On the fourth day of the game, Bai Lixin once again sat at the operator’s workstation in the Order Zone.
Without Xiao Yi, Bai Lixin returned to an ordinary and busy daily life, but he was already accustomed to it and felt no discomfort.
The blond young man was still sitting next to him, but this time his working hours were the same as his, he also sat down at half past eight.
As soon as the blond man sat down, he greeted Bai Lixin warmly, “Dear Xin, do you feel surprised to see me sitting here?”
Bai Lixin smiled politely and courteously, “I’m surprised. Aren’t you on the night shift?”
The blond man threw Bai Lixin an ambiguous wink, “I switched shifts. Do you want to know why I switched shifts?”
Bai Lixin: “I’m not particularly interested, sorry.”
The blond man’s smile stiffened for a moment, “Don’t be so indifferent. I just want to be friends with you.”
Bai Lixin: “Just friends?”
‘Brother, your intentions are quite obvious.’
The blond man continued insistently, “Let’s start with being friends first, and then maybe develop further after getting to know each other.”
Bai Lixin didn’t leave the blond man any room for fantasy, “You’re not my type, I won’t like you.”
Blond man: “Don’t be so quick to reject me. How do you know if you don’t try? Maybe after spending some time together, you’ll find that we’re a good match?”
Bai Lixin: “I have a partner.”
The blond man paused for a moment, then continued relentlessly, “So what? I have a partner too. When we turn 25, we’ll register in the Love Zone, and the AI will match us with the most suitable partner based on the data. But just because they’re suitable for us doesn’t mean we cherish them. What’s the point of having a partner? It’s just a responsibility and obligation we have to follow.”
“But aside from these responsibilities and obligations, how much passion do we really put into this marriage?”
“Sometimes I think, don’t you find it terrifying that the AI chooses our marriage and partners for us? We grow up independently until we’re 25, and then suddenly we have to start a family with a stranger we don’t know, and from then on, we have to live in the same space with our partner until one of us leaves.”
“Fortunately, my official partner and I have reached a consensus and act like a loving couple on the surface. Privately, we can each choose someone we truly like to date. It’s not just us, many couples choose this path nowadays. Do you really love your partner? Have you ever thought about adding some color to your ordinary life?”
“Look at me.” The blond man pointed to himself. “I’m handsome and strong.”
He suddenly lowered his voice, a subtle expression on his face. “And my bed skills will never disappoint.”
“With me, you won’t suffer a loss. Just take the first step bravely, and maybe you can open a different door.”
Bai Lixin slid his chair back a bit, distancing himself from the blond man. “My partner gets jealous easily.”
The blond man said mysteriously, “That’s easy to handle, just don’t let him know, okay? You can rest assured, I’m a lover with tight lips, I would never speak about this matter.”
Bai Lixin seemed to find it amusing, showing a smile that was neither confirming nor denying. He ignored the blond man, and turned his head to look at the screen in front of him.
At that moment, a phone call came in, and Bai Lixin skillfully put on his headphones, hearing the familiar “zzzt zzt” sounds.
[S419M.]Bai Lixin called out in his mind.
S419M immediately replied, [Lord Host, rest assured, I’m ready. I’ll start tracing the signal now!]
“Zzt zzzt zzt…”
“Zzzt zzt…”
“Dzzt Dzzzt”
“Zzzt zztt…”
“Zztt zzzt…”
“Hello, can you hear me?” After a brief three seconds, a child’s voice replaced the buzzing sound in Bai Lixin’s ear.
While responding to the child’s call, Bai Lixin asked S419M in his mind, [How is it going? Have you traced it?]
S419M’s voice sounded a bit anxious, [Give me a little more time, Lord Host.]
When Bai Lixin finished handling the first call for help, S419M’s somewhat tired voice sounded in his mind, [I initially traced the signal, but halfway through the trace, I encountered a firewall. I tried to force my way through, but the firewall bounced me back. I’m sorry, Lord Host, I lost track halfway through.]
[But it’s not completely fruitless,]S419M’s voice immediately perked up, [That firewall should be the edge of this virtual world. Although I didn’t successfully pass through the firewall, I felt the presence of another space behind it. Also, the buzzing signal source is not inside the virtual world, but in the real world.]
Bai Lixin subtly tightened his grip on the headphones. [Where is this firewall located?]
S419M: [Not in the Order Zone, in another area.]
Bai Lixin: [Which area?]
S419M hesitated for a second out of respect for the Lord God: [In the Love Zone. I remember tomorrow is your 25th birthday, you can go register there, Lord Host!]
Bai Lixin: […]
‘It seems this visit is inevitable.’
…
After a very busy day of work, Bai Lixin returned to his 40-square-meter house at the sunset.
Looking at Xiao Yi, who was still lying on the ground and gathering dust, S419M voiced its doubts, [Lord Host, from your chats today, it seems that the people here don’t know that this is actually a virtual world, and most of them seem to enjoy life here. Since we’re already in a virtual world, why do your houses only have 40 square meters and not more luxurious villas? After all, this is a virtual world.]
Bai Lixin: [I think it may have something to do with the subconscious remnants of people’s memories. This virtual world should be a one-to-one replica of the real world. People who enter the virtual world are probably influenced by something that affects their memories, but this influence cannot completely change human memory to 100%.]
Escape System: [Remnants of memories?]
Bai Lixin: [Similar to instincts imprinted in DNA. For example, what is this person’s taste, his or her knowledge of the surrounding environment?]
[If a person originally lived in a busy city and suddenly moved to a large villa, the ingrained habits in their mind would probably make them feel out of place.]
[Perhaps for this reason, Mr. Xin lives in this 40-square-meter house. But this is also good news.]
Escape System: [How so?]
Bai Lixin: [It means that people entering the virtual world not have completely lost their memories of the real world. Perhaps there just needs to be a catalyst to awaken their true memories. Wasn’t Xiao Yi very cautious about dreaming? The robots are probably afraid that humans will suddenly awaken through uncontrolled dreams.]
[Well then,]the young man took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves, [let me see what to cook today. How about scrambled eggs with tomatoes?]
The Escape System muttered quietly in his mind, [it’s a spiritual body anyway, not eating doesn’t make you hungry.]
The young man’s hand that was about to take the tomato suddenly stopped in mid-air: […]
Sister System has become a bit too smart since she was enlightened.
…
The sudden sound of the doorbell ringing outside happened to relieve Bai Lixin’s embarrassment. He calmly put down the tomato in his hand and quickly changed the subject, [Who’s here at this hour?]
Escape System: [Could it be Sun Ning? Didn’t she say she would come to see you?]
Bai Lixin quickened his pace a few steps.
