Everyone stood as instructed by Zhan Wen, forming a formation that felt like ‘stars surrounding the moon,’ with Jiang Liyue at the center of attention.
Without a doubt, Jiang Liyue was facing the direction of his teammate, not deviating even a little. Zhan Wen cunningly had Jiang Liyue spin around first to observe his usual spinning direction, which was to the right, a direction most people are accustomed to.
Knowing this, Zhan Wen chose to stand next to Zhao Chenxing, in the next position along the spinning direction. With fewer people and a large circle, each person was about seven or eight meters apart.
This meant that after Jiang Liyue finished spinning, he would need to walk nearly nine to ten meters to reach the outer circle, where Zhao Chenxing was standing.
And as everyone knows, it’s hard for someone who just finished spinning to walk in a straight line; they tend to veer in the direction they were spinning due to inertia. Therefore, Zhan Wen’s position was the best to catch his teammate.
Zhao Chenxing, quick-witted as he was, had already guessed that Zhan Wen’s position was optimal. He just couldn’t figure out why Zhan Wen went through so much trouble to set this up. Was it just to make them lose? He didn’t think Zhan Wen had such a strong desire to win.
With a command from Huan Huan, Jiang Liyue started spinning from the direction facing Zhao Chenxing, needing to do so at his fastest speed to complete it within the allotted time.
While spinning, Jiang Liyue couldn’t help but marvel at the realism of the holographic game. He genuinely felt the world spinning around him, and even after stopping, the blurred scenery seemed to continue spinning rapidly around him. The sounds entering his ears fluctuated in volume, and he had to focus all his energy to analyze Zhao Chenxing’s position.
That was…
His brother’s direction.
Zhao Chenxing saw Jiang Liyue frowning tightly, struggling to walk towards him, and felt a pang of heartache.
Wasn’t it just jet lag? Why couldn’t he overcome it? It caused Jiang Liyue to be punished. This dizzying feeling must be uncomfortable. If he had known, he would have taken the punishment himself, regardless of what others said.
As Jiang Liyue wobbled closer to Zhan Wen’s position, Zhao Chenxing quickly shouted, “Jiang Liyue!”
At that moment, Zhao Chenxing’s clear voice was incredibly penetrating, like sunlight breaking through layers of clouds, instantly shining into Jiang Liyue’s heart.
Jiang Liyue’s steps shifted slightly, his body veering a few degrees towards Zhao Chenxing, continuing to stagger forward.
At that moment, in Jiang Liyue’s eyes and heart, there was only one person, one thought.
“He must go to that person, be by his side, no matter how many obstacles there are, he must go!”
However, things often don’t go as planned. The inertia from the rapid spinning was too overwhelming, causing Jiang Liyue to inevitably veer towards Zhan Wen.
Zhan Wen stood there like he was on a red carpet, standing tall and reaching out with a smile to catch Jiang Liyue.
The unfamiliar touch on his hand made Jiang Liyue’s hair stand on end, cold sweat gathering at his temples. He pressed his lips tightly, his teeth unconsciously biting the soft flesh of his cheek.
This wasn’t Zhao Chenxing!
Zhan Wen was waiting for Jiang Liyue to hug him when he suddenly noticed something was wrong with Jiang Liyue.
Although it was noon, the weather setting was deep autumn, and they were all wearing autumn coats. The open square, with the autumn breeze carrying a hint of fruit fragrance, brought a coolness. In such weather, one wouldn’t sweat, so why was Jiang Liyue’s temple covered in a fine layer of sweat?
Moreover, Zhan Wen began to feel the hand he was holding becoming damp and trembling. He looked at Jiang Liyue in surprise, finding him shaking all over.
[ALARM! Alert!] The wristband on Jiang Liyue’s wrist began vibrating, sounding an alarm.
[Life signs exceeding normal values, heart rate too fast! Requesting permission from the variety show control room to disconnect!]
*
In the live broadcast room, viewers saw Jiang Liyue stop all movements as soon as he touched Zhan Wen’s hand. Then, red letters popped up on the screen, indicating that something unexpected had happened in the live broadcast.
[Wok! What’s going on?]
[Quickly disconnect! Why are they requesting permission? It’s already an alarm!]
[5555, another accident? Why is it always our brother!]
[Is it because he touched Zhan Wen’s hand?]
[Did Zhan Wen put something on his hand?]
[It must be Jiang Liyue’s homophobia, I’ve never seen such a severe case of homophobia before.]
[This looks like a psychological issue… don’t flame me, I’m a psychologist.]
[Woc, I thought his homophobia was just a character setting.]
Before Zhan Wen could think much, out of the corner of his eye, someone moved swiftly, like a shadow from a martial arts drama, appearing beside him in an instant.
Just as he was curious about what Assistant Zhao was going to do, Zhan Wen found his hand being chopped away by Zhao Chenxing, who unceremoniously and with great strength pulled his hand, separating him from Jiang Liyue.
Then, with his right hand, Zhao Chenxing wrapped his arm around Jiang Liyue, pulling him a few steps away.
Woc! Who is this person with such strength? Zhan Wen cursed inwardly, rubbing his wrist that was sore from being pulled.
From his angle, Jiang Liyue was almost half-embraced in the assistant’s arms, being supported to the side.
The tension Jiang Liyue had been holding onto relaxed when he smelled the familiar scent beside him, finally letting go of his suspended heart.
