MASG chapter 183: Extra 23

◎ It was the garden, the garden at home! Mo An rubbed his eyes. ◎

“Will this really work?”

Xia Yu held A’Manqi in his arms. In front of them was the newly developed sleep pod, a device capable of connecting to the virtual world.

Lao Gui patted the hatch of the sleep pod. These past few months had practically worked him to the bone.

“This is the latest generation. I was among the first batch of volunteers. It’s already quite stable. If it weren’t stable, I wouldn’t have called you here.”

Xia Xiaoxiao had also specially returned to Qingyao City. After half a year apart, she had grown even taller, more than half a head taller than Xia Yu. Her originally ear-length short hair had grown long enough to brush her shoulders, and her straight bangs made her look like a mechanical girl.

Over the past six months, she and Silver Fang had accomplished many things. The moment she heard Lao Gui’s call, she hurried back. Xia Yu and Mo An had not changed much, except that there was now a little fish by their side.

“It’s really stable?” She walked to the left side of the pod and peered inside.

The interior was filled with transparent gelatinous liquid. Warm-colored lights spread across the bottom, making it look like a little boat with warmth. She reached her hand in to test it.

“It’s warm?”

“The same temperature as our bodies,” Lao Gui nodded.

The reason he had informed them right away was that he completely understood how they felt. Xia Yu and Xia Xiaoxiao had a virtual memory that spanned eighteen years, leaving them nostalgic for Penghu City. Back then, Ling Shi controlled everything, and Penghu City had been reduced to ashes. Fortunately, Nuwa had preserved the foundational data and improved upon it, turning the virtual world into an entirely new field of study.

Unlike the inhumane Ling Shi “Bloom Project,” this time technology existed to serve humanity.

“Then we can definitely make a trip there.” Xia Xiaoxiao was bold; there was practically nowhere in the world she wouldn’t dare go. “When can we leave?”

Lao Gui made a welcoming gesture.

“Anytime.”

Xia Xiaoxiao turned to Xia Yu and Mo An.

“What do you think?”

Since everyone else had said so, Xia Yu and Mo An had no objections. After all, they also wanted to go back and have a look. But A’Manqi cast the dissenting vote.

“You’re leaving? How long will you be gone? Sister Xiaoxiao, won’t you stay with me anymore?”

“I will. I’ll come out and stay with you in a little while.” Xia Xiaoxiao herself didn’t know how to sort out the generations anymore. Everything was a mess. A’Manqi called her “sister” and called Mo An “uncle.” The little guy babbled nonsense all day long.

Xiang Xing and Midou had come with them and happened to enter the laboratory at that moment. Xia Yu set A’Manqi down and crouched to speak with him.

“Don’t worry. We’re just going in for a bit. We’ll be out in a few minutes.”

The last time, Mo An had stayed in Penghu City for several months, but only five minutes had passed in the real world. Xia Yu took off his coat and personally draped it over A’Manqi’s shoulders.

“How about you go find Brother Midou and Brother Xiang Xing? Let them have a drink with you, and then the three of us will come right back!”

“Really? I can have a drink?” A’Manqi still had a child’s mentality. The moment he heard the word drink, his eyes lit up.

“No carbonated drinks. Only fruit juice.” Xia Yu rubbed his little head. “Go on.”

A’Manqi kissed Xia Yu, then ran over to hug Xia Xiaoxiao and Mo An’s legs before happily running off to find Midou.

Xia Yu took a deep breath and turned back to Lao Gui.

“Let’s begin. Do we need to take off our clothes?”

“You don’t have to. This gelatinous liquid won’t soak your clothes. On the contrary, it’ll form a special protective layer.”

Afraid they wouldn’t believe him, Lao Gui walked to the pod first, opened the hatch, and stepped inside.

As he entered, the liquid level began to rise. He lay back into the center of the gelatinous mass, and the hatch closed behind him.

“Let’s go take a look.” Adventurous by nature, Xia Xiaoxiao was the second to enter a sleep pod.

Mo An walked to Xia Yu’s side.

“If you’re worried, you don’t have to go. I can test it for you first.”

“It’s fine. I’m not that fragile.”

Xia Yu knew Mo An was simply worried about him. He chose two adjacent sleep pods, one for each of them.

Mo An didn’t really like sleep pods. They were cramped and narrow, always reminding him of the time before he had hatched. He had once gone through the process in Yukun City and knew very well how virtual-world connections worked and how painful they were. He had already prepared himself mentally for some pain.

Unexpectedly, this time… it was completely painless?

The needles and electrodes that had once needed to pierce deep into the skin had all become suction cups. They automatically searched for bioelectric signals in the human body and attached themselves in sequence.

Mo An widened his eyes. Wanting to see how fast he could enter the virtual world this time, he silently began counting down.

10, 9, 8, 7…

A bright light appeared before his eyes.

“Hah…” He sucked in a breath.

The light transformed into a three-dimensional image. Beneath his feet was no longer gelatinous liquid but a patch of grass.

It was the garden, the garden at home! Mo An rubbed his eyes.

Xia Yu and Xia Xiaoxiao were also transported in at the same moment, so quickly that they were completely unprepared.

Their impression of this place ran even deeper than Mo An’s. Forget the grass—they could remember every brick and tile of the house, because they had been there when it was built.

“We’re back?” Xia Xiaoxiao took a few steps forward.

Already capable of standing on her own, her eyes unexpectedly reddened. It wasn’t like her at all. The last time she had left, she had been completely unconscious. She only remembered falling asleep at home. When she woke up, she had once again been forced to face cruel reality.

