"Qiang qiang! Look what I've got!" Hu Na mysteriously produced a small, exquisitely wrapped box and handed it to Gu Ya.
Gu Ya glanced at the pink ribbon tied into a bow and smiled, "The latest model of headphones?"
Hu Na reluctantly admitted, "Ah, how did you know? You must have peeked! You're cheating~ But since you guessed it, happy early birthday!"
Gu Ya reached out and patted Hu Na's head. He opened the gift box, and indeed, it contained the newest headphones, with his favorite mecha-inspired casing and in his favorite sea-blue color.
"Thanks, Nana," Gu Ya happily accepted the gift and gently kissed Hu Na on the forehead.
A month ago, on a warm, sunny afternoon, Gu Ya had naturally taken Hu Na's hand. Feeling no resistance from her, they had smoothly become a couple.
Of course, this was all within Gu Ya's plan.
For the past month, Gu Ya had been constantly analyzing Hei Xing's intentions, finally arriving at a very logical conclusion.
This instrument that trapped him was constantly, in every possible way, trying to make Gu Ya feel content, comfortable, and happy.
In the first illusion, Gu Ya had soared to success, found love, had strong family ties, and a group of brothers who had followed him through thick and thin. Hei Xing's attempt to keep Gu Ya by satisfying these desires was a most despicable and easily seen-through tactic.
In the second illusion, Hei Xing had found Gu Ya's deepest vulnerabilities, attempting to keep him with motherly love and hope.
And in this illusion, they had returned Gu Ya to his original world and introduced him to a girl who looked exactly like Ye Ying.
It had to be said that Hei Xing's research into human nature was indeed excellent.
But they had all underestimated one thing: Gu Ya's resolve. And Gu Ya had also found the ultimate method to break through this layer of illusion.
"Spacing out again? You've been spacing out a lot lately, hehe, I like watching you space out," Hu Na sat down beside Gu Ya and nestled into his embrace.
"Nana, a great movie is out recently, want to watch it?" Gu Ya gently stroked Hu Na's hair and said softly.
Hu Na shook her head and said, "Watching a movie costs money. We can't just watch, we have to buy two milk teas too. After the movie, we'll definitely be hungry, then we'll need to eat. And the transportation costs to get there and back will add up. Do you have money?"
"Sigh... Once my body recovers a bit more, I'll find a job and start working. Once I save enough money, I'll finish my studies, and after graduation, I can find a better job," Gu Ya said softly. "Once I find a job, I'll save diligently and buy a big house for the two of us."
"Hold on!" Hu Na pouted and said, "The promises my boyfriend makes are the biggest promises in the world, I'm not buying it. Hehe, you just focus on getting better, I'll work and support you."
"You're so good to me."
"Of course, when you finally meet the person you love, you have to cherish them. I won't regret it even if I lose you later," Hu Na said, shaking her head.
"You want to lose me?" Gu Ya asked in surprise.
Hu Na nudged Gu Ya's waist with her elbow and said, "I mean when we're eighty years old! Don't think about ditching me, I'm leaving!"
"Okay, be careful on your way. I'll pick you up after work."
Hu Na gave Gu Ya a light kiss on the cheek, winked at him, and left the house with a cheerful smile, like a happy little bird.
As soon as she left, the entire room seemed to lose its vitality, instantly growing cold.
Gu Ya sighed, raised his hands as if to feel the wall, closed his eyes, and silently chanted, "Code manipulation."
Five minutes later, Gu Ya, finding nothing, lowered his hands and sighed heavily.
"As ineffective as ever. Not only is code manipulation useless, but all system skills are also invalid. But thankfully, I can still use full mental concentration."
This was Gu Ya's own ability, or rather, his talent.
When full mental concentration was activated, he could block out all distractions and focus entirely on what he wanted to do.
"I can't delay any longer! The people outside are still waiting for me!"
Gu Ya got dressed and went out.
More than two months had passed since he was discharged from the hospital. Ye Ying's illusion had not reappeared, which made Gu Ya realize the danger, indicating that he was deviating from his original world and sinking into deeper consciousness.
In other words, the instrument was weakening him more and more.
Moreover, Gu Ya had clearly felt that a part of his past memories was being isolated by something. He knew that memories were stored there, but he just couldn't recall them.
Combining this with what Mu Ye Xing Chen had said, Gu Ya feared that when he completely forgot his past world, it would be the time of assimilation.
There was also one thing that concerned Gu Ya: the time ratio between the illusory world and the real world.
It was clear that it wasn't a one-to-one ratio. But it also wouldn't be too far off.
"Huh? What was I going out for?" Gu Ya snapped back to reality, finding himself standing on the street.
He looked back the way he came in confusion.
"Damn it!" Gu Ya clenched his fist in anger, a chill running down his spine. "I didn't expect it to be getting worse!"
