bacchusnovels Chapter 180 Performing a Lobotomy on the Brain
Chapter 180 Performing a Lobotomy on the Brain
The humidity inside the clock tower was ridiculously high; the water droplets condensing on the walls were not transparent, but rather had an eerie pale purple hue.
The air here seems to have a physical form; every breath requires the diaphragm to force oxygen into the lungs.
The enormous, suspended "gray matter brain" was undergoing some kind of high-intensity data throughput.
The black tubes connected to Zhang Yucai's body were continuously supplying a kind of luminous liquid—the spiritual energy extracted from thousands of students across the school, also known as the anxiety value of "wanting to win but fearing to lose".
"This thing is evolving." Su Qing's voice was somewhat distorted in the earphones, accompanied by a piercing electrical noise. "It's trying to rewrite the physical rules of this area. Zero detected that the gravitational constant in the vicinity is fluctuating. The cigarette butt Pierre threw on the ground just now, the smoke was drifting downwards."
Wang Minyu glanced down and, sure enough, the wisp of smoke seemed to be pressed down by something, skimming the ground and creeping into the corner of the wall.
"Whether it wants to become Einstein or Hawking, it has to undergo brain surgery today." Wang Minyu handed the stainless steel tea mug to Guan Shan. "Here, this contains the 'Meng Po Soup' base I brewed last night. If Principal Zhang doesn't wake up, force-feed it to him."
"Dr. Wang, please stop joking at a time like this," Zhang Yucai suddenly said.
But he didn't open his eyes, nor did his lips move.
The sound reverberated directly from the walls on all sides, with an overlapping echo, as if hundreds of Zhang Yucais were speaking at the same time.
"This is a sanctuary of pure reason. No distractions, no laziness, only ultimate efficiency," the voice continued, with a condescending compassion. "Why do you mortals always try to hinder the progress of evolution?"
Suddenly, a huge single eye opened on the surface of that enormous brain.
Those eyes had no pupils, only countless rapidly spinning streams of data, with dense geometric patterns forming and collapsing on the iris.
As that eye swept over him, Wang Minyu felt as if all his secrets had been laid bare.
Even trivial matters like how many buns you ate for breakfast or how much balance you have in your bank account seem to be instantly read and archived by the other party.
"Efficiency? You call turning living people into batteries efficiency?" Wang Minyu took a step forward, the test films under his feet making a rustling sound. "Zhang Yucai, look at yourself now. You think you're the master of this 'brain'? You're nothing but a catheter."
"vulgar!"
The voice turned angry.
The brain-shaped object in mid-air trembled violently, and several thick tentacles lashed out, bringing with them a gust of foul wind.
Guan Shan roared and raised his entrenching tool to block.
But the tentacles suddenly changed direction in mid-air, as if they had no inertia, defying the common sense of physics, bypassing Guan Shan and heading straight for Wang Minyu's face.
"This thing doesn't follow Newton's laws!" Pierre exclaimed, his boning knife flying out and striking a tentacle precisely.
laugh!
The tentacles were pierced, but instead of bleeding, they sprayed out a cloud of purple spores.
Pierre took a sip, then froze instantly, his eyes glazing over, muttering, "This foie gras is three seconds undercooked... No, I have to redo it... redo it..."
"Hold your breath!" Wang Minyu shouted, his silver needles already out of his hand.
But this is not intended for attack.
The silver needles were stuck in the floor next to Zhang Yucai, forming the shape of the Big Dipper.
"Zero! Put the contents of that USB drive into this local area network!" Wang Minyu rolled away to avoid a sweeping tentacle. It was a close call; the barbs at the tip of the tentacle tore through his white coat.
"Uploading... This firewall is a bit thick; it's biometric encrypted."
"Ignore the firewall! Just brute-force it! Pour in garbage! The more illogical, the better!"
Wang Minyu pulled out the black USB drive he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and shoved it into the pile of test papers under Zhang Yucai—where a router port covered in mycelium was hidden.
Sizzle—!
The rhythmic, heartbeat-like "thump-thump" sound suddenly became erratic.
The data stream on the surface of that enormous brain flower experienced a momentary pause.
