Ke-style law enforcement officers

Chapter 81 Thinking

Having eaten until he was about 70% full, Milo returned home with his heavy weapon pouch tucked inside.

On his way home, Milo deliberately took a longer route, hoping to run into the madwoman in the red robe.

It's been so long, he hasn't seen her since the Day of the Dead. Milo has many questions he wants to ask her. With his physical condition, he feels absolutely no sense of security going on field missions.

Milo urgently needs a more comprehensive and clearer understanding of what the witch mentioned earlier, such as communion, blood and flesh, nightmares, and the first and second stages.

But the truth is, when you're really desperate to find someone, you're bound to not find them.

On a damp night, there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets. The few figures that were there were also obscured by the low brims of their hats or the shadows of their black umbrellas. If it weren't for the hot breath they exhaled from their mouths and noses that was clearly visible, they would look more like ghosts parading through the streets.

In Milo's memory, the world he originally belonged to did indeed have the concept of "Holy Communion," a religious concept that was embodied in bread and wine, symbolizing the blood and flesh of God, representing the recipient's receiving of grace, and the process of receiving it was also a sacred religious ritual.

“This is my body and my blood, which I gave and shed for the forgiveness of sins.”

This is a line spoken by a god at the Last Supper in that world when he distributed bread and wine to his disciples.

This corresponds to the Holy Communion mentioned by the Red Witch—blood and flesh.

Perhaps in that simpler world, blood and flesh were merely metaphors.

However, the communion she refers to here might actually mean the blood and flesh of certain creatures...

Milo could neither confirm nor verify this speculation.

He was not particularly fond of religious doctrines, and even harbored a certain degree of aversion and rejection towards them. His understanding of the concept of Holy Communion was only at a superficial level of common sense, without any in-depth research.

However, in Milo's view, the rhetoric used by religions in any world to deceive people is probably similar.

Similar to the one who was nailed to the ground, there are also heretical sects represented by the red-robed witch, and even the current state religion, the Golden Rule, which contains some prayers related to blood—"Born of the blood of the old gods."

However, the church's attitude is one of "fear" of the blood of the old gods.

The Red Witch, on the other hand, wants to use flesh and blood as the bargaining chip.

It seems their attitudes are all different...

……

I kept thinking about these obscure and mind-bending questions the whole way.

Milo entered the house at 11 p.m.

He and Rebecca spent several hours at the law enforcement office organizing documents and weapons, and the two roughly determined the basic action plan and route—Rebecca was in charge.

At this hour, Kang and Xiaofen were already fast asleep in their room.

But Emma sat on the living room sofa with a book in her hand, and only closed the book when Milo came in.

After Milo removed his black mask, Emma looked at his bloodless face and commented, "You look more like a vampire than I do now."

"I just thought you were complimenting me."

Milo tossed his black trench coat onto the back of a chair next to the dining table, turned around, and slumped onto the sofa. He stretched, straightened his legs, and yawned, his joints cracking and popping. He remained stiff for three or four seconds before straightening up and saying to Emma:
"good news."

"Hmm?" Emma waited for him to continue.

“The Edward Sherman case has been glossed over,” Milo said.

"Grace made this?" Emma immediately guessed the truth.

“Yes.” Milo nodded. “I think we don’t need to worry too much about the Sherman family for the time being. They have to fawn over us now.”

"And the bad news?" Emma then asked.

“No bad news.” Milo shrugged. “Who says good news has to be followed by bad news?”

The bad news is that I might die or go crazy at any time.

Of course, Milo would never say this to Emma.

However, there's no major problem in discussing it.

"Let me ask you a question."

Milo rubbed his hands together:

How do you think a person's thinking is formed?

"Are you reading some strange book?" Emma had never heard Milo ask such a strange question before.

“No…” Milo rolled his eyes.

But just as he was about to reorganize his thoughts, Emma spoke up in response:

"Spatial structure and temporal logic are two basic forms of thinking."

"Yes, so what does the understanding of spatial structure and the concept of time depend on, and what is the basis for the identification and piecing together of these concepts?" Milo pressed.