When he opened the door, instead of Sun Ning as expected, there were two other people standing outside.
Bai Lixin recognized one of them, it was the bald colleague from the Order Zone on the same floor as him, Mr. Kayla.
He stood outside with an amiable expression, and a beautiful woman intimately linked her arm with his, smiling just as kindly.
Bai Lixin’s gaze lingered on the two for a few seconds. “Mr. Kayla, Mrs. Kayla, good evening.”
Mr. Kayla leaned over Bai Lixin’s shoulder to peek inside, “Good evening, we came uninvited at this time, did we disturb you?”
It was obvious that they wanted to come in and sit for a while, so Bai Lixin made way, “Of course not, please come in.”
Because there was no schedule from Xiao Yi these days, he left home in the morning quite casually, and hadn’t met Mr. Kayla again.
Seeing someone he hadn’t seen for several days suddenly, although Bai Lixin was puzzled, he didn’t show any expression on his face.
After the two came in and found a sofa to sit down, Mrs. Kayla naturally leaned half of her body on Mr. Kayla’s shoulder and glanced around the house.
She soon noticed Xiao Yi lying on the ground, and asked, “Why is your home robot lying on the ground? I was surprised when you opened the door by yourself just now. Shouldn’t there be a robot to do this kind of work?”
Bai Lixin brought a steaming pot of tea over and placed it on the table. As he turned to get the cups, the woman’s eyes widened and she exclaimed in surprise again, “Why is your home robot here when there’s work to be done? My dear, you should rest, and let your home robot do it.”
“Why is it lying motionless on the ground? Is it broken? Maybe you need to get it repaired?”
Bai Lixin returned to the table with the cups and sat down opposite Mr. and Mrs. Kayla.
“No need.” The young man explained casually while pouring tea for them, “It got tired from playing with me, so I let it rest on the ground for a while.”
When Mrs. Kayla heard this, she and Mr. Kayla looked at each other, and saw the subtle embarrassment in each other’s eyes
Mr. Kayla had a tangled expression, and his tone was strange, “Playing with you? How do you play? And it’s lying on the floor…”
‘There’s so much information! What a strong taste! Too kinky!’
S419M: […]
‘Why are these questions weird?’
Bai Lixin pointed to his temple, “We were playing mind games, and it burned out its CPU. Lying down on the floor can cool it down quickly.”
Mr. and Mrs. Kayla were taken aback once again, and Mrs. Kayla asked hesitantly, “What mind games?”
Bai Lixin pushed the prepared tea cups towards them, “It’s nothing much, just addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within a hundred. Since we have some time now, the three of us can play too. Let me ask you, what’s 999 divided by 999 equal to?”
The faces of Mr. Kayla and his wife suddenly changed, all showing expressions of shock.
Mrs. Kayla hurriedly took a sip of tea, trying to conceal her fluster, “You’re playing games with such large numbers? 999?! That’s too difficult. Husband, do you know the answer? I remember you were good at math, weren’t you in the top ten before?”
Mr. Kayla shook his head quickly, “I don’t know that. I can only do up to 6×6.”
“Wow.” Mrs. Kayla’s face lit up with surprise, “Husband, you can solve such difficult questions as 6×6! I only know that 2+2 equals 4. You’re so smart, no wonder your forehead shines so brightly, it’s the glow of wisdom!”
Bai Lixin: “…”
S419M: [….]
Escape System: [….]
Now you know the importance of the multiplication table!
—————————–
In the live broadcast room:
[Ah, is this the IQ of people in the future world? Being able to solve 6×6 makes you a genius? Then am I the god of learning for memorizing the multiplication table in twenty seconds?]
[Haha, master the multiplication table and you’re the winner of life!]
[I don’t understand, but I’m very shocked.]
[You’re shocked, but God Xin is remarkably calm, as if he already guessed it a long time ago.]
[Exactly! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said that he burned out the robot’s CPU by playing addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with it. ]
[This is the probably the robot’s biggest insult, right? 999 divided by 999 equals 1. Even hesitating for a second feels disrespectful to my elementary school math teacher!]
[Wow! You can handle such a difficult math problem. Looks like you’re not a qualified future person. Now you know why you couldn’t get selected for this copy, right?]
[Brother, that statement offended ten thousand people.]
[It’s not ten thousand anymore, it’s 9790 people now.]
The sudden barrage made the live broadcast room quiet for a moment.
A few seconds later, the barrage appeared again on the screen, [I wish all the remaining players can successfully leave the copy. ]
—————————
Two simple math questions immediately dispelled Kayla and his wife’s doubts.
They believed Bai Lixin’s story and believed it deeply.
“I’m here to give you this.” Mr. Kayla reached into his pocket, fished out a crumpled piece of paper, and said, “I meant to give you the information about that excellent psychologist. I wrote it up after work that day, but I didn’t see you for the next few days, so the note never reached you. It’s been several days, and I’ve been worried about your situation, so I decided to bring it to you myself.”
The note was crumpled, and the handwriting was a bit blurry. It was obvious it had been in Mr. Kayla’s pocket for a long time.
He looked at the contents of the note, which included an address, a doctor’s name, and the doctor’s consultation hours.
Mr. Kayla instructed, “Although this doctor is skilled, he has some quirks.”
“He doesn’t like robots making phone appointments, and he chooses his patients. If you want to see him, you have to meet him in person first. He believes he needs to feel a connection with you before he can allocate time for psychological treatment.”
Bai Lixin remembered that Mr. Kayla had mentioned introducing him to a psychologist, but later Xiao Yi helped him make an appointment with Dr. Zhou, so he had put it out of his mind. He hadn’t expected Mr. Kayla to remember and even keep the note in his pocket every day.
“Thank you.” Bai Lixin carefully folded the note back to its original state and put it away. “I’ll go see him, but I’m feeling much better now, and I haven’t had any dreams recently. I had a consultation with my personal psychologist a couple of days ago, and he said my condition Is normal now, so I can participate in tomorrow’s Love Zone registration as usual.”
Mr. Kayla sighed in relief, and a relieved expression appeared on his round face. “That’s good, that’s good.”
Then Mr. Kayla looked happy again. “What did you just say? You can register in the Love Zone tomorrow?”
“Wow, that’s great! Congratulations, dear Xin, you’ll finally have a loving partner.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
He laughed sincerely, his face showing nothing but pure joy. Bai Lixin could tell that he was genuinely happy for him, just like he had been genuinely worried about him before and even kept the note in his pocket.
He fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Mr. Kayla and Mrs. Kayla’e faces.
The expressions of the two were almost identical.
Mr. Kayla felt relieved because of Bai Lixin’s health, while Mrs. Kayla was looking at Mr. Kayla attentively, her lips involuntarily curling up with his smile.
