Upon hearing this question, the girl didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Are you really determined to leave this place? From what I know, this world should be quite pleasant. The place you originally came from might be far worse."
Zhang Chenyan had already prepared himself mentally for this question, so his response was especially resolute.
At the same time, he was a bit curious, "What about you? What choice do you hope I'll make?"
The girl seemed completely taken aback by Zhang Chenyan's question. After a moment of slight surprise, she finally replied, "Of course, I hope you'll go back, because here, I might lose track of you at any moment... But I also want you to be happy. No matter what choice you make, I'll respect and support you."
As Zhang Chenyan looked at the girl in front of him, he felt as if a fleeting image flashed through his mind. He tried hard to grasp it, but in the end, it remained a vague, elusive illusion.
Zhang Chenyan asked again, "In that world, how are my parents? Are they okay?"
"Your mother has been waiting for you. She loves you very much. The two of you depend on each other and live a happy life. Your father disappeared more than ten years ago, but as far as I know, you've never given up looking for him," the girl answered sincerely.
Hearing this, Zhang Chenyan became even more determined to leave this place. "Alright, tell me. How can I completely leave here?"
"The edge," the girl's reply was brief. Then, as if worried that Zhang Chenyan wouldn't understand, she added, "You need to find the edge of this world and then rush out at the fastest speed. As long as the barrier doesn't intercept you in time, you can wake up! Wake up from this illusionary world!"
Zhang Chenyan hadn't expected that his previous assumptions would actually be reliable. However, it was clear that with his strength alone, he couldn't accomplish such a feat—especially when it came to rushing out at the fastest speed. In this world, he was still just an ordinary high school student. Running on foot or at best riding a bicycle, the so-called fastest speed was nothing but a fantasy. If the barrier really wanted to intercept him, there would be plenty of time to do so, dozens of times over.
Zhang Chenyan turned his gaze toward the girl beside him. "You have a way, don't you?"
The girl nodded. "If you're willing to take a gamble with me, it's now."
Zhang Chenyan didn't expect the girl's plan to be so bold. He pointed to the bus he was sitting on. "You're sure about using this?"
The girl nodded. "The current location is suitable, and the timing is right. If you're not afraid, I'll take you with me."
Zhang Chenyan blinked slightly, and after a moment, as if making a decision, he said, "Alright, I trust you. No matter what happens, I won't back down in fear."
With Zhang Chenyan's words, the girl felt much more at ease.
Then, to Zhang Chenyan's amazement, the girl walked straight to the bus driver and, without hesitation, stabbed a blade into the driver's neck.
Zhang Chenyan didn't see any blood gushing out; he only saw the bus driver's body instantly dissolve into a shadow and disappear.
Immediately, the girl took the driver's seat. As she stepped on the accelerator, the bus's speed visibly increased, and the girl didn't seem to have any intention of slowing down.
Faster! Faster and faster!
Throughout the process, the girl kept a firm grip on the steering wheel.
If this were a real world, they would have surely crashed into something by now, whether it was a building or people. But at this terrifying speed, they continued straight ahead, and everything they hit turned into an illusion.
Zhang Chenyan even watched as the people on the bus gradually disappeared, leaving only him and the girl.
At this moment, the false nature of the world was magnified infinitely. He felt as if his body was about to be torn apart by the inertia, yet all he could do was hold onto the handrail tightly.
Gradually, even the entire bus started to fade, and Zhang Chenyan's vision became blurred.
His body seemed to be moving forward with the momentum, but by now, he could no longer see the girl.
Finally, the bus vanished entirely, leaving only him in this world. Just him, all alone!
He had no idea how much time had passed when a nauseating dizziness overwhelmed him.
Zhang Chenyan's chest felt as if a giant stone was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe. Meanwhile, his heartbeat didn't slow down at all, as if he was still immersed in the thrill of the high-speed chase.
Zhang Chenyan wanted to speak, but the dryness in his throat made him give up the idea.
In the end, all he could manage was to move his fingers slightly. Perhaps to others, this was an ordinary action, but for Zhang Chenyan, it felt like he had used up all his strength.
A faint light penetrated his closed eyelids, changing his world from darkness to a dim yellow, but Zhang Chenyan had no intention of opening his eyes. Partly because of fatigue, and partly because he knew that once he opened them, he would be blinded by the harsh light.
Yes, only light.
At this moment, Zhang Chenyan's senses were extremely sharp. Although it was the same brightness, the light he was facing now didn't carry any warmth.
In this light's mission, there was no function to transmit heat.
All the memories came flooding back to Zhang Chenyan. He remembered! He remembered everything!
About the real world, about the illusionary world...
"Are you okay?" A familiar voice came from beside him. Zhang Chenyan knew it was 0810.
Compared to other AIs, 0810 seemed somewhat averse to the physical world. At least, whenever Zhang Chenyan saw her in the physical world, it was mostly related to work.
This was different from other AIs, some of which were curious about the physical world and would occasionally visit. People in the physical world were also used to this and wouldn't be surprised; they even befriended these AIs.
But 0810 was different. In Zhang Chenyan's understanding, she wouldn't come here unless it was necessary.
Yet now, Zhang Chenyan was hearing 0810's voice here, and that voice was filled with urgency and concern.
He had never seen 0810 like this before. At this moment, 0810 was no longer the cold arbiter, but more like the girl Zhang Chenyan had met on the bus.
"Keep talking to him; we must wake him up."
