I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

802. Shen Xi's deduction about the girl under the black umbrella is...

"Trash, so you're refusing to obey orders now?" Shen Xi glared at him, displeased.

"Teacher Shen, the so-called unique limited-edition weapon is just a name. There are plenty of limited-edition items in this game. You yourself have said that the weapons and equipment in the game are all products of Protoss technology, and in essence, they can all be mass-produced. Why bother with this?" Cheng Fei said calmly.

The girl remained unmoved. "I'm sorry, although the game equipment is indeed a product of Protoss technology, some powerful weapons require advanced technology and cannot be easily copied. If I'm not mistaken, your sword is a special item stored in the corridor and was given out as a reward. Even outside the game system, its inherent value cannot be denied."

"I see. So my sword is actually from Her Majesty's collection? Thank you, Her Majesty, for lending me such a powerful item and not taking it back. Indeed, Her Majesty's kindness can never be repaid." The young man bowed his head respectfully.

"Enough with the nonsense. If you're going to be grateful, then hurry up and figure out a way to get the stuff for me. That's the new challenge," Shen Xi said coldly.

The boy was startled. "Another research project? We've already accumulated so many research projects, Teacher Shen. Can't you do something simple like me?"

"Shut up. I don't want to repeat the discussion about Cheng Feiyu's short-sightedness."

"Whatever makes you happy." The young man sighed dejectedly, paused, and rubbed his chin. "Then I have a question."

"what?"

"Could we bring some people from the crash site to help? We have too few people; it's not good for competing with the big guilds." The young man said seriously.

"No." The girl replied without hesitation.

"You want to eat this too... uh, I mean, this isn't allowed either?" The boy swallowed the words "tiramisu" that were about to be in his mouth.

"The corridor's isolation rules, which serve as a repository of species, do not allow outside substances to enter easily," the girl said coldly.

"Didn't we transport a lot of weapons to the crash site?" the boy asked in surprise.

“That’s leaving, not entering.” The girl glanced at him with a look full of sympathy.

"Don't we go in and out often ourselves?"

"The Stand is part of the corridor, so it is exempt from the rules."

"I see. Her Majesty the Queen's garden certainly has many rules." Cheng Fei smacked his lips.

“If it weren’t for that, the corridor wouldn’t have been able to trap the altered entity for so long.” Shen Xi frowned slightly.

"Hey you two, there seems to be an enemy ahead. Shall we pause our chat for a bit?" Nagasaki Asuna, alerted by her extraordinary senses, turned around.

The two had no choice but to shut up and turn their attention to the out-of-control machinery that was appearing ahead.

after a while.

As the massive mechanical monster crashed down with a roar, Miriam, who was crushed, screamed like a flattened tin can before being rescued by the group.

After disassembling the necessary materials, Zhou Han checked the supplies according to the list, muttering, "Eight solar compound batteries, that's enough; ten superconducting nerve cords, that's enough; Casimir crystal... Ah, what a pity, this one is cracked."

Cheng Fei, who was observing, rubbed his chin and said, "Teacher Shen, why do you think we need to recycle all this random stuff? The control device in the corridor is supposed to be able to manipulate microscopic particles at will, so it would be easy to create it ourselves, right?"

Shen Xi pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed helplessly. "First of all, it's not that control device, it's the Maze Lock. Secondly, the function of the Maze Lock is to manipulate microscopic particles, not to create them out of thin air. For example, sunlight compounds and Casimir crystals are both super-matter. Don't you know the function of the super-dimensional forge? If the Maze Lock can easily create super-matter, what's the point of the super-dimensional forge?"

"I see. Protoss technology is truly profound. By the way, how did you know I asked Little Yi about the Hyperdimensional Forge? So you've been monitoring me all along?" the boy exclaimed in surprise.

"Sorry, I just wanted Isena to report your unusual behavior promptly." The girl tossed her hair indifferently.

"Isn't this surveillance? Teacher Shen, you're terrifying. Isn't this yandere? Is the Celestial Queen's desire for control really that strong?" The boy, with an air of seriousness, covered his chest with his hands and took a step to the side to distance himself from her.

The girl turned her head, her eyes narrowed as she stared at him.

The boy obediently returned to the girl's side, casually putting his hands in his pockets, and continued gesturing, "Since crystals and the like are so rare, where did the runaway machine come from?"

