DTTM 27

Chapter 27: May All Our Wishes Come True

I was sure I’d buried that bird, and the drawer had been cleaned spotless. So where did these feathers in the cabinet come from? Did he pick them up on the balcony?

The thought of this possibility made me chuckle. How come I never noticed his collecting habit before?

From the age of ten to nineteen, I accompanied Zong Yanlei throughout his adolescence. Many of his special memories were partly due to my involvement. Therefore, once I applied Aunt Chun’s theory that “one piece of trash corresponds to an important memory,” I could match about 80% of the items in the display case with their corresponding stories.

The broken fountain pen he used to write letters to the princess; the paper stars our teacher rewarded him for doing well on his assignments in university; the meteorite fragment Wuxi Li gave him when he was eighteen; and the contact information his birth mother, Sha Lan, left on a tissue with lipstick when he last met her…

This could indeed be called a “treasure vault,” which not only preserved Zong Yanlei’s remarkable achievements in his career and his steadfast personal hobbies, but also contained his unforgettable and precious memories.

Although the “memories” displayed were not entirely pleasant, I thought they still had special significance and occupied a very important place in Zong Yanlei’s heart.

After touring the entire house, we arrived at Zong Yinzhuo’s usual nap time. He was already tired from walking so much, and now he was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. He sat in my lap and started to sway back and forth.

I had no choice but to hold his back and let him rest on my shoulder, carrying him all the way back to the bedroom.

Compared to his father’s somber, dimly lit bedroom, Zong Yinzhuo’s bedroom was like a fairytale world. Everything was brightly colored: a fluffy purple sofa, colorful balloon lamps, a giraffe-shaped bed…

“Uncle, can you come and play with me often in the future?”

I carefully placed Zong Yinzhuo on the bed. He rubbed his eyes, and every syllable sounded sticky and slurred.

“Sure. If you miss me, just have your dad tell me, and I’ll appear in front of you right away.”

With Aunt Chun’s help, I helped Zong Yinzhuo take off his clothes and prepare to change him into more comfortable pajamas. I used to do this often, so I was skilled at it. The only difference was probably the feel of the clothes.

Wei Jiarui was sturdy and looked fat, but he was hard to the touch and had hardly ever been sick. On the other hand, Zong Yinzhuo’s face wasn’t fat, but he had a lot of flesh on his body and was soft all over. In addition, his arms were covered in bruises, making him look weak and sickly, so I didn’t even dare to touch him.

“Does the injection hurt?” I asked casually as I helped him put on his pajamas.

“It hurts when other people do it, but not when Daddy does it.”

“Uncle will give you the injection next time. Uncle is very good at giving injections too.”

He lifted the blanket and obediently crawled inside.

“Okay.” He was so sleepy that his eyes were barely open. He groped around on the bed for a while, then hugged a red-eyed rabbit doll to his chest. “Uncle, I’ll sleep for a bit, and when I wake up… I’ll play with you again.”

As he spoke the last few words, his voice grew softer and softer, and soon his breathing became steady as he fell into a deep sleep.

The host family’s elder was busy with and the younger one was asleep, so as a guest, I couldn’t very well stay any longer. After saying goodbye to Zong Yanlei on my phone, I ended my visit and returned to my dormitory.

Zong Yanlei replied around dinner time.

[Enter the metaverse for training at 8 PM.]

I replied with an “okay” with one hand, and with the other hand I held a silver brooch shaped like a chemical formula above my head and examined it closely under the restaurant light.

“Dopamine?” I raised an eyebrow and looked at Ye Shuer across from me.

“In the field of neurobiology, dopamine is the core pathway of the human reward mechanism. It drives us to pursue goals, break through our limits, and become happy. Ge, don’t you think it fits the concept of ‘Free Will’ perfectly?” Leaving the lab, he changed into casual clothes, his smile innocent and carefree, looking like a college student who hadn’t yet entered the workforce.

“So, how do I use it?”

“When you wear it, it scans the surrounding environment and detects the ‘scent’ of the key. I suspect the key is locked in a ‘Faraday cage’.”

A Faraday cage, simply put, can be understood as an electromagnetic shielding device. It can both isolate external electromagnetic interference, protecting the purity of the internal space, and contain internal electromagnetic signals, preventing them from leaking outside.

These specially structured spaces were commonly found in institutions with stringent data security requirements, such as the military and finance sectors. However, if it was only used to house a small key, the size of this “cage” would likely be quite small.

