops of different flavors and sorting them carefully.

Those soft curly hair swayed lively following the movement, the candy wrapper was quickly peeled off by the fingers nimbly, the little curly hair's cheeks were bulged a little by the lychee-flavored hard candy, and a little head poked out from behind the spare parts compartment look at him.

...Like a little sheep happily stockpiling grain.

As soon as this idea popped up, No. [-] suddenly realized that something was wrong, and immediately shifted his attention to his brain, but it was still a step too late.

The little curly turned into a real sheep with a bang in front of him—a black face whose eyes couldn't be seen clearly, a body of curly, soft white hair like a cloud, a small spiral horn on its head, The black ears drooped limply, flicking back and forth following the movement of the head.

The black-faced little sheep widened its eyes in surprise, looked down at the change in itself, and looked up at him.

"Sorry...sorry."

Zero apologized in a low voice, quickly sat up straight, closed his eyes and focused.

...but it's really hard to concentrate.

Zero's arm trembled uncontrollably. He took a few deep breaths, but he still couldn't hold it back. He coughed and laughed out of nowhere.

This kind of situation is actually very rare - after he found that his consciousness projection was getting weaker and weaker, and even woke up on the bed several times, he felt that he had become an unconscious scalpel, and his consciousness resumed. There was no feedback to him about similar feelings.

Zero couldn't stop laughing, he knew it was not appropriate, but he still had to cough to forcefully interrupt the endless laughter: "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay." Little Curly was very magnanimous, "It's not the first time I've been a sheep."

He kicked the ground with two hind hoofs, jumped out from behind the spare parts warehouse, ran to the mirror and turned around.

It's not the first time he's been a sheep—but it's the first time when he was a little sheep, he still has a complete original cognition, he still clearly remembers everything that happened before, and remembers that he doesn't eat grass or sticks sugar.

This may be the "self" that the other party mentioned before.

On the premise of still retaining the self, all these experiences will become more fantastic and interesting... He said that the realm of the dead should occasionally learn and exchange ideas with the other side.

"I like this feeling." The black-faced little sheep carefully admired his new look, and turned around bouncingly, "Mr. Cat, do you want to come and see it too?"

Zero coughed and took a breath. He rubbed his eyes and raised his head: "What? I don't..."

In the next second, he stared at the hand he used to rub his eyes in astonishment, his body jumped up on the spot uncontrollably, and he fell headfirst into the repair cabin.

The little sheep caught him in time and firmly.

Those small woolen rolls with the unique sweet taste of lychees are indeed like clouds to the touch - he had already rolled instinctively before he realized this, and pressed the back of the little sheep as calmly as he could.

"My mental power is out of control..." Zero realized what happened after a few seconds, "I thought—"

... He thought he would turn into some other fiercer, greedier, crueler and bloodthirsty beast.

Projection animalization is an important symbol in the study of dreams, which represents the complete disintegration of a part of human self-consciousness, allowing the subconscious impulses, instincts and desires to completely prevail.

The next step after this is "materialization", even instincts, desires and impulses are completely wiped out, and they are completely turned into a handy tool... Perhaps many people can directly give materialization without going through the second step. hint, but the teacher taught him a lot of things smartly.

These things made him more "easy to use", able to quickly and accurately obtain all the data needed by the first generation Cocoon, but also more capable of resisting and rejecting such direct and rough modifications.

……

Zero has actually been waiting for this day.

Coming out of the last dream realm, he has already clearly noticed that he is unable to do what he wants... The growth of mental power has completely exceeded the range he can control, and the turbulent flood of consciousness will swallow him as a human being in a short time.

The reason why he insisted on walking so far alone was that he didn't want other pioneer students to see this scene.

"Wait a minute." Zero whispered, "I can adjust."

The little curly hair trusted him very much, and nodded: "Okay."

"..." No. [-] was silent for two seconds, looking at the cat's paws stretching and contracting to massage the curly hair unconsciously.

——Although there have been some mistakes, one thing is at least completely certain.

In this situation, he really doesn't want other pioneer students to see...

