“So, I really only have one choice, right?”
Mu Bei muttered to himself, his voice as low as a drop of water falling through the air, light yet heavy.
After speaking, he leaned weakly against the wall of the exclusive room, his legs no longer supporting him, allowing his body to slowly slide down under the effect of gravity until he finally sat on the cold floor.
His head was tilted back, his eyes vacant, gazing at the unchanging soft light on the ceiling.
Having no choice is truly painful.
Mu Bei let the feeling of helplessness spread from his heart to his body, as if his entire being was nailed in place.
After a long silence, as if lifting his head from some kind of heavy pressure, Mu Bei asked:
“If... I don't choose anything and just stay in this exclusive room without going out, what will happen?”
Paradise's prompt sounded quickly in his ear:
【Prompt: Since You are not a Contractor from the Real-Present World, You will not be forcibly returned to the Real-Present World after 10 days, but will be forcibly removed from the exclusive room after 24 days and enter the next mission World.】
“Not a Contractor from the Real-Present World?”
Mu Bei suddenly grasped the key point in this phrasing and frowned.
“The Present World is the Present World, why add 'Real' in front? Could it be that I...”
His doubts grew stronger, and his tone became a bit hurried:
“Could it be that I came from some 'False-Present World'?”
This time, Paradise did not respond directly but provided a process.
【Contractor Mark Authority Detecting...】
【Detection Complete.】
【Contractor Mental State Evaluating...】
【Evaluation Complete.】
In the next moment, the air in front of Mu Bei suddenly twisted, and after a wave of fluctuations, a transparent crystal appeared.
The crystal hovered in mid-air, about the size of half a small fist, emitting a faint halo throughout.
Mu Bei recognized it at a glance—
This thing was extremely similar to the “soul crystal · small” he had obtained before, just slightly larger in size.
Paradise's prompt sounded accordingly:
【Pay 2000 paradise coins, eat it, and all your current doubts will be answered.】
“Only 2000 paradise coins?” Mu Bei raised an eyebrow slightly, then gave a self-deprecating smile: “Small change, paid.”
After paying this insignificant fee, Mu Bei reached out and took the crystal in his hand.
The crystal felt cold and smooth to the touch, and subtly emitted a peculiar rhythmic fluctuation.
After observing it for a moment, he still couldn't see anything special about it.
“If I can't see anything, I won't look anymore.” Mu Bei shrugged, put the crystal into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it.
It had no taste, like eating a piece of ice at room temperature.
Mu Bei casually commented in his mind, and just as he was about to complain about Paradise's answering speed, he suddenly felt a jolt in his mind.
A massive amount of information instantly flooded in.
The truth contained within the soul crystal quickly unfolded in his mind:
First, there was no so-called “False-Present World,” but the Virtual-Present World did exist.
The difference between false and virtual is that the former emphasizes “unreal,” while the latter is an “immaterial existence.”
The Virtual-Present World is not false, but an immaterial simulated World created by Order Paradise based on the blueprint of the Real-Present World.
There are 3 major differences between the Virtual-Present World and the Real-Present World:
1. Reality. The Real-Present World is a real physical World, while the Virtual-Present World is a virtual universe created by Paradise;
2. Number of Worlds. There is only one Real-Present World, while the number of Virtual-Present Worlds is as high as hundreds of millions;
3. time flow rate. The time flow rate ratio between the Real-Present World and the Virtual-Present World is 1:10^10, which means the time flow rate of the Virtual-Present World is 10 billion times faster than the Real-Present World!
Finally, Paradise revealed the most important point—
Mu Bei came from the Virtual-Present World.
Only at the moment of becoming an Order Paradise Contractor was Mu Bei endowed with a characteristic called “Real.”
Before this, everything about Mu Bei was just a part of Order Paradise's virtual universe.
“So... I came from the Virtual-Present World.”
Mu Bei opened his eyes, his expression still calm, still leaning against the wall, his back slightly relaxed, leisurely tapping the back of his head.
“Tap, tap, tap...”
Ten seconds later, he stopped this slightly boring little action and slowly opened his eyes.
“Thank You very much for bestowing 'Real' upon me.”
Many new Contractors, upon learning this truth, often experience emotional breakdowns, even hysterically accusing Order Paradise of “cruelty.”
These people had achieved brilliant accomplishments, profound emotions, and countless unforgettable memories in their respective Virtual-Present Worlds.
However, when they learned that all of this was merely “virtual,” it was inevitable that they would feel lost, angry, and even despair.
What's more, the time flow rate of the Virtual-Present World was 10 billion times faster than the Real-Present World.
When these new Contractors returned from the 2-week trial World, 384 million years had already passed in the Virtual-Present World.
Everything they loved, everything they longed for, had long turned to dust, and even ruins no longer existed.
This cognitive upheaval was enough to destroy the will of many people.
But Mu Bei was not them, he wasn't even human anymore!
“From a certain perspective, Paradise should be my creator Bar...”
Mu Bei closed his eyes, adjusted for a moment, and brought his heart back to peace.
When Mu Bei opened his eyes again, his tone was as firm as an oath:
“I voluntarily become a test subject for the Anti-entropy Experiment.”
【The 1907653248th Anti-entropy Experiment, initiated!】
...
