Chapter 59: TMS
When Ji Mian opened his eyes again, he didn’t immediately enter the next world.
He looked around at the vast, white void. “System?”
“I’m here. Please wait a few minutes. I’ve submitted a report to headquarters about some data anomalies. We should receive a response within ten minutes.”
“What data anomalies?”
The system seemed to be occupied with something and only responded after a moment: “Check your affection points breakdown.”
Ji Mian tried to bring up the point panel in his mind and glanced over it.
The total score had surprisingly exceeded 20,000, stopping at 20,300 points.
He recalled that when the first world ended, he had barely 8,000. But with the double points bonus in the last world, his score had surged by over 13,000.
“The double points bonus was a reward set by the main system due to the difficulty of that small world. But in the last world, Lu Ge alone contributed over 10,000 points, far surpassing Xu Zhixia, the main character.”
“Is that strange?”
“Yes. Not just with Lu Ge, but during your first task, Duan Zhuang’s contribution of points already seemed odd to me.”
“Why?” Ji Mian tilted his head.
The system didn’t directly answer his question but instead said, “The two worlds you’ve experienced so far were actually virtual worlds replicated by the main system, not real ones.”
Ji Mian froze for a moment. “Virtual?”
“Yep. Haven’t you ever wondered why they would send a newcomer like you into a real world, considering the potential consequences…?”
“…No.”
The system paused, then commented, “You’re pretty carefree.”
Ji Mian’s eyelashes lowered slightly, his gaze showing some confusion.
Just as the system had mentioned, throwing a human soul into a new world was an utterly absurd thing.
And yet, he had been taken into these new worlds without knowing anything, without even memories of his past. Logically, he should have been suspicious…
But from the moment he was bound to the system, he had never questioned it. It all felt natural, like everything was proceeding as it should.
But why had it felt so natural?
It was as if… somewhere in those lost, sealed memories, his subconscious already knew the answer. Even when the system mentioned “virtual world,” he wasn’t all that surprised.
Ji Mian blinked.
—The subconscious.
“017…” He muttered his old name, trying to find a clue.
But in the end, he came up empty.
For now, Ji Mian had to set aside his thoughts about his past and focused on a more pressing question: “What about Duan Zhuang? Is he fake too?”
The system was silent for a moment, considering that the answer might be too harsh for Ji Mian.
But eventually, it spoke the truth: “Everyone in the virtual worlds is a projection of someone from a real parallel world. You could say they aren’t entirely fake, but they’re not real either.”
Ji Mian nodded somewhat regretfully. “I see…”
“Duan Zhuang is fake. You’re not upset?”
“What’s there to be upset about?” Ji Mian smiled a bit foolishly. “Even if my brother were a robot, I’d still like him.”
“…As long as you’re happy.”
Regardless of Ji Mian’s reaction, the system sighed in relief. “I didn’t tell you earlier because there are always some brats who, after learning they’re in a virtual world, go on to recklessly ruin the plot. Fixing the resulting world glitches becomes incredibly troublesome. Maintaining virtual worlds also costs money!”
It continued explaining, “Our fundamental purpose when traveling between small worlds and completing tasks is to collect the emotional energy produced by humans. Affection points are just one type; there are also adoration points, hatred points, and so on.”
“The collected energy has many uses: reversing time, space travel, even changing the timeline to save the world at some future point when humanity is on the brink of extinction… And resurrecting you is just one minor use of the energy. That’s your small compensation for spending long periods collecting energy in those worlds.”
Save… save the world…
Ji Mian felt a bit dizzy. It was the first time he realized he might actually be doing something quite important.
“In short, emotions, which humans take for granted and let dissipate, actually generate immense energy. Even in virtual projection worlds, they can produce 30% of the energy that the original world would.”
“That’s the reason we construct virtual worlds. A virtual projection world can be repaired and reused repeatedly, essentially becoming a sustainable emotional energy supply station without affecting the real world.”
“There are also systems that work in the real world, but their job isn’t like ours, traveling between worlds. They have far more rules and complications to deal with.” The system stopped here, “Well, this is all pointless information for you.”
Ji Mian mostly understood.
He hadn’t forgotten the question from earlier in their conversation: “You mentioned earlier that you thought there was something wrong with my brother’s and Mr. Lu’s data?”
“Yes. Duan Zhuang’s and Lu Ge’s contributions to your affection points have clearly surpassed the normal limit of 30%… Oh, headquarters just responded.”
After reviewing the reply, the system summarized its contents in three words: “No anomalies found.”
It relayed the results to Ji Mian, who relaxed a bit upon hearing the answer.
But the system remained uneasy.
Headquarters’ response of “no anomalies” hadn’t convinced it.
How could there be no anomalies? The emotional values from those two had far exceeded those of other characters in the virtual world, even reaching the threshold of the real world.
Not only that… The system glanced at Ji Mian, who appeared relaxed in the void.
