"Thousands of years...an unreal number."
Another long period of silence occupied the air around this temporary camp. For a while, only the crackling bonfire echoed in the extremely quiet night. The snow spirit phantom ice that gradually approached the gray-robed magician finally grew longer. He sighed and replied in a low voice but with a heavy tone: "Putting it on me, I can't imagine it at all."
"It doesn't matter, for me it's just a repeated game experience." Looking up at the bright starry sky directly above, Duan Qing's confused expression seemed to become more and more obvious on his face: "By the way, Playing Sims games as others, day after day, year after year... When you wake up, the experiences composed of these games are like the dreams you just woke up, gradually forgotten. The back of my head."
"In other words, if we want to extract the information we want from these 'untrue memories' of yours, we need to do it while you still have an impression?" He said this half-jokingly, relying on The face of Xue Ling Huan Bing next to her remained calm: "That's really hard for you."
"Who knows, maybe it's just the aftereffects of the system playing tricks on me again." Duan Qing's movements of looking up didn't change at all, and he raised the corners of his mouth unnecessarily: "What happened in the free world? How are these histories recorded? Isn’t it all the one who has the final say? I can’t guarantee whether there is any falsehood in it.”
"...When will you escape from this world?"
"It doesn't matter, it's good to stay here."
Answering the other party's questions side by side, Duan Qing's upward gaze shifted slightly in the direction of the woman beside him: "At least the problem of rest is solved. You need to go offline to ease the virtual reality simulation. I don’t have to worry about the mental pressure caused by the device at all, right?”
"But I want to see you." He said these words without hesitation, and Xue Ling Huan Bing's head nestled on Duan Qing's shoulder became more obvious: "It's not the you now, but the you in reality. you."
"..."
"Of course, I don't mean to force you."
As if sensing some unspeakable atmosphere from the other party's silent reaction, the woman's long white hair hanging on Duan Qing's side trembled slightly: "But I always feel a little scared, afraid that I will no longer be able to see the truth." You of the world.”
"From what happened in the Imperial Capital to everything that happened today, I always have the feeling that you are moving away from me."
Her voice became trembling, and her cold hands vaguely grasped Duan Qing's tattered clothes: "You, you didn't really become an avatar, did you? I, I... "
"No wonder you all suddenly talked about the Sky-Breaking Blade today. It turns out you were just trying to stabilize me."
Pouring his lips, Duan Qing scratched his head as if he was an afterthought: "Don't worry, it's only a few thousand years, I won't really turn into a vegetative state because of this thing. "
"Really? How come I don't think so." Xue Ling Huan Bing suddenly raised her head: "You didn't recognize me in that illusion, and you regarded me as a person with various identities. .”
"That's also the setting of the system, okay? The system insists on changing you to look like those guys, how could I possibly notice it? If it weren't for——"
Duan Qing did not say the last half of the sentence, but the white-haired woman with four eyes facing each other seemed to have already guessed what the other party wanted to say, and showed a faint smile of her own: "So the two of us The level of tacit understanding between individuals is pretty good, right?”
"Well, let me admit it for now." So Duan Qing glanced at the night sky aside: "You broke my dream, and by the way, we escaped from that illusion at the best time. This time Let all the credit go to your head.”
"I dare not accept this credit. After all, the previous confrontation with the Magic Council and the initiation of the living ceremony were all the results of your efforts." She regained her composure, and Xueling Huanbing's voice followed her. The movement on Duan Qing's shoulder made him calm again: "And that incomparable violet barrier... Is that Violet's handiwork?"
"That's right, she was the one who dominated the situation on the battlefield at that time." Nodding his head, Duan Qing's voice also became deeper: "It's really hard for her. The level and level of my body's magic power are very high. Low, and she actually used the inferior energy of my body to fight to such an extent..."
"Where is she?"
"..."
Duan Qing fell into silence again. After hesitating for a long time, Duan Qing replied helplessly: "I don't know. Ever since I fell into that illusion, the connection between me and her has been completely severed."
"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, only if the rules of that barrier are maintained, can we possibly shift the 'border line' to this side." He looked at Xue Ling Huan Bing's silent expression. , the pretended calm expression was also revealed on his face: "Such a powerful Lord of Violet should not die in vain because of me."
"But according to you, Lorna—"
"Otherwise we'll just give it a try."
Duan Qing, who interrupted Xue Ling Huan Bing's worried expression, coughed and then put on a look of death: "If that woman is still alive and is still with us - —Hey, purple-haired old woman."
"You should be able to hear it - poof."
He rolled his eyes and yelled to the sky, but his words were choked by a sudden spurt of blood. Xue Ling Huan Bing, who sat up, quickly put away the flash that flashed in his eyes. Alarmed and panicked, he turned to slap Duan Qing's back, which was still coughing, with a worried look on his face: "Hey, hey, how can you prove it like this? Are you just seeking death?"
"Ahem, cough... If you don't say that, how do you know she's still alive?" Duan Qing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and then there was a hint of a wry smile in his voice: "It doesn't matter, anyway, my body is I have been overdrafted by her for a long time, so being abused by her one more time is nothing."
"It's difficult, have you lost the initiative in your body?" Then Xue Ling Huan Bing's worried look instantly changed to a look of anger: "How can this be done? What if she is not good for you -"
"No, no, that's my current mentor." He quickly raised his hand to stop the other party's speech. Duan Qing responded with a panicked look on his face: "What's wrong with a magic apprentice lending his body to his mentor?" Yes, not to mention the other party is a great magician who has been studying for hundreds of years - eh."
