Back in her room at the Greenfield Sanatorium, Fei Yuhan locked the door and took out the recorder embedded in the decorative panel.
It was about the size of a grain of rice, and it didn't have a playback function of its own. It needed to be inserted into a special reader to hear the recorded content.
After transferring the data to her laptop, she found the audio closest to the moment Vakiris left the fighting hall and clicked the play button.
"Tss... tss..."
"We meet again, Miss Vakiris," Roland's voice sounded.
Here it comes.
Fei Yuhan curled the corners of her mouth and made herself a cup of hot tea.
She decided to enjoy the fruits of her long-planned scheme.
...
The steaming tea gradually cooled down, until it became ice-cold again, but the tea owner didn't have time to take a sip.
Although she had expected it, she found that what she had learned far exceeded her imagination!
When she pressed the stop button, Fei Yuhan found that her fingertips were trembling slightly.
This could be considered a loss of control for a martial artist who had been famous for a long time!
She finally understood why Roland, as a hunter, had cracked the wine glass in his hand at that banquet – it would be abnormal not to be shocked when it came to the secrets of the gods.
Dreams that are created, civilizations that fight for survival, the connection and continuation of two worlds, guardians who travel through the realm of consciousness, is there anything more incredible than this?
Fei Yuhan was slightly disappointed that the two had chosen to meet in a cafe, but after listening to it, she realized that even if these things were said openly, others would only think it was nonsense.
Nevertheless, Fei Yuhan didn't think the two were lying. If Roland had been pretending since the day she secretly observed him, then it would be too exaggerated.
If this world was really created artificially, then she was probably the first person to glimpse the truth behind the scenes—
"Heh..." Fei Yuhan chuckled.
This feeling is really... so satisfying!
As for the question of "fiction or reality" asked by the divine envoy, she didn't care at all. No one knows better than herself that she is a living being. Whether it's every move she makes or every thought that pops into her head, it all comes from her personal will, and this proactive exploration of the secrets of outsiders is the same.
Perhaps Roland is one of the creators of the world, but so what? If the planet is created by cosmic energy and elementary particles, then replacing the former with someone makes no fundamental difference.
Fei Yuhan leaned back in her chair, letting her body tremble slightly, enjoying this long-lost joy.
After a long time, her excited mood gradually calmed down.
Logically speaking, key information about the gods' attempts to destroy the world and the nature of the Fallen should be reported to the Martial Artists Association, but because it involved too much and could almost rewrite history, she decided to observe for a while longer.
After all, apart from the conversation between the two, she had not obtained any concrete evidence. And now it can't be ruled out that both of them are severely addicted to hysteria. She had also heard of urban legends that there was a chance of developing telepathy from the second year of junior high school and that it could resonate with similar people. Although the probability of this happening was extremely low, she had to guard against it.
Fortunately, Vakiris had officially connected with Roland, and there would only be more opportunities to find out secrets.
What Fei Yuhan is most interested in now is the other world where the two originally lived.
For example, those women who call Roland Your Majesty.
If they can come to the dream world, can she also see what the world over there looks like?
To see the so-called... reality.
...
"Where did you run off to?" Garcia glared at Roland with dissatisfaction, "You promised to accompany Jieluo to watch the competition, didn't you?"
"Sorry... the association had something to tell me, and I couldn't help it." Roland scratched the back of his head. He was at fault first, so he admitted it very decisively. In order to stagger the time of returning with Vakiris, he deliberately lingered in the restaurant for a while longer, but he didn't expect to run into the evening rush hour, which resulted in the two of them waiting for half an hour at the gate of the martial arts hall.
"If I didn't have patrol duties, I would have left you behind." Garcia said angrily, "Take the little girl to eat something good to make up for it."
She patted Jieluo's head. The latter nodded and ran to Roland's side in small steps, and then bowed to Garcia, "Thank you, sister!"
"If he mistreats you, be sure to tell me."
"Okay."
This guy is actually pretending to be so well-behaved in front of outsiders. Roland couldn't help but mutter to himself, but his face was extremely sincere, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. By the way, would you like me to bring you a copy?"
