"Moral Repository"
(The author is a newcomer, this is my first book.)
(๑ت๑)
...
As night fell, and stars twinkled like diamonds, Mu Bei sat alone, leaning against a park bench.
The evening breeze swept gently past his face, carrying the distant laughter of children and the rustling of leaves. This was the first time in his eighteen years that he truly felt the world outside a sterile ward.
"So, this is what the outside world is like," Mu Bei murmured softly, gazing at the colorful neon lights on the street.
Eighteen years of confinement finally transformed into freedom at this moment.
Mu Bei's birth was an unsolved mystery in medical history.
His mother unexpectedly discovered she was pregnant during a routine physical examination, and what was most shocking was that she was an unmarried virgin.
Mu Bei's maternal grandfather used every means possible to investigate, pulling all available surveillance footage and checking his daughter's social records, but found nothing.
A genetic expert, after testing Mu Bei's mother's amniotic fluid, came to a shocking conclusion: all the fetus's chromosomes seemed to come entirely from the mother. From a genetic perspective, this child might not have a father at all!
His maternal grandfather, possessing some basic biological knowledge, immediately refuted the geneticist: "How can a woman have a Y chromosome? My daughter isn't a hermaphrodite!"
Ultimately, a physicist proposed an almost absurd explanation: Mu Bei's Y chromosome-related genes might have been accidentally "pieced together" through irregular molecular thermal motion.
Later, Mu Bei's mother refused an abortion and escaped from the hospital. When Mu Bei was born, his mother died due to difficult labor.
In addition, Mu Bei suffered from severe congenital immunodeficiency, only able to live in a sterile ward, where he stayed for eighteen years, until today.
...
Mu Bei's gaze fell upon the bustling crowd on the street, where the figures of young people laughing freely appeared exceptionally vibrant under the neon lights.
They were enjoying a freedom he had never experienced, a freedom that, to him, was like being separated by a layer of glass he could never touch.
Suddenly, an anxious voice broke the night's tranquility.
"Young Master! I finally found you!" The butler ran over, panting, "Your body cannot withstand the external environment at all, please return immediately!"
"Return?" Mu Bei said calmly, "There's no need for that anymore."
"But..."
"Cough—cough—"
A violent cough interrupted the butler's words, and blood gushed from Mu Bei's mouth. His body seemed to suddenly lose support, tilting to one side.
The butler quickly supported him, seemingly understanding the meaning of his young master's words just now.
Mu Bei clutched the butler's hand tightly, his voice weak but firm: "I... I have saved all my memories on the computer, creating a digital life version of myself. The computer password is grandpa's birthday."
"Soon... what's going to die is just this terrible carbon-based flesh and blood body..."
The butler's voice gradually blurred, and Mu Bei's consciousness began to dissipate.
He had imagined countless times how he would feel when he was dying, yet when death truly approached, he was unusually calm.
"A life without any positive feedback is truly meaningless."
"My digital self, please live well in place of my carbon-based self."
However, as time passed, Mu Bei's consciousness did not dissipate as expected.
"Huh? My consciousness is still here?"
"My brain nerve cells should be mostly dead by now... Could it be that the soul really exists?"
Just then, a strange voice sounded in his mind.
"【Prospective Contractor, Order Paradise is opening for you.】"
"【Body transmission in progress...】
【10%, 50%, 100%, transmission complete. Detecting severe damage to the prospective Contractor's body, repairing...】
【Prospective Contractor's consciousness has awakened, currently maintaining minimum survival state, duration ten minutes...】
【Detected prospective Contractor's talent not yet recorded in Paradise database, survival time extended by three hours.】"
"【Prospective Contractor, welcome to Order Paradise.】"
In a pitch-black space, several rows of light blue text floated in mid-air, emitting a faint glow.
Mu Bei lay in the void, struggling to sit up, and looked around; besides those few lines of flickering blue light, everything else was pitch black.
"I'm not dead yet?" Mu Bei murmured to himself, a hint of disbelief in his tone.
"【Yes, Prospective Contractor. You are not yet dead, but if you refuse to join Order Paradise, your fate will continue to follow its predetermined trajectory, and death will become a foregone conclusion.】"
"【Please choose whether to sign a contract with Order Paradise as soon as possible?】
【Yes / No】
【2:59:59】
【2:59:58】
【2:59:57】
...
Blood-red countdown numbers flickered in the darkness, creating a tense and oppressive atmosphere.
Mu Bei remained silent for a moment. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind: The Matrix, a brain in a vat, a game of higher civilization... However, none of these could change his current predicament.
"Can you tell me the specific terms of the contract?" he asked tentatively.
"【After the contract is signed, you will become a Contractor of Order Paradise, traveling through different worlds, completing tasks issued by the Paradise, and receiving corresponding rewards based on task completion.】"
"【In the Paradise, everything is an equivalent exchange.】"
"【Order Paradise is omnipotent.】"
"Do I really not have a biological father?" Mu Bei suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
"【Yes, you do not.】"
'So I really don't have a father, that's incredible.' A strange excitement welled up in Mu Bei's heart.
"Is not having a father the reason I was chosen?"
"【The only reason you were chosen is your talent. Not having a father is just one of the side effects of your unawakened talent.】"
"Then, can you tell me..."
Mu Bei still had many questions in his mind, but Order Paradise clearly did not intend to answer any more.
"【Inquiry count exhausted, Order Paradise will no longer answer any questions. Please sign the contract or await death.】"
...
【2:59:07】
【2:59:06】
【2:59:05】
...
Time ticked by, and Mu Bei fell into brief contemplation. However, the asymmetry of information prevented him from reaching any clear conclusions.
"I am just an ordinary human on a blue planet, perhaps a little special, but in the face of an existence like Order Paradise, I am nothing. If it truly wanted to harm me, it wouldn't need to go to such great lengths."
Thinking this, Mu Bei's intuition told him: after signing the contract, his life would become full of meaning and positive feedback!
"I choose to sign the contract."
"【Contract established!】"