"You've been waiting for me for a long time... What do you mean?"
Sitting up with his hands on the bed, Hao Yun looked directly at the man whose facial features could not be seen clearly, and continued to ask without breathing, "Also, where is this place?"
Looking at Hao Yun quietly, the man said.
"While I know you must have many questions to ask right now, unfortunately I only have one mouth."
After a pause, he continued.
"Actually, I didn't wait too long, but the waiting process made me a little anxious... As for where this is, don't you even remember what happened a minute ago?"
a minute ago
Hao Yun frowned slightly and fell into memories.
He only remembered that after putting on his helmet and activating the "Oasis" system, his consciousness was brought here. It seemed that the artificial intelligence "Zero" running in the supercomputing center came with him.
Could it be that…
Recalling the technical principles of the immersive virtual reality system, Hao Yun's pupils widened slightly, and he looked at the man standing in front of him with a strange face, whose facial features could not be seen clearly.
"...Is this my dream?"
"The answer is obvious," the man said in a gentle tone, "You can completely trust your instincts."
"Who are you?" Hao Yun looked at him intently and continued, "Why did you appear in my dream?"
"Because only through dreams can I communicate with you face to face like this. As for who I am..." The man smiled lightly and continued, "You can just call me professor as before."
"… professor?"
Sounds very familiar.
Hao Yun felt a faint tingling between his eyebrows.
He always had the feeling that he had forgotten something important.
"Yes," the man nodded slightly and continued in a casual tone, "You were once one of my most proud students. Although I feel that I didn't teach you anything, you learned many things by yourself. .”
Hao Yun stared at him intently.
"...What exactly do you know about my time traveling?"
"Everything."
Looking at the surprised Hao Yun, the man smiled lightly and continued.
"Actually, you should have discovered that the memories you unlocked from the 'system' are not actually created out of thin air. Whether they are novels, music, games or movies... they are actually installed in your mind."
"Of course I know, but what about the virtual reality technology?" Hao Yun continued to ask, "Before my rebirth, I was just a game designer, and I don't remember having any contact with immersive virtual reality technology. "
Don’t say you’ve been in contact with me.
In his impression, the era he lived in did not even have immersive virtual reality technology.
However, in response to Hao Yun's words, the man just smiled and said in a pleasant tone.
"Then have you ever considered another possibility? In fact, you are not a game designer at all, you just think you are."
Hao Yun was silent.
In fact, he had felt this way before.
If I was really just a game designer before my rebirth, there is no reason why I would not have the slightest impression of the games I designed.
Rather than being said to be a profession in his previous life, the identity of a game designer is more like a "personality". Just like what the man who calls himself professor said, it's just what he thinks.
"... In other words, I didn't die on my desk because of 996?" Hao Yun asked with a strange expression on his face.
"Hahaha, I'm actually surprised that you would arrange it for me like this... Do you think I'm the kind of professor who exploits students? I don't remember doing such a thing."
The man laughed, which relaxed the stiff air in the room a little.
However, Hao Yun still had many unanswered questions in his heart.
Especially the issue that concerned him the most.
"I... have really traveled through time, or am I still in the game."
As if he saw through what Hao Yun was worried about, the man smiled lightly and said in a relaxed tone.
"From a physics point of view, it is obviously the former. The world you live in is a possibility among many parallel worlds, and this kind of time travel is irreversible. Otherwise, I would not use such a troublesome way to do it. I’ve communicated with you... If it’s in a game, wouldn’t it be better to just unplug the power and let you wake up?”
For some reason, after hearing these words, Hao Yun felt a little relieved.
He valued the present more than the past life that he could no longer recall. If someone suddenly told him that this extraordinary life was actually just data in a computer, he felt that he would not be able to accept it.
Looking at Hao Yun who stopped asking questions, the man spoke.
"You have asked me so many questions, let me ask you one."
Hao Yun asked.
"What do you want to know?"
The man continued.
"What is reality and what is illusion... I want to hear how you understand this question."
"Does this question mean anything?"
The man smiled and said.
"Not all questions have a specific meaning. If you insist on a reason to answer this question, just treat it as the last question in the exam."
What reason is this...
However, after thinking carefully for a while, Hao Yun still gave his answer.
“What is seen is reality, what is not seen is illusion.”
Although he couldn't see the expression on the "professor's" face, Hao Yun could feel the unexpected emotion exuding from him, as if he didn't expect that he would give such an answer.
"Is this an answer from an idealistic perspective?"
"No, just from the perspective of quantum mechanics."
"oh?"
"Whether the cat in the box is dead or alive can only be known the moment the box is opened. Our understanding of the universe comes from the information we observe from the universe."
After hearing this, the man thought for a moment.
"Interesting answer...even surprised me, to be honest."
Hao Yun looked at him and said.
"Is that the answer you want?"
"Actually, it doesn't matter whether you want it or not. There is no standard answer. What I'm curious about is your thinking on this question... But now, my curiosity has been satisfied." After a pause, the man continued in a gentle tone, "First of all, Congratulations, you have once again completed the immersive virtual reality technology and found the key to the dream after regaining your life."
"In the time you live in now, the boundary between illusion and reality is infinitely close to zero. If you compare life to a game, you are infinitely close to clearing this game."
"It's just that before celebrating my victory, I hope you can do me one last favor."
Hao Yun looked at him and asked.
"What's the deal?"
In response to the questioning look, the man who called himself professor continued.
"Help me design a game."
"This is the last lesson I leave you."