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Why would a Beastmaster protect Pilot?

Lu Xiu stood on the edge of the rooftop, a gentle breeze blowing, causing her soft hair to sway softly.

She tilted her head, looking at the silver-haired girl beside her with some surprise.

I never expected that this was the question she so earnestly wanted to ask.

Jian Li said calmly, "I'm very curious."

"I see. I'll have to think carefully about how to answer you."

Lu Xiu didn't answer immediately. Instead, she thought for a moment and then sat down on the edge of the rooftop, dangling her legs in mid-air and swinging them gently.

Jian Li stood behind her, waited for a while, then hesitated for a moment before sitting down next to her. Her legs, beneath her skirt, were as white as snow, as lustrous and radiant as the finest jade.

The two sat side by side on the rooftop, with a dilapidated concrete jungle below and the clear autumn sky of Chen Capital above.

"I've thought about it, and I have so many answers I could give you."

Lu Xiu pondered for a moment, then finally smiled and said, "You've played Resident Evil, right?"

Jian Li nodded gently.

"Ethan's just an ordinary person, but in the end, he braved the demon's lair for his wife. Most people wouldn't dare to do that; they might just turn around and leave when they see Baker Estate."

Lu Xiu paused as she spoke, then continued, "But Ethan just rushed in. Why do you think that was? It's not surprising that a husband would muster up the courage to save the person he loves, is it?"

"The reason why BT protects Pilot is explained in the story. As Vanguard-class Titan, BT has a built-in highest priority command called Protocol 3. This protocol requires Titans to prioritize the safety of Pilot under any circumstances, even if it means their own destruction."

"In addition, BT is not an ordinary AI, but an advanced artificial intelligence with the ability to learn and adapt. In the process of carrying out missions together with Cooper, it witnessed Cooper —that is, you—grow from a recruit to a qualified Pilot, accompanied you throughout the process, recognized your growth, and even called you my Pilot."

This mutual bond also makes BTs protect Pilot, even to the point of being voluntary.

"Furthermore, BT belongs to the Militia. Unlike the villainous IMC in the instance who treats Titans as Consumable, the Militia sees Titans as comrades-in-arms equal to Pilot. BT's sacrifice also aligns with the Militia's philosophy that Pilot and Titans are one."

"In short, I could give you a whole bunch of reasons like that, but you probably don't want to hear them, right?"

Lu Xiu turned her head to look at Jian Li's profile.

Jian Li nodded slowly, her waist-length silver hair fluttering in the wind.

"As expected, you're one of those people who have nothing, no connections, and no resources."

What is "three no's"?

"The 'three no's' simply refers to girls who have no expression, speak very little, and seem to have no emotions."

Looking at Jian Li's stunningly beautiful yet expressionless face, Lu Xiu tilted her head and couldn't help but chuckle softly, "Actually, this morning, when you lifted your skirt to show me your safety shorts, I felt you were probably this type of person, and now it seems I really am."

Jian Li's cool eyes held a probing look. "What does this have to do with the ending of the dungeon?"

"Yes, I have."

Lu Xiu extended her slender, white fingers and gently tapped her chest. Then she withdrew her hand, placed her hands behind her back, leaned back slightly, and squinted her eyes contentedly in the autumn breeze. "This means you resist what your heart feels."

Jian Li: "----"

Let me guess what happened to you last night.

Lu Xiu continued, "You were actually moved by the dungeon, right? And then you felt it was incredible, very confusing----"

You can't figure it out, and you might not be able to sleep at night because your rational mind tells you that it's illogical. You can't understand why you were moved, even though it's just a robot that's simply executing a low-level protocol.

But during the dungeon run, you were genuinely moved. You liked that Titan, felt sad about its sacrifice, but couldn't understand it, found it inexplicable, and came to ask me because you couldn't figure it out, right?"

Jian Li fell silent.

The wind blew through her long silver hair again, and a subtle ripple of emotion flickered in her beautiful, otherworldly eyes, as if her innermost thoughts had been touched.

"But feelings are just so inexplicable."

Lu Xiu looked at the girl beside her with bright eyes, and on a whim, she felt that she could play the role of a caring older sister.

She patted Jian Li on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Humans will jump into icy rivers to save people who have fallen into the water, soldiers will use their bodies to block bullets to cover their comrades, and even a complete stranger may lend you a hand in a moment of crisis."

These are the beautiful parts of human nature, which naturally touch us.

Now, the protagonist has simply been replaced by a robot. Although this robot seems to only act rigidly according to the protocol, its final gamble seems to transcend the programmed settings and possess a true soul.

This also touches us deeply; isn't that perfectly normal?

"Don't resist the beautiful emotions of humanity, Jian Li."

"Otherwise, you'll find living too tiring. You're human too, so why can't you understand? If you really can't understand, then accept it. For example, if you're sad about BT's sacrifice right now, then boldly admit that you're sad."

----Should we boldly admit it?

Jian Li lowered her eyes, looking at the hem of her skirt, then raised her head. "So what are you thinking? Why do you insist on BT sacrificing himself?"

"Did you get into the zone so quickly? Jumping straight into the questioning phase?"

Lu Xiu recoiled from her shoulder as if she'd been electrocuted, somewhat shocked.

Could it be...?

Do I have the potential to become a psychotherapist?

Or is this a fake, counterfeit product?

But Jian Li's delicate and beautiful face remained expressionless—it seemed to be an illusion; she had simply asked the question casually.