Zero closed his eyes and continued to take a few deep breaths.

He tried his best to let himself ignore the strange urge to jump around, roll, and pull these little woolen rolls for fun, and restrained those dissipated mental power little by little.

I don't know if it's because of being close to the realm of the dead and being protected by the other party's "cocoon", or maybe it's because of that too relaxing dream... The process doesn't seem to be as difficult as he imagined.

"Mr. Sheep." Number Zero imitated the tone of the other party, "Can you talk to me?"

Those little curly hairs that wrapped around him moved: "Is it okay?"

After a few seconds, No. [-] replied: "Yes."

His voice was different from usual, as if he was concentrating his mental strength, his voice was a little hoarse and tired, and it rustled.

"Speaking up helps me remember who I am."

Zero exhaled lightly, he could almost feel the temptations: "It seems that it's good to forget..."

"It's better to remember." Little Curly said, "I just found out that this feeling is necessary."

Zero asked casually: "What is the need?"

"I seem to understand a little bit what you mean by 'self' just now... I think this is why we still call ourselves the realm of the dead, and call you reality."

The little curly hair thought about it carefully before continuing to say: "This sense of reality is based on owning oneself."

"Both feelings are good, but the feeling that belongs to you can only be possessed once by one self - when this journey comes to an end, it means the end and dissipation of all memories."

"That uniqueness makes it incredibly precious."

Little curly hair said: "If I have the opportunity to go to your place, I will cherish this opportunity very much."

"I haven't thought about this yet." Zero was a little curious, "What do you most want to remember?"

Little Curly replied without hesitation: "A magic lamp that turns into a lollipop."

Zero:"……"

Just when he wanted to declare once again that this is not a spell, nor is it magic, and he is not called Aladdin, the last trace of mental power has been gathered, and all the changes affected by the escape of consciousness have been released at the same time.

Before he could react, he suddenly fell from the suspended state without warning.

No. Zero had no time to think about it. He supported his body with one hand, and the other hand neatly embraced the little curly hair that was almost in close contact with the ground. He rolled over on the spot and quickly fished him back.

The accident happened too quickly, and he didn't have time to modify any parameters with his consciousness. When the back of his head hit the ground firmly, the little curly hair he scooped up also hit his arms firmly.

"Are you ok?"

No. Zero didn't care too much, lifted the person up, and quickly checked it from head to toe: "Fortunately, it's all changed back."

"It doesn't matter to me." Little Curly nodded, "Mr. Black Cat..."

"No." Number Zero interrupted seriously, "You can't give people nicknames casually."

The little curly hair was startled, and blinked at him.

Zero's shoulders tensed unconsciously.

He realized that it seemed difficult for him to maintain the alienation and indifference when he first met the other party, but he still tried his best to remain unmoved and lowered his gaze, putting the person back outside the invisible and transparent separation line.

"You didn't see anything just now."

Zero was silent for a moment, and finally made up his mind to bargain with the other party: "...I'll make you a lottery box."

Little Curly was immediately attracted by the new knowledge: "What is a lottery?"

"It's like random drawing under the premise that I have prepared certain prizes here. The result is uncertain. There may be good prizes, or there may be nothing."

Zero sketched a few times casually in the air, allowing the points and lines to form a cube.

He let the cube made of light float in the air, and guided the little curly hair to flick it lightly, and the cube slowly turned in the air.

"Put your hand in and you'll get a Poke Ball."

Zero showed him: "Open the Poké Ball and you can draw a lottery... You can only take one at a time, and there is a small note in it, you can bring it to me to exchange for a gift."

He briefly introduced and demonstrated.

Seeing the little curly who quickly understood and immediately developed a strong interest in this kind of game, Zero walked aside calmly, closed his eyes and pressed his forehead twice.

It stands to reason... the other party helped so much, and was involved in the aftermath of his mental power explosion for no reason, so he shouldn't repay him in such an overly stingy way.

But just barely tamed his mental power, he was indeed very tired and had no strength, and he couldn't make more things at once as gifts.

...just take a break first.

