Offering the Soul

Fang Qi crossed his arms, crossed one leg over the other, and leaned back against the sofa cushion.

He just squinted, staring straight at Gu Xi, who sat on the single sofa across from him.

Not a word was spoken.

Gu Xi was clearly uncomfortable under his gaze, shifting her weight on the cushion, her light brown eyes darting left and right, never landing on Fang Qi's face.

Occasionally, when her gaze accidentally met his, she immediately looked away!

The atmosphere was so awkward you could wring water out of it.

The living room was dead silent.

From the kitchen, the occasional sound of water and the soft clink of cups and saucers could be heard.

Liguang was preparing tea.

Fang Qi kept staring at her.

Gu Xi shifted on the sofa again.

“……Tell me, Officer Gu?”

Still staring at her, he spoke first:

“In the 'dream,' didn't you say——”

“COUGH!!!”

Gu Xi gave a sharp cough, cutting him off!

Then, with a natural motion, she raised a hand and brushed the stray strands of hair by her face……

But her fingertip quickly pointed toward Fang Qi’s eyes!

Then she swiftly withdrew it, continuing to smooth her hair. The whole sequence was smooth and fluid!

“Mr. Fang.”

She lifted her chin slightly.

“Before you say something, you should probably think it through first.”

Then her eyes were blinking at him frantically!

Blinking like crazy!

Her eyelashes nearly blurred into streaks!

Fang Qi understood the message.

– “The eyes of the world” are still watching!

– Some things just can’t be said out loud.

Of course he knew.

To keep Liguang from losing her memory, he was more cautious about this than anyone!

He had done it on purpose just now.

Good.

So his and Liguang’s “matchmaker sister” really did know everything!

So he kept his arms crossed, squinting, staring at her.

And fell silent again.

This time, Gu Xi didn’t avoid his gaze. She stared right back at him!

Fang Qi remained unmoved.

They locked eyes!

Finally……

The policewoman yielded first.

She let out a breath, raised a hand, and grabbed at her own hair.

“Actually……”

She murmured, finally starting to explain.

“I don’t really know why it turned out like this either……”

She stared at the coffee table in front of her, her hands on her knees, clenching and unclenching.

“I was… already prepared, you know.”

“All the preparations, I had them all made.”

She kept murmuring softly.

“I knew what would happen, and I accepted that outcome……”

Biting her lip, her face showed a mixture of lingering fear and confusion.

“But who would have thought that I would actually……”

She looked up at Fang Qi.

“……come back?”

Her light brown eyes held genuine confusion and relief.

“When I woke up……”

“My mind was completely blank.”

She continued murmuring:

“I realized I could still feel my heartbeat, could still……”

She looked down at her own hand, spreading her fingers, then closing them.

“……could still feel my fingers moving.”

“I still had consciousness.”

She looked up again.

“I was shocked. I happened to be nearby, so……”

She pressed her lips together.

“……I came running over to find you.”

“I wanted to confirm the situation. Wanted to ask you……”

Her eyes trembled slightly, but with genuine sincerity.

“……why this is happening.”

Her hands clenched tightly on her lap.

Fang Qi’s eyelids twitched slightly.

So……

In the last loop, Gu Xi hadn’t lied to him?

She really didn’t know why she hadn’t turned into a puppet.

Judging by her reaction just now, she probably wasn’t lying.

But……

If it wasn’t Gu Xi, then who was it?

At that time, aside from Gu Xi and himself, there was only...

He turned his head, looking toward the kitchen.

The silver-haired girl was facing away from the living room.

She wore a fluffy white pajama set, her silver hair cascading down her back, the little strand of unruly hair on top of her head gently swaying with her movements.

She was standing on tiptoe, reaching for something on the upper shelf of the cabinet, and the hem of her white short skirt lifted just slightly.

Fang Qi was momentarily lost.

A moment ago, when Liguang had opened the door and seen Gu Xi, her reaction...

It had been far too calm!

That kind of composed smile, as if welcoming an expected guest...

That was hardly the expression of someone who had just seen a person who should have become a puppet suddenly appear, alive and well, at the door!

She had already known.

