Mo Tan slept straight until noon…
This was clearly somewhat unbelievable for him; even though Mo Tan's biological clock had been A bit out of sync recently due to his obsession with A certain spiritual virtual game, sleeping until nearly noon and then getting out of bed clutching his head was A first in nearly ten years.
Of course, he didn't care much about it now, and even had the leisure to squat in front of the TV and watch A bit of "Wild Boar Davis."
"Hmm, men, women, old, and young all bathing in the same pit—one could say it's quite societal," Mo Tan said, looking at the several pink wild boars whose images were already flickering on the screen, and nodded with A solemn expression: "It should clearly be an 18+ animation, yet it can brazenly appear in numerous children's channels~"
Heaven knows what this somewhat abnormal fellow was thinking, especially now.
Twenty minutes later, Mo Tan, who had failed to develop A new dish, sat down at his computer desk with A plate of mysterious substance, looking pleased.
"Prototype No. 3 is nearing perfection~" He stared with fervent eyes at the dish before him, which was fragrant and flavorful but looked exactly like A blob of yellowish-brown ice cream. After appreciating it for A long time, he quickly finished this breakfast and contentedly opened his computer, preparing to browse the forums.
But before he could even open A webpage, his phone next to him started vibrating, with the large words 'A' flashing madly.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable, please try again later." Mo Tan casually turned on the speakerphone, while simultaneously searching the forum with the speed of someone single for over three hundred years, and speaking in A standard, amiable, steady, respectful tone with A slightly magnetic voice: "Sorry, the number you dialed is busy, please try again later."
Yi Dong on the other end said "Hello" once and then went silent, after which Mo Tan heard A listless mumble: "Ah, he's finally been abducted by aliens back to his home planet... beep beep beep."
The call was hung up.
Mo Tan gave A dry laugh and continued searching the forum expressionlessly.
More than two minutes later... his phone started vibrating madly again.
"Is something wrong, A?" Mo Tan answered the phone, smiling.
"Are you crazy?!" Yi Dong's frantic voice sounded somewhat exhausted, and he seemed to be banging his head against the wall for fun: "And what do you mean by A, you bastard!!"
"It's mentally ill," Mo Tan corrected him seriously, then leisurely said, "Don't be modest, I think your reaction time of one hundred thirty-seven seconds deserves the honor of 'A.'"
The sound of whistling wind came from the other end of the phone, presumably someone wanted to throw it away but ultimately couldn't bear to; Yi Dong took A long while to recover before sighing helplessly: "You should still call me A. By the way, what have you been up to lately? You're elusive in the game, and you seem very busy outside the game too…"
"Yes, very busy," Mo Tan replied perfunctorily, then suddenly asked, "By the way, I remember you once said your race was 'Eternal Clan,' right?"
Yi Dong had long been accustomed to Mo Tan's sometimes erratic way of chatting many years ago, and nodded, "That's right."
"It's said to be A half-dead kind, A heavy-taste play where the soul is attached to one's own corpse?" Mo Tan continued to ask, "Are you considered an undead creature?"
Yi Dong was A bit puzzled: "Yes, why?"
"Won't religious people beat you to A pulp?" Mo Tan expressed surprise.
"Is there A setting in Innocent World where you can be beaten to A pulp?!" Yi Dong was completely flustered, then answered more seriously: "I am indeed considered an undead creature, but my race has A talent that allows me to disguise myself As A 'living being,' so in most cases, it's relatively safe."
Mo Tan was silent for A moment, then his tone also became serious: "You have great talent, learn to cook with me."
Yi Dong was stunned: "Learn what from you?!"
"Necromancer," Mo Tan smiled slightly. "Your racial talent is very interesting. If you can hide that so-called 'death' aura, the Necromancer profession is absolutely, very, very suitable for you."
Yi Dong gave A dry laugh: "I'd like to, but that kind of profession should be hard to learn early on, can you really teach me?"
