MEMELAND

Kai remained seated.

Dr. Z continued staring at him.

Neither spoke.

Finally—

Kai took a deep breath.

"...You're not going to believe me."

Dr. Z shrugged.

"I stopped believing normal things years ago."

Kai nodded.

"...Fair."

He looked down at his hands.

"...I've been having dreams."

Dr. Z immediately interrupted.

"Nightmares?"

"...More like memories."

The doctor raised an eyebrow.

Kai continued.

"I keep seeing places I've never been."

"People I've never met."

"...And you."

Dr. Z leaned forward.

"Me?"

Kai nodded.

"I've seen countless operations."

"Different patients."

"Different laboratories."

"Different outcomes."

The room became silent.

Then Kai quietly added,

"...One of them was me."

Dr. Z's expression finally changed.

Only slightly.

"You performed the operation."

"It succeeded."

Silence.

Dr. Z folded his arms.

"...Impossible."

Kai shrugged.

"I knew you'd say that."

"You don't have to believe everything."

"But..."

Kai looked directly at him.

"...I know things I shouldn't."

"You use mana stabilizers before opening the chest."

"You rotate the circuit alignment clockwise."

"You separate the conduits instead of connecting them immediately."

"You hate crooked surgical tools."

"You—"

"Enough."

Dr. Z slowly exhaled.

"...Interesting."

He looked away.

Thinking.

"...I don't believe dreams."

"...But I do believe results."

"You know things."

"Far too many things."

Kai nodded.

"...That's why I'm here."

The doctor walked toward the operating table.

Ran a finger across the polished steel.

Then quietly spoke.

"If we proceed..."

He looked back at Kai.

"...You will most likely die."

Kai didn't answer.

Dr. Z continued.

"I prepared this room because I assumed you'd lose your nerve."

"Most people do."

"They see the tools."

"The restraints."

"The blood."

"...Then they run."

He smiled faintly.

"You..."

"...don't seem interested in running."

Kai reached into his coat.

"I found something."

He produced several folded documents.

Old.

Weathered.

Recovered from the Oheyo laboratory.

Subject 46.

Dr. Z accepted them.

He silently read every page.

Then every note.

Then every diagram.

Several minutes passed.

Finally—

He lowered the papers.

"...These are old."

"But useful."

He tapped the documents.

"The information you've brought..."

"...I've already reproduced roughly ninety percent of this through my own research."

Kai's eyes widened slightly.

"Ninety?"

Dr. Z nodded.

"The remaining ten percent..."

He tossed the papers onto the table.

"...doesn't change much."

He looked directly at Kai.

"Even with everything I currently know..."

"...your survival rate remains approximately..."

"...zero point zero one percent."

Silence.

Kai's confidence vanished immediately.

"...Point one..."

He slowly leaned back.

"...Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

His thoughts raced.

This Dr. Z isn't the same one.

He hasn't performed nearly enough surgeries.

He doesn't have the experience the other one had...

Kai closed his eyes.

Think.

Think.

Think.

The memory.

The operation.

There had to be something.

Anything.

Fragments surfaced.

Not complete.

Just flashes.

A scalpel.

Blue mana.

Several crystal needles.

A change in sequence.

Wait.

Kai's eyes snapped open.

"I remember something."

Dr. Z looked over.

"What?"

Kai quickly grabbed a sheet of paper.

Started sketching.

"The operation..."

"You didn't begin with the central pathway."

"You started here."

He drew several rough lines.

"Then..."

"You redirected the mana flow."

"Instead of stabilizing first..."

"You intentionally destabilized it."

Dr. Z frowned.

Kai continued.

"You stopped the heart."

"...For a moment."

The doctor blinked.

Kai drew another symbol.

"Then..."

"You used the pressure difference to force the circuits to settle naturally."

Kai lowered the charcoal.

"...That's all I remember."

"I can't remember anything else."

Silence.

Dr. Z stared at the crude drawing.

One second.

Two.

Three.

His eyes slowly widened.

"..."

He stepped closer.

"..."

He looked again.

Then—

His shoulders began shaking.

"...Heh..."

"Heh..."

"Hehehe..."

The laugh grew louder.

"Hahahahaha..."

Then louder still.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He placed one hand over his face.

His entire body trembled.

Kai slowly leaned away.

"...Doc?"

"Hahahaha!"

"What..."

"...WHAT A BRILLIANT IDEA!"

The doctor slammed both hands onto the table.

"I never thought of using the pressure collapse itself!"

He immediately began scribbling equations.

Crossing things out.

Writing more.

Mana formulas filled page after page.

"...Yes..."

"...YES!"

"I CAN SEE IT!"

He looked toward Kai.

His eyes practically glowed.

"So the other me..."

"...actually did it."

Kai nodded cautiously.

"...That's what I saw."

Dr. Z laughed again.

"...Wonderful."

"Absolutely wonderful."

He suddenly pointed toward the operating table.

"Lie down."

Kai hesitated.

"...Now?"

"Now."

Kai slowly climbed onto the table.

Metal restraints immediately locked around his wrists.

His ankles.

His waist.

Click.

Click.

Click.

Kai looked down.

"...That was fast."

Dr. Z tightened the final restraint.

Satisfied.

Kai swallowed.

"...Doc."

"Hm?"

"...Based on what I remembered..."

"...what's the success rate now?"

Dr. Z became strangely quiet.

He reached toward the instrument tray.

Picked up a gleaming mana scalpel.

The blade shimmered blue beneath the lanterns.

Kai watched it approach.

"...Doc?"

No answer.

"...Seriously."

"...What's the success rate?"

Dr. Z finally smiled.

"...Higher."

Kai blinked.

"...Higher?"

"Higher than last time."

Kai's mind immediately spiraled.

Higher...?

One percent?

Five percent?

Fifty?

...Zero point two?

His breathing quickened.

"...We..."

"...We can still talk about this."

Dr. Z walked closer.

"...Can we?"

Kai smiled nervously.

"I think communication is important."

Dr. Z nodded thoughtfully.

"I agree."

Kai sighed in relief.

Then—

The doctor calmly stuffed a cloth into Kai's mouth.

"Mmph?!"

"There."

"Much quieter."

Kai stared at him in horror.

Dr. Z adjusted the surgical light.

"...Let's begin."