189: Chapter 189 The Bronze Gate Symbolizing the Past: A Closed Loop and the Left Hand of Playing with Memory

The halo of the memory fragment shook violently, and the bronze radiance was faintly stained with black; Wu Doumi's body had been completely corrupted by [Deep Sea Power]—eighteen thick octopus tentacles propped him up on the ground, his upper body covered in black patterns coated with slick, transparent mucus, and his originally round belly had become twice as large as his body, like an inflated balloon.

Due to the skin becoming a soft, translucent texture from the excessive expansion, one could easily see the various delicacies Wu Doumi had swallowed into his stomach, and even these delicacies had been endowed with [Activated] properties due to the corruption of [Deep Sea Power], swimming within.

The octopus tentacles behind Wu Doumi were twisting crazily, and at his completely dehumanized left wrist, the Dream Spirit [self-healing wristband], now dyed a deep black, was still attempting to absorb more corruption for its master.

Just as Wu Doumi's eyes rolled back and his consciousness was about to completely sink, the [self-healing wristband] on his left wrist seemed to have made a desperate resolution, erupting with a blinding crimson light!

That crimson light was like a gluttonous, hungry beast, causing the dehumanized Wu Doumi to instinctively emit a suppressed, terrified groan.

The [self-healing wristband], which had originally been unable to absorb any more corruption, now turned into a [Vicious Beast] of gluttony; a flash of crimson light swept by, forcibly pinning Wu Doumi's body in place—the fat and moisture throughout the octopus-like Wu Doumi's body were being crazily drained at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his originally abnormally distended belly collapsed visibly.

The octopus tentacles also struck out forcefully at the [self-healing wristband] upon discovering its abnormality, but they withered and shattered the moment they were about to touch it, turning into black smoke and dissipating.

"Hum—"

The [self-healing wristband] emitted a crimson light, forcibly purifying Wu Doumi's left hand from its octopus tentacle state back into a human form.

Forcibly pulling Wu Doumi's left hand up toward the sky, a milky-white, potent purification potion continuously surged from his palm, cascading like a waterfall over Wu Doumi's entire body, washing away the black patterns formed by the deep corruption of [Deep Sea Power] all over him.

The forces of corruption and purification collided within Wu Doumi's body, accompanied by a "sizzling" sound, as black smoke drifted from the surface of his body, quickly permeating the entire restaurant cabin, only to dissipate rapidly under the influence of an unknown force.

As the black smoke cleared, it revealed Wu Doumi, who had returned to human form but was so thin he was nothing but skin and bones. His cheeks were sunken, like an old man on the verge of death, but his withered eyeballs emitted a striking light—it was a hunger and desire to survive stemming from instinct.

He stumbled as he crawled toward the dining table in the restaurant cabin, his skeleton-like hands lifting a large bowl of [Energy Fruit Soup], and without caring about its scalding, bubbling temperature, he poured it straight into his mouth.

As the thick soup went down, the nutrients contained within were quickly converted into fat by Wu Doumi's body; his physique gradually changed from withered to firm, and then back to a rounded contour, while the [self-healing wristband] on his wrist also slowly faded from black back to a pure white.

After five minutes of frantic eating, Wu Doumi satisfiedly patted his restored, round belly. Without lingering too long in the restaurant cabin, he stepped through the red door inside the cabin and disappeared from the scene.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft~ The second modification of the memory fragment failed~" Hapi the Monochrome Bear's voice carried a hint of mockery as its red mechanical eyes scanned the now-calm fragment. "To go so far as to put a friend in a life-or-death crisis, yet still fail to rewrite the established fact—what a waste of effort~"

"A friend?" Gemini sneered, extending two fingers and waving them in the air. "First, Wu Doumi is not my friend; I will never be friends with anyone. Second, the essence of [Gambling] is to strive for victory with all one's might. Even I myself can become a piece to win the [Gambling], otherwise, how can one speak of [Pleasure]!"

Beneath Gemini's cynical expression lay a madness unrelated to humanity, a paranoid pursuit of [Pleasure] within [Gambling]. As Gemini's words fell, he unhesitatingly picked up the last bronze card, [Exchange Card], and turned to stick it onto a memory fragment floating in the corner that he had been observing for a long time.

