Tokyo people don't talk about Wude

Chapter 357 354. What’s wrong with the world of illusion?
The next day, Kyushu Makoto woke up at the urging of the alarm clock, washed, dressed, and went to school.

Today's news is being broadcast on the tram.

[The Asian Professional Boxing Championship MacroBox has entered the top 16 finals, and the representative of Wano Country, Kenta Kozan, is unstoppable]

【The Kuai Inn in Kotobumi-cho, Yokohama, became famous because of a famous painting in the store. Artists, collectors and appraisers rushed to visit it, and it became a popular cultural tourist attraction in the area. The owner, Kuai Tadashi, and his adopted son said that the painting was a family heirloom, and explicitly rejected any request from any individual or group to purchase it, and applied for legal protection.】

[This year's MotoGP Motorcycle Championship has been confirmed to be held at Mount Haruna in Gunma Prefecture. The top racing club in Wano Country [Tianguo Zaowu] claims that it will send a newcomer, Hanae Seiin, to participate this year. It is reported that his father, Hanae Banyun, was a well-known racing driver in Kanto and retired gloriously 20 years ago.]

The train arrived at the station and Kyushu Makoto walked to school.

Then, it is warm and pleasant campus life again.

After school, Jiuzhou Cheng went to work as usual and went home. The day ended like this.

What a gentle world it is. For some reason, Jiuzhou Cheng thought so all the time.

But is this really right?

After school on an unknown day, Kyushu Makoto stopped walking.

"Hey, brother Kyushu, what's wrong?" Suzuki Yuhito patted his shoulder.

"Oh, nothing." Jiuzhou Cheng forced a smile.

There was a voice in his heart telling him to just indulge in this gentle world. But his heart was beating wildly and he was always surrounded by a feeling of uneasiness.

"No." Jiuzhou Cheng suddenly held his head with both hands, feeling that his head was about to be torn apart from both sides: "Is this world real?"

"Haha, you must be tired~" Tang Zeguijiang said with a smile: "Could it be that you are under an illusion?"

"Hey, even if it's an illusion, isn't it good like this~?" Suzuki Yujin said with a smile: "Don't think too much, brother Kyushu! Just enjoy the present moment!"

"Illusion." Jiuzhou Cheng shook his head vigorously, his head aching terribly: "No! Something is wrong! Illusion! It's really wrong!"

"Hey, are you feeling unwell?" Takatsuki Genji asked in a deep voice.

"Sorry, I'll go first!" Jiuzhou Cheng ran out like crazy.

What is going on? My mind is so confused and Jiuzhou Cheng’s face is grim.

There were two completely different memories competing with each other in his mind, making it difficult for him to tell which one was correct.

He couldn't tell the difference at all.

Perhaps he should indulge in this gentle world, but the panic in his heart almost swelled to the point of exploding, making it impossible for him to continue to enjoy it with peace of mind.

His subconscious mind told him that the real world was not like this. He was just escaping and was doing shameful things out of greed.

Because of this, the only thing he could do was to run as fast as he could, no matter where he went, as if only by doing so could he escape from the cage.

"No, no!" Jiuzhou Cheng ran away, feeling his consciousness being gradually pulled away: "It's fake. It's fake."

The surrounding scene gradually blurred and turned white, and the buildings and streets became distorted.

Jiuzhou Cheng ran wildly in the feeling of weightlessness and dislocation until a figure blocked his way.

"Stop, □□□!" the figure spoke, obviously talking to him.

Jiuzhou Cheng couldn't see his face clearly, he could only vaguely tell that he was a teenager of the same age as him.

"Who are you?" Jiuzhou Cheng stopped and asked vigilantly.

The next moment, the young man's figure suddenly twisted and changed, transforming into a sturdy old man.

"Your master!" Jiuzhou Cheng was shocked: "Why are you here!"

The person in front of him was Chen Jiuzhou's master, and also the benefactor he respected and valued the most.

"Disciple, you look very confused." The old man put his hands behind his back and asked in a deep voice, "What's wrong? Are you troubled by something?"

"Master, this is really strange. I don't know why you are here." Jiuzhou Cheng felt his head start to hurt again, and he covered his forehead and said:
"But... since I woke up a few days ago, I feel like the world has changed."

"Yes, this world has changed! It has become very strange! Everything was not like this originally!" Jiuzhou Cheng took a deep breath and said with certainty: "The original world was not like this at all-"

"Not so wonderful?" interrupted the Master.

"Yes! This is very strange! Obviously, no one has such a smooth sailing!" Jiuzhou Cheng said anxiously, gradually sorting out the strange feeling in his heart these days:
"Everyone I know has suffered misfortune and setbacks to varying degrees; or they have made serious mistakes and learned profound lessons. But what's going on? Everyone is doing so well, as if life is perfect and everything goes as planned!"

"Is there anything wrong with that?" The master interrupted him and asked seriously, "Why, do you hope that they will be unhappy?"

"That's not what I meant. It's just that everyone suddenly became like this, and there's no way to explain it with common sense." Jiuzhou Cheng said with difficulty: "I can't figure it out, what's going on?"

"What's wrong? Isn't this the world you most desire in your heart?" The master snorted and sneered.

"But... I feel like this world is fake." Jiuzhou Cheng hesitated.

"Does it matter whether it's true or false?" The master turned around and looked into the distance: "What matters is whether you like this world. Disciple, I once taught you that no matter what happens, you must keep loving this world."

"But, this is totally fake! I don't know who has tampered with this world by what means, but it's all fake!" Jiuzhou Cheng clenched his fists, his eyes showing murderous intent:
"No matter how beautiful it is, fake things are meaningless! No, Master, tell me, Master, are you real? Are you also fake?"

