Am I the only one streaming Sword Art Online on the entire internet?

Humbert hurriedly knelt on the ground, tearing his shirt to help bandage Leos's wound, but his eyes still held a deep sense of fear as he looked at Sorin. Of course, it wasn't just him; the spectators still watching from the stands near the arena also screamed in shock and fear, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

"The academy has a rule that in any real sword duel, if no one dies, the fate of the two sides is left to their own devices... I'd like to see who dares to stop me today?"

Sorin watched this self-directed and self-acted farce unfold before him and couldn't help but laugh out loud. But the next moment, the lower-ranking nobles who usually surrounded Leos all came over and surrounded Sorin in the center.

"Cough cough cough... You said it yourself, that's... the school rules." With Humbert's help, Leos struggled to his feet, looked at Sorin surrounded in the middle, and laughed unrestrainedly, "But, if you hurt a noble, you'll be judged according to the 'noble's right of judgment'!"

"Within the scope of the Taboo Index, I can do whatever I want to you... Moreover, this is a legitimate and serious noble ruling made in accordance with the Imperial Basic Law and the Taboo Index. Obstructing the ruling is also a serious violation of the law."

He continued, then slowly walked to Solin, gently stroking his pale, expressionless cheek with his right hand. Though his face was pale, it wore a rather satisfied smile. However, before he could finish his movement, he felt a sharp pain in his waist, his vision went black, and the last thing he heard was a melodious voice that had appeared countless times in his dreams.

Do you think I would care?

The seal on the right eye, February 2nd, Human Era 380.

Amidst the crowd of onlookers and Eugeo's horrified gaze, Thorin didn't hesitate to use a short dagger strapped to his left arm to slice off Leos' right hand. Then, with a swift and clean double stab, he struck Leos' abdomen and chest, before finally kicking him to the ground.

"Is there anyone else who wants to stop me?"

Solin's already extremely cold voice sounded as if tinged with blood to those around him. The splattered blood on his chest and cheeks gave his cute face a strange, bloody beauty.

Of course, no one dared approach him; even standing within five meters of him was a considerable test of willpower. Only Eugeo, after overcoming his initial fear, staggered to Sorin's side, his voice trembling as he said:

"Sorlin...you...you killed him?"

“I didn’t want to either. I wouldn’t have been so ruthless if he hadn’t gone that far.” Solin shrugged, pointing with the black feather in his hand at the gruesome-looking Leos lying on the ground, and casually kicked his left hand with his toe. “By the way, if there’s nothing else, you can go back now. I’ll wait here for a while.”

At this moment, those standing below, who were Leos's retainers, were so frightened by Sorin's murderous intent that they ran away to a very far place with Leos. Although the others wanted to watch the rare scene of the Integrity Knights carrying out punishment, they were also frightened by the murderous aura and only dared to watch from the stands.

"Stop fooling around... The Integrity Knights haven't arrived yet, let's get out of here now!"

Eugeo called out softly, but Sorin ignored him, simply wiping the blood off his clothes and face with a handkerchief he carried with him, and then found a quiet spot to sit down.

"Does it make sense? No, it doesn't. This is the Imperial Sword Academy, this is the central capital, this is the closest place to the Central Grand Cathedral. Those Integrity Knights riding dragons will get here very quickly. You can't outrun a mobile force like dragons no matter how many times you take your own bus. They're practically riding right up to us, we have to give them some face, right?"

Eugeo still couldn't understand Sorin's lame joke. He looked at Sorin with concern, but showed no intention of leaving.

“I’ve sworn that something like that will never happen again. If I stand by and watch you being taken away by the Integrity Knights, what difference would I make from my cowardly self?”

His tone was unusually firm; faced with the conflict between "obeying the Taboo List" and "protecting Sorin," he unhesitatingly chose the latter. Perhaps because it contradicted his previous beliefs, his body trembled, and his right eye throbbed with pain.

"You... what's wrong?" Sorin didn't realize what had happened at first. He was just listening to Eugeo's declaration with satisfaction, but when he turned around, he found that Eugeo was curled up on the ground trembling, covering his right eye with both his right and left hands. So he quickly asked with concern, "Are you alright... let me help you."