The bronze card turned into specks of light and dissipated. The scene within the memory fragment made Hapi the Monochrome Bear break out in a cold sweat in disbelief—it was a scene of Gemini in the arcade cabin.

In the scene, he had just taken a golden-yellow gacha ball the size of a ping-pong ball from the gacha machine and was about to put it into his pocket when Gemini suddenly changed his mind.

He unscrewed the gacha ball, and a pearl shimmering with golden light and rippling water patterns on its surface rolled out—it was the very prop that should only have been obtained after the end of the third Gambling match—[Talent Enhancement Pearl]!

The Gemini in the scene picked up the golden pearl and tossed it in his hand, his mouth curling into the same cynical smile as in reality, before stuffing the pearl into his pocket.

He whistled a strange tune and looked up at the sky, his gaze seeming to pierce through the memory fragment to lock eyes precisely with Hapi, who was staring blankly at the scene in reality. His eyes were full of profound meaning and mockery, and then he turned and walked out of the arcade cabin.

"... The third modification of the memory fragment succeeded. [Gemini], you really are crazy~" Hapi's red mechanical eyes flashed with intense red light, and its round body slumped to the ground, unable to recover for a long while.

Gemini smiled and took the golden-yellow [Talent Enhancement Pearl] out of his pocket, gently tossing it in his palm. The pearl's golden light was exceptionally conspicuous in the [Land of Memory] filled with bronze light.

"Hahaha~ Loop achieved!" Gemini threw his head back and laughed, his eyes flashing with the pleasure and madness of enjoying [Gambling]. "I originally wanted to try and see if creating a time paradox would cause this [Land of Memory] to collapse, but I didn't expect it to go so smoothly~ Hahaha!"

Hearing Gemini's crazy idea of attempting to create a time paradox, Hapi helplessly shrugged, the red light of its mechanical eyes receding: "Pfft, pfft, pfft~ What a crazy kid, actually daring to modify the self within the memory fragment, letting the past self obtain an item that should only appear in the future, in order to create a closed loop that must be completed. Am I also a piece in your [Gambling]? You won the first [Gambling]!"

Hapi clapped its round hands. "Now, it is time for me to pay the price of failure: granting you the special ability befitting this [Gambling]—[Left Hand of Memory Play]!"

As the words fell, all the floating bronze memory fragments in the [Land of Memory] simultaneously erupted with dazzling bronze light.

The heavy bronze light, like meteors, densely smashed into Gemini's left hand and merged into it. Gemini's left hand began to emit a bronze light from the inside out, and a heavy power merged into his left hand at a deep level. An epiphany appeared in Gemini's mind; it was the power to control, or rather, to play with memories.

[Left Hand of Memory Play: The left hand can manipulate memories at will. Core abilities include extracting memories, editing memories, deleting memories, and implanting memories. Using the ability requires maintaining mental focus and continuously consuming Dream Power.]

Gemini raised his left hand, watching the bronze light recede and disappear beneath his skin, then cynically whistled a tune, the melody identical to the one he was whistling in the memory fragment.

Hapi did a funny ballet dance on the spot, its round body swaying back and forth, then clapped its hands: "Pfft, pfft, pfft~ [Gemini] must be impatient to start the second [Gambling], right~"

Following Hapi's actions, a silver door gleaming with cold silver light passed through the Chaos and stood firmly in the [Land of Memory]. "Let us head to the next venue and start the [Gambling] of the [Present]~"

Gemini stuffed the [Talent Enhancement Pearl] back into his pocket, his gaze falling on the silver door, the excitement in his eyes rising.

He stepped into the silver door first, with Hapi hopping along behind. At the very last moment before entering the silver door completely, the Black and White Bear turned its head to look at the [Land of Memory] and the floating memory fragments; the red light of its mechanical eyes also appeared exceptionally conspicuous amidst the bronze light of the [Land of Memory] and the silver light of the silver door.

Along with the "Pfft, pfft, pfft~" sound from Hapi the Monochrome Bear, the figures of the two completely disappeared into the silver door. The bronze light of the [Land of Memory] gradually dimmed, all memory fragments slowly hid into the boundless Chaos, and even the bronze door emitting bronze light and the silver door with silver light each hid themselves within the Chaos.