Chapter 594 - Being Serious (1/2)

Chapter 594 Being Serious

After dealing with the Sphinx, Zhang Heng called for a taxi to head back to campus. Things could get awkward if time stopped while he was on the subway. The feeling of being locked in the carriage was the worst. It happened that his Polo was not with him during that time, and it seemed that his only choice of mobility was this carbon-neutral, environmentally-friendly means of transportation. It was a modest effort from him in an attempt to lower urban pollution.

It was the early hours of the morning, and vehicles and pedestrians on the streets were spa.r.s.e. Due to the time stop, the whole road looked like a stage play waiting to happen, exacerbated by the street lights projecting a beam on the spot. When Zhang Heng shuttled through it, he felt like an actor, performing on a different stage. In fact, he had been living like an actor recently. Because of his time bug, his gaming duration was often several times that of others. Each round was more like a whole lifetime for him from a nameless desert island to the remote Caribbean Sea, to gloomy 19th century London and a chaotic Kyoto at the end of the shogunate. He would usually play different roles in different quests.

To this day, all the game time he acc.u.mulated exceeded even his age. Sometimes, Zhang Heng would experience a momentary trance when he opened his eyes in bed, not knowing where he was and where his next journey would take him.

He became a NASA astronaut, was a pirate king of Na.s.sau, a geek in the future world, and even a rookie wondering ancient Kyoto… Miss Bartender once said that experience and lessons were things that made us who we were today. Although it had been less than a year since he joined this magical and mysterious game, he was now completely different from who he was a year ago. These changes were not just about a series of high-level skills to display on his skill bar or even those strange and useful game items. His soul had also grown a lot-every choice he made in every round of game had drawn him closer to his true self.

However, this ‘true self’ was making Zhang Heng feel more and more alien. His bicycle was parked in front of a stationery store, and he looked at his reflection on the gla.s.s door. A few months ago, he had noticed the changes on his face. Although it seemed no different from before, he suddenly realized that he looked grumpy all the time. Previously, it wasn’t that obvious. It wasn’t until his observation ability had reached a new level after the Deductive Reasoning quest that he could finally see where that grumpiness came from.

His skin, features, eyebrows, and hair were all the same as before, except for one thing that was slowly fading away-his feelings.

Zhang Heng and Shen Xixi once briefly talked about it before. As the players progressed more profound into the game, they would begin to go through a process of awakening. And when life itself hung on the very balance, they would thus free themselves from the shackles civilized society tied them in; primal instinct would be released, gradually revealing the bottom of their hearts. However, all Zhang Heng could see was mist, a mist of nothingness.

And there seemed to be something waiting for him behind the mist, calling out for him.

It was like the end of all stories.

Zhang Heng’s mind told him that he should stop moving forward. However, he did not sense any threat from the being behind the fog. On the contrary, he felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy, as if he was going home.

At that time, Zhang Heng knew that a trip to Greenland had to be on his plan as soon as possible.

After returning to school, Zhang Heng first took a cold shower, then headed to the gym for his daily training. After the break, he read a book in the library for a while until time began to flow again. Heading to the parking lot, he sorted out his game items in the trunk and drove to Miss Bartender.

“These belonged to Arc of Light’s guys. I still remember this flashlight. I just identified it not long ago. It seemed you had a good yield that night.”

“How many points are these items worth?”