RBCT Chapter 1931 The lifespan disparity between humans and monsters, taking advantage of the Doraemon wo
Chapter 1931 The lifespan disparity between humans and monsters, taking advantage of the Doraemon wo
Chapter 1931 The lifespan disparity between humans and monsters, taking advantage of the Doraemon world.
Natsume's consciousness turned to the chat group interface, specifically to the area called "Shop".
A dazzling array of goods, accompanied by descriptions that defy imagination.
"Devil Fruits" that grant humans the ability to manipulate natural elements and control various powers; inheritances originating from ancient bloodlines that grant humans superhuman strength;
Magical tomes containing profound knowledge and the ability to manipulate elements and rules; and mysterious objects called "powers," which resemble fragments of divine authority.
The descriptions of each item depict a power far beyond Natsume's comprehension.
That was a power more magnificent than any great demon he had ever seen, and more mysterious than any legendary artifact.
Moving mountains and filling seas, manipulating time and space, creating destruction.
The few words in the description have already sketched a picture that is enough to realize all the delusions of mortals and subvert the common sense of the world.
He even saw the technology related to "life-extending potions" in the casual chat between the group owner and other members; it seemed to be a technology specially developed by a senior member of the chat group so that other group members would not worry about the lifespan of their relatives and friends.
Can it extend human lifespan?
The thought, like a subtle electric current, gently pricked him.
It wasn't for his own sake.
Natsume has no obsession with immortality.
What he was thinking about was the inequality in lifespan between humans and monsters.
In the long river of time, monsters are like reefs settled at the bottom of the river, silently enduring the erosion of the flowing water. For hundreds or thousands of years, their appearance remains unchanged, but their memories may be worn down or become dulled by time.
Human beings are but fleeting shadows on the river's surface, dazzling yet brief.
Once a bond is formed, separation becomes the inevitable outcome.
That longing and bond is a vibrant and colorful chapter in a human's life; for a monster, it may transform into a watch that lasts for centuries, or into an unspeakable emptiness that sinks deep into the heart.
"Once you are bound by fate, parting will only add to the emptiness."
This is his insight.
Wasn't his maternal grandmother, Reiko Natsume, just like that?
In the words of Nyanko-sensei:
"Unable to live in harmony with humans, Reiko challenges every yokai she encounters in order to vent her anger."
"Reiko possesses powerful demonic abilities. After defeating her opponents in a manner that is almost cruel, she makes them write their names on paper in order to ensure that they abide by the agreement to become her subordinates."
"Gathering these together creates the Book of Friends."
But Natsume knew that wasn't the case.
Through the fragments of memories he saw when returning the name, and through his interactions with those monsters, he deeply felt how gentle and delicate his grandmother, Reiko, was.
She "fights" with the monsters in an almost clumsy way, winning their names, not to enslave or vent her anger, but simply as a special way of befriending them.
Many of the monsters whose names she wrote down eventually became, in a sense, "friends" in her short life.
However, human lifespan is too short.
So short was it that many promises were never kept, so short was it that many words were never spoken, before that girl vanished at the end of time.
All that remains is a "Book of Friends" filled with names, and a memory from the long lives of many yokai—a memory that is hard to define as resentment, longing, warmth, or regret.
Natsume gently stroked the soft fur of Nyanko-sensei on his lap, his other hand unconsciously clenching slightly, as if he could feel the weight of that thick Book of Friends.
Inside, there are not just names, but also fragments of fate severed by time, unfulfilled promises, and longings that have settled for decades, longings that even the monsters themselves may not be able to say whether they are waiting or obsession.
If human lifespan could be extended, would there be fewer of these regrets?
Will Grandma Reiko then have more time to fulfill the promises she made to the monsters?
Would she be able to say goodbye to her special friends more calmly, instead of suddenly disappearing from their lives and leaving only an empty memory?
This "if" is like a pebble that quietly falls into the lake of my heart, rippling out in circles of complex waves.
Natsume thought quietly, his gaze somewhat unfocused as it fell on a point in the void.
