My avatar is becoming the final boss

Chapter 300 The Universe, the Promise, and Ruri Urushibara's Problem (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
Salvation Society Base, Paradise Level.

Ji Minghuan sat alone in the maze corridor, lost in thought, while the other children played on other recreational facilities.

He looked up at Shang Xiaochi, who was swinging alone with her head down, walked over, and silently sat down on the swing next to her.

"Speaking of which, Little Chi," Ji Minghuan asked, "didn't you hear what the World Tree said to you?"

“Traitor, don’t associate with me…” Shang Xiaochi didn’t turn her head, her brows slightly furrowed. A beauty mark at the corner of her eye made her expression look even colder.

"Woof woof woof." A sudden bark interrupted her words.

Shang Xiaochi was taken aback.

She turned her head and stared blankly at Ji Minghuan. "What... are you doing?"

"I'm a puppy. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have betrayed you, Master Xiaochi, woof woof woof woof woof."

Shang Xiaochi blinked, avoiding his gaze. "It's no use being a puppy. The wounds of betrayal will never heal. Without bonds, there will be no harm..."

"Do you really like Uchiha Sasuke?" Ji Minghuan suddenly asked.

"How did you know?" Shang Xiaochi was stunned.

"Because I also watch anime, I'm an anime expert." Ji Minghuan said seriously, "As far as I know, Uchiha Sasuke likes to say things like 'I want to sever my bonds' and 'Only by abandoning my bonds can I become stronger,' but actually he's a tsundere. Later on, he just keeps asking the protagonist, 'What am I to you?'"

Shang Xiaochi blushed. She lowered her head and frowned. Being discovered that her powerful quotes came from anime made her uneasy, just like an artsy teenager who copied movie reviews from Douban to show off his taste, only to have the source discovered.

"I don't like Uchiha Sasuke," she said, pursing her lips.

"Alright then," Ji Minghuan said. "So, what about the question I asked you earlier? Could you answer it for me?"

"what is the problem?"

Has the World Tree ever spoken to you?

"No." Shang Xiaochi shook her head and said softly, "I can only occasionally hear the sound of thorns growing. I wake up when I'm sleeping and feel like my body has turned into a plant."

“I see.” Ji Minghuan nodded. “That’s good. I just met a guy who was tormented by the consciousness of a mythological figure. He even developed schizophrenia.”

“Nobody wants this.” Shang Xiaochi remained silent for a moment.

"Yes, nobody wants this."

Have you ever thought about what it feels like to die?

"Death?" Ji Minghuan shook his head. "I don't know. It's a bit too advanced for elementary school students."

"Didn't I just tell you? Every time I sleep alone, I feel like my body is slowly turning into a plant, trapped in a dream and unable to wake up. It feels like being locked in a coffin... no matter how much I struggle, I can't open it, my limbs curl up, and the oxygen inside slowly disappears; the coffin floats in space, and no matter how much I shout, no one answers." Shang Xiaochi said in a low voice. Her language skills were not yet fully developed at her age, so she spoke somewhat incoherently.

"Hmm..." Ji Minghuan thought for a moment, "It sounds like you're in a lot of pain, like you're about to have a claustrophobia attack. Wait, you don't actually have claustrophobia and are just trying to tough it out by yourself, do you?"

“I don’t know what that is.” Shang Xiaochi shook her head. “I’m just wondering if I might not wake up one day and really turn into a plant.”

"Alright, it seems the World Tree's consciousness still has an influence on you. I take back what I said."

“Traitor…can you stay with me?” Shang Xiaochi looked up and glanced at him. “I don’t want to dream alone, nor do I want to wake up alone from a dream.”

"Wow wow wow wow!"

"What are you doing?" Shang Xiaochi was taken aback.

"No, I didn't know what to say, so I just barked a few times."

Shang Xiaochi frowned, lowered her face, and looked at him angrily, not knowing what to say.

"Okay, okay, I just think you're being pretty straightforward right now. So even the most stubborn and defiant little kid gets afraid of being alone?"

As she spoke, Ji Minghuan swayed the swing.

He turned his head and looked at her seriously and quietly: "Although our mentor won't let us stay together, every time you dream that you are locked in a coffin and your body slowly turns into a plant, you can imagine a little dog squatting on the coffin lid, jumping around and barking. It is just as lonely and scared as you, not knowing where the coffin will drift in the universe, but it is always waiting for you to come out of it."

Shang Xiaochi was stunned.

"Actually, I often have strange dreams, such as being chased or being wrapped up in something and unable to breathe. But every time, there is a penguin monster outside holding a notebook and shouting 'Go! Go! Go!' to me. So I don't feel lonely... As long as there are people in the world waiting for me, I am not lonely."

As Ji Minghuan spoke, he looked up and saw that Filio was watching Mario play Fire Emblem. Both children looked very focused.

In another corner of the park, Sun Changkong and Kong Youling sat on the slide, sliding up and down.

