Master, again

...Ah?

What's going on?

Fang Qi stared blankly at the gentle silver-haired girl in front of him.

No... wait?

Huh?

He slowly lowered his head and looked blankly at the clothes he was wearing.

It wasn't his pajamas, but the undershirt he wore when he went out, with slightly wrinkled cuffs.

He hadn't changed when he came back. He wore this to eat, held Liguang while watching TV, and only changed into his pajamas right before bed.

He looked up again at the silver-haired girl who was smiling meekly in front of him.

Liguang was kneeling on the opposite side of the coffee table, her posture gentle and elegant.

He looked up blankly and glanced at the clock on the wall again.

Exactly seven o'clock. The second hand was ticking.

...Hah?

He blinked, then squeezed his eyes shut tightly...

And looked again.

Seven o'clock.

His mind went completely blank.

...No way?

Wasn't he... just sleeping?

Wasn't he lying in bed, listening to Liguang hum a lullaby, and falling asleep comfortably?!

The song she hummed was very light and soft, the melody simple and familiar...

His consciousness had sunk bit by bit until he knew nothing at all.

And then...

He opened his eyes and was back here?!

Back on the living room sofa, with Liguang kneeling across the coffee table, holding that cup of 52-degree tea?

Ah?

He had loaded a save?!

Returned to the morning of the eighth day... where he had just saved the game?

Fang Qi stared blankly at the cup of tea in front of him, which was still emitting curling steam.

This cup of tea... he seemed to have just drunk it, right?

...Not seemed to!

He had literally just drunk it!

This, this... this wasn't right, was it?!

He drank the tea! Saved the game! And then went to sleep!

He didn't do anything, didn't even have a dream, and then he just closed his eyes and opened them—

...And he was back?

Fang Qi froze completely on the sofa.

He wanted to think, but...

His brain felt like a pile of mush, completely stuck!

He was too sleepy!

His eyelids were fighting to stay open.

His head was groggy, and his temples were throbbing.

Damn it.

He suddenly realized—

This save point...!

This! Sleep! Schedule!

Damn it, damn it, damn it...!

He had previously thought this schedule was pretty good!

Saving before sleeping gave him a full sense of security and let him sleep soundly!

But he forgot...

This also had a drawback, and a very prominent one at that—

Every time he loaded a save, he would be extremely sleepy!

His mental state would be terrible!

Loading a save meant returning to the exact moment he saved, and when he saved... he was dead tired and about to go to sleep!

So now... he was the Fang Qi who had stayed up all night!

He should go to sleep right now!

But...

Sleep my ass!

The moment he closed his eyes, he would reset to the save point again!

...Ah?!

He exerted a tremendous amount of effort to finally clear up the mush in his brain just a little bit...

Staring blankly at the silver-haired girl who was tilting her head slightly in front of him, he began to think desperately!

...Why?

Why did he load the save?!

Wait... wait...

Let's sort this out... what were the conditions for loading a save again?

It was when his body suffered irreversible damage, or... Liguang was destroyed and reset.

So during the time after he fell asleep...

What exactly happened to make him reset?!

Liguang being destroyed and reset... that was impossible!

How could Liguang be destroyed and reset silently!

Her charging pod was already in the same room as him. If something really happened to Liguang, like the people from Dawn forcing their way in...

Wouldn't he have woken up on the spot?

So...

Was it his body that suffered irreversible damage?

...Why?

Could it be...!

His pupils suddenly contracted!

He snapped his head up and glared straight at the silver-haired girl in front of him!

...Did Liguang do something to him?!

She... hadn't she always wanted to modify him?

Hadn't she always wanted to turn him into an existence like her?

Could it be that after he fell asleep... she couldn't hold back and made a move?

The silver-haired girl was currently looking at him with a meek smile.

When Fang Qi glared at her, she was visibly startled for a moment, and then...

Subconsciously shrank her neck back.

Master...

Her voice was cautious, and she blinked in confusion:

...Why are you looking at Liguang like that?

Fang Qi stared at her small face written all over with innocence, his eyelids twitching non-stop!

