This anomaly was even more direct than before!
The Asdana Galaxy itself was already filled with Memory Matter.
And now, under some unknown influence, this Memory Matter had begun to shift toward becoming Memetic entities.
Those rambling formations Rappa kept muttering about… Now it seemed they truly weren't baseless.
The BananAdvisers had gone all out to infiltrate Paperfold University, spreading the "Slumbernana Monkey." Most likely, it was all for this transformation.
"Careful!"
"This big dinosaur is about to go berserk!" Stelle wasn't joking.
The Harmony BananAdviser really had gone full rage mode.
A siren blared above its head, and one after another, Assistananas jumped out of the air, glaring viciously at the crowd.
In this bizarre atmosphere… Whether it was Nanabloom-chan, or the other students acting as support in the field, all of them showed blissful smiles, bursting into "Bana bana" laughter.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rick had quietly retreated behind the Nameless, but even they weren't doing well.
Dan Heng and Stelle were both desperately resisting the influence of Bana-fication.
At this moment, the only one completely unaffected was Rappa.
She had long foreseen this scene. With a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow, her hand flashed, knocking each of her companions on the head.
"Hiss…!"
"Ow!"
"W-what just happened?"
Dan Heng, Stelle, and even Nanabloom-chan snapped awake, holding their heads.
"Hm?"
"You weren't affected by the Banana-fication?"
The enraged Harmony BananAdviser frowned at Rappa.
"As stated in the Cosmic Ninjutsu Inscriptions: "The stone heart of a ninja is immune to pressure, immune to lies, come wind, rain, or shine.""
Rappa snorted coldly, then formed a ninja seal, striking a dashing pose. She turned to Nanabloom-chan and said: "Never forget who you truly are, Ninja Initiate Gigaku."
Strangely though, the broken-spirited Nanabloom-chan, hearing Rappa's words, had light begin to bloom in her eyes!
She actually understood them!
But before Rappa could continue her persuasion, the Harmony BananAdviser exploded in fury.
"You useless failures, doomed never to succeed, just obediently bask in the bliss of the Slumbernana Monkey!"
A shrill alarm suddenly rang out.
The BananAdviser, along with the monsters around it, all twisted into furious forms.
They rushed at the crowd with reckless abandon!
"Bana grr ... If you unruly students insist on disrupting my class, you're in for some corrective bananishment! Teach them a lesson, Assistananas!"
This Harmony BananAdviser was easily among the strongest of those they had faced so far.
Before it, there should have been no one capable of resisting the Slumbernana Monkey. But its mind, already stuffed full of Slumbernana Monkey, failed to grasp who stood before it.
Their academic ability might swing up and down.
If you asked them to study, they'd probably collapse into sleep.
But if you asked them to fight, then they were suddenly wide awake.
"Flame Lance, Charge!"
"Dazzling Ninjutsu"
"M-me too! I want to be a ninja initiate!"
Before the Harmony BananAdviser's words even landed, a burst of dazzling, rainbow-colored light suddenly erupted.
Within the light were bizarre graffiti, roaring flames, and splashes of deep black ink.
Under its brilliance, the furious eyes of the Assistananas shifted to surprise, then fear, and finally grew clear again.
But they were already unable to stop their charge.
The next moment, the fierce clash everyone expected didn't come.
The scene suddenly cut to the hallway outside the studio, facing the main door.
The corridor was calm, peaceful, filled with such ease it made one want to hum a tune.
Then,
BOOM!!
Suddenly, a tremendous crash thundered from inside the studio.
A giant dinosaur head burst through the door, slamming into the wall opposite.
From within came the clattering crash of shattered components.
A mechanical arm stretched out from the doorway, followed by the appearance of another TV-headed BananAdviser. Its face no longer bore rage, only terror. It flailed its arms desperately, trying to climb upward.
But just as half its body emerged, its expression twisted, something behind had grabbed its leg, dragging it back.
"No! You damn delinquent students!"