“No need, Sorin, it’s just a small problem…” Eugeo answered Sorin with difficulty, then staggered to his feet. He stopped covering his right eye with his hand and pulled out the Blue Rose, holding it tightly in his right hand. “As long as I can stand here, I will never let them take you away. If I fall… then they will take me with them.”

"I will no longer run away, I will never... I will never!"

Eugeo shouted, and the shout echoed in his heart. Sorin heard his shout, but only smiled slightly. He did not say whether he agreed or disagreed. Instead, he suddenly asked him a question.

"You know what? He just said he was going to punish me within the forbidden list, and then he started touching me inappropriately. That doesn't seem to be something the forbidden list allows. However, what I've read and memorized tells me that, apart from kissing—an activity that only men and women blessed by Stia can engage in—other similar intimate physical contact is permitted, or rather, permitted for nobles. And judging from the way Leos looks, he's probably done this countless times before, leaving his victims helpless and at his mercy. So, Eugeo, have you ever wondered why, with such strict laws, this world can still produce scum like Leos among its nobles?"

“I…I don’t know…” Eugeo hesitated before answering. “I used to think that the harsher the laws, the more likely they were to make people kinder…”

"But you're wrong. The purpose of law is always to punish evil, not to promote good. Perhaps that's true for the common people of this world, but for the nobles, 'anything not prohibited by law is permissible' is their creed." Sorin's words sounded sarcastic, but Eugeo couldn't tell if he was mocking Leos, the Forbidden Index, or... this absurd world. "This is the first thing I'm going to teach you. Listen carefully to what I'm about to say, because these might be the last few words you hear from me."

"Learn to think independently. Learn to question. Learn to be curious about the world. Learn to protest against the injustices you face. Learn to confront your difficulties and setbacks... I see infinite possibilities in you, and all you have to do is to reveal these possibilities to me as much as possible. I believe you can do it, Eugeo, you are the most extraordinary one."

Eugeo listened to Sorin's words with only a vague understanding, but after a long time he still couldn't understand anything, and just tried to remember what he had to say. But when he had a little understanding and looked at Sorin again, he found that Sorin was also looking confused and at a loss.

"I just fell asleep?" Solin pointed at himself and asked in confusion. "I did want to take a nap, but my nerves aren't thick enough to fall asleep in this situation."

“No, you just said a lot to me…don’t you remember?” Eugeo asked back.

“…I don’t remember.” Solin shook his head silently, then pointed to the horizon, “Look, they’re coming.”

Eugeo looked up into the sky in the direction Sorin was pointing, and saw a huge, glittering creature appear in the sky. Its wings, which resembled two spires, and its long, curved tail made it clear at a glance that it was a dragon—the mount of the Integrity Knights.

The seal on the right eye, February 2nd, Human Era 380.

Its enormous size, beyond human imagination, made one marvel at this dragon, the symbol of the authority of the Axiom Church, the largest and strongest spirit beast in the human realm. Of course, only Eugeo truly felt this way, while Sorin only wanted to complain about its name.

"So we've essentially let a dragon ride right up to our faces, even though this dragon is clearly not the same species as the one I was talking about."

Even at this point, Solin was still able to calmly retort. Now, the only thing that puzzled him was what had just taken over his consciousness.

The dragon rider leaped down from its back, landing steadily in front of the two. The knight was slightly shorter than Eugeo, about the same height as Sorin. A blue cloak, embroidered with the emblem of the Axiom Church composed of crosses and circles, hung behind him from the buttons on his shoulders.

Even more striking was Chang Jinfa, draped over the cloak. His hair was a purer gold than Leos's, and it only needed a little light to radiate a brilliance like melting gold.

This combination of blue and gold—it seemed familiar. Eugeo thought to himself. A few seconds later, the agonizing anxiety transformed into a shock that felt like it would stop his heart.

He looked at the knight and tried his best to speak fluently: "I am Eugeo, a senior swordsman from the Northern Santoria Imperial Swordsman Academy."

"Same as above, I am Suolin." Suolin took a little shortcut and gave a brief self-introduction.

“I am Alice Synthesis Saty, the Integrity Knight of the Axiom Church and the overseer of the city of Santoria.”

