Conan: When Shinjiu and Maolilan swap bodies

"Consciousness influences the frequency of consciousness waves. I only need to adjust it a little bit each time, and then slowly bring the frequency of consciousness waves to the frequency I want..."

"Judging from the brainwave response, he should have entered the memory corridor by now."

Dr. Peyton's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible fervor as his gaze remained fixed on the waveform representing Koniak's consciousness on the screen.

The lines that were originally moving in a regular rhythm are now undulating with a more soothing and immersive rhythm, like a current sinking into the deep sea.

Fiano leaned closer and looked at the color changes on the screen representing different brain regions.

"The Memory Corridor... is that the mental path you set up before, guiding him to recall specific fragments of his life?"

“That’s right,” Dr. Peyton nodded, tapping his finger on the control panel to bring up the preset guidance parameters. “This is the gentlest and most effective initial modification method.”

"Through harmonic resonance, we construct a virtual corridor in his deep subconscious, allowing his consciousness to wander within it and relive past memory nodes."

“Each immersive revisiting subtly reshapes his emotional connection to and cognitive weight of that memory, like finely sculpting a crystal of consciousness, adjusting its inherent vibrational frequency bit by bit, bringing it closer to the target frequency band I need…”

Ran Mouri is dreaming.

Saying it was a dream isn't quite accurate.

Because her consciousness was exceptionally clear at that moment, she knew exactly what she was doing and where she was.

In front of me was an empty room, with all sorts of children huddled inside.

They were dressed in simple white clothes, each with a number on it; at a glance, there were nearly thirty of them.

The children's faces were blurry, and even their voices were indistinct.

She saw Qingze, still with black hair and black eyes. He was sitting in the corner with a thick bandage wrapped around his head.

He seemed to have just woken up from a coma, looking around at his surroundings with a blank expression in his eyes.

Ran Mouri immediately realized that this was Aozawa's world of memories.

Although the consciousness has changed, the memories stored in the cerebral cortex still belong to the original owner.

She was like an observer who unexpectedly entered this realm of memories, gaining a glimpse into a corner of his long yet short life.

This was the first scene Qingze saw after regaining consciousness.

The cold incandescent light bulb, all sorts of children, clothes that are as white as mourning clothes, and large numbers on the clothes.

He didn't know why he was there, and he tried to recall, but his memory was blank.

There were children chattering about something, speaking in what sounded like bird language, but he could understand them perfectly.

He looked up at the ceiling, where several cameras were flashing red lights.

Not long after, the door opened, and a person in a white coat stood in the doorway, followed by two fierce-looking men in black.

All the children immediately fell silent, some of the more timid ones even crying from fright.

"Come out one by one when your number is called."

Qingze glanced at the number on his clothes.

21.

Chapter 171 Is there any meaning to living like this?

My memories are jumping around very quickly.

Ran Mouri saw Aozawa follow the researcher into a room.

The room had a cold, icy feel to it, and several people in white coats, their faces obscured, were busy inside.

"Take off all your clothes and stand on it!"

"What are you trying to do?" Qingze asked.

boom!

A heavy kick came from behind, catching the 10-year-old boy off guard. He fell to the ground, his chin hitting the ground hard.

Before Qingze could react, someone grabbed his hair and lifted him up.

The man in black looked menacing, his face exceptionally clear.

"Stop talking nonsense! Do as I say!"

Qingze lowered his eyes, stripped himself naked, and stood on the platform they indicated.

People in white coats quickly conducted various examinations, touching and pinching with several hands.

Eyes, teeth, hair, blood, bones... everything must undergo a thorough examination.

Their gazes weren't directed at people, but rather at objects, like lab rats.

Qingze endured various examinations and scrutiny, his eyes lowered, already aware of his situation.

Not long after, a collar was put around his neck.

The neck collar was very tight, making my neck very uncomfortable. It displayed a number, which was his identification number.

"Excellent, assigned to room number three."

Room number three was extremely basic, with only one door, five small beds, no windows, and no bathroom.

There are already four people inside.

The faces of the other three were blurred, but the face of the white-haired girl was clear.

She has cat-like eyes, and the two eyes are different colors, which is very unique.

Three children with indistinct faces huddled together, their fear and terror almost overflowing.

The silver-haired girl sat on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chest. Qingze looked around the room and chose a bed against the wall to sit down.

