Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

A rainstorm that comes and goes as quickly as it arrives.

Sunlight pierced through the clouds, making the surface of the puddles shimmer and glisten.

Qi Zhimu folded up the oil-paper umbrella, gently shook off the water stains, took off his muddy shoes, and changed into a pair of clean sandals.

"Go and dry the clothes quickly."

"Um."

Having previously brought her mother to the hospital on a rainy day, Clarice changed her shoes and walked confidently into the bamboo house, starting the special "drying machine" placed in a fixed area.

It is said that Mr. Qi tinkered with it in his spare time, and since he was too lazy to come up with a name for it, he simply called it a drying machine.

The warm breeze seeped into the dress, circulating along the skin, carrying away the dampness left by the rain on the skin and the long dress, forming a faint mist that was barely perceptible to the naked eye.

On the other side, Qi Zhimu went back to his room, changed his clothes casually, put on his white coat as usual, and walked into the treatment room.

The treatment is nearing its end.

The girl's lithe figure stopped beside Qi Zhimu, looking at her loved ones in the treatment pod, her fingers unconsciously interlacing in a prayer gesture.

Don't worry, everything is normal.

As the countdown to the treatment course reached zero, the medical pod door opened automatically, and Durand slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing familiar and unfamiliar faces, the confusion in his eyes lessened slightly.

"...Clarice...and this gentleman..."

"Mother!"

Clarice carefully helped Durand up and excitedly hugged her mother, but quickly came to her senses, her little face filled with astonishment.

"Mother, you...don't you remember Mr. Qi?"

"Mr. Qi, Mr. Qi..." Durand thought carefully, then asked uncertainly, "...Was he the doctor who treated me?"

Seeing this, a look of seriousness flashed in Qi Zhimu's eyes.

He met the girl's slightly panicked gaze and gave her a subtle look.

"Ms. Durand, please allow me to examine the current state of your brain."

"OK."

After attaching the relevant instrument electrodes to Durand's head, Qi Zhimu initiated the examination procedure.

Countless pieces of information that Clarice couldn't understand appeared on the screen, and Qi Zhimu didn't miss a single punctuation mark, taking it all in.

A few minutes later, he turned off the instrument and removed the numerous electrodes.

"Ms. Durand's current condition is somewhat unexpected, but it is still under control. Please rest assured that your amnesia will be completely cured in two months."

"Okay, thank you for your trouble."

Although Durand couldn't remember Qi Zhimu, he could sense the goodwill the other party was showing.

"You can go home now. Please come back for a follow-up appointment in 24 days."

Durant didn't react particularly to the number 24.

Clarice, however, showed worry on her face upon seeing her mother's reaction.

This is the first time my mother has forgotten the intervals between each treatment session after undergoing treatment.

And the time until the next treatment has been shortened by a few days again...

Sooner or later, it will reach a point where daily treatment will be ineffective.

By then—

Even she might be forgotten by her mother.

When a person completely loses their memory, even if they are still alive, it is no different from being dead.

Life is a winding labyrinth; we have nothing but memories.

Remembering what her mother had once told her, Clarice seemed to understand the meaning of those words.

……

After the mother and daughter left, Qi Zhimu imported the data from this treatment into the recording terminal and began further analysis.

Generally speaking, even in a world with relatively advanced medical technology, memory-related disorders have always been a difficult problem.

For example, the people on the fairy boat.

The specific reasons why they fell into demonic possession are deeply related to their memories.

Those who fall into demonic possession are confused about the six senses and lose all human relationships.

The teacher had researched how to cure demonic possession, but he did not know whether this problem had been solved.

The celestial being who volunteered to become a subject of research and experimentation was also taken away by a starship one day.

Success or failure, life or death, Qi Zhimu, who was only 22 years old at the time, did not know either.

However, after that, Ruan Mei gave him an additional research topic related to memory.

Thanks to my long-term immersion in the subject of memory, I am now able to treat Durand's amnesia.

So far, all symptoms have been within expectations, thankfully.

Qi Zhimu is confident that he will fulfill the promise he made to Clarice.

It's unclear when exactly, but Qi Zhimu has come to value promises extremely highly.

Sometimes even he himself doesn't understand why he puts so much effort into things that are easily discernible as casual remarks from others.

Many years ago, Yu Qingtu said something to him—

"If you can make pastries that satisfy me, I'll unconditionally do one thing for you and solve a problem for your teacher."

"But I admire A-Ruan, so even if you can't do it, I'll help her."

Qi Zhimu solemnly promised that he would not let him down.

He remembered the look in Yu Qingtu's eyes that day, filled with deep astonishment.

The meaning is obvious: the genius was just making a joke and never expected the little guy in his eyes to agree; otherwise, he wouldn't have said the second thing as an excuse.

After regaining her senses, Yu Qingtu raised the corners of her mouth, her eyes showing a hint of interest and a faint expectation.

It took Qi Zhimu seven years to successfully develop a magical flavor enhancer.

When added to pastries, it automatically caters to the taster, becoming their favorite flavor.

In a sense, it was a bit of a shortcut, but it still won Yu Qingtu's approval.

From then on, every time Yu Qingtu came to see Ruan Mei, Qi Zhimu would make an extra portion of pastry.

At first, we used that kind of MSG, but as time went on, we stopped using it.

"Ms. Durand's amnesia is not caused by brain damage or any specific disease..."

"It is not the same type as Alzheimer's disease, which has long been cured... This is 100% certain."

Therefore, stem cell transplantation cannot be used.

"Using CRISPR-dCas9 technology to remove DNA methylation markers, reactivating memory-related genes, and supplementing with CCKBR receptor modulators..."

Qi Zhimu opened the containment cabinet and took a special medicine from the air-conditioned storage shelf.

This is the CCKBR receptor modulator.

Strictly speaking, it has no effect on Durand's amnesia; it is used as an adjunct for prevention.

If the treatment causes brain nerve damage to the patient, CCKBR receptor modulators can take effect immediately.

The main solution to Durand's amnesia lies in the results of his research over the years.

—Memory decoding and backfilling.

By simulating hippocampal function through implanted devices, memory-related neural signals can be replicated.

The residual electrical signals in the hippocampus are captured and amplified, and finally the patient's memories are digitized and reinfused via BCI.

"...Hmph, if it were a Memory Master from the Flowing Light Memory Court, perhaps they would have an even simpler method..."

Unfortunately, he didn't embark on the path of remembering memories and had to rely on himself.

This research is now nearing its end, with only the final step remaining: clinical trials.

Qi Zhimu drank the receptor modulator, preparing to personally verify its efficacy.