Chapter 4: I’ll Copy You to Death_1

To study music or gather more materials, Harrison Clark first had to leave the army and become an honorably discharged recipient of welfare.

Although military training was strict, it was not a time of forced conscription, and disqualifying soldiers was straightforward.

Harrison ended up in the military camp only because his previous physical and neurological test results showed potential to become an excellent soldier.

However, if he showed poor behavior and attitude, he would be sent back home soon.

Last time he was disqualified due to his lack of common sense; this time he wouldn’t make the same mistake; instead, he would pretend to be crazy and stupid!

Two months later, Harrison succeeded.

He packed his bags and boarded the time machine.

Sitting by the window, Harrison waved goodbye to his comrades outside.

With a hum, the time machine started up.

The figures of his comrades on the platform quickly receded into the distance.

The time machine, dragging a long blue tail flame, left the military camp at the foot of the Pennine Hills and headed straight to the welfare housing area thousands of kilometers away.

After changing out of his uniform, Harrison wiped the sweat from his forehead, relieved that he had finally been disqualified.

Last time he entered the dream world, he only lasted a month in the military camp.

He had some regrets then and didn’t want to leave, thinking that if he had adapted to this world earlier, he might not have performed so poorly during the reserves training.

But this time, he actively hoped to be disqualified. However, once he understood things, he couldn’t make the same common-sense mistakes again.

This time, his performance was much better than before, and he even unexpectedly became friends with several new soldiers.

When he was disqualified last time, he left alone and dejected. This time, several comrades bid him farewell and expressed their regret for his “tragic” disqualification.

Little did they know that it was a relief for Harrison.

Harrison didn’t really want their friendship, but he couldn’t refuse their kindness.

How could he bear to tell them that a year from now, they would all be dead, including him?

During his two months in the military camp, aside from slacking off during daily training, he also used the military’s database to gather more information.

Like before, he couldn’t find any detailed historical materials, only a few very general records.

Harrison didn’t care about this.

He had learned new psychological coping techniques: As long as he didn’t have any extra hopes, he would never be disappointed.

After three or four days, Harrison settled down in the welfare housing area in his hometown.

No one welcomed him back home “in his glory.”

He didn’t have any old acquaintances here.

In the real world, although Harrison had a weak sense of family, at least he had foster parents. But in this life, it seemed worse, as if he had sprung out of a crack in a rock. He didn’t have a single relative apart from a file stating that he was originally from Boston.

Harrison knew he only had a year to live, so there was no regret, only a peacefulness.

In the spacious and bright living room of the welfare housing, Harrison snapped his fingers.

Click.

He said, “Smart assistant, your name is Vivian from now on.”

“Okay, Master.”

“Vivian, show me all the information about the famous singer Carrie Thomas from the early 21st century.”

In less than 0.1 seconds, a holographic projection appeared two meters in front of him.

Carrie’s detailed information table appeared before him.

Basic information, works, and anecdotes were all available.

Harrison sat on the sofa, and the screen automatically adjusted, maintaining a distance of one meter from him and tilting at a 45-degree angle to the ground.

Harrison looked at the material and said, “Prepare my lunch, I’d like the seventh Sichuan meal, medium spicy.”

This time, Carrie’s information was almost unchanged from before, with the same number of works, titles, and even the times and backgrounds of those works remaining identical.

Everything seemed unchanged.

Harrison focused his gaze on the anecdotes section, concentrated slightly, and opened the detailed information.

Appearing before him were various reports related to Carrie, from her debut to the biographies written by others hundreds of years after her death.

The database’s historical materials were very general, but its entertainment and cultural materials were well preserved.

Harrison had already read these materials before.

In order to uncover history, he had put in a lot of effort. Since he couldn’t find information in the official history, he had tried to search for clues in these side materials.

Unfortunately, the information he collected from these articles was fragmented and inconsistent, with no substantial help in his understanding of history.

Harrison casually opened an interview, the first one Carrie had taken after her fame, which took place when she was 26 years old in the real world, in 2024.

Back then, Harrison had scrutinized this interview multiple times.

After all, it was the closest written record to the time he lived in.

Harrison read it again from beginning to end.

Three minutes later, he was stunned.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.

“That’s not right. When the journalist asked her this question before, she didn’t answer like this! Did I remember it wrong? That can’t be!”

Harrison pulled at his hair.

The interview went like this:

The journalist asked, “Now that you’ve achieved success, do you have anything to say to those newcomers in the industry who aspire to pursue music but are still groping in the dark?”

This was a very common question, almost every successful person was asked similar questions in different situations and expressions.

The standard answer was usually some insincere encouragement towards the younger generation, discussing the weight of ideals and the meaning of perseverance.

However, Harrison clearly remembered that when he read the interview last time, Carrie’s answer was just two brief words, quite bluntly:

“No.”

This reply was very characteristic of her, making her appear cold and unapproachable. The atmosphere immediately froze, forcing the journalist to quickly change topics and say that she was indeed straightforward, just like the rumors.

…

But this time, the interview read:

Carrie replied, “Music requires more talent than any other industry. Before choosing this path, it’s best to figure out if you have the talent for it. Otherwise, it’s a waste of life.”

