Synchronization

Aemeath turned her head and looked at Lu Yan, who had been standing quietly beside her.

The light from the cockpit illuminated his calm face; there was no panic in his eyes, only a tenderness bordering on tragic.

Aemeath's voice trembled without her even realizing it. "A-Yan... what should I do..."

Lu Yan took a step forward, his palm gently covering Aemeath's hand that was holding the control lever.

Aemeath could clearly feel that familiar, reassuring temperature.

Do what you want.

Lu Yan's voice was deep and firm, each word seeming etched into her heart, "I will stand behind you and protect you, just like I heal you in a game."

Aemeath's pupils contracted slightly.

She looked into Lu Yan's eyes, and in those eyes, she saw an expression she couldn't fully grasp.

"Like when we played games as kids..." Aemeath murmured, then a bright smile spread across her lips.

That smile contained relief, trust, and an almost insane courage.

"Good."

The moment she finished speaking, Aemeath suddenly raised her left hand and pressed it down forcefully.

A piercing alarm instantly filled the cockpit.

"The cabin Frequency has exceeded the threshold. Please adjust the value back!"

The moment the button was pressed, Aemeath was immediately pulled upwards by a terrifying gravitational force.

Aemeath bit her lower lip hard, gripped the control lever tightly with one hand, and forced her body back into the seat.

"Tunneler, you have been asleep for a long time, now..."

"It's time to wake up!"

All data from the training module are rising rapidly.

"Perhaps I'm not the one you're waiting for..."

"The cabin Frequency has exceeded the threshold by three times. Please adjust the value back!" the mechanical female voice coldly repeated.

Aemeath pushed the joystick with all her might, her whole body trembling.

"But now, you must... obey my commands!" Aemeath roared, enunciating each word clearly.

As Aemeath finished speaking, all that remained were the seats and the boundless white expanse.

Aemeath smiled and raised her head, thinking she had succeeded, but the next moment the rumbling of the Tunneler appeared in her mind.

The next moment, countless fragmented images crashed into her mind like a tsunami.

That was the Tunneler's perspective. She saw the city being dragged high into the sky by distorted gravity, the sky cracking open like a shattered mirror, volcanoes erupting in the snow-capped mountains, and large areas of glaciers melting.

Aemeath muttered in surprise, "What was that just now?"

Coming to her senses, she realized she was still in the training pod. She frantically pushed the lever back and forth, muttering to herself, "Why isn't it responding... Move it... Move it..."

"It's too late..." Aemeath looked up at the people fleeing on the screen.

"Move... move faster..."

On the screen, the chaos continues. A mother and child are running when their hands are suddenly separated, and the child screams as he falls into the abyss behind them.

"Get moving!" Aemeath roared.

Desperate, piercing screams echoed in the cockpit, but only deathly silence answered her.

No matter how hard she pushed or pulled the lever, nothing happened.

The scene on the screen was like a living hell.

The crack was like a greedy, gaping maw, relentlessly devouring the running Luo Yiren and everything she knew.

The person who slipped through the mech's fingers and fell into endless darkness, her desperate eyes were like a red-hot dagger, piercing Aemeath's heart.

If even this kind of power can't save anything, then what's the point of her sitting here?

If the machine won't work, then she'll use her soul to power it!

Just as Aemeath was about to completely unleash all restrictions and prepare to Overclocking, countless vivid images flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.

She recalled the rooftop of the Star Torch Academy.

A gentle breeze carries the scent of sunshine and fresh grass.

Lin's chattering laughter still seemed to echo in her ears. Nova always shook her head helplessly. Ella laughed so hard Elara couldn't stand up straight, clutching her stomach as she watched everyone make fools of themselves. Celeste always looked at them with that gentle yet somewhat worried gaze.

There were also happy scenes of them playing in the water.

Those laughters brimming with youthful energy, those daily moments made vibrant by her jokes—these are the most precious bonds she built bit by bit at the Star Torch Academy.

Fragments of images tumbled in the torrent of consciousness, and then the snow-covered Royan Frostlands replaced the sun-drenched academy.

In the fireplace of the Glimmering Lakeside Lodge, orange flames flickered.

The powerful, seemingly omnipotent Rover sister sat by her bedside, awkwardly stroking her head.

"Little Aemeath, I don't expect you to become some great hero,"

In Rover's usually calm eyes, a simple expectation lingered. "I just hope you can live a relaxed and happy life, and live the life you want to live."

But, Sister Rover, I'm sorry.

If I don't shoulder this burden, I'll even lose the right to be carefree and happy.