"Your name?"
"... Wen Zheliu."
"your age?"
"... I am seventeen this year, and I still have a few months to reach adulthood."
"Your Job?"
"Student... semi-professional player in Nova City, part-time worker at Baiwei fast food restaurant."
"your family?"
"... My parents are no longer here, and my current guardians are my aunt and uncle... and a cousin."
After a few scattered questions, the woman in formal attire opposite him smiled kindly at him and said warmly: "Not bad, he's recovering well."
Wen Zheliu's face was pale, his bloodless lips pursed, and he reluctantly raised his lips to her: "...Thank you, doctor."
"Don't worry," the smile on the doctor's lips narrowed by three points, and he looked at him with concern, "Your consciousness has stayed in the virtual world for too long, and it is normal for the immersion to be difficult to break away from your body for a while. In addition to relying on medication to adjust, you You'd better go out and relax more, n-star company is very generous, so you don't have to worry about the expenses here."
At the end, she playfully winked at Wen Zheliu with a warm and beautiful smile, but Wen Zheliu couldn't muster the energy to deal with her.
As an epoch-making giant, n-star is a behemoth whose wealth is higher than that of the country and the government. To describe it as "generous" is too modest. The sanatorium where Wen Zheliu stayed was far beyond the imagination of a poor man like him. In addition to organic gardens, tennis courts, sports fields, open-air swimming pools, and cafeterias that can be enjoyed for free with hospitalization certificates, there is also a large public square where holographic somatosensory technology allows people to experience the pleasant climate from all over the world. People can even put on swimsuits and play beach volleyball in groups.
In such a favorable recuperation environment, according to n-star's negotiated compensation conditions, Wen Zheliu can stay here for 365 days, and the other material compensation is countless - n-star's lawyer swore to Wen Zheliu that as long as With his words, someone would naturally be willing to serve as his temporary guardian, while his uncle and aunt would be charged with several crimes such as misappropriation of property and child abuse, and face at least five years in prison.
"Even the relic that your biological parents declared can only be owned after you become an adult is not a problem for us." The lawyer wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a gloomy and elegant face smiled at him, with a gold lapel pin on his neck. Shining, "Believe me, before the charge is filed it will be transferred and placed in the safe custody of a third party and any threat against you can only be a ridiculous delusion."
Everything is perfect, all difficulties are solved -
In addition to his own worries, He Qin's safety, and the safety of his companions.
He is like a wandering soul who has lost his belonging, standing alone in the present world and illusory memories, and out of tune with the world.
Wen Zheliu spent a week here in such confusion and confusion. A week later, the attending physician in charge of him suddenly found him and told him that two distinguished guests would be here to visit him soon.
Later, he met He Qin's two uncles in the ward, He Huaizhou, the chief designer of Nova City, and Adelaide, the most powerful person in n-star.
If he had had a glimmer of hope before, hoping that this would be another illusion set by the Holy Nuns or Happy Dawson, but after seeing them, his heart couldn't help but sink - it was too natural and too It was perfect, he couldn't find any flaw to use as an argument.
"Child," He Huaizhou is a kind and kind old man just like the first fictional character of the Holy Sister, "I'm sorry that I made you wander in a completely unfamiliar world for half a month..."
"Where is He Qin?" He looked directly into He Huaizhou's eyes, with a look of longing and slight fear that he himself could not detect. "Where is he? Is he okay?"
Adelaide frowned sternly, as if he was displeased with him for interrupting He Huaizhou's words rashly, but He Huaizhou himself didn't take it seriously. He stood up with Wen Zheliu and led him out of the room. As he walked, he said to him: "He is the first person to have his consciousness seized by the Holy Nun and imprisoned in the Uncanny Valley, so even if he is awake, he is still worse than Others wake up slowly…”
He glanced at Wen Zheliu. There was no criticism or rebuke in his eyes, only tolerant love.
"...Especially before the impact comes, he stands in front of you and takes most of the damage for you."
His eyes are as clear as doves and light gray. His skin may have begun to enter his twilight years, but Wen Zheliu can feel that his soul is still extremely clear, like a young man who has returned to his original nature.
"...I'm sorry." Wen Zheliu murmured, "I'm sorry..."
"No need to apologize." He Huaizhou said calmly with a smile, "No one needs to apologize because they are loved."
Wen Zheliu was suddenly startled and turned to look at him hastily.
