Out of the Game

He opened his eyes.

That vast and boundless perspective is gone forever.

All they could see was the low ceiling.

Because of neglect, there was a dusty spider web and a dried-up spider carcass in the corner.

My gaze shifted slightly and fell upon the black curtains swaying gently. As the wind blew in, gaps appeared in the curtains, through which sunlight filtered in, illuminating the real world in alternating light and shadow.

Qin Yiguan shifted slightly.

I feel like my throat is blocked and I can't breathe.

He tilted his head slightly, and the blood that had been accumulating in his mouth was spat out.

He sat up somewhat blankly and saw a large amount of dried blood on his chest. Even the sheets beneath him were stained red with blood, and his hands, which had been placed at his sides, were also stained red with the meandering blood.

This is Rust City.

It's Qin Yiguan's two-story apartment.

He got up, pulled back the black curtains, and saw only a narrow view of the deserted, Ghost City- like streets.

This is his seventh attempt to enter the Metaverse again through sleep.

But all attempts failed.

Previously in the Metaverse, he frantically activated [HSP Hypersensitivity], resulting in him 'going into a state of demonic possession'. Incredibly, he clearly saw the shattered neural network in his brain.

fortunately.

There were no serious consequences; he was simply forcibly "logged offline."

But without any hesitation, he prepared to fall back asleep and re-enter the Metaverse.

Now, he has finally realized a terrible reality.

He can never go back.

He wasn't forcibly logged off; he was 'permanently kicked out'.

Qin Yiguan's eyes widened, and he seemed somewhat dazed and wooden.

Friends are still fighting to the death for themselves, and the outcome is uncertain.

But he himself could never go back.

Qin Yiguan reached out and pinched his forehead hard. He still had that intense headache, as if there was a meat grinder in his brain that was constantly churning it!

"Oh shit."

"Was I tricked by them?"

Qin Yiguan's eyes widened. "They deliberately put pressure on me, forcing me to push beyond my limits, but those limits are simply beyond my capacity to bear."

"Now, I'm out of the game."

"Completely isolated, completely helpless!"

Qin Yiguan raised his head, looking at the desolate Rust City, his Pupil trembling violently.

The exhilarating grudges, the astonishing battles, and the grand scenes of the Metaverse remain vividly in my memory, but they have become a past that can never be returned to.

It was a bizarre and fantastical dream, and it has shattered.

All that remained was boundless desolation and loneliness.

Qin Yiguan seemed to suddenly realize something, turned around and ran down the stairs to Xiao Ning's apartment not far away.

The girl in the red dress was still asleep in the Nutrient Pod, her eyes closed, her eyelashes trembling slightly.

Qin Yiguan's body trembled slightly. "Are you all alright?"

The next moment.

Qin Yiguan arrived at the empty street.

Suddenly, he roared, "Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?!"

Although there are thousands of lights in every home, and although every house has an owner.

But in this city, only Qin Yiguan's voice echoed slowly, and no matter how far it drifted, no one answered.

Qin Yiguan slowly knelt down on the street, his throat dry. "This time, I really can't think of a solution!"

Suddenly.

Qin Yiguan touched the pocket of his jacket and felt an extremely sharp sensation. His wrist was instantly pierced, and blood flowed out.

Qin Yiguan paused, then slowly took out an item from his pocket.

It turned out to be an object that looked like a black sea urchin.

Qin Yiguan's Pupil suddenly contracted.

In the Experimental Zone, to prevent himself from falling into the bizarre dream again, he modified the Smiling Face Cane into a sharp thorn, which he always held in his hand, just in case.

Hold the thorny tribulus in front of your eyes and rotate it slightly.

Qin Yiguan stared intently at it, and behind the thorns and brambles were low-rise apartments and dilapidated fountains— the Rust City he knew so well.

Qin Yiguan rubbed his eyes again; the scene remained the same, unchanged.

--Did I bring items from the Metaverse into the physical world?

Qin Yiguan swallowed hard and tentatively called out, "Smiling Face Cane?"

But then the 'black sea urchin' began to wriggle, and then transformed into a smooth black bracelet, which darted into Qin Yiguan's sleeve with a whoosh.

Qin Yiguan was somewhat shocked.

He slowly rolled up his sleeves, and saw a black face appear on the surface of the bracelet, grinning with tiny white teeth.

Qin Yiguan felt dizzy again.

The incredibly real Rust City surrounding him was shrouded in a thin, illusory mist in his mind.

Qin Yiguan understood this perfectly well.

In reality, it's impossible for anyone to create Smiling Face Cane exactly like the one in the Metaverse, and for that person to secretly slip it into their pocket without their knowledge.

The only possibility is that he brought the items out of the Metaverse.

The Metaverse is a virtual world where objects are essentially just strings of code; how could they possibly be brought into the physical world?

The only explanation is...

This so-called 'physical world'...

"Is what you perceive as reality necessarily reality?" -- Jiaolong

The words echoed in Qin Yiguan's mind.

A thunderous roar erupted in my mind!

If both worlds are made of code, then items can naturally circulate freely.

Qin Yiguan recalled a statement made by the Boundless One: "I can temporarily bring your consciousness back to reality and allow you to see the truth behind your parents' tragic death, but this will cause 'soul wear and tear'."

Consciousness returns to reality...

Soul wear and tear...

Qin Yiguan's clear black and white eyes widened further. "Now that I think about it, how could consciousness possibly return to the past? As a product of the dual Metaverse, how could the Boundless One possibly penetrate the barrier of the real world... The only world he could travel to was different code worlds."

Qin Yiguan then looked at the Rust City, which he knew all too well.

This is his idea of 'reality': an incredibly real person in a very backward world.

This was once a Last Paradise, a place where a large number of Castoffs gathered because they couldn't log into the Metaverse...

Is this place fake too?

At that very moment.

Not far from Qin Yiguan, a figure with nearly 90% transparency suddenly appeared. His mouth was not visible, but his voice could be heard.

"I am."

"Super Lord Organization, Void Man."

Our expulsion of you is not yet complete.

Qin Yiguan simply looked calmly at the guy who called himself Void Man, and then ignored him.

Instead, he turned to look at Xiao Ning's apartment.

"What if everything here is fake?"

"What is Xiao Ning?"

What is Jiu Zhengxuan lying in the Central District?

"Do the Meinan and Mudou have their own bodies?"

Do they exist?

"And what is my Qin Yiguan?"

Are we... even human?