Chapter 62
"W-This is!?"
After a brief moment of stunned silence, Herta immediately went to the control panel, excitedly looking at the Aeon's figure inside.
[I hear sorrowful cries here.]
The compassionate voice sounded like sacred music, and pale green nectar poured down like rain, sprinkling on Bai Jun's battered body. Every organ and every cell seemed to rejoice at the mercy bestowed by heaven.
The mottled floor, the shattered building, the collapsed house—all seemed to soften the moment His figure appeared, as if striving to sing the praises of the greatness of life.
Bai Jun's eyes widened, his pupils meeting the gazes of countless living beings as they all looked up at the sky.
An ethereal figure, whose gender is indistinguishable, spreads out six arms, freely displaying its divine form. Every smile and frown of its grace blooms across the starry universe. With lowered brows and eyes, its face half-hidden by a thin veil, its beauty is beyond description.
No matter who it is, their identity will be immediately apparent upon a single glance.
-- "Abundance" Yaoshi
"Ask a question quickly! Ask a question quickly, Bai Jun!"
Seeing Bai Jun still standing there in a daze in the Simulated Universe, Herta, standing in front of the control panel, couldn't wait to urge him on. The Aeon is elusive and his temperament is hard to fathom. No one knows when the Yaoshi will leave. She can't just watch this great opportunity slip away from Bai Jun.
It wasn't that Bai Jun didn't want to speak, but under the Yaoshi's gaze, his body was completely unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as the Yaoshi stared at his body with loving eyes, and those eyes felt so real that they didn't seem virtual at all. This made Bai Jun feel a chill run down his spine.
The Yaoshi slowly began her movements, her slender, beautiful fingers gently plucking a stalk of wheat, which then traversed the distance of space and fell towards Bai Jun.
Each grain of wheat contains unimaginable Abundance and power; just a little bit is enough to make an ordinary person an Emanator envoy. Yet now, it is being poured down from the sky like a free buffet.
As Bai Jun watched the grains of wheat falling from the sky, a profound sense of danger welled up within him.
The next second, just as Mai Li was about to touch Bai Jun's body, a pure "hatred" suddenly surged up.
Herta, who was closely monitoring the Simulated Universe at the control panel, suddenly felt a jolt in his eyes. The Simulated Universe, which had been running normally, began to flash with dense error codes. At the same time, the huge screen shattered instantly, as an overwhelming force interfered with the operation of the Simulated Universe.
For a moment, Herta was stunned by the terrifying power emanating from "Destruction" and forgot to think, but she quickly recovered and realized that something was wrong. The current situation might have really attracted Nanook's attention.
She tried to shut down the immersive simulation system, but then she was shocked to discover that the office floor had been covered by countless sprawling vines.
For the first time, Herta felt a chill run down his spine.
[********]
A flash of golden pupils, composed of pure rage and hatred, appeared, and the white-haired, brown-skinned Aeon interrupted the Yaoshi's actions.
The two Aeon communicated in a language utterly incomprehensible to mortals. Then, the Yaoshi's figure vanished into the Simulated Universe. Only the white-haired, brown-skinned Aeon remained, gazing coldly at Bai Jun, or perhaps at some other being within him.
The unimaginable pressure weighed heavily on him, and Bai Jun felt his blood rushing backward. He was so terrified that he couldn't breathe, cold sweat covered his entire body, and his hands and feet trembled. But his heart was pounding even more fiercely.
If Bai Jun had the time to observe, he could clearly see that the "Favor of the Sun" ability was burning intensely like never before.
Nanook slowly raised his hand, Bai Jun's intuition told him frantically—he was going to die! He...
He was utterly powerless to resist, and couldn't even muster the intention to resist, because the difference between them was simply too great. He could only watch Nanook's every move but couldn't move his body an inch.
Just as He was about to pronounce his final judgment, the Simulated Universe that held up the sky shattered instantly, and Bai Jun's consciousness returned to reality.
"Bai Jun! Are you alright?!"
Herta also looked flustered and stepped forward to help Bai Jun, who had fallen to the ground.
Having just escaped death, Bai Jun gasped for breath, kneeling on the ground in agony. His shirt was soaked with cold sweat. He clenched his throbbing palms, carefully feeling the pain in the wounds pierced by tension or fear.
Everything that just happened felt like a dream; all was quiet.
The physical and mental anguish was real, leaving him no room to escape reality.
"I... I'm fine..."
Bai Jun spoke softly, so softly it was barely audible.
I'm so unwilling to accept this.
I'm incredibly unwilling to accept this.
Even though he had already made up his mind to stop paying attention to fighting and killing, when faced with such an insurmountable gap in power, Bai Jun couldn't care less about anything else and only felt unwilling.
In the final moment before disconnecting from the Simulated Universe, Bai Jun saw Nanook's lips twitch slightly—He clearly said: Next time I will take your life.
Bai Jun had never hated his own powerlessness and despised his trembling ego as much as he did now. At the same time, he kept asking himself—if He wanted to hurt the people he cherished, would he have the courage and strength to stop Him?
Bai Jun clenched his fist, letting blood flow continuously from his palm.