Bai Lixin’s gaze slowly fell on the hands clasped by the two.
After a moment of silence, he asked, “Mr. Kayla, Mrs. Kayla, are you satisfied with the current situation?”
Mr. and Mrs. Kayla looked at each other with puzzlement, then exchanged knowing happy smiles.
Mr. Kayla tightened his grip on Mrs. Kayla’s hand. “Of course, we’re very happy. Right, wife?”
Mrs. Kayla held Mr. Kayla’s hand with her backhand: “Well, I was fortunate to have met you in the Love Zone.”
Mr. Kayla suddenly looked at Bai Lixin: “Oh, I understand. You have to register in the Love Zone tomorrow and you’re nervous? You are afraid of meeting someone you don’t like, and you are afraid of strangers?”
“Actually, you are not a special case, many people have been as nervous as you, after all, you are meeting the closest person who will accompany you in the future for a lifetime, even if you know that the main brain will not go wrong, you will still be uncontrollably nervous and worried. To tell you the truth, I was worried back then. It wasn’t until I was matched with my lover that I was glad I didn’t have stage fright and run away at that time. And as you can see, we are living happily ever after. ”
Bai Lixin’s gaze fell on Mrs. Kayla again.
Mrs. Kayla smiled shyly, “Like he said, I also wish you to find your happiness soon.” ”
“…” Bai Lixin looked at the two people with happy faces, and still asked the next somewhat sharp question, “I’m not talking about this, I’m referring to the current status quo. Work, Life, Money…… Everything around, are you satisfied?”
Mr. Kayla: “So that’s what you mean. Personally, I’m very satisfied.”
“In this limited area of land, we have a 150-square-meter house, and I usually have a light workload. If I’m tired, I can apply for leave directly. Although the salary is not high, with the help of robots, we can always buy things at a low price. Seven days a week, working four days, three days off, eight hours a day, no overtime at night. In addition, during vacation, sometimes I rest at home, and sometimes my partner and I travel with the help of robots.”
“Out of the more than three hundred days a year, I usually work only about a hundred days, and the remaining two hundred plus days are spent on vacation.”
“After being married for more than ten years, we have traveled to the depths of the universe, and shuttled through mysterious star clusters. We have also played in vast snowy fields, built snowmen, had snowball fights, and watched seagulls pass by in the azure sea.”
“Although this is our home, we are not trapped in a city filled with buildings. Our souls and bodies have been traveling. When we’re tired of playing, we return to this warm home and return to the comfortable urban life.”
“Dear Xin, it’s like a dream.”
“I’m so happy. Sometimes I feel unrealistically happy, as if I’m dreaming.”
Mrs. Kayla lightly pinched Mr. Kayla’s arm and complained, “Does it hurt?”
Mr. Kayla gritted his teeth. “Yes, it hurts.”
Mrs. Kayla, “Then how can you say this is a dream? Dreams don’t hurt. If it’s a dream, am I not just fake? Don’t you want me anymore?”
Mr. Kayla quickly apologized to Mrs. Kayla, “My dear, I’m sorry, I meant I’m too happy, not that this is fake.”
Bai Lixin looked at the couple immersed in honey and was silent for two seconds before asking : “Suppose this is all a dream. Would you want to wake up?”
Mr. Kayla and Mrs. Kayla stopped fooling around and looked at Bai Lixin together.
“This hypothesis, Xin, are you playing the role of a psychologist now? I suddenly found that you have the potential to be a psychologist!” He laughed a couple of times nonchalantly, “But before answering this question, you have to tell us, based on your assumption, what we would face if we woke up?”
Bai Lixin recalled the descriptions of the real world in the calls he had received, and was momentarily unsure of how to respond. After a slight pause, he answered, “It might not be better than now, but it might be later.”
“Work might not be as easy as it is now, but it might not be too bad.”
“The surroundings might not be as peaceful, there’s likely to be bloodshed, but you might be far away from it.”
“In terms of life, there may not be robots preparing everything for you as they do now, but it might not be too bad.”
Mr. Kayla: “So when I wake up, will my partner still be by my side?”
Mrs. Kayla: “Yeah, will Kayla still be my husband?”
“…” Bai Lixin, “It’s also not certain.”
Mr. Kayla widened his eyes, looking at Bai Lixin with a puzzled expression, “So, everything is unknown? Then why should I wake up? It’s fine here.”
Bai Lixin: “But everything here is fake.”
“What do you mean, fake.” Mr. Kayla laughed, “Dear Xin, you’re too into the drama. This place is real. I’ve lived here for half my life. Now you suddenly tell me it’s fake, this is the funniest joke I’ve heard all year.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
For those who don’t know that this is a false world, it is indeed real to them.
Initially, he thought about whether to bring everyone out of the virtual world, but now, seeing the smiles on Mr. and Mrs. Kayla’s faces, he hesitated for a moment.
What could the current reality be like?
The constant confrontation between the rebel army and the Order Legion has led to constant danger, where lives could be at risk at any moment.
The pressure of a busy work life and the suppression of capital that squeezes the labor force are not the end to it.
Barren living conditions.
And even if they wake up, the Kayla couple may not necessarily find each other again.
Perhaps living in the virtual world would bring them more happiness.
“Dear Xin.” Mr. Kayla and his wife stood up, “We were supposed to go out for a romantic dinner and decided to drop by here on our way. Now that we’ve given you the note and wasted quite some time, we should take our leave.”
Bai Lixin escorted them to the door. Mr. Kayla still had that warm smile, “It was very pleasant chatting with you today. I hope we’ll have the chance to do it again in the future. You’ll be registering in the Love Zone tomorrow. Here’s a friendly advice, make sure to dress nicely. A perfect appearance will also earn you points. Oh, and the Love Zone is only open to the public after 5 p.m., so it’s best to go on an empty stomach, as there’s plenty of amazing food prepared there.”
He paused for a moment, and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, “Don’t look at me like this now. A dozen years ago, I was also a handsome guy with thick hair, deep facial features, and sharp edges. At that time, my appearance matched well with my beloved. Time really flies.”
Mr. Kayla hastily bid farewell to Bai Lixin and walked towards the elevator holding Mrs. Kayla’s hand.
As they walked farther away, Bai Lixin could still hear their banter.
Mrs. Kayla: “Alright, alright, blame me, blame me. It’s all my fault for making you fat.”
Mr. Kayla: “How can I blame my wife? The weight I carry is the weight of my happiness.”
Mrs. Kayla: “Oh, you really blame me. Indeed, I made you fat. Alright, starting tomorrow, I won’t cook for you anymore. You can eat grass.”
