The rocks appeared, sharp-edged and jet black. But when her gaze fell on the sharpest points, those tips seemed to be veiled in an extremely faint, soft light, making them appear less threatening.
She approached and tried to touch the sharp corner with her finger. The expected stinging sensation didn't come; instead, she felt a slight pressure, like being gently pressed by a blunt object. Was the system automatically correcting for an "uncomfortable" experience?
She then tried to simulate a strong negative emotion, extreme anger.
She took a deep breath, trying to recall the things that truly angered her.
However, an invisible, gentle force enveloped her consciousness like water, forcibly calming and diluting the rising anger, leaving only an empty sense of powerlessness.
The rules here don't allow genuine negative emotions to exist? Or rather, they're not allowed to be "expressed"?
Jiang Chan's vigilance was at its highest. She began to look for more anomalies within the "perfection."
She walked towards a rocky area by the sea, where several virtual seabirds were circling and calling. Their calls were clear and melodious, but if you listened carefully, you would find that they were uttering the same few fixed combinations of syllables, like a pre-recorded recording playing on a loop.
She picked up a stone and threw it at a seabird. The stone passed right through the bird's body without causing any damage; the seabird continued flying along its usual trajectory, emitting the same call as before, as if nothing had happened.
There's no interaction, no feedback. They're just background panels.
Here, the sense of time was extremely blurred, and she relied entirely on her own biological clock to estimate it. About three days later, Jiang Chan decided to explore a wider public area. She called upon the guiding light beings and chose to go to the most bustling "Universal Celebration Plaza".
The moment the passage opened, a deafening roar of cheers mixed with cheerful music rushed towards us.
The plaza was unimaginably vast, its dome a flowing nebula, its surface shimmering with crystal. Countless elegantly dressed, flawlessly beautiful "residents" moved about within it. Three-dimensional projections of various delicacies floated in the air, emitting enticing aromas.
A magnificent animated scroll played on a giant screen, depicting the ultimate moments of joy experienced by the "residents" on the other side of the clouds: surfing in the clouds, dancing with mythical creatures, and tasting delicacies they had never imagined...
A sea of jubilation.
Jiang Chan walked through the crowd expressionlessly. Her clothes had been automatically changed by the system to a gorgeous long dress that matched the festive atmosphere, but her eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, scanning every "resident" who brushed past her.
Their faces were beaming with smiles. So perfectly synchronized. The angle of their upturned lips was almost identical, and their eyes gleamed with a formulaic excitement. Jiang Chan tried to strike up a conversation with a few of the "residents" who appeared to be alone.
“Today is a perfect celebration day!” she said to a well-dressed man who had stopped to watch the Nebula performance.
The man immediately turned his head, his face instantly beaming with an incredibly bright smile: "Yes! Praise be to the other side! Every day here is more perfect than the day before! Eternal happiness is within reach!" His tone was full of passion, but his eyes were empty and devoid of any emotional ripples.
Jiang Chan stopped another woman who was admiring the floating dessert projection: "This looks really delicious."
The woman immediately flashed an extremely pleased smile: "Of course! Nutritious and delicious! Most importantly, here we never have to worry about calories and health! The other side has thought of everything for us!" Her tone was enthusiastic, but her words were empty.
Every conversation followed a similar pattern: enthusiastic praise, an extolment of "perfection" and "the other side," and... monotonous, unoriginal expressions.
Jiang Chan even tried to steer the conversation towards topics that might resonate with people in the real world, such as childhood memories and hometown scenery, but the responses she received were either empty "those are all things of the past" or "the other side can perfectly replicate any scene you want."
The people here are like exquisite marionettes, repeating a pre-programmed sequence of happiness.
The climax of the celebration arrived. The enormous nebula dome transformed into magnificent spiral patterns, countless points of light cascaded down like waterfalls, and a colossal statue of the "Other Shore," composed of pure light, rose in the center of the plaza.
The statue emitted a soft and sacred light, enveloping the entire area. All the "residents" instantly erupted in thunderous cheers and praises.
"Praise be to the other shore!"
"Eternal glory!"
"A perfect god!"
"Thank you for granting us eternal bliss!"
The cheers were perfectly synchronized, as if rehearsed countless times. The frenzied atmosphere was almost intoxicating. Jiang Chan stood at the edge of the crowd, feeling an immense, invisible pressure trying to assimilate her, to make her raise her hand and join in this fervent worship. She clenched her teeth, resisting this spiritual erosion.
Her gaze swept quickly across the frenzied faces. Faces contorted with excitement, arms raised high, shouts ecstatic... Amidst this extreme noise and light pollution, her eyes suddenly fixed on a spot not far to the side.
A little girl in a pale purple dress stood next to a woman who was cheering wildly. The little girl looked to be only seven or eight years old, an age when she should be most innocent and carefree, captivated by this fantastical sight.
But in that instant, just as the radiant statue released its most intense light and the cheers of the entire audience reached their peak, Jiang Chan clearly captured the little girl's profile.
Her small lips were pressed tightly into a straight line, and her lower lip was even trembling slightly. Those eyes, which should have been clear and bright, held not a trace of excitement or joy, only a frozen, bone-deep fear!
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