He remembered the location, the route, the landmarks, and the coordinates, but he couldn't recall what he was supposed to do.
At this moment, a food delivery rider stopped beside Gu Ya. The rider was wearing a yellow vest and a yellow cycling cap. He looked at his phone, then at Gu Ya, and walked up to him, asking in a low voice, "Are you Mr. Gu Ya?"
"That's me," Gu Ya looked at the rider in confusion.
"A gentleman named 'Wang Chuan' asked me to give this to you." The delivery rider handed Gu Ya a small black box, gave Gu Ya a strange look, and then rode off on his electric bike without looking back.
Gu Ya stared at the box in bewilderment, then at the signature. He searched his memory for anything about "Wang Chuan," but came up with nothing.
He shook the box in his hand. It made a "clang clang" sound, and it seemed to contain a hard object of no great size.
"Could it be a bomb?" Gu Ya frowned, then shook his head. A bomb of this size would only have the power of a firecracker. He proceeded to open the box.
What greeted his eyes was an exquisite spherical object that Gu Ya had never seen before.
The sphere had a small flat cut surface, allowing it to stand in the box without rolling around.
The seams on the surface were very tight, looking like not even a millimeter-thick blade could be inserted. Other than that, there was nothing special about it.
Gu Ya picked up the sphere and weighed it in his hand. It was quite heavy, but slightly lighter than a solid iron ball of the same size, suggesting it was hollow inside.
"A stranger gave me a strange thing..." Gu Ya mused. He thought about throwing it away. What if this thing was radioactive? What if the person wanted to harm him?
With this thought, Gu Ya immediately shook his head. "How could that be? I'm just a poor kid."
He weighed the sphere again and found that it was quite comfortable to hold, so he slipped it into his jacket pocket.
"Ah! I remember!" Gu Ya suddenly exclaimed. "I was going to Liu Feng's house! Yes, yes... he said he wanted to introduce me to a job..."
Having found his goal, Gu Ya hurried towards Liu Feng's house.
Liu Feng's house was in a residential complex a few streets away. It didn't take long to walk there, and the route was lined with residential areas. It was a weekday, and the surroundings were peaceful.
Elderly women with their grandchildren and grandchildren looked at Gu Ya with disdain as he walked past, whispering among themselves, "Why isn't this young man working at his age?"
These words stung Gu Ya, making him quicken his pace. "I need to find Liu Feng quickly and get a job. I can't keep relying on Nana."
He took the elevator to the 15th floor and knocked on Liu Feng's door. After a short while, the door opened.
Gu Ya walked in familiarly, as if entering his own home.
Liu Feng, wearing a robe, ambled inside, treating Gu Ya as if he were no outsider.
"Liu Feng, you said you'd introduce me to a job. Have you made any progress?" Gu Ya walked in without even taking off his shoes.
Liu Feng turned, looked at Gu Ya in surprise, walked quickly to him, stared into Gu Ya's eyes for a long time, and finally nodded, "Mmm... almost."
"Almost what?" Gu Ya asked, slightly confused. He gently pushed Liu Feng aside and said, "Hurry up and introduce me to a job. I feel uneasy living off Nana."
Liu Feng chuckled and said, "Alright, how about a restaurant waiter, a milk tea shop assistant, a postman delivering newspapers, or a delivery courier? Which one suits your fancy, Young Master Gu?"
"Something easy. My body hasn't recovered yet," Gu Ya said, sitting on the sofa. He picked up a game controller and pressed "Continue," playing the game Liu Feng had left unfinished.
Amidst the "ping ping pang pang" sounds of fighting from the game,
Liu Feng sat down beside Gu Ya and asked in a low voice, "Are you sure you came to look for a job?"
"Of course, why not!" Gu Ya replied grumpily.
Liu Feng nodded thoughtfully, fell silent for a moment, and then said, "Alright, you're my only good brother. You've helped me, so I'll definitely help you. Take it out."
Gu Ya handed him the sphere from his pocket without a second thought, engrossed in playing the game.
Watching Gu Ya gradually become absorbed, Liu Feng's face revealed a look of solemnity and sadness. He quietly got up and went into the bedroom, not coming out again.
Gu Ya played until it was almost time for Hu Na to finish work before getting up. He knocked on Liu Feng's bedroom door and said, "I'm leaving! I'll come back to play games at this time tomorrow."
"Okay! Be slow on your way!" Liu Feng shouted from inside the room.
"Heh, really. He doesn't even come out to see his brother off."
On the way to pick up Hu Na from work,
Gu Ya felt more and more that something was not right. He stopped, looked back, and glanced up at Liu Feng's 15th-floor apartment, wondering, "Hmm~ That's not right! I'm sure I came to play games with Liu Feng? Why does it feel a bit strange... Whatever, picking up Nana is more important. But that game was really fun. I'll definitely beat it tomorrow."