The situation was already very urgent, but under 0810's insistence, the Alliance agreed to give Zhang Chenyan a day of rest. Of course, this was contingent upon all medical examinations going smoothly, and the extra day was provided to allow Zhang Chenyan to recover mentally.
Zhang Chenyan understood that although this extra day seemed a bit stingy, it was actually quite generous of the Alliance to allow it.
Of the four people who went in last time, Zhang Chenyan was the only one left who could go back in. The other three, whether due to objective or subjective reasons, would not be entering again. Zhang Chenyan had become the only experienced human remaining.
Lying in the hospital, Zhang Chenyan looked at the merit points that had already been credited to his account and sighed. If it had been earlier, he would have been overjoyed to receive such a large reward, but now he deeply understood the saying, "The greater the danger, the greater the reward." He had earned these points with his life on the line!
According to the Alliance, since this wasn't his primary job, his participation in the investigation was considered voluntary cooperation, and there would be corresponding rewards. Moreover, the more times he went in, the more generous the rewards would become.
In essence, Zhang Chenyan had found himself a high-paying side job, the kind with super-high pay that would make any neighbor's kid cry with envy!
As he stared at the numbers in his account that he once wouldn't have dared to dream of, Zhang Chenyan felt a bit heavy-hearted. It wasn't that he was greedy, but he was worried—what if he had the ability to earn money but no life left to spend it?
However, when he thought about how this money could be left to Xie Han in the end, a smile tugged at his lips. "You raised me as a child, and I'll care for you in your old age," he thought. At least in this regard, he felt he had fulfilled his duty.
The door to the ward was knocked on, and Zhang Chenyan assumed it was the doctor making rounds, but to his surprise, it was Liu Xixi who walked in.
"How are you feeling?" Liu Xixi asked. Because she was wearing a mask, her voice sounded a bit muffled.
"The doctor already checked me out and said I'm fine. Today is just an extra day to rest," Zhang Chenyan replied with a smile.
Liu Xixi nodded. "Are you going back in?"
Zhang Chenyan was slightly stunned by the question. How did Liu Xixi know about this? Logically, to avoid public panic, such matters weren't supposed to be disclosed. Liu Xixi wasn't a staff member; she shouldn't know these details.
Seeing Zhang Chenyan's silence, Liu Xixi decided to explain herself: "You don't need to hide it from me. We're in the same situation now."
"What do you mean?" Zhang Chenyan asked, puzzled.
"I'm going in too," Liu Xixi answered, then added, "The Terls Corporation has recruited a new batch of brain-machine interface test subjects. When I thought of you... I signed up, and I passed the screening. Later, they said I was one of the best candidates in this batch and asked if I'd be willing to cooperate with the Alliance in their investigation after getting the brain-machine installed. I signed the consent form."
Liu Xixi's few words contained a lot of information.
Zhang Chenyan closed his eyes, recalling what 0810 had said earlier—there's always someone else they can train. At least this experiment has shown that the barrier is willing to communicate with humans. If you don't go, someone else will.
Yes, the Alliance couldn't place all its bets on one person. From both an efficiency and a risk standpoint, that would be problematic. The Alliance's goal was to solve the problem, no matter the method.
Looking at Liu Xixi standing before him, Zhang Chenyan suddenly didn't know what to say.
The barrier refused to communicate with AIs and would only talk to humans, but to enter, you needed the brain-machine interface. Based on past experiences, the brain-machine was a product that hadn't completed all its trials and approval processes, making it unfit for the market. But given the urgent situation, the Alliance had no choice but to make an exception, allowing the Terls Corporation to recruit test subjects as suitable investigators.
Since waking up this morning, Zhang Chenyan hadn't seen 0810. He was sure that 0810 had reported all their previous suspicions to the Alliance, and the Alliance must have realized how dangerous this situation was.
The elites may be important, but without the remaining 80%, where would the so-called 20% of elites come from?
In the past, humanity could afford to discard the 80%, partly because the situation was too dire, and they had no choice but to act in such a way to preserve the hope of survival. Additionally, humanity's numbers were such that they could afford to make such a sacrifice.
But now, the situation was entirely different. The low birth rate in the underground cities had always been a headache for the Alliance. That 80% might seem unremarkable on the surface, but as a whole, they were crucial.
They were crucial to the Alliance, to the underground cities, and to all of humanity.
Humanity could no longer afford to make such sacrifices.
Regardless of whether Zhang Chenyan's speculation from the previous day was correct, even the slightest hint of what the barrier might be planning was terrifying for humanity.
Zhang Chenyan believed that, aside from cooperative investigators like them, the Alliance had also undoubtedly involved many professionals. But even the Alliance wasn't entirely sure, or didn't know for certain, what the barrier wanted. Who would it choose to communicate with?
If they could, the Alliance wouldn't be casting such a wide net, but they no longer had the luxury of time to experiment. Or rather, the cost of trial and error was too high.
The issue of duplicate IDs was still spreading, with more and more replicas being created. These replicas targeted the 80% of the population, who didn't even find it strange anymore. Some even hid the truth from the authorities, which undoubtedly made the Alliance's job more difficult. The Alliance was indeed trying to deal with these replicas, but it was like trying to put out a forest fire with a cup of water.
Faced with such a massive population, the Alliance's manpower and resources were simply insufficient.
Moreover, these replicas could upgrade and iterate, making them increasingly difficult to identify.
"When are you going in?" After a long silence, Zhang Chenyan finally asked.
Liu Xixi visibly relaxed at the sound of his voice. "I had the surgery yesterday, and today I'm still under observation. If everything goes well, it should be in two days."
