After leaving Blood Town, the first thing Chu Lai did was press the restart button without hesitation, only to be mercilessly ejected the next moment, with blood-red words appearing on the black background in front of him.
[Game under maintenance]
He sat up from inside the holographic gaming pod, the black connecting wires coiled around him like snakes, which he then ripped off and tossed aside. Next, he removed his heavy helmet, revealing a pale, sweat-drenched face.
His wet hair clung to his forehead, and his handsome, slightly gloomy eyebrows were lowered impatiently, revealing a hint of anxiety.
He stepped out of the cabin. Having been trapped in the game for many days without food or water, his steps were unsteady and shaky, but he seemed oblivious. He walked quickly to the workstation next to him, sat down, and his slender fingers flew across the keyboard.
His dark pupils reflected the screen's eerie blue light as the Earth model, composed of interconnected data nodes, spun in his eyes, gradually magnifying and becoming clearer. A deluge of information flashed past on the other side, constantly scanned and confirmed by AI, all in an effort to find even the slightest trace.
At this point, Chu no longer needed to operate the system, and his tense mind relaxed slightly. He felt the fatigue signals his body was sending to his brain, but he remained unmoved, sinking into his chair, biting his nails and staring intently at the information in front of him.
In the dimly lit high-rise apartment, the heavy curtains were tightly drawn, leaving only the screen emitting a faint, cold light.
In the darkness of the night, the faint hum of a machine could be heard, and the rustling sound of teeth and nails rubbing together grew longer and longer. His heavy eyelids closed slightly at some point, and Chu Lai's head turned to the side, but his brows remained tightly furrowed.
"Beep".
A very soft notification sound rang out, and Chu Lai instinctively opened his eyes. He looked up too quickly, causing him to lean forward and fall off the chair.
He didn't care about any of that. He took a short, sharp breath, quickly grabbed the edge of the table to support himself, and stared straight ahead.
A breeze lifted a corner of the curtain, letting in the light of dawn, which shone into those dark eyes and reflected a brilliant radiance.
"Bang!"
The next second, Chu Lai's movement of getting up knocked over the chairs, but he didn't even look at them. He grabbed a coat and ran outside.
At dawn, the square was deserted. Flocks of white pigeons walked and stopped to peck at the ground, their nimble wings stretching out comfortably. They flew to a bench by the fountain, tilted their heads slightly, and met the boy's gaze with their beady eyes.
Willy reached out his hand, and the pigeon didn't flinch. Instead, it lowered its body and nestled its furry chest against his warm palm, falling into a peaceful slumber.
A gasp came from beside him, and Vili looked over.
The moment he met the man's gaze, the young man blushed and instinctively shouted an apology, drawing the attention of those around him.
"..."
His face turned red, and he wished he could disappear into the ground, but he couldn't help but strike up a conversation with the person in front of him.
"Um..." he finally remembered to lower his voice, "Are you human?"
"?"
Willy's eyes were full of doubt. The man's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, his blood boiling. He stepped forward and reached out a finger to touch the boy.
"Someone as beautiful as you must be a custom-made android from some company, I—"
Before he could finish speaking, he was violently struck by something and sent flying, startling the white doves into scattering their feathers.
Vili withdrew his leg, which hadn't yet kicked the young man, feeling the suffocating force coming from his waist, but he didn't struggle.
"Chu Lai."
He called out the person's name, his tone tinged with surprise.
"I didn't expect you to be the first one to find me."
"Who else could it be but me?"
Feeling the boy patting his hand, Chu Lai relaxed his grip slightly, squeezed himself onto the other side of the bench, raised his head slightly, his eyes reddened, and looked very aggrieved.
"Wife."
Are you hoping for another man?
"Is it the thank-you gift period? Or Castin? Or maybe that grumpy guy..."
His words were interrupted by an angry voice.
"Hey! Where's the administrator?!"
"The square's cleaning robot suddenly went out of control and knocked me down! Is anyone going to do anything about it?!"
The man in the suit scrambled to his feet, while the small, short machine remained unharmed, its mechanical electronic voice repeating incessantly:
"Request for assistance: Large piece of debris detected ahead, cleaning progress will be delayed. Request for help..."
Chu Lai glanced over there with an unfriendly expression, tightened his embrace, and continued:
"Honey, there's too much filth outside. Why don't we come home together?"
The tall man seemed to want to bury himself in the arms of the person next to him. The sunlight shone on his pale skin, which had never seen the sun in a long time, but he only desperately absorbed the warmth of the boy's body. His messy hair brushed against his neck, feeling a little prickly.
Vili looked at the white dove curled up in his palm, then at Chu Lai, and surprisingly found them somewhat similar.
Leaning back in his chair, he tilted his head slightly, his long, thick eyelashes casting shadows on his lower eyelids, the curve of his lips subtle, but his tone indifferent.
"Take me back to your house...and lock me up again?"
Chu Lai's light rubbing motion stopped abruptly, and his face suddenly lost all color.
He recalled the moment in "Bloody Town" when Willy tore the chains apart; the sound of shattering still echoed in his ears, and his heart plummeted into an abyss. He didn't even dare to look up at the boy's expression.
—What do you want to say?
What can I say?
Silence spread between the two, and the usually self-proclaimed genius hacker was speechless, his mind blank.
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