The lottery drawing process usually takes a lot of time, and it will create a certain interval after the Poké Ball is opened, the content inside is seen, and the poke ball is gathered together to wait for the prize.

After he has rested, he will immediately adjust the high prize rate... It is best to let the other party get what he likes every time, without being disappointed once.

Zero sat down against the wall.

He completely emptied his consciousness, looked at it for a while, and was studying the little curly hair of the lottery box with great interest.

This feeling of being able to think about nothing and completely focus on one person is also the first time for him.

Zero sighed wearily and comfortably, curled himself up, rested his forehead on his arms, and closed his eyes.

...it turned into a cat.

This outrageous development, which could not be described as a turnaround or a shameful humiliation, almost made him a little confused about how to react.

After being vigilant for so long and guarding against myself for so long, it finally settled down so lightly...?

He raised his head quickly following the smell of blood.

Everything around me disappeared.

He looked at the hot blood dripping from his body, and the suffocation almost gripped his consciousness in an instant, and the intense pain like a needle prick exploded from the inside of his brain to the outside.

He saw his prey, attractive food and clouds of red mist.

"wrong……"

He couldn't hear his own voice, only a low growl.

"No, no..."

He couldn't tell if he was whispering or yelling, but even then he realized quickly what was going on.

... The first cocoon activated a full-scale consciousness interference on him.

Logically speaking, this kind of interference has already started.

It was because he strayed into this floe by mistake, and was picked up by the pioneers on the opposite side. He got a certain degree of rest and recovery in the other party's "cocoon", and had the best dream... all of this Both delayed the onset of disturbance.

This is a crucial time difference.

The erosion and interference of the first cocoon did not appear at the same time as the loss of control of the mental power just now, but it was a step slower - it was because of this step that he did not make a big mistake and did not become a wild beast that was completely out of control...

He tried his best to keep this cognition, but all thoughts stopped abruptly.

Like a time bomb buried deep in his consciousness, the lead wire finally came to an end, with a bang of powder and dust, and the splashing shrapnel mercilessly cut through his brain that was already on the verge of collapse in reality.

Headaches, severe headaches, the chaos and dazedness generated by headaches, he stood in the center of the vortex.

This confusion quickly engulfed his consciousness - he is not a beast, but what is he?

He looked at the blood on his body, and then at the mess not far away.

what is thereA prey, a mass of blood-stained wool... There was a man he had attacked.

Which part is the dream?

He seems to be fully awake now, was everything just a dream?

He slowed down and walked slowly, looking at the person lying on the ground.

It took him a while to recognize the other person... It seemed that he had just met a pioneer from the other side.

The pale face that was still childish was also stained with blood.

The young pioneer was lying on the ground, with a scalpel stabbed deep into his chest. His pure and beautiful black eyes were blankly open, and there was no luster in them.

He began to go back to his memory - he accidentally turned the other party into a sheep.

The pioneer who was too young was not wary of him, he ran over obediently according to what he said, and was hit by him as a prey...Because the body has been affected by the real world, this consciousness from the realm of the dead is so silent Breath fell down.

He admires his masterpiece, wipes the scalpel clean, and skillfully weaves a dream to cover up everything...

……wrong.

No, no, no.

A strong resistance that was almost violent like never before filled his entire consciousness in an instant.

He knelt on the ground, gasping for breath—it had been a long time since he had resisted these thoughts that had been directly implanted into his mind. After all, the result of resisting was nothing more than using another more brutal "surgery" method to implant it. .

But this time, the information that was forced into his mind made him uncontrollably nauseous.

He is not that kind of person.

He wouldn't do that kind of thing... he wasn't that kind of person, and he wasn't going to be that kind of person.

... He is not this kind of person!

His trembling right hand held the scalpel.

He suddenly didn't intend to accept all of this at all—even if it was just because he didn't want the information to pollute the other party's "cocoon". He was Mr. Magic Lamp, and he could do it.

He was operating on himself, and the sharp blade mercilessly sank into the depths of his consciousness, bit by bit dissecting those icy streams of data.

It's not difficult either.