She was not at all surprised that Gu Xi hadn’t turned into a puppet.

Combined with his earlier deductions...

Liguang’s words, "Goodnight, Qi," had even appeared in the "ending text"!

Fang Qi’s breathing slowed slightly.

So...

Could it have been that Liguang had somehow obtained some kind of "authority"?

Was it Liguang who had saved Gu Xi’s life?

Following his gaze, Gu Xi also looked toward the silver-haired girl in the kitchen.

She seemed confused at first, then her eyes slowly widened.

"... You mean, it was Liguang...?"

Her voice was filled with disbelief.

"... Huh?"

She leaned forward slightly, staring intently at Liguang’s back for a long moment!

Then she murmured again:

"Liguang...? Does she have that kind of 'authority'? That shouldn’t be... she isn’t..."

"It’s not Liguang."

A soft, gentle voice interrupted Gu Xi’s words.

The silver-haired girl turned around.

She was holding a tray in both hands, on which sat two white porcelain teacups, steam curling upward.

Her amber left eye was calm and obedient, while her scarlet right eye flickered gently at a steady rhythm.

Mm. It was the usual wife.

Fang Qi watched her as she walked to the coffee table, bent slightly, and placed one cup of tea gently before Gu Xi.

Then she turned and, with both hands, offered the other cup to Fang Qi.

Just as she set the cup down, she raised her eyes, giving him a light wink.

Then she straightened up and looked at Gu Xi, who was still half-leaning on the sofa, staring at her intently...

A hint of that obedient, gentle smile curled at the corners of her lips.

"Miss Gu, Liguang did nothing at all."

Her voice was soft and tender.

"The person you should thank..."

She tilted her head slightly, the corner of her eye glancing toward Fang Qi.

"... is the master."

Gu Xi was stunned.

Then she whirled her head to look at Fang Qi!

Her light brown eyes were wide open, her mouth slightly agape, her lips moving a few times without a single word escaping.

Her gaze was filled with shock and uncertainty.

"You...!"

Her voice even cracked a little.

Fang Qi: "?"

He was completely bewildered.

He raised a hand, pointing at himself.

Me?

Me?

What did I do?

Just a moment ago, I was still grieving that Gu Xi had become a puppet, still feeling terrible!

And when Gu Xi arrived, I almost dropped my jaw in surprise!

Liguang seemed to see right through his confusion.

The silver-haired girl knelt down, looking up at him slightly.

"Master, think about it," she said, blinking at him, her heterochromatic eyes shimmering with a damp, liquid light.

"What did you do in the 'dream'?"

Her eyelashes fluttered softly.

"You, in that dream..."

She leaned in a little closer.

"... saved Liguang’s life!"

She looked at him, the crimson in her scarlet eye flickering joyfully!

Fang Qi could tell—from her tone—that Liguang’s words carried an unmistakable note of adoration!

But he was still very confused.

...What had he done?

With a single thought, he "borrowed" Gu Xi's gun, used it to blow out her core, then pointed it at his own temple and pulled the trigger...

The two of them had died together, and reset together...

Was this what saved Liguang's life?

In a certain sense, it could be considered that, right?

But... what did that have to do with Gu Xi?

Because he used her gun, she came back to life?

...How could that be possible?

He furrowed his brow slightly.

Or... was it something that happened earlier?

Was it that thing? The cry he had screamed out in desperation...

Hm?

Fang Qi narrowed his eyes.

Hm...

...Ah!

He suddenly held his breath.

He whipped his head around and stared at Gu Xi, who was sitting across from him with a puzzled and bewildered expression.

A storm of shock raged within him.

...He remembered!

At that moment, the code storm had reached its limit!

Liguang had screamed with all her might, "Don't you dare hurt my A-Qi," and the endless sea of code was forcibly suspended in midair, trembling!

And at that time, he had been too desperate to protect Liguang. From the deepest corner of his consciousness, a feeling he had never known before suddenly surged up!

He hadn't thought about anything at that moment—he just followed that feeling...

And screamed out that sentence with all the strength in his body!

—“ALL OF YOU, GO BACK!!!!”

And then...

Those cyan-colored codes, those deadly particles of light that could dissolve reality...