It seemed they weren't in the same group after all. Zhang Chenyan smiled bitterly. He had initially thought Liu Xixi came to visit him in the hospital, but now he was puzzled. When had he and Liu Xixi grown so close? It turned out the situation was far more complex than he had imagined. Liu Xixi had undergone the brain-machine surgery right here in the hospital...
"Why? You didn't have to do this," Zhang Chenyan finally couldn't help but ask.
Liu Xixi wasn't like him. With her fame and influence, she had an endless supply of merit points and could do things Zhang Chenyan wouldn't even dare to imagine. He couldn't figure out why Liu Xixi would do this.
Liu Xixi lowered her head, avoiding eye contact with Zhang Chenyan. While he usually appeared gentle and approachable, those who knew him well understood that he was calm, self-controlled, and held firm to his beliefs. The angrier he became, the more composed he appeared.
In all the time Liu Xixi had known Zhang Chenyan, she had never seen him in such a low mood.
Even though Zhang Chenyan sat there without saying a word, Liu Xixi could feel his anger.
Zhang Chenyan wouldn't shout or be aggressive. He would simply, calmly, express his confusion and seek an answer.
An answer that even Liu Xixi herself wasn't sure of: "I just wanted to do it, so I did."
This answer seemed to say everything and nothing at the same time. Seeing Liu Xixi's red eyes, Zhang Chenyan sighed deeply and decided not to press further.
"You've been hospitalized too often recently. We've known each other for many years, and even though we haven't stayed in close contact, I've always been keeping an eye on you. Your health isn't that bad, so for you to be hospitalized this frequently, you must be dealing with something," Liu Xixi began to explain her thought process. "I know there are things you can't talk about, and even if I asked, you wouldn't be able to give me answers. So, I chose the most direct way—to get involved. As for agreeing to go in, it's not just for you. After learning about the situation, I also wanted to contribute. People can't just sit back and enjoy the benefits. I've already received so much, it's time for me to give back."
"Yes, you've gained everything you once wanted. Whether it's flowers, applause, fame, material things, or the love of the people... You've worked so hard for all of it, and now that you've finally got it, you're willing to risk it all..." Zhang Chenyan couldn't continue. He took a deep breath and then went on, "Do you know how dangerous it is in there? If you don't make it out, all your previous efforts will have been in vain!"
"They won't be in vain!" Liu Xixi quickly shook her head. "I've already experienced it. I've experienced things that others might never see in their entire lives. I'm not that greedy. This is enough for me. To get more, I have to give more. In music, I know I've hit a bottleneck... Who says only men, only you, can be a hero? I think I can do it too. I'm not stupid. While I may not be as good a student as you, I've honed my skills over the years, and I must be better than you in some areas. The fact that the Alliance chose me shows that I'm at least suitable for this. As long as I can contribute, I won't regret it. That way, when I enjoy the love and admiration of everyone, I can do so with a clear conscience. After all, I will have truly helped them."
Listening to Liu Xixi, Zhang Chenyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Had the Alliance given the entertainment industry some kind of ideological training course recently? Liu Xixi's sense of duty seemed to be on a whole different level from his own.
Since Liu Xixi had already made up her mind, Zhang Chenyan didn't try to stop her any further. Instead, he said, "I was in the first group to go in. There were three others with me. One of them, whom I met inside, went mad and couldn't wake up in the real world. Another one might have made peace with the barrier and decided to stay inside, or there could be another reason, but they couldn't wake up either. The last one, who woke up like I did, was so mentally affected that he refused to go back in. I'm not telling you this to scare you or to make you avoid the task, but to make sure you understand the dangers involved. While you're in there, you need to stay strong and draw on all the resolve you've just talked about. Think of everything you care about in this world. Only then will you have a better chance of coming out safely, without a mental breakdown."
Liu Xixi nodded, indicating that she understood.
Zhang Chenyan was still worried. He didn't even know where Liu Xixi would be sent, and since they weren't in the same group, there was no guarantee they would even meet... Helpless, he carefully recounted his previous experiences dealing with the barrier, hoping they would help Liu Xixi and provide her with some guidance so that she wouldn't panic when the time came.
"This is exclusive information. Not everyone knows as much as I do, so make sure you remember it all," Zhang Chenyan said seriously. To him, Liu Xixi was like a younger sister, a sister he admired.
Zhang Chenyan knew about Liu Xixi's past. While his own upbringing wasn't perfect, compared to Liu Xixi's, he felt incredibly fortunate. If he were in her shoes, experiencing what she had gone through, he wasn't sure he could have achieved what she had or maintained the same level of determination.
Yet despite everything, Liu Xixi had never sought sympathy. In the physical world, few knew her true appearance, and even fewer knew her real story. She never spoke of her childhood or her experiences, whether in the digital world or the physical one. Her growth was never a tool for gaining pity.
Yes, this was someone who had been tempered by the hardships of fate, who, after enjoying the fruits of her hard work, still felt a sense of fear and trepidation, who believed she had enough and that to gain more would require giving more.
She didn't take for granted the flowers, applause, fame, material things, and love she received, but wanted to genuinely do something for those who loved her before accepting their adoration. Liu Xixi had always had a clear understanding of this "give first, receive later" logic.
Perhaps for Liu Xixi, the catalyst for this was herself, but signing the consent form and agreeing to risk her life for humanity came from her true character and nature.
All these years, the resilience in her bones had never changed.
"Rest well over the next two days. Maybe we'll meet at the next stop," Zhang Chenyan said with a smile.