He Huaizhou smiled and said: "Let him explain the matter between you two in person after he wakes up."
Wen Zheliu became flustered by this joke. He wanted to explain a few things about He Qin being a straight man, but he didn't know where to start. In order to cover up the embarrassment of being teased by his elders, he could only awkwardly open up another topic: "... So, how is the Holy Sister now?"
Mentioning this failed masterpiece, not only did He Huaizhou feel depressed, but even Adelaide's face didn't look good.
"We need to be held accountable." He Huaizhou's answer was a rare cold and decisive answer. "Not only the board of directors must be held accountable, but a group of relevant designers must also be judged... Even myself, including myself, needs to be punished accordingly."
Wen Zheliu was stunned and asked in a low voice, "Why?"
"Because this is a scandal," Adelaide said, his voice hoarse and rich. "A scandal caused by arrogant assumptions and negligent decision-making."
"Celesa has been contained inside Nova City, and the more stringent AI protocol and upgraded Turing Wall will serve as her cage." He Huaizhou continued, his tone low and depressed, "But what was exposed by this, The internal problems of n-star are the top priority that we need to solve urgently... Oh my God, they are a bunch of arrogant bastards!"
As if thinking of the flaws and more mistakes he would face next, his anger suddenly broke out at the end of the sentence. Adelaide comforted him in a low voice, while Wen Zheliu remained silent. However, he noticed that both He Huaizhou and Adelaide used one word to describe this mistake, "arrogance."
The assistant in black used fingerprints and irises to open the layers of metal doors, allowing them to pass through countless overlapping human-shaped planks in the air. These transparent corridors are intertwined and connected to each other. Under the bright sunlight from the zenith, they glow with fantastic and exquisite light, like a rainbow bridge created by human power and technology. Wen Zheliu couldn't count how many turns they had turned and how many intersections they had passed. When everything suddenly became clear, Wen Zheliu was already standing dizzy above the tall, snow-white hall, looking down at the place below like a colony of ants, dressed in white uniforms, orderly. Busy busy people.
"This is..." He looked back in horror at the way he came, but he could only see countless faint white rainbows high in the sky, distorting the light and air into swaying halos.
"A simple space folding technology," the old man took a deep breath, forcing the aftermath of his anger to dissipate. He smiled at Wen Zheliu, the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes showing the wisdom of experience, "Don't be afraid, come with us."
Adelaide led the way silently from the front. He was a silent and solemn man. Unlike He Qin who was good at disguise and had the murderous intention hidden in his sheath, he was like a magic weapon that had been refined over the years and did not need to temper its edge. Wen Zheliu didn't even dare to look at him more. If this was an authentic product, then the imitation by the Holy Sister was indeed too poor, he thought to himself.
"We're here," he said. He waited until the recognition scanner in front of him scanned his whole body for authentication, then stepped aside to let He Huaizhou pass and let him authenticate again.
Wen Zheliu was secretly stunned. He didn't know where He Qin was staying, but he actually needed the permission of two consecutive powerful N-star figures to enter.
Immediately afterwards, Adelaide handed the black gold cane to the assistant beside him, and He Huaizhou took out the external optical brain from his arms. He waved to Wen Zheliu and motioned for him to follow.
In this heavily guarded fortress, Wen Zheliu saw He Qin up close for the first time in the real world.
He was wearing a hospital gown and lying in the medical cabin with his eyes closed tightly. His handsome face was so pale that it almost gave people the illusion that his body should not be surrounded by sophisticated instruments and light curtains flowing with AI analysis. Instead, it should be a circle of lush white roses and lilies and gypsophila.
"He's right there." He Huaizhou's expression dimmed, "But he just won't wake up."
Hearing that Zheliu's throat was dry, he stared at He Qin's exposed wrists and slender palms resting on the instrument table. He looked at his skin with veins, his messy hair as black as midnight, and his outline. The deep side face... This was the first time he saw He Qin like this.
"Can I... take a closer look at him?" He spoke with difficulty. The heat mist filling his eyes made Wen Zheliu feel strangely tired.
He Huaizhou glanced at Adelaide and nodded: "Okay, but don't get too close."
Wen Zheliu took a few steps forward, his eyes tracing his body inch by inch. He wanted to talk to He Qin. Although he didn't know what to say for a moment, he felt that He Qin should need someone now. To accompany him, he needs someone to chat with him.
