Unexpectedly—
Despite both doctors exhausting all their efforts!
John's life trajectory did not change in the slightest.
From beginning to end, John had no interest in aerospace.
Seeing this, Furukawa Hirozawa was almost moved to tears by John.
Awesome!
A person's willpower and wishes should not be twisted by such evil machines.
Even if childhood memories were changed, what then?
...
At this point, the two could only abandon this memory plan to change the wish.
And Furukawa Hirozawa finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Ishino Mika's plot arrangement indeed had deep meaning.
He was not disappointed.
...
However, the doubts in Furukawa Hirozawa's heart grew deeper.
A person with no interest in aerospace, even if his memory was changed to such an extent, did not want to go to the moon.
Something he had never thought of in his entire life.
Why would such a person want to go to the moon before his death?
From another perspective, what could he see if he went to the moon?
Earth?
Would there be River on the moon?
Wasn't River buried under the lighthouse?
Her tombstone was also placed there.
Furukawa Hirozawa was completely baffled.
...
Rosaleen believed that something must have prevented John from going to the moon.
Although John's obsession with going to the moon had been infinitely amplified, it was still influenced by some mysterious force within his memory.
The two discussed it and believed that the problem must lie in that inaccessible memory.
"Undeniably, River played an important role throughout. If anything caused a core change, she would definitely be the prime suspect. But what factor was it, River, what exactly did you do?"
And at this moment, the entire memory space vibrated, and an alarm sounded.
The doctor told them, "John on the bed can barely hold on; he might leave you at any time. How is your progress?"
Rosaleen: "Still no progress."
"Better hurry, we don't have much time."
Old John was dying.
Furukawa Hirozawa's heart also tightened.
He frowned, always having a premonition—
There must be some important connection between to the moon and River.
But what exactly was it?
...
So Dr. Watts called the headquarters for consultation.
To see if the machine was broken, or if there was any way to unlock that inaccessible area in Old John's memory.
After some investigation, they found out that John had concealed a medical record.
When he was young, he had taken a large amount of enhanced beta-blockers.
And coincidentally, this drug had side effects on a person's memory.
This should be the reason why they were prevented from entering John's early memories.
Although Dr. Watts had already obtained the corrected frequency, allowing them to smoothly overcome the blocker's obstruction.
But to activate the new frequency, we still need a trigger.
Something real, strongly present, and related to that lost memory.
...
"But where are we going to find such an old and important item?"
"Yeah. So, we're back to square one. Damn it, I need some fresh air."
After Watts left, Rosaleen sat in the room thinking, and in less than a minute, Watts ran back, shouting, "It stinks outside! There's a corpse! It's disgusting!"
"I know, it's all because you ran over that squirrel with your car," Rosaleen said impatiently.
"Wait. Do you remember? When we were moving forward through John's memory, that last blank space that was locked also reeked of animal corpses!"
"I see. Olfactory receptors are directly connected to the limbic system of the brain! Scent is the most powerful stimulus for evoking memories. An animal hit by a car—this must have some significant connection. Perhaps we can use this as a link to synchronize with his childhood memories."
Ah!!!
Furukawa Hirozawa's mind jolted, and he jumped up from the tatami in excitement!
Excellent!
So!
The squirrel that was hit at the very beginning did not die in vain!
And it seemed completely unrelated, even Furukawa Hirozawa had long forgotten about this squirrel, but it was a huge foreshadowing!
Oh my goodness!
Had game already laid this groundwork so early?!
...
The mysteries in game, rolling along until now, had become incredibly complex and interconnected.
Even before this, Furukawa Hirozawa had once desperately believed there was no hope of solving them.
He could no longer imagine how, after a game had rolled its mysteries to such a complex degree, they would be able to solve it.
This was no longer just a simple matter of unraveling threads.
Furukawa Hirozawa was even prepared, in his despair, to send a blade to Ishino Mika.
There was no other reason—
Oh, Ishino Mika, it was fine when you used to deliver sad endings, at least the story was complete.
Now you only dig holes and don't fill them, is that right?
And you dig with more and more enthusiasm. How is this any different from many manga Authors who don't resolve their foreshadowing and provide a satisfying ending?
Yes, I'm talking about that old scoundrel Yoshihiro Togashi.
And now... Furukawa Hirozawa had a faint premonition that the squirrel would be the first key to unlocking all the mysteries.
After this, all the puzzles would be solved.
"Then what are we waiting for? Time is running out!"
Watts restarted the machine, and Rosaleen found a vacuum gas tank in the car, collecting the scent of the crushed squirrel.
