Rong Yi caught onto the message in his words: “Being too ambiguous as colleagues? Should try to avoid it?” She turned her body and noticed a hint of loneliness on x’s face.
“Do Fan Xingze not know of your existence?” She tapped x’s cheek. “What are you to him, split personality? Or is it some other trendy setting young people like nowadays?”
x also turned to face her, looking into her curious eyes.
Just as he was about to say something, Container suddenly reached out to stop him: “Wait, if it’s taboo information involving the game’s underlying rules, maybe it’s better not to say. Or maybe — you find a way to phrase it differently.”
x smiled. “Okay.”
Container continued, “You’re still an NPC now, right?”
“Yes.”
“Since the first instance, whenever NPCs attempted to leak information to players, they faced punishment from the game. But not the players. I’ll give my guess, and you tell me if it’s right or wrong, that way it’s safer.”
“Okay.”
“We met three years ago. The changes in rules mentioned by NPCs in the instances I’ve experienced started three years ago. So, three years ago was a crucial time, right?”
“Yes.”
“You and Fan Xingze are the same person, right?”
“Yes.”
Container hesitated for a moment. “… You became an NPC due to an accident, occupying the consciousness at night, so Fan Xingze is unaware of your existence during the day, giving us a 12-hour time difference.”
“… Yes.”
“When you’re Fan Xingze, you recognized me as the girl you secretly admired from the neighboring class but didn’t dare to approach with your real identity. So, after accidentally gaining a role in the game, you added me on WeChat and began an online relationship with me.”
“… Yes.” With everything laid bare, his face flushed, and he couldn’t help but add, “We’re discussing game matters; don’t mix personal feelings in.”
Container looked innocent. “Knowing these things can help analyze the game, right?”
“… Fine.”
“Shall I continue?”
“… Go ahead.”
“Others entering the game are called players, but you entered as an NPC.” Certain fragmented clues flashed in her mind. “… Is it related to your teacher?”
x stared at her intensely, his voice slightly excited yet imperceptible. “… Yes.”
Container immediately thought of what Fan Xingze had mentioned before: his teacher in the late stages of cancer. An elderly man who, despite achieving great success and wealth, suddenly discovered his imminent mortality, with his greatest wish surely being to prolong his life.
“Your teacher’s strong desire or hope led him to become a player in the game. He somehow gained the power in the game to extend his life through items in the game shop?”
After saying this, she self-corrected, “No. How does this relate to you? If he is truly a game completer, he achieves life extension through his own abilities. Unless —”
“His life was gained at the cost of harming you?” This conclusion startled her, and she abruptly stood up. “You —”
x also quickly stood up, reassuringly taking her shoulders, “No, no, he doesn’t want to harm me. I realized something was wrong, the power —”
At this point, seemingly afraid of the game determining he had leaked crucial secrets, x urgently fell silent.
However, Rong Yi already understood his meaning: “You sensed something wrong with the teacher, so you actively entered the game?”
x nodded immediately.
“Since it involves matters concerning your teacher, it is considered as the underlying logic and secrets of the game – so he definitely isn’t an ordinary player.”
She suddenly had a bold idea: “…The creation of this game, is it related to your teacher?”
x nodded.
Rong Yi suddenly remembered Fan Xingze’s words about conducting research towards time travel just to extend life.
And the Lucky Carnival was clearly a game that couldn’t be achieved with the technology of this era.
“…Did he succeed?” Rong Yi couldn’t believe the words she said herself, but it was currently the only speculation that could connect all the clues – although it was too far-fetched and fantastical: “Whether it’s external human consciousness networking or time machines, did he succeed someday in the future?”
x nodded hesitantly, “I guess, yes.”
Rong Yi asked him, “With his current condition, how long can he live?”
“Three years,” x said, “He has money, and expensive targeted drugs are within his reach. As long as he rests well, he should outlive others with the same condition.”
“Three years…” Rong Yi absentmindedly touched her lips in thought, x pulled her hand down and held it in his palm.
“I know, three years definitely isn’t enough,” he got off the bed to pour her a glass of water, “but only when it’s set up -”
Rong Yi took the water glass, “As long as the core commands of the system are set, like the game system achieves success in the future on a certain day, automatically activating the time machine to go back three years to provide him with life energy?”
x nodded.
“…Quite magical,” Rong Yi took a sip of water. “You discovered the game’s secret while working for your teacher, used the original development entry to enter the game, and as a result, the game found out?”
x: “You should really become a detective. It’d be great for you to investigate in the next instance, guaranteed victory.”
Rong Yi raised one hand, immersed in her thoughts, “Don’t interrupt me.”
x obediently remained quiet.
Rong Yi: “You’re not a player, you’re an invader who can disrupt the game’s existence, so the game sees you as a threat – but if that’s the case, it’s because you initially held hostility towards the game.”
“Why? If the game is just collecting a certain energy to extend your teacher’s life, why would you antagonize it?”
“Fan Xingze said he felt his teacher was leaning off course. What does ‘leaning off course’ mean?”
She looked at x, who was staring at her blankly, and asked, “Can I speak now?”
“Go ahead.”
x scratched his head, “Leaning off course means – how do I put it, the original intention of our profession was to benefit humanity with technology and increase productivity. But the teacher’s actions are using technology for his own gains. Moreover, his gain is ‘life,’ which is something that can’t be manufactured out of thin air.”
“Life can’t be manufactured out of thin air…” Rong Yi contemplated the meaning of this sentence, “Could it be that is using – others’ lives to extend his own?”
x nodded slowly, “There is no evidence as yet.”
But that was also his guess.
Upon careful thought, it seemed quite possible. Looking at the major changes in various instances three years ago, there was a commonality: the game rules became more stringent, and players could easily lose their lives in the instances.
