"Sirin, come and try this," Luo Lin said, holding a plate of bread and cookies as she emerged from the kitchen. She tried to maintain a smile on her face, avoiding thinking about the chaotic scene in the kitchen.
She was capable in the kitchen, but only with a limited range of Chinese dishes. Despite her basic cooking skills and familiarity with kitchen utensils, baking bread and cookies, which required the use of an oven, exceeded her culinary expertise. If she attempted it, she would likely need to consult an encyclopedia on her phone.
Fortunately, Luo Lin pulled out her phone from her pocket. The smartphone provided by the consciousness space was a touchscreen device, with the familiar bitten apple logo leaving the girl speechless.
This was Luo Lin's first attempt at baking bread...
So final product was somewhat... unsightly...
Don't ask what exactly it looked like; she had already destroyed all traces of those culinary disasters. (distant gaze)
In the end, Luo Lin chose to retrieve bread and cookies directly from the system space—items bought by Kiana when she cleaned out her family's dining table years ago.
After so many years, they still looked new, proving the preservation ability of the system storage.
Sirin was still watching TV, but the program had changed from a well-known gourmet documentary to an animated series. She seemed interested in the toys with rabbit-like ears, her golden eyes fixed on them as they moved around.
Upon hearing Luo Lin's call, the purple-haired girl turned her head, eagerly picked up a cookie from the plate, and bit into it, mumbling unclearly, "Delicious... I like this taste..."
"Good that you like it. Eat slowly, I also prepared milk for you. Don't choke."
Luo Lin casually wiped off her sweat, sat down beside Sirin, and took out her Apple smartphone from her pocket to check the latest news.
[Renowned game developers Otto Apocalypse and Welt Yang announced that the next works, "Kallen Fantasy" and "Arahato," will have a crossover storyline. Players, please stay tuned.]
"?"
[Magician Vill-V and opera singer Eden's first collaboration ended successfully. It is reported that they will perform twice at the Nagazora Opera House, followed by their global tour...]
"??"
[Shocking! Street stalls hiding culinary masters, making diners blush with excitement, unable to stop. This issue of Nagazora's Taste Quest brings you a guide to the popular snack shop "Master Kalpas' BBQ Stall"...]
"?!"
Watching the familiar figure in the video laughing madly while grilling, with flames shooting three feet high from the stove, Luo Lin swallowed saliva and pressed the phone screen against her leg.
"System, let me confirm again. Are we currently in a consciousness space composed of memories, not some weird fanfiction world's chatroom?"
[Host, you might consider who in Nagazora who possess those memories.]
The system expressed its opinion euphemistically, and Luo Lin slapped herself on the face, her mouth twitching.
——The culprit is actually me?
"Wait a minute, didn't you say this consciousness space is composed of memories mixed from many people? Why do I see so many absurd things from my memories?"
[Because the mental strength of most people who entered this consciousness space is not enough. They are like dreaming unconsciously, contributing a small part of their memories and becoming background characters wandering on the streets, indistinguishable from NPCs in games.]
[The higher the mental strength of a person, the more memories they can provide to this consciousness space, and the greater the impact on the entire space. They may even remain conscious instead of being vague like those with low mental strength.]
[The host and the eruption of "Fenghuang Down" are the closest, and at that time, Fenghuang Down was also reading your memories. Therefore, the constructed consciousness space naturally revolves around the host's memories as the main blueprint, thus containing many strange things.]
"..."
These ridiculous netizens are to blame! Not me!
The system paused for a moment and continued, [During the previous collision between Honkai and quantum energy, there were three very special frequencies in the city-wide fluctuations—one of which can be found on Sirin beside you. According to inference, the other one is probably the frequency of the Herrscher of Thunder.]
Luo Lin pondered, "It seems that Raiden Mei was also involved... You just mentioned three frequencies, what about the last one?"
[The last one is even more special. With its help, this vast consciousness space linking almost the entire city was built... It seems similar to the "Key of Sentience, Fenghuang Down," but it's much larger, originating from the same source...]
"Similar to Fenghuang Down...?"
...Wait a minute, Fu Hua's consciousness is here with me, but her body is empty now!
Could it be that the Herrscher of Scam, Senti, has also arrived?
Luo Lin's expression changed, and she cast her gaze to the obedient Fu Hua beside her. The latter blinked in confusion, seemingly asking her what's wrong.
"Fu Hua, can you... smile?"
"Huh? Strange request..."
The obedient Fu Hua scratched her head and forced out a smile that was obviously unnatural.
Good, not crazily happy enough, It's not her.
Fu Hua: "?"
Luo Lin breathed a sigh of relief and patted herself on the face again, redirecting her gaze to Sirin. The purple-haired girl was looking at Luo Lin with a puzzled look, apparently confused by her sudden action of slapping herself, making Sirin unsure of what was happening.
"Mom?"
"Just had a mosquito..."
Sirin frowned, glaring fiercely around, but after two rounds of searching, she didn't find any mosquitoes. So she quickly wiped her hands with a napkin, leaned on Luo Lin's shoulder, and blew on her cheek with her mouth.
"Buzz~"
"...Awesome!"
Luo Lin laughed and hugged Sirin, rubbing the purple-haired girl's head, making Sirin also smile brightly. She turned her head and stared blankly at the many cookies and bread left on the table.
The purple-haired girl said with some hesitation, "Mom, I remember I have a big appetite, I should be able to eat all these cookies and bread, but now Sirin is already full..."
This must be the Sirin hidden in Kiana's body, right?
It looks like she's completely influenced by Kaslana's big eater body!
But looking at it this way, Sirin's current state is also very strange, far from being considered awake—If she were really awake, she would probably transform into the Herrscher of the Void and wreak havoc in the next second.
It's probably better to keep her in this silly state.
Luo Lin replied with a subtle expression, "Since you're full, don't force yourself to eat. Whether it's eating or living, it's about following your heart."
"Oh..." Sirin nodded in disappointment, and she watched the animation for a while before asking, "Mom, when will Dad and Sister come back?"
"Your dad... He's busy with something..."
"I want Dad and Sister... I can feel Dad is here..."
As she spoke, Sirin lowered her head, tears swirling in her eyes—what shocked Luo Lin even more was that, as her emotions plummeted, a golden cross pattern gradually appeared in her eyes, and the icy feeling spread gradually.
Seeing this, Luo Lin quickly said, "Sirin, how about we go out and look for your dad and sister?"
The purple-haired girl lifted her head in surprise, and the pattern and emotions in her eyes disappeared instantly, "Really?"
"When has Mom ever lied to you, let's rest for a while and then set off..."
Luo Lin sighed and nodded somewhat resignedly.
Stabilize Sirin first, then figure out how to solve the current situation.
She probably hasn't realized yet what the phrase "Dad is here" in Sirin's words really means...