The scene before her transformed into a small room.
Or rather, it was a street-side storefront.
Inside the storefront were two rows of dirty, old-fashioned arcade machines. These weren't the trendy chip-connected gaming pods of today, but clunky devices that relied on motion-sensing gloves and simulation glasses for a poor sense of immersion.
Such things were rarely seen, even in the slums.
In front of the machines sat several punk-clad men and women, smoking and intensely focused on their games. A few mischievous children screamed as they chased each other around the already cramped space.
The low-quality speakers, dazzling diode lights, and noisy chatter, combined with the sizzling aroma of street food outside, painted a lively and bustling scene of a slum street.
Little Qin was momentarily stunned; she hadn't expected to see such a familiar sight.
At that moment, Qin Xuezhong's mind was racing.
When the white light appeared, she guessed that this might be a safe house constructed by Ouyang Zhao in his mind.
After all, being locked away in one's own brain, unable to see, hear, touch, or express oneself, was undoubtedly an incredibly cruel torment.
Before the crossover, Qin Xuezhong had heard that some people in a vegetative state might have regained consciousness but had no vital signs, leaving them trapped in their own bodies—a truly merciless fate.
However, someone of Ouyang Zhao's caliber would undoubtedly have the ability to construct a scene in his own mind to pass the time.
Even Qin herself could close her eyes and play movies in her consciousness.
So she speculated that Ouyang Zhao had likely created something in his mind.
In her brief hesitation before entering, a few guesses flashed through her mind.
As a scientist, he would probably create either a serene study or a meticulous laboratory, right?
And maybe there would be an elegant woman with wise eyes, revealing some truths to him…
She never imagined she would find herself in such a lowly place.
It even felt somewhat endearing.
At that moment, a voice with a mix of annoyance and defiance rang out.
"Hey, who are you?"
Qin Xuezhong turned toward the voice.
At the bar by the door stood a girl adorned with metal studs and glowing strips, half her head shaved while the other half sported an outrageous hairstyle. She had a holographic lip piercing that constantly displayed a tentacle pattern.
With a cigarette dangling from her lips, she puffed out a cloud of smoke, tilting her chin and raising an eyebrow, her gaze dripping with provocation.
"Hey, I'm talking to you."
Little Qin was taken aback.
This was Ouyang Zhao?
The Ouyang Zhao who developed the mainframe and saved the world???
She had seen so many people like this in the slum areas.
Almost every bar and virtual dream club had a group of such characters who, after a few drinks or getting high in virtual dreams, would look at you with disdain and spout provocative remarks.
"You are..." Little Qin hesitated to ask.
The girl let out a cold laugh, spitting to the side, and with a cigarette in hand, she pointed at Qin Xuezhong. "Hmph, another one. Are you thinking, 'Wow, how did Ouyang Zhao end up looking like this? The idol everyone admires? How did she turn into a delinquent girl?'"
Little Qin felt a surge of embarrassment.
However, after crossing over, she had become quite familiar with the mindset of those idling in the slums.
Dealing with such people, one must not show weakness; otherwise, they would immediately take advantage.
But one also couldn't seem completely indifferent, or it would only anger them more.
The best approach was to exchange barbs.
Once your attitude was firm, they would likely feel that you might be one of their kind.
Qin Xuezhong had seen it happen several times: those who began arguing would eventually end up laughing and drinking together.
So she replied without hesitation:
"What's up? You wear a white lab coat and a wealthy lady's hairstyle on the news, spouting some empty talk, and that doesn't make people wonder?"
What she said was precisely the image Ouyang Zhao presented in various materials and video programs—a refined scholar.
This time, it was Ouyang Zhao who was momentarily stunned.
She laughed, "Hahaha, interesting! I thought anyone who could access this place would be a brainwashed fool raised by the mainframe. Where did you come from?"
Qin Xuezhong keenly sensed that the hostility in Ouyang Zhao's tone had lessened.
Scratching her head, she replied, "I have many identities, but... I come from the slum area."
"Oh? Where in the slum?"
"District F, near the subway station."
"Hey! I used to be around there too!" The girl Ouyang Zhao displayed a hint of excitement on her face, pointing outside the gaming room. "Didn't you recognize it? This is Black Market Street!"
Qin Xuezhong looked outside curiously.
—She couldn't recognize it at all.
Ouyang Zhao's memories were likely decades old, and the slum had changed countless times since then.
Ouyang Zhao was relentless, grabbing Qin Xuezhong's hand and leading her to a nearby snack stall.
"Old Li's 'guokui'! Is it still around? If such delicious food is gone, the world should just end!"
Her voice was filled with excitement.
This time, Qin Xuezhong really recognized it.
She nodded, saying, "Old Li is gone; now it's Little Li's son running it. I heard from them that the taste hasn't changed much."
