660: From Now On

From Now On

0One could not actually fault Dr. Feng for his ignorance. He would only be summoned every time the Technical or Maintenance Department found a bug in the main system. As for what was happening inside the simulation, he completely did not care. It was like how a game developer would only make sure that the program ran smoothly. As for the gaming experience itself, the beta team would be the one to test it out and report if there was any problem.  0

And Lu Yizhou's rebellious daughter, Bianca, could not even be considered as a bug. 

She was born naturally inside the simulator and later gained intelligence and consciousness as her own. Lu Yizhou could not actually classify what she was, he only knew that she had the capability to go in and out of the simulator undetected.

As such, it was no wonder that Dr. Feng knew nothing.

When he heard that there was such a wondrous existence who had been going round and round the system for months, Dr. Feng's jaws dropped so wide that a goose egg could be shoved into it. He was totally taken aback and dumbfounded by this unbelievable news. 

"She is my daughter. I watched her grow up with my own eyes," Lu Yizhou stressed heavily. "She is not a bug."

"Of course, I know she's not a bug. Otherwise, could she have evaded my supervision all this while?!" Dr. Feng gritted out. 

He could not believe this… oh God, there was actually a new independent artificial intelligence in the main system that slipped away unnoticed from right under his nose! How to describe it? It was just like keeping an intelligent robot for years only to realize that it had secretly given birth from God-knows-when, and the child had even grown into a mature robot! Let's not mention how he was totally unaware of it, the fact that Bianca existed was already a miraculous feat! Worst of all, he even had to hear this earth-shattering news from another person!

Dr. Feng was not interested in Lu Yizhou any longer. He wished he could transport back into his office and had a long and serious talk with this legendary daughter. He tossed out a perfunctory sentence toward Lu Yizhou whilst striding out in haste, "Don't worry. I won't do anything to her." 

Then, he suddenly heard Lu Yizhou pipe in behind him. "She is also Zeke's daughter."

Dr. Feng tripped on his feet and almost slammed his face flat on the ground. Fortunately, he grabbed onto the door frame in time. He whipped his head around and wheezed out in a breathless voice, "What did you just say??!!"

***

Thick silence returned to Lu Yizhou's hospital room once Dr. Feng left with a whirlwind under his feet.

Lu Yizhou heaved out a sigh and kneaded his forehead. [He really won't do anything to Bianca, will he?]

One second after he asked that question inside his mind, he was startled and a wry chuckle escaped his lips. He did it again… Even when he had just woken up, the first thing he did was to address the system in his mind. Only when all that greeted him was silence did he come to an abrupt realization that he had really returned to reality.

It might only be three months for others, but for Lu Yizhou, he had gone through many lifetimes together with 666. At first, he would be irritated by the system's loud and vivacious voice. But he did not know when… he had really gotten accustomed to 666's presence by his side. 

Out of nowhere, a surge of inexplicable loneliness washed through him.

Had everything always been this quiet? 

Once, he had consumed a lot of sleeping pills just to obtain this kind of peace and serenity, but now that Lu Yizhou got it back, he only felt like… the silence was too vast and redundant. It brought forth too many unnecessary thoughts.

Lu Yizhou lowered his lashes to stare at Zeke's peacefully sleeping face on the terminal screen. There were a lot of things he had to get used to from now on. He had to learn how to navigate this fragile and weak body, had to get in touch again with the technology he had left behind, had to accept the fact that he could only see his lover's sleeping face through the terminal, and most importantly… he also had to get used to this loud silence in his mind.

From now on, there would no longer be a cheerful and lively system who would sweetly call him 'Host', who would cry every time it encountered something scary, who would complain ceaselessly every time its screen was blocked by mosaic, who would spout out rainbow farts to praise him, and who would sing him a lullaby when he could not sleep.

From now on… Lu Yizhou had to get used to life without 666 by his side.

A tinge of regret wormed its way into Lu Yizhou's heart. He should have bid 666 a proper goodbye, or at least that was how he had planned it to be. He thought he would be able to reunite with his lover, stay a few more years with him and fulfill the promise of showing the beautiful world to him. After everything was done, he would then bid both Zeke and 666 goodbye. The last goodbye.

Who could have guessed that things would go haywire at the very last moment?

