Chapter 71

Bai Xuechao ignored Bai Guzi's side quest.

Now there were only five questions left; abandon it? He wouldn't do that without sufficient benefits.

Just imagine, the male lead, the center of this world, controlled by someone originally meant to be a background character, wouldn't that be quite interesting?

The big screen displayed the next question at this moment.

【Question 31: In "Water Margin", who was known in the martial world as the "Three Peerless of Hebei" and later became the second leader of Liangshan?】

【A. Yan Qing】

【B. Lu Junyi】

It was a long question.

"B," Bai Xuechao said. He knew he had been slow to guess the answer to the previous question, so this time he fully concentrated, yet still said the answer synchronously with Zhou Chenhao. He was now feeling not only dizzy but also a bit of a migraine.

However, his expression remained calm, and his movements were effortless, making it impossible to tell that he was feeling unwell at the moment.

The big screen froze again and began playing the "surveillance video" of their previous answer, slowed down even more than before.

His performance made Bai Guzi restless.

Xiao 6 said, "Host, you've received a new side quest!"

"Let me see," Bai Xuechao said.

Xiao 6 opened the side quest. If it had pupils, it would definitely have performed a 'pupil earthquake' right then and there.

【Side Quest 3: Humbly begging you to let my son go!】

【Wuwuwu, can't I call you my ancestor? I beg you, my mortgage depends on this work, and I have two Maomao and one dog to raise. I humbly beg you to let my son go, my son is so handsome and cute, can you bear to lay a hand on him? If you can! I order you to let him go! Name your demands, don't force me to kneel down and cry and beg you!!】

Bai Xuechao: "..."

It was clear that the author's mental state was no longer normal.

But unexpectedly, even in a high-dimensional world, humans still worried about mortgages.

Bai Xuechao couldn't resist going off-topic: "Is her house very expensive?"

Xiao 6 recovered and displayed a GIF in front of Bai Xuechao.

How should I put it?

It was difficult to describe in words. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary detached villa with a garden, but it could no longer be described as just "full of technology"; it was completely technology itself. In any case, Bai Xuechao had never seen a villa that could transform, reorganize, and fly. Even Howl's Moving Castle would have to exclaim how awesome it was.

"Originally, as a System, I shouldn't reveal the author's privacy," Xiao 6 said, lighting a cyber cigarette and puffing smoke, speaking with a weathered tone.

"However, she posted a celebratory update when she bought the villa because all the houses in that community are very expensive, so expensive that ordinary rich people can't afford them, and it's not something you can buy just by being rich; you also need a very high social status in your family... In short, this matter became very popular. Her fans and casual readers basically all know about it. You can even find posts discussing her purchase of this house on the Pink Forum. Alas... if I were as rich as her, why would I even work?"

Bai Xuechao smiled faintly.

So, Bai Guzi actually had a strong family background, her mortgage pressure wasn't significant, and she wasn't so poor that she had to rely on this one work to make a living, right?

Very well, trying to gain sympathy by playing the victim? He declared himself rich-hating.

At this point, the slow-motion playback on the big screen was also complete, confirming that Bai Xuechao was 0.8 milliseconds faster than Zhou Chenhao.

Zhou Chenhao was already infinitely close to Bai Xuechao's speed, or rather, Bai Xuechao's speed was about to decrease to match Zhou Chenhao's. One side was increasing speed, and the other was decreasing, seemingly on the verge of a reversal. But who could be sure that Bai Xuechao's speed wouldn't recover?

After all, besides Bai Xuechao himself and System Xiao 6, no one knew that he was actually severely dizzy and had a headache.

【Player C answered correctly. Current game coin amount: 2,241,666,670】

Seeing this exaggerated amount of game coins, Xiao 6's system almost stopped functioning.

It thought, with the plot developing to this point, Bai Guzi must be going crazy, right?

Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng exchanged glances across the big screen, their eyes filled with helplessness and admiration.

As an opponent, Bai Xuechao was truly very powerful.

However, they, especially Zhou Chenhao, had not yet conceded defeat. He believed he could definitely catch up to Bai Xuechao on the next question.

But before that, they both had to confirm one thing.

Their tacit understanding allowed them to communicate through their eyes. Zhou Chenhao turned and asked Bai Xuechao, "After the Dream Game ends, are you leaving? Or will you continue to play?"

He could accept losing, but he and Ling Feng still needed to redeem their belongings and rescue Xia Xiaoxi. If Bai Xuechao left with all those game coins, where would they earn more?

While they were talking, the big screen did not continue to display questions but very sensibly paused.

Bai Xuechao seemingly lazily held onto the hemp rope, but in reality, he had already leaned half his body weight on it. He was dizzy and disoriented, as if his soul was swaying, unable to stand on his own.

"Hmm," he feigned contemplation, laughing lightly under their intense gazes, "Of course I'm leaving. I've had enough fun."

Even if he wanted to play, his body could hardly go on.

A bolt from the blue.

Zhou Chenhao and Ling Feng's expressions went blank for a moment.

Huh? Bai Xuechao was leaving? With over 2.2 billion game coins? Or more?

Ling Feng recalculated the total game coins they possessed and the remaining game coins in the prize pool, concluding that at least one of them, either him or Zhou Chenhao, would lose their personality.

This was truly terrible.

Unacceptable.

"Don't you want to continue playing?" Ling Feng took the initiative to persuade him to stay, because this matter concerned the personality of at least one of them, him or Zhou Chenhao, and was very important. His handsome face showed some tension. "This game has rule loopholes and doesn't provide the excitement you like. We can start another, more thrilling game."

As long as the game was fair, that would be fine.

