Eleven months was a long time for a game, but it was a very short time for a person's life.
In that small apartment of less than sixty square meters, Zhang Heng had experienced four seasons, and he was familiar with almost every corner. He knew where every piece of furniture was placed, which layer of the refrigerator contained milk and eggs, which type of cat food Little Crocodile liked the most, and he knew that the old TV in front of the sofa would automatically shut down when the game got intense …
Zhang Heng once proposed to buy a new TV to replace it. He had made a lot of money from Fox, and he couldn't bring it out of the parallel quest. As an unregistered citizen without an identity, there weren't many things he could spend his money on. However, this proposal was rejected by Little Boy without hesitation. The reason was that the newly produced TV had a microcomputer that could be connected to the Internet.
This also meant that they would be connected to CTOS.
Speaking of which, this was also the strangest quest that Zhang Heng had ever encountered. He was in the future, but other than learning skills, he rarely came into contact with electronic products in his daily life. Little Boy also chose a place far away from home for her combat training.
Therefore, other than watching TV, watching old movies, and playing Tetris, the two's usual entertainment activities were endless chatting. Little Boy especially liked it when it rained. Every time the sky turned gloomy, she would make something to drink. Occasionally, when she had more time, she would bake some cookies in advance and eat them while listening to the pitter-patter of rain outside the window.
Zhang Heng didn't know how many cookies Little Boy had eaten in the same position and posture on a rainy day before he arrived.
It was just like how few people knew that there was a group of people in this city who were fighting for the justice in their hearts.
The members of 01 were getting fewer and fewer. Some of them couldn't bear the huge pressure, or their enthusiasm had been extinguished by the long struggle. In the end, they chose to quit in silence. After all, there were many other things to worry about in life besides the pursuit of justice and axiom.
Parents, partners, children, friends … Everyone had to invest enough energy in each and every one of them. When the ideal faded, everyone had to face reality. When the people around them had become more and more accustomed to the existence of CTOS, to the point that they couldn't leave CTOS anymore, Black Nest's victory was already set in stone. Not everyone was as obsessed with distinguishing right from wrong as Little Boy was.
With the departure of the elders, coupled with the lack of new blood, the demise of 01 now seemed to be only a matter of time.
Perhaps when the elders like Leah, Little Boy, and Semiprime grew old, no one would remember that they had fought before.
During this period, Zhang Heng also participated in 01's operations as a foreign aid. However, even with his ability, there was not much he could do. After more than a decade of crazy expansion, Black Nest had completely expanded into a behemoth, forming a complicated relationship of interest. Even the creator of CTOS had lost control of it. It was no longer something that could be controlled by one or a few people. Similarly, no one could stop it.
However, Zhang Heng's information communication, internet intrusion and defense, electronic equipment modification, and anti-tracking skills had all been enhanced to varying degrees. In the end, they were all combined into a Level 2 Hacker skill.
This was also his biggest gain from this parallel dungeon.
There was only one month left before the end of this parallel instance dungeon. It was finally time for them to bid farewell.
"Are you leaving?" Little Boy leaned against the kitchen counter, holding a cup of coffee.
"Yeah, thank you for taking me in for so long and teaching me so many things. It's almost time for me to return to my parallel universe," Zhang Heng said. Zhang Heng bought a suitcase from the department store and packed all the things he would need for the journey into it.
"How much longer?"
"Less than a month, but I have something else to do before I leave," Zhang Heng said. He planned to use the remaining time to go to Grenoble to inspect the ski resort there in advance and perfect his plan to take Leah away. He also wanted to see if he could sneak into Black Nest's interior to get more information.
Of course, considering the danger of the latter, he also put this operation at the end.
"You said that Edward was still alive when you came, and Black Nest hadn't killed him yet. Although I still don't believe your nonsense about parallel universes, let's say … I'm just saying let's say let's say that you went back and stopped CTOS with 01 13 years ago. What would happen to my world?"
"I don't know," Zhang Heng said. "I've always gone back to the past, but I've never gone to the future. This is the first time I've encountered such a situation, but …" Zhang Heng paused. "But I'm guessing that whether I succeed or not, I'm afraid we won't be able to see each other again."
The parallel quest this time was based on the fact that there were no player activities in the future. In other words, even after this round, Zhang Heng might not be able to see Little Boy again if he used the extra game access.
Therefore, Zhang Heng didn't know what the eleven months were. Was it all an illusion? But he could clearly remember every day and every detail. The 29-year-old Little Boy standing in front of him at this moment was so real. Every frown and habitual little movement told him that this experience was real.
"I understand." Little Boy took a sip of coffee, her expression unchanged. "Go to bed early if you're done packing. You have to leave tomorrow."
"Okay."
Little Boy's reaction was much calmer than Zhang Heng expected. She even calculated the cost of tomorrow's breakfast in advance and paid the rent, utilities, and utilities with Zhang Heng.
The TV broadcast said that there would be heavy rain in the city after midnight tonight, reminding citizens to keep their doors and windows closed. In order not to disturb Zhang Heng's rest, Little Boy didn't sit under the window and listen to the rain as usual.
After the two said good night to each other, Little Boy returned to the bedroom.
The living room was plunged into darkness. Zhang Heng divided half of the money he earned during this period and put it under Little Crocodile's cushion. After that, he climbed onto the sofa and closed his eyes.
Halfway through his sleep, he vaguely felt something on his waist. Zhang Heng thought that Little Crocodile had climbed up again, but when he opened his eyes, he saw Little Boy's face.
Little Boy had taken off her pajamas, straddled him, and covered his mouth with her hand.
"Shh. Say hello to my seventeen-year-old self for me," Little Boy said, leaning down at the same time.
The storm outside the window came as expected, and the strong wind made the leaves rustle. The shadows of the trees swayed in front of the window, and the signboard of the convenience store across the street was blown into the sky. Blue lightning cut through the night, and the whole world looked like it was about to be completely flooded.
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