Mr. Kayla: “Wife, please don’t. How can I blame my wife? You’re bullying me again.”
The two of them gradually walked away until they disappeared at the elevator. Bai Lixin then closed the door, cutting off all external noises.
He walked to the coffee table and looked at the two cups of tea on the other side, silent.
S419M: [Lord Host, do you think this virtual world is also good?]
Bai Lixin: [For the current Kayla couple, it may be. At least we can’t guarantee that the reality they wake up to will be better than the virtual world. But…]
S419M: [But what?]
Bai Lixin: [But I’ve also fallen into similar illusions before and lived happily in them. But when I realized it was fake, what I felt was emptiness. Let’s leave here first. We’re in a virtual world now, and we don’t know anything about the real world situation. We don’t know why so many people entered the virtual world, or whether they entered voluntarily or were forced to.]
[It’s not appropriate to arbitrarily deal with other people’s lives without knowing the specific situation.]
S419M: [No problem, Lord Host, I already know the location of the firewall. We can leave the virtual world tomorrow.]
—————————-
In the live broadcast room.
[Strange, why has God Xin been asking this couple about what’s “real” and “fake”? Is there some mystery behind it?]
[As we all know, God Xin doesn’t usually talk nonsense, let alone say anything unnecessary.]
[Isn’t nonsense just unnecessary talk? What kind of nonsense literature is this?]
[So, what did it imply?]
[It implies that God Xin thinks this isn’t a real world?]
[Fuck, what did I just say?]
[!!! Maybe you accidentally revealed the true face of this world!]
[Damn it, I knew it. No wonder I always felt strange when I went to scan other players’ live broadcast rooms. Some people are just full of joy, indulging in eating, drinking, and having fun, while some are encountering danger all the time; I just thought there were combat zones and peaceful zones.]
[Compared to combat zones and peaceful zones, saying there’s a real world and a virtual world makes more sense! Isn’t it that some players can’t take out props while others can? That’s the distinction between the virtual world and the real world.]
[Fuck, they’re actually playing such a game?! This copy is sick.]
[As expected of it could be with 10,000 people, it’s quite ruthless.]
[Unconsciously, it’s already been five days, and many people don’t realize they’re in a dream.]
[Is there a connection between the real world and the virtual world?]
[There must be! Doesn’t God Xin often receive strange phone calls? Those calls are probably from the real world.]
[So, God Xin has become a machine dog in chat software?]
[Shocking! Breaking news, God Xin has actually become a machine dog!]
—————————
The next day, Bai Lixin welcomed his twenty-fifth birthday as “Mr. Xin.”
He found a decent outfit in Mr. Xin’s wardrobe and changed into them. According to Mr. Kayla’s words yesterday, the Love Zone opens after five in the afternoon.
This didn’t interfere with his morning work time.
At eight-thirty, Bai Lixin arrived on time at his workstation.
Next to him was a stranger, a woman he didn’t recognize.
After listening to the blond man’s views on marriage yesterday, Bai Lixin really didn’t want to see his arrogant face.
But he didn’t expect not to see him today.
Bai Lixin was curious about the blond man’s whereabouts and asked the woman, “Madam, what happened to the man who was sitting here before, he had blond hair.”
The woman thought for two seconds, “You mean him? He took a day off. He said he had something important to do today, so he took a day off.”
S419M: [He’s just taking a day off instead of getting lost! Doesn’t that mean Lord Host might still see him tomorrow?]
Escape System: [What nonsense are you talking about, Brother M? Master Bai Lixin might leave the virtual world tonight and return to the real world, bidding farewell to that old pervert forever. How could he still see him?]
S419M: [Oh, Sister System Is right! I was so angry that I forgot about Lord Host’s great plan tonight. By the way, Lord Host, what’s your plan to leave the virtual world tonight? Tell us quickly so we can hear.]
Bai Lixin blinked: [I don’t have any plans.]
He had no idea how to leave the virtual world. He had been studying the “Sky Trilogy” at home these past two days. The lyrics were interesting, but they seemed to lack a certain meaning.
He always felt there was a hint, but when he seriously analyzed the details, it didn’t match the current situation.
In “Mist”, the general meaning of the lyrics is that dense mist obscures the vision, making it impossible for the protagonist to see the road ahead or distinguish between reality and illusion. In the end, the protagonist successfully emerges from the mist with his willpower and finds the way ahead.
If Pris Xingchen really travels between the virtual world and the real world, then this song should have a different interpretation.
Perhaps it suggests that the virtual world is not real and encourages people to seek the real world.
“Star,” has the same name as Pris’s “Xingchen”. It describes the brilliance of the stars in the sky, and uses vivid color descriptions.
**“Xingchen means star”Red, purple, blue, green, colorful, shimmering.
This “red, purple, blue, green” refers to the colors of star clusters scattered throughout the universe.
There’s also the last song of the “Sky Trilogy,” “Sky.” Although the name is “Sky,” the protagonist is an eagle.
The general meaning of the lyrics is how the eagle soars, fights, gazes, and avoids natural disasters in the boundless sky, marveling at the wildness and fearlessness of the eagle’s sky dominance.
Before leaving, Pris Xingchen asked him to listen to these three songs more. After reading the song titles and lyrics, coupled with the pulsating light he saw in the clouds that day, he initially thought the way to leave here was through the sky, so he focused on the sky, and even thought about renting a spacecraft to see what was going on up there.
However, Mr. Xin was short of money, and he couldn’t afford it, so he temporarily dismissed the idea.
Not long after dismissing the idea, S419M detected the existence of the firewall.
Now, he was thinking that maybe these three songs were just recommended by Pris Xingchen habitually before leaving, and there were not be any clues.
“Dingling…”
Just as Bai Lixin’s mind began to unconsciously echo with these three songs, the phone in front of him rang.
His eyes flickered, but before he could say anything, S419M had already taken the initiative to say: [Lord Host, I’m ready! I’ll track it again this time and try!]
Bai Lixin answered the phone, and the familiar “buzzing” came as expected.
He found that this signal wavelength could only last for a maximum of three seconds; if it exceeded three seconds, it would connect to a normal phone call.
This time, Bai Lixin didn’t immediately urge S419M. It wasn’t until the first call ended that S419M gasped and said: [Lost again, but it’s still the same place! It’s still that firewall in the Love Zone, it’s in the Love District, Lord Host!]
In the afternoon, Bai Lixin prepared to take a leave of absence.
Although Xiao Yi couldn’t work anymore, S419M was still useful.
It hacked into Xiao Yi’s system and imitated Xiao Yi’s signal to help Bai Lixin get a day off.
The time quickly reached five in the afternoon.
