Chapter 66 Connection
Projection is reality.
Could it be that the projection each experiencer sees inside is different?
The single-player mode opens a single process for each experiencer, so the experience revolves around one's own experiences.
But in online mode, does each experiencer see something bound to their own experience?
Shen Jingqi thought quickly.
If it were an ordinary person, it would be easy to handle.
But the person in front of him is Lin Shuwang, who also has a smart brain and unique performance.
Perhaps I could collaborate with him, explore some things together.
"Actually, on the menu, I can't see the avocado vegetable sandwich and white peach fruit tea you ordered either."
Shen Jingqi said softly.
"I need to think about what's happening."
[000001LSW] unexpectedly calmed down.
Crunch, crunch.
He bit into the avocado vegetable sandwich.
Shen Jingqi thought of the sound when Tuantuan eats vegetable sticks.
Very similar.
[000001LSW] chewed the sandwich, with his cheeks puffed out on both sides, like a little hamster.
The sandwich in his hand was green, with verdant avocado, fresh green vegetables, paired with bright emerald bread.
Every big bite he took made him squint his eyes.
Shen Jingqi picked up the cup and took a sip of the ginkgo leaf cool tea.
It tasted the same as the ginkgo leaf tea Li Baiyu brewed for him.
Shen Jingqi quietly savored it, blending with all the feelings.
"I understand now."
[000001LSW] said in a low voice:
"[Sensory Paradise] is a combination of experience and perception."
"Experience is the unique experience of each experiencer. When I connect with girls, it's a different experience. Every girl among them is unique. For instance, when I connect to a girl's head, a dolphin image appears. That dolphin is over three meters long, leaping upward, looking at me, making 'UPUP' sounds."
"I'm connecting with that dolphin."
"I'm not interested in the girl's head, but I'm interested in her head. As long as my hand touches a girl's head, this connection appears."
"The dolphin was the first image to appear when I first connected with a girl."
[000001LSW]'s pupils opened and closed, within them, Shen Jingqi saw his own reflection.
"I really like nature, enjoy connecting with animals and plants. Because they are simple, without many complex thoughts. The moment I first saw that dolphin, my feelings were indescribable. You can imagine, in a noisy classroom, everything suddenly became different just because I connected with a dolphin. I'm not saying I don't like the classroom and school, I just don't want to connect with them. My parents said I could stay at home and study on my own. But I still chose to go to school."
"Once I discovered I could connect, I found a new way of experiencing. I could connect with animals and plants, and even though I was in school, I could have my own world."
"The first connection lasted over ten seconds. The girl was my desk mate, understood me a little, and wasn't too surprised. But other classmates reacted strongly. Her friend came to stop it. The moment I lifted my hand, the dolphin disappeared."
"I heard the surrounding clamor, surprise, comments, accusations. All happened simultaneously."
"I began to make ceremonial actions."
"More whispers and pointing surrounded me."
[000001LSW] took a sip of white peach fruit tea.
"It's this taste, just like when I was a child."
[000001LSW] took a few more sips, continuing to speak.
"But I don't care about those. In my eyes, there's only the dolphin. The dolphin I connected with. But later, my desk mate was switched out, and I couldn't find the opportunity to touch her head again."
"But there were other opportunities. Once, I saw a girl sleeping soundly; my instincts suggested I connect with her. When my hand touched her crown, a four-leaf clover appeared. The clover bent slightly and waved at me. That girl slept quite deeply, and I connected for about a minute. Later, I'm not sure why, but the girl woke up herself. Maybe my hand was on her head for too long. After she noticed, I removed my hand. Afterward, the girl never slept in the classroom again."
"There were other girls in the class, sometimes I could also meet them in the corridor. Later, the girls in class generally didn't let me touch their heads anymore, and some of their parents even approached me. But I still had chances, I would connect on the playground or in clubs."
"Touching their heads, I saw various animals and plants in succession. There were green radishes, tropical fish, cacti, little elephants, blue peacocks, etc."
"When I was later sent for treatment, I never connected again. Those images and scenes only stayed in my mind. I'm afraid that the longer it takes, the more they will gradually fade."
[000001LSW] took a few more gulps.
"But here, I saw those images again."
"When I saw the first girl, my feelings emerged. I was drawn by a signal, moving towards that girl. I realized she wasn't the target I was interested in, I didn't want to connect with her. But maybe something would appear from her head. I held my breath, finally reaching the girl's side. When I placed my head on hers, a dolphin appeared. It too leapt upward, making 'UPUP' sounds."
"At that moment, I was truly shocked. The feeling was exactly the same as when I touched that girl's head before."
"Then, when I touched the head of a girl sleeping on the recliner, a four-leaf clover appeared."
"I thought I would never feel that feeling again. Because with any girl's head, there's only one chance to connect. After another, that unique feeling won't appear again. When I later met that girl in class, I no longer had that feeling. Even if she fell asleep again, I think I wouldn't have that urge to touch anymore either."
"I was very shocked. Experiencing it once more still filled me with indescribable feelings. But this experience included an additional, unique feeling. Three times is enough, I think, this time is sufficient."
"There's another thing that let me realize the biggest and only difference between [Sensory Paradise] and reality. Although they can react, scream, and others might come to stop me, I seemingly won't be sent to a mental hospital anymore."
[000001LSW] lifted the white peach juice and drank it all in one go.
Indeed, in [Sensory Paradise], there are no mental hospitals.