Though his heart was deeply wounded, Zheng Zha still clutched Loli and sprinted madly up the stairs, crying out as he ran, "Lier, talk to me, keep talking to me... Don't you dare fall asleep, Lier. You promised we’d grow old together. I’ve kept my promise and fought to stay alive; you can't break your word a second time... Please, live on with me!" Loli struggled to keep her eyes open, still smiling faintly. "But what should I say? Lier is so sleepy, big pervert. I really want to sleep... Maybe I can sing you a song."

Tears streamed uncontrollably from Zheng Zha's eyes. His pace grew faster with every step. Crack! His left leg suddenly snapped at the gunshot wound. Caught completely off guard, he tumbled backward down the stairs. To prevent Loli from being harmed, he could only hold her tightly against his chest.

He had only managed a few steps up the flight of stairs, so the fall wasn't too devastating. The moment he hit the ground, Zheng Zha scrambled back up. He tightly wrapped Loli onto his back using his bulletproof vest, then began to climb again using both his hands and good leg. His broken left leg, however, was a terrible hindrance, nearly halving his climbing speed.

Zheng Zha grit his teeth, raised his dagger, and brutally hacked at his own left leg. He was still in the state of unlocked Genes, so the wound where his leg was severed only spurted blood a few times before the muscle convulsed and stopped the flow. Ignoring everything else, Zheng Zha continued to drag himself upward.

"...The cicadas are chirping the summer heat by the pond’s banyan tree, on the swing set by the school field, only a butterfly rests there. On the blackboard, the teacher's chalk keeps scribbling relentlessly, waiting for the bell, waiting for dismissal, waiting for the childhood of games..." Loli's song floated through the air, yet the tune of "Childhood" was piercingly sad. The tears in Zheng Zha's eyes nearly blurred his vision. Though a man rarely sheds tears unless truly heartbroken, he had reached that point. His fingernails were not strong enough; under this desperate exertion, the nails on all ten fingers quickly peeled back, leaving ten gruesome, bloody digits.

"...No one knows why the sun always sinks behind the mountains. No one can tell me if gods live inside the hills. For so many days, alone, he stares blankly at the sky—so curious, so full of fantasy, such a lonely childhood. Oh... Day after day, year after year, the childhood that longs to grow up. Oh... Day after day, year after year, the childhood that longs to grow up..." Loli's singing grew fainter. Zheng Zha began to howl in a frenzy. He charged madly up to the floor where he worked, then slammed his body against the office door, shattering it open. The interior of the office was brilliantly lit, though no lamps were on. The light streamed from the computer screens on the desks. Zheng Zha looked up and saw several helicopters hovering outside the office window; they were likely drawn by the bright illumination. The moment the snipers aboard spotted Zheng Zha, they aimed their rifles at him. Almost simultaneously, their communicators crackled to life.

"...Yes, Captain, they... they've vanished!" Experiencing that hazy, half-awake state once more, time became meaningless. When Zheng Zha finally regained full consciousness, he saw several people facing him, all wearing expressions of shock. They were Zhang Jie, Zhan Lan, Zero Point, and... Chu Xuan! Zheng Zha didn't spare a thought for why these four were suddenly on the plaza. Clutching Loli, he turned toward the "Main God" behind him and roared, "'Main God,' quickly heal her injuries..." Zhang Jie suddenly shouted, "Wait, wait!" The sturdy man rushed forward a few steps, snatched Loli from Zheng Zha, and yelled, "'Main God,' repair her injuries! Deduct the repair points from me!" Zheng Zha was momentarily stunned. Zhang Jie urgently warned him, "Hurry up and heal your own wounds! I know you don't have many reward points left. If your points turn negative, the 'Main God' will erase you! Fix yourself quickly!" Zheng Zha stared blankly as a white light shot from the "Main God" toward Loli. The little girl instantly levitated, and her pale complexion began to regain color. Only then did he manage to say, "'Main God,' repair my injuries!" The entire healing process cost him over four hundred reward points, and the leg he had severed regrew. Loli was now standing on the ground waiting for him. The moment he touched down, the little girl threw herself into his arms.

"Lier... stand behind me."

Zheng Zha gave Loli a faint smile, then unfurled his dagger and lunged violently toward Chu Xuan, the tip of the blade aimed directly at the bespectacled man’s forehead. Due to the proximity, only Zero Point, standing near Chu Xuan, reacted in time. He shoved Chu Xuan to the ground, but the dagger still grazed past, easily severing one of Zero Point's arms.

Zhang Jie rushed to restrain Zheng Zha, shouting frantically, "Zheng Zha! Have you lost your mind? Why are you attacking our own people!" Zheng Zha roared back in fury, "Our own people? Damn it, our own people! I spent reward points and plotlines to take everyone back, but do you know what this bastard did? He planted his tracker from his watch onto this dagger! Do you know why I was in such a miserable state? I was chased back! The National Security Bureau arrested me! I barely managed to claw my way back at the very last second! Do you call a bastard like that one of us?" Everyone turned to look at Chu Xuan. The bespectacled man casually sat up from the ground, dusting off his clothes. "Is that so? Then my hypothesis was correct..." Bang! With a dull thud, Zheng Zha kicked Chu Xuan hard in the chest, the immense force sending the man flying nearly ten meters away, causing Chu Xuan to cough up several mouthfuls of blood.