Returning to Old John's bedside, Rosaleen told the doctor, "When we reach that coordinate again, I will send a signal. When you see the signal, please open the vent valve on the gas tank for 3 seconds."
"Will there be any risks?" the doctor asked.
"I don't know, we can only try. John's life is critical, this might be our last chance."
"Then I wish you good luck."
Putting on their helmets, a white light flashed, and Watts and Rosaleen entered John's memory again.
They jumped down layer by layer, finally using the football in the bedroom to enter that world glowing with white light.
"Send the signal," Rosaleen said.
In the old man's bedroom, the instrument flashed green. The doctor quickly opened the gas tank, aimed it at John's nose, and opened the vent valve.
Suddenly, the memory world where the two doctors were located began to vibrate, and a red light flashed.
In the bedroom, the maid Lily shouted, "Doctor, something's wrong!"
John's heartbeat accelerated sharply, and his condition was very unstable.
"Hurry, get out of his memory! Now!" Watts shouted to Rosaleen. "If the system doesn't stabilize, the oscillation could destroy everyone inside forever."
"No, if we leave now, all our previous efforts will be reset," Rosaleen also shouted.
"This isn't a movie, and you're not a hero, you idiot!"
As the two argued, the world suddenly stabilized.
The football under their feet emitted a faint glow, and they completed another traversal. This time they arrived at a small courtyard, which should have been John's childhood home. A boy sat on the swing, who should be the child Johnnie.
"Finally," said Dr. Watts.
"...Something's not right," Rosaleen said.
"What's wrong?"
"Did you notice some strange things in little John's room?"
"What things?"
"There were very strange things there. Never mind... I hope I'm wrong."
...
...
The two successfully arrived at that obstructed memory.
Outside the yard, a car was parked, and an adult woman was talking to a man. Watts and Rosaleen had seen her at the wedding; she was John's mother.
"Oh my, look at the time... I have to go, the grocery store closes early today!"
"Alright, drive safely. Say hello to the children for me."
"Got it, see you later." Saying that, the woman started the car.
Rosaleen uneasily told Watts, "This isn't right, this memory is too calm here."
On the road, little John was kicking a football.
No animals, no plants, no pedestrians.
John's mother backed up the car.
Ah!!!
Furukawa Hirozawa's pupils contracted.
The air solidified like glue.
From somewhere far away, an ominous smell drifted.
John was crushed under the car.
The sky turned pure black.
A piercing screech of brakes came from the television.
The woman in the car frantically ran out.
Little John lay on the ground, his eyes tightly closed.
"This is too confusing," Watts said. "If he was unconscious when he was hit, how could we see these memories? And how did he survive the car accident?"
"Actually… he didn't survive," Rosaleen said.
"What? What did you say?"
"Didn't you see it in his room? That strange thing."
"Stop talking nonsense! What is it?" Watts was anxious.
"Bunk beds. Johnnie slept on a bunk bed. Also, when John and his mother said goodbye for school, his mother didn't call him John, but—"
What?!
Furukawa Hirozawa's lips parted slightly, and an ominous premonition surged in his heart.
And just then, a child's shout echoed from a distance:
"Joey!"
Furukawa Hirozawa's pupils constricted—
Because the child running over while shouting was John.
"Mom, what happened to Joey? Why is he lying on the ground? Did you hit him, Mom? Mom?"
Joey?!
Furukawa Hirozawa's mind buzzed.
Ah!
Everything made sense.
Why there were bunk beds in John's house.
Why his mother always called him Joey.
It turned out John had a twin brother named Joey.
But he died in this accident—
Because Joey was too small, he was playing football behind the car, and his mother didn't see him when she was backing up, so she ran over him.
This also explained why the scent of the squirrel hit by the car could trigger Old John's memories.
So that's how it was.
The truth was like this.
…
After Joey's death, his mother found it difficult to bear such a blow, and John was also heartbroken by the loss of his twin brother. To make him forget this memory, his mother gave him a large dose of beta-blockers.
And from then on, his mother's mental state also began to become abnormal, often calling John 'Joey'.
This wasn't calling John, but calling out to the child who had been gone for a long time.
Playing to this point, Furukawa Hirozawa felt extremely sad.
Besides Joey's accidental death, he felt even more sad for John.
His mother always called him Joey, ignoring the existence of the child named John. Even at the wedding, his mother still called him Joey.
But, what was comforting was—
John had no memory of this; he only thought Joey was his nickname.
…
Time jumped forward again.
This time, John and Joey were sitting in a room. Joey was reading on the top bunk of a bunk bed, and a beautiful toy train was on the floor.
