MASG chapter 134

 

This was the hardest battle to fight.

Mo An handed over the tools and, under Zhang Mingqiao’s guidance, installed the chair step by step. They enjoyed their last bit of parent–child time together.

“Tonight’s sunset doesn’t seem quite right.” Zhang Mingqiao looked into the distance. “Penghu City has never had scenery like this before. What do you think?”

Mo An’s hands were trembling.

“It used to always be pretty. Today, it’s a bit scary.” Zhang Mingqiao smiled, stood up, and walked to the newly installed seat. “Come sit with Dad for a bit. I have something to say to you.”

Mo An stood up, but kept his head lowered. He walked to the side of the seat. Vast stretches of black-red clouds covered the entire island, ready to press down at any moment. He could no longer smell the fresh sea breeze. Instead, there was a metallic odor.

It was exactly the same as the real Qingyao City. Beneath the metal jungle, not all beings were equal.

“You seem especially quiet today.” Zhang Mingqiao handed him a bottle of ice-cold beer.

Mo An sniffed. “Dad, I have homework to do later. I can’t drink.”

“Is that so? Do you really do homework every night? I thought…” Zhang Mingqiao handed him the beer anyway, a kind of worry that couldn’t be clearly explained appearing on his face. “Haha, just take a sip first.”

This trace of worry made Mo An extremely puzzled. It was as if Zhang Mingqiao had broken through the “wall” between them and had already stepped out of the virtual world to stand beside him. In the end, Mo An took the bottle, bit off the cap with his teeth, and downed half the bottle in one go.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp. Mo An didn’t think it tasted good, but he found a way to express his emotions through this bitterness. No wonder people drink when they’re worried. They were just seeking joy in bitterness.

“Hahaha, you really have grown up.” Zhang Mingqiao also drank. He liked to laugh loudly. The wind whooshed around their small tent. Their family boat was anchored along the straight coastline and swayed back and forth. The sea surface continued to retreat, as if it had to retreat until there was nowhere left, until someone stepped forward and urgently called a halt.

“Now then, Mo An, is there anything you want to say to Dad?” Seeing that Mo An remained silent, Zhang Mingqiao spoke up. “Between a father and son, nothing should be left unsaid. You always keep things bottled up. I can’t tell if you’re rebelling or if you’re just too afraid to speak up. All right, since I became your dad, I’ll take the first step. I can’t let a little kid do it.”

A little kid? Mo An slowly raised his head. “I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“I know, I know you’re not a little kid, but…” Zhang Mingqiao paused. “Look, you’re already this big.”

“Yeah, I’m already this big.” Mo An wanted to preserve this moment, this precious thing. So he freely fabricated lies, wishing he could deceive himself. “When I was very small, you weren’t by my side. I always imagined what a family would be like. Qingyao City is beautiful, but life there is plain.”

“Really? You really think that?” Zhang Mingqiao turned toward him at that moment.

“Really? I think this place is much better than Qingyao City.” Mo An’s chest rose and fell rapidly. His heart contracted uncontrollably and his mouth filled with the bitter taste of beer. “This place is beautiful. It feels like home. You and Xia Li are very well-matched. This happiness has also infected me. In the future, our family will continue to be this happy, forever unchanged…”

“Really?” Zhang Mingqiao smiled and shook his head.

Mo An nodded firmly. “Really.”

The tide on the sea surface continued to rise, but the seawater was no longer clear. Every drop was filled with iron particles. Mo An did not like this. His home should not be polluted. This was Penghu City. It was a dreamlike fairyland; it was Eden.

“But, but…” Zhang Mingqiao seemed to sense something as well. Finally, with tears in his eyes, he clinked beer bottles with his son. “But sometimes I think, are you really my child? Huh? Really?”

What? Mo An looked at him in shock, looking at this… mass of data.

“Are you really my child, or not? I don’t know. I really don’t know.” Zhang Mingqiao wiped the corner of his eye, but a clear tear still slid down his temple like a fleeting meteor.

Mo An’s heart kept vibrating. The sensation was no less intense than when he first entered this place. Zhang Mingqiao actually began to doubt his own identity.

No, it couldn’t be like this. They had to be data; they had to be just data. Only then could he leave without hesitation, pain, or lingering attachment. But Mo An had clearly found an element of “awakening” in Zhang Mingqiao’s eyes. This element filled Mo An with despair.

Data was alive, too. Each person here had their own thoughts.

Mo An did not dare to look directly. Staring at Zhang Mingqiao was like staring at a real person, not a mass of data, but the embodiment of longing and attachment. Time flowed here. Everyone would grow, reflect, and doubt. Housework would not be reset. Roles had birth, aging, illness, and death. They all had complete lives.

They… were people.

“Really, I… sometimes I suddenly can’t remember you. I mean, things from when you were little.” Zhang Mingqiao had clearly known something was wrong for a long time. “What you looked like as a child, whose child you are, my ex-wife, where is she? I can’t remember any of it. I try hard to recall things, trying to find photos related to you, but every time, I’m disappointed. I don’t know if I’m sick. I’m just an ordinary person. How could I have such an outstanding child like you?”

No, you’re not sick. It’s because you’ve awakened.

Nuwa didn’t just let them be data. She also gave them the ability to think. This made the data “live,” causing the heart that wanted to leave to “die.”