“Memory,” Emma blurted out. “Right? All your judgments, your choices, your way of thinking are all closely related to the memories stored in your brain. That includes the knowledge you receive, the emotions you perceive, the scenes you see, and so on. All of this will affect your way of thinking and thus manipulate your behavior, right?” Milo rambled on and on, not even knowing if what he was saying was right, but he just kept insisting on saying it.

But the more serious he became, the more Emma felt something was off about him.

"Why don't you put away the weapon on your waist and put it in your room?"

After what happened this morning, Emma had to be extra vigilant, especially given Milo's unusual behavior.

“I’m not crazy.” Milo took off his weapon pouch and hung it aside, then said to Emma, ​​“So memory is a very important part, right? You can think of it as a huge database.”

"What are you trying to say?" Emma blinked, her large, azure eyes filled with even greater confusion...

“I’m thinking, if a person’s memories are replaced by another person’s memories, then who is that person?” Milo bluntly posed his question.

Emma was stunned for a long time after hearing the question.

She didn't understand why Milo was suddenly fixated on such a strange question.

She thought for a long time before speaking:
"So, according to your line of thinking, if memories can be transferred, the thinking abilities that rely on those memories will also change, ultimately affecting behavior. In other words, the person whose memories are replaced will become a completely different person, is that what you mean?"

“Do you think so too?” Milo asked Emma.

Emma tilted her head, rubbed her temples, and remained in that position for a few minutes, lost in thought. Finally, she spoke up: "But have you ever thought about how to define a person? I mean, perhaps from another person's perspective, when a person's memories, thoughts, and actions all change, he is no longer the same person. But for that person himself, he doesn't know any of this. To him, he is still himself, isn't he?"

After Emma finished speaking, it was Milo's turn to fall into deep thought.

Indeed, when Milo fell into a coma this morning, he was not "watching" Robben, Anna, and Karl's experiences as "Milo." To be precise, in those flashback scenes, there was no Milo at all.

At that moment, Milo was Robben, was Anna, was Carl; he could be anyone, but he was never Milo…

……

After a moment, Milo muttered to himself:
"Is this what she meant by 'eternal fall into the abyss'...?"

Emma, ​​sitting next to him, stared at Milo with a strange expression, constantly on guard, afraid that he might suddenly pull out a blade and cut herself again.

You must be tired.

Emma patted Milo on the shoulder, pulling him back to reality from his chaotic thoughts.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Milo shook his head.

He hadn't expected that Emma, ​​living in a world with such a level of development, could actually answer the bizarre questions he asked. While the answers might not be comprehensive, they were definitely beyond the level of 99% of the people Milo had encountered so far.

No wonder he's a genius who can single-handedly create liquid explosives.

“Oh right, I have to go on a field trip in the next few days.” Milo suddenly remembered that he hadn’t mentioned the matter in Icam to his family yet.

"Is it far?" Emma asked.

“It’s a bit far.” Milo nodded. “It will take at least five days, but it could take longer.”

“Okay.” Emma nodded calmly.

"If there are any special circumstances, go directly to the law enforcement office to find someone, or ask Yan for help." Milo didn't even know what he was telling her.

You have to understand, a month ago, his status in this family was above the head and below the other two, with only Finn below him. In other words, it was not his place to speak to anyone in such a tone.

But after several twists and turns, the once aloof Emma has now become very obedient and docile...

……

"Is there any danger?" Emma asked Milo.

"Whether it's dangerous or not doesn't really matter anymore. I think we're all pretty much used to this dangerous pace of life, right?" Milo shrugged, then added, "Just don't blow this house up."

"Where?"

“A place called Ikham Town.”

“I think I’ve heard Enid mention it before,” Emma thought for a moment.

"Have you read that ghost story novel too?" Milo asked.

“No, I don’t read that kind of stuff. Enid read it.” Emma lifted the cover of the book in her hand to prove that she hadn’t read that kind of useless book.

"Okay, that's good." Milo nodded. "Get some rest, see you tomorrow."

……

After a quick wash, Milo went straight to sleep.
This must be the deepest sleep Milo has had in a long time.

He did not see Robben's daughter, nor did he see the gaunt and grotesque worshippers again.

Perhaps it's because I'm exhausted, or perhaps I already vented all my pent-up frustration earlier today.

(End of this chapter)