"Hey, Johnnie, you really should check out this series. I finished three books in one go!"
"What's the name?" John asked.
"'Transformed Warriors'! It's about a few kids who transform into animals and fight monsters!"
"But I don't like those strange alien creatures," John said, without turning his head.
"Hey, you're not still mad about the train, are you? Come on!"
John finally turned his head and said to Joey, "It's not just about that! You know, Mom always favors you!"
"That's not true. Alright, alright, if you like it, you can take my toy train."
"Really?"
"Listen, Johnnie, what's the difference between what you and I own? Everything I own is yours too, right?"
"…Right."
"That's why I say, you're my twin brother, you're like another me."
Further back, in an even older memory. At a joyful party, his mother was taking John and Joey to choose prizes for a whack-a-mole game.
John stomped his foot and shouted, "I don't want that ugly doll, I want that toy train!"
His mother said, "That's the last toy train. How about giving it to Joey, and I'll give you a teddy bear as a prize?"
"No, I just like that toy train…"
"Hey, hey, John, don't make a scene in public. Joey won the toy train fair and square, didn't he?"
"I won too! He just got there before me!"
Joey said to John from the side, "It's okay, we can play together."
His mother said, "Look at your brother, how generous he is."
"Hmph!" John threw out a remark and ran off.
"Johnnie!" his mother shouted after him, "Don't run off to deserted places!"
The two doctors followed suit.
Watching Johnnie run far away to a deserted mountaintop, Watts sneered, "Our little John is really obedient."
Furukawa Hirozawa actually had similar thoughts, feeling extremely annoyed in his heart.
His mother was truly unfair to John.
However, thinking about the future, this mother would lose her beloved son, and what wrong had Joey committed? Furukawa Hirozawa couldn't bring himself to hate his mother anymore.
In the scene, time was quietly passing, the beautiful night sky, as if all worries were blown away by the wind.
There was a fallen log on the mountaintop. Little John sat there, looking at the starry sky, lost in thought.
"I used to do that a lot when I was little," Rosaleen said, "looking at the stars until dawn."
"I think that's a bit silly," Watts said.
…
Johnnie sat there for a long time, as if time had frozen.
"It seems we still won't get an answer," Watts said.
And just then.
A soft footsteps approached.
A little girl, strolling over.
She had red hair.
Furukawa Hirozawa's heart leaped into his throat.
Because red hair was River's hair color.
"She's—" Watts's mouth widened.
"Shut up," Rosaleen said.
Johnnie turned his head and said to the girl, "Hello! I'm Johnnie, what's Your Name?"
"…You took my spot." The girl tilted her head, looked at Johnnie for a long time, and hesitated for a long time, saying a little timidly.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hog it here," Johnnie said. "Um, would you like to sit with me?"
"…Are you here to look at the stars?" River asked curiously.
"You too?"
Johnnie laughed happily. Although he had an unpleasant experience before, meeting River might not be so bad after all.
It might even be a kind of luck.
He invited River to sit down and look at the stars together.
River hesitated for a moment and agreed.
The two children sat shoulder to shoulder on the log, with a magnificent sea of stars above them.
"You know, there are countless lights in the sky," Johnnie said.
"Mm."
"You just said this was your spot? Do you come here often?"
"I only come during the carnival."
"Don't like crowds? I don't either. By the way, you still haven't told me Your Name?"
The girl was silent for a moment and said, "I won't tell you."
"Why?"
"Everyone at school makes fun of me because of it."
"It can't be worse than John, can it? See, my name is too common, it's everywhere."
"So what? I also want a common name, like ordinary people…"
"But that's so boring. I don't like my name."
"Look at the stars in the sky. From here, they all look similar, but that doesn't diminish their beauty."
"Mm, I think so too."
"Is there a Rabbit Constellation in the sky?"
"I don't know, shall we look for it? I'll count to three, and we'll start." John raised his hand, ready to count.
"I've already found it."
"Where?"
The girl looked towards the middle of the sky: "Right there, it's bigger than all the other stars."
"I see it!" Johnnie excitedly pointed to the sky, "Look, there are two ears and a round head!"
"Exactly, anything else?"
"And… the moon! The moon is its chubby belly."
…
Ah ah ah ah ~
Furukawa Hirozawa saw this and tears involuntarily fell.
So that's how it was.
So that's how it was!
So that's how it was…
…
At this very moment, Furukawa Hirozawa had been bombed into pieces by Pokeni's tear gas.
Pokeni is too hateful!!!
Ishino Mika is too hateful!!!
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