Chapitre 62: Chapter 62: Memory Fragment
Seeing Chu Ge's look of hesitation, Yang Xinyan thought his persuasion was working and eagerly pressed on, "Xianjun, listen to me. Don't bring up this idea of burning down the theater again, not a single word more! It could very well bring disaster upon us!
"In a small town like this, who knows who might be secretly involved with the bandits? If word gets out, both of us could end up dead with no place to bury our bodies!
"We are going on stage to perform. From a moral standpoint, it's for the sake of the townspeople. When the bandits leave, even if we bear the stigma of shame, it won't matter. We need to save our lives first!"
Chu Ge shook his head, clearing away the distracting thoughts from his mind.
Almost getting talked out of it by an NPC? Really?
I'm still in my scholar role, with the Hao Ran Righteous Spirit talent!
His expression grew firm once again, "You fool!
"If everyone thought like you, only caring for self-preservation and avoiding all risks, wouldn't Magistrate Tang have died for nothing? Wouldn't the Eastern bandits be free to invade our land and massacre our people without a care?
"If Xiang Yu had thought like you, he would've surrendered to Wei long ago and wouldn't have fought until his last breath!
"Though we're just actors, not scholars, we perform plays about loyalty to our nation and the courage of heroes. While others might say actors lack integrity, we cannot think that way ourselves!
"Even if burning down the theater is nearly impossible, we must try. Even if we die in the flames, we'll show these bandits what it means to fight for every inch of our land!
"If you're too afraid, I'll find Mr. Wang. There must be someone willing to do this."
Yang Xinyan's face changed again, "Xianjun, don't be foolish. I've told you before, Wang can't be trusted. These scholars talk of virtue and morality, but when it comes down to it, they're less reliable than us actors!
"If you trust him, you'll end up counting money for the man who betrayed you!
"If Gao Ze were here, we might stand a chance rallying the local militia. But Gao Ze's whereabouts are unknown, and we're too few to make a difference. Let's just get through this crisis and think about the rest later!
"Live to fight another day!"
Chu Ge tried several more approaches to persuade him, but Yang Xinyan remained resolute, fully rejecting the idea of burning down the theater.
Chu Ge had no choice but to give up in frustration.
As a scholar, he had the Hao Ran Righteous Spirit talent. This talent not only buffs others and enhances their abilities, but it also has a crucial effect: when the scholar is righteous, his words carry extra conviction and persuasiveness.
In other words, it's easier to sway—no, to convince others.
Yet even with this talent, Yang Xinyan remained unmoved. From a game mechanics perspective, it seemed that Yang Xinyan—at least at this stage—was simply unpersuadable.
If a scholar couldn't sway him, then no other character could, either.
Realizing this, Chu Ge sighed and continued following the script as originally intended.
"Coward. All those years of playing the Overlord on stage have been wasted on you. It's all gone to the dogs.
"Get out!"
With a harsh rebuke, Chu Ge drove Yang Xinyan out.
After the door closed, Chu Ge felt a pang of frustration.
What now?
He knew the sequence of events: Yang Xinyan would return later to try persuading him from outside the door, and in less than an hour, Wang Jinghui would come too.
Should he try saying the same things to Wang Jinghui, testing if the plan to burn the theater could work?
It would likely be futile. After all, Su Xianjun had initially pinned his hopes on Wang Jinghui, only to be betrayed.
The real issue was that it was still unclear which character had been altered, making it hard to filter out distractions.
At that moment, a unique fragment slowly appeared in Chu Ge's vision, faintly showing Yang Xinyan's image.
"Huh?
"Is this the effect of the golden talent? The memory fragment has activated!
"It seems that my conversation with Yang Xinyan triggered it!"
Chu Ge hurriedly attempted to interact with the fragment, and scenes flashed before him like a series of vivid memories.
Since it was a memory fragment, the scenes were neither fully coherent nor linear, but they still held immense value for Chu Ge.
…
The memory showed images in a first-person perspective, where Yang Xinyan appeared as a younger version of himself.
And this perspective clearly belonged to Su Xianjun.
Snippets of dialogue surfaced in Chu Ge's mind along with the memories.
Some lines were Su Xianjun's, others Yang Xinyan's, and still others seemed to come from different people, all mixed together.
"I was once a man…"
"Waah, Senior Brother, tell me, tell me—how does one become a star? How many beatings will it take? When will I finally make it?"
"Master said that if you want glory on stage, you must suffer offstage. Don't worry, junior brother; our time to shine will come."
"You two, listen up. You're being beaten so you remember—on stage, not a single line can be wrong! You are the character; the character is you!"
"I was born a woman…"
"Senior Brother, do you think we'll be able to perform together like this forever?"
"Junior Brother, what are you worried about? As long as there are people, they'll want to watch plays. Heck, even the Eastern bandits enjoy a show, don't they? As long as there are plays, we'll have food on the table."
"Senior Brother, I'm not talking about food. I mean, will the two of us be able to keep performing together for life?"
"Why not? Haven't we been doing it all these years? As for the future, who can say? We'll take it one day at a time."
"No, Senior Brother, I want to perform with you for life, until the day I die!"
"Xianjun, what nonsense are you talking about? Have you gone mad? The stories of the Overlord and Consort Yu are just theater, not real life! We live in the world of ordinary people; we can't live in the play!"
"The Wei army has taken the land, and all around are the songs of Chu… My lord's resolve has waned; how can I go on living…"
As these words were spoken, scenes continued to flash by like a montage.
There were glimpses of Su Xianjun and Yang Xinyan training together, kneeling in punishment, practicing voice projection by a well, and performing on stage for the first time…
"Boss Yang."
"Hm?"
"From this day on, our relationship will be only as actors, one performance at a time."
"That's the spirit. We're actors, ordinary folks, and once we're off stage, we live like everyone else. Hey, Junior Brother, Junior Brother? Xianjun? …"
…
The memory fragment ended there.
Chu Ge's mind was dazed as the flood of information flowed into his consciousness, natural and vivid, almost as if it were a genuine memory of his own life.
After a moment, he snapped out of it.
He wasn't sure exactly how much time he'd spent absorbing the memory fragment, but since no one had knocked on the door, it probably hadn't been too long.
"That was a lot to take in…
"This memory fragment talent is definitely the key to completing this trial. Though the memories are fragmented, their absolute authenticity allows players to better understand the characters.
"With this, I now have a clearer picture of Yang Xinyan and Su Xianjun."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone