My hearing started to blur, the familiar heartbeat intensified, and the NPC girl's voice grew more and more distant.
Rolf followed the little robot into the deepest part.
The screen was so dark he could barely see anything; only the white light from the little robot's eyes guided him…
Keep going...keep going deeper...
Then, he saw a cryogenic chamber emitting a blue light deep inside the room.
Rolf wiped the dust off the name that had accumulated for five years.
ID: Sarah Baker
Vital signs: Stable
Rolf, supporting himself against the cryogenic chamber, looked at the person lying inside.
He exchanged a glance with the little robot; the person inside was Sarah!
Rolf leaned against the warehouse wall and slowly sat down, patting the little robot's head.
The little robot flew towards the interface on the cryogenic chamber and looked at Rolf.
His heartbeat quickened, eventually becoming as pounding as a drum...
Then, it stopped completely.
His head tilted to the side, and the little robot stared at Rolf with its eyes half-open, not closing them for a long time.
Zhu Yao's eyes burned, and she felt a stinging sensation in her nose, unable to hold back her tears.
“He went there prepared to die,” Yu Nan finally spoke. “The last bit of energy could only power the spaceship to the moon; he was never going to be able to go home anyway.”
Zhu Yao lowered her head and remained silent.
She was afraid that she would burst into tears the moment she opened her mouth.
The screen was playing scenes from the game: an exploding space station, white lunar rocks, blue and white laser beams, a lunar rover, a reactor… The final frame was of Rolf touching the little robot's head…
It seems like a long time has passed...
The little robot, which had been cowering at the interface of the cryogenic chamber with its eyes tightly closed, suddenly opened its eyes, flew into the air, and looked outside.
A person's shadow shone through the open door, followed by footsteps. A person in a spacesuit stood in the doorway and saw the cryogenic chamber inside and Rolf sitting there.
"Calling ground control."
The NPC, Claire, said, "We've found them."
All images then abruptly ceased to appear.
Seeing this, Zhu Yao finally couldn't control herself anymore.
After all, she is an emotional being.
"Humans haven't abandoned Sarah and Rolf." Yu Nan patted Zhu Yao reassuringly. "They've come to take Rolf and Sarah home."
At least, Sarah is still alive.
The first game in her life had a significant impact on Zhu Yao.
Zhu Yao was still recovering in the game room when Yu Nan placed a pack of tissues next to her.
When Zhu Yao looked up again, she found that Yu Nan had already left.
She played for a full four hours.
Zhu Yao stretched her limbs, picked up her phone, and sent a message to the reader group: "How about writing a science fiction book next?"
Abu: Isn't this the first book you've started writing?
Qiuying: Are you going to scam me?!
Kill Xiaoqiao: Aren't you supposed to write supernatural yuri? Why are you jumping from one niche genre to an even colder one?!
…
Zhu Yao is so angry!
Why is it that none of you think she has a good chance?
She was praised by Yu Nan many times today!
Zhu Yao decided to ignore the group chat and stood up to walk outside the game room.
Upon leaving the basement, Zhu Yao saw that Yu Nan was actually in the kitchen.
Yu Nan was preparing instant noodles. She took out two packs of noodles and was waiting for the water to boil.
"I'll do it," Zhu Yao said, unable to suppress a smile.
Yu Nan awkwardly put down the kettle.
Zhu Yao put on the apron hanging in the kitchen, put the pancakes into the pan, neatly chopped some greens, and cracked two eggs into the frying pan.
Yu Nan sat at the dining table, resting her chin on her hand, and looked at her.
Zhu Yao had just cried; her brows were slightly furrowed, and her eyes were still a little red.
She casually tied her hair back, with two stray strands sticking out from behind her ears and clinging to her neck, making her neck appear very white.
I really want to take a bite... Yu Nan thought to herself.
In Yu Nan's mind, "virtuous and kind" is a derogatory term used to describe women who are bound by tradition and have no choice but to serve others.