...No.

Impossible!

He forced himself to perk up and continued to think—

Xiaoyue had said that modifying the human body was no joke!

If the scalpel cut the wrong place, it would be all over!

If Liguang wanted to modify him, she had to undergo training first, learn those complex medical knowledges, and do it under Twilight's guidance.

She couldn't possibly operate on him directly without training!

She couldn't even bear to really snatch a taser, so how could she secretly use a scalpel on him while he was sleeping, without any safeguards?

...This was absolutely impossible!

So... what was the reason exactly?

Fang Qi's brain started to stall again!

He! Was! Really! Too! Sleepy!

When he saved the game, it just had to be when he was the sleepiest...!

This crappy save-loading mechanic... Since he had loaded a save, couldn't it restore his mental state a bit better...!

Why did it have to be so realistic...!

He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes vigorously again!

He really wanted to sleep, but sleeping would trigger a save load...!

Sleeping triggers a save load...?

A flash of insight struck his mind!

Hey, hey, hey, it couldn't be...

Eternal Slumber, right?!

The ending where if the player's emotional progress is too fast, but the memories aren't enough... Liguang would inject a serum while the player is fast asleep, causing them to fall into a permanent slumber?!

He looked at the silver-haired girl in front of him who was tilting her head slightly, seemingly observing him with some confusion.

...This was even more freaking wrong!

He and Liguang had experienced so much, and Liguang remembered so much now: the island elopement, the monster in the mirror, Twilight's secret...

The memories were super enough!

More than enough!

And yet right now... he hadn't even used all of Liguang's various functions!

...What was so fast about it!

It was already very slow, okay!

Not to mention she was currently so looking forward to modifying him, wanting him to be with her forever through modification!

The current Liguang... how could she silently put him into Eternal Slumber!

Damn it...!

It wasn't Liguang?

Then was it an external cause?

But an external cause... was also unlikely?!

He was under Liguang's protection. Even if Liguang went to charge, that charging pod was facing right at his face!

If something really happened, Liguang would definitely take action! How could he load a save silently...

Could it be... while lying in bed, he was suddenly sniped in the head? Like An Lian in that first playthrough...?

Could it be that a missile hit his house and took him out on the spot...?

Could it be that a meteorite fell from the sky and Earth was directly destroyed...?

...Stop letting your imagination run wild!

He slapped his forehead hard!

He wanted to think seriously, but his brain really wasn't listening to his commands!

His spirit was truly sluggish...

Damn it... was it still in time for him to adjust his sleep schedule now...

Fuck, could it be that he died suddenly from staying up late, and that's why he suddenly loaded a save...

He sat on the sofa, completely sinking into a state of... exhaustion, confusion, panic, and sheer irritation!

He took a deep breath, trying to force himself to wake up a bit more.

Then he noticed—

The silver-haired girl was tilting her head slightly, looking at him.

Her amber left eye was still misty, but the crimson in her red right eye was... pulsing rhythmically.

She gently lowered her head again, looking at the teacup on the table.

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes, rubbing his temples hard.

Crazy woman...

Did you actually do this or not?

Liguang looked up at him again, the crimson in her red eye flashing a little faster.

Then, she glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was three minutes past seven, and the second hand was ticking away, second by second.

Then he heard Liguang speak.

"Master."

Her voice was very soft.

Fang Qi rubbed his temples and lifted his eyelids to look at her. "Hmm?"

The silver-haired girl was looking right at him.

Her heterochromatic eyes were staring intently at his face!

Fang Qi: "...?"

Huh?

That look in her eyes...

Why did it feel like she was about to snap and turn dark?

"Master..."

She spoke again.

Her voice was meek and gentle, but her pace was very slow.

"Master, it happened again."

"Once again, while drinking tea in the morning..."

Her flashing crimson eye narrowed slightly:

"You suddenly started acting strange."

...Ah?

What...?

Fang Qi blinked.

He stared blankly at Liguang, the mush in his brain still spinning sluggishly.

What exactly... is that supposed to mean?