"If you're asking about the surface-level reasons, I've already already said that—"

Lu Xiu banished the jumbled thoughts from her mind, smiled gently, tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and looked ahead. "But none of those reasons are the reason why BT has to die. Of course, I can change the ending. For example, I can explicitly say at the end that BT's data was uploaded to the Pilot's helmet, so that players can both feel the final shock and get a good ending."

But I didn't do that, mainly because I didn't want to ruin those touching and moving moments in my mind. I could accept building the story into a copy just to survive, but to change it beyond recognition would be too unfair to the person I was back then. If it were a bad story, I could change it, but this isn't a bad story."

then.

Lu Xiu sat in front of the computer, playing until that level.

It was truly breathtaking.

Jian Li didn't quite understand. "----You mean yourself when you were conceiving the script?"

Just treat it as a script.

Lu Xiu leaned back slightly, stretching lazily in the autumn breeze, revealing her graceful curves. "Another reason is that I did it on purpose. At first, I just thought Titanfall was cool, but during the construction process, as I worked on it, I suddenly realized that this dungeon is actually quite suitable for this world—this world is too boring."

"But this isn't your fault. The pressure to survive is ever-present, and it's really difficult to expect you to enjoy the dungeon under these circumstances."

"A gamified world—isn't this a giant game?"

"Since it's a game, how can it only have cold, hard numbers, dungeons, death penalties, and Survival Points? That would be too depressing."

"Perhaps many people will never be able to experience the fun and charm of games in this gamified world, but I still want to let you experience something else."

For example, the ultimate romance, the boundless imagination, or even just getting teary-eyed over a fictional mecha—the pain and regret—can sometimes make you feel truly alive, like a flesh-and-blood human being, rather than a walking corpse wielding swords merely for survival, more than an SSS-class weapon.

"But this should be the last time."

Jian Li looked at the beautiful Architect. She felt that the architect was more dazzling than the sunlight at that moment.

She was silent for a moment, then finally asked, "Why is this the last time?"

"Survival Points."

Lu Xiu looked down at the abandoned concrete jungle. A bird flew out of the window of an unfinished building, fluttering between the dilapidated buildings before disappearing onto the rooftop opposite.

"The pressure at the Survival Points is too great. Even something as simple as Titanfall is difficult for many to complete on their first try. And the entrance fee and the death penalty are not light. Under these circumstances, how can we talk about experiencing the charm? At least, it's impossible for everyone to feel it."

"Perhaps many more people are struggling to even survive."

"I suddenly realized this when I saw it on the forum this morning. I think I only had 23 Survival Points left."

"So no matter what dungeon I play next, I don't think the situation will change much, unless it's super easy----"

However, the rewards for these types of dungeons aren't necessarily that great, so Titanfall was my last attempt. It wasn't too difficult, but the rewards were decent.

"As for what happens next, I don't know."

Lu Xiu chuckled softly, her voice sounding somewhat ethereal in the autumn breeze. "After all, even Architect isn't omnipotent. I can change the rules within a dungeon, but I can't change the underlying logic of this world."

A long silence fell over the rooftop.

The clear, early autumn sunlight shone on the two stunningly beautiful girls.

Jian Li sat there quietly, her waist-length silver hair fluttering gently in the wind. "Anyway, your copy is very interesting."

"Thanks."

Lu Xiu smiled brightly again, "Speaking of which, I also have some things I'd like to ask you."

Jian Li looked at Lu Xiu.

Lu Xiu summoned her System Panel: "Sequence, this requires experience to level up, right? I've seen people on the forums say that, and it seems like they're used to using sequence to assess combat strength?"

Jian Li nodded very slightly. "Yes - the main source of experience is dungeons. Each time you advance to a higher rank, all attributes increase by one, so basically, players at High Sequence have a wealth of dungeon experience and decent attributes."

However, this doesn't represent actual combat strength, as factors such as skills and equipment also play a role. Nevertheless, judging an opponent's strength based on their ranking is indeed a common practice.

"What is your sequence number?"

14.

How many dungeons have you cleared?

"----I haven't calculated it."

"I see."

Lu Xiu looked at her panel, a thoughtful expression on her face.

This thing is basically just a level system.

However, she doesn't have enough experience to level up yet.

This seems to be completely different from the Architect's level. Architect build high-rated dungeons level up extremely quickly.

However, players cannot level up quickly by clearing high-rated dungeons; instead, they need to accumulate experience.

interesting.

If someone consistently runs low-level dungeons and completes a lot of them, wouldn't they also be able to reach High Sequence?

Don't you find me troublesome?

Lu Xiu was deep in thought.

Jian Li's voice rang out again.

Lu Xiu snapped out of her daze and found the silver-haired beauty staring at her without moving, "What's the trouble?"

"I."

Why would I find you troublesome—because you're unemployed, lacking everything?

Lu Xiu was clearly still playing the role of a caring older sister.

Hearing this, she reached out and patted Jian Li's shoulder again, smiling in the clear early autumn sunlight, "That's kind of cute to me in a way."

Jian Li glanced at Lu Xiu, who was smiling broadly, and then lowered her head slightly.

Let's go.

Lu Xiu was a little hungry, so she stood up, dusted herself off, and prepared to call Jian Li to leave.

But just as she stood up, a window suddenly popped open, nearly causing her to fall.

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Lu Xiu: "----?"