His face turned livid again, and the gray-robed magician hurriedly stopped what he was about to blurt out again: "I, let's change the topic, change the subject, hahahaha... By the way, your weapon seems to have been changed again. Well."
"That's right, it was replaced with a one-handed sword and a shield." The flickering eyes gradually sank as the man in front of him smiled bitterly, and Xueling Huanbing gradually put on a serious face: "Although I don't know What’s the principle, but the quality of this shield seems to be good and its hardness is good enough.”
"I always feel that once it is related to keels and other bone-type weapons, some unexpected and novel scenes will definitely happen." He leaned his chin and looked at the cross-shaped pattern hanging on the back of the Snow Spirit Phantom Ice. Duan Qing's voice also became much more interested: "But -"
"This change should have nothing to do with things like the furnace, but should be related to you."
His eyes moved away from the shield and fell on Xue Ling Huan Bing's somewhat embarrassed face: "Your Heart Sword seems to have improved again."
"I, I didn't know that something like the Heart Sword could have such an effect." Suppressing the feeling of jumping like a deer in his heart, Xue Ling Huan Bingqiang said calmly: "And this is not the case. Will it cause me more trouble, such as always switching weapons during battles?"
"The premise is that you have completely mastered the use of the Heart Sword and the key to controlling the changes of the weapon." Duan Qing shook his head, and there was a bit of joking in his eyes looking at Xue Ling Huan Bing. Look: "And that's just as well, because the spear isn't for you."
"Why? I think the gun skills I practiced before are pretty good..."
"Because the luck of the spearman is very low."
Looking at the opponent's face with piercing eyes, Duan Qing said with a strange smile: "If you continue to play with the spear, you may encounter something unfortunate one day."
"Where did you hear all this nonsense?" Looking at the other person's face with the corner of his mouth curled up, Xue Ling Huan Bing crossed his arms in annoyance: "But this set of weapons that was changed due to the change of mood - If it weren’t for the fact that I practiced sword and shield in my previous career, that final battle might have been a liability.”
"How is it possible? The ultimate state of the Heart Sword is that all trees, branches and leaves can be used as swords. The shape of the weapon changes in response to your state of mind. How could it not be in line with your usual method?" Duan Qing patted the other party's hair, His voice then became much more relaxed: "Even if you look down on this little shield, don't underestimate this fighting method."
"...Hey, it's time to practice again."
Xue Ling Huan Bing, who curled her lips and let out a cold snort, sat up straight again: "You must continue to practice with me! We must agree on this first!"
"Okay, okay, I will continue to guide you. I think I was also in the top three in the Sword and Shield Fighting Competition, and I almost won the last championship..."
"Oh? Then why don't you tell me which game and which world it takes place in?"
"Well, you've never heard of me before. A child has only experienced a few generations of games. Why do you ask so many questions? Ouch, ouch! Don't tease people!"
A moment of quarreling ensued among the bonfires in this small camp. The wind seemed to become warmer as the sparks from the bonfires gradually spread upward. The two chatted casually for a while. In the end, they gradually lowered their voices to each other in the feeling of exhaustion, and finally fell asleep gradually with the blowing of the night wind and moonlight. In the scene accompanied by the sound of the game cabin door opening and countless electronic sounds, a woman in a small, dark room above the apartment building in District D of Hualan City in the real world then emerged with a tired look on her face. She pushed away He glanced at the window of this room that was also in the dark night, and his eyes looking at the dim night sky did not move for a long time: "..."
"No, I still feel like something's not right about the situation."
Her voice then appeared next to the game cabin, seeming to be talking to a communication channel that had just been connected in the game cabin: "Do you really think there won't be any problems?"
"..."
"please answer my question."
The voice on the other end of the conversation was unclear inside and outside the virtual cabin, but the woman who could hear it clearly seemed to be changing her tone of response to a more serious tone: "I need you to tell the truth: if the player's spirit stays in the virtual world, If it takes too long, what kind of side effects will eventually occur?”
"..."
"What is a virtual component? What happens if there are too many of these components?"
Only the woman's voice echoed in the small room, and the voice became more and more urgent as the communication continued: "Is there too many virtual elements in a player? He will be in the virtual world Losing myself forever in the world? Do you think I will continue to believe your perfunctory nonsense?"
"..."
"……What?"
The hurried words finally came to a standstill at a certain moment, and the woman who was listening to the voice from the other end finally froze in place: "...the accidents three years ago...then, does he know the consequences?"
"Of course he knows. He is one of the actual participants. It's just that he, the biggest experimental rat, was lucky enough to survive, but others did not have such luck... Hey, hey? Are you still listening?"
As if she had lost her soul and stopped listening to these voices, the woman sat blankly next to the game cabin. Her eyes that were half-closed due to exhaustion gradually widened due to the appearance of some kind of information, along with The communication that had not been hung up kept lingering in her ears. The questions seeking answers continued for a while, and the voice from the other end of the communication seemed to have lost its intention to continue. The unspeakable silence then continued for a long time in the air between the photon screen and the woman outside the door. Finally, he ended with a deep sigh: "I know this is a bit hard to accept, but the situation we investigated may be somewhat different from what actually happened."
"If you want to know the truth - or if you want to find a way to save him, you'd better find a way to ask him personally."
