What did he look like in the eyes of the Rainbow Squad? He Fang had never once thought about that question. After all, humans couldn’t possibly see through the thoughts of others. Even if you laid out the entire code and algorithm of an NPC in front of him, he still wouldn’t be able to know what the NPC was thinking.
But in Xiao Zi’s eyes, he saw a completely different version of himself. One that was utterly unfamiliar.
Within those iridescent eyes, he seemed to be enveloped in a glow scattered with twinkling lights, like stars. Though the reflection in her eyes showed a changed version of himself, he instinctively knew that it was still him.
His ordinary features, seen through Xiao Zi’s eyes, were like they’d been upgraded to full-on Level 100 beauty mode. Though he was thin and frail, there was a certain fragile beauty of youth about him. His eyes were described as particularly charming. Yet in reality, they were just average, round-shaped eyes. He Fang had never imagined that photo editing could “edit” him into someone so flawless. At this rate, he could compete with celebrities.
For a moment, He Fang began to question: was the person appearing here really how he looked in Xiao Zi’s eyes, or was it how he imagined he should look?
But He Fang had always been very self-aware. His appearance wasn’t ugly, but he definitely wasn’t especially good-looking either. A person’s emotional state affects their looks. For someone like him, who had long lived without social interaction and whose mindset was rather pessimistic due to social anxiety, how could he possibly look so dazzling?
It was truly… a unique experience.
And now, Xiao Zi had bent down, looking at him, as if waiting for him to speak. He Fang felt a stir in his heart.
In the past, his interactions with the Rainbow Squad had always been limited to issuing and executing commands. But with Xiao Zi… was it possible to actually have a real conversation?
Xiao Zi was looking at him, even blinking in a very human-like way, just like a confused girl waiting for the other person to speak.
“You…” He Fang looked up, a bit hesitant. “Is there… anything you want to ask me?”
In that moment, He Fang was extremely nervous.
If there was, then it would prove that maybe, just maybe, the Rainbow Squad truly had thoughts of their own!
The violet, dazzling mecha blinked once. He Fang felt like the version of himself reflected in those eyes had become even a little cuter.
Xiao Zi didn’t say anything, just continued looking at him. Since she could sing, He Fang figured she should be able to speak, which made him hesitate a little.
But after a long moment without any reply, He Fang thought for a second and changed the question: “The way I look in your eyes is really good-looking… like I’ve got a built-in beauty filter.”
The violet mech squatted down, placing her hands on her knees as she looked at He Fang. It gave off the feeling of a girl staring at a cute puppy. He Fang could sense that she was probably in a good mood. She even tilted her head slightly as she looked at him.
“Do you hate singing?” He Fang asked.
Though Xiao Zi’s gentle, girlish face didn’t display the nuanced emotions of a human, the metallic texture still stirred something in He Fang’s heart. He was a very typical boy who liked mechs. And girl-type mechs, even more so, were a kind of ideal for many boys. So truthfully, Xiao Zi made his heart race.
Xiao Zi didn’t speak, merely looked at He Fang, as if she were entranced, lost in watching him.
“You’re very beautiful.” He Fang faintly felt that although Xiao Zi was unwilling to speak, she should be able to understand. After he complimented her, Xiao Zi blinked, slightly averted her gaze, but then looked back again, like a shy young girl embarrassed after being praised for her looks.
She should be capable of judgment, right? Zhu Yan had been researching the Rainbow Squad all along, but hadn’t discovered anything of significance. After all, the previous Rainbow Squad members had all been proper mechs. If something could affect neural memory, then it definitely wasn’t something as simple as just a mech. So, He Fang also hoped to take this opportunity to see whether communication was possible.
“I want a diva.” Seeing that she didn’t have any particular reaction, He Fang directly stated his purpose for coming this time. “The song you sang last time was very beautiful. Everyone liked it, and it caused a sensation in every mobile city. So I thought, if you don’t dislike it—in fact, if you even somewhat like it—I’d like to see if I could promote you into becoming a diva.”