Xia Yu was the same, standing motionless as he observed his surroundings.

With every breath, he became more certain. The air carried the scent of freshly baked bread. The raisin bread had been his and Xiaoxiao’s favorite when they were “children.”

The year they left, the sky above Penghu City had been blood-red like a torn wound, and even the crosswalks on the roads had become distorted.

Nuwa: [Welcome to Penghu City, Xia Yu, Xiaoxiao, Mo An, and Test Subject Zero, Lao Gui.]

Lao Gui stepped out from behind them.

“Hey, hey, can you change that title?”

Nuwa: [Sorry, that is your official designation. Xia Yu, Xiaoxiao, I have adjusted your eyes back to black. You don’t mind, do you?]

“Not at all,” Xia Xiaoxiao said.

Nuwa: [Good. In Zhang Mingqiao’s and Xia Li’s consciousness, you are ordinary children. Mo An, you are still a mermaid here. You can still transform after entering the sea.]

“Are my classmates still here? Is my homeroom teacher still here?” Mo An asked anxiously.

Nuwa: [They are all here. The timeline is later than when you originally left. It is now your winter break of freshman year in university. Today is the first day of the vacation, and you have just come home.]

“Thank you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for us.”

Xia Yu was deeply moved, but then he asked:

“However, I have a question… Back then, both Zhang Mingqiao and Xia Li showed signs of awakening. Can that be controlled?”

Nuwa: [I can control it very well. Ling Shi was only the first-generation model. I’ve already improved that aspect. Technology must be people-oriented. The misuse of Ling Shi serves as a negative example. Now… please enjoy your vacation and spend time with your family.]

As soon as the words fell, a suitcase appeared before everyone except Lao Gui. At that exact moment, footsteps sounded from the entrance.

They all looked over at once.

Zhang Mingqiao and Xia Li stood on the steps, several shopping bags at their feet. They had clearly just returned from the supermarket.

“Huh? Why are you all here so quickly? Did you happen to catch the same ferry?” Xia Li wore a sleeveless dress. The moment she saw all three children return together, all the fatigue from shopping vanished.

Xia Yu didn’t even bother with his luggage. He ran over and hugged her.

“Mom…”

That single word, “Mom,” carried too many emotions.

Xia Yu could never let go of those feelings, even though he knew they were fake. That was the difference between humans and machines. Humans had emotions; they could never be completely rational.

Xia Xiaoxiao also ran over and hugged Xia Li together with Xia Yu, leaving Xia Li flustered and at a loss.

“What happened? You went away to university for half a year and came home as little crybabies?”

“We missed you!” Xia Xiaoxiao actually acted spoiled.

Mo An walked behind them toward his father.

Zhang Mingqiao looked no different from when they had left. He stood there smiling as he waited.

When Mo An reached him, he unexpectedly found himself unable to say anything.

In the end, Zhang Mingqiao spoke first.

“Well, well, your hair’s gotten so long?”

Mo An nodded.

“It has.”

“You seem taller too!” Zhang Mingqiao patted his shoulder. “And stronger than when you were in high school!”

After wiping her son’s tears, Xia Li wiped her daughter’s as well. Comparing their heights to her own, she said:

“Exactly. Just look at Xiaoxiao. Back in high school, she wasn’t even as tall as Xia Yu. Now she’s grown this much taller.”

“Let’s not stand around chatting at the door. Let’s go inside first,” Zhang Mingqiao reminded everyone. “Mo An, let’s head in!”

“Okay, I’ll get the luggage.”

Mo An hadn’t forgotten their prop luggage. By the time he carried all three suitcases to the doorway and turned around, their neighbor Wang Ming had already arrived carrying beer, while Lao Gui had long since prepared a bottle opener.

Nothing in the house had changed at all!

Xia Yu noticed it the moment he stood in the entryway changing shoes.

Nuwa had recreated the place perfectly. Even the angle of the photo frames remained unchanged.

The only difference was that there weren’t nearly as many sneakers anymore, since all three of them had gone off to “university.”

The moment Xia Li entered the house, she became busy.

Busy cutting fruit for them, busy measuring the children’s heights, and busy complaining that the clothes she had bought no longer fit them.

Meanwhile, Zhang Mingqiao volunteered to cook personally and prepared several of their favorite dishes.

“Come, come, try your old man’s cooking. This soup has been simmering for a long time. Mo An, this is your favorite fish.”

Zhang Mingqiao carried over the bowl of soup.

Xia Li sliced bread beside him.

“Your father heard that all of you bought plane tickets for today, so he started making soup last night. Nothing could stop him.”

“You didn’t need to rush so much. We’d be happy eating anything at home.”

Xia Yu’s eyes were still red.

“Dad, Mom, have you been doing well at home?”

Xia Xiaoxiao and Mo An also set aside their food and looked at them together.

“Of course we’ve been well.” Zhang Mingqiao rubbed his eyes. “It’s just that after you all left for university together, your mother and I had a hard time adjusting. But it’s fine, it’s fine. At least you all come back during vacations. Tomorrow let’s go out to sea. Dad bought a new boat, and we’ll spend a night on the ocean!”

“Has the rooftop terrace been repaired?” Mo An couldn’t help asking.

“It has. You can see our dock from the rooftop now. I’ll take you up there later to have a look!”

Zhang Mingqiao walked over and ruffled Mo An’s hair as if he were still a child.

Mo An nodded shyly.

Sigh… it was still a little embarrassing.

 

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Author’s Note:

Mo An: I want to cry. Hold it in. I’m cool!

Xia Yu: I can’t hold it in. Waaah.

Xiaoxiao: I’ll cry first…