Su Yu closed his eyes.

"We need to select outstanding mecha warriors, people capable of injecting the X-virus and piloting mechas. Therefore, we have launched a program to assess participants in various aspects, including psychological qualities, adaptability, willpower, mental strength, stress resistance, and pain tolerance. We name this program—"

Su Yu uttered three resounding words, "Project X!"

Xia Linyin recalled her experience of being injected with the X virus in the game where she helped the clown find paint, and the words Su Jinyan had said to her when he left the game—

He discovered that most players had been injected with the X virus.

Xia Linyin murmured, "Is this the real reason why players inject the X virus...?"

Su Yu nodded. "The actual pain of injecting the X virus is much stronger than what you feel in the game. The pain of losing a hand or foot is nothing compared to this."

Su Yu pressed the button on his watch to bring up Xia Linyin's information, then raised an eyebrow.

"You're amazing. You actually withstood the refining of the Netherworld Flame. It seems that injecting the X virus is not a problem for you."

After closing Xia Linyin's profile, Su Yu took out a water balloon from his pocket, popped it into his mouth to moisten his dry throat, and continued.

"Of course, this project is also a training process. Participants need to be highly focused in order to avoid being killed by dangers that may appear at any time in the horror game, and operating a mech is something that requires a high level of concentration for a long time."

"As for memories, we will block the participants' memories before they enter the game, so that they can temporarily forget the past and forget that they are participants in the game."

"Then, a false memory will be implanted in the participants' brains. We set the background of this false memory in the 21st century, the century in which the movie Pacific Rim was filmed."

"Otherwise, participants will easily associate themselves with playing a virtual game, knowing that everything is fake and that they will not really die, which will prevent them from maximizing their potential."

"You should know that holographic online games had already begun to develop in the 22nd century."

Su Yu gently squeezed his throat. "Alright, do you have any other questions?"

"Did I participate in this game voluntarily?" Xia Linyin asked with a questioning tone, her eyes lowered, before repeating it in a narrative tone.

"I participated in this game voluntarily..."

After answering her own question, she laughed, a laugh tinged with sarcasm.

She hated games countless times, and hated the people behind them.

This game manipulates players at will, and she desperately wants to destroy it and find the mastermind behind it and tear him to pieces!

But the truth turned out to be like this, and she felt that everything she had thought in the past had become a joke!

She had suspected and speculated about the purpose of the game, but she never thought that she participated in the game voluntarily, let alone that the purpose of the game was like this.

A virtual horror game designed to select the best mech warriors.

The truth is unbelievable, yet terrifyingly real.

"Really..." Xia Linyin paused for a few seconds before saying, "It's both unexpected and reasonable."

“Then—” Xia Linyin looked at Su Yu with a gloomy expression, “it was you who made me repair Xiao Li and made Xiao Li and me kill each other.”

When Su Yu met Xia Linyin's dark eyes, he shrugged.

"That was a bug, and its existence had a significant impact on the game. We had to fix it."

"You need to understand that the purpose of the boss is to hone the participants. It's just that you've developed unnecessary feelings for the NPC, which is why things have become difficult."

"To be honest, I've never understood how bugs could appear in this game, even though I've tested it so many times."

Su Yu frowned deeply, seemingly troubled by this problem for a long time. However, his attitude towards Xiao Li completely enraged Xia Linyin.

With a muffled thud, Xia Linyin punched Su Yu hard in the face.

The blood and tears she shed in the game, the life-and-death separation between her and Xiao Li, her difficult choices, her heartbreak, her unbearable pain—in their eyes, it was nothing more than a bug, an NPC!

Yes! She's the ridiculous one!

She fell in love with an NPC!

As Xia Linyin, her eyes bloodshot, tried to rush forward again, the soldiers behind her restrained her from both sides. Xia Linyin struggled and shouted at Su Yu, "Do you know that he also feels pain? He also feels sadness!"

Su Yu rubbed his cheeks, looking at Xia Linyin in disbelief.

"Xia Linyin, how could you hit me? I've been explaining to you for so long, and you still hit me."

"Very well." Su Yu nodded, angrily tossed out a sentence, and turned to leave. "I refuse to answer any more of your questions until you apologize!"

The soldiers escorted Xia Linyin back to her room. In the cold, metallic room, Xia Linyin sat on the floor against the wall, her head bowed and her fingers tucked into her hair.

After a long while, her barely audible voice echoed in the room.

"So... it really was just a string of data..."