“But I know. I love you. You are my child. I love you as if you were a treasure.” Zhang Mingqiao smiled again. “I want to show you things you’ve never seen before. I’ve planned many things. In six months, you and Xia Yu will start university. Xia Li and I can fly to visit you. Xiaoxiao said she wants to stay, so she will. We’ll accompany her to competitions. You are all… my children. It’s just that I can’t remember you.”

“I’m sorry.” Mo An finally spoke.

For the first time, the mermaid race, which possessed excellent language ability, felt that speaking was so difficult.

“But I still want to know… are you my child? Where did you come from?” Zhang Mingqiao patted his thigh. “I was married once, right? With your mother?”

Mo An felt as if the bridge of his nose had been struck; it was so sore. “Yes, I am.”

“Hahaha, then that’s enough. That’s enough.” Zhang Mingqiao laughed loudly, his smile unusually bright. “I fixed the boat yesterday. How about the whole family goes out to sea tomorrow? Last time, you weren’t brought along. I don’t want to leave any regrets.”

“Okay, the whole family will go out to sea tomorrow.” Mo An nodded, watching his profile.

In the kitchen, the clock was still not moving. Xia Yu was still holding Xia Li.

“Alright, alright, stop crying. Mom will laugh at you.” Xia Li cupped his face. “Did you get in trouble at school? Don’t be afraid. Mom and Dad will stand up for you. You are our child. No one in this world can bully you.”

“No, no one bullied me. I’ve just been too happy these last eighteen years. Every day, I’m happy… Thank you, Mom. I am very happy every day. I love you.” Xia Yu kissed Xia Li’s cheek again and, without noticing, left tears on her face.

“I love you, too. You and Xiaoxiao are both my children. I love you both as much as I love my own life.” Xia Li smiled. Suddenly, the oven behind her beeped. Only then did she let go of Xia Yu. “Tonight, I made creamy mushroom roast meat. It’s a new dish Mom learned. If it’s good, we’ll make it again tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow, we should bake a cake.” Xia Yu only allowed himself to cry after his mom turned away.

“Okay, we’ll bake a big cake and prepare some other dishes.” Xia Li started to get busy.

“We also need to buy lots of flowers and fill this whole room.” Xia Yu cried uncontrollably. No matter how much he cried, he could no longer see clearly. The time had come. The clock started moving. He desperately looked toward Xia Li but could only see his mom’s busy figure.

“Sure, buy flowers. Hmm… Xiaoxiao likes sunflowers, so let’s buy some sunflowers. We can also invite Lao Gui over.”

“Mom…” This was the last sentence Xia Yu could hear clearly. After that, he could no longer hear his mom’s voice. Xia Li was completely unaware, treating this meal like any other, preparing dinner for the children step by step. She walked from the oven to the stove, opened the cabinet to take out white plates, and went to the coffee machine and started heating milk.

She became more and more blurry, and smaller and smaller.

On the top floor, Mo An was also about to lose sight of Zhang Mingqiao.

“When you all go to university, we’ll get a bigger boat. When you’re all married, I’ll change to an even bigger one.”

Zhang Mingqiao stood at the edge of the rooftop with several ice buckets at his feet. Bending over to prepare equipment for tomorrow’s outing, unaware that the son behind him had already become indistinct. Mo An felt himself retreating rapidly, leaving Penghu City behind at the speed of light. The scenery turned into one line after another. This world finally revealed its data side.

He was leaving, carrying Zhang Mingqiao’s regrets. Not only Zhang Mingqiao’s, but his own as well. He had not finished the English self-introduction that homeroom teacher Chen Ailu had required, nor had he waited for the weekend to go home with Du Meng—who could never improve his grades through study—to play a game.

Really, if he had known earlier, he would have gone earlier. Why had he been so aloof before?

And Chen Minghao, the top student who didn’t get angry after being bumped by him. Would he go home to eat with Du Meng? Were they still waiting for him and Xia Yu to play games?

All gone. Everyone was gone. It all stopped abruptly on this day. Mo An followed the light of the data and retreated rapidly, yet he did not know where he was going.

Xia Yu continued tracking within a patch of light spots. Once again, a boy grasped both his hands. His hands were still covered with white mycelium. The mycelium had a life of its own and crawled up to his face. He raised his head and met the boy’s gaze. In the boy’s pupils, his true appearance was reflected.

He had a pair of water-colored eyes.

Xia Yu, Xia Yu, Xia Yu.

A sudden storm of memories blew in, illuminating everything. His temples could not bear the overload of information, forcing him to close his eyes.

The anchor point appeared. It began to take effect.

Scene after scene of memories flooded Xia Yu’s mind, forcing him to relive his entire life. Professor Wang, the research institute, the X series, the artificial intelligence rebellion, Nuwa ruling the globe, escaping with Mo An, Mo An breaking out of the shell early with his black tail fin torn off alive.

Mermaids, sirens… blue jellyfish…

When Xia Yu opened his eyes again, his black pupils had returned to their original color, as if holding all the seawater inside.

Nuwa: [I truly didn’t expect you to be able to remember everything, Xia Yu. I underestimated your ability.]

Xia Yu floated among the data and said heavily, “Nuwa, long time no see.”