"No need." Garcia waved her hand generously, "You guys go, I'll go back to the martial arts hall first."
"Thank you for today." After Roland said goodbye to her, he shrugged at Jieluo, "Let's go, there's a commercial plaza ahead, you can choose whatever you want to eat tonight."
"Okay." Jieluo replied in a muffled voice.
Strange, shouldn't she take the opportunity to ask for a lot at this time? Roland was a little surprised, why did she suddenly become so quiet? "What's wrong, wasn't today's competition exciting?"
"No, it's much better than on TV..."
"That's good. When you come back from vacation, I'll take you to see a few more live shows. Anyway, I'm also a member of the association, so it shouldn't be difficult to get tickets."
Walking across the street along the sidewalk, the two walked side by side on the crowded street. The accumulated snow under their feet had been melted, leaving only the "splish-splash" sound. But more snowflakes fell from the night sky and were dyed with gorgeous colors by the flickering neon lights. If this continues, the city should be white again tomorrow morning.
Gradually, Jieluo fell behind.
Roland suddenly felt his clothes being pulled.
He stopped and turned around in surprise.
The little girl was looking down, pulling on his clothes without saying a word.
"What's wrong..." Roland was stunned, "Uh, it's my fault for not being with you, but work..."
Jieluo shook her head, "I... don't want to go back."
"Huh?"
"I don't want to go back to my hometown, Uncle." She raised her head and bit her lip, "Can I continue to live with you for these two months of vacation? I'll find a way to raise the rent. I used to raise money to buy groceries, and now it will definitely be faster. I promise not to delay it. I..."
Looking at the little girl who seemed to have mustered up her courage, Roland couldn't speak for a moment.
The rows of words he had initially peeked at in her diary seemed to reappear in his mind, and he suddenly felt that he had done something wrong.
It was no secret that Jieluo's family was not harmonious. Judging from her usual words and deeds, as well as her food, clothing, and expenses, her family was probably quite harsh on her. But Roland had never intervened, or rather, deliberately maintained the status quo.
Because she is another creator of this world.
So if you want the dream to continue to operate as always, then maintaining its inertia is undoubtedly the safest approach.
This is also why he didn't immediately let Jieluo join the association after she awakened.
Will changing the status quo increase the possibility of awakening her other side? If she turns back into a Pure One, what changes will happen to this world?
He had been guarding against this from happening.
However, Roland had overlooked Jieluo's original self, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl.
"Do you really think this world is fictional?"
When Lan asked him, he gave a negative answer, but he didn't do that with Jieluo.
"No, is it not okay..." The courage she had finally mustered gradually disappeared, and the little girl's voice became lower and lower.
"You know, I'm not your legal guardian. If I keep you in the tube building, it's okay for a day or two, but if it lasts for a long time, your family will definitely come looking for you. At that time, no matter how unwilling you are, you won't be able to continue living here, and I will get into a lot of trouble."
Jieluo's eyes dimmed.
"But there is a way to reverse this fact." Roland squatted down and patted the snowflakes on her shoulder.
"Really?" She suddenly raised her head.
"Just join the Martial Artists Association. At any time, the association is a legal shelter unit for awakened people. As long as you decide to stay, no one can distort your will, even if you are a minor." Roland smiled, "This is the privilege of martial artists... How about it, do you want to become a martial artist?"
"I..."
"But even if you join the association, you still have to continue reading, don't think you can skip school." He raised his eyebrows, "As for competitions or something, it doesn't matter. If you don't like fighting, you don't have to participate."
These words seemed to relieve Jieluo of her last burden. She took a deep breath and nodded vigorously, "Then I'll join."
"Okay, I'll help you fill out the application form when we get back. After that, you can live wherever you want."
"Can I live in 0825?"
Roland reached out his hand to her, "Of course."
The inertia was broken.
Future changes may lead to the unknown.
But those are all choices of free will.
Facing the snowflakes, the two blended into the crowd and walked towards the square that illuminated the night sky.