His promise went unfulfilled. He did not manage to reunite with 55, and he could not even remember his last interaction with 666. He only recalled hearing the system's desperate and trembling cries inside his buzzing and chaotic mind. 

Lu Yizhou heaved out a sigh. Now that he thought back about it, their farewell was too abrupt and lousy. He only hoped that this incident would not leave a psychological trauma for 666 in the future. It was such a pity that he could not redo it again…

***

Seven days were not actually that long, now that Lu Yizhou had experienced it by himself. 

Except for the first night where he spent the time counting Zeke's breathing until the first ray of sunshine spilled into his window, he would pass out from exhaustion every single night after that. His physical condition had truly been quite severe. He had to work twice as hard to loosen the atrophied muscles, and this time, he finally experienced once again what 100% pain felt like. 

However, when all was said and done, Lu Yizhou was a very hard-working and tenacious patient. If the doctor did not come to usher him away, he would spend almost all day in the physical therapy room. 

On the third day, he managed to stand up without help.

On the fourth day, he could walk one full lap around the therapy room.

On the sixth day, he had basically regained his former mobility.

His recovery rate was so astounding that he became the widely discussed topic in the hospital for a while. 

Despite saying that he would come back the day after, Dr. Feng was not actually seen in the hospital until the seventh day he had promised Lu Yizhou. It was unknown what important business he was entangled with. 

When he finally visited the hospital again, he was taken aback when he found Lu Yizhou leaning against the wall outside his ward. He had changed out of the patient gown and was wearing a black knitted sweater, dark jeans and a similarly black trench coat outside. The dark overall was a stark contrast to his pale complexion and bright colored hair.

The young man straightened up upon seeing him. "Let's go."

Dr. Feng was flabbergasted by this sudden remark which came out of nowhere. "G–Go where?"

Lu Yizhou's brows creased subtly. "To see Zeke, of course." The look he cast Dr. Feng was kind of accusing, as though demanding, 'Are you going back on your words now?'

It was only then that Dr. Feng snapped out of his reverie. Disbelief was etched on his features as he gave Lu Yizhou another once-over. "You…" he trailed off, unable to continue his sentence. He was completely rendered speechless by Lu Yizhou's state of recovery. 

At first, he had thrown out that 'seven day promise' just so that Lu Yizhou could take his time to recuperate, and he did not actually have a lot of expectations– no, scratch that, never had he foreseen that he would see Lu Yizhou stand up, let alone walk so smoothly and elegantly like this!

Dr. Feng took off his glasses, wiped them with the hem of his shirt and wore them back. The sight in front of him remained unchanged. The one who was standing in front of him was really Lu Yizhou. Lu Yizhou, who was supposed to be half-paralyzed in bed. Lu Yizhou, who should have obediently stayed in bed to recuperate instead of walking around looking like a high-class model of a magazine…

"Let's go," Lu Yizhou said again with a hint of impatience when he did not see any signs that Dr. Feng would move.

Still disoriented, Dr. Feng turned around and stiffly led the way. It was not until they entered the hover car, whose engine had not even cooled down yet, that Dr. Feng finally regained his senses. 

He could not help but nag along the journey, seriously advising Lu Yizhou that young people should take better care of their own body. Alas, Lu Yizhou only stared out of the window with a blank look on his face, it was unknown whether he was listening or not. Dr. Feng was so enraged that he floored the accelerator harder and cut the distance that would usually need half an hour to take into twenty minutes.

They arrived in front of an inconspicuous building that resembled a research institute. It stood amidst the vast expanse of green lawn, and a few maple trees could be seen lined up along the cobblestone path. The atmosphere was very serene and tranquil. Through the windows, Lu Yizhou could see a few indistinct silhouettes walking back and forth inside. 

Until now, Lu Yizhou still had lingering fear when he saw a research institute. He couldn't help but recall the last simulation that housed a lot of experimental subjects. For some inexplicable reason, he perceived that there were a lot of aspects in that simulation which closely mirrored reality. For example, Zeke's unconscious state and also, this institute in front of him…

"He is here?" 

"That's right," Dr. Feng activated automatic parking on his hover car before gesturing toward Lu Yizhou. "Let's go in. I can finally tell you everything about his special condition."

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