The subsequent scenes are almost entirely fragmented.

They were raised in a controlled manner, just like real lab rats.

Quantitative medication, quantitative food, quantitative exercise, regular washing, check-ups every three days, and various observation and control measures.

Ran Mouri saw that Aozawa's head injury was gradually healing and that he had grown taller.

At first, the atmosphere in room number three was quite good. Everyone could chat, comfort and encourage each other, and joke around at night, drawing a sense of security from this unfamiliar environment.

As time went by, the number of people began to decrease.

The fate of lab rats is to be experimented on and then die.

Ran Mouri now understood why the children's faces were blurry.

Because their lives were too short, so short that Qingze could no longer recall what they looked like.

Room number three has been converted into a two-person dormitory.

Although there is a male and a female, mice don't have a gender, and nobody cares about that.

"Are your hair and eyes natural?"

Qingze rested his head on his hands and chatted idly with the person next to him.

"Ah."

The girl, who had just been crying, nodded. Her eyes were red, and she looked at him with confusion and bewilderment.

"Aren't you afraid or sad that they're dead?"

My roommate has been unusually calm lately.

Without fear or helplessness, I went with the flow, completely out of place with the locals.

This special quality makes people subconsciously want to pay attention to him; it's as if there's a strange sense of security whenever he's around.

"We've spent over three months together, and it's natural to feel these emotions when we're in the same boat..."

"Then why are you still so calm?"

The miniature version of Qingze's face turned around, his eyes slightly lowered, somewhat speechless.

"Am I supposed to end up like you, with eyes swollen from crying?"

The girl was taken aback by his words, hugged her legs tightly, and stared blankly at the ground.

Now, only the two of them remain in the room.

I'm afraid it won't be long before I become a person.

Every time she was injected with the medication, she felt intense pain in her body, and she didn't know how much longer she could endure it.

"Are you afraid of dying?" she suddenly asked.

Qingze propped his legs up against the wall, rested his head on his hands, and whistled. When he heard the girl say that, he turned his head around.

"It's because I'm afraid of dying that I live. Even though I don't know why I'm living, I'll just live one day at a time..."

Looking at people who could find enjoyment even in such an environment, the girl's eyes were filled with confusion.

"But is there any meaning to living like this?"

Without freedom, without dignity, without a future, they are not even considered human beings, and they don't know when they will suddenly die because their bodies can't withstand the drugs.

"If you feel empty, you can find something to do, such as reading a book."

Qingze picked up one of the books from the bedside table and threw it to her.

"As for the meaning of your life, you'll have to find that yourself; I don't know."

The girl picked up the book that had been thrown at her and looked at the cover.

Being and Nothingness

Although Aozawa acted normally in front of the girl, Ran Mouri had seen him secretly shedding tears at night.

How could you not be saddened by the death of someone you've known for almost a year?

He simply sensed that the girl's will to live seemed to be weakening after her companions passed away, so he was just trying to give her a sense of security in this way.

Ran Mouri sighed inwardly.

Mr. Qingze's heart has always been very soft.

Another day's memories.

Qingze sat in the restaurant, chatting with the girl across from him.

Do you have hyperthymesia?

Qingze discovered that her roommate had an unusually good memory; she could remember the numbers on medicine bottles at a glance.

What is hyperthymesia?

"It means having a strong memory, which can be understood as being able to remember things at a glance and not forget them even after a long time."

"I think so, my memory is indeed very good."

“If you tell these researchers that you have hyperthymesia, you should be able to leave here.”

Hyperthymesia is much more valuable than these lab rats.

It's such a waste to use them as test subjects here.

"And what about you? Are you going to stay here?"

Qingze shrugged. "The way you're talking makes it sound like I can decide where I go."

Aside from the fact that he has no sense of pain, there is nothing particularly special about him.

Because he has no sense of pain, these researchers cherished him as a special experimental subject and were unlikely to let him leave.

"If you're too scared to talk to these researchers, I'll go and talk to them for you."

After saying that, he stood up and walked toward the researcher who was in charge of observing and guarding them.

The girl stared blankly at his retreating figure.

That silhouette was so ordinary, yet she felt she would never forget it for the rest of her life.

The silver-haired, cat-eyed girl left.

Only Qingze remained in room number three.

His life continued as usual.