Qin Xue Zhong felt that she was getting closer to uncovering the truth and defeating the mastermind behind it all.
After escaping from the room, she and Yu Zhe Zhu had gone through many battles and stealthy escapes.
This so-called "Doomsday Castle" was much larger than she had imagined.
The enemies and defenses inside were also numerous and exaggerated.
The most troublesome part was that all the network facilities here were physically isolated.
This meant that her consciousness void ability couldn't directly locate other devices. She had to reach a certain room before she could read the data within.
This caused significant trouble for both of them.
Fortunately, up to this point, Xiao Qin had not encountered any extreme danger.
In fact, Qin Xue Zhong had also suspected whether she was being controlled, whether all of this was happening in a dream.
However, her consciousness void ability had not detected any anomalies.
She believed that if there were truly a problem, her golden finger would definitely reveal something.
Thus, the two of them forged ahead, fighting their way into a new area.
This area appeared to be an office space.
It was a spacious open area with neatly arranged desks and virtual dream work equipment.
Because of the noise they had caused in the previous area, the controllers of the Doomsday Castle had already evacuated the people in the office and cut off power to the entire area.
It seemed they were sending heavy troops to try and corner the two of them.
Just as Qin Xue Zhong stepped into the office area, the lights went out.
The originally lit holographic screens faded out one by one.
The space gradually darkened and became even quieter.
Yu Zhe Zhu, walking in front, made a pause gesture, found a desk to use as cover, and began to check their ammunition and take a brief rest.
Throughout the journey, Qin Xue Zhong had been particularly cooperative and learned quickly, displaying the professionalism of a special forces soldier.
But this time, when Yu Zhe Zhu crouched down and turned to look, Qin Xue Zhong was surprisingly still standing there in a daze.
He quickly pulled her, urging, "Hurry and crouch down. What's wrong?"
Qin Xue Zhong remained stunned, not responding.
Yu Zhe Zhu asked a few more times before she seemed to snap out of it.
It looked like she wanted to say something but immediately stopped, slowly shaking her head. "It's nothing. Let's rest for a bit; I'm a bit tired."
"Okay." Yu Zhe Zhu nodded and pulled over a chair for her to sit on.
He clearly felt that Qin Xue Zhong was a bit distracted.
Continuing to fight in this state would definitely cause problems, so it was better to take a break.
After setting up a simple defensive line to conceal their figures, he leaned against the wall and sat down.
He turned to look at Qin Xue Zhong.
The office was pitch black, with only the faint glow coming from outside the window.
This office was large, and like all companies in this cyber world, it appeared cold and oppressive, with the orderly arrangement of desks and the stark lines of cold angles.
These things constantly reminded workers that they were merely replaceable parts, so they had to work hard to avoid being discarded and thrown into the depths of the city.
However, in this harsh environment, Qin Xue Zhong's hair and facial features looked soft and gentle.
She seemed like the only tenderness in this brutal world.
For a moment, Yu Zhe Zhu found himself entranced.
In that instant, it was as if he suddenly saw the appearance of this hopeless world and the things he most needed within it.
Although Xiao Qin appeared to be dazed, she was actually in shock.
The reason was simple.
When she had just entered this office, the screens on the workstations hadn't completely shut down yet. As her gaze passed over, she seemed to have caught a glimpse of something familiar.
She immediately used her consciousness void ability to replay the fleeting image in her mind.
— It was a green web icon that she hadn't thought of in a long time.
It looked quite ugly, with outdated design and font style, and the color scheme was hard to describe… But before she crossed over, she often visited this site to read novels, so she had almost overlooked the existence of this green logo.
Now, at this critical moment in the cyber world, seeing this logo was as shocking as seeing a ghost.
When she had just crossed over, losing her novels, she had held a one in a million chance, searching online.
Unsurprisingly, in this world, there was no "Green River."
But at this moment, she actually saw such an icon in the office of this mysterious force.
Xiao Qin immediately realized that her situation was problematic!
This logo was exactly the same as before crossing over, even looking uglier due to the distortion of her memory.
Even if there were other people who crossed over and recognized this logo, it wouldn't appear on a network page.
So there was only one possibility left.
Now, she and Yu Zhe Zhu were in a virtual dream!
Even Yu Zhe Zhu beside her was fake!
This was also why, when Yu Zhe Zhu asked her what was wrong, she didn't tell him the truth.
If the Yu Zhe Zhu in front of her was also fake, then revealing any information to him could expose that she had already noticed.
The dream creator had likely used some high-level and complex emotional deception to extract relevant materials from her memories and construct a dream indistinguishable from reality, making her completely immersed in it.
However, no one would have thought that Qin Xue Zhong was a time traveler, possessing many memories that did not belong to this world.
This point allowed Xiao Qin to understand her situation.
Now, the first thing she needed to do was confirm whether Yu Zhe Zhu was real.
In such an unknown crisis, she couldn't risk having a ticking time bomb beside her.