Each time they slid from the top of the slide to the bottom, the Somersault Cloud on the ground would automatically pick them up like a smart elevator, saving them the trouble of climbing stairs. So they were either sliding up and down the slide or flying around on the Somersault Cloud, with the hem of their hospital gowns rising and falling.

"Traitor, have you ever seen the ocean?" Shang Xiaochi asked suddenly after a long silence.

“I’ve never seen it before.” Ji Minghuan shook her head. “I’ve lived in an orphanage since I was a child and have never stepped outside. I’ve probably seen even less than you.”

"Is that so?" "But after everyone leaves here, we can go see the sea together," Ji Minghuan said softly.

"You betrayed me once, you're not allowed to betray me a second time," Shang Xiaochi said softly. "You have to take me to see the sea, okay?"

“Okay.” Ji Minghuan nodded.

The two swung quietly on the swing for a while, looking down at the sand on the ground. Then, the somersault cloud suddenly flew over, knocked them off the swing, caught them amidst screams, and carried them to the top of the slide.

"What are you two whispering about?" Sun Changkong asked.

"That's right, that's right." Kong Youling said silently with her lips, then raised the small notebook in her arms.

Shang Xiaochi looked up and saw a drawing on the notebook of a little fox and a little black cat swinging on a swing. The black cat had a beauty mark at the corner of its eye.

"Why am I a cat?" Shang Xiaochi asked.

"Because... the temperature fluctuates." Kong Youling covered her face with the notebook, not daring to look at Shang Xiaochi's expression.

Ji Minghuan leaned over and glanced at the contents of the notebook. "This is our penguin monster. It likes to turn other people into strange animals. I'm clearly a dog, not a fox."

"If Little Ling says you're a fox, then you're a fox. Don't be ungrateful." Sun Changkong glared at him fiercely, then looked at Shang Xiaochi. Both of them obediently lowered their heads.

Just then, the instructor's voice came through the loudspeaker: "Children, pack up and go back to rest."

Immediately afterwards, the elevator at the entrance opened with a "ding," and the test subjects, wearing white coats and sterile masks, walked out.

"Let's go." With that, Ji Minghuan slid down the slide.

He stood up, took a few steps forward, and turned around, only to find that Shang Xiaochi had been watching him the whole time.

“Traitor, don’t forget…” Shang Xiaochi whispered as she passed by him with her hands behind her back, “You have to take me to see the sea someday.”

Ji Minghuan watched her walk away. After a while, he exchanged a few words with Kong Youling, then left the amusement park and followed the experimenter back to the detention cell.

The lights dimmed with a snap, and he lay down on the hospital bed, gradually closing his eyelids.

The consciousness was synchronized to the first unit.

Noon on August 9th, US time, a hotel in Manhattan, New York.

Gu Wenyu woke up in bed, turned on his phone on the bedside table, and sent a message to Gu Qiye.

[Black Chrysalis: Speaking of which, is there any progress on the Light-Eating Bee issue? One of my collaborators is very curious about this and is urging me to get it done.]

[Gu Qiye: We're having a meeting soon, we'll talk then.]

[Black Chrysalis: Okay.]

At the same time, in another corner of New York, in the parking lot at the base of the Empire State Building.

Inside a black Maybach, Gu Qiye was sitting in the passenger seat, looking down at his phone.

He closed the text message interface, put his phone in his pocket, then opened the car door and got out. Today he was wearing a black jacket and black trousers, and his shoulder-length hair had been cut much shorter, making him look neat and tidy.

Yuriel opened the car door and got out of the driver's seat of the Maybach. She was wearing a black suit today, and her long white hair was tied into a ponytail and fell behind her head.

The two walked side by side toward the elevator. Yuriel raised her hand and pressed "10th floor underground" on the control panel. The elevator doors slowly closed, but just then, a hand suddenly reached in, and the elevator doors that were about to close opened.

Gu Qiye looked up and saw that Urushihara Ruri had suddenly emerged from the darkness as if by magic. She was still wearing a black vest and jeans.

At that moment, she was leaning against the elevator door frame, a smirk on her face, and turning her head to look at a corner of the parking lot.

Yuriel and Gu Qiye followed her gaze and saw a girl dressed in Gothic Lolita fashion walking slowly towards the corner of the parking lot. She was none other than Esther, the "Gothic Doll".

The black-haired, red-eyed girl in a gothic dress raised her hand to cover her mouth, yawned, and then slowly walked into the sedan chair.

"By the way, young man, I have a question for you." Qi Yuan Liuli was the last to enter the sedan chair, and looked up at Gu Qiye.

"what is the problem?"

As Gu Qiye asked the question, the elevator doors slowly closed and began to ascend.

"What is your relationship with the black chrysalis?" Ruri Urushihara asked in a low voice, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Gu Qiye paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, then looked up and met the gaze of Urushihara Ruri.

In the dimly lit sedan chair, she stared intently at Gu Qiye, her eyes as clear as glass, as if she could see right through people's hearts.

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(End of this chapter)