A Grand Game

So he didn't dare to jump.

He really didn't dare.

But...

He looked down at the ground beneath him.

It wasn't like the only option was jumping into the abyss.

...Physical suicide?

Smash his head against the ground?

At least there was still a metal floor under his feet, firm enough!

If he slammed his head into it hard enough, he could even bash his brains out!

That kind of thing, he wasn't afraid of!

It was just pain!

He was afraid of death, but he wasn't afraid of pain!

But there was a problem too...

If he didn't manage to kill himself with one hit, and was only deemed to have suffered irreversible damage...

Tsk.

Sometimes, having a too-hard skull was also a hassle...

And if he hit hard enough, really hard, and actually managed to kill himself...

Fang Qi frowned.

That also had a problem!

Because... Liguang wasn't destroyed!

She just had no power left; her body was still perfectly intact!

Every time before, when he triggered a reset by dying, he would enter Liguang's perspective after death!

Then, he would wait for Liguang to be destroyed, and only then would they reset together!

But now Liguang had no power. She was shut down.

After he died, he was supposed to enter Liguang's perspective, but now her perspective...

Was a black screen?

So if he died...

Would he see nothing at all?

Trapped with Liguang in a "battery drained" state in this abyss, unable to die or live...

Forever stuck, in total darkness?

...No, no!

Fang Qi tried hard to remember!

No!

Something similar had happened before!

That time on the deserted island, the "elopement"!

That run, the one at the "End of the World"!

Back then, Liguang was also sinking into the deep sea with her battery nearly drained!

That time, she used her last bit of power, shut down all her sensory modules, and used her remaining energy to weave herself a dream of holding her master forever.

That was also the first time he died!

He jumped off a cliff, smashed his head!

And then, he didn't enter Liguang's live perspective, but rather her perspective from a few days earlier, and saw...

"...The End of the World."

Fang Qi murmured, gazing at the profound darkness around him.

Come to think of it...

This place was more like the real End of the World.

No seawater.

No raft.

No eternal dream.

Only this lonely piece of floor beneath his feet, and the boundless blackness all around.

Liguang, Master and you have really come to the End of the World this time.

Fang Qi stared silently at his surroundings.

Last time at the End of the World, she sank into the deep sea, weaving herself a never-ending drifting dream.

This time, they had come to the End of the World again. And she had sunk down again.

But...

This time, she was sinking in his arms.

So this time, I don't have to go looking for you, Liguang.

Fang Qi looked down at the silver-haired girl resting quietly in his arms.

Liguang, my crazy girl...

This time, Master will wake you up from the dream!

So...

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes.

What exactly should he do?

How to leave this place?

The best way...

Actually, it was what Liguang had done before.

Back then, every time Liguang triggered a reset...

She would kill him first, then destroy herself!

Fang Qi's breathing became slightly heavier!

Killing him was to trigger his "death" reset!

Destroying herself was because, after he died, he would enter her perspective; she had to "die together" with him for them to reset!

And this time...

The roles were reversed!

It was his turn!

His turn to destroy his crazy girl!

And then die together with her, next to her body!

He looked down at Liguang's peaceful sleeping face in his arms...

Reached out, and gently pinched her soft cheek.

So soft and tender.

A little bun without any bones.

"Liguang, my wife, what are we going to do..."

He brought his lips close to her ear, gently nibbling on her soft little earlobe; the coolness of the small star brushed against his jaw.

His breath hit her silver hair, trembling slightly!

"The thought of having to destroy you with my own hands, of dying together with you..."

His gaze grew a little unfocused, and the corners of his mouth inexplicably curled up!

"Master is starting..."

"to get excited too...!"

His Adam's apple bobbed.

Finally, this day had come...!

He was no longer the useless piece of trash she protected behind her, but the one who would end her with his own hands...

And then accompany her as they both woke up from the "dream"!

