Chapter 160 Elimination

Mei returned to her room, drank the medicine Cyril had given her, and instead of going to bed, she lay down in the simulation pod once again.

The simulation pod allowed a person's body to rest and relax as if in a deep sleep while entering the virtual network. Because of this, Mei had been able to stay inside for three consecutive days without coming out, feeling perfectly fine.

The first time she climbed into the simulation pod, it was out of sheer curiosity, wanting to experience what piloting a mecha actually felt like.

However, this time, she was simply unable to sleep.

Therefore, upon entering the virtual world, she did not rush to the mecha arena, choosing instead to wander aimlessly around the virtual realm.

The interstellar virtual network felt like an entirely different world.

Anyone holding interstellar citizenship could enter this nearly lifelike virtual world simply by using a simulation pod.

Here, apart from having no physical dwelling place, it was virtually indistinguishable from the real world.

The streets were lined with various shops where people could try out different products before placing an order and having the sellers mail the physical items to them in reality.

Others came purely to purchase virtual items to alter their avatars in the virtual world.

Mei strolled aimlessly down the street, casually acquainting herself with the new world she needed to integrate into. Logically speaking, since she had just received her new mecha in reality today, she should have been eager to experience its virtual counterpart in the digital world.

Yet for some reason, she simply did not feel like touching a mecha today.

However, she did not wish to touch one, but someone stubbornly refused to let her have her way.

"Little rookie. Where are you?"

A familiar electronic voice sounded through the virtual optical computer on her wrist, causing Mei to frown involuntarily.

"What is it?"

"Why weren't you at the arena today?"

"What does that have to do with you? I don't feel like touching mechas today. If you're looking for a sense of existence, go find some other novice!" Mei said impatiently.

"What? Did you get too discouraged? Finally thinking of giving up? That's probably for the best. Little kids should just stay safely at home; mechas and things like that are far too dangerous for children! Besides, you're just a little girl..."

Listening to the other's teasing tone, Mei felt an overwhelming wave of annoyance. She raised her hand, tapped the optical computer screen, and directly cut off the other party's communication channel. At the same time, she installed a new firewall on her optical computer to prevent the person from harassing her again.

"Oh? Blocked? Interesting!" Inside a silver-gray mecha in the virtual network mecha arena, a man looked at his optical computer, his eyes instantly filled with intense interest.

He was simply too bored. Having finally stumbled upon someone so interesting, how could he just give up like that?

The man tapped rapidly on his optical computer, and before long, the firewall the other person had just erected became as useless as a decoration.

"Little rookie! You've quite the temper. Don't tell me I hit the nail on the head and you're flying into a rage from embarrassment?"

The communication reconnected, and the man's electronic-sounding voice rang out once more. However, the moment he finished his sentence, the communication was cut off again.

Right now, Mei was boiling with anger. What on earth was wrong with this inexplicable person? Why did he keep badgering her relentlessly?

She refused to believe it! She might not be able to beat him in mecha piloting, but she wouldn't lose to him in the field of computer science!

Gritting her teeth, Mei stood in the middle of the street and engaged in a cyber offensive and defensive battle with the person she had never met.

Although Mei was not exceptionally proficient in interstellar code, the other party was clearly unfamiliar with her method of writing programs strictly from source code, and several times he almost fell into the traps she wove.

"Interesting, simply too interesting! I never expected anyone to still use such primitive programming methods nowadays! It seems I've struck gold this time!" Looking at the code symbols flashing rapidly across the light screen, the man's eyes grew more and more intrigued.

However, just as his excitement reached its peak, the other party's network signal suddenly vanished!

Looking at the light screen, where the red dot representing the other person had turned gray, the man frowned involuntarily.

She logged off just like that?

Did something come up?

Or...

The man flicked his fingers, contemplating whether to trace the other person's real-world location, but right at that moment, his simulation pod alerted him that someone was looking for him in reality!

"Forget it, I'll let you off this time! I hope next time you can give me a thorough thrill, otherwise, I'll make you regret it!" The man looked at the gray dot representing Mei on the light screen and muttered to himself.

Shortly after, his figure began to blur gradually until it vanished completely!

On the other side, just as Mei was locked in a fierce battle of wits with this inexplicably persistent guy, she suddenly felt a wave of panic and unease. Her intuition told her something had happened to someone. Forgetting all about her contest of wills, she immediately logged off and stepped out of the simulation pod.

Who was it?

Who on earth was in trouble?

Mei subconsciously walked toward Cyril's room, but along the way, she tapped open the communication channels on her optical computer and sent a mass message to the people she cared about.

"Are you asleep?"

"Not yet! Something up?" — Ye Jingxuan.

"Not at all! Is little Mei-er still awake?" — Mo Chen.

"Just about to sleep!" — An Ziyou.

"Still early! Who goes to sleep this early?" — Lin Shaojie.

"Little sister, are you still awake? Be a good girl, staying up late is bad for your health, go to sleep now!" — Jialuoer.

