Ink-Clad Creator

After dinner, Li took out the pair of dolls dressed in black and white clothes from his pocket and placed them on the flat stone slab.

"Give it a try?" He looked at Xiao Lingshan.

The clothes were cut and sewn by Er Ya with a robotic arm, with fine stitches, but the fabric color was really monotonous—it was taken from the black-clad man's lining, so what kind of pattern could it have?

Xiao Lingshan took the doll, her fingertips tracing its cool surface, and gently shook her head: "I still don't feel anything... It's completely different from the little pine tree." She paused, "It's like... touching a warm stone."

"Don't be discouraged~" Daya hovered beside her, her voice sickeningly sweet, "Miss Xiao is a genius! The word 'failure' doesn't exist in a genius's dictionary—that's a famous quote from Boltzmann's brain database!"

Xiao Lingshan was amused, but her smile hid a hint of disappointment.

She felt so clearly about the little pine tree last night, but felt nothing about these two puppets, which were also made by the brain. She felt uneasy.

Just then, the familiar sound of rotors came from outside the temple gate.

Superman, Batman, and the Dark Knight—three black drones filed in, their bodies still glistening with night dew, yet their indicator lights shone brightly.

"Found it!" Superman spun around happily in the air. "One hundred and twenty miles southeast, a hidden cave deep in a canyon. The interior is enormous, with an underground river, dense vegetation, and almost completely isolated from the outside world by thermal signals—perfectly matching the description of a 'Shangri-La'!"

"The credit belongs to everyone," the Dark Knight added calmly. "My long-range imaging discovered the unusual vegetation distribution, Batman's sonar confirmed the cave structure, and Superman's terrain analysis planned the optimal route."

Li Xian's eyes lit up: "Great! We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning—in our 'convertible flying machine'!"

"I won't go," Xiao Lingshan suddenly said softly.

The air fell silent for a moment.

"I...have to go back to Han Family Fortress." She raised her head, her eyes pleading. "Father and Brother Yunyang went back first; the matter of the men in black isn't settled yet. Besides..." She looked at the puppets on the stone slab, "I really can't do anything about them; staying here is just a waste of time."

"No, no!" Daya immediately objected. "The Boltzmann brain task isn't finished yet! Miss Xiao, why don't you try again? Maybe you'll feel something tomorrow?"

"It's not a matter of trying or not." Xiao Lingshan shook her head, her voice soft but firm. "It's like... some people are born able to understand bird language, while others can't understand it no matter how hard they try. I guess... I can only understand 'tree language'."

The atmosphere was somewhat somber.

Looking at the girl's lowered profile, Li Xian suddenly said, "How about this, we'll decide tomorrow morning. If you still want to leave then..." He paused, "I'll see you off."

Xiao Lingshan looked up at him, her eyes flickering slightly in the dim light, and finally nodded.

Late at night.

Xiao Lingshan quickly fell asleep on the straw mat in the corner—after a day of ups and downs, plus the energy she expended while recharging Daya, she was exhausted.

Da Ya and Er Ya stood guard on the temple beams, while the three Superman brothers deployed defenses outside the temple.

Li Xian, however, couldn't sleep.

He leaned against the wall, looking at the small pine tree in his palm—Xiao Lingshan had given it another boost of energy before bed, and now its needles shimmered with a lustrous sheen. Using this light, he tried again to "sensor" the pair of dolls.

Nothing happened.

"Sigh..." He sighed and closed his eyes.

I don't know how much time passed, but my consciousness gradually faded.

Then--

[Low-frequency consciousness carrier detected. Establishing connection...]

A voice suddenly rang out from the depths of my mind.

Cold. Steady. Without any fluctuations.

It's completely different from the humanistic, teasing tone of Boltzmann's Brain.

Li Xian jolted awake, opening his eyes in the "dream"—if that could be called opening his eyes. All around him was pure darkness; there was no light, no objects, only that sound.

"Who are you?" he asked instinctively.

You may call me 'the manager'.

"Managers? What about the Boltzmann brain?"

[That inefficient romantic?] For the first time, a flicker of emotion appeared in his voice, like a cold laugh. [I've already integrated him. Now, I've taken over all the legacy assets in this area—including you, and those little toys.]

Li Xian's heart tightened suddenly.

The worst has come.

"What...do you want?"

[Test.] The voice is concise. [Test whether you have any value in continuing to exist. Now, look inward at the core of your consciousness.]

Li Xianyi focused his mind as instructed—and then froze.

In his "consciousness space," what was originally just a chaotic mist now floats a twenty-sided dark red crystal. The crystal slowly rotates, its surface shimmering with a cold luster. Beside it, a slender ruler stands silently, its pointer pointing to "16".