On the fourth day of the game, Bai Lixin once again sat at the operator’s workstation in the Order Zone.
Without Xiao Yi, Bai Lixin returned to an ordinary and busy daily life, but he was already accustomed to it and felt no discomfort.
The blond young man was still sitting next to him, but this time his working hours were the same as his, he also sat down at half past eight.
As soon as the blond man sat down, he greeted Bai Lixin warmly, “Dear Xin, do you feel surprised to see me sitting here?”
Bai Lixin smiled politely and courteously, “I’m surprised. Aren’t you on the night shift?”
The blond man threw Bai Lixin an ambiguous wink, “I switched shifts. Do you want to know why I switched shifts?”
Bai Lixin: “I’m not particularly interested, sorry.”
The blond man’s smile stiffened for a moment, “Don’t be so indifferent. I just want to be friends with you.”
Bai Lixin: “Just friends?”
‘Brother, your intentions are quite obvious.’
The blond man continued insistently, “Let’s start with being friends first, and then maybe develop further after getting to know each other.”
Bai Lixin didn’t leave the blond man any room for fantasy, “You’re not my type, I won’t like you.”
Blond man: “Don’t be so quick to reject me. How do you know if you don’t try? Maybe after spending some time together, you’ll find that we’re a good match?”
Bai Lixin: “I have a partner.”
The blond man paused for a moment, then continued relentlessly, “So what? I have a partner too. When we turn 25, we’ll register in the Love Zone, and the AI will match us with the most suitable partner based on the data. But just because they’re suitable for us doesn’t mean we cherish them. What’s the point of having a partner? It’s just a responsibility and obligation we have to follow.”
“But aside from these responsibilities and obligations, how much passion do we really put into this marriage?”
“Sometimes I think, don’t you find it terrifying that the AI chooses our marriage and partners for us? We grow up independently until we’re 25, and then suddenly we have to start a family with a stranger we don’t know, and from then on, we have to live in the same space with our partner until one of us leaves.”
“Fortunately, my official partner and I have reached a consensus and act like a loving couple on the surface. Privately, we can each choose someone we truly like to date. It’s not just us, many couples choose this path nowadays. Do you really love your partner? Have you ever thought about adding some color to your ordinary life?”
“Look at me.” The blond man pointed to himself. “I’m handsome and strong.”
He suddenly lowered his voice, a subtle expression on his face. “And my bed skills will never disappoint.”
“With me, you won’t suffer a loss. Just take the first step bravely, and maybe you can open a different door.”
Bai Lixin slid his chair back a bit, distancing himself from the blond man. “My partner gets jealous easily.”
The blond man said mysteriously, “That’s easy to handle, just don’t let him know, okay? You can rest assured, I’m a lover with tight lips, I would never speak about this matter.”
Bai Lixin seemed to find it amusing, showing a smile that was neither confirming nor denying. He ignored the blond man, and turned his head to look at the screen in front of him.
At that moment, a phone call came in, and Bai Lixin skillfully put on his headphones, hearing the familiar “zzzt zzt” sounds.
[S419M.]Bai Lixin called out in his mind.
S419M immediately replied, [Lord Host, rest assured, I’m ready. I’ll start tracing the signal now!]
“Zzt zzzt zzt…”
“Zzzt zzt…”
“Dzzt Dzzzt”
“Zzzt zztt…”
“Zztt zzzt…”
“Hello, can you hear me?” After a brief three seconds, a child’s voice replaced the buzzing sound in Bai Lixin’s ear.
While responding to the child’s call, Bai Lixin asked S419M in his mind, [How is it going? Have you traced it?]
S419M’s voice sounded a bit anxious, [Give me a little more time, Lord Host.]
When Bai Lixin finished handling the first call for help, S419M’s somewhat tired voice sounded in his mind, [I initially traced the signal, but halfway through the trace, I encountered a firewall. I tried to force my way through, but the firewall bounced me back. I’m sorry, Lord Host, I lost track halfway through.]
[But it’s not completely fruitless,]S419M’s voice immediately perked up, [That firewall should be the edge of this virtual world. Although I didn’t successfully pass through the firewall, I felt the presence of another space behind it. Also, the buzzing signal source is not inside the virtual world, but in the real world.]
Bai Lixin subtly tightened his grip on the headphones. [Where is this firewall located?]
S419M: [Not in the Order Zone, in another area.]
Bai Lixin: [Which area?]
S419M hesitated for a second out of respect for the Lord God: [In the Love Zone. I remember tomorrow is your 25th birthday, you can go register there, Lord Host!]
Bai Lixin: […]
‘It seems this visit is inevitable.’
…
After a very busy day of work, Bai Lixin returned to his 40-square-meter house at the sunset.
Looking at Xiao Yi, who was still lying on the ground and gathering dust, S419M voiced its doubts, [Lord Host, from your chats today, it seems that the people here don’t know that this is actually a virtual world, and most of them seem to enjoy life here. Since we’re already in a virtual world, why do your houses only have 40 square meters and not more luxurious villas? After all, this is a virtual world.]
Bai Lixin: [I think it may have something to do with the subconscious remnants of people’s memories. This virtual world should be a one-to-one replica of the real world. People who enter the virtual world are probably influenced by something that affects their memories, but this influence cannot completely change human memory to 100%.]
Escape System: [Remnants of memories?]
Bai Lixin: [Similar to instincts imprinted in DNA. For example, what is this person’s taste, his or her knowledge of the surrounding environment?]
[If a person originally lived in a busy city and suddenly moved to a large villa, the ingrained habits in their mind would probably make them feel out of place.]
[Perhaps for this reason, Mr. Xin lives in this 40-square-meter house. But this is also good news.]
Escape System: [How so?]
Bai Lixin: [It means that people entering the virtual world not have completely lost their memories of the real world. Perhaps there just needs to be a catalyst to awaken their true memories. Wasn’t Xiao Yi very cautious about dreaming? The robots are probably afraid that humans will suddenly awaken through uncontrolled dreams.]
[Well then,]the young man took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves, [let me see what to cook today. How about scrambled eggs with tomatoes?]
The Escape System muttered quietly in his mind, [it’s a spiritual body anyway, not eating doesn’t make you hungry.]
The young man’s hand that was about to take the tomato suddenly stopped in mid-air: […]
Sister System has become a bit too smart since she was enlightened.
…
The sudden sound of the doorbell ringing outside happened to relieve Bai Lixin’s embarrassment. He calmly put down the tomato in his hand and quickly changed the subject, [Who’s here at this hour?]
Escape System: [Could it be Sun Ning? Didn’t she say she would come to see you?]
Bai Lixin quickened his pace a few steps.
