Light in the Darkness

"Hehe!"

"Delicious!"

"Wahaha!"

A rather sleazy voice rang out, as though its owner were drooling.

Of course, the voice did not come from the young man.

It came from a beggar some distance away.

The beggar looked to be in his thirties and wore tattered clothes. He was doing a one-handed handstand, holding a chocolate-flavored energy bar in his other hand and wolfing it down.

Xiao Ning was kind and loved to share.

The beggar swallowed the energy bar in a few bites, then sucked each of his fingers clean.

Then he planted both hands on the ground, standing upside down and gritting his teeth. He seemed to be straining with all his might, as though he were constipated.

The young man smiled. "Superman, what are you doing?"

"Hehe!"

"Civilian, stand back!"

"I'm activating my superpowers to push Earth away from the moon! The moon is actually a hollow machine. Otherwise, why doesn't it rotate? With all that mass and an orbit so close to us, why hasn't Earth's gravity pulled it down and made it crash?"

"The moon is an alien outpost. They're going to invade Earth soon!"

As the beggar spoke, he kept pushing with both hands, his expression utterly grave.

The young man smiled.

The word "moon" flashed through his mind.

But he did not dare look up at the sky.

Darkness had fallen, and the stars would soon appear.

He had another psychological disorder, though its symptoms were not particularly severe. It was called [cosmic phobia].

The condition was similar to a fear of heights.

Whenever Qin Yiguan stared into the depths of space, at the pinpricks of starlight scattered across the black night sky, an uncontrollable terror erupted inside him.

Phobias were common in psychology and came in many forms.

There were "trypophobia" and "claustrophobia," for instance, and even things like a "fear of slippers" or a "fear of homework."

In short, certain environments or objects made the sufferer intensely uncomfortable.

Dr. House had said that such conditions were usually caused by childhood trauma or some devastating experience.

Qin Yiguan felt helpless about it, too.

Why would I be afraid of the universe for no reason?

As far as he remembered, the farthest he had ever physically traveled from Earth was the roof of a nineteen-story building-the tallest in Rust City.

What the hell did that have to do with the universe?

Fortunately.

The symptoms were easy to control. He simply had to avoid looking at the stars after dark.

Besides, [Cosmic phobia] barely made itself felt. Even in the Experimental Zone, it had not produced any special effects.

As for the beggar.

His nickname was Superman.

That was because he constantly imagined himself to be a superpowered being capable of saving all humanity from catastrophe.

Superman had once been a genuine Half-Human.

He had owned a Nutrient Pod and slept within it in the Central District.

But.

He had been killed in the Metaverse.

No one knew what Superman had experienced.

When someone died in the Metaverse, all sensory data was transmitted in direct proportion.

Death was no exception.

But there were two possible outcomes.

In one, the nervous system transmitted a death signal directly to the brain, causing it to register death. That meant brain death: the person and their virtual identity died simultaneously.

The other seemed somewhat better. The person survived, but barely clung to life. Their body remained alive, while their brain suffered a devastating neurological shock that left them mentally impaired.

Qin Yiguan gazed at the beggar before him.

Superman had suffered the second outcome.

Rumor had it.

He had once been a formidable figure in the Metaverse. His killer had not allowed him to die normally, but had tortured him brutally, making him die a slow death.

His mind had gradually collapsed in the process.

That method had allowed him to survive in reality, but... he had now been reduced to a fool.

Not only had he ended up in Rust City, he lived without a shred of dignity.

Qin Yiguan escorted Xiao Ning home.

Along the way.

The young man's brow remained furrowed.

Others did not know, but he knew perfectly well that the kindly Teacher Qing was the lord of the Snow City of Heavenly Light in the Metaverse's Experimental Zone.

Mu Qingkuang.

A figure renowned throughout the region.

But...

That bleak photograph flashed through the young man's mind.

The Snow City of Heavenly Light... had crashed.

What had happened to Teacher Qing?

He had once steered his city through the sky, a magnificent sight that inspired admiration.

But now, the city he had protected lay in ruins.

Didn't that mean Teacher Qing had been defeated?

Then what had happened to Teacher Qing himself?

"Brother, is something bothering you?"

Though Xiao Ning sat in her wheelchair without sight, she was perceptive and instantly sensed that something was wrong.

The young man hesitated. "Someone who's always been very good to me... I don't know whether he's alive or dead."

"Brother."

"Even though I can't see, I've always felt that you're different from everyone else."

Xiao Ning rested her hands on her knees, looking very calm.

The young man smiled warmly. His little sister was exceptionally clever. She must have been trying to find a way to comfort him.

Then he smiled and asked, "Tell me, Xiao Ning. How am I different?"

"Brother."

"Let me tell you a secret."

With her eyes closed, Xiao Ning tilted her head up slightly, as though sensing the world around her. "Even though I can't open my eyes, I can see. I can see in my mind, just like when I log into the Metaverse."

"I see a world filled with darkness."

"Even in reality, people look like black snakes coiled around one another."

"None of them look human."

"But you, Yiguan, are like a knight draped in the glow of sunset. You're the only thing that shines in this dark world. The darkness can't eat away at you. You're the only whole human being."

"Even though you stand in a world of darkness, you shine your light on the little blades of grass and bugs within it, keeping them alive..."

"That light around you must be your power. It's incredibly strong."

"So."

"You don't need to worry about the present, or the future."

"I truly believe."

"You'll overcome every hardship and danger, and all the evil in this world, one by one."

"You'll triumph wherever you go."

The young man smiled.

Though Xiao Ning's words had no basis at all, they really did ease his worries considerably.

"And."

Xiao Ning suddenly added, "There are so many friends standing behind you, too."

The young man froze, then turned to look behind him.

The street behind him was empty. Not a single person was there.

He shook his head and chuckled. "You really gave me a fright, Xiao Ning. There's nobody behind me."

Her eyes still closed, Xiao Ning said earnestly, "There are. They're definitely there. You just can't see them."