Songs influence human emotions. There are even many people who have been saved by music. Listening to music doesn’t require any threshold, and it doesn’t need any complicated procedures. Just listening is enough.
Although most mobile cities now know of Mirage and Hope City, they may not all truly be interested in Mirage. Right now, only the upper echelons are coveting Mirage’s resources. But just as Shi Canghai said, they need to have influence over the lower levels.
Then, if Xiao Zi became a diva, perhaps she could plant a favorable impression into people’s subconscious without anyone even noticing.
“But if you’re unwilling, I won’t force you to do it. If you want to refuse me now, I’ll stop Zhu Yan’s research on you. If you have thoughts, I will respect your choice.”
Tools and living beings are different. A tool is only a tool when it is used; a living being must possess consciousness to be considered truly alive.
The enormous, resplendent violet mech extended its hand. Those massive fingers were almost as big as He Fang’s head, and yet, somehow, they still gave off a sense of delicacy.
That hand reached out and touched He Fang’s hair. Despite being such a massive mech, it was able to perform such precise movements. Its fingertip lightly brushed against He Fang’s cheek. He Fang didn’t dare to move. He was a little afraid that if Xiao Zi slipped up even slightly, his head might go flying.
Then, he saw Xiao Zi slowly rise to her feet. Her tall yet slender figure was wrapped in a magnificent purple metallic dress. She rose on her tiptoes and spun in a circle, arms spread wide, eyes closed, as if she were presenting her most beautiful side to He Fang.
In that instant, He Fang seemed to witness countless flowers blooming all at once, dancing and scattering across the sky, radiant and dazzling. A brilliant girl stepping on blossoms kissed by golden sunlight, displaying her most unrestrained, dreamlike self.
He Fang saw her open her mouth, and then he heard singing.
It was “Origin”. The first part of the Doctrine of the Divine Lord trilogy.
Within that singing, He Fang felt as if he had been drawn in by her voice, brought back to the moment when he had first arrived in “Ruins Without Restart”.
A vast, empty world.
He stood upon that barren land, gazing blankly at the sky, feeling the wind, feeling the rain, feeling the sunlight falling from the clouds after the rain.
He Fang suddenly sat up inside the sensory pod. He stared blankly at his surroundings, taking quite a while to come back to his senses.
He rubbed the space between his brows. His memories felt vague and blurry, like he had forced himself to watch a game cutscene while in an extremely exhausted state. Everything had clearly entered his eyes, but he hadn’t truly remembered it.
Faint, indistinct fragments drifted through his mind. Only a lingering sense of comfort, serenity, beauty, and ease remained.
No way…
He Fang looked toward the sensory pod with a complicated expression in his eyes. So Xiao Zi’s settings could really influence the player’s thoughts. That’s why she hadn’t spoken to him at all.
With a hint of helplessness, he stepped out of the sensory pod and found that it was already dark outside. He froze for a moment. Damn, Xiao Zi’s singing had directly thrown his mind into chaos. Even though he hadn’t been playing for long, he had somehow fallen asleep inside the pod until nightfall.
There shouldn’t be anything wrong with his mental state… right?
Unconsciously, He Fang patted his cheeks. He was genuinely afraid that playing this game might actually mess up his body somehow.
Come to think of it carefully, wasn’t the sensory pod essentially working directly on the nervous system? If it could have this kind of effect… that was seriously terrifying.
He Fang opened his computer and searched for the Doctrine of the Divine Lord trilogy. To his surprise, it actually existed.
He clicked on a song. Xiao Zi’s mechanical voice sounded strange, but it had a unique kind of charm. The more one listened, the better it seemed to sound.
Wearing his headphones, He Fang slowly opened his eyes, his expression tangled with emotions.
Lately, he’d been feeling increasingly off.
He had started to gradually suspect that maybe the world inside the game… was his real world.
He was deeply immersed in it. Even if he treated the game’s world as his true reality, it didn’t really matter. At least the game brought him genuine happiness.
