A New World

Sitting on such a tall building.

There should be wind.

But my body no longer has the organs to feel the wind.

I have no skin, no eyeballs, and no hair.

I can't feel the air moving, I can't feel the coolness from the evaporation of sweat, and I can't feel my hair swaying.

Qin Yiguan sat quietly on the edge of the building, muttering to himself, "This is Awakening, this is reality."

Boss Meng's voice came slowly, "Don't worry, this mechanical body is temporary. The Gemini Superbrain will soon create entirely new code for us, and we will soon return to a brand new, vibrant, and fully-fledged virtual world."

Qin Yiguan slowly turned around, "Brand new?"

Do you remember?

Boss Meng calmly said, "Your number is 0573, which is the same as your serial number in this universe within the Metaverse. Now that you have ' Awakening,' that universe has been abandoned."

Qin Yiguan's voice rose and fell slightly, "What do you mean by 'abandoned'?"

"The Gemini Superbrain aim to save computational efficiency."

"Only what you see will generate a virtual world."

"When you stop looking at it, those worlds will vanish into nothingness, releasing the corresponding computing space."

"Everything there—the grudges, the love, the friendships—is virtual."

Boss Meng slowly said, "Over the years, only I, your parents, and Jiao Shensan were truly human consciousnesses. We were a 'consciousness group,' keeping each other company there. But now, we have all awakened, so that world has lost its meaning."

Qin Yiguan was puzzled, "Before I Awakening, I was at the center of a vortex. I was the person that Liu Yuan and the Gemini Superbrain were fighting over, those..."

Boss Meng interrupted Qin Yiguan, "Those are all fictional events, just to make your world more realistic."

Qin Yiguan's body stiffened slightly.

Suddenly, Boss Meng laughed and said, "If you do the math, you're already 78 years old. You have the brain of an adult. From now on, you'll enter an independent virtual world, make new friends, and embark on a thrilling and exciting journey. Everything you've lost will come back to you."

A stillness fell over the air.

Qin Yiguan remained quietly observing the world before him.

I still can't feel the wind.

He pondered many things, but in the final moment, he felt that everything he had thought about was meaningless.

A gentle voice came from beside me, "Yiguan, it's time for your free time. You should embrace this new world."

Qin Yiguan, with his pink head slightly raised, stared at ' Boss Meng ' for a long, long time.

Finally, Qin Yiguan's voice system flickered slightly, "Okay, Boss Meng."

A magnetically levitated robot flew in from a distance, removed Qin Yiguan's pink brain from its mechanical body, and carried the brain back to the building.

And in that very moment...

This brain, named Qin Yiguan, has lost all its sensory transmission devices.

He was plunged into a dark space.

He could hear no sound, see no sight, and feel no vibration. His consciousness was completely silent, and he had no idea where he had been moved to.

"Qin Yiguan, do you think I'm fake too?"

Suddenly, a melodious and ethereal voice rang out in the dark space.

Qin Yiguan looked around blankly, but suddenly realized that he could see every corner of this dark space without doing anything.

A stunningly beautiful woman, dressed in white silk trousers and a black fitted vest, with short silver hair, stood quietly in front of them.

"Jiaolong..."

Qin Yiguan's voice echoed in all directions.

Jiaolong's neat short hair swayed slightly, and her beautiful eyes flickered frequently. "I knew long ago that you would have this day, so a long time ago, I tattooed myself into your mind."

Qin Yiguan's voice was filled with deep confusion, "'A day like this'... What happened to me?"

"Rust City is indeed not the real world."

That's just a layer of the Metaverse.

"The same."

"The ' Living Brain Era ' that you just witnessed is not the real world either; it is still one layer of the Metaverse."

"Because the ability of the Void Man is called ' Divergent Track '."

Jiaolong raised her head slightly, "This ability can distort digital space and change your destination. You were indeed about to return to reality, but Void Man distorted your path during this process."

"That's what brought you here."

"This is merely a simulation and projection of Future scenarios by the Gemini Superbrain."

"A project that's almost come to a standstill."

"One layer of the true Matrix Universe."

"If you give up resisting, you will be forever trapped here, which is tantamount to 'death'."

"You need a Passphrase now."

"A Passphrase to shatter this place and return to reality."

"This ' Passphrase ' is unique and confidential, and it's specific to each individual, so I can't give you a hint."

You need to find it yourself.

"I trust you."

I'll be waiting for you in the real world.

Suddenly.

The Jiaolong figure disappeared.

Like the only angel of light in this dark world, he vanished.

but.

Jiaolong left a legacy of light for this world.

Qin Yiguan's heart, which had been ashen, suddenly began to pound. Something called 'hope' spread like wildfire, growing wildly and dispelling all darkness.

"This world is fake!"

"That Boss Meng is a fake too!"

"So everything it says is a lie!"

I haven't reached the real world yet!

Nothing is settled yet!

Qin Yiguan's voice echoed in this dark world.

"Passphrase..."

Jiaolong said I need a "Passphrase"...

What exactly is this "Passphrase"?

"It must be some kind of truth, revealing the truth about this virtual world in a single sentence."

"Now I know this world is fake."

"What kind of Passphrase can break through it..."

In the dark world, Qin Yiguan's body suddenly materialized. He knelt on the ground, head bowed, hands hanging naturally at his sides.

Suddenly.

He tilted his head slightly, his mouth opened and closed, and slowly uttered a few words.

Rust City No. 03.

The Void Man, with 90% transparency, stared with great interest at the downy hair on Qin Yiguan's corpse.

He slowly stretched out his arm, which faded from its transparent state to become a fleshy arm just like a normal human's, and gently touched the white downy hair.

Suddenly.

The spores and fuzz rising in the air instantly retracted into Qin Yiguan's body, as if time had reversed.

The boy, whose head was bowed, suddenly opened his clear, black-and-white eyes.

Brush!

Silver fingernails had already grown on the boy's palm. A flash of silver light appeared, and Void Man's exposed arm was severed, tumbling into the air, blood splattering everywhere!