Just like the exquisite agate handicraft, in order to become a free grass, it waits and greets the moment of fragmentation with the greatest enthusiasm.

With his eyes down, he dissected his soul one knife after another.

Only then did he realize that what Little Curly said was right, there were already so many cracks in his consciousness.

These cracks have been "stitched" and "filled" by data, so these data have the most unique cover.They can infiltrate silently, affect his cognition and thoughts, modify his memory, confuse his dreams and reality...

He'd rather be a rickety plaster cast, existing for a second as himself, and then be accidentally touched by anyone and fall to the ground and shatter.

...It is best to redeem the prizes in the lottery box before smashing them.

He eliminated the last bit of data that did not belong to him, stopped the scalpel, and raised his head in a daze.

What draw box?

He looked at the figure in front of him—the ghost was still there, the teacher applauded appreciatively, and looked at him with the eyes of looking at a beautiful work.

"Good performance." He heard the teacher say, "You passed the test."

……

He opened his eyes suddenly.

The sharp increase in intracranial pressure made him grunt, and his vision was quickly filled with blood red.

The wires connected to his body immediately reported the abnormality to the device, and the corresponding medicine had already been injected into his body through the retention needle.

The clothes all over his body were already soaked in cold sweat, panting like a beast with his head in the water, he curled up and looked up at the curly-haired young man in front of him.

"He is the researcher who cooperated with your experiment this time."

The teacher's voice came from beside him: "Did you act well? His talent is also very good. Forgive us for acting together in a play to lie to you. This is a test you have to pass..."

The curly-haired young man stood by the bed, rolled up his eyelids, took a blindfold and tried to put it on for him.

He blocked the hand.

"I know this makes you angry."

The teacher's shadow walked up to him: "We have reached the realm of the dead, I need you to be sharper and harder..."

He suddenly asked in a low voice: "Have we reached the realm of the dead?"

"Yes." The teacher nodded, the shadow gradually turned into a metallic texture, and the pupils also turned into a stream of data—the first generation of cocoons looked at him condescendingly, and the mechanical voice asked in his ear without emotion, "Still?" Any doubts?"

He shook his head, looked at the first generation Cocoon: "You are a clown."

The figure changed into a clown costume, graffiti of stars and the moon appeared on the white face, and the blood-red mouth raised upwards on the edge: "Stop playing."

"This is a world determined by cognition."

The first generation of cocoons said: "You can change everything here at will, and I can also modify everything back at any time."

After finishing speaking, he returned to his original appearance: "You can rest for 10 minutes..."

The first generation of cocoons paused suddenly, and looked at the young researcher beside him—the hairstyle of the other party was constantly changing, changing into an afro for a while, a rocket-like broom shape for a while, and short straight hair for a while. .

The first generation of cocoons stopped to look at him, and the pupils of the inorganic matter showed some confusion: "What are you playing?"

"Playing with the illusion you created for me."

Zero looked down: "There is no monster in the cage. Teacher, there is a Mr. Black Cat."

The appearance of the first generation cocoon has changed back to the shadow of the teacher.

The other party's expression was slightly concentrated, and he hurried forward to ask him something, but Number Zero had already raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

The whole scene seemed to be cracked with countless cracks.

The scorching red magma poured in, and the scorching flames swallowed everything completely in a few seconds.

……

Zero opened his eyes in the cool water dripping down.

He was in severe pain, as if he had been beaten from head to toe, and he was so tired that he couldn't lift a finger.

His vision gradually turned from blurry to clear, and he realized that he was lying on his back in someone's arms.

The cool water seemed to be dripping from melted ice, just infiltrating into his consciousness, dissipating the scorching heat bit by bit.

... The person holding him was lowering his head to sew up the wound on his body.

Instead of repairing the pain of the wound, it made him suddenly vigilant, and he wanted to sit up: "You—"

"Don't move, Mr. Black Cat."

That hand reacted very quickly, and hugged him tightly in time: "This is the first time I embroider cross-stitch."

Zero:"……"

He lingered for two seconds between the two questions of "why use cross stitch to sew the wound" and "what pattern was sewed", and struggled to wake himself up: "what's wrong with me?"