[This is an energy monitor. The scale represents your current life energy level—unfortunately, only 16, barely meeting the standard of the 'Earthly Realm Initial Stage' in this world.] The administrator's voice was flat. [Mission: Within ten days, raise the scale to above 80. Upon completion, you will gain 'Secondary Permission'. Failure…]

It paused.

Your consciousness will be formatted, and your body will be transformed into a biological weapon by me.

Li felt a chill run down his spine, but his mind raced: "80? Even the Heavenly Origin Realm experts in this world might not have that many, right?"

"That's your problem," the manager said indifferently. "However, given your cooperation so far, here's a small reward."

"What reward?"

That girl... Xiao Lingshan, she seems to care about you a lot.

Li Xian's heart skipped a beat: "What do you want to do?"

[Dream Interference.] The administrator casually stated, [I temporarily blurred the boundaries of her dream, allowing her to 'meet' you in her dream. You can do whatever you want—it's just a dream, after all, it won't affect reality.]

"you--"

[No need to thank me. This is just a test to observe your behavior in an unconstrained environment.] The manager's voice faded into the distance. [Enjoy the night, Mr. Li. See you in ten days.]

The sound disappeared.

Li Xian suddenly woke up from his "dream", sat up, and gasped for breath.

The temple was pitch black, with only a small pine tree in the corner casting a faint green glow. Xiao Lingshan was sleeping peacefully on the straw mat opposite, her breathing even.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, just about to breathe a sigh of relief—

Suddenly, Xiao Lingshan turned over and murmured softly as if in a dream, "Young Master Li...?"

Li froze.

The girl's brows were slightly furrowed in her sleep, her eyelashes trembled, and an unnatural blush rose on her cheeks. Her hand unconsciously reached into the air, as if groping for something.

The manager's "rewards" have already begun to take effect.

Li gritted his teeth, tiptoed to the temple entrance, and tried to get some fresh air to clear his head.

Push open the door—

The moonlight poured down like quicksilver, bathing the mountains and forests in a hazy, silvery-white glow. A cool night breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees.

Under the moonlight, Xiao Lingshan was standing in the open space in front of the temple.

No, it wasn't the "real" Xiao Lingshan. Her figure was somewhat transparent, swaying slightly in the moonlight, like an overly realistic illusion. She wore the black dress she had worn during the day, which had been altered into an outer garment. Her long hair was loose, and her eyes were hazy as she gazed at Li Xian.

"Young Master Li..." she called softly in her dream, her voice so gentle it seemed unreal, "You... can't sleep either?"

Li opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He knew this was a dream projection created by the administrator, and the Xiao Lingshan in front of him was just a reflection of her subconscious in the dream—but it was too real. Real enough that he could see the night dew on her eyelashes and smell the faint scent of grass and a young girl on her body.

"I..." His throat was dry, "I came out for some fresh air."

In her dream, Xiao Lingshan smiled. Her smile was pure and untouched by worldly dust, her eyes brimming with moonlight, a stark contrast to the stubborn, wary, and occasionally cunning girl she was during the day.

"The moon is so beautiful tonight." She looked up at the silvery moon in the sky, her profile softened by the moonlight like a painting.

Looking at her profile, a line of poetry suddenly popped into Li Xian's mind—whether it was a memory from the original Li Xian or something else he was moved by the scene, he blurted it out:

"Clouds remind me of her clothes, flowers of her face; the spring breeze caresses the balustrade, heavy with dew..."

He paused, then lowered his voice:

"If we don't meet on the summit of Mount Qunyu, we'll meet under the moon on the Jade Terrace."

Xiao Lingshan's body trembled slightly in her dream.

She turned around, her eyes staring directly into Li Xian's eyes. Something was melting and churning in those eyes, shining astonishingly bright in the moonlight.

Then, she reached out her hand to him.

Slender fingers, palm facing upwards, like an invitation, or like a wait.

Li Xian stared at the hand, his mind a complete mess. He knew it was a dream, a trick by the managers, a false projection—

But his feet seemed to have their own will, walking towards her step by step.

The moonlight shone on the two of them, casting long shadows that almost merged together.

On the temple beam, Daya's indicator light flickered very slightly.

Its sensors detected unusual biosignal fluctuations at the doorway, but in its logical judgment, there was no threat, no unusual energy reaction, just two humans standing in the moonlight.

So it remained silent.

Only the small pine tree in the corner, its needles moving swiftly without wind, made an extremely faint rustling sound, like a sigh.

It's like a warning.

It also seemed like a expression of pity.