Chapter 6

In a normal society, a person who is courteous and has a high level of cultivation and quality will be welcomed by everyone.

But in his subconscious, is he also this courteous?

The answer is uncertain.

Many intellectuals often have some obsessions and pathological hobbies that ordinary people do not have. Fetishism, stalking, pedophilia, homosexuality...

And this game can strip away all restraints. Past memories and education, past rules and repression, will all be released.

In this game, no matter what kind of creature, will reveal the thoughts and ideas in your subconscious, even those that you yourself find unbelievable, will appear in the game.

By using the player's subconscious and stripping away memories, the player will have another life, which could be grand and tumultuous, or it could be obscure and unknown.

...............

After silently reviewing his plan, Li Qiang started the game and fell into darkness.

To leave this damned, sunless mineral planet, he could only rely on this game that could connect to the outside world. So, apart from mining, Li Qiang spent all his other time on this game.

This is a game that players cannot control; they can only influence the game characters with their subconscious.

And Li Qiang firmly believed that he could leave the mineral planet through this game because he had a significant advantage.

The characters in this game are formed by stripping away the subconscious modules. Without memories, everyone starts at the same point, but some important choices can have a significant impact on the game characters.

For example, according to Li Qiang's subconscious module, he would not kill.

But in the game, Rick actually killed. Why?

Because Li Qiang could vaguely influence Rick's thoughts. This influence was something Li Qiang discovered unintentionally, and he guessed it might be related to his long-term life in the harsh environment of electromagnetic storms.

Mutated mental power affecting Rick's judgment was Li Qiang's greatest advantage.

..................

Dawn took away the last bit of coolness from the night, and as soon as the sun rose, it cast its scorching heat onto the earth.

Rick's eyelids twitched, and he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the solid and flat black sandstone roof. Staring at the dusty spider web in the corner for a while, Rick slowly became more awake.

In last night's dream, he could still remember the sensation of the broken blade slicing into flesh. The dying screams of the servant and the unyielding gaze of the tall guard brought a sense of oppression to Rick.

Propping himself up, his shoulder throbbed with pain, and Rick remembered that a piece of his flesh was missing from his shoulder.

Glancing at the rough linen that was slightly oozing blood, Rick thought for a moment, sheathed his short sword, tidied up his old reserve uniform, and pushed open the door.

A wave of heat instantly swept away the coolness inside the room. Shielding his eyes from the high sun, Rick's gaze swept over the entire frontier military camp. It was still early, and the camp was quiet.

But the kitchen, with its smoky and fiery atmosphere, already had a thin wisp of smoke rising.

Rick checked the time and thought he still had time, so he turned back, closed the door, and used his short sword to pry open the wax-sealed sphere he had been hiding in his chest.

There were no mechanisms inside; it only contained a tightly rolled, sturdy piece of parchment.

After forcibly memorizing the text, Rick burned the parchment and completely destroyed the wax seal before leaving.

Stepping on the soft yellow sand, Rick came to the kitchen. Before he got close, he saw a disabled, emaciated old Samoan man struggling to move a wooden bucket.

His left shoulder was replaced by a round, smooth poplar wood, with rivets and bearings embedded in it. This prosthetic limb looked quite old, with the joints filled with black grease. His sturdy, coarse cable cloth was also covered in a layer of greasy substance.

The old man seemed a bit tired, and he pounded his left shoulder, his face bearing the trademark stern and unsmiling expression of Old Eg.

Noticing Rick, Old Eg waved his poplar wood prosthetic limb and sat on the wooden bucket: "Come over and work! Do you want a whipping?!" Old Eg looked old, but his voice still carried a loud and firm tone.

Rick smiled and quickly walked over to help Old Eg place the wooden bucket.

"Did you hurt your shoulder?" Old Eg's cloudy old eyes sized up Rick, lingering on his still bleeding shoulder. Without waiting for Rick to speak, he added, "Did you apply any medicine?"

Rick smiled, waved his arm to show he was fine: "Not yet!"

Old Eg's face remained stern as he twisted his prosthetic limb, making a "pop" sound, and opened a hidden compartment: "This is a trauma medicine. Apply some yourself."

Old Eg said, using his fingernail to pick out a bit of dark yellow powder. Rick wiped his hands and quickly caught it.

After applying the medicine, Rick felt better; at least the wound wouldn't bleed when he moved: "Thanks, Dad!"

Old Eg nodded, said nothing more, and instead gestured for Rick to quickly come help in the kitchen.

All kinds of drought-resistant edible plants from the Samoan desert could be found in Old Eg's kitchen.

While helping with the cooking, Rick asked seemingly casually, "Dad, do you know where there's a salt well nearby?"

Old Eg's eyes narrowed, and he stopped his actions, staring at Rick for a moment: "Why are you asking this? Do you want to mine salt?"

Rick lowered his gaze and poked the stove fire: "Nothing, just suddenly curious."

Old Eg's weathered face wrinkled: "What the hell are you hiding? Speak up!" He kicked Rick's buttocks, his eyes unfriendly.

Rick's smile gradually faded, and his voice became serious: "Dad, I don't want to stay here for the rest of my life. I want to go out and see the world."

Old Eg's body trembled, and his hunched back slowly straightened. Only then did Rick realize how tall Old Eg was.

His cloudy old eyes narrowed slightly, and the deep wrinkles on his face slowly formed an unprecedented look of沧桑 (沧桑 means "沧桑" in Chinese, which can be translated as "weathered" or "aged"): "Do you really want to leave here?" Old Eg's voice was neutral, but it carried a hint of unmasked emotion.

Rick didn't know why Old Eg reacted so strongly, but he knew he couldn't lie to this old man who had taken care of him.

When Rick first arrived at the frontier military camp, he was frightened and at a loss, not knowing what to do. At that time, the mysterious voice had not yet appeared, and Rick was assigned to Old Eg.

Old Eg had a very peculiar temper. Even in a place like the frontier military, which was like a den of bandits, he still maintained something intangible. Yes, the thing the former squad leader mentioned, something like noble manners.

Rick didn't understand how Old Eg could have noble manners. He was an old man on the verge of death, half his body already buried in the yellow earth. What noble manners could he have?

But after the first meal with Old Eg, Rick changed his view.

They both ate dry sweet potato and coarse grain cakes, which were equally hard to swallow. Rick's expression was painful, while Old Eg ate as if it were a delicacy, savoring it slowly. That so-called noble manner was truly unlearnable.

After asking the question, Old Eg didn't wait for Rick's answer. He sat on the original wooden stump, took out a bag of extremely spicy tobacco, and pulled out a large brass pipe. He picked a piece of stove wood and silently lit it.

The strong tobacco smell slowly spread throughout the narrow kitchen.

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