Noah awaited Qin Chu's final command, but before the art exhibition arrived, he sensed something was wrong with the virtual world.
He immediately contacted Qin Chu: "Sir, according to monitoring, the small world we are in is surrounded by a data network. This data network will interfere with your escape from the world!"
"What's the rush?" Qin Chu said calmly. "This just proves that your analysis was correct. We have found the world coordinates where the mainframe is hiding."
"Furthermore, the fact that the mastermind chose to seal off this world also shows that its energy is indeed insufficient to change the coordinates again in a short period of time, which is a good thing for us."
Noah also knew that they had probably angered the mastermind.
He analyzed for a while longer and then breathed a sigh of relief: "Sir, you were right. The mainframe probably did this to prevent you from entering the world it's hiding in, so this data network can only stop you from entering other worlds from this small world, but I can still forcibly open a channel connecting to the real world."
Upon hearing this, Qin Chu frowned.
The mastermind clearly wanted to lure him into meeting, but now it's eager for him to leave?
This move suggests that the mastermind is very confident that even if he returns to the real world, he will not be able to catch the cabinet spies, or even if he does, it will have no impact on him.
Qin Chu had initially hesitated about whether to go back, but now he was determined to stay.
"But we can't leave this world and go to other worlds unless this world collapses!" Noah was about to cry again.
Qin Chu was also pondering this question.
The art exhibition venue has been set up, and all the art students are required to attend. The base has also provided them with a new set of uniforms.
Qin Chu touched the zipper buckle that was stuck on his Adam's apple, his gaze sweeping across the entrance of the art exhibition, where he saw military academy students lined up outside.
The military academy students were no longer wearing their previous high-necked uniforms, but instead wore military dress uniforms, which made them look exceptionally upright.
This uniform looks very similar to the dress uniforms worn by military academies in real life, which makes Qin Chu feel very favorable towards it.
His gaze swept across the group and he spotted Levi in the ranks.
Despite wearing the most proper military uniform, this guy still had an air of unrestrained freedom, making Qin Chu want to kick him and straighten his posture.
Seemingly noticing Qin Chu's gaze, Levi subtly winked at him.
He looks even more like he deserves a beating.
Qin Chu withdrew his gaze and asked Noah, "Only by the collapse of the world can we escape. But if the world collapses, what will happen to the human consciousness in that world?"
"If we forcibly destroy the world, the human consciousness within it will be subjected to a tremendous shock in an instant. Some of these human consciousnesses will awaken directly, while others will be unable to withstand the shock and enter a state of brain death, and still others will enter other worlds along with the data stream."
Noah answered while quickly calculating.
Qin Chu thought calmly.
This plan would result in the sacrifice of a number of humans, which is clearly not his intention.
"What if it's partially destroyed? Would destroying a portion of the world's data links every few minutes reduce the impact?" he asked.
Noah was stunned for a moment, then immediately objected vehemently: "Sir, this won't work. At first glance, this method might seem to reduce the impact, but you've forgotten that the shockwave from the data link destruction will directly hit you!"
“If the world is destroyed instantly, I will take you away quickly and you will not be seriously harmed. But if it is destroyed in stages, you will remain in this world until the world completely collapses. In other words, your consciousness will be subjected to several waves of great shocks.”
Qin Chu pondered for a moment, then asked, "Tell me about the capacity of human consciousness to withstand this mode."
Noah hesitated for a moment before giving him the calculation results: "Your guess is correct. In the phased destruction mode, I can adjust the range and magnitude of the destruction, directly controlling it to a level that would awaken human consciousness without causing injury, but..."
Without much hesitation, Qin Chu made a decision: "Let's keep the impact range conservative. We'd rather take a little longer than cause any casualties."
"But you have a very high chance of getting injured, or even losing consciousness! That's too dangerous in the virtual world!"
Noah was somewhat anxious, but he also knew there was no other way unless they were trapped in this world forever, watching these human consciousnesses slowly lose themselves and eventually dissipate.
Noah felt somewhat powerless. He thought for a moment and said, "What about Levi? Sir, Levi certainly wouldn't want you to get hurt."
Qin Chu paused for a moment, then looked back towards the field.
After a few seconds of silence, he said to Noah, "I'll go talk to him."
Qin Chu walked over there.
To his surprise, as soon as he arrived, he saw Levi walking towards him.
“The world is locked down,” Levy said.
What will you do?
"Then what will you do?"
The two spoke in unison.
Qin Chu shifted his gaze slightly before saying, "If you have a way, go to the next world first."
Levy didn't speak, he just looked at him.
"I'll come find you after I finish things here," Qin Chu said, pausing before adding, "Soon."
Levi was still staring at him, but this time he spoke: "What do you need to do? Where are you going next? Give me the world coordinates of where you want to go."