So that tomorrow may come as promised, so that no one we cherish may die, and so that we may no longer lament our powerlessness...
He gave a reason to fight, and a reason for Bai Jun, who had been lost about something since he gave up the fight.
P. S.: Sorry, the slow updates are indeed the author's fault, but there's no need to call it filler. Don't be fooled by the fact that this book is more slice-of-life; it truly has a main plot, and the content of this volume is laying the groundwork for the main plot to unfold later.
The author swears that this part is absolutely not a perfunctory attempt to pad the word count. Much of the content is foreshadowing for later events, and many of these foreshadowing elements will even be resolved at the end of this volume. If you don't believe me, come back and read it again later. If the author is lying, I'll just shut up!
Chapter 87 Ms. Samuel (4k6)
"Bai Jun! Ms. Herta! Are you two alright?!"
Hearing the commotion inside the office, Arlan pushed open the door and was immediately stunned by the scene before him.
Emerald green vines sprouted and spread from the cold floor, their overflowing vitality filling the entire room like a fountain. The walls, the instruments, and even the ceiling were covered with the same vines, like layers of spider webs enveloping something within them.
Arlan had only ever seen this scene in fantasy books.
"What are you standing there for? Come over here and help him get those things off. Do you expect me to do it all?"
Before Arlan could think straight, Herta's slightly impatient voice reached her ears. She hurriedly released the vines binding Bai Jun and rushed back to the control center, trying to retrieve the information from the Simulated Universe on the screen filled with countless black and white codes.
"Bai Jun! Are you alright?"
Arlan quickly helped Bai Jun, who was kneeling on the ground, and pulled out the short lightning blade from his calf to remove the vines from his body one by one. However, when the lightning blade touched the vines, the latter were not cut off. Instead, they burst out with surging green energy. The force of the burst instantly deflected the lightning blade and even made Arlan's palms go numb.
"W-This is!?"
Arlan's eyes widened instantly, his voice filled with undisguised horror. The instant he touched the vines, he felt Abundance energy that was terrifying. Fortunately, he was also very experienced in combat and quickly devised a plan. He slowly gripped the greatsword on his back with his right hand, and purple lightning began to flash.
"Don't worry, leave it to me--"
"That's enough, Arlan, I can do it myself."
Bai Jun gently stopped Arlan's next move. His expression was somewhat gloomy. He slowly grasped the vine with both hands. The vine, which could even be deflected by lightning blades, was torn apart by his force like fragile plastic. Then, crimson flames surged from his body, burning the vine, which contained Abundance energy, to ashes in the blink of an eye.
While Arlan was dumbfounded, on the other side, Herta, after trying various methods to recover the data without success, angrily slammed his fist on the completely blacked-out control panel, making an incredulous sound.
"Damn it, why is this happening!?"
Everything that just happened—whether it was the Yaoshi or Nanook —their glances were real. Even though the Herta and the other members of the Genius Society had made countless conjectures about the operation of the Simulated Universe, the current developments still far exceeded their expectations.
Although the purpose of developing the Simulated Universe is to ask questions of the Aeon in order to explore their mysteries, this does not mean that they want to actually meet the Aeon.
They are far too dangerous. Even the most insane members of the Genius Society dare not act recklessly in their presence. A slight misstep will result in being reduced to ashes. Even the most approachable Yaoshi among the Aeon has left most of the lives that have come into contact with him in a state worse than death.
It is precisely because the existence and purpose of the Aeon are too difficult to fathom, and because they themselves are extremely dangerous, that they set up the Simulated Universe project in order to reduce risks and increase the success rate.
But what's happening now has completely shattered Herta's original plans. After all, who would have thought that a sandbox simulation game could attract the attention of the main character?
However, what really caught Herta's attention this time was Bai Jun, who stood to the side with a gloomy expression. This was not only because he had attracted the attention of two Aeon, but more importantly because he had actually survived Nanook's clutches.
If Nous represents rationality and wisdom, then Nanook is completely Nous, symbolizing extreme destruction and rage. The two represent different Path, and it is not easy to simply judge which is stronger or weaker, but one thing is certain.
--At least in terms of strength, Nanook was far superior to Nous.
Just now, in the instant that Nanook set his sights on her, even though her gaze lingered on the Herta's puppet body for less than half a second, that cold and furious power still made her feel the absolute threat of death, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. Even her true self, far away in the sky, felt this terrifying pressure.
Even for beings at the Emanator level, Herta didn't believe many could survive against Nanook, who exuded such an aura. Yet Bai Jun managed to hold out against him until she reacted and disconnected the simulation immersion device. This in itself was a miracle.
Then Herta's expression changed.
If at first they were just looking at Bai Jun with curiosity, now they were looking at him with a desire to take him apart and see what was inside.
However, the investigation into Bai Jun could be postponed for later; there were more important matters to attend to right now. So Herta looked at Arlan and said, "Arlan, take Bai Jun away first. Get him checked out in the medical pod, and then let him relax a bit."
"But what about the branches and vines here—"
"You don't need to worry about it. The power of Abundance is not to be underestimated. I have my own ways of dealing with these seeds. Your presence here will only hold me back."
