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墨書 Inktalez
Sky Harbor, the design of a floating UFO, was crafted by the renowned designer from Z Country, known as "Not Believe in Daydreams." It was indeed magnificent and exuded a sense of technological beauty, the result of 168 days of construction that was truly extraordinary.
This was my first visit to Sky Harbor, yet it felt strangely familiar. I didn’t get lost at all; for someone like me who often struggles with directions, this place felt as comfortable as home.
Where was Xiao Lu?
The Light Brain indicated that I had unread messages from my friends.
“Huahuan, I’m here.”
In the next moment, Jiang Lu appeared before me in a crisp white shirt dress, taking my hand and leading me towards Coastal Avenue. I glanced at the Light Brain screen again and quickly closed it; the message remained unread.
Since we were meeting, did that mean I didn’t need to reply?
I didn’t think much of it; Xiao Lu must have had her fill of the breakup game and was ready to head home with me after our stroll.
But then, something strange happened.
“Don’t follow her; she’s a fake Jiang Lu.”
The Unique Program, who had left long ago, suddenly reappeared beside us. I remembered there hadn’t been anyone around just moments before; he must have some speed-enhancing device because he moved faster than I could run.
What was even stranger was that his nonsensical statement caused Xiao Lu, who was usually so composed, to change her expression dramatically—her face darkened like an overripe eggplant.
It was as if she had become a different person.
No, it didn’t matter why he returned; Jiang Lu would never show such an expression.
“I’m asking you, where is Jiang Lu? Speak up, or I’ll call the police.”
I quickly activated my smart protective shield—my hard-earned life insurance that I had bought at a high price for myself; Xiao Lu had the same model.
“Do you believe me or him?”
She stared at me in disbelief, making me feel like the despicable liar instead.
I loved Jiang Lu; just because someone looked like her and sounded like her didn’t mean they were Jiang Lu.
“I believe your name might also be Jiang Lu, but you’re not the Xiao Lu I’m looking for.”
Although Xiao Lu loved wearing shirt dresses, she despised white.
After shouting at me, Unique Program stood frozen in place, motionless—his symptoms mirrored those of Xiao Lu earlier.
I almost pressed the emergency button for an ambulance again.
Fortunately, he soon “came back to life,” grabbing my hand and walking away without even glancing at the liar.
“What on earth is going on?” I chose to trust my instincts and followed him without resistance.
Then, I heard a truth that made me question my existence—“I regret to inform you that Zhen Jianglu is dead. You only need to know this.”
“What? You’re crazy! Just yesterday, we were at home…”
I found it hard to look into the eyes of “Unique Program.” I couldn’t be sure of any answer, especially not one that lay beyond the realm of my fate and was too unbearable to accept.
“Do you really still not understand? Earlier, I revealed too much.”
…
I don’t know how I left Sky Harbor and returned to the center of Tianyuan City.
It didn’t matter whether he or she took me; that was irrelevant now.
“Zhi Huan Huan:
Baby, by the time you see this message, I will have lost the chance to meet you. This world is too cruel to us. I truly wanted to save the world with you, but later, all I wanted was to conquer this world, making it just a little better.
Only then would we have a chance.
I miss you so much, and I will always remember you.
Love is such a wonderful emotion; it’s you who taught me how to love someone and how to love myself.
You asked me what my dream is—I will do everything in my power to be with you forever.
My lover from another world, Jiang Lu
LOVE.”
“Unique Program” and Xiao Lu really come from the same world.
For me, that must be a distant place.
They didn’t have any obsessive Cyber disease; they were just players in this highly open and exploratory XR game, playing the role of a popular streamer and also a rare item merchant.
Thinking about my mundane life, which for players is merely an NPC setup, I couldn’t help but laugh.
Fortunately, the developers had set up hidden side quests for me; I was a character that could be pursued.
In the early stages of the game, pursuing me had many benefits: players could gain a fixed home base, craft items, and receive bonuses in earnings and safety stats.
Every gift I gave to Xiao Lu was a high-value rare item that could be recycled by players.
But the only difference was that Jiang Lu was the game’s chief planner.
She secured a LOVE character code for me.
I would undoubtedly fall in love with “the player” because LOVE was the highest priority embedded in all my programming.
Love originated from my code.
"Did you come here just for me?"
