Flowers Blooming in the Wasteland

"Do you think it's cruel? But you also exterminated the Zerg like this before. I think the Na'vi and the Zerg are about the same level of civilization. Anyway, there is no value in forming an alliance. It's enough to beat them until they dare not make trouble."

"It's not a question of value. After all, they look a lot like humans. Don't you feel uncomfortable?"

The world they live in now is not simulated according to the real universe, but a universe imagined by human beings by combining some film and television game works left by human beings, so many aliens carry the life of the earth. The characteristics are either animals like praying mantises or octopuses, or human beings themselves.

"I have overcome this kind of useless empathy." Fu Yunlan said without any ups and downs, "Do you think there is something wrong with doing this? But I dare say, if it was He Xiao, he would make the same decision .”

"But you are not He Xiao after all."

"Yeah." Fu Yunlan looked a little discouraged and angry, "He Xiao is right in whatever he does, and you have opinions on how I do it. It's not like I'm irrational like him, like I'm impersonal like him. I don't know what I have to do to satisfy you."

Celeste opened his eyes wide and looked at Fu Yunlan in disbelief: "This is wrong...you...you are not Lan..."

Fu Yunlan frowned: "What nonsense are you talking about?"

"It can't be wrong... this kind of unreasonable jealousy and impatient tone." Celeste said with difficulty but firmly, "You are not Lan."

He originally thought that Fu Yunlan would argue a few more words, but Fu Yunlan just sighed with relief, and chuckled: "It's still discovered... It's a pity, I really liked this boy who played the role of a good baby." game."

Celeste, who has always been relatively calm, couldn't hang on anymore: "When... since when did you replace him?"

"It's confusing, you can't see it at all, right?" Fu Yunlan smiled at him, without the madness and cruelty of the past, this smile was so gentle that Celeste was horrified, "Don't say that I replaced him, I am him , we are the same person from the beginning to the end. Are you still delusional that my good baby Fu Yunlan and I will always remain distinct, the good things are his, and the dark things are mine, until one day you will Find a way to get rid of the me you don’t like, leaving only that good baby? Don’t waste your efforts, I’ve already polluted him like a virus, you should have discovered it too, right, he’s getting more and more cruel now Ruthless, irritable and irritable, those are all the emotions and reactions of your good baby when he is awake, you don't want to look at me like this, so what about becoming him like me?"

"Lan won't become like you!" Celeste said sharply as if struggling for death.

"When you are still deceiving yourself and others, I can see it clearly." Fu Yunlan approached Celeste ambiguously and said, "He has already had the idea of ​​wishing you to die, but his reason is still there. He can suppress his madness for a while, so that you don't find out. When he can't restrain himself and act, I think the scene will be very interesting."

"Shut up!" Celeste suddenly pushed him away in anger and panic, and Fu Yunlan's head hit the control screen beside him hard, and he seemed to be stunned.

"I won't let you succeed, absolutely not!" Celeste's voice trembled when he said this, even he didn't know whether it was because of anger or fear, after all, he was concerned about whether he could stop the other party from devouring Fu Yun. Blue is not sure about this matter at all.

Fu Yunlan looked up at him blankly: "What's wrong with you... Did something happen just now?"

Celeste still couldn't hold back his emotions, and looked at Fu Yunlan in surprise: "... Lan, is it really you?"

"It's me, what are you afraid of?" Fu Yunlan's expression clearly showed real concern, and Celeste hugged him tightly, almost crying: "Blue!"

"Okay, okay..." Fu Yunlan patted him on the back to comfort him, and whispered softly in his ear, "I'm not here, although it may not be the one you expected... But it's no different Isn't it?"

"No!" Celeste broke down and pushed him away, forcibly stopping the simulation.

---

Celeste sat in front of the control panel expressionlessly, without saying a word, He Xiao looked at him for a while, and sighed softly: "...Sorry."

Celeste's tone sounded unusually calm: "Why do you have to apologize?"

"I overestimated this screening technology based on external signs, which gave him the opportunity to fish in troubled waters."

"It's not your fault." Celeste lowered his eyes and looked at the table, "I've had this premonition for a long time, ever since Fu Yunlan was taken away...or since we met, I have a kind of self Sooner or later, he will lose his feeling."

"Premonition?" He Xiao frowned suspiciously. Guardians have always been a very rational race, and such words as premonition are rare.

Celeste is still very calm, the disheartened kind: "Just like the dream I had, we guardians never dream, but during the time when I thought I was a mortal, I often dreamed To the same scene - the person I love walks away from me without looking back, I try hard to catch up to keep him, but I can't catch up. I know I'm going to lose him...again."