When he opened the door, instead of Sun Ning as expected, there were two other people standing outside.
Bai Lixin recognized one of them, it was the bald colleague from the Order Zone on the same floor as him, Mr. Kayla.
He stood outside with an amiable expression, and a beautiful woman intimately linked her arm with his, smiling just as kindly.
Bai Lixin’s gaze lingered on the two for a few seconds. “Mr. Kayla, Mrs. Kayla, good evening.”
Mr. Kayla leaned over Bai Lixin’s shoulder to peek inside, “Good evening, we came uninvited at this time, did we disturb you?”
It was obvious that they wanted to come in and sit for a while, so Bai Lixin made way, “Of course not, please come in.”
Because there was no schedule from Xiao Yi these days, he left home in the morning quite casually, and hadn’t met Mr. Kayla again.
Seeing someone he hadn’t seen for several days suddenly, although Bai Lixin was puzzled, he didn’t show any expression on his face.
After the two came in and found a sofa to sit down, Mrs. Kayla naturally leaned half of her body on Mr. Kayla’s shoulder and glanced around the house.
She soon noticed Xiao Yi lying on the ground, and asked, “Why is your home robot lying on the ground? I was surprised when you opened the door by yourself just now. Shouldn’t there be a robot to do this kind of work?”
Bai Lixin brought a steaming pot of tea over and placed it on the table. As he turned to get the cups, the woman’s eyes widened and she exclaimed in surprise again, “Why is your home robot here when there’s work to be done? My dear, you should rest, and let your home robot do it.”
“Why is it lying motionless on the ground? Is it broken? Maybe you need to get it repaired?”
Bai Lixin returned to the table with the cups and sat down opposite Mr. and Mrs. Kayla.
“No need.” The young man explained casually while pouring tea for them, “It got tired from playing with me, so I let it rest on the ground for a while.”
When Mrs. Kayla heard this, she and Mr. Kayla looked at each other, and saw the subtle embarrassment in each other’s eyes
Mr. Kayla had a tangled expression, and his tone was strange, “Playing with you? How do you play? And it’s lying on the floor…”
‘There’s so much information! What a strong taste! Too kinky!’
S419M: […]
‘Why are these questions weird?’
Bai Lixin pointed to his temple, “We were playing mind games, and it burned out its CPU. Lying down on the floor can cool it down quickly.”
Mr. and Mrs. Kayla were taken aback once again, and Mrs. Kayla asked hesitantly, “What mind games?”
Bai Lixin pushed the prepared tea cups towards them, “It’s nothing much, just addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within a hundred. Since we have some time now, the three of us can play too. Let me ask you, what’s 999 divided by 999 equal to?”
The faces of Mr. Kayla and his wife suddenly changed, all showing expressions of shock.
Mrs. Kayla hurriedly took a sip of tea, trying to conceal her fluster, “You’re playing games with such large numbers? 999?! That’s too difficult. Husband, do you know the answer? I remember you were good at math, weren’t you in the top ten before?”
Mr. Kayla shook his head quickly, “I don’t know that. I can only do up to 6×6.”
“Wow.” Mrs. Kayla’s face lit up with surprise, “Husband, you can solve such difficult questions as 6×6! I only know that 2+2 equals 4. You’re so smart, no wonder your forehead shines so brightly, it’s the glow of wisdom!”
Bai Lixin: “…”
S419M: [….]
Escape System: [….]
Now you know the importance of the multiplication table!
—————————–
In the live broadcast room:
[Ah, is this the IQ of people in the future world? Being able to solve 6×6 makes you a genius? Then am I the god of learning for memorizing the multiplication table in twenty seconds?]
[Haha, master the multiplication table and you’re the winner of life!]
[I don’t understand, but I’m very shocked.]
[You’re shocked, but God Xin is remarkably calm, as if he already guessed it a long time ago.]
[Exactly! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said that he burned out the robot’s CPU by playing addition, subtraction, multiplication and division with it. ]
[This is the probably the robot’s biggest insult, right? 999 divided by 999 equals 1. Even hesitating for a second feels disrespectful to my elementary school math teacher!]
[Wow! You can handle such a difficult math problem. Looks like you’re not a qualified future person. Now you know why you couldn’t get selected for this copy, right?]
[Brother, that statement offended ten thousand people.]
[It’s not ten thousand anymore, it’s 9790 people now.]
The sudden barrage made the live broadcast room quiet for a moment.
A few seconds later, the barrage appeared again on the screen, [I wish all the remaining players can successfully leave the copy. ]
—————————
Two simple math questions immediately dispelled Kayla and his wife’s doubts.
They believed Bai Lixin’s story and believed it deeply.
“I’m here to give you this.” Mr. Kayla reached into his pocket, fished out a crumpled piece of paper, and said, “I meant to give you the information about that excellent psychologist. I wrote it up after work that day, but I didn’t see you for the next few days, so the note never reached you. It’s been several days, and I’ve been worried about your situation, so I decided to bring it to you myself.”
The note was crumpled, and the handwriting was a bit blurry. It was obvious it had been in Mr. Kayla’s pocket for a long time.
He looked at the contents of the note, which included an address, a doctor’s name, and the doctor’s consultation hours.
Mr. Kayla instructed, “Although this doctor is skilled, he has some quirks.”
“He doesn’t like robots making phone appointments, and he chooses his patients. If you want to see him, you have to meet him in person first. He believes he needs to feel a connection with you before he can allocate time for psychological treatment.”
Bai Lixin remembered that Mr. Kayla had mentioned introducing him to a psychologist, but later Xiao Yi helped him make an appointment with Dr. Zhou, so he had put it out of his mind. He hadn’t expected Mr. Kayla to remember and even keep the note in his pocket every day.
“Thank you.” Bai Lixin carefully folded the note back to its original state and put it away. “I’ll go see him, but I’m feeling much better now, and I haven’t had any dreams recently. I had a consultation with my personal psychologist a couple of days ago, and he said my condition Is normal now, so I can participate in tomorrow’s Love Zone registration as usual.”
Mr. Kayla sighed in relief, and a relieved expression appeared on his round face. “That’s good, that’s good.”
Then Mr. Kayla looked happy again. “What did you just say? You can register in the Love Zone tomorrow?”
“Wow, that’s great! Congratulations, dear Xin, you’ll finally have a loving partner.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
He laughed sincerely, his face showing nothing but pure joy. Bai Lixin could tell that he was genuinely happy for him, just like he had been genuinely worried about him before and even kept the note in his pocket.
He fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Mr. Kayla and Mrs. Kayla’e faces.
The expressions of the two were almost identical.
Mr. Kayla felt relieved because of Bai Lixin’s health, while Mrs. Kayla was looking at Mr. Kayla attentively, her lips involuntarily curling up with his smile.
