Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but frown after listening. Her eyes were filled with both surprise and gravity. After a moment, she finally spoke, “You mean Shen Shiyi knows the content of the instance. What is his purpose in telling you this?”
Xiao Muyu shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t know. But according to him, he did this to gain my trust, to give me a taste of the benefits of cooperating with him.
However, I still don’t understand what benefit he gets from cooperating with us. His rhetoric isn’t enough to convince me that he needs something from me.”
A segment of ambiguous words, rambling about why players come to SkyNet and what the natives of SkyNet signify.
“If what Shen Shiyi said is true, then SkyNet is far more complicated than we thought. Or rather, not only is it torment for the players here, but for the natives living in SkyNet as well.
You said, are the natives of SkyNet real, or are they virtual like the NPCs in the instances? Or perhaps, both the NPCs and the natives are real, and there is no difference between them and the players.”
Shen Qingqiu spoke word by word, her tone lowering as she spoke, but what she said made Xiao Muyu’s spine chill.
In fact, from the moment she entered SkyNet, Shen Qingqiu always considered everything except the players to be fake. But it seems that as players, they all overlooked one thing: the punishment given by the system for failing in the game…
Xiao Muyu dared not think further, shaking her head to calm herself.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m just speaking off the cuff. If it really is like this, then the person who designed SkyNet is not only a genius but also a madman. I really can’t believe someone could create such an insane system.
Maybe it’s just another magical world, parallel to ours, giving us, those who were supposed to die, a chance to return, something like heaven or hell.”
Xiao Muyu laughed, “If that’s the case, this should be hell.”
Actually, this was just to comfort her. When Shen Qingqiu admitted to approaching Xiao Muyu with a purpose, it was destined that this system was not truly independent of the real world. It had a hidden agenda and knew Xiao Muyu.
Shen Qingqiu’s current worry was not about the simplicity or difficulty of the instances but rather what the people who hired her were up to.
Why did they go to such great lengths to get her close to Xiao Muyu, even interfering with the game’s rules and setting its difficulty? What was the point?
They could manipulate the system to punish and warn her. Why couldn’t they directly force Xiao Muyu to retrieve what they wanted?
Due to the system’s surveillance, Shen Qingqiu never directly discussed her mission and purpose with Xiao Muyu. Coupled with their struggle for survival in the instances, she hadn’t deeply considered these hidden shadows.
But now, with the appearance of Shen Shiyi and the system’s reactions, Shen Qingqiu had to ponder some questions, suddenly realizing a fact she had overlooked.
“Muyu, I told you before that the purpose of my approaching you is that those people want to get something from you.
Although they didn’t tell me what it is, it must be extraordinary for a system capable of controlling tens of millions of people to go through such roundabout ways to obtain it. So you must know what it is, right?”
Xiao Muyu froze, then fell silent. Her eyes were shadowed, and her expression became strange.
Before Shen Qingqiu could ask, Xiao Muyu slowly shook her head, her gaze heavy as she looked at Shen Qingqiu. “Yes, but I have no idea. I’ve thought about everything I’ve encountered over the past twenty years. Except for the troublesome issues with my parents, my life has been as calm as dead water.
I’m just an ordinary person, with nothing worth coveting, let alone something that would make such a mysterious and extraordinary system care so much.”
Shen Qingqiu stared at Xiao Muyu, a thought suddenly popping into her mind, causing her face to change. This thought was too crazy.
Xiao Muyu watched Shen Qingqiu, seeing her expression, knowing what she was thinking because she had thought of it too.
She stood up, took a deep breath, and paced a few steps. “This is too absurd, it doesn’t make sense. How am I worth such trouble? Creating a world like this, dominating these bizarre instances, playing with the lives of thousands, what reason could it have for doing this?