But the body and the game were always separate. He couldn’t truly confuse the two. Otherwise, if he ate something in the game and felt like he had eaten in real life, what would he do if he ended up starving himself to death? He might feel like he’d eaten, but his body hadn’t actually taken in any food.
He’d die.
He Fang glanced at the sensory pod, his brows tightly furrowed.
He felt that he’d been playing too much lately. After all, the incredibly realistic world inside the pod had already begun to blur his perception.
He needed to take it easy for a couple of days, adjust the in-game speed to a more moderate level. He had to give himself a bit of time to recalibrate. He still wanted to happily play with the NPCs in the game. He didn’t want to die in there for no good reason.
He Fang rubbed between his brows and didn’t log back into the pod. Instead, he turned on his computer, where he could view the development of his city.
The PC version of “Ruins Without Restart” only allowed him to see the construction progress of his own city. It also showed a map of the post-apocalyptic world, but not the finer details. He could see densely packed little figures constantly moving around in the game.
Everyone was busy with their own affairs.
He Fang spun once in his gaming chair and thought about Xiao Zi’s response from earlier.
That response… it probably meant she didn’t dislike it, right? While singing, even though Xiao Zi hadn’t shown much expression, she had spun in a circle. Those effects that had influenced his perception were actually signs of Xiao Zi’s joy. He Fang felt that maybe… that was her way of saying yes.
That “songstress” role should be doable.
He Fang directly programmed it into the game, setting Xiao Zi to become a songstress, and then started promoting her publicly. He wanted her to become the leading figure of music in the entire post-apocalyptic world.
After that, he exited the game, stretched, and decided to take a temporary break from “Ruins Without Restart” to clear his mind a little.
He Fang walked over to the window, pulled open the curtains, and looked outside. It was already night. The sky is pitch-black. At this hour, there were barely any people left out. The weather had turned completely cold. Everyone was bundled up in thick clothing. From his upper floor, he could hardly make out anyone’s face down below.
The leaves had turned yellow and already fallen. Though the residential area had been cleaned thoroughly, scattered leaves were still visible. Even so, viewing it all from above, there was still a certain beauty to it.
A beauty that was almost just like the scenery in the game.
He Fang shook his head. There it was again. That strange thought.
He was getting mentally twisted from playing too much.
There should be a big difference between real-world scenery and the scenery inside a game.
He Fang stood at the window, looking… looking… and looking…
His expression gradually grew strange.
He Fang opened his wardrobe and pulled out a bunch of thick clothes, slowly putting them on. He moved his arms and legs a bit, feeling a little unaccustomed to the layers.
Back then, he had completely shut himself away because he didn’t want to interact with anyone outside.
But the last time the deliveryman dragged him out… it hadn’t been as terrifying as he remembered.
He’d been immersed in the game for far too long. So long that he could vaguely feel himself losing the ability to distinguish between the game and reality. Right now, he really needed a bit of stimulation from the real world to jolt himself awake.
He Fang wrapped himself up tightly, deliberately choosing a white scarf to cover his face. Then, glancing at his strange haircut which were self-trimmed over the years, he hesitated, then grabbed a hat to cover it. In the mirror, he looked exactly like some shady thief, afraid a security camera might catch his face.
He stepped close to the window and looked out. There were barely any people around at this hour. He Fang still felt a bit resistant, but for the sake of staying mentally healthy and for the sake of being able to play longer with the NPCs in the game, he felt that stepping outside and feeling the real world was necessary.
However, his steps toward going out were extremely hesitant.
He opened the door, then shut it again. Opened it, then shut it again. He felt ridiculous. Would constantly opening and closing the door disturb the neighbors?
After some thought, He Fang took off his shoes, took off his coat, and flopped onto the bed like a salted fish. But for some reason, his heart felt strangely restless.
That feeling of failing to do something you meant to do, so your mind just keeps circling around it, unable to focus on anything else… He Fang hadn’t felt that in a long time.