"No way..."

Sorin heard the familiar name and thought to himself, but then he noticed that Eugeo's expression beside him had clearly changed. He seemed to see something more: the similar appearance, the familiar voice, and the same name all pointed to Eugeo's childhood friend. It was Alice, who had been taken away by the Integrity Knights many years ago.

"Alice? Is that you? Are you...Alice?"

He asked in a trembling voice, then walked forward with incredibly firm steps.

Alice!

He shouted loudly, his voice much clearer than before. However, the girl opposite him clearly did not recognize Eugeo. Her face still wore a rather cold and indifferent expression, and she ignored Eugeo, walking straight towards Solin.

What's even stranger is that, in Eugeo's eyes, Sorin wasn't someone who would give up so easily. Yet he remained completely still, as if waiting for the Integrity Knight named Alice to bind him and take him to the Central Cathedral...

"Solin!"

Thinking of this, he suddenly shouted anxiously, then stood in front of Solin, and the look in his eyes towards Alice was no longer as gentle as before.

"Alice... don't come any closer! I won't allow you to take my friend away!"

He didn't draw his sword, but the next moment this unnecessary restraint cost him dearly. Alice swiftly removed the sword from its sheath and slashed it directly at Eugeo's face.

Eugeo felt a violent impact on his right cheek, and he was quickly sent flying, falling backward onto the ground.

"Eugeo!" Sorin ran over and quickly helped him up, then turned to Alice, "You rascal..."

He had initially thought that this girl, who seemed to be Alice, the one Eugeo had been talking about, would hold back a little, but she showed no mercy whatsoever and acted quite decisively. Eugeo, at this moment, didn't even realize what was happening, staring wide-eyed in bewilderment.

"Watch your words and actions. I have the power to take away 70% of your destiny. If you try to obstruct law enforcement again, I will beat you unconscious."

After uttering those words in a voice as clear as snow water, yet stern and solemn, Alice temporarily sheathed her sword and walked towards Sorin once more. At that moment, Eugeo stood up again, and he seemed even more resolute than before—at least he had drawn his Blue Rose.

"Don't come any closer!"

He shouted, trying to shoo Alice away, but it was all in vain. Alice looked quite surprised to see Eugeo blocking her way again, and then raised her sword once more.

“I told you, if you stop me again, I don’t mind teaching you a lesson,” she said.

Eugeo didn't respond to her, but simply raised his sword with difficulty. At this moment, he was not only fighting against his past, but also against the dogma he had believed in since childhood. His right eye was throbbing with pain, and the pain became more and more severe after he pulled the Blue Rose at Alice, so severe that he was crying tears mixed with blood, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.

Sorin was able to stand still and watch the show, but when he saw Eugeo like this, the softest part of his heart was suddenly struck hard, causing him to uncontrollably grab the hem of Eugeo's clothes.

“Stop, Eugeo. You didn’t need to do this. The one who committed such a serious crime… wasn’t you.” He remained expressionless, but Eugeo could clearly hear the subtle tremor in his voice. “You still have a chance to come back to me. As long as you keep moving forward, the road will continue to extend.”

“But I don’t want to regret it. And if I’m not mistaken, this is indeed Alice, and she only became like this after entering the Central Cathedral.” Eugeo’s voice was unusually firm. “I don’t want you to become like that, and I don’t want to regret it either. Even if I don’t want to do it, I have to.”

He endured the excruciating pain that shot from his right eye to the center of his brain. Sparks flew from his blood-red vision, and in the center of his vision was a line of sacred text that read "system alert: code871" and was rotating clockwise.

"What does that mean?"

Eugeo thought to himself, though he didn't understand, his intuition told him that this was the seal that had been hindering his actions and forcing him to obey the law. Because of it, eight years ago, he could only watch helplessly as Alice was taken away, unable to do anything about it.

"Whatever you mean... FNNDP! Get out of my way!"

He watched Alice approach and roared as he swung his sword at her. In that instant, a silver light shot from his right eye, and then his entire eyeball flew out of its socket—a truly horrific sight.

The origin of everything: February 1, 2025.

In the real world, several days ago.