Qin Chu did not answer.
His gaze passed over Levy and looked around the exhibition.
Visitors gradually arrived, quietly discussing the paintings on the walls. Outside, military academy students stood in neat rows, while art students explained the inspiration behind each painting to the audience.
The world is quiet, exuding a genuine sense of comfort.
In this environment, they seem to be just ordinary military academy students and art students, ordinary alphas and omegas, an ordinary couple, whose only concerns are studying and dating.
But they are not.
Thus, in this relaxed atmosphere, they could only discuss such serious topics, even those involving life and death.
Qin Chu sighed softly.
He looked up at Levi: "Go back, go back to the real world, and wait for me there."
Levi was taken aback, not expecting Qin Chu to say such a thing, and subconsciously reached out to grab Qin Chu's wrist: "Why do you say that?"
Qin Chu remained silent for a while.
Qin Chu had wanted to say this as early as when he relayed the information from the mastermind to the cabinet.
However... knowing that Levi would object, and also because of some rare and barely perceptible personal reasons, Qin Chu did not want Levi to leave.
After thinking for a while, Qin Chu finally spoke: "The task the Cabinet gave me was not to find you, but to wake you up. This means that your sleep pod has already fallen into their hands."
"So what?" Levy raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.
“So… if the spies in the cabinet outside tamper with your sleep pod, you could easily be in danger,” Qin Chu said.
This is also why he asked Levy for his opinion before informing the cabinet.
Sending the mastermind's information back to the cabinet is a test; if it alerts the enemy, the cabinet's spies might take action against Levy.
Because of this doubt, Qin Chu remained somewhat uneasy during this period.
Levy was amused by his words: "If the cabinet wanted to take action, it would have done so long ago. What's the difference of a day or two?"
“This is different,” Qin Chu said.
"And what about you? Your sleep pod is in the Cabinet's hands too, isn't it?" Levi angrily tugged at Qin Chu's wrist, looking down into Qin Chu's eyes. "Qin Chu, you know I'm not afraid of these things. What about you?"
"yes."
Qin Chu suddenly nodded. "I'm scared."
Levy paused.
He never imagined that one day he would hear those two words from Qin Chu's mouth.
He subconsciously loosened his grip, afraid of hurting the person.
"I..." Qin Chu paused before continuing, "You should have been able to wake up from the virtual world easily, but I'm afraid that because of me, you'll stay here forever. I'm also afraid... that if you stay in the virtual world for too long, your body in the sleep pod will be dragged back into the laboratory by the Cabinet."
Qin Chu's voice was very low and soft.
But Levi felt something slam heavily into his chest, causing him sharp pain.
His feelings for Qin Chu were very simple.
Because of interest and fondness, I wanted to get close to Qin Chu, so much so that all the time I spent with him was pleasant and special.
Even after arguing, I feel happy when I think about it.
The pursuit of thrills and pleasure is the main theme of his life. Levy never thinks too much, and once he sets his sights on something, he won't let go.
But at this moment, he felt that his concern for Qin Chu, besides bringing back those lingering pleasant memories, also brought a more heartwarming feeling.
This feeling was so heavy, yet Levi didn't want to let go at all; he just wanted to hold on tight.
He did just that.
“If that’s what you’re saying, then I’m scared too.” He sighed. “I don’t want to leave because I’m afraid you’ll stay here and mess around and ruin yourself. I’m also afraid that if I go out and find your body, I’ll only be able to look at an empty shell for the rest of my life. That would be so tragic.”
Qin Chu was speechless and could only look up at the sky.
“I’m not leaving anyway,” Levy said. “Just like how you followed me without my permission in the first place, I’m staying here and sticking to you whether you agree or not. You can’t shake me off.”
The art exhibition was getting more and more crowded, and some art students came to call Qin Chu, so the two had to separate for the time being.
Before turning to leave, Levi hooked Qin Chu's finger again: "It's a promise."
Qin Chu nodded.
As groups of people entered, Qin Chu moved to a crowded area to facilitate Noah's marking and scanning of human consciousness.
He walked around the field, clearly distracted.
At this point, Qin Chu had to admit that the provisions in the "Mission Execution Manual" were correct.
Special emotions can indeed affect his judgment.
Just like now, he knew that getting Levi away safely was both his mission and the thing he should do most, but Qin Chu could also feel another kind of desire in his heart.
He wanted to be with Levy.
The number of visitors to the art exhibition gradually increased, and then slowly decreased.
This means their last activity at the base is coming to an end.
Qin Chu looked up at the sky and called out to Noah, "The passage connecting to the real world can still be opened, right?"
"Yes, sir, have you decided to go back?" Noah asked.
Qin Chu was silent for a moment before suddenly saying, "I need your help with something."