Herta abruptly interrupted Arlan, displaying an impatient attitude as if shooing away flies. Seeing this, Arlan had no choice but to Shush and prepare to leave the cluttered office with Bai Jun.
"By the way, Bai Jun, uh, I need to apologize to you. I admit I was a bit too eager for quick success... I didn't expect something like this to happen. Anyway, I'm sorry."
Suddenly, a faint buzzing sound came from behind. Bai Jun turned his head and saw that Herta, who was staring intently at the control panel, had turned his head slightly away.
"Stop looking, go back and rest. Remember to come at the same time tomorrow."
After uttering those words, Herta turned away completely and said no more.
After hearing the two footsteps fade into the distance, Herta silently picked up his communication device, hesitated for a moment, and then sent a message to the others who were also designers of the Simulated Universe.
The "Simulated Universe" project was jointly initiated by four members of the "Genius Society": #81 Nguyen May, responsible for cultivating the Primarch of the Simulated Aeon; #76 Screwllum, responsible for writing the underlying logic of the program and calculating the galaxy; and #83 Herta, responsible for providing the venue, manpower, resources, and adding some interesting systems.
Also, there's #84 "Weirdo" Stephen Lloyd... Oh, right, he doesn't want to reveal his involvement in the project, so we'll remove him.
"Bai Jun, just how many surprises can you bring me?"
Deep blue light streamed into the room from the shattered, enormous screen, illuminating the silent, Herta's profile.
"Bai Jun, are you sure you don't need to go to the medical ward for a checkup?"
Arlan looked at Bai Jun, who had been silent the whole way, and asked with some concern.
"Really, it's not necessary. I'm not injured."
Unlike when he arrived, Bai Jun now had his eyes lowered. Although his tone of voice had not changed, his expression looked somewhat gloomy. Although his appearance was usually rather cold, he usually exuded a gentle and kind temperament. But now it was different; he seemed to be suppressing a nameless rage.
And it seems to lack a sense of leisurely ease... almost like a deep sense of anxiety?
Arlan had no idea what had happened in the office, but he could tell that Bai Jun was wavering. Even so, he didn't know what comforting words to say. If Miss Asta were here, it would be fine, but since he was alone...
Wouldn't it be better to just not say anything and disturb him?
Arlan chose what he considered the wisest course of action: to obediently shut his mouth and let Bai Jun stay quiet for a while.
"Arlan, do you know where the nearest star to the space station is?"
Bai Jun, who had walked ahead, asked Arlan a question that puzzled him. After thinking about it seriously, Alan replied, "Near Azure Planet."
"Could you tell me the exact location? I'd like to take a starship there later to take a look, and also... confirm some things."
"No problem, I'll send it to your messaging app in a bit."
Arlan didn't ask any more questions and nodded silently. He knew that everyone had their own way of regulating their emotions. For example, Miss Asta's way was to indulge in shopping. Perhaps Bai Jun just wanted to clear his head.
Bai Jun suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Arlan, who was walking behind Bai Jun, bumped into him unexpectedly. Bai Jun didn't pay attention to it and turned his head to look around.
... There was a strange feeling. Although Bai Jun did not sense any murderous intent or malice, he definitely felt someone staring at him for a moment just now.
That was a gaze that looked at an object with undisguised scrutiny, as if making a confirmation; it was something that most people couldn't imitate.
A woman stood alone in front of the water dispenser, preparing to make coffee; two Security Department chatted idly on the roadside; an unlucky fellow carrying a large stack of documents, intending to hand them in, but ending up scattering them all over the ground in front of the door... Bai Jun scanned the crowd moving along the cabin road with some confusion, circling around to look at his surroundings.
In the already bustling space station, not a single suspicious figure was found. However, Bai Jun, who was standing in the middle of the road, seemed more suspicious, but he did not care about the gazes of those around him.
Is it just my imagination...?
The current situation can only be explained in two ways: either the nerves were tense after what just happened, causing a hallucination, or the person secretly observing them was so powerful that they couldn't detect them.
"That..."
Hearing the voice behind him, Bai Jun reflexively turned around. Arlan, who was standing behind him, trembled, which might seem exaggerated to others.
"Bai Jun, are you alright? Why did you suddenly stand in the middle of the road?"
Arlan scratched his cheek, seemingly frightened by Bai Jun's terrified gaze.
"I'm fine, sorry, I'm probably just a little nervous. I guess I need to go back to my room and rest for a while."
Listening to his own rapid heartbeat, Bai Jun could only attribute it to his tense nerves. He shook his head with an embarrassed smile and continued walking towards his room.
As he turned a corner, the absent-minded Bai Jun bumped into a figure hurrying past.
Bai Jun swayed slightly, but the other person fell to the ground with a thud, scattering the documents in their arms and letting out a cute gasp.
The girl lying on the ground was wearing a black uniform jacket, the standard uniform for clerks, paired with a long, Jade- green dress that reached her knees. Her soft hair was tied up in a gentle bun, adorned with a black hairpin. The beautiful silver ends of her hair had a hint of green, and it cascaded down her back like a waterfall.