Qing Yue had never done many rebellious things in her life. The most significant act of defiance against her family's wishes was choosing to become a game designer.
But now, she held a knife, threatening someone like a desperate bandit.
Her heart trembled violently, her arms fell limply, and the knife clattered to the floor.
"Just tell me! This is very important to me," Qing Yue pleaded.
Hearing Qing Yue's tearful voice, Yin She unconsciously turned his head away. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Why are you asking this?"
As if sensing Yin She's willingness to compromise, Qing Yue blinked sincerely. "I'm looking for someone."
If she could be considered a person, Qing Yue added silently in her heart.
"Were your family also harmed by him?" Yin She looked up, his expression surprised.
"Also?" Qing Yue softly uttered a word. "Meaning, you're accusing him of murder?"
"Yes." It wasn't just that one charge, but Yin She felt there was no need to tell her more.
Qing Yue suddenly felt lost again. If that were the case, what was the point of her journey here from afar?
She always considered herself rational, but when it came to matters of the heart, where was the rationality?
For a sliver of ephemeral hope, she had traveled across half the city to be here. In her past self's eyes, it would have been ridiculous.
Qing Yue lowered her head, feeling lost and bewildered, as if she had suddenly lost her direction in life.
She squatted on the ground, her chest feeling heavy, wanting to cry her heart out, but not a single tear could fall.
Perhaps due to her profound sadness, Qing Yue suddenly looked up and asked, "Have you ever been in love?"
"What?" Yin She was somewhat at a loss, not expecting such a drastic shift in the bandit's train of thought.
"Of course!" Recovering his senses, Yin She suddenly smiled gently, remembering that girl.
"The first time I saw her, she was lying in bed, frail and asleep, like Sleeping Beauty. The last time I saw her, she was still Sleeping Beauty, but perhaps she would never open her eyes again."
Yin She's tone gradually became sorrowful, as if reminiscing about his past.
Even now, Yin She didn't believe they would necessarily succeed. In fact, it wasn't bad for the girl he loved to stay in the game. At least she was awake, he could see her, talk to her, and walk with her every day...
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up your painful memories," Qing Yue apologized.
"It's alright, everything will be fine. She will wake up again, definitely." Yin She's eyes gradually turned resolute.
As long as he believed, that day would surely come.
How wonderful! Qing Yue felt a pang of envy. But where was the person she loved?
"Are you a game enthusiast?" Yin She suddenly asked, recalling something.
Qing Yue smiled wistfully and explained, "No, it's just that there's someone very, very important to me in there. I heard some news that President Nan might know, but I have no connection with him, and I can't visit him in prison, so I thought of approaching you."
"Actually, I do know a little about the inside story." Perhaps out of shared misfortune, Yin She suddenly couldn't bear to hide the truth.
"What?" Qing Yue's eyes lit up at the unexpected turn of events.
"First, help me untie this. This position is uncomfortable," Yin She pouted, gesturing for Qing Yue to release him.
Qing Yue, as if clutching at a last straw, did exactly as he said.
Yin She walked into the room and took out some evidence he had kept. He pursed his lips and handed the file to Qing Yue, who was sitting on the sofa. "Take a look. It records many details about the game."
"Technically, I shouldn't reveal this, but my lover is also in there. It seems not bad to have you waiting with me."
An hour later, Qing Yue finished reading the file carefully and placed it neatly on the table, her eyes shining. "Is everything written here true?"
"All the NPCs who awakened consciousness are actually the true consciousness of humans. In other words, there might really be such a person in reality."
Qing Yue's voice was filled with anticipation and the fear of her hopes being dashed.
Yin She nodded affirmatively. "I admit, your game is very well-made, but for game characters to be truly indistinguishable from real people, that's absolutely impossible."
"Can you take me to see these people? Perhaps I can find her," Qing Yue's emotions stabilized, her voice full of hope.
"I could before, but not now. To better extract human consciousness from the game, their bodies have been placed in game pods connected to the game. If they are lucky enough, their consciousness can return the way we log into the game, but it might take a long time."
"It's alright, I'm willing to wait," Qing Yue said, full of hope.
Actually, even if she didn't wake up, it would be alright. As long as she knew she was living well somewhere in the world, that would be enough to satisfy her.
This wait lasted for a year.
Xing Yuan had already connected her consciousness to the game system, so she was the first to discover that all players couldn't log in. However, because of this, the nerves connected to the game system were injured during the transfer of core data, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Although she left the game with a few self-aware individuals as soon as she woke up, the time from consciousness returning to the body to full integration, as well as various examinations and rehabilitation after waking up, consumed a great deal of time.
She had considered informing her wife of her safety, but she only knew what her wife looked like in the game. She didn't know what she looked like in reality or where she was.
The game company that created this full-immersion game had gone bankrupt due to the game's removal. In its place, Nan Changji had personally established Xinyu Games.
They also began to create their own era of full immersion.
They were now like half-guinea pigs, and government officials offered them no convenience. So, after Xing Yuan recovered, she didn't know where to go.
The person she was in this world was indeed a dazzling figure, a battle-hardened individual who had won multiple global free combat championships. However, after an accident, she became a vegetative state. All her previous honors and applause naturally wouldn't accompany her, a useless person.
Fortunately, she had some savings from previous competition victories and business collaborations, which were enough to support herself without doing anything else.
Xing Yuan found a place to live and then hired a private investigator to look into the female game designer from the former full-immersion game company.