"You just had a nightmare."

Curly curly sewed up a wound, and touched his forehead again: "Why don't you go to the repair cabin? If you are too tired, you should learn to be lazy and fish."

"I can't learn." Zero twitched his mouth and closed his eyes, "I just want to finish the task quickly."

"It's easy to learn—for example, when you don't want to write lesson plans, you can find a sofa and bury yourself in the pile of pillows, or take a nap in the office with the computer on."

Little Curly lowered his head, trying to hug him with some strength: "It's okay, I'll teach you..."

As soon as he was close to number zero, the opponent suddenly raised his hand and grabbed his arm.

The already scarred consciousness suddenly burst out with the strength of a trapped animal, rolled over on the spot, firmly controlled his body, and confined him between his arms and the ground.

No. Zero's chest heaved rapidly, and he looked down at him, his pupils were cold and sharp: "If you can't be hard, then come soft?"

Severe pain swept through the consciousness one after another. Zero blinked away the cold sweat seeping into the corners of his eyes, and said in a low voice: "A pioneer from the other side, who met by chance, used his own existence to save me? It's similar to making up a story. right?"

He knew exactly what those "ice cubes" were.

For the consciousness of the realm of the dead, these are the most basic "existence" itself - because without the concept of self, those glaciers are all they have.

No matter how the identity is changed, as long as the glaciers have not melted or been swallowed by the sea, those consciousnesses still exist.

Zero has completely lost his patience. He can hardly control the intense anger that almost broke through the restraint, forcing the figure under his control to look up: "When will it be—"

He suddenly froze.

The young pioneer didn't struggle or speak, but opened his eyes in surprise, looked at him seriously, and raised his hand to touch his face.

…The little curly hair stayed between his fingers, curling lively, without changing at all.

Zero slowly let go of his hand.

He propped himself up in a daze, staggered back two steps, lost his balance quickly because of complete loss of strength, and fell precariously.

The young Pioneer jumped up quickly, reaching out to catch him before he hit the ground, and carried him into the recovery bay.

"Don't worry, it doesn't matter if such a little 'existence' is given to you."

Little Curly said quickly: "It doesn't affect me, but it may infiltrate you with some of my habits... If only I could teach you how to fish."

He turned around to check the freshly stitched wounds, frowned and pursed his lips: "Does it still hurt? I've already used the thinnest silk..."

Zero sat motionless in the repair cabin.

He fixedly stared at the figure who was busy back and forth, and after a long time, he spoke in a low voice, his voice as if swallowing a large piece of wet sea sand: "Your hair is straight."

The little curly hair gave a suspicious "hmm" and looked up at him.

"It's straight." Zero repeatedly verified in a low voice and stubbornly, "It's jagged, it's hot tin foil..."

He looked at the little curly hair that hadn't changed at all, and the other party seemed to understand what he meant suddenly, stood up and hugged him, so that he could touch his head with his hand: "What happened?"

Zero shook his head, his shoulders softened a little, and he whispered, "I'm sorry."

He touched the little wool rolls slowly.

An intense tiredness and relaxation almost like a collapse suddenly overwhelmed his consciousness.

Zero closed his eyes. He didn't know how to explain, but touched those soft curls repeatedly, almost rudely and completely offensively, constantly confirming their existence.

The melted ice water was still continuously replenishing his consciousness. Zero turned his head to avoid it, but was stubbornly hugged back.

"It's the payment for the lollipop."

The little curly hair said: "I still want to ask you to redeem the prize. I have drawn a 'captain'. Do you know what this is?"

Number Zero shook his head, and replied hoarsely, "I didn't write it."

"That's probably my 'cocoon' helping me cheat, it often does this kind of thing secretly."

Little Curly said: "Mr. Black Cat, it probably found out that I really want to take you home."

Number Zero answered something in a low voice, his voice was so low that he couldn't hear it clearly, and his body sank with exhaustion.

The little curly hair hugged him in time, and gently patted him behind his back

"Sorry……"

Zero's back was tense and trembling slightly: "...I had a nightmare."