In the second before he fainted, he had only one thought: Thank goodness, you’re here.
*
[Woc! Brother!! Gggg!!]
[Goddamn broken variety show! Treating our brother like this! Do they want to live?]
[Why haven’t they ended it yet? Do they not treat celebrities as humans?]
[I’ve already called 120! Brother, hold on!]
[These variety shows can’t stand it if a celebrity doesn’t have an accident.]
Soon, the variety show that had incited public anger was once again sent to the top of Weibo’s trending searches by the traffic they so dearly cherished.
*
Qian Da was anxious and had nowhere to vent his frustration. They had been on the trending searches twice in less than half a day since the broadcast started, it was outrageous.
He could only vent his anger on the programmer beside him, whose hairline was barely visible.
“What happened! How could Jiang Liyue have this situation? Didn’t your company say they would ensure the artists’ safety?”
The programmer’s fingers flew over the keyboard, inputting a string of commands to the internal super-intelligent AI, then he took off his thick glasses and slammed them on the table.
“How would I know? Isn’t this your artist’s problem? So many people abroad are fine, but there’s a problem with yours!”
Qian Da knew he had been too angry just now, venting on the innocent programmer, so he softened his tone, “The main thing is, how do we solve this situation now?”
As he spoke, Qian Da looked at his phone, filled with messages like “On the Road [Mixed Religion] get out!” “No wonder it’s ‘On the Road,’ soon it’ll be gone!” “If the variety show doesn’t treat people right, don’t expect people to join!” He frowned deeply, pinching his brow hard.
Qian Da: “Didn’t you say that to prevent such things from happening, NEURON provided us with their AI product in beta testing, and also a physiological and emotional expert? Where is the expert?”
“Is the expert very free? Besides, it was you who suddenly moved up the broadcast time. According to the contract, the expert was supposed to return next week to intervene.”
“Could you please contact the expert? And what’s the situation inside now?” Qian Da quickly grabbed the last straw.
The programmer put his glasses back on, squinting at the message just sent by Huan Huan.
[Number 108, your message has been received. Currently, there are no major issues inside, except for Jiang Liyue.]
The programmer wasn’t very familiar with the super-intelligent AI developed by their company. He only knew that this AI project was top-secret within the company, with only high-level access to its core content.
Looking at it this way, the AI’s response did seem like a real person, but no matter how real it seemed, it wasn’t a real person!
After all, what he cared about now was Jiang Liyue’s condition! When he asked Huan Huan about the situation inside, anyone would know to reply with the key points. But no, it gave him a “no major issues inside.”
You should explain Jiang Liyue’s current condition! Is it fun to keep us hanging like this?
*
After detecting Jiang Liyue’s rapid heartbeat, Huan Huan had already prepared to activate the emergency measures in the holographic pod.
In Huan World, the sensations of standing fatigue, sun exposure, injuries, etc., are directly applied to the brain cortex through microchips connected to their scalp. This technology has not yet been mass-produced, and NEURON is still in beta testing.
However, psychological issues caused by encountering overly realistic scenes in the world can directly affect the player’s psychological level and cannot be repaired through emergency measures.
Jiang Liyue’s performance just now, with no abnormalities around, led Huan Huan to analyze the bullet screen and its own database, concluding that it was a psychological issue.
Psychological issues are not something she can solve now, and because of this, NEURON also reminded the variety show side. If psychological discomfort occurs, the connection needs to be terminated immediately and exited.
NEURON even dispatched one of its co-founders, a doctor of physiology and psychology, to help control emergencies.
Huan Huan: “Should we directly implement the cardiac intervention strategy?”
Zhao Chenxing, while supporting the fainted Jiang Liyue to sit by the pool at the side of the square, where there was a shaded area under a parasol, was familiar with Jiang Liyue’s condition. Since that incident, Jiang Liyue had developed severe psychological issues. He felt extremely uncomfortable with the touch and affection of the same sex, experiencing symptoms like excessive sweating, nausea, and vomiting.
When this happened in childhood, as long as he was around, Jiang Liyue would feel much better. The fainting would quickly turn into sleep.
“No need, just check if he’s asleep now.”
Huan Huan checked the physiological data in the background again.
…
Indeed, he was sleeping soundly.
“Zhao Chenxing, since Jiang Liyue did not complete the punishment task as required, your activity area will be restricted. Other groups have already started their tasks, and you can only stay in this square.” Huan Huan sincerely felt anxious for their ‘traitor’ identity.
Zhao Chenxing gently placed Jiang Liyue’s head on his lap, placing Jiang Liyue’s hand on his own abdomen. Jiang Liyue’s current posture was like a body about to be laid to rest.
Zhao Chenxing looked at his long, thick eyelashes, his forehead hair lightly brushing over his high nose bridge.
Oh! Jiang Liyue even had a lip bead! Although small, upon closer inspection, it could still be seen. Usually, this lip bead seemed shy, hidden by its owner, but now that he was asleep, it could openly display its charm.
While carefully observing Jiang Liyue, Zhao Chenxing lazily said, “So what?”
“Since he’s fine and just asleep, you can wake him up. That way, your task won’t fall too far behind the other groups.”
Zhao Chenxing lowered his tone, speaking word by word, “I’m not here for the task; protecting him is my task.”