His fingers slid from her cheek to the back of her neck, pressing against the delicate, warm synthetic skin there.

Then his gaze faltered.

Damn it.

That synthetic skin was tightly closed, stubbornly guarding the physical interface of her core module.

Even with the power drained, this layer of protection...

Was strong enough to withstand most external attacks!

I...!

Tsk!

Fang Qi gritted his teeth, frantically scanning his surroundings!

This "island" under his feet was just a piece of floor, nothing else.

And he was bare-handed, with nothing on him...

How was he supposed to destroy an AI companion with military-grade defense?

His gaze swept over to Gu Xi sitting quietly on the opposite island.

She was still sitting there like a doll.

Her black hair was disheveled, her eyes hollow, staring into the abyss at her feet.

Fang Qi looked at her waist.

The holster was still there, but...

Empty.

That sidearm wasn't on her.

...Of course not.

Gu Xi had been subdued by Liguang at the entrance to B2; her gun had been knocked away when she was captured, and was left outside the door. At this moment...

If the hallway hadn't been swallowed by that blue light, it should...

Still be lying on the corridor floor?

Fang Qi smiled bitterly.

Even if it were still on her, what good would it do?

Across ten meters of dark void, he couldn't even get close, let alone retrieve that gun.

"Sister Xi..."

"This is really a bit troublesome now."

He murmured softly.

"How am I supposed..."

"to leave the 'space' you created?"

He hugged the warm, soft figure tighter and pursed his lips.

"If I had your gun, I could..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly felt...

A burst of heat in his hand!

It was almost burning hot!

"—?!"

Fang Qi looked down.

In the palm of his right hand...

Several strands of blue light were materializing out of thin air!

They weren't like before—sweeping across everything, out of control and violent. They were quiet now, gentle, like a lit nightlight!

Ray after ray, converging from the void into his palm!

Fang Qi: "?!?!"

He instantly widened his eyes!

Wait...?!

What the...?!

If he hadn't been holding his wife, he would have jumped up in shock!

As it was, he was too stunned to speak!

His eyes wide, he watched helplessly as those blue threads of light gathered, intertwined, and solidified in his palm...

And then, taking shape at a visible speed!

From light to outline, from outline to metal, from metal...

To a complete handgun!

The cold, hard feel of metal, solid weight, a pitch-black muzzle!

Exactly the same one he remembered!

"Wha—?!"

Fang Qi's mouth opened and closed, closed and opened!

Staring at the gun in his hand!

Wasn't this... Gu Xi's service pistol?!

His brain short-circuited for a full three seconds!

Then he jerked his head up, staring at Gu Xi on the isolated island across from him.

Then he looked down, gaping at the pistol that had inexplicably appeared in his hand.

Me…?!

…Gu Xi, senior?!

Could it be that this little space of yours…

Activated some kind of “creative mode” for me?!

This…

Is this another kind of “permission”?!

How… how did you just conjure a gun for me?!

I can “create” now?!

But…

Wait, that doesn’t make sense?!

Fang Qi gripped the gun tightly in his hand.

Just now, when he yelled for this room to “revert,”

There was no reaction at all, right? The floor and walls didn’t regenerate.

But now he only casually said, “It’d be great if the gun were in my hand,” even just as a joke…

And it actually materialized?!

So why didn’t it work before…?!

…Ah.

Fang Qi stared intently at the gun in his hand.

He noticed a small scratch on the muzzle, the kind made from scraping against the ground.

This, apparently, wasn’t a pistol he had “created.”

…This was Gu Xi’s service weapon!

He hadn’t created it, hadn’t summoned it from nothing—instead, he had…

Moved this gun into his own hand?

…It seemed he understood now.

The floor had been devoured by the blue code earlier. It no longer existed, so of course it couldn’t be restored.

But this gun had always existed!

It had simply been left outside?

His pupils dilated slightly.

Anyway…

This “space” that Gu Xi had created was responding to his “commands”?