In the game, Xiao Zi’s influence on his mind still seemed to linger. Her singing continued to echo in his head. He Fang sat up, paced back and forth for quite a while, and finally stood up again, putting his clothes back on.
He Fang opened the door once more. The corridor outside was brightly lit. This time, there was no deliveryman standing at the door to sway his thoughts. Everything he was about to do now was entirely according to his own will.
He wasn’t being forced. He wanted to go out.
It was an unknown world, one without a guide.
He Fang closed the door again.
But this time, he didn’t take off his clothes. Instead, he went to his room and found his headphones. On his phone, he created a playlist with the Doctrine of the Divine Lord trilogy from “Ruins Without Restart”, set the three songs to loop, and put the headphones on. Xiao Zi’s mechanical voice filled his ears. He Fang felt as if her voice really was affecting his spirit, as if it was giving him courage.
He Fang found it incredible. “Ruins Without Restart” really seemed to have changed a lot about him.
The metal keys in his hand were cold in the autumn-winter air, but from being tightly clenched, they’d already warmed slightly. So much so that they started to hurt in his palm. Feeling discomfort, He Fang looked down and saw that from nervousness, he had gripped the keys so hard that their tips had left deep marks in his hand.
He Fang let out a sigh, then threw himself all at once into the stairwell, shutting the door behind him, determined to rush straight down the stairs in one go.
However, just as he stood in front of the elevator, He Fang suddenly froze.
The elevator doors were open, or rather, they had been open, and were just now starting to close. Someone was still inside, and they seemed startled by He Fang’s sudden movement. Their eyes widened, staring straight at him.
In that moment, He Fang suddenly felt very fortunate that the elevator doors were closing. If possible, he would much rather wait for the next one than share a ride with someone else.
But the person inside the elevator panicked and hurriedly reached out to press the elevator buttons several times. The sound was loud enough that He Fang could hear it clearly. He froze in place.
He watched, stunned, as the elevator doors that had nearly closed opened again before his eyes. His gaze met the eyes of the person inside.
He Fang quickly lowered his eyes in a panic. His body had already started to stiffen, his mind going completely blank. Even though he knew the other person must have meant well by reopening the elevator for him, his social anxiety once again disrupted his ability to interact normally. He instinctively took a step back, clearly intending to retreat back into his room.
“Come on in. I held the door for you,” the person in the elevator said gently. Their voice was soft, so much so that He Fang wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but there seemed to be a coaxing undertone to it. Strangely, even though he had headphones on, the other person’s voice still reached his ears with perfect clarity.
He Fang only felt that his whole body was stiff. He didn’t want to reject someone else’s kindness, but he also didn’t have the courage to accept it.
The deliveryman wasn’t around, and there was no one who could help him communicate with others.
If he were to turn around and go back now, it would be even more impolite. He’d have to tell the other person that he wasn’t getting in after all. But He Fang couldn’t find his voice. He stood stiffly at the doorway. He could see the person inside the elevator, a hand casually lowered without the slightest sign of impatience.
He Fang’s mind buzzed. He had been standing here for a long time, yet the other party showed no annoyance, didn’t close the elevator door, didn’t say a word to rush him. The person just held the button, quietly waiting for him to enter.
It was the kind of kindness that couldn’t be refused. In the end, He Fang could only force himself to step in.
He stood directly in the farthest corner, putting some distance between himself and the person at the elevator door.
“Are you going to the first floor, or B1?” the person asked.
He Fang glanced at the B2 button. He wanted to press it, but it was clear the other person was waiting for him to answer, to help.
He Fang felt as if something was stuck in his throat; he couldn’t speak like a normal person. But to his surprise, the other person didn’t wait for his response and simply pressed the button for the first floor.
Did they know he didn’t have a car? But what surprised He Fang even more was that the person not only pressed the first floor, but also pressed B1. Not guessing, but pressing all the floors he might go to.
This scene is so cute ❤️❤️
I have thoughts about the Summit of the World….. σ^_^;