After a long period of unconsciousness, Mo Yulan finally managed to open his eyes. In front of him was a white and unfamiliar ceiling. He could vaguely smell the distinctive odor of disinfectant. At the same time, he also felt that his field of vision was restricted, and his nose and mouth were covered by something transparent.

My heart was still beating, but the beat was very weak, and I could feel sudden pain in my heart almost every second.

"You're going to die, my friend."

He suddenly heard this sound and tried to turn his head, but found that something was holding his chin in place, preventing him from doing so.

"Don't bother with anything else, listen to me. You were hit directly in the heart by a medium-caliber sniper bullet, which caused your blood supply to drop drastically. In theory, no one can save you. Even if you are in a very high-end emergency center, they can only prolong your short life by a tiny bit."

Mo Yulan nodded, his eyes filled with confusion. He recognized the person beside him; it was a man he had never been able to understand, an enigma—Chu Ziyu, the self-proclaimed mercenary leader and captain of the Cang Tong Squad.

"Don't be discouraged yet. The fact that I'm here talking to you means I can save you, and with a 100% success rate. All you need to do is one thing." He changed his angle, standing where Mo Yulan could see him completely, trying to dispel some of his wariness. "One day in the future, you will be transported to a place for treatment. The treatment there can cure your mental stagnation caused by insufficient blood supply, but only to a certain extent. All I can do is restore your blood supply, but I can't restart your thinking."

Mo Yulan looked at the man in front of her with a puzzled expression. He roughly understood his current situation and could guess how Chu Ziyu would treat him—but he still didn't know Chu Ziyu's purpose. It had always been like this; this man's thoughts and true intentions were often the most difficult to discern, which meant that no matter what method was used, it was impossible to deduce his motives for doing something.

"The method to restore your physical functions is simple. Over the next few days, you will be injected with my serum, which will gradually restore all your physical functions. The key is the latter, which is to reboot your mind. You will be sent by your father-in-law to their research facility to achieve the treatment by having you live in a virtual world, but this virtual space is not so simple."

As he said this, he suddenly pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, then, considering his current situation, awkwardly put the cigarettes back.

"They are using this virtual world to research real artificial intelligence, which I won't go into detail about here. In short, once this technology is completed, they will be able to mass-produce AI like Vector or Ivyson. What I need you to do is ensure that this technology is completed and give me its data."

When Mo Yulan heard this, her eyes widened instantly, and she stared intently at Chu Ziyu. The latter, however, simply smiled calmly and casually sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Don't think this is some kind of traitorous act. It's beneficial to you, me, and Professor Shigemura—a win-win situation. We're not enemies; our enemy lies on the other side, unknown to you. That's why I'm seeking your help. If you agree, blink, and I'll tell you about the follow-up plan."

Mo Yulan hesitated for a long time before blinking hard. He felt drowsy, but he forced himself to stay awake so he could hear Chu Ziyu's plan.

"It seems time is running out. Since you've agreed, I'll explain my plan. First, I'll use some special methods to seal away your memories from some time ago until you enter the virtual space, for your safety. After entering the virtual space, some of your memories and most of your rational side will disappear, and your personality will become more emotional, but that's not a problem. There's a channel in that world that connects to the outside world. Once you reach that channel, use it to contact the outside world, and I'll tell you the next steps."

Chu Ziyu launched into a long, rambling speech. After listening to the plan, Mo Yulan noticed a particularly obvious flaw: if he erased this part of his memory, he would obviously not remember the plan, and therefore he might not be able to reach the "channel that connects to the outside world" in the virtual world.

At this moment, Chu Ziyu also noticed the hesitation in Mo Yulan's eyes. He smiled slightly and then comforted him, saying:

"Don't worry. Although you'll definitely forget by then, your instincts will guide you there, allowing you to find a way to connect with the outside world. Moreover, once you regain most of your rationality, your emotional side will weaken, which will cause the interpersonal relationships and bonds that were very important to you in the virtual world to become weaker. Everything will be perfect."

After saying that, he gently patted Mo Yulan's head, then whispered in his ear in a hypnotic tone:

"Go to sleep. When you wake up, you'll find everything is different. Good night."