She thought for a moment and said softly, "Yu Zhe Zhu."
The unsuspecting Yu classmate looked over with focus and concern.
Qin Xue Zhong moved closer to him, continuing, "I'm a bit scared."
This was a normal reaction for someone trapped in a dangerous situation.
Yu Zhe Zhu was taken aback.
— Boss, I've seen you take out a bunch of drones in an instant, and eliminate Tang Kede without blinking an eye, effortlessly dealing with the virus in the entire idle dream… How can you say you're scared in this little scene?
Before he could react, Qin Xue Zhong had already reached out her arm, seemingly wanting to hug him.
Poor Yu classmate, battle-hardened but having never experienced such a scene, could only blankly let Qin Xue Zhong wrap her arms around his neck.
The next moment, Yu Zhe Zhu immediately noticed something was off.
Qin Xue Zhong wasn't hugging him; instead, she was using her fingertips to touch the chip at the back of his head.
Xiao Qin, in a rough and unreasonable manner, directly invaded Yu Zhe Zhu's consciousness.
If it had been anyone else, they might not have noticed Qin Xue Zhong's reading. However, Yu Zhe Zhu had experienced her possession before, and after so long, he had become familiar with that feeling.
He immediately felt it.
In the entire Xi Valley City, he might be the one who understood just how terrifying Qin Xue Zhong's ability was the most, bar none.
He knew that if Qin Xue Zhong wanted to take over his body or read his memories, he really wouldn't have a chance to resist.
Thus, his body instantly stiffened.
He didn't dare move at all.
Originally thinking that Qin Xue Zhong wanted to hug him, who would have thought he would be forcefully read?
Qin Xue Zhong didn't look at any other memories, focusing instead on the ones she was most familiar with—Yu Zhe Zhu doing housework at home, feeling the joy within those memories.
Using these memories as a springboard, she entered Yu Zhe Zhu's deeper memories.
Almost in an instant, Yu Zhe Zhu's entire life unfolded before Qin Xue Zhong without reservation.
Every memory of his life, from the blurry images of his early childhood to the pain and doubts of becoming a puppet, was all laid bare.
Yu Zhe Zhu didn't understand why Qin Xue Zhong was doing this. In any situation, reading someone else's consciousness and memories so recklessly was dangerous and an absolute crime.
However, he resignedly closed his eyes.
Not to mention that he couldn't resist, but if it weren't for Qin Xue Zhong, a level ten authority user who appeared unexpectedly, he would likely be a puppet hiding in a dark corner, slowly being drained of the last bits of value before being discarded.
Exaggerating a bit, every day he lived now was given to him by Qin Xue Zhong.
So no matter what Qin Xue Zhong did, even if it meant his death, he was already prepared for it.
Of course, none of this happened.
Qin Xue Zhong quickly swept through his consciousness and memories, confirming that Yu Zhe Zhu was indeed real.
She had even sensed through Yu Zhe Zhu's nerves that he was currently bound in some container.
However, all of this perception was concealed by this incredibly realistic virtual dream.
After finishing all this, she spoke in Yu Zhe Zhu's consciousness space: "Stay calm. Everything we experienced before was a virtual
dream. I just needed to confirm that you are real. Don't speak when we get out; I'll take us both out."
Yu Zhe Zhu was taken aback but nodded happily.
As she exited the consciousness void, Qin Xue Zhong maintained her arm around Yu Zhe Zhu's neck.
In actual time, only a second had passed.
The breath she had held before the consciousness connection now lightly blew on Yu Zhe Zhu's face, making him blush a little.
Fortunately, the room was dark, and Qin Xue Zhong didn't notice.
To avoid arousing suspicion from the masterminds, she still lightly hugged Yu Zhe Zhu, going through the motions completely.
Then she fully expanded her consciousness void, thoroughly probing the virtual dream and her physical condition.
The masterminds had used some profound and complex emotional deception to make her overlook many details, even causing her to forget to use her consciousness void to crack this false dream.
But once she realized it, everything became as thin as a layer of window paper.
Qin Xue Zhong smiled slightly and said to Yu Zhe Zhu, "Are you ready?"
Yu Zhe Zhu stood up, instinctively nodding.
Xiao Qin took a deep breath and gently waved her hand.
In the sky, hundreds of dragons and hundreds of interstellar warships appeared, along with countless small troops.
— This was a scene she had created entirely after mastering the virtual space, capable of destroying this virtual dream and creating a massive impact on the masterminds behind it.
With a snap of her fingers, all the dragons spewed fireballs, and all the warships fired their main cannons. The earth-shattering bombardment rained down on the ground, turning this fabricated scene into scorched earth.
In the hellish apocalyptic scene, only Qin Xue Zhong and Yu Zhe Zhu stood safely in place, like world-destroying demon lords.
Yu Zhe Zhu was dumbfounded.
Qin Xue Zhong turned her head, her clothes and hair billowing in the hot sparks. She smiled and said, "Alright, now let's go see the culprit."
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