Electronic Nezha

Chapter 109 Childhood Memories

After eating, I was too lazy to go back to the fifth floor. At this hour, Liu Zhenhua would have to pretend to be asleep. Father and son are mutually disgusted; let's give each other some freedom—if he's completely controlled by AI, he'll definitely become an extremely self-disciplined child, sigh…

I sat on my cot and started to feel drowsy, the back of my head swaying back and forth against the wall.

Old Wang said, "Why don't you go back and get some sleep?"

"No, I want to share the hardships with my employees too." I joked, but I was so sleepy that I pulled the military overcoat I used as a mattress over myself and said to Lao Wang, "Call me if you need anything."

Old Wang mumbled something and went out.

In that half-asleep state, I noticed a door frame peeking out from the north wall where the fruit was piled up. A little surprised, I got up and moved the boxes aside. It was indeed a door! A dirty wooden door, so dirty that it blended right in with the wall.

There were no doorknobs or any markings, as if someone had originally planned to open a door here but then abandoned it. This place is always piled with fruit crates, so I didn't even notice it!

I put my hand on the door and pushed it.

"Squeak-"

A crack was peeking out of the door, and my first thought was to find someone to patch it up right away. In this freezing weather, how could such a thing not let in the wind?
With another push, the door opened completely, revealing a warehouse behind it.

A warehouse as large as an empty palace! So empty that you could see from one end to the other, so large that even though you could see the end, you couldn't see what was there.

The warehouse was divided into countless areas. In the areas I could see, there were some furniture or other items, all of which were daily necessities. Then I realized that the cabinet closest to me looked very familiar.

It was an old TV cabinet with doors on both sides that could be opened. The frosted glass had a peony pattern, and the concave area in the middle was where the TV was placed.

I've seen this cabinet before.

It's the TV cabinet we used when we lived in a bungalow. It once held an 18-inch "big color TV". Next to the TV cabinet were two standing cabinets - now generally called wardrobes, and next to that were a grain cabinet, a small, pitted desk, chairs with worn-out artificial leather surfaces, and an old-fashioned double-door refrigerator.

These are all items we've used! Not just the styles, but the original parts!

Which rich woman who has a crush on me has been tirelessly collecting everything about me all these years?

In an inconspicuous corner, there was a small wooden knife.

I rushed over in one stride, knife in hand. So many years have passed, yet my longing remains undiminished; I almost cried.

"Fu Hongxue, it's been a long time."

Yes, it has a name, Fu Hongxue.

Fu Hongxue is much smaller than I remember. When I was a child, I thought it was incredibly powerful. My dad was really skilled; he cut the curve of the blade's belly very sharply. My friends were all very envious. I fought many fierce battles with Fu Hongxue, but now it really is just a childish and clumsy toy. It can't even fit in my palm anymore.

But I didn't care. I held the knife level, like a cold-blooded swordsman returning to the world, and said, "Fu Hongxue, where have you been all these years?"

Suddenly, a memory struck me: Fu Hongxue had perished in the battle against the children from the outer courtyard. So, this weapon in my hand... is it a replica?
I looked at the base of Fu Hongxue's knife and immediately saw three dark characters: Peak Blade.

Actually, it's not that clear. To an outsider, it would just be a blurry mess. I know what it says because I burned those words onto it with a cigarette butt. I originally wanted to use a ballpoint pen, but I was afraid the ink would fade if it got wet, so I burned each word onto it with my dad's cigarette butt. In the middle, because the fire wasn't strong enough, I even took a couple of puffs, and my dad saw me and kicked me.

The knife is my knife, and it's come back to life, which means... I'm dreaming!
I turned around sharply, but the door I came from had disappeared, fitting seamlessly into the tall, flat walls of the warehouse. I shouted twice and strained to open my eyes, but it was no use. Usually, doing this during a nightmare would elicit a response.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't panicked. If it were a natural dream, you would wake up very quickly after realizing you were dreaming. That's what shocked me the most—I was trapped in a dream!

"Number 23, is that reasonable?" I called out, but no one responded.

Since I was already there, I decided to make the best of it and strolled forward. The warehouse was filled with items I had used throughout my life, so there was nothing to be afraid of. It was a good opportunity for me to check the way I had come...

As time went on, furniture gradually evolved. TV cabinets adopted a simple, linear design; 18-inch TVs weren't enough, so 32-inch TVs were introduced, and later, even larger wall-mounted models appeared. Old-fashioned landline phones became smartphones, refrigerators changed from horizontal to vertical double doors, and toothbrushes went from plain bristles to electric ones…

"Life has really changed dramatically over the years," I couldn't help but exclaim. The further I walked, the deeper this feeling grew. When I reached a particularly moving spot, I spontaneously started singing: "The house is bigger, the phone is smaller, things are getting better and better—"

It felt like I was browsing a vintage museum, except all the items were things I had used. It was a pretty good feeling. I'm grateful to my parents for giving me a complete childhood, adolescence, and middle age, without any bad memories.

Throughout the entire process, no person or other creature intervened or spoke.

Further along, images of people began to appear, and the backgrounds changed to specific environments from different periods. For example, in the old house, my parents were still young, and the elderly people who had passed away were still healthy. When I entered middle school, my classmates all had youthful faces, and the girl I liked sat diagonally in front of me...

In these scenarios, "I" sometimes exist and sometimes do not. I can enter the scene, but I cannot interact with the people inside, just like experiencing a different kind of VR game.

Later, I went to a shady vocational college. I rarely saw myself in the dorm or in class; I spent almost all my time in internet cafes...

ashamed!

Then, Liu Zhenhua appeared. He looked to be only two or three years old, with a bit of baby fat, sitting on the playmat playing with plastic building blocks.

"So, they're starting to play the nostalgia card, huh?" I shouted towards the distance of the warehouse.

The number of scenes featuring Liu Zhenhua is increasing. Some scenes are quite ordinary, while others seem illogical. Everything seems to be trying to reveal the truth that Liu Zhenhua has been an AI since childhood.

As I continued forward, the warehouse seemed to grow infinitely larger. I stood at one point, and the end was forever out of reach.

Watching Liu Zhenhua's growth story is quite interesting, but when will it end?
"Number 23, come out now." I said, hiding the small wooden knife behind my back. "I won't hit you."

Still no response.

Liu Zhenhua grew up and gradually became like he is now. This is the last area with content. In the final scene, Liu Zhenhua was struck by a black lightning bolt and split vertically in two. One half is human, and the other half is composed of countless numbers and gibberish. Yes, Liu Zhenhua's identity is still explained in reverse chronological order.

I shrugged and said, "Adding special effects would ruin the fun, and besides, your special effects aren't even as good as the current AI."

(End of this chapter)