Jian Xingyi hesitated. 

Since the Beacon fish led them here, it must mean there’s something good, but they’ve already circled the area and haven’t seen any treasures yet, so the final clue might be inside this memory bubble. 

The only question was whether there was any danger inside. But since they were already here… 

The moment Jian Xingyi, holding Shanhai’s hand, touched the memory bubble, he suddenly felt a tugging force. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a strange room. Shanhai had vanished again; it seemed they could still be separated even while holding hands. 

Jian Xingyi looked around and took a moment to observe his surroundings. It was an ordinary room, resembling a conference room. 

As an observer, he was transparent; he couldn’t touch or see his own body, and when he walked through the room’s furnishings—like tables and chairs—his body would pass right through them. 

This was his first time experiencing a memory bubble, and Jian Xingyi found it quite novel. So he walked back and forth among the furniture, enjoying the sensation of passing right through it. 

“Click.” 

The door opened, and Jian Xingyi saw two people walk in. 

The moment he saw them, Jian Xingyi was completely dumbfounded. 

He wasn’t sure if someone looked exactly like him, or if the memory bubble shaped his face based on the person he touched and the familiar faces in that person’s memories, or if it was something else… 

All he could see was that one of the two people who walked in looked exactly like him, while the other was a blond-haired, blue-eyed mixed-race teenager—it was… Domini, the botanist, from his memories, who had thanked him. 

What was going on? 

Jian Xingyi froze, standing there staring blankly.

He saw him sit down, looking quite busy; once seated, he began poring over the documents. Domini sat beside him, carefully pouring him a cup of tea and organizing his papers, acting just like his personal assistant. 

Before long, two more people arrived. 

One was a middle-aged man in military uniform; the other was an old acquaintance from his memory bubble—a doctor in a white lab coat. The doctor had a somber expression, but his demeanor was distinctly that of a scholar. 

The middle-aged man smiled. “Hello, I’m Colonel Ag, the one who’s been in touch with you. The person beside me is the renowned Dr. Yu.” 

The man saluted ‘Jian Xingyi.’

“You must be… the developer of *Dawnbreaker* 01, correct? We’ve heard many stories about you. As a genius programmer and designer, your intellect fills us with immense admiration!” 

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, Oh… these are the three people mentioned in the Rainforest Dungeon letter. The Colonel, the Doctor, and 01—he surmised that these three were the “Central Government” in the story, and also the leaders. But why are the characters in this game’s story still using their own faces…? 

Jian Xingyi thought to himself, Is this a feature of the Memory Bubble? It seems he’s playing the role of 01’s support staff in this story. After the three of them sat down, the Colonel said, “Have you thought about what we discussed earlier?” 

01 just smiled at the two of them and said, “I need you to explain it to me in more detail.” 

This 01 seemed to have a different demeanor from Jian Xingyi; he appeared much more shrewd. 

“No problem,” the colonel said. “As we mentioned before, the situation is getting worse by the day. The world is on the brink of collapse, with natural disasters and epidemics everywhere. I know you have a grand vision: to replace reality with a game. We’re also aware that your efforts have been increasingly successful. The government has now taken notice of you and believes your plan… might actually work! So we’ve come to negotiate with you, hoping to establish a formal partnership.” 

The colonel spread his hands and said earnestly, “The government can provide you with more funding and energy for your experiments and operations. I know what your team lacks most right now …is energy, right? As a military leader, I will also protect your team.” 

The Doctor said, “And my students and I will do our utmost to support you intellectually. We’ve been researching natural disasters and viruses for years. If we collaborate, I can discuss with you how to merge the game with reality.” 

01 pondered for a moment, then said, “In my plan, if everything goes smoothly and there’s enough energy to sustain the merger, once everyone enters the game, it will gradually fuse with reality. But during this fusion process, the game’s settings and systems will provide everyone with greater protection—such as combat power, system support, and wound recovery. You could call it… a ‘god mode’?This would allow people to gradually adapt to overcoming the apocalypse and find a way to survive in dire circumstances. You guys…” 

01 seemed a bit uncertain himself. He looked up and asked, “Do you really think this will work?”

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure myself when we first started developing this. It was just an experiment, and if we were to actually put this plan into action, it would consume an enormous amount of the world’s energy. I’m not sure if it’s worth it.” 

“Actually…” the doctor sighed heavily, “The fact that we’ve come to you means the central government has already tried most approaches and found them ineffective. We’re just grasping at straws. Whether it works or not, at least we… tried.” 

01 paused for a moment. “Alright.” 

After reaching an agreement, the three began discussing the details. Jian Xingyi listened, completely dumbfounded. 

If this were true… then everything seemed to make sense. 

“Once everyone enters the game, the game’s map will be a projection of reality. But around every projection, we can set up an invisible barrier. Beyond that barrier lies a mirror image of the real world—a data backup of reality. The difference is that this ‘real world’ is eternal and unchanging; it won’t gradually be destroyed by natural disasters like the real one.” 

No wonder the reality beyond the air walls in the game remains unchanged. 

No wonder the zombies on every map enter through the air walls. 

“Once we bring reality into the game and let it gradually merge over time, humans will slowly be able to leave their stasis pods, transforming from virtual data into real, flesh-and-blood people. The maps will become increasingly realistic, but with the game system acting as a safety net, people will always be able to find a way to survive within it.” 

No wonder Cangshui had no issues when he used to play the game, but ever since everyone got trapped inside, his disability became apparent. No wonder the maps are getting more and more realistic and natural disasters are getting worse—because that’s exactly how reality is. 

Jian Xingyi stared blankly at the people engaged in this discussion. 

Was this a story from the game’s lore, or was it actually happening? He was starting to lose track. 