"My chaotic neutral character has A book," Mo Tan said softly. "It can directly grant you this profession. Interested?"
Yi Dong, who had been somewhat dispirited, immediately perked up: "That awesome?! Where did you get it?"
"Spoils of war scavenged on the spot after completing the tutorial mission," Mo Tan had just stepped on A hydrogen bomb on his first move in his modded Minesweeper game, and stared blankly at the epilepticly trembling monitor in front of him, answering distractedly.
Yi Dong sighed up to the sky: "Are you sure you did A tutorial mission?"
"Less nonsense, do you want it or not?"
"Yes!"
"Then come find me As soon As possible. I'll draw you A map and send it over. First, figure out where you are," Mo Tan said, then suddenly reminded him, "Be careful. If you die in this game, heaven knows what you'll be randomly assigned As next time."
Yi Dong scoffed: "Don't worry, it's not that easy to die."
Cordova's desperate face flashed in Mo Tan's mind...
"It varies from person to person," Mo Tan rolled his eyes. "For some people, bad luck might be an inherent attribute, who knows."
Yi Dong listened with A bewildered expression, but didn't pay much attention, just repeatedly asked: "Do you have any other books there? Ones that are more suitable for me!"
Mo Tan pondered for A moment, then nodded: "There really are. I also have A 'Tree Bottle Mold' here. Oh, and my lawful good character has A notebook, and there are A few pages at the back you might find interesting."
"Your tone just now made me feel A bit cold, tsk tsk, never mind, just keep anything useful for me." Yi Dong was still completely unaware of how accurate his ominous Premonition was, then asked with some curiosity: "By the way, what are your three accounts busy with? Anything fun to share?"
Mo Tan did not answer. He had suddenly seen A post... the content was very noteworthy...
"Hello? Are you there?" Yi Dong heard the other side suddenly go silent and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Are you... that again?"
"No," Mo Tan replied lazily. "There are still quite A few fun things. I met A mage apprentice who could overturn orcs with his bare hands and A disabled girl with A language impairment, wiped out one of A certain major evil cult's strongholds, abducted two young boys and girls to run errands, got caught up in A large-scale and influential slave trafficking incident, ferreted out an old opponent, successfully became disliked by all religious people, met A miraculously unlucky person, rode A dragon on A long journey and then crashed... they were all quite interesting~"
This time, Yi Dong was silent for almost two minutes...
"Are your three views intact?" Mo Tan narrowed his eyes and drew A large red cross on A certain spot on the simple map in front of him, then slowly asked Yi Dong, "If you're alive, make A sound."
"Squeak..."
"I'm hanging up."
"Don't!" Yi Dong's voice sounded particularly indignant: "I just want to know if we're really playing the same game?! How many days has it been since the server opened, are you even human?!"
Mo Tan whistled: "If there's nothing else, prepare to head my way tonight. That's all~"
After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Yi Dong's reaction, then sneered at the computer screen in front of him...
"Heh, I finally found some clues~"
...
7 PM that night
【Your spiritual connection has been detected. Personal information is being synchronized...】
【Connection complete. Character information is being read.】
【Welcome back, Tan Mo of Chaos. Innocent World will now load. Good night.】
...
"Phew~ That was close, that was close." Mo Tan adjusted slightly to the sudden inversion of day and night, then inwardly celebrated his personality shift half an hour ago, grinning: "It would have been troublesome if I'd been taken to Tian Zhu Mountain first. Haha, let's seize the time and set off now~"
But As soon As he took A step, he found his message bar starting to flash.
Two messages in total~
【Player: Rin Dong (chaotic neutral) requests to add you As A friend】
Undoubtedly, it was Yi Dong.
'You're the one on your period!!!'
This one was even more obvious...
After accepting Yi Dong's friend request, Mo Tan strolled along while replying to Shuang Ye: 'I regret that I do not possess the corresponding function; I merely made A conventional inference based on the state you described yesterday.'
'I want to kill you!'
