Chapter 939: Virus |
Jenna left the window and sat back on the couch, temporarily pushing thoughts of Luo Shan out of her mind.
If the interview went well today, Lumian or Franca would move in with her, and their group would proceed with subsequent actions in pairs—Ludwig was temporarily an accessory.
Sometimes Jenna hoped it would be Lumian, other times she prayed it would be Franca. During their time in the dream city, she wanted to spend more time with Franca, to encourage her, treat her better, and show how much she valued her, making her feel needed, not alone.
Though Jenna hadn't explicitly discussed this with Lumian, she felt they shared an unspoken understanding, as some of their daily behaviors were very similar.
As her thoughts wandered, Jenna suddenly chuckled at herself.
Actually, the best option would be for Lumian and Franca to live here together.
That way, Franca wouldn't lack the feeling of being needed, Lumian could do more, and Jenna would inevitably find herself wondering what Lumian and Franca were talking about, how they were interacting, whether they had grown closer, or if their relationship had evolved.
This made her feel a little bitter, a bit uncomfortable, but it also helped her further digest her Affliction potion.
When it came to causing others pain, Jenna's potion digestion was progressing rapidly thanks to Ludwig's presence; it wouldn't be long before she completed it. But when it came to her own pain, she still had a long way to go.
This was a principle she had developed for her role-playing, more refined than "causing others pain" or "causing herself pain." If she were an evil Demoness, she could use this principle to subtly manipulate someone, appearing normal on the surface while fostering jealousy in their wife or girlfriend, gradually driving them both into a pit of pain.
Of course, she also hoped that Lumian and Franca's relationship would improve, that they could save each other to some extent.
She was all for it, as long as she wasn't left out.
Jenna gradually reined in her thoughts, unlocked her phone, and opened her photo gallery.
She looked at the sketch of a self-portrait Luo Shan had sent her yesterday, zoomed in on it, and selected the "Delete" button.
She felt that keeping a Painter's artwork on her phone was risky.
She hadn't deleted it yesterday because she wanted to see if anything would happen, but nothing did. However, she couldn't stay on alert about the picture on her phone forever; she still needed her phone to contact Lumian, Franca, and Anthony!
After deleting the photo, Jenna idly scrolled through her phone, flipping through news stories, novels, funny videos, and shopping tips.
Time passed quickly. Jenna straightened her back slightly and stretched without moving her hands.
She felt it might be a good time to message Franca and check on their situation. But before that, she cautiously checked her phone for any strange apps or statuses.
Suddenly, Jenna froze.
She found Luo Shan's sketch still sitting quietly in its original spot in the gallery, lifelike, with a smile on its lips and eyes full of spirit!
For a moment, Jenna felt uncertain.
Did I really delete it earlier?
Was I influenced and hallucinating?
Jenna quickly calmed herself down and deleted the photo again.
She spent the next few minutes staring at the gallery, watching to see if Luo Shan's sketch would reappear.
After a while, the phone screen naturally dimmed, and Jenna quickly reached out to reactivate it.
The photo with Luo Shan's sketch was back in its original spot.
Jenna confirmed there was a problem but didn't know how to solve it. She didn't even dare to use her phone to search for a solution online.
At that moment, she heard the doorbell ring.
Startled, Jenna quietly stepped behind the door and looked out through the peephole.
She saw Lumian and Franca.
With a sigh of relief, Jenna opened the door.
During this process, she remained somewhat cautious until Lumian and Franca appeared vividly before her eyes, with no warning from her spiritual intuition.
"Perfect timing," Jenna said in a hushed voice.
Franca immediately showed concern, slipping the key card into her loose pants pocket as she walked into the room and asked in a serious tone, "What's going on?"
The elevator in the Dechuang Garden required a card to access, and the landlord had provided two cards. Jenna kept one, and Franca had the other.
Once Lumian closed the door and set up the Bottle of Fiction, Jenna carefully recounted everything about Luo Shan.
She concluded, "I remember the Purifiers telling me that one of their colleagues once encountered a painter undergoing mental treatment. The painter always claimed to Spirit Body walk at night, entering a space similar to but distinct from the spirit world, where they fought monsters and enemies trying to invade reality from that space, protecting the peace of their neighborhood.