Even if I had something it wanted, it has a thousand ways to make me talk. Why choose the most complicated and stupid way where I don’t even know what it wants? It even knows you are helping me and punishes you for it, yet it keeps you by my side…”
Xiao Muyu’s anxious voice stopped abruptly, her face freezing with a trace of fear. She lost her composure and squatted in front of Shen Qingqiu, tightly gripping Shen Qingqiu’s hand, and said with difficulty, “Will you always stay by my side?”
Shen Qingqiu’s heart ached. She lowered her head, holding Xiao Muyu’s hand in return, and said softly, “I understand your feelings and your worries. Muyu, your past twenty years might be fake, your previous memories might be fake, and I’m not even sure if my memories are real. But I’m very sure, the current you are real, I am real, and my love for you is real.
I’m sorry that our meeting was arranged, and I can’t promise that whether I stay or leave won’t be arranged by it.
But it can punish me and threaten me, yet it can’t control my thoughts.
As you said, it clearly has a thousand ways to force you, but it chooses the most inefficient and complicated way, indicating it has no choice.
Choosing me, even allowing me to love you, might be a part of its plan, but regardless, I won’t give up on you or leave you. According to the current rules, unless I die…”
“Don’t say that!” Xiao Muyu felt her nerves sting at the word, hurriedly interrupting Shen Qingqiu, her face filled with uncontrollable panic.
She felt a sense of panic, an indescribable fear surrounding her.
Before she could calm down, many fragmented images flooded into her mind, like a fast-forward movie, causing Xiao Muyu a splitting headache.
She felt like she was drowning, water rushing into her nose and lungs, the feeling of suffocation overwhelming her like a wave. Xiao Muyu gasped desperately, collapsing.
Shen Qingqiu was caught off guard, seeing Xiao Muyu hitting her head hard, suddenly kneeling on the ground, gasping. Shen Qingqiu’s face turned pale.
She hurriedly held Xiao Muyu, placing her on the sofa, loosening her collar, patting her back to help her breathe, calling Xiao Muyu’s name anxiously.
“Muyu, Muyu, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!”
This was the first time Shen Qingqiu felt so helpless. In a moment, Xiao Muyu’s forehead was covered in cold sweat, and Shen Qingqiu was not much better off.
But she had to stay calm. She held Xiao Muyu, took deep breaths, tightly held Xiao Muyu’s hand, and said urgently in her ear, “Muyu, relax, relax, I’m here, I’m here. Hold my hand, hold my hand, it’s okay, it’s okay, calm down, relax, deep breaths, don’t be afraid.”
She didn’t even know what she was saying, just repeating these words over and over, her anxiety, fear, and anger flooding in, making her eyes red with blood.
Luckily, Xiao Muyu held Shen Qingqiu’s hand tightly, making her feel needed.
The painful moment didn’t last long. Xiao Muyu’s reaction came quickly and left quickly. But in those mere seconds, it felt endless for Shen Qingqiu.
The person in her arms was soaked in sweat, but the strength of her grip was weakening, and her breathing was starting to calm down.
Shen Qingqiu closed her eyes, looked down at Xiao Muyu, and said hoarsely, “Are you feeling better? Is there any other discomfort?”
Xiao Muyu opened her eyes, her chest still heaving, looking at Shen Qingqiu with confusion, then gradually became clear.
Her eyes filled with guilt as she reached out to touch Shen Qingqiu’s pale face and wiped the sweat off her face, whispering, “Did I scare you?”
Shen Qingqiu’s eyes were already red, and hearing this, tears welled up uncontrollably.
She turned her head to look away for a moment before turning back to Xiao Muyu, shaking her head and then nodding.
After a long time, she finally spoke, “What happened? What caused this? Are you feeling unwell somewhere? Is it a headache?”
Xiao Muyu, disregarding her sudden symptoms, quickly comforted Shen Qingqiu, rubbing her eyes, “It’s nothing, just suddenly felt a rush of strange images in my mind, a bodily reaction, headache, panic, and chest tightness. Now that it’s over, I feel nothing. Don’t worry, I’m fine physically.”
