Indeed, while Shirley lay unconscious, that scoundrel Helios had clearly been attempting to implant ‘customized’ memories into her mind through some technological means.Although Dr. Irmindada, dormant within Shirley’s subconscious, had intervened to halt the process in time, Shirley could still recall the contents of those implanted memories.Helios’s implanted memories were crafted with considerable cunning; had it not been for Dr. Irmindada’s timely warning, Shirley might well have mistaken them for her own lost recollections.Within these fabricated memories, Helios was portrayed as Dr. Irmindada’s childhood sweetheart, revered by the latter as an older brother.From their innocent youth, they had addressed each other as siblings, living, playing, and studying together, before dedicating themselves to scientific research for the future of all humanity—and, as the memories concluded, it was Dr. Irmindada who had initiated the confession and proposed their engagement.Yet, despite the intricate design of his scheme, Helios evidently lacked absolute certainty in its success.It was for this reason that he had feigned ‘seeing through her lies’ to intimidate Shirley, using it as a final probe.However, far from exposing any weakness, Shirley had instead wept genuinely and profusely, completely dispelling his suspicions.
“Sweetheart… don’t cry, don’t cry, it’s all my fault!”
“I accidentally took the wrong medicine this morning, so my mind was momentarily muddled, which led me to do such a thing just now.”
Helios, utterly flustered by Shirley’s tear-streaked face, violently slapped himself multiple times.Each blow landed harder than when he had struck Shirley earlier, eliciting a resounding ‘smack-smack-smack’ rhythm.
“Please, you must forgive me, alright?”
“Never!” Shirley, seizing the opportunity, began to embody the persona from the implanted memories—perhaps driven by some unspeakable predilection, Helios had deliberately configured her as a delicate young lady, utterly dependent on him and lacking any personal initiative.Thus, Shirley simply indulged in a fit of a spoiled young lady’s petulance.
“I hate you the most!”
“Eek!” Helios instantly froze, as if struck by the ‘Petrificus Totalus’ spell from *Harry Potter*.He let out a yelp before becoming utterly immobile.Such was the so-called ‘overwhelming effect’.
“Hate, hate, hate, hate! You’re not my best big brother at all!” Shirley, mimicking the characters from the romance manga she had once read, continued her performance—these manga were all from Alice’s collection.Initially, to guide Shirley towards her desired outcome, Alice had mostly shown her ‘classic works’ like *AnX and IslandX* and *Citrus Aroma*.However, Shirley’s true interest lay in the more mainstream ‘industrial saccharine’ type of stories.Now, at this very moment, she was surprised to discover that the vicarious experiences gleaned from these ‘industrial saccharine’ tales were proving remarkably effective!
“I don’t recognize a big brother like you! A proper big brother would hold an umbrella for an hour when their sister’s hand gets scalded, choose vanilla ice cream even if they don’t like it for their sister, spend an entire night making a handmade kite for their sister, and risk being discovered by their parents to take their sister glidng in the forest!” Upon ceasing her tears, Shirley, realizing she had guessed correctly, immediately pressed her advantage.She rattled off a string of ‘facts’ that existed solely within the artificial memories Helios had implanted in her.
Her actions served two primary purposes.Firstly, Shirley was effectively conveying to Helios that his memory implantation plan had been an unmitigated success, thereby further alleviating his suspicions.Secondly, she understood well that the memories Helios had instilled in her were, in essence, Helios’s own fantasy of an ‘ideal past’.By referencing these specific details, the likelihood of successfully persuading him would be significantly higher.
“I… I’m truly sorry!”
“I’ve been so swamped with official duties lately that I had to take some psychotropic medication, and I never expected such side effects!”
“I’ll immediately order the pharmacist to be shot as punishment for upsetting you!”
“No!” Shirley retorted, “My brother wouldn’t do such a thing!”
“Then… then let’s forget it,” Helios conceded.He continued, “Well, in any case, are you willing to forgive me, my dearest Irmindada?”
“I’ll reluctantly forgive half of it,” Shirley, mimicking a manga character, puffed out her cheeks and said.As for the other half, that will depend on your future behavior.”
“Then I’ll certainly behave well! I swear!” Helios hastily vowed.His demeanor was as subservient as a puppy licking its master’s feet.The arrogant air that had led him to babble nonsense and casually execute his subordinates vanished without a trace.Yet Shirley knew perfectly well that his current humility was merely a facade.His true nature remained, as Dr. Irmindada had warned, that of a dangerous, arrogant, and fickle individual.However, since he was willing to put on a show, Shirley, naturally, would patiently play along.
“Since I haven’t fully forgiven you, I also forbid you from calling me ‘my dearest’ or any other nauseating endearments from now on,” Shirley, maintaining her relentless pursuit, continued.I am now more accustomed to being called ‘Shirley’; you may address me as such.”
“Uh… is that your name from that other world?”
“More accurately, I feel a stronger affinity for this name,” Shirley nodded.For some reason, my memories only extend back three years; all recollections from my time as ‘Dr. Irmindada’ are hazy and indistinct.Only just now did I recall our shared moments… but I still can’t remember anything else, and I truly don’t know why.”
“Evidently, our love has awakened the memories we share.”