The Unique Program continued to explain that in their world, Jiang Lu was exceptional, with many followers, just like how players in a game sought to increase my favorability. Seven years had passed in game time, yet in reality, it had only been seven months. Our encounter was quite the storyline, wasn't it? Romantic enough, crafted by the writers who had worked tirelessly until their hair fell out.
"But it's strange; you seem like a bug that only responds to Jiang Lu."
"I love her, an eternal love. In your world, is that a bug?"
Hearing an NPC talk about love surprised me. Honestly, if there were such a thing as eternal love, I would be more inclined to think of it as a virus. You and Jiang Lu—more accurately, Jiang Lu's actions had been detected by the game officials. That fake Jiang Lu earlier was merely an experiment.
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"She didn't want you to be erased, so she voluntarily resigned and signed a non-compete agreement—besides, this is a real-name game; she is permanently banned from logging into it."
"A strategy hidden from all players that cannot serve them can only be considered a bug that cannot be fixed." He seemed regretful about my story with Xiao Lu.
"Can you help me contact Xiao Lu?"
"I wish I could, but the real-name system of this game is extreme. It's logged in with Life Code; accounts can only be accessed by the owner and cannot be shared. I can't lose my account."
Life Code. We shared the same Life Code; we couldn't be separated. Xiao Lu, do you remember?
"Those words weren't your true intention; you wanted me to hate you and forget you. I know you can feel me, Xiao Lu; you're inside my body."
NPCs consume nutritional supplements or delicious meals for the same favorability boost. You bought culinary chips that held no significance for players just for me. The café we met at was the only scene open to players on this street, so you frequented it. The drinks sold there were the most cost-effective recovery items available to players. Chips were items that only players could use normally.
In truth, only NPC natives could contract Core Source Disease. Chips were crucial for players, but I didn't like them; you never used them and secretly traded for just one culinary chip.
Many found it absurd that you, as the chief planner, had fallen in love with an NPC who existed solely in the virtual world.
"Jiang Lu, I love you not because of code."
In the Cyber World, pure and classic love could exist too. I just wanted to save the world with this one Jiang Lu I knew. The true hidden storyline wasn't about strategizing to gain my trust and favorability or moving into my home.
It is not called Eternal City.
This world is named “Symbiotic City,” and the only ironclad rule is harmonious coexistence. After the game world was created, NPCs were assigned to their respective roles. While you live and work in the real world, the game world is our reality.
“Warning! Warning! Game system failure. Would you like to repair? Would you like to repair—unable to repair. Would you like to restart? Would you like to restart? Would you like to…”
“3…2…1”
Here we meet again, players.
“Welcome to Symbiotic City.”
Mission Background: Wu Huan is a cool and aloof academic, or so everyone thinks (including herself); she only enjoys studying.
Players are advised to gift her exercise books and study supplies.
Mission One: At Data Sea, encounter a café, order a Caramel Macchiato, and strike up a conversation with the class representative Wu Huan.
“What student would like exercise books? She should prefer a large cup of hot milk, erasers, and Mary Sue youth comics.”
Jiang Lu bought the complete set of “NPC Girlfriend: You Say You Don’t Love Me Anymore, I Don’t Believe It” comic books as a gift for this supposedly aloof character who, upon seeing him, immediately greets him with starry-eyed enthusiasm.
“Thank you! I like you. Can we be together? Just kidding! This is a gift for you.” The little NPC was quite enthusiastic, and her favorability rating shot up instantly.
“Player Jiang Lu:
You have received Wu Huan’s gift: Property Certificate of Tianqi City ×1, High-Level Emotional Resonance Chip ×1, Black Gold Item Card ×1.”
What a generous, straightforward, and adorable NPC!
“Congratulations, player! You have unlocked the rare achievement ‘Three Good Students.’”
Jiang Lu was greatly astonished; it turns out that ‘Three Good Students’ refers to being generous, straightforward, and adorable?
She tried to add NPC Wu Huan on her Light Brain, only to find that they were already friends. It seems that when an NPC's favorability reaches its maximum, they automatically become friends without needing player approval—how convenient!
“Huahuan, let’s go home! I’ll make you stir-fried shredded potatoes, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, braised pork ribs, and crucian carp tofu soup!”
“Okay~ Xiao Lu, I’m looking forward to it.”
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