As night fell, under the virtual stars, along the dimly lit streets, a gentle breeze rustled through the forest leaves, casting a swaying shadow of trees.
Xu Xiaoyou arrived at the small tavern, didn’t stop, and walked inside.
The tavern tonight was quite deserted, hardly any figures in sight, as people were preparing for the evening banquet. A small TV, placed unknowingly when, was broadcasting today’s news, with a lodious violin tune adding a touch of beauty to the atmosphere.
The scent of fernted malt and aged oak barrels wafted through the aisles, as the drunken patrons at the bar boasted about their heroic deeds in the battle. A girl in a service dress with a delicate face walked past Xu Xiaoyou, carrying steaming apple pies, while the tavern owner’s NPC cast an appreciative glance her way without any particular intention.
Xu Xiaoyou went to a table in the corner, facing the girl, sat down naturally, picked up the nu, and ordered several desserts.
"I thought you’d co a bit earlier," Tang Xin smiled gently.
"I thought you’d be waiting for at the abandoned church, I went there first, didn’t find you, then thought of this place," Xu Xiaoyou said.
"Really?"
During the conversation, the girl walked over again, placing a few pieces of cake in front of the two girls, giving them a aningful look before turning away.
The cakes, sprinkled with powdered sugar, looked particularly tempting, the cream on top soft like a cloud, with the right amount of wheat aroma from the cake base.
Tang Xin picked up a piece with a small fork, rested her chin on her hand, and handed it to Xu Xiaoyou: "You have the first bite."
Xu Xiaoyou showed helplessness, closed her eyes, and ate the cake offered by the girl, watching the other smile gently, thoughts rippling in her eyes, as the scene before her montarily brought her back to their past monts together.
"Does You want to ask sothing?" Tang Xin placed a piece of cake into her mouth. "So words are written all over your face."
The other side could always guess her thoughts, the girl’s mind was always so delicate.
Xu Xiaoyou shook her head, didn’t speak, wanting to first hear the other’s thoughts, having not heard her voice for a long ti.
"What You wants to ask now is probably why I appear here, right?" Tang Xin said.
"To be honest, I’m not really sure of the exact reason either..."
Tang Xin recalled the scene at that ti.
Just as she left Pangard, planning to head to the next city, that figure abruptly appeared out of nowhere in front of her, indistinct and flickering like an electronic ghost.
If the electronic ghost hadn’t shown no malice, she would have thought the other was a miracle of the Wastelands, she couldn’t make out the exact face of the other, only vaguely discern the female features through the distorted voice.
"Flying bird... anchor point..."
"Lonely whale... beacon..."
"Anchor point, beacon?" Tang Xin frowned in confusion. "May I ask who you are?"
"It’s ti to get back on track... the direction you’re heading is not beneath your feet..."
"Nor is it in the distant horizon... nor in the eternal garden..."
"In the back of reality... at the junction of virtual and void..."
Leaving those words, the electronic ghost vanished into the air, and she sensed a connection with a coordinate that didn’t exist under the stars. The chat box that had appeared earlier turned into a login interface, with a couple of clicks she entered this virtual world, having just passed the beginner’s tutorial a while ago.
"So, you logged into the Oasis just like that, without a headset imrsion device, let alone an imrsion pod?"
Xu Xiaoyou felt surprised by the girl’s description.
"Yes," Tang Xin nodded.
"However, this situation won’t last long, affected by my spiritual power, if my spiritual power is exhausted, I will likely be forced to leave the Oasis," Tang Xin thought of the chat box earlier which also couldn’t last for long before disappearing.
"It’s a deviation of the sea of consciousness," Xu Xiaoyou made a judgnt based on the girl’s description.
She had several confusions in her heart.
Why can the other enter the Oasis without using an imrsion pod or even a headset imrsion device?
This indicates that uploading consciousness to a virtual world through a device is fundantally a lie.
The other said, this coordinate doesn’t exist in this virtual world, is it really as virtual as Nightti Dreams promised?
Coordinates not existing under the stars, implying the Oasis does not exist in reality, not in the eternal garden, implying the Oasis does not exist in the "mysterious" realm, between virtual and void...
Those who stay too long in the imrsion pod will due to the symptoms of the sea of consciousness deviation, forever unable to escape from the Oasis, their soul being completely assimilated into the data flow, turned into binary nourishnt, becoming the foundation of the virtual edifice.
Heavy thoughts like bubbles rising from the sea surface, tumbled out murky thoughts.
The sound of waves crashing onshore brought Xu Xiaoyou back from her thoughts, she shook her head and temporarily put aside the complex data in her mind.
She pondered for a mont, revealing her plan to participate in this year’s competition to the girl.
Tang Xin naturally would not refuse, rather, she was happy to help, since she also had to start leveling from scratch in the Oasis, it would be great to be of assistance.
"So You, the other three in the team, are also your good friends, right?" Tang Xin asked with a smile.
Xu Xiaoyou wasn’t sure if it was her illusion, but the other seed to subtly emphasize the words "good friends," under the angelic facade, the girl’s eyes initially looked clear, but after a prolonged stare, it seed as though they hid a terrifying vortex, ready to swallow people whole.
Xu Xiaoyou cleared her throat twice: "Yes, they’re good friends, why?"
Tang Xin shook her head: "Nothing."
She stood up: "Let’s go, the moonlight is so beautiful tonight, we can’t waste this moonlight."
"Why don’t you put the fork down first..." Xu Xiaoyou said, embarrassed.
It was then she realized the girl had eaten the whole piece of cake.
In her mory, due to body image requirents, Tang Xin had always been cautious about sweets, never indulging, the girl indeed didn’t like overly sweet foods, preferring the subtle sweetness of the ingredients themselves.
Yet, this cake, at her request, was of the highest sweetness.
...
The street wasn’t bustling, people walking in pairs for the city’s reconstruction, solo players holding several commissions, hurriedly making their way, young couples holding hands, chatting and laughing.
As the two walked down the street, Tang Xin clasped her hands behind her back, slowly moving forward under the silvery moonlight, at tis pausing to observe the details of the buildings, or tiptoeing to gaze at the stars on the horizon.
At tis turning her head slightly to exchange glances with the girl beside her, blinking, competing to see who would look away first.
Even if this ti, they could physically touch one another, it wasn’t as warm as their previous reunion, rather sowhat unfamiliar and restrained, as if there was an invisible intangible barrier between the two, always maintaining a certain distance, lesser than social etiquette yet far greater than intimacy.
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