Nobody can stop me from drawing cards in Gotham!

Chapter 37 A Rich Man, But a Symbiote

Hawaiian Islands, United States, in the central North Pacific Ocean, 2006.

When people think of Hawaii, they often think of keywords like: endless, almost transparent blue sea, surging waves, golden beaches, dazzling sunshine, and scattered palm trees... and in reality, it's not that different.

Summer is here, and now is the perfect time for a Hawaiian vacation. The sun isn't quite scorching yet, but it's already bright enough. A cool sea breeze carrying a salty scent brushes against the faces of every tourist. A huge cruise ship is breaking through the Klein blue sea, and the deafening music and cheers on the deck almost scare away all the seabirds that try to get close.

This was unavoidable, since the luxury cruise ship, which departed from Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, three days earlier, was specifically chartered for a grand sea party.

The wealthy man who chartered the 16-ton, 15-deck Ocean Prayer, a ship that regularly sails the Pacific providing cruise services to tourists from all over the world, was simply throwing an extravagant banquet. His name is known to everyone in the East Coast's elite circles.

That is Bruce Wayne, the heir to the Wayne Enterprises.

The party not only invited the enthusiastic girls from Honolulu who grew up basking in the beach sun, but also Bruce Wayne's usual friends who were also young and wealthy.

Given Bruce's extravagant spending, no one seems to care that he hasn't appeared at deck parties, poolside events, or bar dance floors yet.

Yes, think about it! You're on an amazing cruise ship, enjoying all the delicious food and entertainment facilities for free, with parties happening all the time waiting for you to pop champagne and dance the night away. Who would care about a rich guy who hasn't shown his face yet?

So everyone was very happy, everyone was engrossed in the banquet on the cruise ship...

Except for a certain young man who was sitting on his balcony in his room, staring blankly at the snow-white wake on the sea in front of him.

To be fair, he was a handsome young man with messy black hair interspersed with a few strands of white highlights that were very popular in 00, and a pair of attractive gray-blue eyes—if you ignored the fact that he was wearing a very shockingly stylish floral shirt, beach shorts, and flip-flops that were a stroke of genius.

Judging by his attire alone, someone who didn't know better would think he was some middle-aged man on vacation on the beach.

And this young man's name is...

"Landon Parrels..." the young man murmured, "Is this what rich people are like? How come they get on a cruise ship right away?"

Yes, this person is Jaeger, who currently has the [Landon Parrels] identity card loaded.

He summoned a virtual card table, and the Gotham City map that was originally at the bottom of the table had changed into a floor plan of the cruise ship he was currently on.

[June 15, 2006 - Ocean Prayer]

[Currently using identity card: Langdon Parrels]

"Five years ago?" Jaeger noticed this regressed timeline.

Was this the phrase "past storyline" that he saw before switching to Langdon's identity card? Or rather, the past timeline?

Jaeger took this hint very seriously at the time, because it meant that while Langdon Parrels had a past, it was also something he created and filled in himself.

In other words, this resolves a question Jaeger had about identity cards: if identity cards all have complete resumes and pasts, did they possess autonomous souls before being used by players? If so, where did those souls go?

Now it seems that's probably not the case.

The identity card is more like a created character card. Although the storyline is complete, it is essentially filled in by the player.

This relieved Jaeger, who had always harbored deep doubts about "soul transference," but now he no longer needed to worry about it.

The real issue now should be whether our past selves have created problems for our present selves...

Thinking of this, Jaeger clicked on the current trump card [Playing Role] currently placed on the table and confirmed the card-folding requirements once again:

[Card Folding Requirements: Draw a random identity card and act out the role, while not violating the role-playing requirements, and eliminate one random event card.]

As for the event card... given the current situation, it seems like it will have to be triggered on the Ocean Prayer ship, just like it was triggered at the crime scene before.

But acting—Jaeger returned to the full-length mirror in his room, examining himself and wondering: What kind of person is Langdon Parrels? And what are the standards required for playing him?

Just as Jaeger was pondering, a sudden voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts:

"...Landon Parrels..."

Jaeger: ?

He instantly looked up alertly, almost instinctively using a spell he had mastered to a high level, but then realized a beat too late that he wasn't using the [Jaeger Winchester] identity card...

He also realized that the sound did not originate from the room he was currently in, but rather from—

In his mind.

This realization sent a chill down Jaeger's spine, but he forced himself to remain calm: "Who are you?"

"It's always like this... There will always be a moment when you forget your situation... forget who you are..."

The voice rang out again, confirming to Jaeger that it indeed originated from his own mind.

The voice was deep and hoarse, which inappropriately reminded Jaeger of Batman's distinctive throat cancer-related voice.

But just as Jaeger had this thought, the eerie voice rang out again: "I don't... I don't have throat cancer..."

Jaeger: "..."

The guy's tone was pitiful, even with a strange sense of grievance.

But Jaeger realized something and frowned: "You can read my mind?"

"No...it doesn't count..." the voice replied, "Only thoughts that you deem not secret...can I...read..."

This put Jaeger at ease a little, but not much—after all, a foreign consciousness in one's mind always makes one wary.

However, since the other person seemed communicative, Jaeger tried to probe for more information: "According to you, I seem to often forget my own situation? So this isn't the first time?"

"Yes..." the voice said, "...Landon...you have intermittent amnesia...so...that's normal..."

"Don't worry... I'll... help you... remember..."

Jaeger:

Intermittent amnesia? Considering that Langdon Parrels is actually playing his own identity card, could this so-called amnesia be something he made up to fool people when he first switched identities and didn't know what the situation was like?

And... this person sounds quite nice, but their halting way of speaking is tiring to listen to.

So Jaeger asked, "Have you always talked like this?"

The voice paused for a moment before speaking, "...Because...it's been...too long...without...food...that's why..."

"I wasn't... a stutterer... really..."

His tone was sincere, so he must really be hungry.

Jaeger could only say helplessly, "Alright, let's solve your hunger problem first—but how are you going to eat? After all, you sound like you're just a thought process within my mind..."

Upon hearing that there was food, the voice instantly perked up: "It's...it's okay...I can...change form..."

Transformation?

The next second, he heard the voice say again, "For example... like this."

As the sound rang out, a black and white mass suddenly emerged from Jaeger's body, resembling some kind of highly condensed gas, and it spun and twisted like a living thing.

But it's not over yet.

The gas quickly deformed and spread again, engulfing Jaeger's entire arm and half of his shoulder, until a blurry head emerged in mid-air, with pale eyes and a hideous mouth.

The unidentified creature, composed of black and white gas, approached Jaeger, as if observing him, or perhaps simply watching him.

Meeting Jaeger's shocked gaze, it said in a low voice, "Hello... Langdon..."

"You can call me... Poison Mist."