’Fox’ was terrified that the ’Honey Badger’ boss might also forget about him like the group admin, hang up immediately, and he hurriedly recounted his ordeal of being "forgotten by the world" in the fastest possible speech.
At the end, he didn’t forget to plead: "Boss, boss, ever since Destiny Arena, I’ve turned into this wretched state. Dark Crow of Profane Fortune is your game character; this must be your handiwork. I’m begging you, stop playing. This feeling of being forgotten by the entire world is truly not fun."
The in-game power of the Forget Worm had surprisingly affected ’Fox,’ the player himself.
Yang Qizhou was quite surprised by this.
Though he had long speculated that game characters active in the Old Earth were not entirely independent entities but had countless threads of connection with the players, he had always assumed that the damage taken by game characters in the narrative would not sync to himself. This had led Yang Qizhou to unconsciously believe that the connection wasn’t that strong.
But now, it seemed otherwise,
The relationship between game characters and players might be far deeper than previously imagined.
"Say something, Honey Badger boss; I’m really at the end of my rope, you know? My family doesn’t recognize me now, the group admin doesn’t recognize me, my friends don’t recognize me, even my girlfriend doesn’t recognize me. If this continues, I’m going to lose my mind. I’m begging you, say something."
Seeing that ’Honey Badger’ hadn’t spoken for a long time, Fox completely panicked, thinking that even this boss no longer remembered who he was.
Yang Qizhou said: "You still have a girlfriend? You didn’t use the Deceiver’s tricks to scam her, did you?"
"Boss, now that’s unfair. What do you mean ’scam’? It was a kind, sincere lie, I..." Fox, struck at his weakness, flared up instantly, as his current girlfriend was indeed wooed using the Deceiver’s methods — which were hardly commendable.
But very quickly, he realized something, his eyes widened uncontrollably, his voice filled with unprecedented excitement: "Boss, boss, boss, you still remember me, right? You still remember me! Waaaaaah, this feeling of being abandoned by the whole world is terrifying beyond words. I really don’t want to go through it again. Boss, I’m begging you, spare me."
During the short few minutes of the call, ’Fox’ had already said ’spare me’ three times, clearly utterly shaken.
"Actually, you don’t need to be so nervous. This ability, while eerie, isn’t very high-level. As long as it’s a Star Spirit—oh, you’re familiar with rankings, right? Anyway, any godly beings or Ancient Dominators at the Star Spirit rank or above wouldn’t be affected." Yang Qizhou’s remark was practically an admission that Fox’s "forgotten by the world" predicament was his doing.
Fox asked: "What about people below the Star Spirit rank?"
Yang Qizhou said matter-of-factly: "Then they forget you, of course."
’Fox’ finally couldn’t hold back and broke down crying. It was almost impressive how miserably a grown man could sob.
"Alright, alright, I’ll now revoke the ability affecting you, freeing you from the state of being forgotten by the world. But before that, you need to help me conduct one more experiment." Yang Qizhou hadn’t really planned on doing anything terrible to ’Fox.’ With the experiment’s purpose achieved, he no longer intended to torment him further.
’Fox’ mournfully replied: "What? Another experiment?"
At this point, the word "experiment" alone gave him PTSD.
Yang Qizhou said: "Relax. This time, there are no negative effects. It’s simple and straightforward."
Having endured the first experiment, Fox harbored immense distrust for these words. Yet, he had no choice. To escape from the state of being forgotten by the world, he tearfully agreed.
"Honey Badger boss, I agree. So, what’s the experiment?"
Yang Qizhou continued: "Tell someone else about your experience — your girlfriend, parents, Secret Cultivation Society members — anyone will do. Then report their reactions to me."
’Fox’ thought he had misheard. Players typically went to great lengths to keep the powerful abilities they gained from the game under wraps, especially something as spine-chilling as the ability to be forgotten by the entire world. Yet here, the Honey Badger boss was asking him to broadcast it liberally.
Yang Qizhou said impatiently, "What do you mean, ’Ah’? Was I unclear?"
"No, no, you were very clear. But, boss, what’s your plan? Cover-ups and silencing?"
"I live by my own principles. Do I owe you an explanation?"
The reason Yang Qizhou wanted ’Fox’ to widely share his experience was to experiment with another authority of Hidden Light.
It allowed him to designate a particular "secret" and apply the power of secrecy to it. As long as someone’s rank didn’t surpass his own, they wouldn’t be able to perceive the hidden knowledge.
By focusing his intent into the Ancient Roots and manipulating the Hidden Light he shepherded, Yang Qizhou quickly completed the necessary operation. He set the fact that "Fox was once forgotten by the world and this was the Honey Badger’s doing" into a secret state. Then, using the symbols of Hidden Light, he retrieved the Forget Worm that had been parasitizing ’Fox.’
"Alright, the world remembers you again. Go with others and observe their reactions. I’ll be waiting for your report."
Then, the phone call abruptly ended.
The world now remembered him, and ’Fox’ was momentarily disbelieving, feeling as though nothing had happened at all.
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