“One, two, three, four, five…”

Yan Feifan calmed his mind. With complete concentration, every time he silently counted to five, he noticed Zhang Chao’s right hand twitching slightly and rapidly. The twitch was so slight that it was almost imperceptible. If his hands hadn’t been so remarkably sensitive and he hadn’t been mentally prepared, he really might have missed it.

The rhythmic twitching of Zhang Chao’s right hand led Yan Feifan to a particular possibility.

Epilepsy!

Epilepsy was a chronic brain disease caused by a variety of factors. It was characterized by recurrent, episodic, and transient dysfunction of the central nervous system, all resulting from excessive electrical discharges by brain neurons. The exact cause of the disease remained unknown, but according to current medical research, tumors, infections, strokes, and brain injuries could all trigger it.

Yan Feifan guessed that the brain injury from that accidental collision had triggered Zhang Chao’s epileptic episodes. However, the episodes were so mild that they didn’t show up on an EEG, and the current transformer examination of his brain had failed to detect any abnormal discharges. Yet, Yan Feifan deduced that it was precisely the regular, abnormal discharges from the epileptic lesion that stimulated the memory centers of Zhang Chao’s brain, activating his extraordinary memory.

Withdrawing his hands, Yan Feifan met Zhang Chao’s questioning and probing gaze. “Mr. Zhang, someone must have mentioned the term Hyperthymesia to you before, right?”

Zhang Chao nodded with a faint smile. “Yes, a doctor has mentioned it.

“Actually, Mr. Yan, before my family brought me here to see a doctor, I searched online and concluded that I had developed this extremely rare condition known as Hyperthymesia.

“The internet says the biggest problem with Hyperthymesia is the inability to forget. It makes the sorrows and tragedies a person has experienced remain as vivid as if they happened yesterday.

“These vivid, unfortunate memories make it difficult to escape the past, leading to severe mental health issues and even total breakdowns.”

Pausing for a moment, Zhang Chao asked curiously, “Mr. Yan, if I may be so bold, does this problem bother you?”

Yan Feifan shook his head. “I’ve lived with it since I was a child, and I’ve found a way to cope with it.

“I just seal away the bad memories and try not to deliberately think about them. Instead, I focus more on happy and joyful things.”

At this point, images of being bullied by the siblings from the Fan Family during his childhood involuntarily surfaced in his mind, annoying him quite a bit. He thought, “Damn it, many unpleasant childhood memories have resurfaced from the dusty corners of my memory bank simply because of the Fan Family siblings’ arrival. Five million was truly too little to ask for. I shouldn’t have let those two bastards off the hook so easily.”

Feeling indignant, Yan Feifan tried his best to suppress the childhood memories that made him feel terrible, while adding, “The best way is to keep yourself busy…

“When you throw yourself entirely into your work and dedicate yourself to solving one problem after another, you won’t have the free time to dwell on the unpleasant past.”

He practiced what he preached. In his mind, he was already forcing his attention to shift as much as possible to Zhang Chao’s Hyperthymesia.

Hyperthymesia was exceptionally rare. Aside from isolated, special cases like Yan Feifan, who had possessed an incredible memory since childhood, most documented cases were more like Zhang Chao—people whose extraordinary memory was triggered later in life. However, how exactly this extraordinary memory could be triggered postnatally remained an unsolved mystery in current medical research.

In Zhang Chao’s case, the minor brain damage from the accidental collision had induced epileptic episodes. The abnormal electrical discharges from the epileptic lesion were so weak that even the Affiliated Hospital’s instruments couldn’t detect them. Presumably, the area of the brain affected by the discharges from the epileptic lesion was quite limited.

What if…

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of inspiration struck Yan Feifan’s mind. He wondered if using highly sensitive equipment to detect Zhang Chao’s epileptic lesion—that is, the area emitting the discharges—would allow them to successfully and artificially trigger an extraordinary memory by implanting an electrical stimulator in that specific region of the brain.

