Outside, the world was in turmoil, but Bai Zhiyuan was a picture of serene beauty.
Just as Lu Li was being stubbornly difficult with Daozi's sharp tongue, Bai Zhiyuan was calmly orchestrating the battle between BT and Slone.
As the Art Director for Penguin, her vacation hadn't lasted long.
Moreover, Penguin had recently accelerated its pace of innovation, and she had been working overtime every weekday for the past month.
Consequently, her overall progress on the game wasn't as swift as the first four levels.
Aside from lacking time, an even more significant factor was Bai Zhiyuan's exceptional self-discipline. She could stay up late, but never past one o'clock.
Therefore,
Even though *Titanfall* captivated her, she would always log off and go to bed on time after playing, even if she hadn't managed eight full hours.
Fortunately, Bai Zhiyuan's gameplay was skillful. While other players who spent eight hours a day for a month had barely caught up to the top tier, she managed to keep pace with them despite playing less than eight hours daily.
On this joyous occasion, the faster players had already experienced the poignant narrative.
The slower ones were still battling Slone, and reaching this point meant they were not far from completing the game.
Before Bai Zhiyuan logged into the game after work, there hadn't been many spoilers online. She had no idea what kind of emotional blows awaited her later.
At this moment, the overconfident Slone prepared to eliminate Cooper and BT, presenting them as a bonus to General Mad.
Bai Zhiyuan paid no mind to the trash talk from this crazed woman, instead quietly observing Slone and her equipped Titan.
Ion....
She needed to be wary of its core attack.
Bai Zhiyuan knew the power of the Ion's core and had no intention of facing it head-on.
After its most potent offensive wave ended, she switched to her initial core equipment—the Expedition.
*Kaka!!*
Her shoulder cannons activated, and six rockets, trailing brilliant fiery tails, shot directly towards Slone's face.
The Ion core had no shield, so Slone could only dodge the rockets locked onto her through movement.
Slone, brimming with confidence, twisted left and right, appearing agile, but these rockets seemed to have eyes. No matter how realistic her feints were, she ultimately collided with the rockets.
*Boom boom boom!!!*
Multiple fireworks exploded on Slone's body, the impact flinging her far away.
"I'm going to get serious now."
After stabilizing herself, Slone twisted her perpetually stiff legs, the sound of crackling emanating from her joints. Her imposing aura suggested she truly believed she could defeat BT.
*Chichichi—!*
Slone's attack followed closely. The Splitter Rifle in her hand fired several beams consecutively.
*Vvmm—!*
Bai Zhiyuan raised her left hand, and a cyan glow materialized in BT's left palm. A shield intercepted the laser beams a meter from BT's face.
*Tap—!*
Bai Zhiyuan snapped her fingers, and the cyan shield instantly turned yellow. Several beams returned along their original path, their speed astonishing.
*Chichichichichi—!!*
"Bastard!"
"Bastard! Deathwish, go get them!!"
Hit by her own projectiles, Slone, enraged, began to go berserk.
On Bai Zhiyuan's side, she calmly continued her output, and by the time Slone was defeated, she hadn't been grazed by a single attack.
While calm, she didn't miss any of the post-mortem humiliation.
Bai Zhiyuan's emotions were well-controlled, but that didn't mean she felt no anger towards a mortal enemy.
On the contrary, choosing the original weapon and slowly tormenting this madwoman was her preferred method of torture.
Savoring Slone's frenzied roars and desperate screams, Bai Zhiyuan felt an unexpected thrill deep within. She felt she had changed, becoming more like Lu Li.
After defeating Slone, BT prepared to detach the Ark from the injection system, but was hit by an impact, causing BT's frame to struggle under the strain.
Hearing BT's broken, static-filled speech, a subtle panic arose within Bai Zhiyuan.
To the point that when Briggs suddenly appeared, Bai Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat—something that had never happened in her gaming career.
Fortunately, Briggs, the model employee, stated that the contract didn't cover this, and he wouldn't kill Cooper, but he also warned Bai Zhiyuan not to even think about killing him.