Shen Qingqiu breathed a deep sigh of relief, a huge weight off her heart. She hurriedly asked
Xiao Muyu, “Did you remember anything? Are you sure your memory was altered?”
Xiao Muyu frowned, rubbing her temples, “It was too fast and chaotic, just felt terrible, no idea what it was. But one thing is certain, I’ve forgotten a lot.
It seems my feeling wasn’t wrong. I’ve always felt the world I lived in was illusory, unable to blend in. Now it seems it really was fake.”
If their guess was correct, that SkyNet was a man-made world, then creating another virtual world for her would be a piece of cake.
Shen Qingqiu fell silent, looking around the room, then stopped Xiao Muyu from speaking further, solemnly saying, “Muyu, I need to try something, otherwise, many things can’t be said, the bigger picture is more important, understand?”
Xiao Muyu’s face turned a bit ugly, not speaking. Shen Qingqiu didn’t force her, just kept watching her, waiting for her to speak.
After a long time, Xiao Muyu said weakly, “I might be a big trouble.”
Shen Qingqiu frowned, reached out to flick her forehead, discontentedly saying, “What nonsense, what big trouble, clearly a big treasure. I won’t allow you to speak ill of my Captain Xiao.”
Xiao Muyu squinted her eyes, then couldn’t help but laugh, “You don’t allow me to speak ill, but you hit me. Who’s being unreasonable?”
“You spoke ill, so of course, I had to hit you, no refuting.” Shen Qingqiu said seriously, then softened her eyes, leaned in to kiss her forehead, “Don’t be afraid, don’t overthink. As long as we’re together, there’s nothing to worry about, we’ll solve everything together.”
Xiao Muyu nodded, though what she didn’t say was that the scattered memories and occasional fear were telling her that her greatest worry wasn’t the unknown future but whether they could always be together. She felt like her and Shen Qingqiu’s meeting wasn’t a chance encounter but a long-awaited reunion.
Shen Qingqiu didn’t notice the look in Xiao Muyu’s eyes, only thinking that they had spoken without concern. If this room couldn’t isolate the system, it would be a big trouble, they had to prepare in advance.
However, surveillance wasn’t constant; otherwise, Shen Shiyi wouldn’t be so bold.
But with so many questions in their heads, many things couldn’t be figured out alone. Shen
Qingqiu needed a definitive answer to be unrestrained.
Even this was to verify an answer to a question, whether the room and the ghost left here were unintentional leftovers or someone deliberately arranged it.
She faintly felt that she was touching upon a remarkable fact. Just a little more, and everything would become clear.
By the afternoon, Xiao Muyu took the initiative to contact Shen Shiyi. Shen Shiyi seemed surprised when he received Xiao Muyu’s call, but soon after, he became happy.
He relaxed on the sofa, a smile on his face, looking confident.
“Shiyi, is there anything we need to prepare?” The man beside him smiled as he saw how happy Shen Shiyi was.
“No need. She’s not like ordinary people. Say less, make fewer mistakes, do less, and there will be fewer problems.”
“Yes, but they are pressing on the other side. The situation is urgent. It’s said it’s no longer stable. This time, not only did they clear it perfectly, but they also appealed, and the appeal was successful.”
Shen Shiyi’s smile became somewhat genuine. “Really? That’s interesting. No wonder nothing could be settled. Is the deployment this time definitely without issues?”
The man hesitated, shook his head. “We’re just following orders, won’t interfere with the rest.”
Shen Shiyi waved his hand. “Forget it. Let’s go book the place first. Same private room at
Westulan Restaurant as last time. Got it?”
The man nodded.
Shen Shiyi watched the man leave, then glanced at his palm. Could it end this time?
The smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by a serious expression. This was Agent 005, the road ahead was long.
Author’s note: Let me reveal some important information for now. Actually, many of you cute readers have guessed the content of this chapter earlier. I emphasize it again, haha.