Journalist: “So efforts cannot make up for the lack of talent?”

Carrie: “That’s right. Five years ago, I had a neighbor. I only listened to him play the guitar for less than half an hour and told him bluntly that he had no musical sense, and this path was a dead end for him.”

“So tragic?”

“Yes, that tragic. If the average musical talent of an ordinary person is 5 and mine is 10, then his musical talent would be 0. Well, maybe not 0, more like 0.5.”The journalist was silent for a long time, probably mourning for someone, and asked again, “Did he listen to you? What happened to him later?”

Carrie Thomas: “He probably did listen, as I never heard that annoying noise again. As for what happened to him later, I don’t know. We never really knew each other.”

Journalist: “You are indeed straightforward, just like the rumors. Let’s talk about your new song.”

…

The rest of the interview was the same as before.

Harrison Clark’s expression kept changing.

This is ridiculous!

What’s with the 0 and 0.5?

Isn’t the neighbor Carrie Thomas was talking about, who made annoying noises, himself?

Does it mean that she took notice of him after he practiced guitar for a month?

Although he still didn’t make a name for himself in history, he got some recognition as “Carrie Thomas’s untalented neighbor.”

Harrison Clark continued to read other information. In several different versions of Carrie Thomas’s biography, he saw her “Talent-Only Theory” using him as an example.

Anyway, he was indeed miserable, repeatedly mentioned by Carrie Thomas on various occasions in different ways.

Who knows how much grudge Carrie Thomas held? Perhaps his 30-minute guitar performance pierced her eardrums, resulting in her deep resentment.

She almost didn’t go as far as writing a song specifically to curse him.

Wait a minute…

Harrison Clark suddenly remembered a weird song by Carrie Thomas that he rarely listened to and didn’t like at all.

The song was called “Waste.”

Too real!

I hate it!

It took Harrison a long time to calm his emotions.

Combining various pieces of information, it was clear that the incident where he played guitar and was criticized by Carrie Thomas had really happened.

A small change in history a thousand years ago eventually affected the present through Carrie Thomas.

History had indeed changed, just a tiny bit.

Of course, the overall process and direction remained unchanged, with only some trivial words added to historical materials related to Carrie Thomas.

Though Harrison Clark changed history, the impact was not strong enough and was easily offset by the thick historical currents.

After closing the holographic screen, Harrison Clark sat on the sofa, thinking deeply.

His mind was a bit foggy and not very clear.

It wasn’t his fault.

He was not a genius but an ordinary person. His brain was overloaded with too much information, so it crashed frequently.

Through changes in historical materials related to Carrie Thomas, he realized a new problem.

The real world and his dream world were truly connected across a thousand years.

What on earth is going on?

Is my dream a dream or real?

If it’s a dream, why would historical materials change?

Why did it all feel so real?

What about those immersive movies with engaging plots, classic songs that surpassed one another, and immersive games with great texture?

My imagination is not that strong.

But if it’s real, why would I wake up in my bed after death?

Shouldn’t death be simple and final?

And, having awakened in the present, why did I end up here again in my dream a month later?

Why did the time return to October 26th, 3019, 8 a.m.?

A hundred thousand questions turned into a hundred thousand chains, wrapping him up like a mummy.

Having read many web novels, especially those about time-travel, Harrison Clark thought he had seen enough and was open-minded.

Even if he had really traveled to a world where powerful warriors and magic users were all over the place, he felt he could accept it.

Yet his own situation left him completely at a loss.

He was stunned for half the day, only snapping out of it when his stomach growled with hunger.

Harrison Clark sighed, admitting that he couldn’t understand such a profound and complex philosophical question with his ordinary talent.

Since he couldn’t figure it out, why think about it?

“Screw it! I should hurry up and learn guitar and plagiarize songs instead!”

As Harrison Clark ate, he asked Vivian to play “Boring”.

“Er, right, this is Carrie Thomas’s first song. If I plagiarize it, will I completely change her fate and make her success disappear?”

“Well…”

He hesitated for about ten seconds, envisioning Carrie Thomas’s repulsive face in his mind— quite ugly.

For some unknown reason, she was full of offensive words and had a very unyielding attitude.

He had tried to avoid her while working hard to practice his guitar for a month. The one time she ran into him was just an accident, and it wasn’t even very late, around 8 or 9 at night. Yet she still wanted to complain about him.

And then there were her various assertions of talent, and even that terrible song “Waste” that she must have secretly given to him.

That was too much.

Harrison Clark felt he hadn’t wronged her at all, yet she treated him like an enemy.

So the guilt that had just started to surface in his heart was instantly beaten to a pulp by his “morality,” giving up the fight.

Plagiarize!

If she becomes a nobody, it’s her own fault!

Isn’t her song the one closest to 2019, with the most suitable style, highest chance of success, and the safest choice?

I’ve tried to please you in any way I could.

It’s your fault for not giving me the chance!

Harrison Clark had a sense of revenge.

I’ll make you underestimate me.

I’ll plagiarize you to death!