Virtual and Reality

Dr. House slowly pulled out the drawer.

Take out a special item from it.

It resembled a palm-sized toy—nine metal wire rings, which were then fitted onto a horizontally placed long ring. A lever was attached to the bottom of the rings, with nine small wooden beads at the top.

"This is called the Nine Linked Rings."

Dr. House examined the item, saying, "This is one of the rarest antiques in existence, but right now, nobody wants to return to reality, so it's worthless."

Dr. House's fingers were very dexterous as he manipulated the first ring. "Think of it as an intellectual puzzle, like a Rubik's Cube or a Huarong Road puzzle. My goal is to solve and remove all nine rings one by one."

Looking at the intricately linked mechanism, Qin Yiguan, finding it quite complex, asked, "Wouldn't that take a lot of time?"

"Um."

Dr. House nodded. "When you were inquiring about Chen Mudou's symptoms, you mentioned that you had entered the Experimental Zone?"

The boy nodded; in that moment of panic, he had indeed said it.

Dr. House's eyes lit up. "Don't rush things. Now tell me, what happened to you, a patient with severe encephalopathy, after you entered the Experimental Zone?"

"Especially, those brilliant moments?"

Dr. House was quite interested, skillfully manipulating the nine-linked rings with one hand, his eyes fixed intently on the boy.

Qin Yiguan hesitated for a moment.

Firstly, based on my long-term contact with him, at least in my own judgment, Dr. House is definitely not a bad person.

Secondly, lying or hiding the truth would probably be useless; Dr. House only needs to use hypnosis, and the person will still stupidly blurt out everything.

The boy straightened his body.

He began to tell the story in detail.

"What?"

"Entering the Metaverse in a dream is like falling from the sky on a washing machine?"

"Interesting!"

"What?"

"When you first logged in, you had no Fusion Rate, no identity ID, and you were using a found AI?"

"Fun, fun!"

"None of them are within my understanding!"

"What?"

"Can [Gestalt Collapse] be transformed into that kind of effect?"

"Mechanical Crow that appeared out of nowhere, and it's so ferocious!"

"If you develop this ability to its fullest potential, wouldn't it be like God creating things out of thin air? Although its source lies in your inner fear, it's still a God ability!"

"Oh?"

"[Conscience-Free Syndrome] is just as I thought; it can free you from the control of your emotions!"

"So, [Shadow Syndrome] is the most practical kind of symptom. As the ancient saying goes, 'All beings reside in their own hearts!'"

"You can transform into various people, gaining all sorts of combat abilities anytime, anywhere!"

Dr. House's eyes lit up.

He's incredibly skilled; he can multitask. He's already disassembled the nine-linked rings up to the third link.

"What?"

"Did you kill the people in the Research Society?"

"Tsk tsk, so be it!"

Qin Yiguan hadn't expected Dr. House to react so calmly to the Research Society matter, simply saying, "Kill them, that's all!"

"Has your split personality manifested in a physical form?"

"Black Calamity, Guardian, Child —three personalities?"

"Tsk tsk, that's far from enough! Your understanding of [dissociative identity disorder] is still far from sufficient!"

"Really!"

"Really!"

"In the Metaverse era, human consciousness has been enhanced by the Gemini Superbrain!"

Mental illness is no longer considered an illness!

"It is the liberation from human limitations!"

"It is also an awakening of human consciousness!"

The nine-linked rings in Dr. House's hand jingled.

He pondered Qin Yiguan's descriptions, "What happened to you is far too intricate, interesting, and unheard of. My previous deductions were also quite inaccurate."

"To be honest, I really envy your kind of life—free-spirited, unrestrained, and full of opportunities and surprises!"

I will create a separate project for you next.

"Don't worry, I won't reveal its contents to anyone."

"Once I've sorted everything out, perhaps I can offer some help for your growth."

Qin Yiguan could sense Dr. House's obsession with his story and a strange joy in it. He seemed quite excited, as various psychological illnesses could exhibit special effects within the context of the Metaverse.

At the same time, the boy could also sense Dr. House's sincere desire to help him.

Dr. House gazed at the sky. "Although these abilities of yours all originate within the Metaverse, have you ever considered why the Gemini Superbrain shut down the cosmic module? To put it bluntly, why doesn't it encourage humanity to explore the universe?"

The boy shook his head; he had never thought about that question.

I didn't dare to think too much about the word 'universe'.

Dr. House said, "In just a century, human technology has already advanced to the virtual age. The universe is 13.7 billion years old. In the vast the Starry Night, there must exist extraterrestrials with hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary history. Their technological level is naturally no lower than that of humans."

"So..."

"Imagine that one day, Earth is invaded by advanced extraterrestrial life."

"It's possible that those extraterrestrial life forms won't choose to arrive in their physical forms, but rather log in using some kind of digitized life form!"

"Or perhaps, so-called advanced civilizations are themselves digital life forms!"

"The scenes in movies and novels where aliens pilot spaceships and confront us head-on with their flesh and blood... are all human inventions. Their thinking is inherently limited."

"Qin Yiguan, have you ever heard that saying?"

"The higher the technological level of a civilization, the greater the degree of virtualization of its world."

The boy was stunned. "You mean, one day, we'll develop abilities within the Metaverse, which will become powerful tools to protect our home? And the Metaverse will become our battlefield to protect our home?"

Dr. House tilted his head. "I'm afraid only the Gemini Superbrain can answer this question for you."

Hearing this, Qin Yiguan countered with, "What if those aliens aren't digital life forms, or what if they also possess methods of physical attack?"

Dr. House smiled. "In your story just now, didn't you mention something... called, Source Matter? You weren't guessing that it might... enable the conversion between code and reality?"

The boy paused.

The ' Source Matter ' that Brother Lu left for himself is still stored in the smartwatch in the form of 'garbled code'. From another perspective, the Source Matter has indeed run from the Metaverse into reality.

But God's Abandoned believes...

Source Matter is a type of compilable code that can reshape Wanrou within the Metaverse.

But then Dr. House continued, "Haven't you ever thought about why you're 'invisible' in the Central District, and why your dreams can connect to the Metaverse?"

"Perhaps, you yourself are a digital life form."

"It exists in reality, and it also exists in the virtual world."

The boy suddenly fell silent.

"Hehe, all of the above is just my guess."

Dr. House chuckled, "Oh, right."

"As your therapist, I have the right to withhold certain information about your condition from you based on your psychological state."

"Now, I can tell you a little more."

"You have another personality."

We chatted for a bit.

It calls itself— the Boundless One.

PS: Nine Linked Rings