“How can I find it if it’s locked in a cage?” I put down my arm, fiddling with the tiny, unremarkable silver brooch, and voiced my doubts.

“Ge, do you know that the current metaworld is actually built by AI developed by the Sun God Group?” Ye Shuer thought for a moment and asked a question instead of answering.

“Yes, I know.”

The AI from the Sun God Group was quite controversial, but not because of the usual controversies surrounding AI safety; rather, it was because of its name. Zong Shen’an named it “Balaka,” after the sun god worshiped by the Jing Shi religion.

This move sparked protests from many people in Penglai at the time. If the Pope had not later publicly stated that the name was given by the Sun God, this matter would likely have caused an uproar.

“The Sun God not only protects all living beings in the real world, but also creates all things in the virtual world. This is the true, immortal deity.” The old man, with just a few words, brought the “metaverse” under the Church’s umbrella, demonstrating his profound cultivation.

“The key is a piece of code with the highest authority. To put it bluntly, it’s a rope that the Sun God Group tied to the AI to prevent it from getting out of control. Whoever controls this key can control Balaka and then dominate the entire metaverse. If your plan is to ‘create a god,’ then my plan is to ‘control the god.'”

Ye Shuer further explained, “For security, the key is set to send a location signal to the Sun God Group’s main server every so often, but now the signal has disappeared, so I guessed it was locked. However, any device that needs to operate will leave a trace, and this brooch can both capture the signal of the key being released and detect the electromagnetic noise of the Faraday operating cage…”

We were in a street-side restaurant in the downtown area. The food wasn’t great, but it was quiet. Outside, it was freezing cold, and pedestrians hurried by, but we sat by the floor-to-ceiling windows, under the dim light, talking about how we, as mortals, could overthrow this “divine kingdom.”

It can be described as both secretive and insane.

“…That’s roughly the principle.” After explaining, Ye Shuer looked at me with a hopeful expression, like a child who had solved a super difficult problem.

“Well done.” I praised him, then raised my glass of soda water on the table and gently clinked glasses with him. “May our plans both succeed.”

Because I had an appointment with Zong Yanlei at 8 o’clock, I didn’t stay for too long. After we had talked for a while, I got up and called a car.

Shancheng District and Zengcheng were quite far apart. By the time the taxi hover stopped at the entrance of the dormitory, it was already 7:50. I hurried and rushed to finally lie down in the neuro-navigation pod before 8:00.

As soon as I entered the floating area, Zong Yanlei’s invitation arrived. After accepting, I was immediately pulled into a rest room for a simulated match.

A real fireplace burned in the corner, vintage oil paintings hung on the wall, and the thick carpet had exquisite and detailed patterns. This lounge was clearly designed according to Zong Yanlei’s preferences.

He sat on a single sofa in front of the fireplace, quietly reading a copy of the GTC Annual.

“Why are you asking me to train today? Is your injury alright?”

The room was a bit dark, and I looked around before finally finding the portal to survey the racetrack in a corner of the room.

Hearing the sound, Zong Yanlei looked up from the magazine and followed my gaze: “It’s alright, I took painkillers.”

Oh right, I forgot that this wasn’t the main competition yet, so painkillers were allowed.

“It would be better to rest more and finish before midnight tonight,” I suggested, gripping the doorknob.

There was no sound from Zong Yanlei’s end for a long time. I looked over in confusion and found that he was staring at my clothes.

“Young Master?”

“You’re still wearing your coat. Did you just get back to the team?” He looked at me in the eyes. “No wonder you were in such a hurry to leave this afternoon. Did you have lunch with someone?”

If I were fitted with a heart monitor, the waveform on my electrocardiogram would instantly exhibit an exaggerated oscillation.

Wow, he’s really perceptive.

I tightened my grip on the doorknob and thought of a solution in a second: “No, I was just bored by myself, so I went for a walk in the city center and then had a meal by myself. I would have liked to stay longer in the afternoon, but you were so busy, and the young master was asleep, so it was a little awkward for me to be alone.”

Zong Yanlei’s attention was successfully drawn to my last sentence. He frowned and said, “You could have stayed. Did you think someone will kick you out? Xiao Mitang cried for a long time after waking up from his nap and not being able to find you. In the future…” He paused, as if he had been struggling with his thoughts, “In the future, you can stay overnight.”