Most importantly, it now suspected that there might be some connection between Duan Zhuang and Lu Ge.
Better not tell him yet. This kid becomes completely dumbfounded whenever he hears anything about Duan Zhuo.
【In the next world, I suggest you enter early and get a grasp on your character.】
“Why?”
【Because the character setup in the next world requires you to break through some psychological barriers.】
“?”
【You need to say a few swear words.】
Ji Mian: ...
—
In the A University male dormitory on the fourth floor, the presence of newly arrived freshmen filled the entire floor with noise. Luggage and washbasins piled up in the corridor, creating a bit of a squeeze.
Xie Heng carried a lightweight suitcase and successfully found the dormitory number indicated by the system, pushing the door open.
The beds in the dormitory were arranged clockwise, starting from the left as you entered.
Xie Heng's bed was in position number two.
The two beds closest to the door were already occupied, with boxes and miscellaneous items cluttering the hallway.
On the right side, at bed number four, a boy who was putting on bed sheets heard Xie Heng enter and looked down: “Hey, hold on, bro, I’ll come down and move stuff for you!”
The boy’s name was Chen Xu. He had a decent sense of style and looked somewhat handsome at first glance, but he was a bit lacking in self-care, as he struggled to organize his things.
As he jumped off his bed and caught sight of Xie Heng, he exclaimed, “Wow, dude, you’re so tall! Almost 1.9 meters, right?”
Then he took another look at Xie Heng's face.
Holy crap, this guy is so damn handsome!
After his initial surprise, he quickly made space, all the while sneaking glances at Xie Heng and marveling, “Bro, you’re so handsome! I thought Xiao Zhou was good-looking enough!”
Xie Heng politely curled the corners of his lips but didn’t speak, nor was he curious about who “Xiao Zhou” was.
Seeing this, Chen Xu scratched his nose and decided not to say more, thinking: This guy seems a bit cold and aloof…
The occupant of bed number one on the left was also present but was noticeably more reserved. He only glanced at Xie Heng a few times and didn’t speak.
After clearing the path, Xie Heng stepped over with his long legs and suitcase.
Upon reaching his spot, Xie Heng realized he was the last one to arrive in the dormitory.
Although there was no one in the bed across from him, bed number three was already completely organized. The items on the desk were numerous yet orderly, with a basketball hanging on the side of the cabinet.
The floor around was clean, whether it had been tidied up by the previous occupant or not, including beneath Xie Heng's bed.
“Oh, by the way,” Chen Xu recalled something and said, “The storage rack inside is yours and Lu Zhou’s. You can put your suitcase and stuff there.”
Lu Zhou was probably the “Xiao Zhou” that the other boy mentioned earlier.
Xie Heng noticed the familiarity in Chen Xu's tone, and his attractive eyebrows raised slightly.
Some people’s social efficiency was surprisingly high; they had just arrived at school for less than half a day and were already familiar with each other.
“Okay, thanks.”
He glanced at the storage rack, which was still empty. Two suitcases were placed beside it but hadn’t been put on the rack, probably waiting for the other user to arrive before discussing how to use it.
He had a pretty keen mind...
Xie Heng shifted his gaze away, no longer pondering, and began to unpack his suitcase.
By evening, he had finished organizing his things and cleaning up, while the mess in the corridor between bed one and bed four had also been cleared.
The dormitory finally felt somewhat livable.
At that moment, the dormitory door was pushed open, and a gust of wind rushed in through the window due to the airflow.
Xie Heng looked in the direction of the wind.
A boy entered, dressed in loose sportswear, with a bright white and green short-sleeve shirt. He was tall with long legs, and his muscular calves had smooth and attractive lines.
Looking up, he had a youthful face, with a high nose and deep-set eyebrows, long and thick eyelashes, and very fair skin. A silver earring on his left ear sparkled under the light, and a slight smile lingered on his lips as he entered, giving off a somewhat flirtatious vibe that was obviously appealing to girls.
“Lu Zhou,” Chen Xu, who was gaming, stretched his body and asked, “Where have you been?”
“I walked around the school a couple of times,” Lu Zhou replied, casually closing the door. “Our school’s library is quite beautiful, and the facilities on the playground are good too.”
“Full of energy, I admire that. I’ve just finished unpacking and am about to collapse!”
“By the way, you haven’t met Xie Heng yet.” Chen Xu remembered something and pointed in Xie Heng’s direction. “He’s just like you—both are big handsome guys.”
Chen Xu’s tone was drawn out as he said “big—handsome—guy,” and Lu Zhou jokingly scolded him:
“Idiot.”
Afterward, he seemed amused by his own joke, his smile deepening. When he turned to look at Xie Heng at bed number two, his bright black eyes sparkled with light.
Their gazes met, and Xie Heng nodded slightly at him.
He was indeed quite good-looking!
Comments