Indeed, Bai Zhiyuan had already prepared to raise her Titan weapon and take out Brigg when he was caught off guard.
Afterward, Briggs dropped an 'Apex' card and left.
Before she could scrutinize the card's contents, a new crisis emerged.
BT forcibly stood up, continuing its previous protocol to destroy the fold-space weapon using its core.
Before the detonation, it transmitted Cooper's coordinates to Commander Sarah—it intended to eject Cooper and detonate using its own core.
Of course,
BT hadn't consulted Bai Zhiyuan beforehand. She was still in the dark, believing they would execute the mission together side-by-side. But as the charging rings continuously descended,
Bai Zhiyuan seemed to sense something was amiss. The protocol content she was seeing was missing Protocol Three.
It was difficult not to believe that this was a tactic by the intelligent BT to deliberately stall for time, as it deeply remembered the contents of Protocol Three.
Considering the current environment, Bai Zhiyuan had already reached a conclusion: BT had no intention of letting her perish with it.
*Ding—!!*
Even though she had anticipated this, it was still too late. As the final ring of the injection port lit up, the charge was complete!
The powerful thrust that pushed her back told Bai Zhiyuan that everything was indeed too late.
She pursed her lips, remaining silent, and waited.
She knew she was powerless to change anything at that moment and could only await the unfolding events.
As expected,
The blinding white light of the Ark filled her entire vision, while a strong mechanical arm gently scooped her out of the cockpit and placed her in its palm.
Seeing BT in the void performing the same throwing motion as always, Bai Zhiyuan's inner defenses began to crumble.
BT...
A desperate cry echoed within her, a ball of fire burning in her chest, and tears welled up uncontrollably.
Bai Zhiyuan's emotions were spiraling out of control.
"Goodbye, Jack."
BT turned its head, its gaze slightly focused, clenched its fist, and threw.
"BT!!!"
Finally, Bai Zhiyuan cried out, her voice choked with tears.
As her body flew backward into the void, memories of her entire gaming experience with BT flashed through her mind like a slideshow.
Bai Zhiyuan's innate personality leaned towards introversion. During many moments alone, she was almost entirely silent, much like Cooper at the beginning of the game.
Initially, whether conversing with superiors or chatting with BT, Cooper's responses were more reactive.
This greatly aligned with Bai Zhiyuan's psychology. Gradually, as she interacted more with BT, her words began to increase.
Phrases like "Someone's about to fall in love," "Glad to see you again, brother," "Did you miss me, BT?" "Should we take the shortcut next time?" "BT, save me," "Glad to see you back alive, BT..."
She rarely uttered such casual remarks. For passive interactions in the game, she would cut back as much as possible.
She was more interested in experiencing the game's content and enjoying the thrill of repeated torment.
After all, Bai Zhiyuan didn't need to stream or rack her brain for content to interact with viewers and create dramatic moments. Playing games alone at home in silence was the most comfortable gaming experience.
"Goodbye, BT."
Bai Zhiyuan gazed absently at BT disappearing into the vortex, wiped her tears, and carrying BT's hopes, moved towards the final outcome.
Only after being rescued and arriving at Harmony planet, after listening to Cooper's inner monologue, did Bai Zhiyuan, suppressing the tears that threatened to fall, dazedly exit the game.
*Swoosh~~*
The sound of wind whistling past her ears, Bai Zhiyuan felt herself flying.
"Protocol Four: Throwing the Pilot."
A familiar voice, a familiar action, a brand-new experience. Seeing the scene before her as the real Bai Zhiyuan woke up, her composure completely shattered.
Mr. Lu Li was stunned. What kind of emotional manipulation was this?
.......
(It's not unreasonable to write more of what everyone enjoys, especially after building up the anticipation for so long. It shouldn't go to waste.)
(New emotional blows are actively being prepared. The pace has picked up, and I should be able to cover more games. Thank you all for your support. I will repay your kindness with better and faster articles.)