Although Luo Shu planned to help Xi Juan regain normal communication abilities, achieving this wouldn't be easy. He currently had no leads on how to proceed.
In comparison, another path seemed more viable - finding anti-memes!
From Luo Shu's memory, besides Anomalous Item-055, there were several other known anti-memes.
The earliest numbered anti-meme was Anomalous Item-2111 - "If You Can Read This..." This anti-meme was formerly Foundation Agent Michelle Yu, who became an anti-meme after dying during a mission, erasing all memory of herself to attain peace.
Ultimately, Anomalous Item-2111 was eliminated by the famous "Holy Spirit" Mobile Task Force Omega-Zero ("Ará Orún"-Heaven). The Omega-Zero members were also deceased, or rather information constructs commonly called souls, specializing in dealing with anomalies of their same type.
That was a world Luo Shu currently couldn't access, and judging from the project content, it didn't seem related to the truth of this world. Not all anti-memes were his "recording devices" - at least Anomalous Item-2111 wasn't. Luo Shu wouldn't waste time on this. This project was skipped.
The second anti-meme project was Anomalous Item-2256 - "The Big One." This was a type of giant animal that previously lived in the Polynesian islands of the South Pacific, now extinct with only some research archives remaining.
However, according to intelligence from Site-19's main system, Anomalous Item-2256's data was stored in a repository coded 1-053 here. The specific location was in a storage room on Sublevel 1.
Although this was also a vanished anti-meme, considering the data was preserved at Site-19, Luo Shu decided to take a look while he was here.
The third anti-meme was Anomalous Item-2358 - "I've Seen This Somewhere Before..." This was a type of tree phantom that only appeared in large population centers.
So far, one each had been discovered in Hong Kong's Yau Tsim Mong district, Tokyo's Shibuya, and New York's Times Square - undoubtedly among the most densely populated areas globally.
This project wasn't very hazardous, and ordinary people couldn't detect it at all. Only those using W-class or higher mnestic aids could perceive it.
New York wasn't far from the New World capital, only about 400 kilometers away. Luo Shu could conveniently go take a look later. He ranked this second in his search priorities.
The fourth numbered anti-meme was Anomalous Item-2828 - "Human Anti-Memetic Organ." This was a useless organ growing behind the human ear, basically harmless and functionless.
This thing was probably a parasite-like existence, unlikely to relate to the truth Luo Shy sought. Moreover, Luo Shu didn't think he could communicate with a parasitic organ, so Anomalous Item-2828 was dismissed outright.
The fifth anti-meme was Anomalous Item-3125 - "The Fugitive." This project was Marion Wheeler's greatest enemy, with related data stored at Site-41 while the entity itself was omnipresent.
This was currently the most powerful and dangerous Keter-class anti-memetic anomaly, directly causing the near-total annihilation of global anti-meme research organizations, with 400 discovery institutions vanishing.
The only survivor was the Foundation's Anti-Meme Division, but its membership had shrunk from 4,000 to 125. Moreover, the division's original headquarters at Site-167 had completely disappeared due to Anomalous Item-3125's silencing effect.
Both physically and memorially, the Anti-Meme Division headquarters no longer existed. To be precise, in this world, only the containment unit S041-B30-000 built 210 meters underground at Site-41 was a safe house - everywhere else was under Anomalous Item-3125's threat.
Considering this project's danger, Luo Shu planned to leave it for last, only attempting contact if absolutely necessary.
The final numbered project was Anomalous Item-3211. This was a nameless anti-meme that observers could only perceive for 6 minutes in their lifetime before completely forgetting it.
Historically, only Dr. Greaves using Y-class mnestic aids could describe it beyond 6 minutes, at the cost of suffering Y-class mnestic brain damage.
Luo Shu had a feeling that Anomalous Item-3211 must be one of his "recording devices"! But this project's location was unknown - he'd probably need to ask Marion Wheeler to find out.
However, when Luo Shu last met the Anti-Meme Division head, although they reached consensus on seeking the truth, he forgot to ask for her contact information.
This was problematic. Marion Wheeler was a quasi-anti-meme even the O5 Council would forget - who could Luo Shu ask for her phone number?
When the elderly woman mysteriously moved through Site-19 before, only Luo Shu could notice her presence.
Whatever - he'd take it step by step. If he couldn't find Marion Wheeler, he'd go for Anomalous Item-2358 first.
Before that, returning to Sublevel 1, Luo Shu followed the main system's map to locate Archive 1-053 storing Anomalous Item-2256's data.
But his first attempt failed - he found nothing...
Anti-memes lived up to their name. Even though Anomalous Item-2256 was extinct, records about them still couldn't be preserved. The files in Archive 1-053 were now incomplete - beyond what Luo Shu already knew, other information had become blacked-out blocks.
This result was disappointing but expected. Even if the truth about this world wasn't erased by anti-memes, "Him" wouldn't allow such materials to remain at Site-19. Finding nothing was normal.
Luo Shu pinned most hope on Anomalous Items-3125 and 3211.
But per plan, after leaving Site-19 he headed north to New York to check Anomalous Item-2358 at Times Square.
Following the coastline north, an hour later Luo Shu reached New York.
It was already late at night, and even Times Square had few people around.
After activating Enhanced Memory, Luo Shu indeed saw a translucent blue tree standing in the middle of the road.
Cars constantly drove past, their drivers oblivious to the giant tree, vehicles phasing straight through its phantom form.
It was as if they existed in different worlds...