“The power of love is eternally grand, capable of overcoming even towering glaciers and the absolute zero of space!” Helios once again spouted saccharine words.However, Shirley still noticed the schadenfreude in his smile.
He then inquired, “As for your other memories… can you truly not recall them?”
“I’m afraid that’s indeed the case,” Shirley sighed.I’m not even very clear about the situation in this world.I only remember Salome suddenly appearing at our school and forcibly kissing me… then, when I woke up, the entire school had been transported to this world.”
“And you were attacked afterward?”
“Yes, many strange giant insects and some human-insect hybrids with peculiar abilities suddenly assaulted the campus, and many students were killed.”
“Miss Salome, who claimed to be my daughter, only occasionally provided us with small amounts of weapons and ammunition.”
“Later, due to the dangerous situation, we were forced to raid her stronghold to seize weapons, but I ended up having my limbs severed and was then fitted into a ‘Huntress’ unit.”
“After that, she forced me to fight for her, and then…”
“Hmph, Salome is as detestable as ever!” Helios snorted.While she still holds research value and cannot be killed yet, if my dearest… er, if Miss Shirley, you wish it, I can sever her limbs in the same manner, without anesthetic, to let her experience the same pain you endured.”
“No, that won’t be necessary!” Shirley instinctively wanted to wave her hands, but regrettably, she could not control her ‘hands’ at the moment, so she could only comically wriggle her body.She declared, “I believe we should prioritize peace and treat others kindly! Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you! Besides, she is my daughter.”
“That’s true,” Helios nodded.Although she didn’t undergo a ten-month gestation, the project to create her did indeed utilize gamete cells from your body, so she is technically your blood relative.He added, “What misfortune.That your excellent genes should ultimately give rise to such a defiant and vicious individual—this is all… er, all my responsibility!”
“Your responsibility?” Shirley blinked.
“Precisely!” Helios nodded vigorously, like a pecking chick, “How could the intelligent and kind Miss Shirley ever be at fault?”
“At the very least, your plan to create humans capable of wielding the power from the Realm of Parting Sorrow was a complete success!”
“The true problem lies with me—as the project supervisor, I failed to notice Iskander Romanov’s clandestine sabotage, which led to the failure of their socialization process.”
“Recalling it now, I am overcome with shame!”
“Hmm… who exactly is that Romanov fellow?” Shirley mused.
“It’s a long story,” Helios sighed softly.Since our love couldn’t protect your other memories, allow me to recount it anew.He continued, “Miss Shirley, while you may believe yourself to be a high school student, you are, in fact, thirty-two years old.Your current appearance is entirely thanks to the age-reversing techniques you underwent through bioengineering—yes, three years ago, you were the world’s greatest genius scientist, whose research spanned genetics, higher-dimensional physics, and neurophysiology.You were an entity even I, the eternal sun of science and the beacon of human reason, looked up to!”
“Huh? I was really that amazing?” Shirley exclaimed.
“Indeed,” Helios affirmed.Though your beauty is exceptional, your wisdom and intellect hold ten, no, a hundred times more allure for me than your physical appearance!” From beneath his purple cloak, Helios conjured a bouquet of white lilies, placing them on Shirley’s bedside table.In this world, only your intellect is truly a match for mine!”
“Hmm…” Shirley murmured.Despite knowing this was likely an exaggerated performance, her face flushed crimson.She had to admit, that scoundrel Helios was undeniably skilled at charming women.
“Let us begin with the history of this world,” Helios cleared his throat.In the mid-21st century, the predecessor to our Human Revival Council—the Global Innovation Alliance, composed of sixteen colossal research enterprises—purchased the then-unclaimed region of Biltaiville.They transformed it into a quasi-sovereign state, free from any research restrictions.Due to the scorching sunlight year-round in that area, this quasi-nation was named ‘Amaterasu Paradise’.Having shed the shackles of various regulations, interference, and extortion, we achieved numerous breakthroughs in cutting-edge scientific research.”
“Such as, technology for traversing space?” Shirley prompted.
“Precisely,” Helios replied.Thanks to the magnificent experiment conducted by Chief Physicist Dr. Lester Huang, on September 8th, 2077, his ‘Golden Daisy’ spatial rift machine first opened a fissure between different parallel worlds.Though the initial fissure was merely the diameter of a quark, it nonetheless substantiated certain hypotheses, such as the possibility of achieving perpetual motion indirectly by harnessing energy from inter-world energy ‘differentials’.”
“Perpetual motion!” Shirley gasped.
“Indeed,” Helios affirmed.Subsequently, as experiments progressed, we gradually stabilized the rifts between parallel worlds and developed the Threshold Gate technology.This allowed for the stable deployment of a certain amount of manpower and resources to specific parallel worlds for exploration.In some of these worlds, we discovered civilizations created by both human and non-human intelligent species, acquiring many incredibly wondrous advanced technologies that vastly propelled scientific development! It was a glorious Golden Age!”
“Hmm…” Shirley licked her lips.As far as she knew, people usually referred to the past as a “Golden Age” for only one reason: their present circumstances were utterly dreadful!
“What happened after that?”
Helios’s expression darkened once more, “The Golden Age lasted for thirty years, then perished in the Portal Cataclysm.”
“This catastrophic event is also known as the ‘Worldbreak’.”
“This, Shirley, is the beginning of our story.”