But seeing Zhu Yao at this moment, she couldn't help but think of this word.
Zhu Yao used the serving chopsticks to stir the noodles in the pot.
Because she was wearing an apron, Zhu Yao's figure appeared taller and slimmer... even though she was clearly a bit shorter than me...
As if possessed, Yu Nan uttered that classic straight woman quote.
"If I were a man, I would definitely pursue you."
Of course, it doesn't matter if he's not a man or not, you can still pursue him.
Zhu Yao was frying eggs when she heard this. She froze, almost dropping the spatula.
This statement was quite damaging to Ji Zai...
She quickly composed herself, turned around, and smiled brightly at Yu Nan, saying, "That's great! In that case, I can be kept by Miss Yu!"
Zhu Yao clearly saw that Yu Nan momentarily lost control of her facial expression.
Speak frankly to straight people! I learned that from straight women!
But it seems like I'm not much different from being kept by a sugar daddy...
No... It seems no different from being kept now, but in reality, it's a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Soon, Zhu Yao brought two bowls of noodles to the table.
Yu Nan was lying face down on the table, still staring at her intently, making no attempt to hide her gaze.
Zhu Yao was a little confused: "Why aren't you eating?"
Yu Nan finally looked away and straightened up.
The two sat silently at opposite corners of the table, quite far apart.
"What are your thoughts and experiences from playing this game for the first time?" Yu Nan asked, breaking the silence.
“Hmm…it’s very different from what I expected,” Zhu Yao recalled her recent experience. “I had a lot of misunderstandings about games before.”
"Compared to what I thought was just endlessly clicking on cartoon icons and farming materials in dungeons, this game is more like a movie. If I used to look down on games and thought they were just for kids, now I know I was very wrong."
“Your previous idea wasn’t wrong,” Yu Nan laughed self-deprecatingly, “Most games are the kind of garbage you described.”
"It is precisely because there is too much garbage that the public's misunderstanding of games is getting bigger and bigger. Games are not recognized, and good buy-to-play indie games are hard to survive, while reskinned pay-to-win games are thriving."
Zhu Yao could tell that Yu Nan was a little down.
"So, you want to develop a successful indie game?"
"Pretty much," Yu Nan replied, reverting to her usual carefree demeanor. "Actually, to be honest, my older brother makes reskinned pay-to-win games."
“We made a bet. He thought making indie games was a dead end, while I believed that as long as we persevered and made it, we would eventually break through the barriers.”
Yu Nan shrugged, slightly helplessly saying, "Unfortunately, his studio is now thriving, while I'm stuck here fixing bugs that can never be fixed."
Author's Note:
Since writing two posts simultaneously is a bit tiring, I'll switch to updating every other day for now.
Chapter 21 rnm refund!
"If I join your studio, what would you want me to do?" Zhu Yao suddenly asked.
Yu Nan was a little surprised. "My plan is to start with you as a game streamer and eventually train you to be a core member of the studio."
"Do game studios still hire game streamers?" Zhu Yao wondered, since being a streamer and developing games had nothing to do with each other.
"It's for traffic, of course." Yu Nan shrugged. "It's hard to survive without traffic, so we need streamers to help promote it."
Zhu Yao seemed lost in thought.
As dawn broke, the two said goodbye at the dining table and then went back to their respective bedrooms.
Having experienced "Send Us to the Moon" for the first time, Zhu Yao's view on games has changed, and she has discovered that she enjoys playing games.
She has a natural affinity for things that stimulate adrenaline spikes, starting with reading horror novels and then watching horror movies.
And these things don't seem to provide as much stimulation as games.
Zhu Yao began to consider the feasibility of joining Yu Nan's studio.
As for the streamers... they seem to have a lot of freedom.
Her family probably can't control her becoming a live streamer; the only thing she's worried about is her classmates from junior high.
Those who used to enjoy bullying her.
Forget it... I shouldn't think about the past...