Through interactions with other NPCs, Rong Yi could perceive that the previous Lucky Carnival was truly a carnival, with the task of providing players with gaming enjoyment being the top priority.
Perhaps this is the conspiracy of “is”? He disguised the development of the Lucky Carnival as a harmless immersive game system and gradually transformed it into a human blood processing factory that provides life energy after completing the time travel?
“If that’s the case, calling the authorities won’t solve anything,” Rong Yi murmured.
X stepped forward and hugged her, “There’s no evidence yet, and at this point in time, the teacher hasn’t discovered my presence. Everything that’s happening is a game strategist’s self-protective response. Don’t be afraid, there is still a chance to save ourselves.”
Rong Yi suddenly asked, “Then why did you bring me into this?”
X replied, “I’m sorry.”
She pushed him away, “Why are you apologizing?”
X said, “You were pulled in because of me. I’m sorry.”
Rong Yi didn’t understand. She frowned, “Are you trying to team up with me to escape or—”
“No, no!” X quickly denied, “When I was trapped in the game, I had no idea who I was. It was only when I was wandering online that I came across your information and added you on WeChat to chat…”
“But as I interacted with you, I gradually remembered bits and pieces from the daytime, remembering myself—”
“A person,” Rong Yi added, afraid of violating any game secrets.
“Yes.” X scratched his head embarrassedly, “And then my mind wandered, I didn’t feel like working, I just wanted to return to reality quickly.”
“But in reality, your memories and Fan Xingze’s don’t align.” Rong Yi said, “Because once they align, Fan Xingze could leak the known game secrets, affecting the game’s existence.”
“Exactly,” X frowned, troubled, “Lately, you’ve been giving me—meaning the daytime me—segments of the game code. I’ve started to piece some things together. If you put effort into it after returning to reality this time, perhaps I’ll understand the truth of the situation.”
“My presence makes you restless, you don’t want to work, you remember your real existence, so the game sees me as an enemy.” Rong Yi nodded, “No wonder the game always wants to eliminate me.”
X hugged her tighter, Rong Yi felt his arms slightly trembling, “I won’t let anything happen to you. I won’t…”
He was afraid.
To be honest, he didn’t have much confidence either. Both trapped in the game, can they both make it out alive? Including this time’s copy, Rong Yi had faced near-death dangers more than once, and his “protection” didn’t have much certainty.
But Rong Yi smiled. She patted his shoulder, “You got it wrong.”
X asked, “What did I get wrong?”
Rong Yi said, “Since the game pulled me in, it’s not you protecting me, it’s me protecting you.”
She placed her hands on his shoulders, pushed him back, and seriously looked into his eyes, which showed unease. She changed to different titles, “Fan Xingze—Emerson—my dear, am I the one who needs protection?”
X shook his head truthfully, “I know you’re always strong, but the situation in this game is different from reality—”
“You told me that when we entered the game. And now, I can see for myself that you were right.”
She confidently smiled, facing the chaotic projects at work, facing troublesome partners, “But I survived, didn’t I? We’re about to clear this copy, and no difficulty has crushed me.”
“I even completed the Realization with you here—I initially thought I had to clear all the copies to see you.”
“I transmitted the code to Fan Xingze, forcing the game system to advance me into a higher-level instance. This time, the instance didn’t even follow the rule of entering once every 7 days. It’s obvious that it was pushed by me–” She boasted, not out of pride, but to reassure the seemingly powerful but internally unstable and fearful big boss in front of her:
“Since my school days, I have always believed that man-made things must have flaws,” she surveyed the exquisite and comfortable guest room, showing no signs that it was just a data illusion created by the game system for players’ consciousness. “No matter how powerful a game is, it is still man-made. Maybe even created by your teachers.”
“First, you are better than the best, so why don’t you have confidence in yourself and think you can’t beat a bunch of data?”
“Second, I am strong, so go ahead and do it. I’ve got your back, ensuring you won’t suffer or get hurt.”
She smirked disdainfully, “I didn’t dare say this when I first entered the game, but now, I am so familiar with the game that no trick it plays surprises me. It’s just trying to take my life. From the current progress, it needs to step up its game.”
X covered her mouth, whispering, “…not a good omen, stop talking.”
Rong Yi’s eyes gleamed as she stuck out her tongue and licked his palm, causing him to jump under the bed. Rong Yi burst into laughter, “My company’s CTO is surprisingly superstitious. If this gets out, our stock prices will plummet, now that’s truly bad luck!”
Blushing, X gently clasped the licked hand, climbed back on the bed, lying down stiffly with hands folded on his chest, and closed his eyes, “I won’t bicker with you, I want to sleep.”
Rong Yi teasingly blew into her ear, “Androids don’t need to sleep, just charge up. Who said that?”
She softly replied, voice sweet to the point of cloying, “Right now, I am fully charged.”
Unable to resist her teasing, X rolled over and embraced her, holding onto her with hands and feet, “I’m exhausted from rushing over here.”
“Just hugging can recharge you?”
“Well, what else do you want?”
“I want…”
“No, you don’t! We’re constantly under the game’s surveillance here. Be honest with me!”
“Fan Xingze, honestly, do you… have any physical issues? You’re an android now, just a part replacement away…”
Unable to bear it, X forcefully put her head on his shoulder, skillfully accessed the data interface module at the back of her head, and induced her into sleep.
He sighed in relief, holding her soft body tighter.
“This isn’t my body, nor is it yours… what’s the point?”
“Besides, why can’t we charge like this…”
He buried his face in Rong Yi’s fragrant long hair:
“I would dream of experiencing this charging method…”