The answer to the question seemed no longer important to Reiko's grandmother, who had long since passed away.
Time cannot be turned back, and the regret is already set in stone.
But a more forbidden yet more alluring thought, like a vine, entwined his heart.
In the chat group's online store, the incredible products are not limited to "life extension".
The dead coming back to life is not an impossible thing.
Not just Reiko's maternal grandmother, but even his parents.
Those faces have long since faded from my memory, leaving only scattered warm fragments and a huge emptiness in my heart.
The parents he had secretly fantasized about "if they were here" on countless lonely nights.
Will he be able to see them again?
When this thought arose, Natsume felt not joy, but a kind of bewildered tremor.
Deep in my heart, the longing for my parents' warmth, which had been buried by time, stirred slightly, only to be overwhelmed by an even greater sense of helplessness and worry.
Yes, worry.
He had once vaguely fantasized about whether there really were gods, or some incredibly powerful monsters, that possessed the power to bring the dead back.
But when this power seems to actually appear before us in a way that can be "exchanged" and "acquired," the impact is far beyond what mere desire can encompass.
He didn't know whether he should do it or not.
Life and death are ordered, and lifespan is predetermined. This is a truth he vaguely understood from a very young age, as he moved from one relative's house to another, watching the flowers bloom and fade in the courtyard, and listening to the elders tell ancient legends.
Is interfering with life and death, reversing reincarnation, really permissible?
He didn't know what it would mean for the monsters who had been waiting for decades if Grandma Lingzi really returned.
Is it the ecstasy of fulfillment, or the change of time and the loss of people? Is it the continuation of an unfinished destiny, or the disruption of some delicate balance?
He didn't know how his parents would get along with their grown-up son, who was completely different from the one in their memories, if they were really resurrected.
How can we fill the long, lost time? Will resurrection truly bring happiness, or another, more complex predicament and pain?
He even feared that his momentary thought might stir up unpredictable waves in the world.
Extending lifespan may already be disrupting nature, so what about bringing the dead back to life?
Could breaking some fundamental rule lead to unpredictable disaster? Could satisfying the wishes of a few result in the misfortune of many more?
Just like in those ancient legends, those who try to reverse life and death often bring about even greater tragedies.
He was just Takashi Natsume, an ordinary high school student who could see spirits.
He never wanted much, just a peaceful life and to cherish the warmth he already had around him.
Suddenly presented with such a vast and potentially powerful force that could shake destiny and the world, he felt not the joy of controlling his fate, but a sense of bewilderment at not knowing what to do.
"what should I do?"
He silently asked himself, his fingers unconsciously tightening, his fingertips sinking into the cat teacher's fluffy fur.
The sleeping cat seemed to feel uncomfortable, making a dissatisfied purring sound in its throat and twisting its body.
This subtle movement startled Natsume from his chaotic thoughts.
He looked down at the cat teacher on his lap.
Although Nyanko-sensei always claims he will take over the Book of Friends after his death, he repeatedly steps forward to protect him from danger.
He recalled Aunt Tago's gentle smile, Uncle Zi's silent yet reliable figure, and Bing and Sanxiao—the figures of humans and monsters who appeared in his life, some briefly and some for a long time.
What he now possesses—this hard-won, flawed yet incredibly precious "daily life"—is built upon existing, universally accepted rules of life and death.
If he rashly breaks it and touches that forbidden territory, can he really bear the consequences?
Will we lose even the tranquility we have now?
Outside the window, a gentle gloom descended, with only the glow of streetlights in the distance.
Natsume sighed softly, suppressing those dangerous thoughts for the time being.
That was too distant, too heavy, far beyond his current understanding, and certainly not something he should touch upon now.
Power itself is neither good nor evil; the key lies in the person who uses it and the "heart" that uses it.
He knows this.
But Natsume's heart is not yet ready to accommodate such complicated choices, nor can it bear such heavy possibilities.
All he can do is cherish everything he has in front of him, protect the existing relationships in his own way, return the names that have not yet been returned, and listen to the stories that have not yet been heard.