"Ah… sigh…" Ouyang Zhao momentarily looked dejected, then quickly perked up again. "Good! Once this is all sorted out, I'm going to have a big meal!"
Little Qin managed a smile.
—"Once this is all sorted out?" Things were becoming more confusing for her.
She asked, "Can you tell me what's going on now? Are you really Ouyang Zhao?"
---
The girl Ouyang Zhao shot her a glance.
"What else could I be?"
"Wasn't it said that... your memories and emotions had already merged and disappeared?"
Ouyang Zhao fiercely flicked her cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it with her boot. "If it were that simple, I wouldn't have been trapped in this head for so long!"
"...What happened?" Qin Xuezhong asked cautiously, her curiosity piqued.
"That surgery completely digitizes a person's consciousness, categorizing it. But none of us expected... that when it was first digitized, the program split my consciousness into two parts!"
"What two parts?"
"I..." Ouyang Zhao's face twisted in disgust. "One is the positive side, and the other is the negative side..."
"The positive side, the so-called noble part, was infused directly into the mainframe because it was driven by the great mission of saving humanity! It turned into a pig's brain!"
"And I am the negative part, filled with all the sordid tricks from the slums, trying to figure out how to survive..."
At this point, Ouyang Zhao looked at Qin Xuezhong with a strange expression and asked, "Do you know what happens when a person completely loses their selfishness and is filled only with lofty ideals?"
Her voice was loud, her momentum growing stronger.
Qin Xuezhong thought for a moment and replied, "Um... they become a saint?"
Ouyang Zhao lifted a leg and placed it on the chair, lighting another cigarette. After taking a deep drag, she suddenly slammed her hand on the table, puffing out smoke as she exclaimed, "You are completely correct!"
"Do you know what that idiot wants to do? She thinks all humans are fools, that everyone is selfish, and no matter how good the technology or how talented the person, they all have their own interests. With selfishness, they will make mistakes. And our world... can't withstand that many mistakes anymore."
"Is it... that serious?" Little Qin had always been a bit puzzled.
After her crossover, even though the environment in Xigu City was poor and life expectancy short, and everyone lived a hard life... it was still a social issue and shouldn't lead to environmental collapse, right?
Ouyang Zhao nodded. "The early environmental control technology and chemical waste have almost destroyed the entire ecosystem. Genetic diversity is gone. According to my estimates, in another twenty or thirty years, crops might completely go extinct, and we'll have to rely on chemical synthesis, which will gradually lead to the extinction of living organisms."
Qin Xuezhong noticed that when discussing professional matters, Ouyang Zhao's tone became much more normal.
"So... what does the other part want?"
"What else? Like all naive saints, she wants to save all of humanity! Her idea is that if everyone is indoctrinated with the same thoughts, and everyone is brainwashed to become virtuous saints, then won't the problem be solved?"
Little Qin felt a chill run down her spine.
—Brainwashing everyone would bring peace to the world?
"For this goal, she sacrificed herself, giving her brain to the mainframe. What a noble sacrifice!"
Ouyang Zhao spoke with exaggerated theatricality, gesturing with her hands.
"How could someone like me, with a selfish personality filled with sordid tricks, stand for that? I could only figure out a way to escape."
Little Qin listened quietly.
Ouyang Zhao's tone was light and mocking, but Qin Xuezhong had experienced her escape journey; the hardships and obstacles were far from "just finding a way to escape."
Thinking of this, Qin Xuezhong anxiously asked, "If the mainframe is equivalent to your other part, does that mean she already knows my identity from our previous communication?"
"Mm? Your identity isn't simple?"
"Well... it's a bit complicated." Little Qin now had too many identities, and she didn't know where to start.
"Oho... Looks like you have quite the story!" Ouyang Zhao leaned back and explained, "Don't worry; her consciousness still comes from a human brain. It's tough for her to influence the mainframe, so it's impossible for her to communicate with you. The one you're communicating with is just the mainframe's AI."
Qin Xuezhong felt overwhelmed.
So, within the mainframe, there were three consciousnesses: the mainframe's AI and Ouyang Zhao's positive and negative sides.
The positive Ouyang Zhao wanted to use the mainframe to brainwash all of humanity. It seemed that the illusions of the Twin Moons were her doing.
This also explained why the mainframe had claimed that its ideal was world peace; it had already been influenced by the positive Ouyang Zhao...
In such an environment, the negative Ouyang Zhao thought of a way to escape...
Little Qin felt drained—so this is how the cyber world works; even a person's mind could turn into a battleground.
"So what do we do now? Should we merge you two again? Would that make things normal?" Qin Xuezhong asked uncertainly.
"No," Ouyang Zhao shook her head.
"I want to go back and kill her, or rather, kill myself one more time."