The Assistanana shrieked, clawing at the ground with both hands, leaving long scratches as it was pulled back inside.
The audience watched as the Assistanana vanished from sight beyond the doorframe.
Immediately after, the sounds of beating and smashing resounded within.
The Assistanana's screams quickly faded away.
A few seconds of silence followed.
Then, a round bolt wobbled out of the doorway, rolling to a stop in plain view.
Camera language says it all.
Harmony BananAdviser (subtitle): In my rage, I was instantly wiped out by the opponents. Nothing more to say.
...
: Damn, I can't. I thought the Harmony BananAdviser looked so terrifying, but it got one-shot?!
: They just charged in with "bonds" or whatever, no hesitation.
: That was brutal. Damn, suddenly I kind of pity the BananAdviser!
: At this point, the Nameless Guests feel more like the villains!
: It's giving murder-maniac vibes, lmao.
....
The audience spammed jokes across the comments.
And the scene cut back inside the studio. The place was already a wreck.
The floor was littered with the scattered components of BananAdviser and the Assistananas.
"Huff…"
"What an exhilarating fight that was."
"I knew it would come to blows, so I prepared in advance."
"Hopefully, this operation of ours will bring some results."
Dan Heng paid little attention to the BananAdviser and instead looked straight at the area of distortion.
Reca grinned and said, "Of course. This time, your performance truly gave me the chance to capture an incredible scene…"
Meanwhile, in the corner.
Nanabloom-chan was holding a small stool and furiously smashing it against the dead BananAdviser's forehead, muttering to herself as she did so.
"Huff, huff…"
"I, I am also a Ninja initiate!"
After a storm of persuasive words from Rappa…
She actually began declaring herself to be a Ninja initiate, confronting the distortion and the BananAdviser without hesitation.
After a round of smashing,
Nanabloom-chan stood up, exhaled deeply, and her eyes shone with newfound light. She no longer looked as lost as before.
"Ninja Initiate Gigaku, deliver your final line."
Following behind Nanabloom-chan, Rappa praised her with great admiration.
"Mm!"
Nanabloom-chan nodded firmly, then shouted loudly: "Bana-scratch that! Evil thing! Your vile words cannot bring Ninja Initiate Gigaku down! It's a victory for us ninjas, hurray!"
The ordinary person who had been brainwashed was now redeemed.
On the surface, this should have been a good thing. The audience was laughing cheerfully as they watched.
But right after Nanabloom-chan spoke, some of the sharper viewers suddenly connected the dots, and a chill ran down their spines.
Rappa questioned Reca: "Ninja Gama, can you kindly enlighten us on the proceedings thus far?"
Mr. Reca as if waiting for this, looked at the three and spoke :"So, you actors have caught on... Let me reveal the next act in the plot then. We'll be exploring the misdeeds going down at Paperfold University..."
"Alright now, dear actors. Ever heard of a memetic virus?"
Dan Heng: "Is that what Slumbernana Monkey is?"
"You're right. Memetic corruption comes about from the dissemination of data. It alters particles of information picked up by the cognitive module, skewing the sensory perception of certain objects in those that have been corrupted. Much like special effects in a film."
"Words, songs, videos... these are all mediums of transmission. Humans naturally have a curiosity for the unknown, and memetic viruses take advantage of this."
"Memetic corruption is known to influence one's thoughts even in the real world. And in the Dreamscape, they catalyze nightmares that corrupt humans into monkeys."
Reca laid out the truth of the memetic virus in detail.
Simply put,
In the Honkai: Star Rail universe, a 'meme' itself holds power.
In ordinary life, it's just a trivial, everyday thing.
But once other forces intervene, it mutates into an abstract virus.
First altering consciousness, then even changing one's form.
"Hence, the evil ninja instructs the evil fiendlings to spread through media, masking it as entertainment to implant the seeds of dark sorcery in the hearts of the ninja initiates."
"Misappropriating the role of actual educators gave them the perfect chance to mangle the minds of innocent ninja initiates, only to hasten the growth of those fiendish seeds they sowed."
