【All attributes upgraded as follows:】
【Player: Li Xi
Level: Lv. 20
Stamina: 22+
Agility: 17+
Strength: 19+
Intelligence: 29+
Available Skill Points: 2】
Li Xi hesitated briefly, then put both newly acquired skill points into Agility, shoring up her weakest stat.
【Settlement complete. Exiting game in five seconds.】
【Five, four, three, two, one.】
Li Xi's body suddenly dissolved into a mass of green energy data and crumbled into nothingness before everyone's eyes.
Chen Lei rubbed his eyes. It took him a long moment to register what he'd seen.
A living, breathing person had just vanished right under his nose?!
"Within three minutes, I want every piece of service record on that female soldier!"
Chen Lei barked the order at his adjutant.
***
When Li Xi opened her eyes again, she found herself back at Origin Internet Cafe.
She was sitting in the gaming chair, right hand on the mouse, left hand on the keyboard, a pair of headphones half the size of her face clamped over her ears.
The screen still showed the final scene from before she'd left the game: countless soldiers crowded around her layer upon layer, monster corpses piled into mountains below the walls, blood pooled into lakes, and in the distance, a mountain cleaved in two, blazing with raging fire.
【Moderate gaming harms peace; game addiction saves the world. Welcome back next time. Goodbye!】
A light-panel materialized; then the monitor exited the game on its own and began to shut down.
"F***! Played all night and I already dropped out of Silver again."
The cafe owner was grumbling about something.
Coming out of a virtual world thrilling enough to send the soul soaring, Li Xi felt an enormous emptiness wrap itself around her heart, as though the entire world had abandoned her.
She didn't dare face the cruelty of reality.
If only reality could have an ending as perfect as the one in the game — how wonderful that would be!
Jianglin Fortress had held against the monster onslaught, the threat of death pushed back, everyone with a job to go to, everyone with books to study, everyone... with someone to love.
Li Xi smiled bitterly, took off the headphones, and slowly rose to her feet. Whatever purpose the cafe owner had in guiding her here, she knew she had served it. It was time to leave this mysterious internet cafe.
The word 【Goodbye】 on the light-panel just now was proof enough.
***
"Done with your game?"
When the girl stood up, Liu Haoming thought she was heading to the restroom — then he noticed the dark screen and realized she was logging off to leave.
"Yes, I'm done," Li Xi answered respectfully, then thanked him from the bottom of her heart:
"Thank you so much. The night I spent here — I was truly happy!"
He had first saved her from the Catastrophe Rats hunting her down, then used VR technology to craft her a dream. Even if she died the very next second, she would have no regrets.
A doubtful look crossed Liu Haoming's face. He knew she was thanking him for the free internet time, but why did it sound so weird?
Anyone who didn't know better would think I'd done something to her.
"As long as you're happy. The world inside a game may be beautiful, but there are plenty of things worth cherishing in reality too," Liu Haoming advised Li Xi in the tone of a man who'd seen it all.
Acting mature in front of a pretty girl was a chronic condition shared by virtually every man, and Liu Haoming was no exception — even though a shut-in like him had absolutely no business dispensing that kind of wisdom.
***
"As long as you're happy. The world inside a game may be beautiful, but there are plenty of things worth cherishing in reality too."
The cafe owner's voice drifted into her ears, ancient and unhurried, with the air of one who had watched all things rise and fall. His face, hidden beneath that veil of chaos mist, must be etched with the weariness of countless ages.
Li Xi nodded thoughtfully, sensing that the cafe owner was trying to remind her of something.
"What if reality is about to be destroyed?" she found herself asking.
Liu Haoming nearly jumped out of his skin!
He'd only meant to show off a little in front of the girl; he'd never expected her to drag him into something as heavy as the destruction of reality.
Had her internet addiction really gotten this bad?
She'd die without wifi?
After mulling it over for a moment, Liu Haoming suddenly felt he understood her a little.
For a lot of internet-addicted kids, it was family opposition that made their "reality" collapse. Their families only wanted them to grow up along the normal track — study hard, work hard, settle down — and treated anything to do with the internet like the plague.
Years ago, some parents had even sent their addicted children to the Electroshock King for shock therapy, and those kids carried scars that would never fade.
"Her family must be dead set against her going anywhere near the internet. Otherwise she'd never say something like 'reality is being destroyed.'"
Liu Haoming thought, sympathizing with her. It also explained why she'd shown up with that bizarre banknote to pay for internet time: she was old enough to be in college, yet she couldn't even scan a QR code to pay for her session.
Her family probably didn't give her a cent for the internet, and tonight she'd most likely snuck out.
"As long as there are people who care about you in reality, reality won't be destroyed."
Choosing his words carefully, Liu Haoming tried to console the girl, hoping she could patch things up with her family.
***
"As long as there are people who care about you in reality, reality won't be destroyed."
In a voice that had endured who knew how many ancient eons, the cafe owner laid bare the truth of existence before her.
Li Xi froze, staring at the cafe owner in a daze.
The blazing orbs in His eyes, fiercer and more brilliant than magma itself, seemed to hold a wisdom vaster than the entire universe.
In reality... were there still people who cared about her?
Of course there were!
The realization struck Li Xi all at once.
That enormous emptiness coiled around her heart vanished like smoke in the wind.
After tasting the beauty of the virtual world, she had been afraid to face the cruelty of reality. Now her courage was back. No matter how cruel reality was, she had to face life head-on, if only for the sake of the people who cared about her. She must never run away!
Was this the great cosmic truth the cafe owner had meant to teach her?
"Thank you for your guidance. I understand now. I will do everything in my power to stop reality from being destroyed!"
With that, Li Xi bowed deeply to Liu Haoming.
Satisfaction bloomed on Liu Haoming's face. Good that she's come around. That's all that matters.
Guiding an internet-addicted girl back onto the right path was no less satisfying than scoring a pentakill.
"I'm glad you've come to this realization. It's still dark out, so be careful on your way back." Liu Haoming nodded, and as he spoke he reached into a drawer and took out a red badge:
"Take this Origin Internet Cafe badge as a souvenir. If reality's pressure ever gets to be too much, you can always come back here to blow off steam."
Li Xi accepted the badge in a half-daze. It was forged from some unknown material, fire-red all over and radiating heat. Inside it an asphalt-like liquid flowed and shimmered, and its surface bore a name engraved in small, ancient, elegant script: 【Origin Internet Cafe】.