His eyelids twitched for no reason, and he stopped at the back of He Qin's hand.
… It’s a bit strange, but I can’t tell why.
He walked a few steps along the back of the medical cabin, stopping near He Qin's calf, and finally saw something was wrong.
The movement of He Qin's right hand was not quite right.
When most people lie on the bed, except for placing their hands under their heads or in front of their bodies, most of them naturally relax on both sides of their bodies, either with their palms up or their palms down. But only He Qin's left hand was naturally spread out and placed beside him. His right hand...
Wen Zheliu looked at it for a while and made sure that his right hand was palm facing inward, with his elbow slightly bent and close to the side of his leg, as if he was covering something.
One hand is relaxed, but the other hand maintains this posture...
Hearing Zheliu couldn't help but feel doubtful, what on earth was he hiding
"What's wrong?" He Huaizhou asked from behind, "You don't look right."
Wen Zheliu turned around and said, "No, I just... want to take a good look at him."
For some reason, when facing He Qin's two uncles, he subconsciously chose to hide it.
Wen Zheliu wanted to take a closer look, but his quota for today's visits had been used up, so He Huaizhou and Adelaide quickly took him out.
In the days that followed, neither of n-star's two managers visited him again. Only their assistants came to visit from time to time and told him some current news: Due to the lingering aftermath of the Holy Nun incident, the company's top executives have been busy recently. They were overwhelmed with compensation for the many victims, public relations for the public, and rhetoric about government accountability... These huge and tedious tasks slowed them down, and they even had few opportunities to visit.
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"I can understand." Wen Zheliu nodded to his assistant. He knew that the assistant would report his answers to his boss, "It's just... I don't know when I can be discharged from the hospital? I think I'm much better."
The assistant was a little surprised, but since this was the insistence of the victim, he had no choice but to reply: "Okay, you make your request, and we will do it. Please give us three days to let n-star's service staff take care of some necessary things for you. thing."
"Thank you so much." Wen Zheliu smiled at him. After all, there were still many things waiting for him. In addition to He Qin, he also needed to contact his past teammates, Du Zijun, Xie Yuanyuan, and other people who were related to him. The partners he fought alongside...
After experiencing so much, and jumping repeatedly on the edge of life and death for so long, he suddenly found that the things he had been thinking about before became irrelevant, just like after the threshold of life was raised to a higher level, the once difficult experiences, The embarrassing encounter suddenly became insignificant.
- Of course, the person who deserves to be beaten will still be beaten. If Liu Tianxiong comes to him again and cries and makes trouble, Wen Zheliu doesn't mind giving him a good punch. He will first pin him to the ground and beat him firmly.
"Ah, that's right!" He suddenly remembered something and said to his assistant who was about to go out, "The clothes I wore when I passed out at the door of the cafe are still there?"
As one of the deputies of the chief designer of Nova City, the man would certainly not notice a pair of cheap clothes, but his good professionalism and trust in the company's employees made him quickly smile and replied: "Of course. If you need it.”
Wen Zheliu also felt that he was a little rude, and he said calmly: "...then, thank you, thank you very much."
Three days later, it was time for him to be discharged from the hospital.
Putting aside the things and accommodation that n-star prepared for him, when he proposed to leave the nursing home, He Huaizhou assigned an assistant to him—He Qin's former personal assistant.
As if he knew the ambiguous atmosphere and special relationship between him and his boss, this man with a lively smile didn't say much, but he made arrangements for Wen Zheliu in all matters big and small. On the day he was discharged from the hospital, Wen Zheliu saw the set of clothes he wore when he was electrocuted on the bedside. At this moment, they were washed clean and still had a vague and comfortable fragrance on them.
This was like a bridge connecting to the ordinary life in the past. Wen Zheliu's thoughts began to spin and he began to daydream about the days to come: what will happen to them after He Qin wakes up, what should he do after he is discharged from the hospital, and the current situation of Liu and his wife. What's the situation? Can he find his companions in the uncanny valley...
As he thought about it, he couldn't help laughing, and he casually put his hands into his pants pockets.
empty.
His chest trembled, and he breathed a brief sigh of relief at that moment, and then fell silent again. After a moment, he put his coat on the hospital gown and reached into the inner pocket—
Through the thin lining, his fingertips touched a sharp edge.
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