"And so all ninja initiates of Paperfold Town will succumb to fiendishness, becoming puppets of the evil ninja... What a dispiteous, denegerate, and dastardly ploy!"
Rappa, with a confused look fixed her gaze on Reca: "But Ninja Gama, why are you bogged down by inaction when you've long realized the truth behind their pretense?"
Reca spread his hands. "I'm just a director that stumbled upon a sinister plan. A reckless move on my part can bring dire consequences! It is up to very important stars like you to defeat that hellkite of a villain."
Seemingly not wishing to linger on the topic, Reca changed the topic: "These BananAdvisers were appointed by the acting dean, Profnana. I believe I don't have to make this any more explicit. Go to the dean's office to find the answers you seek. Oh, and keep me updated on how the plot unfolds!"
No one had reason to refuse. Thus, Reca led the group toward the principal's office.
Meanwhile… The comment section was exploding.
...
: Holy crap, when Nanabloom-chan shifted from 'Bana' to 'Ninja Initiate,' I suddenly realized! Could it be that Rappa herself… is also a memetic virus?!
: Huh?!!
: I always thought it was just some weird quirk when Rappa kept calling herself a Ninja Initiate! But now I see, right from the start she's been hinting at it!
: Think about it carefully. Rappa has never reacted to the Slumbernana memetic influence! That's because her brain already carries a different memetic virus!
: Whether it's her or the people she rescued from the Slumbernana, they all share the same trait!
...
The dense barrage snapped many viewers awake.
At first, it sounded absurd.
But when reconsidered in light of Reca's explanation of the virus, the logic suddenly all made sense!
The most critical evidence lay in the terminology shift.
Those people abandoned the term "Bana" and began calling themselves "Ninja Initiates."
On the surface, not much worth noting.
But when compared with the Slumbernana case, the conclusion was obvious.
The "Ninja Disciple" meme is essentially another memetic infection, just like the Slumbernana one.
Monkey-Bana victims express their thoughts with "Bana" terms.
Ninja Initiates, like Rappa, immerse themselves in the ninja world, expressing thoughts in "Ninja True Words."
Slumbernanas see the world through a Slumbernana filter.
Ninja Initiates see the world through a ninja-world filter.
At their core, there's no difference!
Once the audience grasped this… They quickly spotted another piece of evidence.
Reca.
Rappa views the world as a ninja world. Reca views the world as a script.
Their bizarre speech patterns were both symptoms of memetic influence.
When the BananAdviser activated their transformation earlier, besides Rappa, the one least affected was Reca. He even had the clarity to retreat behind the group!
...
: Damn… so behind all that absurdity, there was such a deep hidden thread?!
: But wait, isn't Rappa's meme at least not harmful?
: Exactly! The Slumbernana virus devolves humans into monkeys. Its essence is regression, surrender. But Rappa's ninja meme, while strange, is fundamentally positive in its core expression!
: As for Reca, I'm not sure if he carries a meme or not, but this guy seems like a neutral third party, neither uplifting nor degrading.
: So this is basically a battle between memetic viruses?
: You could say that. This whole episode is like a biohazard outbreak, different hosts infecting others, and in the end, it comes down to whether Rappa's meme can overcome the others. Of course, it's also possible that she, just like the BananAdviser, is still just another kind of meme vessel.
: No wonder it feels so abstract… if this is the direction, then it has to be abstract.
: So all the jokes and gags were just surface-level?!
: Genius!
: But the monkey meme, shouldn't it trace back to the Dr. Primitive? Then what about that?
: Could it be that even the Galaxy Rangers have memetic hosts among them?
: If so, that ranger group is way too abstract.
: If it's not within the ranger group, then… don't tell me it's our Brother Lan?
: Careful what you say, or Brother Lan will shoot an arrow at you.
····
The comments were scrolling one after the other.
But at the same time, a crucial question now loomed before everyone: Where did Rappa's meme virus come from?