“Clearly, these are all the work of the Ordered Ones. After absorbing Protoss technology, the Ordered Ones used the limited resources inside the corridor to create these things.” The girl stroked her chin.

"I see, the mutated order is indeed powerful." The boy nodded in understanding.

As the two chatted, Nagasaki Asuna listened casually with her hands behind her back. Suddenly, she blinked and looked in a certain direction as if she had something in mind.

In the dense jungle, a girl with long white hair and a black umbrella appeared out of nowhere, quietly watching the busy group of people.

"By the way, is that the black umbrella we're looking for?" Nagasaki Asuna asked, tilting her head.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Over there?" Nagasaki Asuna pointed gently.

"Where? Where?" Zhou Han immediately looked around curiously, and when she spotted the childlike figure, her round eyes widened as if she had discovered a rare animal. "Wow, so cute!"

Even faster than her exclamation came Cheng Fei. The instant Nagasaki Asuna finished speaking, the boy activated Time Zero and rushed towards the expressionless girl with the black umbrella.

With Tang Yu absent this time, he can use his abilities without restraint.

With the speed reduced by fifty times, the boy tore through the almost solidified air at top speed and appeared in front of the girl with the black umbrella, grabbing her small wrist.

This time, he intends to keep the other party here.

The girl with the black umbrella moved her eyes, clearly noticing his movement, and slowly raised the arm holding the umbrella.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The next instant, with a bang, the girl unfolded her black umbrella and disappeared from the spot.

"Damn, that was fast?" Cheng Fei was stunned when he missed his target and stared at his outstretched hand.

For a fleeting moment he had already caught his opponent, but he still couldn't stop the opponent's flash.

Apart from Ye Shuang, the rest of the group were several steps behind in catching up, and Milian, with her heavy equipment, was even slower.

"What's going on?" Shen Xi frowned slightly as she looked at the thoughtful young man.

From her perspective, she only saw the boy move in front of the girl with the black umbrella at a speed that left afterimages, and then the girl with the black umbrella disappeared from the spot.

"Ms. Shen, could I borrow your hand for a moment?" the boy said, looking at her.

Shen Xi's face showed a hint of wariness and a subtle disgust. "What are you going to do?"

"What kind of expression is that? Even if your little hands are cute, I wouldn't do anything weird here, would I?" The boy hesitated before speaking.

The aloof girl then raised her arm with great difficulty.

Under everyone's gaze, Cheng Fei grabbed her wrist and squeezed it, then stroked her chin.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Shen Xi asked suspiciously.

"Nothing much, just confirmed that her hands are warm, just like ours." The boy nodded seriously. "And they're very soft. Even if she's not human, she's a substitute, at least not a humanoid out-of-control machine."

As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Xi frowned and fell into deep thought.

"Eh, so Cheng Fei just touched the black umbrella's hand?" Nagasaki Asuna thought for a moment, her eyes darting around, a smile playing on her lips. "Rushing over just to touch a girl's hand... that feels a bit..."

“?” Cheng Fei looked at her.

The girl immediately made a zipping motion with her mouth closed.

……

After a night of action, the Corridor Research Department team logged out of the game.

Apart from Cheng Fei and Shen Xi.

In the pitch-black, narrow dimension, at the foot of the withered World Tree, the two appeared on a teleportation platform in the middle of a cluster of silver-white buildings.

"Teacher Shen, it's very late now. Aren't you sleepy? By the way, I'm a little sleepy." The boy looked helpless.

"I'm not sleepy." The girl walked expressionlessly to the bench facing the World Tree.

“I know you’re a big internet addict and haven’t had enough, but you don’t have to invite me. If you want to go on a date, just say so and let me come over. Otherwise, how about we just forget it?” The boy said, walking beside her.

"Stop talking nonsense, I just had a new idea." The girl said coldly.

Isena's figure appeared, a young girl in a white sailor uniform saluting the two, her small face loyal, "Your Majesty, Consul, welcome back!"

Cheng Fei casually ruffled her hair, then naturally passed through the illusory projection and continued looking ahead. "So, does Her Majesty have any new ideas?"

"Sit down," Shen Xi said, gesturing to the bench.

The boy did as he was told, then looked at the seat beside him. "Your Majesty, won't you sit? I am a little overwhelmed by your kindness."