As expected, only Cyril had not replied.

Mei could not help but quicken her pace.

"Alright then! I'm going to sleep now, you guys get to sleep early too! Good night!" Unsure of what had happened to Cyril, Mei did not want the others to worry and fuss along with her, so she sent another message to everyone.

Arriving outside Cyril's door, Mei sensed that a barrier had already been cast inside the room.

Not knowing what he was doing inside, she did not dare to force her way in. Instead, she released her spiritual power, carefully trying to perceive what had happened to Cyril.

However, after her spiritual power was weakened layer by layer by the special metal on the door and the barrier, she could discern nothing of what was happening behind it.

Refusing to give up, Mei channeled her power into the emblem on the back of her hand, calling out to Cyril in her heart.

"Cyril! Cyril!"

Who?

Who is speaking?

Within the soul space, Cyril lay on the ground motionless, the previously dim colors around him now transformed into a vast expanse of pure white.

"Cyril! Are you alright? Please answer if you can hear me!"

Such a familiar voice, but who is she calling?

Is it me?

Who am I?

Cyril moved his fingers slightly, but at this moment his mind was in absolute chaos, rendering him completely unable to wake up.

What is happening to me?

Several images flashed rapidly across his consciousness, finally freezing on a familiar yet unfamiliar soul entity walking toward him step by step.

Ah, that's right. Cyril is my name!

That voice is calling me!

But who on earth is she?

With this thought, fragmented memories flashed through his mind once more.

In the vision, a gloomy little boy was holding a magic wand, looking with extreme vigilance at a little girl with pointed ears and an exquisite, lovely appearance, his wand pointing straight at her.

Meanwhile, the girl carried a bow on her back, smiling brightly at the boy, seemingly entirely unbothered by his guard.

Then the scene shifted, showing the two of them traveling together along a road. Whenever the girl drew near, the boy would wear a guarded and disgusted expression.

Yet as the two remained together, facing danger time and time again, the boy's guarded look gradually faded. Although he still displayed a look of disdain whenever the girl approached, hidden deep beneath that disdain was a profound and burning yearning.

He craved her bright and vibrant smile, craved her closeness, craved the touch of her soft, warm fingers.

Yet he dared not show it.

Only late at night when the girl fell asleep would he stop masking his emotions, gazing with nostalgic fondness at her unguarded sleeping face.

Later still, the girl was injured!

Injured terribly, terribly deeply!

Bright red blood poured from wounds deep enough to expose her bones, dyeing her small body crimson within moments, as if she might die at any second.

For the first time, fear surfaced on the boy's face!

Would she die?

Would he be reduced to being all alone again?

No!

He refused to be alone again!

He wanted her to stay with him; he could no longer bear it if she never smiled at him again, never touched him with her soft fingers, never let him feel her warmth again.

He would not allow this!

For the sake of this single wish, he was willing to do anything!

The boy wracked his brains for a solution, finally using his crude potion-making skills to snatch the girl back from the jaws of death by a hair's breadth.

However, as the time they spent together grew longer and the dangers they encountered multiplied, the boy realized that relying solely on his current strength made it impossible to truly secure his wish.

He began exhausting every possible means to enhance his power, even willing to devour the souls of others to enrich his knowledge.

Image after image flashed rapidly through Cyril's mind, and his memories grew increasingly clear!

How could he possibly forget?

No matter how much bitterness he tasted, how much suffering he endured, how many hardships he encountered, or what hidden dangers he incurred, his purpose in doing all of this had always been singular: to keep that warmth in his heart alive and by his side!

For that, no matter what price he had to pay, he would not hesitate!

So how could he ever forget her?

Cyril opened his eyes and slowly crawled up from the ground.

Listening to that familiar voice calling to him from the depths of his soul, and feeling his spiritual power grow vast and full, Cyril broke into a satisfied smile.

In the corridor, Mei continued to call out to Cyril, yet she received no response from him.

Just as she was losing her patience and preparing to forcibly break the door down, the tightly shut door finally opened.

"Cyril, what were you doing? I was so worried about you, are you alright?" Mei rushed forward the instant the door opened, looking Cyril up and down—he was dressed in a white shirt and gray suit trousers—and carefully inspected him from head to toe.

"I'm fine!"

Cyril said, gently pushing up his glasses. That utterly familiar gesture caused Mei to pause in surprise.

"Cyril, you!" Seeing Cyril's calm expression, entirely devoid of his previous gloom, Mei was stunned before quickly breaking into an excited smile. "You succeeded, didn't you? You successfully cleared away the backlash from devouring souls, didn't you? Cyril, that's wonderful!"

"Mn! I succeeded! From now on, I never have to worry about those redundant memories influencing me again!" Cyril raised his hand to gently stroke Mei's small face, which was radiant with joy and excitement, a look of profound contentment filling his eyes.

He no longer had to worry that his extraneous personalities might hurt her when he lost control!

He would never have to keep his distance from her again.

How wonderful! (To be continued.)