Chapter 714 437: The Final Endpoint (Part 2)

At the end of time and matter in this world, Qi Ling embraced Su Mo, lifting herself on tiptoe, leaving a kiss on his lips as gentle as the wind.

The last kiss.

Her voice was faint amidst the disintegration of everything around, nearly inaudible, yet so intense as if it wanted to pierce through Su Mo's soul.

"Come back to find me."

...

...

...

The darkness was like a bottomless abyss, wrapping Su Mo deeply.

There was no concept of time, no sensations, just a void.

His consciousness floated in this darkness, unaware of when it might find an exit.

Suddenly, a weak ray of light pierced through the darkness, like a white star lighting up the night, guiding him forward.

The light gradually grew brighter, and Su Mo's consciousness also began to awaken. He felt the presence of his body, heavy yet gradually gaining sensation.

A faint sound reached his ears, the cold beeping of some instrument, and a low conversation between people.

He tried to open his eyes, an extremely arduous process. His consciousness repeatedly slipped into confusion, then awakened again, leaving him unsure whether he was dreaming or awake.

Finally, as a hazy white mist enveloped his vision, his sight gradually cleared, and he could finally see things.

A hospital room appeared before him, white walls imparting a slight chill, the air filled with the smell of disinfectant. It was daytime, with light outside shielded by curtains, leaving only a sliver, allowing a bit of sunlight to filter in.

Su Mo struggled to look at his body, finding himself lying on a medical bed with numerous tubes attached to him, the ticking of the heart monitor unusually clear in the silent room.

Several doctors stood around the hospital bed, eyes wide and sharp, seeming to await an important moment.

Upon seeing Su Mo open his eyes, these doctors' faces broke into relieved smiles.

"He's awake!"

The doctors clapped, seemingly celebrating Su Mo's awakening.

Su Mo's eyes were filled with confusion, not knowing what had happened. He tried to speak, but his throat was dry, rendering him voiceless.

At that moment, the door to the room was pushed open, and his father, Su Xun, and mother, Li Huishu, hurried in, their faces full of anxiety and worry.

But seeing their son open his eyes, all those emotions transformed into joy and tears.

Li Huishu rushed to Su Mo's bedside first, not daring to touch him due to the tubes in him, instead grasping his hand tightly, tears streaming, choking up, "Son, you've finally awakened."

Su Xun also approached, his eyes reddened with excitement.

As the pillar of the family, he appeared more mature and rational, gently patting Su Mo's shoulder before bowing to the doctors in gratitude, "Thank you, doctors, for saving my child."

Su Mo remained bewildered, looking at his parents' concerned faces and the doctors' relieved expressions, his heart full of questions.

He wanted to ask why he was here, what had happened, but the dryness of his throat made it difficult to speak.

The attending doctor came to the bedside, speaking gently, "Su Mo, my surname is Chen. I am your attending doctor, you can call me Dr. Chen. You have just woken up and are still very weak."

"Don't worry, we will slowly tell you what happened. Try to recall on your own first, do you remember anything before you lost consciousness?"

Su Mo struggled to recall, taking a few minutes during which his throat's dryness slightly relieved, allowing him to speak.

He muttered, "I was just... completing all the achievements in the 'Dawn' game... then I turned off the computer to sleep... and lost consciousness..."

Dr. Chen nodded, "Indeed, we checked your medical history and found you experienced an accident as a child, leaving some trauma in your brain."

"These traumas have been unresolved, and your hyperthymesia is also a subsequent effect of these traumas."

"Over three years ago, on the day you lost consciousness, those traumas resurfaced, severely affecting your brain nerves, leading to a state of consciousness collapse."

"Such trauma could not be healed with previous technology and might have left you in a vegetative state. But you were fortunate; at that time, a novel therapy in the cutting-edge field was developed, called 'Consciousness Loop Construction Therapy.'"

"Its principle is to construct a loop path within the patient's brain nerves and use external means like medication to guide it. As long as the patient's bioelectricity can travel through this loop, they can regain consciousness."

"To put it in layperson's terms, you like playing games, right? You can understand it as your brain having issues due to trauma, and it's broken, but we use medical means to construct a path for repairing it."

"The process of your brain's neurobioelectricity traveling through this path is akin to playing a game, from the initial setup, through a series of events, to conclude at the end."

"Once the process from the opening point to the endpoint is completed, your consciousness loop construction is finished, the brain is repaired, and you can regain consciousness."

At this moment, Su Mo seemed a bit lost, trying to comprehend Dr. Chen's words.

The doctors did not continue speaking, leaving Su Mo to ponder on his own.

After a while, Su Mo came to and dazedly asked, "Do you mean that all the things I've experienced in the past three years were implanted through this therapy? To get me through the consciousness loop?"

Dr. Chen shook his head, "Oh no, you've misunderstood, the content of the consciousness loop construction is not something we control, but instead projected from the patient's deep subconscious."

"In former clinical cases, the scenarios each patient experienced during therapy varied."

"Some said they watched a movie they had seen before and awoke after finishing it."

"Others said they returned to their childhood and relived moments with childhood friends."

"Depending on the scenarios the patient experiences, the time for the consciousness loop construction therapy can vary, ranging from hours, days, to months."

"And for you to have it last for over three years, honestly, it's unheard of clinically. We wanted to ask you, what did you experience?"

After listening to Dr. Chen, the last cloud of confusion in Su Mo's heart vanished.

Back in the Dawn Realm, his first realization of a problem was due to that endless recurring dream.

Su Mo, think carefully about your ending.

The ending is the endpoint.

When everything ends, that's the ending.

Beyond the ending, there's nothing.

Although he wasn't entirely certain at the time, he faintly foresaw that something would surely happen the moment he 'completed' the game.

So, that's the meaning hidden in those subconscious metaphors in the dream...

The ending is the endpoint.

The consciousness loop construction therapy's endpoint.

Beyond the ending, there's nothing.

Because reaching the endpoint means the therapy is completed, and a person should awaken.

At this point, Dr. Chen cautiously called, "Su Mo?"

Su Mo returned to his senses, recalling Dr. Chen's earlier question, then briefly recounted his 'journey' to the Dawn Realm.

Perhaps due to having seen all sorts of cases under this therapy, Dr. Chen didn't seem particularly surprised by Su Mo's experience.

He thoughtfully said, "Hmm, it makes sense. Before you lost consciousness, you had just finished playing the game called 'Dawn,' exactly when the impression of it was most vivid in your subconscious, so the content of the consciousness loop construction was all about it."

"The reason it took over three years for you to awaken is that your 'completion' process took that long, from your so-called journey to the final conclusion."

After finishing, he gently patted Su Mo's shoulder, comforting, "In any case, everything seems normal at present. Now that you've recovered, you can resume normal life, just remember to have regular check-ups."

"Dr. Chen." Su Mo suddenly interrupted him.

Su Mo looked into Dr. Chen's eyes, his deep gaze seemingly wanting to penetrate his soul.

"Can you tell me how to go back?"