As for the dreamlike possibilities in that mall, let it exist as just a "possibility" for now.
When he becomes stronger, not only in terms of physical strength, but also in terms of his mind, when he understands better whether he has the courage and ability to bear all of this.
Perhaps only then will he be able to truly face these choices.
And now.
"Let's just live our lives well in the present moment."
He said to himself.
in the chat group.
The original topic was about Takashi Natsume, but with Nobita Nobi's return, the topic gradually returned to Doraemon.
After all, Nobita's world is the most unique among the newly joined group members.
Boil Daigo into soup: "Is it really impossible?"
Boil Daigo into soup: "Robots like Doraemon won't be expensive in the future, right?"
He boiled Daigo into soup: "Even if it's expensive, it's still something you can buy with money."
Turning Daigo into soup: "Can't we just have Doraemon take the money to the future, buy a robot just like himself, and then give it to us as a red envelope?"
Daigo said in the chat group.
The memory instances show scenes of Doraemon traveling to the future to repair or purchase gadgets, meaning that he can travel to the future to buy gadgets at any time.
Since you can buy items, you can also buy robots that are the same as them, and there are no restrictions on the currency used for transactions.
In other words, they could ask Nobita to give Doraemon something like gold, and then Doraemon would travel to the future to buy a robot and give it to them as a red envelope.
In the chat group shop, robots like Doraemon are very expensive, but in the Doraemon world, those robots aren't expensive at all; they're all things you can buy with money.
Is money something they need to worry about?
Therefore, if his idea could come true, everyone could have their own "Doraemon".
An ordinary group admin: "It's hard to say, but it feels like it could work."
An ordinary group admin said: "After all, just like you said, Doraemon can go to the future to buy things and give them to us in the form of red envelopes, which will not have any impact on their world."
An ordinary group owner said, "If we're talking about influence, it started as soon as Nobita joined the chat group."
An ordinary group admin said, "But while the theory is one thing, whether it can actually be implemented is another."
An ordinary group admin commented: "But this approach is a bit like taking advantage of customers."
An ordinary group owner said, "A robot, along with all those props, is worth more than a hundred million."
Su Yunqing felt that Daigu's idea had a chance of being realized.
However, she also felt a bit like she was being taken advantage of.
Using only gold, something insignificant and worthless even in chat groups, to exchange for robots and related items worth hundreds of millions or even billions of points in other worlds.
This is a bit too much of a rip-off.
Even if Nobita has a special identity in his world, as a historical figure who is involved in history, you can't just exploit him like this.
Boil Daigo into soup: "Ah, a prop?"
He boiled Daigo into soup: "But I was just talking about robots like Doraemon."
Boil Daigo into soup: "I didn't want any accompanying props."
Daigo was taken aback when he saw Su Yunqing's words.
Props? What props?
All he wanted was a robot like Doraemon.
The richest man in the lighthouse: "Ah, such a good idea. All you want is a robot?"
The richest man in the lighthouse: "No, buddy."
The richest man in the city said, "If you really want one, I can build one for you."
Tony was starting to lose his composure.
He thought Daigo wanted the gadgets from the Doraemon world, but it turns out he just wanted the robot.
If you want it that way, he can build it too.
Aren't the gadgets the most important thing in the Doraemon world?
Boil Daigo into soup: "You?"
He boiled Daigo into soup: "What I want is not an emotionless artificial intelligence."
Daigo looked at Tony's words with some skepticism.
Is this guy sure he can do it?
The richest man in the lighthouse said, "I can do it too if I have feelings."
He boiled Daigo into soup: "But wasn't the one you made with feelings the one for Ultron?"
The richest man in the lighthouse: "."
If you put it that way, then we can't have a conversation.
Can the artificial intelligence he originally created in the future also be attributed to him?
He boiled Daigo into soup: "So, the sentient robots you're making now won't turn into something like Ultron?"
The richest man in the lighthouse: "Um, let's change the subject."
Tony himself couldn't be sure about this.
(End of this chapter)