"Shut up and listen to me." The aloof girl glanced at him with a condescending look of disdain, raised her hand and summoned an interface in the air, bringing up a floating 3D projection. "This is the structure of the corridor, with thirteen layers of floating continents."

"Okay, Teacher Shen." Cheng Fei realized that she was really into being a teacher, so he had no choice but to cooperate.

Isena stood to the side with her hands behind her back, also looking like she was listening attentively.

"The control devices of the corridor are distributed into a large number of nodes laid deep in the earth on each level, and the so-called large teleportation gate is the large node that manages each level." As the girl spoke, corresponding light spots lit up in the projection.

"I understand, Teacher Shen has talked about these things before." The boy nodded honestly.

"And the processors that control these nodes, the Lock Core, and the Substitute Manufacturing Device, among other important facilities, are all located on the first and thirteenth floors," Shen Xi pointed to the top and bottom of the corridor.

"I see, so?"

"Many of these devices have two sets. For example, the stand-in creation device is deployed at both the top and bottom, originally intended as a backup for safety reasons." The girl's face was serious.

"As expected of Her Majesty the Empress, even after ruling the multiverse, she is still so thorough and cautious in her actions." The young man bowed respectfully.

“Considering your findings today, there is reason to suspect that the black umbrella was produced by the substitute manufacturing device on the thirteenth floor,” Shen Xi continued.

Cheng Fei thought for a moment and nodded, "That makes sense."

"Furthermore, based on her behavior in our three interactions so far, it's easy to deduce her identity." The girl paused.

"Is it that easy? As expected of Teacher Shen, so what is the result of your deduction?" the boy asked curiously.

Isena, standing beside her, was also staring intently at her.

"..." The cool and aloof girl frowned slightly, her stubborn lips tightly closed.

The air was quiet for a second.

"Teacher Shen, is the internet down?" Cheng Fei asked, puzzled.

"The conclusion of our reasoning is unclear for now. She refuses to communicate and harbors a certain degree of hostility. We have too little information." The girl shook her head, a look of unwilling dejection on her small face.

The boy felt like he couldn't say anything, and just as he was about to say something, he noticed that a slender, dark red root had somehow ended up next to the three of them, swaying gently, as if it were also listening in.

"Luca, what are your thoughts?" Cheng Fei looked at the World Tree with a serious expression.

The slender roots gestured in mid-air, as if trying to express something.

Cheng Fei, Shen Xi, and Isena stared at each other blankly.

This situation didn't last long before the roots stopped gesturing.

The next second, Shen Xi and Isena disappeared from Cheng Fei's sight at the same time.

The boy was stunned for a moment, immediately thinking that the two of them had been teleported away. He looked up and found that the World Tree's withered state had improved a lot, realizing that the World Tree was showing a movie again, only the scene was in the research station in the past.

The teleportation platform not far away lit up, and two figures appeared at the same time.

A slender figure, shrouded in a hazy halo, with long silver hair as dazzling as a galaxy, and a face that seemed to be the embodiment of the ideal of beauty in humanity.

The other figure was slightly petite, with a childlike face and long white hair, holding a straight-handled black umbrella.

The two men, expressionless and exuding the same icy aura that kept everyone at arm's length, walked into the research station building one after the other and disappeared from sight.

The brief illusion ended, and Shen Xi and Isena reappeared before Cheng Fei.

The boy subconsciously looked up to tell the time by observing the withered state of the World Tree, and found that Shen Xi was doing the same thing.

The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously looked at Isena beside them.

The white-haired, youthful-looking girl's expression was so lifelike that she was clearly not the person in the projection.

"Your Majesty, Consul, are you alright?" Isena hid her white umbrella behind her back, leaned forward to observe the two of them, and her curious little face looked harmless.

"It's nothing." Cheng Fei shook his head casually, then looked to the other side, "Teacher Shen, did Luca show you a movie too?"

"Hmm." The aloof girl nodded expressionlessly, glancing up at the World Tree.

Cheng Fei coughed lightly, "Since you can't deduce it either, how about we call it a day?"

"Let's stop here," Shen Xi nodded.

"Okay." The young man stood up quickly, feeling like he could finally leave work, and looked to the other side. "Goodbye, Xiao Yi."

"Goodbye, Your Majesty, Consul!" The young girl waved her little hand.

Cheng Fei and Shen Xi teleported back to the corridor together and exited the game.

……

When the boy opened his eyes, the night in Academy City was as still as water, just like any other day.