The next second, the announcement in the clock tower changed.
It was no longer that cold, mechanical female voice, but had become—
"The vast horizon is my love! Flowers are blooming at the foot of the rolling green hills!"
"Look at this bowl of noodles, it's long and wide, just like this bowl, which is big and round!"
"Family members, does anyone understand?! I met a jerk today..."
"Yi gei wo li giao giao!"
All sorts of catchy, illogical, and cheesy short video background music, internet memes, and cheesy pickup lines rushed into this brain that prides itself on "extreme rationality" like a mudslide.
For a biological computer that relies on a tightly logical chain of processes to survive, this flow of information, full of randomness, emotion, and meaningless repetition, is simply the highest level of virus.
"Ah—! What is this! Stop! Stop!"
The overlapping voice began to scream.
The brain in mid-air began to expand violently, its originally grayish-purple surface turning bright red, like an overloaded CPU.
The rapidly spinning geometric shapes collapsed, replaced by distorted emojis.
"It can't keep up!" Su Qing shouted into her earpiece. "Its core logic is trying to decipher the philosophical meaning of 'You're So Beautiful, Chicken,' causing its computing resources to overflow! It's burning out! It's going to burn out!"
"Now's the time!"
Wang Minyu gave it no chance to breathe. He pulled a large packet of white powder from his bag.
That wasn't poison; it was "allicin crystals" that he had Pierre extract from hundreds of kilograms of garlic. This stuff was more potent than sulfuric acid for fungi.
"Guan Shan! Can you move?! Shove this thing into Zhang Yucai's mouth!"
Guan Shan was also a little dazed by the spore fumes and was doing some arithmetic on his fingers.
Hearing the boss's roar, he jumped up reflexively.
"active!"
This burly man, who looked like a bear, charged right up to Zhang Yucai despite the countless tentacles flailing around him.
He pinched Zhang Yucai's cheek with one hand, forcing him to open his mouth, and with the other hand grabbed the packet of garlic extract and stuffed it in, packaging and all.
"Waaaaah!"
Zhang Yucai's eyes, which had been rolling back in his head, suddenly widened; he had been awakened by the spiciness.
The high concentration of allicin slid down his esophagus and instantly entered the fungal network that connected his body.
For that giant "brain," it wasn't just spicy; it was like pouring a bucket of lava into its core coolant.
boom!
The brain emitted a muffled popping sound.
The black tubes began to convulse violently, and then burst one after another.
Dark red liquid splattered everywhere, and a blood rain fell throughout the clock tower.
"No... my evolution... my perfect world..."
Zhang Yucai's voice finally returned to his own, filled with weakness and despair.
The brain in mid-air began to shrink, like a punctured balloon.
The mycelium connected to the ceiling withered rapidly, turning into black ash that fell to the ground.
Wang Minyu wiped the liquid off his face (thankfully the white coat was waterproof) and walked over to Zhang Yucai, who was already slumped on the ground.
Zhang Yucai gasped for breath, his mouth reeking of garlic, tears and snot streaming down his face: "Dr. Wang...you...you ruined it...it will kill us..."
"It can't kill anyone anymore." Wang Minyu looked down at him. "It's currently busy dealing with the logic of those 'I don't eat beef' short videos. This level of logical chaos is enough to keep it down for thirty to fifty years."
He reached out and rummaged through the pile of test papers, pulling out the USB drive that was already red-hot.
"Also, Principal Zhang," Wang Minyu wiped the USB drive on Zhang Yucai's expensive suit, "your 'brain' removal was quite successful. Remember, don't install this kind of inexplicable antivirus software in the school again. Some viruses are the privilege of adolescence, and you can't kill them."
The surrounding air finally began to move, and the suffocating sense of oppression disappeared.
Through the broken windows of the clock tower, one could hear the clamor of voices rising from the playground below.
That was the panic, confusion, and... the most real commotion of thousands of students waking up from hypnosis.
"That's a wrap." Wang Minyu put the silver needle back into his bag, turned around and kicked Pierre, who was still standing there in a daze. "Stop thinking about your foie gras and hurry back to get me a bowl of noodles. I'm starving."