But if this were a true story, everything would make perfect sense. 

That was why they had all been trapped in the game. 

And after 01, the Doctor, the Colonel, and the others died, due to the merging of the game and reality, their names became part of the game’s heroes…

The three then went on to discuss how to merge reality and the game. 

Jian Xingyi grew increasingly alarmed as he listened. 

But the three didn’t talk for long, saying they would discuss it in detail next time when the Doctor and 01’s team were all present. 

The Colonel added, “From now on, I may be frequently deployed to the front lines to eliminate monsters, so I won’t be able to stay with you all the time. That’s why I’d like to introduce you to my three star pupils—they’re also the children I’ve adopted.” 

The colonel showed the two a photo on his phone. “This is Bai Zhi. She’s decisive and has great leadership qualities. She’ll definitely be the commander who inherits my mantle and will handle affairs on my behalf in the future. And these two… Lu Yan and Zhou Xiaole. They’re highly skilled, and I’ll transfer them to your team to serve as bodyguards.” 

Jian Xingyi stared in disbelief. Huh…? Lu Yan? 

The Doctor smiled. “It’s a pleasure to work with you.” 

“Likewise.” 

After the Doctor and the Colonel left, Jian Xingyi saw 01 suddenly exhale deeply, patting his chest repeatedly before turning to ask Domini, “How was that? Did I do well? You couldn’t tell I’m socially anxious, right? I was so scared just now…!” 

Domini smiled and said, “You did a great job!” 

01 was dancing around when he caught a glimpse of someone standing by the door out of the corner of her eye. He froze in shock. “Who’s there?!” 

A tall man stepped out of the shadows. “Lu Yan. I’ll be your personal bodyguard from now on.” 01 blushed bright red, feeling utterly humiliated. “…When did you get here?” 

“Just now.” 

01: “…I don’t need a personal bodyguard.” 

The man’s face remained stern, his tone cold and flat, devoid of any inflection or warmth. “I’m simply following orders. If you have any objections, take it up with the colonel.” “……” 

Jian Xingyi：“……” 

Jian Xingyi stared at the face he saw every day, still completely baffled.

Come to think of it, in this memory bubble… most of the people here are familiar faces. 

Jian Xingyi wanted to keep watching, but his vision suddenly blurred. It seemed this memory bubble was coming to an end. 

…

When he opened his eyes again, he had been teleported to a… deserted island? 

It seemed he had left the memory bubble and returned to the game. As soon as he opened the terminal, he discovered he was in a remote corner of Sea Wave Mountain. 

No… it wasn’t even a corner—it was a corner within a corner, practically the dead end of Sea Wave Mountain, unconnected to any map. Normally, no one would ever come here. 

Jian Xingyi looked around. This isolated island was very small—so small he could see the other end—but there were plenty of reefs and trees blocking the view, so he had no idea what lay beyond. 

Why had the system teleported him here after the memory bubble ended? 

Jian Xingyi was baffled, but he immediately sent a message to Shanhai. Xinghe: 【Where are you?】 

“Here.” 

Jian Xingyi froze, then turned to see Shanhai standing right behind him. Jian Xingyi couldn’t help but chuckle. 

Jian Xingyi asked, “After entering the memory bubble, what did you see?” 

Shanhai paused, his expression slightly ambiguous, before finally asking, “What did you see?” 

Jian Xingyi described the situation inside the Memory Bubble to Shanhai. 

Jian Xingyi sighed. “If what’s inside the memory bubble is real, it means I… have already discovered the secret of this game. We’ll probably never be able to leave the game, but this place is already reality. Whether we leave or not… it doesn’t seem to make any difference.” 

Shanhai was deep in thought as well. 

Jian Xingyi scratched his head and said, “And why would they use our faces and names? Is it to make it easier to follow the plot by playing characters? After all, it can’t possibly be us. First, we couldn’t possibly have lived that long, and second, we don’t have any memories of that time.”

Shanhai furrowed his brow. 

Although they have no related memories, the fact that the Colonel is his guardian, and that everyone’s names are the same, is too much of a coincidence… Jian Xingyi had never known Bai Jie and Le Ke’s real names. These circumstances really are strikingly similar. 

In the end, Shanhai simply said, “If the information we currently have—that reality has already fallen, and the game is a self-rescue plan—is correct, then if reality and the game merge, anything is possible. Maybe we’ve lost our memories, maybe we’re just false data, or maybe those are our past-life selves.” 

Jian Xingyi was still a bit dazed. That was just too far-fetched. 

He was actually the legendary “01” at one point!? 

“Anyway, let’s keep moving forward. I’m sure we’ll find more and more clues,” Jian Xingyi said with a smile. “I feel like we’re getting close to the truth!” 

“Oh, right,” Jian Xingyi said. “So, what did you see?” 

Shanhai：“……” 

Shanhai: “If I tell you, you can’t get mad.” 

Jian Xingyi laughed. “What’s there to get angry about?” 

Shanhai: “I’m different from you. It was from a first-person perspective. I saw myself playing the role of someone falling in love with another person.” 

Jian Xingyi: “……” 

Jian Xingyi: “Who was that person?” 

Shanhai: “I can’t make out their face, and the voice in my memory is very vague. I don’t know who it is.” 

Jian Xingyi: “……” 

Jian Xingyi turned and walked away. 

Shanhai grabbed Jian Xingyi’s wrist. “You promised you wouldn’t get angry.” 

Jian Xingyi said with a smile, “I’m not angry. So, what did you and he do?” 

Shanhai: “……”

Jian Xingyi blinked. “Tell me. I promise I won’t get angry.” 

Shanhai: “… ” 

Really?