"Damn it!" Zheng Zha shrieked maniacally, "Is my life worth so little? All for one of your theories? After everything, we were allies; I risked my life countless times in the last horror movie! Is this how you repay loyalty? I must kill you!" Zhang Jie desperately held Zheng Zha back, but his strength was no match for him. As Zheng Zha advanced step by calculated step toward Chu Xuan, Zhan Lan suddenly yelled in desperation, "Do you want to kill your Loli? Remember, killing someone costs one thousand reward points. Do you have a thousand points now? Negative points mean erasure! If you want to die, go ahead, but why drag Little Sister Loli down with you?" Hearing this, Zheng Zha slowly stopped. The madness receded from his face, but his expression remained contorted in rage. "Chu Xuan, I don't know how long the National Security Bureau will keep my parents detained, but I won't kill you. However, I will cut off all four of your limbs. You can regenerate, and I will cut them off again! Then we’ll see if you starve to death or if you are erased by the 'Main God' for failing to enter the light circle!" Chu Xuan sat up, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, and stated calmly, "What about the tracker? Did you throw it away?" Zheng Zha sneered, "Of course. Did you think I’d bring it back to you?" Chu Xuan nodded slowly. "Then I guarantee your parents will be fine. In fact, that device can store a certain amount of data, not just lock onto a location. I uploaded information regarding the existence of this space and several high-tech blueprints we exchanged for. If you left the tracker there, they will certainly release your parents and even arrange better circumstances for them. I guarantee that."

Zheng Zha's expression gradually settled. He said coldly, "Why should I trust you? And why did you do this? Why risk cracking our alliance just to achieve this? If you don't give me a good reason, I swear I will chop off your limbs!" Chu Xuan smiled faintly. "Very well. Then listen closely to my reasons for doing this... I have three reasons for proceeding this way."

"One: To test whether the 'Reality Space' you visited is indeed the real world we came from. Since the 'Main God' can create horror movie worlds, the 'Reality World' you visited could also be a virtual construct it created. The only way to prove it is if an unforeseen event occurs—something you were completely unaware of, like me placing the tracker on your dagger. You knew nothing about it, and only the base in my memory could receive its signal. If you returned safe and sound, it proves the reality you returned to was the 'Reality World' fabricated by the 'Main God.' But if you actually encountered personnel from the National Security Bureau, then this is the true reality. Judging by your injuries upon return, it means our bodies physically entered the 'Main God' space, implying we can take the items we exchange for and our physical enhancements back with us. That is the first reason I needed to confirm."

"The second reason: I want to go back to the real world. The 'Main God' must have imposed restrictions on you. Can you tell me what those restrictions are?" Zheng Zha said coldly, "Yes. First, I cannot tell anyone about the 'Main God' space in any way. Second, I must return to the exact place I left within a specified time—for example, I pressed the 'YES' key on the computer in the office, so I must return to that office within thirty days. Third, I must touch all my items upon return, or they will remain in the real world. If an item is exclusive to the 'Main God' space, its existence will be wiped out."

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses. "Indeed, it matches my speculation almost exactly. Absolutely no sharing of 'Main God' space information with outsiders? Yet I was not erased. Therefore, my second reason is that the 'Main God' actually lacks consciousness; it is merely a supercomputer operating strictly by programming!" "Because I brought the tracker back to the real world without your knowledge, and you were unaware of the information stored within it—information that completely exposed the existence of the 'Main God' space—I effectively revealed information about this place. According to regulations, anyone who reveals such information should be erased, but I was not. Thus, the regulation only applies to those who return to reality. Since I am still in the 'Main God' space, revealing information is irrelevant to me. Similarly, because you were unaware that I revealed this information, you were not erased either. I therefore conclude that the 'Main God' has no capacity for thought; it only acts according to its programmed rules. That is, the gag order only applies to those who return to reality, and if that person has no memory of revealing the information, even if it was revealed, the system cannot punish them. In essence, it is just a supercomputer driven by code, not a conscious, thinking entity!" Zheng Zha roared, "What does that mean? I don't care if it’s a computer or whatever! Because of your calculation, Loli's life and mine were nearly forfeit! All for your hypothesis?" Chu Xuan ignored him, continuing his own monologue. "Once we know it's a program, we can bypass many of its restrictions to achieve our goals, including within the horror movies... Telling you this now is also useful. The third reason: I wanted you to take some high-tech design blueprints back with you. If my first two hypotheses hold true, those blueprints should now be in the hands of the government, and they should have received my transmitted information. In my message, I requested they find more special forces soldiers, hypnotize them into feelings of disillusionment with reality, and then keep them seated in front of computers twenty-four hours a day. This way, we might gain some comrades from the special forces, significantly increasing our survival rate..." "I apologize for putting you in danger. That deviated slightly from my predictions. I thought they would locate you sooner, allowing them to discover the tracker on the dagger, and you could return here safely... It is my fault. If you still wish to kill me after hearing these three reasons, please proceed and sever my limbs. I will not resist."

Chu Xuan stood calmly after finishing his explanation. Zheng Zha hesitated, gripping the dagger, before finally throwing it violently onto the floor. "Damn it! If you had told me this sooner, I’m not unpatriotic! I definitely would have brought the tracker back to the real world! What I hate about you is the constant scheming against your own allies and partners. Don't you possess any normal human sentiment or consideration?" Chu Xuan replied calmly, "I could not tell you beforehand. If you had those details in your memory, the 'Main God' would use your memory to erase you, as that would constitute transmitting information on your part. Everything had to occur when you were completely ignorant; otherwise, it would have been meaningless."

Zheng Zha took a deep breath. "I no longer trust you completely! No matter how treacherous the next horror movie is! Our alliance is dissolved! From this moment on, do not scheme against me in any way again, or I swear I will personally kill you!" With that, Zheng Zha turned and walked toward Loli, taking her hand as they silently proceeded to his quarters. Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan sighed and also returned to their respective rooms. On the plaza remained only Zero Point, who was undergoing repair, and the somewhat isolated figure of Chu Xuan... He picked up the dagger from the ground and then walked silently back to his own room... Jump to