"This is very similar to what I saw with my Astral Projection when I was asleep."
"You mean Luo Shan's protective actions might just be another aspect of her corruption by the boon?" Franca understood what Jenna was getting at.
Jenna tersely acknowledged. "That was my initial guess. But after talking to Luo Shan and hearing her describe those monsters to my Astral Projection, I think she genuinely holds a belief in protection. This likely stems from Mr. Fool's subconscious perception and expectations of her."
"So you think Luo Shan's protective behavior is not only a requirement of the boon but also a reflection of her humanity and will, a result of Mr. Fool's subconscious clashing with the Fantasy Association's evil god's influence?" Lumian's gaze flickered as he made the connection with his own experience.
Jenna nodded. "What I'm worried about now is that if our investigation agitates Luo Shan, it might push her into complete corruption, plunging her into the abyss. And that could also signify a small defeat for Mr. Fool in this particular matter. The loss is minor, but if enough minor losses accumulate, it could irreversibly tip the scales."
Lumian agreed, "Our priority now is to delete that photo."
"Right. If it stays on your phone, it's like a ticking time bomb," Franca said as she took Jenna's phone and focused on trying to delete the sketch, but it stubbornly reappeared.
Franca frowned. "Do we really need to use one of those nuclear-option antivirus programs?"
Lumian glanced at the gallery on the phone, reached out, and tried to enter the screen to see if he could find Luo Shan's sketch in the world behind the screen and destroy it in both physical and mystical senses.
At that moment, Franca stopped him.
"Hold on. Even if you can enter the phone's internal world, that would be like facing Luo Shan's sketch head-on. It would likely alert Luo Shan, agitate her, and confirm our suspicions."
Franca then smiled. "Didn't you add that Stiano on WeChat? Since he's a dream manifestation of a high-ranking member of the Church of Steam, and his WeChat nickname has 'Information Technology' in it, and he's studying at a university, maybe he knows how to delete a mystically infected photo."
"I'll ask." Lumian nodded thoughtfully.
He dismissed the Bottle of Fiction and had Jenna send Luo Shan's sketch to his WeChat.
Then, Lumian messaged Stiano:
"Can you help? My phone has a weird virus."
Within seconds, Stiano, whose nickname was "Electric Power Energy and Information Technology," replied: "Send me a screenshot."
"He responded quickly. Does that mean he's interested in this kind of thing?" Franca muttered.
Lumian opened the photo, had Franca take a screenshot, and sent it to Stiano.
"This photo won't delete; it keeps reappearing."
A moment later, "Electric Power and Information Technology" sent back a compressed file.
"There's a small program inside. Use it to load the image and delete it, and you should be fine."
Is there really a way to solve this? Franca and Jenna both wondered as Lumian followed the instructions, extracting the file and launching a program called "Information Shredder."
He used the program to load Luo Shan's sketch, pressed the built-in "Delete" button, and then exited the program, locked his phone for a couple of seconds, and reopened it.
He saw that the photo was gone from the gallery, not reappearing.
After testing it several times, Lumian sent the compressed file to Jenna.
Jenna also successfully deleted Luo Shan's sketch, without it returning to her gallery.
"He's really an expert…" Franca said, gazing at Lumian's WeChat contact, "Electric Power and Information Technology," with genuine admiration.
Lumian used voice input to thank Stiano.
"Electric Power and Information Technology" replied: "This virus is worth studying. If you encounter similar problems again, feel free to contact me."
Only with similar problems? Lumian mused as he sent a nodding emoji in response.
Finally, Jenna relaxed.
Suddenly, Franca hissed, "In modern society, or rather, in the dream city, some Sequences and Beyonder powers have become even more terrifying and harder to guard against…
"As we've seen, if a Painter's artwork has mystical powers, then the corresponding photo can carry some of that too. And if it spreads online, seen and downloaded by thousands, how horrifying would that be…
"Even the surveillance world we encountered before isn't something we'd face in reality."
Before Lumian and Jenna could respond, Franca had another idea.
"Computer viruses and phone viruses are still viruses. Can they be controlled by a Demoness?
"Probably not… But a higher Sequence of the Mystery Pryer pathway should definitely be able to."
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