Bai Lixin’s gaze slowly fell on the hands clasped by the two.
After a moment of silence, he asked, “Mr. Kayla, Mrs. Kayla, are you satisfied with the current situation?”
Mr. and Mrs. Kayla looked at each other with puzzlement, then exchanged knowing happy smiles.
Mr. Kayla tightened his grip on Mrs. Kayla’s hand. “Of course, we’re very happy. Right, wife?”
Mrs. Kayla held Mr. Kayla’s hand with her backhand: “Well, I was fortunate to have met you in the Love Zone.”
Mr. Kayla suddenly looked at Bai Lixin: “Oh, I understand. You have to register in the Love Zone tomorrow and you’re nervous? You are afraid of meeting someone you don’t like, and you are afraid of strangers?”
“Actually, you are not a special case, many people have been as nervous as you, after all, you are meeting the closest person who will accompany you in the future for a lifetime, even if you know that the main brain will not go wrong, you will still be uncontrollably nervous and worried. To tell you the truth, I was worried back then. It wasn’t until I was matched with my lover that I was glad I didn’t have stage fright and run away at that time. And as you can see, we are living happily ever after. ”
Bai Lixin’s gaze fell on Mrs. Kayla again.
Mrs. Kayla smiled shyly, “Like he said, I also wish you to find your happiness soon.” ”
“…” Bai Lixin looked at the two people with happy faces, and still asked the next somewhat sharp question, “I’m not talking about this, I’m referring to the current status quo. Work, Life, Money…… Everything around, are you satisfied?”
Mr. Kayla: “So that’s what you mean. Personally, I’m very satisfied.”
“In this limited area of land, we have a 150-square-meter house, and I usually have a light workload. If I’m tired, I can apply for leave directly. Although the salary is not high, with the help of robots, we can always buy things at a low price. Seven days a week, working four days, three days off, eight hours a day, no overtime at night. In addition, during vacation, sometimes I rest at home, and sometimes my partner and I travel with the help of robots.”
“Out of the more than three hundred days a year, I usually work only about a hundred days, and the remaining two hundred plus days are spent on vacation.”
“After being married for more than ten years, we have traveled to the depths of the universe, and shuttled through mysterious star clusters. We have also played in vast snowy fields, built snowmen, had snowball fights, and watched seagulls pass by in the azure sea.”
“Although this is our home, we are not trapped in a city filled with buildings. Our souls and bodies have been traveling. When we’re tired of playing, we return to this warm home and return to the comfortable urban life.”
“Dear Xin, it’s like a dream.”
“I’m so happy. Sometimes I feel unrealistically happy, as if I’m dreaming.”
Mrs. Kayla lightly pinched Mr. Kayla’s arm and complained, “Does it hurt?”
Mr. Kayla gritted his teeth. “Yes, it hurts.”
Mrs. Kayla, “Then how can you say this is a dream? Dreams don’t hurt. If it’s a dream, am I not just fake? Don’t you want me anymore?”
Mr. Kayla quickly apologized to Mrs. Kayla, “My dear, I’m sorry, I meant I’m too happy, not that this is fake.”
Bai Lixin looked at the couple immersed in honey and was silent for two seconds before asking : “Suppose this is all a dream. Would you want to wake up?”
Mr. Kayla and Mrs. Kayla stopped fooling around and looked at Bai Lixin together.
“This hypothesis, Xin, are you playing the role of a psychologist now? I suddenly found that you have the potential to be a psychologist!” He laughed a couple of times nonchalantly, “But before answering this question, you have to tell us, based on your assumption, what we would face if we woke up?”
Bai Lixin recalled the descriptions of the real world in the calls he had received, and was momentarily unsure of how to respond. After a slight pause, he answered, “It might not be better than now, but it might be later.”
“Work might not be as easy as it is now, but it might not be too bad.”
“The surroundings might not be as peaceful, there’s likely to be bloodshed, but you might be far away from it.”
“In terms of life, there may not be robots preparing everything for you as they do now, but it might not be too bad.”
Mr. Kayla: “So when I wake up, will my partner still be by my side?”
Mrs. Kayla: “Yeah, will Kayla still be my husband?”
“…” Bai Lixin, “It’s also not certain.”
Mr. Kayla widened his eyes, looking at Bai Lixin with a puzzled expression, “So, everything is unknown? Then why should I wake up? It’s fine here.”
Bai Lixin: “But everything here is fake.”
“What do you mean, fake.” Mr. Kayla laughed, “Dear Xin, you’re too into the drama. This place is real. I’ve lived here for half my life. Now you suddenly tell me it’s fake, this is the funniest joke I’ve heard all year.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
For those who don’t know that this is a false world, it is indeed real to them.
Initially, he thought about whether to bring everyone out of the virtual world, but now, seeing the smiles on Mr. and Mrs. Kayla’s faces, he hesitated for a moment.
What could the current reality be like?
The constant confrontation between the rebel army and the Order Legion has led to constant danger, where lives could be at risk at any moment.
The pressure of a busy work life and the suppression of capital that squeezes the labor force are not the end to it.
Barren living conditions.
And even if they wake up, the Kayla couple may not necessarily find each other again.
Perhaps living in the virtual world would bring them more happiness.
“Dear Xin.” Mr. Kayla and his wife stood up, “We were supposed to go out for a romantic dinner and decided to drop by here on our way. Now that we’ve given you the note and wasted quite some time, we should take our leave.”
Bai Lixin escorted them to the door. Mr. Kayla still had that warm smile, “It was very pleasant chatting with you today. I hope we’ll have the chance to do it again in the future. You’ll be registering in the Love Zone tomorrow. Here’s a friendly advice, make sure to dress nicely. A perfect appearance will also earn you points. Oh, and the Love Zone is only open to the public after 5 p.m., so it’s best to go on an empty stomach, as there’s plenty of amazing food prepared there.”
He paused for a moment, and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly, “Don’t look at me like this now. A dozen years ago, I was also a handsome guy with thick hair, deep facial features, and sharp edges. At that time, my appearance matched well with my beloved. Time really flies.”
Mr. Kayla hastily bid farewell to Bai Lixin and walked towards the elevator holding Mrs. Kayla’s hand.
As they walked farther away, Bai Lixin could still hear their banter.
Mrs. Kayla: “Alright, alright, blame me, blame me. It’s all my fault for making you fat.”
Mr. Kayla: “How can I blame my wife? The weight I carry is the weight of my happiness.”
Mrs. Kayla: “Oh, you really blame me. Indeed, I made you fat. Alright, starting tomorrow, I won’t cook for you anymore. You can eat grass.”