I was still trying to come up with an excuse to visit his house again, and then the opportunity came so easily.

It’s all thanks to that little guy Zong Yinzhuo.

“Then after we return from Xuanpu, I’ll visit you for a couple more days.” I quickly agreed.

With the crisis averted and an unexpected bonus, I entered the portal in high spirits. That night, I was exceptionally efficient, spending an average of no more than half an hour surveying all the tracks.

Two days later, we arrived in Xuanpu the day before the start of the race. Thanks to Zong Yanlei, the entire team stayed at a estate belonging to the royal family.

Although Princess Chu Luo did not appear in person, she sent her steward to convey a message to everyone, hoping that we could rest well and conserve our energy for tomorrow’s intense competition. She also stated that she would be present at the competition venue to witness our moment of victory.

“Uncle, let me show you around. I know this place well.”

Before I could even unpack, Zong Yinzhuo insisted on taking me on a tour of the estate. Unable to refuse him, I could only pick him up and, under his guidance, begin another round of architectural surveying on foot.

“Those are the little animals that Princess Mama keeps.” As we walked to an area enclosed by a wooden fence, Zong Yinzhuo pointed to the cows, sheep, chickens, and ducks grazing peacefully inside and introduced them to me one by one. “That one is called Huahua, that’s Benben, and there’s Xiao Huang…wait, there’s one more? It’s a new pony!”

Actually, I spotted the brown mare at a glance.

Humans can resemble each other, let alone animals. At first, I wasn’t sure if it was the same horse that Tang Yu had injured during the variety show recording; I thought it just looked similar. But when it saw someone appear by the fence and came limping over, wagging its tail, I didn’t even need to get close to identify it to know that it was indeed that horse.

The only reason it’s here is that Zong Yanlei bought it.

Perhaps the appearance of the brown pony caught me off guard, or perhaps there was some special magnetic field in Xuanpu, but I had an unusual night of insomnia.

I couldn’t fall asleep until 1 a.m., so I simply put on a blanket and went for a walk.

Zong Yanlei’s family and the rest of the team lived in two separate buildings. As I walked, I arrived at their main building.

The only light on the second floor was in one window.

On a cold winter night, when my breath turned to frost, I took out my phone and stiffly sent a message to Zong Yanlei.

[Young Master, are you still awake?]

[What is it?]

He quickly responded, clearly not asleep.

I chuckled to myself and dialed his number directly. I thought he would hang up, but after two rings, he answered.

“Do you know what time it is?”

I raised my wrist, glanced at the time on the terminal, and accurately announced: “1:23 AM.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone; I guessed he was hesitating whether to hang up.

“What is it?” In the end, he still didn’t hang up.

“Did I disturb your and the princess’s rest?”

This time, the silence lasted even longer.

“I don’t share a room with her.”

“Oh…” I drawled, “That’s good too.”

“What’s so good about it?”

“Fortunately… I don’t have to worry about disturbing the princess’s sleep by calling you so late.”

Zong Yanlei scoffed upon hearing this: “You’re actually thinking of her best interests.”

The air in Xuanpu was indeed very good, dry and clear, and there were even more stars in the sky than in other places.

I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, and in an instant I felt that my soul had been completely cleansed.

“Young Master, what do you plan to do after winning the championship trophy?”

“You are calling so late to ask this?”

I laughed and said, “Yes, that’s right.”

Suddenly, a figure moved in the lit room, and then a tall silhouette stood by the window through the hazy curtains.

However, due to the huge difference in brightness between indoor and outdoor light, only I could see him, but he could not see me.

“I will retire.”

Just as I expected.

“Then these will be our last four games.” Counting the time, it won’t even be two months.

“And you? What do you want to do after you help me win the championship?”

“Me? I…” It only took me two seconds to tell another lie, “If I win, I’ll go back to Zengcheng in glory, plant flowers, raise children, and grow old peacefully.”

Zong Yanlei waited a while, and when he realized I had no further response, he raised his voice slightly: “That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

Behind the curtain, the figure put down the phone, stared at the screen for a moment, and seemed to hesitate about whether to hang up.

After staring at it for a while, he slowly slumped his shoulders and put the phone back to his ear.

“Then I wish us all the best.” But this time, after saying that, he simply hung up the phone.

Holding my phone, I stood there for another ten minutes or so until the light on the second floor went out, before I finally walked back, shivering.