"Hello, Xylia."
Bai Luan's voice was exceptionally clear in this virtual space.
"Hyperion must have already mentioned my… other identity to you, right?"
Xylia nodded gently, her golden hair swaying slightly with the movement:
"Mr. Hyperion has told me everything."
"That's great."
Hearing this, Bai Luan's lips curved into a relaxed arc.
He casually pulled a chair from the girlish room and sat down in a relaxed posture.
"Having to rattle off my titles like a menu every time I go out is really annoying."
"Honestly, I'm quite surprised…"
Xylia's voice carried a hint of dreamlike etherealness.
"These days, so many people have come specifically to see me. There are players, game designers… I never thought an ordinary person like me could get so much attention."
Her gaze fell on Bai Luan, her eyes, still bright in the virtual world, filled with disbelief:
"What surprised me most was your arrival."
"I don't think there's anything to be surprised about."
Bai Luan waved his hand lightly, his tone calm yet firm.
"Those who love this world should be loved by this world."
He didn't want to dwell on this topic.
The identity of a genius did bring a lot of convenience, but it also acted like an invisible barrier, quietly widening the distance between people.
He still didn't like it when someone treated his arrival as a favor; it was nothing remarkable in itself.
"I heard from Hyperion about your activities in the game."
He naturally changed the subject.
"You seem to particularly enjoy mentoring newcomers?"
"Mentoring newcomers… Haha, "
Xylia was amused by the affectionate term, her laughter as clear as wind chimes.
"That sounds really friendly; you must play games too."
She nodded, her eyes gentle.
"I do like mentoring newcomers.
After all, as you can see, my current appearance in reality no longer supports normal social interaction.
Only in this world can I find a shadow of my past self."
Her holographic projection was indeed beautiful—golden hair like a waterfall, emerald eyes like a lake, exuding youthful vitality and an approachable aura.
Unfortunately, in reality, only those eyes retained the same clarity as in the virtual world.
"Games… are truly a magical existence."
Xylia's gaze drifted into the distance, as if penetrating the data barrier, seeing countless fantastical worlds.
"Even if reality has become like this, entering a game still allows one to experience a completely different life.
In those worlds filled with the ingenuity of designers, meeting a group of naive friends, how romantic is that?"
Her voice softened, imbued with the warmth of memory:
"Every time I meet them, it's like meeting my past self when I first entered the game.
Back then, there was also a group of people who patiently helped me through the beginner phase.
So, I also want to help new newcomers, just as they helped me.
Watching them go from stumbling to mastering, slowly growing into reliable partners… there's nothing more joyful than that, even though everyone knows in their hearts that we can't play games forever."
"Do you feel sad? When they leave one by one."
Bai Luan asked softly.
"Not sad at all."
Xylia shook her head, a faint smile still gracing her lips.
"They just stopped playing this game; they didn't disappear from this world.
I met them when they were still newcomers, just like my future self meeting my past self.
I accompanied them as they grew, spent a wonderful time together, and then they left, moving on to the next stage of their lives…"
She paused, her voice as light as a sigh:
"Isn't this just one 'me' after another, heading towards their respective futures?"
"What about you?"
Bai Luan gazed at her.
"They've all left; don't you feel lonely?"
"No"
Xylia's smile brightened even more.
"Because I'll go and mentor the next batch of newcomers."
She even added with a hint of pride.
"Mentoring newcomers is truly addictive."
"Alright"
Bai Luan also smiled.
"Now I understand why you're so popular with players."
"Hehe, I just play a lot of different games, and… I have a lot of time, that's all."
Xylia's tone was light, then tinged with a touch of emotion.
"I'm also very surprised to have received so much help from so many people.
My condition has worsened recently, and I couldn't help but tell my friends I was teaming with about it.
I just casually mentioned that I wanted to meet my favorite game designers… Who knew they would pass my wish along, one by one, until it reached those designers."
A girlish excitement she couldn't suppress bubbled up in her voice:
"These days, it's been like a dream. So many designers I admire have come specifically to see me… It's such an honor…"
After a moment of silence, the excitement gradually settled, turning into a long, almost inaudible murmur.
"This world is so good… Living is also so good… I really don't want to… die now…"
Her voice was as faint as a spider silk about to break.
"I still want to mentor newcomers one more time, and play a few more new games… If only I could hold on a little longer, there are several games I've been looking forward to for a long time, releasing next year… I really want to… play them before I leave…"
"Then live."
Bai Luan's voice was not loud, but it carried an unyielding strength.
"But… that's very difficult, isn't it?"
Xylia showed a bitter smile.
"I once received help from a 'Chaos Physician,' but even he… couldn't reverse this situation."
Bai Luan looked at her and suddenly asked:
"Have you ever been saved by a genius before?"
Xylia was stunned.
I wanted a genius to save me before, but no genius came… Wait, isn't there a genius standing in front of me now who wants to save me?
How did this world… suddenly stop playing by the rules?
"Since you haven't yet, then trust that I can save you."
Bai Luan's treatment plan had the characteristic, almost fantastical simplicity of a genius.
Since her original body was already riddled with holes and on the verge of collapse, rather than expending effort to repair that 'dilapidated vessel' it would be better to directly create a brand new one.
He had learned the art of creating living bodies from Ruan Mei, and nanobots could instantly construct any necessary facilities.
The basic substances that make up the human body were ubiquitous on this vibrant planet.
And what he intended to create was merely a healthy, ordinary human body, posing no technical difficulty.
The only variable was—the "Self-Annihilator" curse entwining Xylia, a blessing from the Path of Nihility, was it imprinted deep within her soul, or merely attached to this dying flesh?
Could transferring her consciousness to a new body free her from the entanglement of "Nihility"?
Bai Luan had no precedent for this, so he couldn't give a definitive answer.
But no matter what, trying was always better than watching her wither away.
If changing bodies still proved ineffective, then he had one last resort—the extraction gun.
However, even if he ultimately had to use the extraction gun, he still needed to prepare a new body for Xylia first.
Otherwise, even if the Nihility symptoms were cleared, simply restoring her original body to health would require a long and painful recovery.
So, the method was simple.
First, attempt consciousness transfer.
If that solved the problem, all the better.
If not… then he would raise the extraction gun and completely strip that damned "Nihility blessing" from her life.
"I will snatch your life back from Nihility."
…
T/N: I'm doing vote polling on p*treon(dot)com/Az_Ki
2 most vote fic will get extra daily chapter for a month, so check it out.