Fang Qi’s breathing quickened.

He stared at the pistol in his hand for a long time, then slowly raised his head to look at Gu Xi on that isolated island, her head still drooping like a doll’s.

Is this the last thing you left for me, senior?

You sacrificed your soul to the code, leaving that code in this space…

And it still retains your final intent—to let me escape from here.

He took a deep breath and gripped the gun more tightly.

Alright.

With this gun…

He could carry out his plan!

First destroy Li Guang’s core, then quickly aim at his own temple…

Die at the same time!

Trigger his suicide rewind!

That way, when he woke up in the next cycle…

She would rub her eyes and throw herself into his arms, saying she had another dream!

But…

Fang Qi loosened his grip slightly.

Since he already had a fallback method…

No rush.

After all, there was no need to rewind immediately.

This cycle wasn’t over yet.

Li Guang was just out of power—if he brought her out, she would wake up after recharging!

And he…

Still had so, so many things he didn’t understand!

For instance, right now…

He really wanted to see someone who had never shown up.

Miss Genius…

Where are you now?

Are you still alive?

Since this gun was still here, you probably weren’t swallowed by the blue code either, right?

Since this blue code could respond to his intent and move a gun that existed outside the door into his hand…

Then…

Fang Qi looked at the faint blue glimmers still fading in the void and softly murmured:

“What if…”

“What if I want Lin Xiaoyou?”

As soon as the words fell, blue light particles flickered in the air before him!

Fang Qi immediately held his breath!

Hm?!

That actually works?!

But things didn’t develop as he imagined.

The blue particles didn’t converge as quickly as they had when forming the pistol. Instead…

Slowly, tentatively, they spread out in the void.

Then the particles began to gather, weaving a hazy curtain of light in the air.

Through that light, he saw—

A corridor leading deeper inside.

A door that had become a pitch-black void.

And the person he wanted to see.

Lin Xiaoyou.

She was walking toward him from the end of the corridor.

…

…

Lin You walked very slowly.

Her black hair was loose, her steps steady—no playful bounce as usual, no limping from being beaten up.

Her pink jacket and denim skirt were smudged with dust, wrinkled and worn. She walked quietly, still carrying…

That yellowed leather notebook.

Then she stopped, lowering her head…

To look at the young man still unconscious on the ground.

Young Lin Zhouyuan.

He had the exact same features as the photo on the keycard, even the tiny mole at the corner of his eye in the same place.

Right now, he was sprawled on the cold metal floor, his expression blank, vacant…

No different from the other eight armed personnel.

Lin Xiaoyou stared at this young face.

Her usually playful, smiling round face was now expressionless.

Her almond eyes held no light, and the corners of her mouth had no curve.

She just stood there, staring for a very, very long time.

Then…

“…So that’s how it is.”

She spoke, her voice tired.

“So…”

“Everything was already beyond saving.”

She fell silent for a few seconds.

“But…!”

She slowly closed her eyes.

“…I have to save everyone.”

“I must make this world, completely…”

“I must, must…!”

She suddenly raised her head, staring toward the room ahead!

That door was now completely pitch-black.

An abyss of nothingness.

Like some kind of eerie seal.

Lin You stood still, dazedly staring at that void.

Then…

“Ha…”

She suddenly laughed.

A very soft sound, somewhat self-mocking.

“…So that’s it, huh.”

“Fang Qi. Senior…”

“You…”

“Were playing such a big game all along.”

She tilted her head slightly, the curve of her lips seeming a bit bittersweet.

“So… I was the one being fooled.”

“I really am too slow. I should have figured this out long ago.”

“From the moment you begged me…”

“To help you forget everything—I should have realized it then.”

“Senior…”

Her almond eyes were still fixed on the pitch-black, on some direction in that void she couldn’t reach.

She spoke softly, the curve of her lips brightening just a little.

“I like clever people.”

“So now…”

“I like you even more~”