Mr. Kayla: “Wife, please don’t. How can I blame my wife? You’re bullying me again.”
The two of them gradually walked away until they disappeared at the elevator. Bai Lixin then closed the door, cutting off all external noises.
He walked to the coffee table and looked at the two cups of tea on the other side, silent.
S419M: [Lord Host, do you think this virtual world is also good?]
Bai Lixin: [For the current Kayla couple, it may be. At least we can’t guarantee that the reality they wake up to will be better than the virtual world. But…]
S419M: [But what?]
Bai Lixin: [But I’ve also fallen into similar illusions before and lived happily in them. But when I realized it was fake, what I felt was emptiness. Let’s leave here first. We’re in a virtual world now, and we don’t know anything about the real world situation. We don’t know why so many people entered the virtual world, or whether they entered voluntarily or were forced to.]
[It’s not appropriate to arbitrarily deal with other people’s lives without knowing the specific situation.]
S419M: [No problem, Lord Host, I already know the location of the firewall. We can leave the virtual world tomorrow.]
—————————-
In the live broadcast room.
[Strange, why has God Xin been asking this couple about what’s “real” and “fake”? Is there some mystery behind it?]
[As we all know, God Xin doesn’t usually talk nonsense, let alone say anything unnecessary.]
[Isn’t nonsense just unnecessary talk? What kind of nonsense literature is this?]
[So, what did it imply?]
[It implies that God Xin thinks this isn’t a real world?]
[Fuck, what did I just say?]
[!!! Maybe you accidentally revealed the true face of this world!]
[Damn it, I knew it. No wonder I always felt strange when I went to scan other players’ live broadcast rooms. Some people are just full of joy, indulging in eating, drinking, and having fun, while some are encountering danger all the time; I just thought there were combat zones and peaceful zones.]
[Compared to combat zones and peaceful zones, saying there’s a real world and a virtual world makes more sense! Isn’t it that some players can’t take out props while others can? That’s the distinction between the virtual world and the real world.]
[Fuck, they’re actually playing such a game?! This copy is sick.]
[As expected of it could be with 10,000 people, it’s quite ruthless.]
[Unconsciously, it’s already been five days, and many people don’t realize they’re in a dream.]
[Is there a connection between the real world and the virtual world?]
[There must be! Doesn’t God Xin often receive strange phone calls? Those calls are probably from the real world.]
[So, God Xin has become a machine dog in chat software?]
[Shocking! Breaking news, God Xin has actually become a machine dog!]
—————————
The next day, Bai Lixin welcomed his twenty-fifth birthday as “Mr. Xin.”
He found a decent outfit in Mr. Xin’s wardrobe and changed into them. According to Mr. Kayla’s words yesterday, the Love Zone opens after five in the afternoon.
This didn’t interfere with his morning work time.
At eight-thirty, Bai Lixin arrived on time at his workstation.
Next to him was a stranger, a woman he didn’t recognize.
After listening to the blond man’s views on marriage yesterday, Bai Lixin really didn’t want to see his arrogant face.
But he didn’t expect not to see him today.
Bai Lixin was curious about the blond man’s whereabouts and asked the woman, “Madam, what happened to the man who was sitting here before, he had blond hair.”
The woman thought for two seconds, “You mean him? He took a day off. He said he had something important to do today, so he took a day off.”
S419M: [He’s just taking a day off instead of getting lost! Doesn’t that mean Lord Host might still see him tomorrow?]
Escape System: [What nonsense are you talking about, Brother M? Master Bai Lixin might leave the virtual world tonight and return to the real world, bidding farewell to that old pervert forever. How could he still see him?]
S419M: [Oh, Sister System Is right! I was so angry that I forgot about Lord Host’s great plan tonight. By the way, Lord Host, what’s your plan to leave the virtual world tonight? Tell us quickly so we can hear.]
Bai Lixin blinked: [I don’t have any plans.]
He had no idea how to leave the virtual world. He had been studying the “Sky Trilogy” at home these past two days. The lyrics were interesting, but they seemed to lack a certain meaning.
He always felt there was a hint, but when he seriously analyzed the details, it didn’t match the current situation.
In “Mist”, the general meaning of the lyrics is that dense mist obscures the vision, making it impossible for the protagonist to see the road ahead or distinguish between reality and illusion. In the end, the protagonist successfully emerges from the mist with his willpower and finds the way ahead.
If Pris Xingchen really travels between the virtual world and the real world, then this song should have a different interpretation.
Perhaps it suggests that the virtual world is not real and encourages people to seek the real world.
“Star,” has the same name as Pris’s “Xingchen”. It describes the brilliance of the stars in the sky, and uses vivid color descriptions.
**“Xingchen means star”Red, purple, blue, green, colorful, shimmering.
This “red, purple, blue, green” refers to the colors of star clusters scattered throughout the universe.
There’s also the last song of the “Sky Trilogy,” “Sky.” Although the name is “Sky,” the protagonist is an eagle.
The general meaning of the lyrics is how the eagle soars, fights, gazes, and avoids natural disasters in the boundless sky, marveling at the wildness and fearlessness of the eagle’s sky dominance.
Before leaving, Pris Xingchen asked him to listen to these three songs more. After reading the song titles and lyrics, coupled with the pulsating light he saw in the clouds that day, he initially thought the way to leave here was through the sky, so he focused on the sky, and even thought about renting a spacecraft to see what was going on up there.
However, Mr. Xin was short of money, and he couldn’t afford it, so he temporarily dismissed the idea.
Not long after dismissing the idea, S419M detected the existence of the firewall.
Now, he was thinking that maybe these three songs were just recommended by Pris Xingchen habitually before leaving, and there were not be any clues.
“Dingling…”
Just as Bai Lixin’s mind began to unconsciously echo with these three songs, the phone in front of him rang.
His eyes flickered, but before he could say anything, S419M had already taken the initiative to say: [Lord Host, I’m ready! I’ll track it again this time and try!]
Bai Lixin answered the phone, and the familiar “buzzing” came as expected.
He found that this signal wavelength could only last for a maximum of three seconds; if it exceeded three seconds, it would connect to a normal phone call.
This time, Bai Lixin didn’t immediately urge S419M. It wasn’t until the first call ended that S419M gasped and said: [Lost again, but it’s still the same place! It’s still that firewall in the Love Zone, it’s in the Love District, Lord Host!]
In the afternoon, Bai Lixin prepared to take a leave of absence.
Although Xiao Yi couldn’t work anymore, S419M was still useful.
It hacked into Xiao Yi’s system and imitated Xiao Yi’s signal to help Bai Lixin get a day off.
The time quickly reached five in the afternoon.