In an instant, they all reversed course wildly!

From every direction, they surged simultaneously toward one target!

Toward...

Fang Qi stared directly at the policewoman sitting in front of him.

...Surged toward Gu Xi!

In just a few seconds, the whole space, once filled with the massive storm of cyan codes, all flooded into her body!

Not a single strand remained!

And at the time, he had been shocked by his own suddenly awakened power, completely immersed in that kind of dizzying disbelief, and hadn't had time to think deeply about it.

—Why did those codes reverse flow into Gu Xi's body?

Then Liguang suddenly ran out of power, and he had no chance to think about it.

But now he had the time.

Now that he thought about it...

Fang Qi stared at her, his breathing growing slightly urgent.

Gu Xi was sitting safely across from him. Her heartbeat was normal, her breathing normal, her consciousness clear, her emotions intact...

"Ah..."

"I see..."

Fang Qi murmured softly.

So that was it...

So that was it!

Gu Xi started to feel uneasy again under his stare.

She shifted her position on the sofa, her hands unconsciously balling into fists.

Her light brown eyes wandered over his face, her expression shifting from confusion to a faint, growing unease.

"You... what are you talking about?"

Her tone had even turned weak, her voice unconsciously lowered a little, laced with caution!

But Fang Qi didn't answer her.

In his mind, the information was rapidly snapping together!

What Gu Xi had said before—she would, for his plan...

"Offer up her soul"!

And now he had confirmed that this world was a digital world!

So, the cyan codes that had surged out of Gu Xi's eyes...

His gaze trembled slightly.

...Were they Gu Xi's very own "soul"?

Was this the soul she had offered up?!

Or rather...

Was it the thing that made Gu Xi who she was...

Her "source code"?

The very essence that made her "Gu Xi," not a soulless puppet!

At that time, she had let her "soul" fly out of her body, using her own source code to devour the space around her!

Using this method, she had formed that "island of rules" that could block all outside prying eyes!

So...

So this is what "offering up one's soul" really means!

Ah...!

That's why she lost all her emotions while the code was pouring out!

Because all her joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness—everything that belonged to the person named "Gu Xi"...

had flowed out of her body along with those eerie blue codes!

What remained was just an empty shell!

And those drifting codes, those firefly-like blue specks spinning in the air...

they were her true essence!

Fang Qi stared intently at Gu Xi, who was growing increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze, frowning and avoiding his eyes.

According to Gu Xi, those codes most likely couldn't return!

Under normal circumstances, they would probably wander into that pitch-black void, lost forever!

Devoured by the darkness!

Contaminated by the void!

Eventually dissipating and vanishing completely!

That's why Gu Xi had said it would be the last time she helped him!

But that shout of his...!

"ALL OF YOU, GO BACK!!!"

That single phrase changed everything!

Those "soul codes" of Gu Xi's, which should have disappeared, found their way home once more!

They all surged back into Gu Xi's body!

Her "soul"—he had pulled it back with that roar of his!

So that's why Liguang said Gu Xi should be thanking him.

At that time, Liguang had awakened into her "supercomputing state" from her original core!

She must have pieced it all together in an instant when it happened!

But...

she didn't have time to tell him.

Because right then, she simply lost power and shut down!

All she managed to say was, "Don't be afraid, Master!"

So that's how it is...!

So now, this Gu Xi in front of him...

The policewoman before him had already been driven to the edge by his staring!

She finally couldn't hold it in anymore!

"Hey!"

Her eyes widened as she slapped the coffee table!

A dull thud rang out!

Even the teacups shook!

"What the hell is going on!"

"You two keep staring at me without saying a word!"

She glared at Fang Qi, her tone turning firm again!

"Did something grow on my face or what?!"

By now, she was even slightly embarrassed and annoyed from being stared at for so long.

Fang Qi stood there, stunned, his mouth opening...

"Officer Gu..."

he said almost unconsciously.

"How about..."

He blinked and blurted out:

"Try it one more time... just like in the dream?"

Let me verify it?

Gu Xi's irritation froze on her face. She was stunned for two seconds.

Then...

"What the—?!"