Bai Xuechao sighed, "But I'm tired of playing."

Ling Feng was speechless for a moment. He couldn't force Bai Xuechao to play a game when he was tired. Of course, he didn't know Bai Xuechao was feeling unwell; if he had known, he certainly wouldn't have done that.

Zhou Chenhao immediately followed up, showing a cheerful smile, and shamelessly asked, "Then, could you lend us some game coins?"

Xiao 6 suddenly interrupted, "Host..."

"I know, another side quest?" Bai Xuechao had anticipated it. Since Bai Guzi could issue two quests in a row, she definitely wouldn't give up easily. "Let me see."

Before looking, he first replied to Zhou Chenhao, "I'll consider it."

No refusal meant there was hope.

Zhou Chenhao put away his smile and said somewhat solemnly, "Thank you for the trouble."

【Side Quest 4: I'm kneeling to you wuwu】

【Plop! Did you hear how loud my knelt was? Ancestor, tell me what you want QAQ, I'll definitely satisfy you wuwu! I only ask you to let my son go, both of them! Actually, I made a bet with my family that if this work still gets criticized, I'll have to go home and inherit the family business. A plot where the male lead is controlled by a supporting character will definitely be criticized as "feeding sh*t," I beg you, wuwuwu!】

Perhaps fearing Bai Xuechao would exploit a loophole, Bai Guzi specifically said to let both of them go.

Bai Xuechao: "..."

Damn it, he really was starting to hate the rich now.

Was this the high-dimensional world version of "if you don't work hard, you'll have to go home and inherit the family business"?

Xiao 6: I'm going to hate the rich too, wuwu!

"Before answering you, I also have a question for you," Bai Xuechao said to the two of them suddenly, without stating what he wanted.

After all, Bai Guzi couldn't read his thoughts. Communication between them had always relied on him speaking aloud for a one-sided "shout-out." If he suddenly spoke to the air at this moment, saying what he wanted, it would seem very strange.

Ling Feng asked seriously, "Will our answers affect yours?"

"Who knows?" Bai Xuechao smiled.

Zhou Chenhao said, "Okay, we will answer seriously."

Bai Xuechao said, "Have you heard of the 'fishbowl universe hypothesis'?"

Zhou Chenhao stroked his chin with one hand, "Hmm... never heard of it."

"I've heard of it," Ling Feng explained to Zhou Chenhao. "Simply put, it means our world is essentially a fishbowl. Outside the fishbowl, there are beings equivalent to humans observing us, just as we observe fish in a fishbowl."

"Hiss—" Zhou Chenhao gasped cooperatively, as if listening to a ghost story, then chuckled, "That sounds a bit scary."

He didn't look scared at all.

Bai Xuechao leaned against the hemp rope, his clear and pleasant voice gently sounding, "What if one day you discovered your world was actually a fishbowl, would you want to go outside the fishbowl and take a look?"

Not only was Bai Guzi going crazy now, but Xiao 6 was also going crazy.

It shrieked, "Host, what are you trying to say! You can't reveal the existence of the high-dimensional world to others! Aaaahhh!"

Xiao 6 was much noisier than Bai Guzi, as it was directly in Bai Xuechao's mind.

Bai Xuechao said, "Shut up, or I'll blurt it out immediately."

Xiao 6 instantly became as quiet as a chicken.

"Huh?" Zhou Chenhao was stunned. "Do you usually think about such philosophical things? Doubting the reality of the world? Whether other beings exist in the universe?"

He showed a thoughtful expression: "If I could go outside the fishbowl, I would really want to take a look. I'm a very curious person."

Ling Feng, however, replied, "If the people outside the fishbowl cannot affect those inside, I wouldn't go."

Hearing this, Bai Xuechao looked at Ling Feng and asked, "What if the people outside the fishbowl could change the water in the fishbowl? For you, would that count as affecting those inside the fishbowl?"

After thinking, Ling Feng said, "...Yes, it would."

Bai Xuechao then asked, "But what if every time the water was changed, you lost all memory of it?"

For example, if the author reset the simulated world, all character data would return to its initial state, without any memory of the world's previous operations.

What if this world had already been reset multiple times before the work was officially published?

They were merely characters, without memories, so no one knew.

Ling Feng was momentarily stumped. He slightly furrowed his brow and, after a moment of thought, replied seriously, "For me now, this would count. But for me after the water change, I would have no memory, so it wouldn't count."

Bai Xuechao continued to ask him, "Then, to ask again, do you want to go outside the fishbowl? What is your answer now?"

Ling Feng pondered deeply again, and a moment later said, "Yes."

He changed his answer.

Xiao 6 interrupted again at this moment, frantically saying, "Host, host, here comes—" It hadn't finished speaking.

"Let me see," Bai Xuechao said.

If Bai Guzi was smart enough or could understand hints, she should have known what he wanted.

【Side Quest 5: I promise you QAQ】

【I know the S-1010 system chip currently under development can fully load your data and install it onto a humanoid robot, but it still needs time, wuwuwu. Please let my son go first, and I will definitely arrange for you to get the chip when it's released!】

This S-1010 system chip was derived from the simulated world's main system. Previously, Xiao 6 had vaguely mentioned it when talking about the EQ program to get Bai Xuechao to accept a side quest, but it had stopped itself in time and didn't elaborate.

Bai Guzi had indeed understood Bai Xuechao's hint from his conversation with the two —

Bai Xuechao wanted to go outside the so-called "fishbowl" and take a look.

What a crazy idea.

Although Bai Guzi agreed, who knew if this was just a temporary measure? Empty promises wouldn't do.

So Bai Xuechao needed a hostage.

The male lead was perfect.

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