At this thought, Yan Feifan’s gaze toward Zhang Chao grew remarkably fervent. He thought, “Holy crap, this guy in front of me is an absolutely perfect blueprint for replicating Hyperthymesia, practically a gift from God!”

Zhang Chao sensed the shift in Yan Feifan’s demeanor, primarily because the change was far too obvious. His eyes were practically glowing with excitement. Instinctively sensing danger, Zhang Chao couldn’t help but shrink back slightly.

“Mr. Yan… Mr. Yan?”

Yan Feifan restrained his gaze, forcing himself to appear less excited, and asked casually, “Mr. Zhang, you work for a public institution. Are you a Party member?”

“Yes, I joined the Party back in college!” Zhang Chao answered, then asked in confusion, “Mr. Yan, does my being a Party member have anything to do with Hyperthymesia?”

Yan Feifan chuckled. “Being a Party member is good. It means you have a high level of ideological awareness.

“Of course, whether you’re a Party member or not has no connection to your Hyperthymesia, but it does relate to your follow-up examinations and treatments.”

Pointing at the oxygen tube under Zhang Chao’s nose, Yan Feifan asked, “Do you often feel dizzy and foggy-headed, but find that inhaling oxygen makes you feel much better?”

Zhang Chao nodded hurriedly. “Yes, yes, exactly!

“Mr. Yan, have you discovered something?”

Yan Feifan smiled softly. “Mr. Zhang, the brain is the biggest consumer of energy in the human body. It consumes over twenty percent of the body’s oxygen and nutrients.

“And that’s under normal circumstances.

“Now that your memory capabilities have been activated, your entire brain is running at an accelerated pace as a result.

“It’s like a computer’s CPU that originally had to process ten megabytes of data, but now has to process a hundred or even a thousand megabytes in the same amount of time.

“Running overclocked like this, the power it consumes will inevitably multiply, won’t it?”

Realization dawned on Zhang Chao. “Right, right, that’s exactly it! Since my brain has to process more information, the consumption naturally goes up.

“So my dizziness, foggy-headedness, and weight loss are…”

Yan Feifan nodded in confirmation. “…caused by the fact that your body’s nutrient and oxygen supply can’t keep up with your brain’s demands.”

Pausing for a moment, he added in a serious tone, “Mr. Zhang, I already have some clues about what triggered your Hyperthymesia, but I need to run further tests to confirm them.

“Just wait patiently. Someone will contact you regarding the follow-up examinations and treatment arrangements.”

Accompanied by Duan Yu, the moment Yan Feifan walked out of Inpatient Building No. 5, he couldn’t contain his excitement. He went to a quiet place, took out his phone, and dialed 1103141.

As soon as the call connected, Yan Feifan said urgently, “Li Yun, transfer me to your supervisor. I have something important to discuss.”

On the other end of the line, Li Yun didn’t ask any questions and transferred the call immediately.

“Mr. Yan, what is this urgent and important matter?”

Hearing the familiar voice of the big-bellied man again, Yan Feifan already had his pitch ready.

“I want to conduct a secret research project—the kind of medical research that might create Super Soldiers. I need the help of your department or the military.”

The reason Yan Feifan designated this as a secret project was his belief that if extraordinary memory could be artificially triggered, the research results had the potential to be recklessly abused. He felt that if this breakthrough could truly be achieved, it would be best to keep it strictly classified.

As for the mention of Super Soldiers, that was simply to draw the attention of the relevant authorities and the military. In Yan Feifan’s eyes, although his phrasing was exaggerated, the role an agent or soldier with extraordinary memory could play on the battlefield wouldn’t be much less impactful than that of a super agent like Black Widow, right?

The big-bellied man’s voice slowly came through the phone.

“Mr. Yan, I know you aren’t the type to make jokes, but your words are giving me exactly that impression.

“Mr. Yan, I need more details before I can decide whether to help you or report this upward…”

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