"." The master was silent, his eyes became cold, and his tone was the same: "So I said, is it important whether it is true or false? This is your favorite world, isn't it good?" "No! Master would not say such things to me!" Jiuzhou Cheng's murderous intent became even stronger: "Master also taught me that no matter what setbacks I encounter, I must not escape, let alone deceive myself, because nothing can be saved in this way"

"Wait a minute, I remember." Jiuzhou Cheng felt as if his brain was about to break through some kind of shackles. His eyes suddenly widened, his head ached, and he began to breathe heavily.

"I was attacked by two mysterious men in the early hours of Christmas morning. Then I lost consciousness. So where am I now?!"

"This place must be fake! I must be dreaming! I need to wake up right now! I can't keep dreaming like this!!"

Listening to Jiuzhou Cheng's mumbling, the master's eyes became increasingly cold and helpless, with a complex expression as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

After a while, the master spoke: "Why do you firmly believe that this place is a dream and that more miserable place is reality?"

"Because reality is reality!" Jiuzhou Cheng said, "It is precisely because we know that this world is imperfect and we know the sufferings of the world that we have to fight tenaciously. This is the meaning of living in this world. But now this perfect world is like a fake flower stand to me. It is too unreal!"

"Honestly, why torture yourself like this, □□□?" The master shook his head in disappointment and asked:
"What's wrong with immersing yourself in a gentle world? Reality is too painful. Even if you fight to the end, you will only be covered in bruises and gain nothing in the end, dying on the roadside like a stray dog. It's better to live in such a perfect world where no one will get hurt and everyone is happy. Isn't that great?"

"Because... Because I've already said that running away is for cowards, and I'm a [hero]!" Jiuzhou Cheng gritted his teeth, and murderous intent appeared in his eyes again:
"I've confirmed that you are definitely not my master! He wouldn't say such a thing to me! Who are you, a fake?!"

"Haha. Hero?" The master snorted coldly, and finally sighed helplessly: "That's right, this is what I asked you to pursue."

"You want me to pursue you?" Jiuzhou Cheng was extremely confused. He simply assumed a fighting stance and quickly went forward to launch a surprise attack.

No matter what, let’s subdue this impostor first!

The master did not dodge or evade, but when Jiuzhou Cheng punched him, he felt like he hit a cloud of smoke, without any sense of reality.

And the master's figure disappeared.

The next moment, a melodious voice rang in Jiuzhou Cheng's mind. It sounded like a very familiar young man was speaking:

[□□□, do you really not want to continue living in this gentle world? Do you really want to fight to the end? ]

"I've already told you, let me out! Otherwise I'll smash my own way out!" Jiuzhou Cheng roared.

[That's right. It's really sad. This is you. Or rather, this is your [setting], a Pretender who does everything to become a hero.]

"What actor? Stop saying such ambiguous things and get out of here!"

[I'm sorry. I wanted you to live a happier life in the last moments of your life and have a sweet dream. Now it seems that I can't do it after all. It's all my wishful thinking.]

"The last moments of life?"

[If you insist on waking up, I can't stop you. But I must give you a piece of advice.]

[If you insist on returning to the reality you want, you will only face despair with no chance. Because the world you have been fighting against and loving is more cruel than you can imagine.]

[Before this, you have always played the role of a 'hero', imitating the footsteps of the 'great hero' and composing a wonderful story of kingly ways. But this is just the last mercy that this cruel world gives to you and us. ]

[What is going to happen next is no longer a traditional story but a tragedy that is deviant. There is no redemption, no heroes, it is full of fraud, it abandons humanity, justice cannot defeat evil, the greatest hero will end up in the most miserable end, and the most evil demon will have everything. This is such a tragic story.]

[If you are still so stubborn after listening to my advice, then return to the reality you desire. ]

[But you will definitely regret it. ]

【sorry】

The voice in my head faded away.

The surrounding space quickly collapsed and shattered into tiny white lights.

Jiuzhou Cheng felt his consciousness begin to fall, and then he was pulled out of this virtual world.

"."

“Haa——!” Jiuzhou Cheng widened his eyes, took a deep breath, and his chest bulged high.

He raised his head and looked around with difficulty, and found himself waking up in a gloomy and dim laboratory.

He was lying on the operating table, his hands and feet tied tightly with iron chains, completely unable to move.

“This is…” In an instant, countless pains like being tortured by slow slicing swept over him, stimulating his brain: “Ahhhhhhh!”

Jiuzhou Cheng then discovered that his stomach and chest had been cut open by the scalpel. Some were shallow, and it seemed that skin and blood samples were taken; some were deep, and went straight to the internal organs.

He felt his heartbeat speed up significantly, and said in panic: "Where on earth is this place?!"

"Oh, it seems it woke up earlier than expected." At this time, the footsteps of five people walked into the laboratory.

Two were doctors in white coats, and three were middle-aged and elderly men in suits. They looked at the boy on the operating table with expressionless smiles, as if they were selecting pork in the market.

"Hello, Jiuzhou Cheng!" One of the doctors in a white coat walked up to him, showing his yellow teeth and smiling at him strangely:
"No, your name is P01! Persona-01 (Personality Disguise 01 Experimental Subject), this is your name!"

"By the way, which personality are you now? Is it Kyushu Makoto, or that 'fake hero'?"

"Jiuzhou Cheng is a fake hero." Jiuzhou Cheng looked horrified: "What are you talking about? Personality?"

(End of this chapter)