"Don't be so pessimistic, in fact, we still have a last resort."

Celeste looked up at He Xiao, not very interested.

He Xiao continued: "We can freeze him, wait until one day our technological level improves and we can solve this problem, and then thaw him for treatment."

"... But will there be such a day?" Celeste said calmly, "I know that the evolution rate of the Devourer is getting faster and faster, and the gap between us is getting bigger and bigger. It is left for us to study how to save How much time does he have? 100 years? 200 years? If the Devourer makes any new progress in the application of dimensional space, we may not even have ten years."

He Xiao apologized again: "Sorry, our scientific research resources are limited, and we cannot use all of them on a human being."

"I understand, it's not your fault." Celeste sighed deeply.

Since the fall of the True God Sect, the Devourer has completely disappeared, and there has been no movement. Now He Xiao only spends [-]% of his energy every day guiding humans to rebuild their homes, and spends the rest of the time trying to crack the Devourer's mechanism as much as possible. Technology, develop new weapons and equipment to counter the expansion of the Devourer itself.

As a guardian who was born only a few years ago, Celeste is trying his best to help He Xiao think of some ideas even though he can do very limited things. Even when he is playing in the virtual world, he often gets inspired Now leave Fu Yunlan behind and sneak into the laboratory for a few days.

But the technological competition is sometimes so cruel. Every time they make progress, the Devourer will improve a lot. They invented a new theory, and the Devourer has used masterminds spread across several galaxies to research more than a dozen new technologies.

In the end, they decided to freeze Fu Yunlan, so that at least his condition would not worsen. Although it was slim, there was at least a glimmer of hope.

The frozen equipment was quickly produced and ready. Before executing it, He Xiao asked Celeste: "Is there anything else you want to do in the end? Like you said, we may not have to thaw him again." day."

"...give me a few days, and let me take him to see the world for the last time."

For a guardian, this decision is obviously irrational and redundant, but He Xiao nodded understandingly: "There is a device that can restrict his activities so that he can't do things that hurt you, but it's not 100% % safe, you must be extra careful these days."

"I know." Thelister said sincerely, "Thank you for everything you have done for me."

"...You don't have to thank me."

"I know that thanking is a human habit, we don't pay attention to those, but I still want to thank you, after all, I can't repay you anything."

I don't know if it was Celeste's illusion. When he said this, although He Xiao didn't see anything abnormal on the surface, he looked away as if to avoid it.

---

Fu Yunlan felt as if he had been abandoned by the world.

It's been a long time since Celeste has been in the virtual world, long enough even judging by the passage of time in the real world.

A voice was telling him that such a day would come sooner or later, but Fu Yunlan was still looking forward to it every day. He thought that Celeste must have been delayed by something, or he had forgotten the time because of another experiment. No, Celeste will definitely come.

He waited and waited until he was woken up from the simulation cabin by the system again.

Fu Yunlan climbed out of the simulation cabin as usual, ready to eat, take a shower, sleep before continuing, but saw that the forever sealed door was now open, and Celeste was watching him by the door.

Fu Yunlan thought he was seeing hallucinations, he bit the tip of his tongue, then clenched his fists and squeezed his palms, trying to distinguish whether he was really in the real world, or whether the virtual world simulated the environment where he was imprisoned.

The pain with very clear details shows that this is indeed the real world, and Celeste in the virtual world has always maintained the youthful appearance he remembered, but Celeste in front of him has obviously grown up, His body is slender and powerful, his facial features are still handsome, but his outline lacks the femininity of a young man, and has a bit more heroic spirit of an adult man.

Fu Yunlan still couldn't believe it: "Cherister...is it really you?"

"It's me." Celeste walked towards Fu Yunlan, "I'm sorry, I've imprisoned you for so long, and now I can finally let you out."

Fu Yunlan immediately took a step back, but he still didn't dare to let Celeste get too close: "Will there be any problem if I go out like this, you really found a way to heal me?"

After all, he also knows that the threat of the Devourer is imminent, and He Xiao and the others will not spend too much energy on him. It is already a great privilege to let Case allocate part of the computing space and create a virtual world for him to live in.

"There is no cure yet, but we made this for it." Thelister showed him a collar-like thing, with a small square black screen on it like a decorative leather buckle, "as long as Wearing this, you can move freely, as long as you have the intention to attack or hurt others, the collar will emit a high-voltage current, making you instantly incapacitated."