A stranger's voice came, and Zhang Chenyan guessed it must be the doctor by his bedside.
Then, he heard footsteps, as if the person had turned and left.
"Zhang Chenyan, can you hear me?" The cautious inquiry almost made Zhang Chenyan laugh. If he wasn't so familiar with the voice, he wouldn't believe that 0810 could speak this way.
In fact, it wasn't that he didn't want to wake up, but he was just too exhausted.
This exhaustion wasn't physical; it was a heavy feeling that emanated from deep within.
It seemed as though he had experienced a lot in a short period of time. The overdrive of his brain far exceeded what he could bear.
At this moment, Zhang Chenyan couldn't open his eyes, so he couldn't see 0810. He didn't know what 0810 looked like now, and he was even curious if 0810 would look like the girl he met on the bus. But after a moment, he dismissed the idea, certain that 0810 would still have her icy demeanor.
As for her actions... in the end, 0810 was just a hologram in this world. Even if she did something and touched him, he wouldn't feel it.
He had no idea how much time had passed. Just when Zhang Chenyan thought 0810 had surely run out of patience, he finally slowly opened his eyes.
However, what he didn't expect was that the first thing he saw was 0810.
"Was it you who helped me out? Were you the girl on the bus?" Zhang Chenyan instinctively asked, though his tone was quite certain.
Maybe it was the suspension bridge effect, but Zhang Chenyan's feelings toward 0810 at this moment were very different.
They were no longer just ordinary colleagues. Something seemed to have changed between them, but even if Zhang Chenyan tried to think about it, he couldn't give a precise description.
"It's because you chose to trust me and made that decision that I was able to bring you out," 0810 replied.
This was a response to Zhang Chenyan's earlier question. Normally, Zhang Chenyan would have said thank you at this point, but for some reason, the words got stuck in his throat.
0810, noticing the complex expression on Zhang Chenyan's face, took the initiative to change the subject. "I didn't inform your mother. I was afraid she would worry, and since your condition was already improving at the time, I made the decision on my own not to tell her."
Zhang Chenyan nodded slightly and smiled, "You did the right thing. If you had told her, she'd probably be crying beside my bed right now. Besides, even if you had told her, it would only have made her worry without doing any good."
Zhang Chenyan understood that the place they were in now must be extremely safe, and there were also excellent doctors around. If something really happened to him, as long as there was a chance to save him, there was an 80% chance they would succeed. If not, then telling Xie Han wouldn't help either.
"How are the others?" Zhang Chenyan asked, "The madman I met at the Space Museum—was he also from here?"
After asking, Zhang Chenyan immediately corrected himself. "Sorry, I'm used to calling him that in there. It's not very polite, but I think you know who I mean. He wasn't crazy; he wasn't a madman. He just realized the falsehood of that place long before I did, but couldn't handle it…"
0810 shook her head slightly, her tone full of regret. "His condition is not very optimistic now; most likely, he won't be able to wake up."
Zhang Chenyan recalled the various potential accidents he had been warned about. Even though he had mentally prepared himself for this, it was still hard to accept when he heard it now.
Imagine, if not for 0810's persistence, would that mean he would end up like that man too? Even if he chose to indulge in the illusionary world, a situation that might seem better for him, his body in this world would still fall into a permanent coma. At that point, he wouldn't be able to wake up either, just like that man.
At this moment, Zhang Chenyan suddenly understood why 0810 was so cautious when meeting him in the illusion and why she was so tentative on the bus.
She must have been worried, afraid that something might happen, causing him to end up like that man.
Thinking about how 0810 went to such great lengths to rescue him, Zhang Chenyan suddenly felt a bit guilty. It felt as though he was a burden. Without him, 0810 might have been able to get out more quickly and easily.
"Will we have to go back in again?" Zhang Chenyan asked.
At the same time, he expressed his thoughts: "Actually, I'm not much help in there. I only cause trouble for you guys and make you spend time rescuing me."
0810 didn't seem to expect Zhang Chenyan to say that, and she looked a bit surprised. After realizing what Zhang Chenyan meant, she quickly said, "The barrier doesn't communicate with AIs, or rather, it deliberately avoids any interaction with AIs. But from what I know, the barrier reached out to you, as well as to the person you met at the Space Museum."
Zhang Chenyan was stunned; he found it hard to believe and suspected that 0810 was saying this just to comfort him.
To his surprise, 0810 suddenly became serious. "You should know, I wouldn't joke about something like this."
"But haven't you confronted it several times?" Zhang Chenyan asked, puzzled.
0810 seemed to recall something and frowned slightly before replying, "Yes, we've had several brief encounters, but I'm no match for it at all. In fact, if it weren't for its pursuit of maximum realism and its decision not to fill that world with surveillance, we wouldn't have had any chance of escaping."
Zhang Chenyan had also been pondering this issue.
He couldn't understand why the barrier would do that, but he could roughly guess that the barrier didn't intend to harm them.
After all, from what he had experienced, if the barrier truly wanted to harm them, there was no need to go to such great lengths. Let alone avoid monitoring them to make the illusion seem more real.
Perhaps, as he had guessed before, the barrier simply wanted to use them as experiments. They were just lab rats.
While Zhang Chenyan was lost in thought, 0810 suddenly said, "There's something else you might not know. During all my confrontations with the barrier, there was no communication whatsoever. It seemed disdainful of engaging with AIs like us and instead chose the simplest and most brutal way to drive us out."