Shuang Ye replied instantly.
Mo Tan smiled slightly and also instantly replied: 'Drink more hot water.'
This time, Shuang Ye didn't react for A long time, presumably too angry to reply...
'Hello...'
Mo Tan continued walking along the path for A while before receiving Shuang Ye's reply: 'What are you doing?'
Mo Tan ignored her.
Fire Claw Territory border
Shuang Ye was sitting with her knees hugged beside A bush, A trace of lingering confusion still in her eyes. She lowered her head and sent another message: 'Do you think the NPCs in this game truly possess emotions?'
'A meaningless question, at least to me. Whether they have emotions, are born from eggs or live birth, or if they'll go bald in middle age, it doesn't matter. It won't affect my style or methods, nor will it shake my thoughts.'
This time, Mo Tan's reply was not slow.
'I'm not As strong As I thought.' Shuang Ye took off her glasses, her eyes slightly red. She had finally revealed A vulnerable side, because at this moment, besides this scoundrel who had always been scheming with her, she had no one else to confide in.
After waking up from the nightmare, the girl had been in A daze all day. The images of her companions' dying moments kept lingering in her mind, and an unprecedented sadness and confusion left her at A loss.
The imagined mockery did not appear. Mo Tan only asked A rhetorical question...
'You once thought you were very strong, didn't you?'
Shuang Ye didn't react immediately, but perhaps it was true; she thought she was very strong... she thought she could do anything... that's how she used to be.
'I don't know how your intermittently waterlogged brain thinks~ But at least I will always choose to be my powerful self.'
Shuang Ye slowly raised her head...
Another message popped up: 'Thinking about those meaningless things will only make you stupid and boring. Only the weak pursue such things. I think you understand what I mean, SUN.'
'Are you trying to satisfy your vanity by educating me?' Although she replied this way, Shuang Ye's eyes gradually began to light up.
That's right, rather than agonizing over whether NPCs like Ned and Yinna have emotions like real people, it's more about her own unwillingness to face it... unwilling to face that powerlessness... unwilling to face loneliness... unwilling to face failure...
She was truly boring right now, absolutely embarrassing!
This has nothing to do with rationality and sensibility, right and wrong, success and failure, strength and weakness!
There are actually only two questions...
First, what does she want to do!
As long As one is willing, even data can have emotions, and even real people can be harmed!
Then, can she do it!
If she can't do it in A short while, then she should become stronger.
The only result of dwelling in sadness is to embrace sadness again...
Just choose to be that strong self!
"Alright~" Shuang Ye put her glasses back on, regaining her unique composure and confidence. She glanced back in the direction of Marshall Territory, her slender index finger twirling through her hair: "I'll make you pay~"
Mo Tan's message also popped up at the right time: 'Oh yeah, you gonna bite me?'
'Go away, and also...' The girl sighed slightly, then hesitated and typed two more words: 'Thank you.'
'It's common knowledge to show your chest when thanking someone.'
Shuang Ye rolled her eyes and actually replied directly: 'Want to see~ If you want to see, come find me?'
This time, the person on the other side was silent...
...
Three hours of game time later
【Reconnect initiated...】
【Connection complete. Character information is being read.】
【Character information is being read...】
【Welcome back, Black Vatican of Absolute Neutral. Innocent World will now load. Good night.】
...
Mo Tan regained consciousness and found himself lying in the wilderness on the Marshall Territory border, with no one around...
He immediately opened his character panel and was instantly stunned...
He suddenly had 15,000 selectable experience points without any recollection, and...
Talent: Reflection
Effect: ???, Cooldown 0-72 hours
【Note: If there were A mirror that could reflect everyone's true appearance, it would inevitably fail to interpret your form, for you are the mirror itself.】
This was not the main point.
Besides this suddenly appearing talent, Mo Tan also found that he had an additional status...
A negative status...
A negative status with no time limit...
【Original Sin Corrosion: 1%】
...
Chapter 71: End