This place of play is huge and empty. The sky is a light grey here, with occasional flickering checkered ice crystals visible to the naked eye. Brown bats and black crows swept through the air with their wings outstretched, resting on their dry branches in twos and threes.

The long-haired girl had a dull gaze and no expression on her fair face. She walked with her arms flicking back and forth unnaturally, like a piece of dry log, to the neon-lit doorway.

"Monopoly".

The neon sign on the gate is woven into these three words.

It's been a long time, some code has broken down, and no one has been willing to spend time and energy to fix it, and the vertical pen in the middle of the "rich man" has stopped shining.

On the edge of the entrance is a display of endless coin machines, showing the former glory of this land. The girl walked to a coin machine, her wrist was close to the green scanning code, and the sound of coins crackling sounded in an instant, and the silver coins flew out of the coin machine, like silver rain in the sky, and fell into the girl's white palm.

The brilliance of the silver coin illuminated a small gray sky. Once upon a time, when there were many people here, the whole place of play was as bright as heaven.

"1024 pieces! Miss Lacrimosa, are these coins enough for you today? The servants will always be there for you! ”

F, the owner of "Monopoly", walked up to the girl and bowed deeply. When he lowered his head, he secretly slandered that in the past he would only bow to customers who bought more than 10,000 silver coins at a time, but now that new games are emerging all the time, and the business of "Monopoly" is sluggish, customers like Lacrimosa are already considered big customers.

But Lacrimosa is different from other guests who come here because of nostalgia. Ever since Lacrimosa first stepped into Monopoly two months ago, she has been visiting frequently, playing with all the coins from morning to night.

The girl nodded to him with a sluggish expression, and her eyes were a little gloomy under the dark bangs. She clenched a silver coin in her hand, the skin of her pale hand tensed.

F breathed a sigh of relief—if it weren't for such a small gesture, he would almost have thought that this girl was a carrier of the virus.

Monopoly is still equipped with protection against the virus from four or five years ago. The virus is constantly changing, and this set of equipment has long been useless. With this income from Monopoly, which is barely enough to sustain its daily operations, F will never spend a lot of money on updating its antivirus facilities.

"It's a bottomless pit! Virus Protection Companies themselves are the biggest virus makers, how can they survive without viruses? They are all profiteers among profiteers! "In the past, when it came to virus protection, he would lash out.

Fortunately, Maandala later came up with the concept of "the world's safest system", and it worked. "Monopoly" has been running almost naked in Maandala for four or five years, and he has really not been poisoned and paralyzed. F has read countless people over the years, and he has already practiced a pair of fiery eyes, and he can see at a glance whether a user is poisoned or not.

"Miss Lacrimosa, or the old place? This way, please! ”

Lacrimosa walked straight to the arena. F doesn't have to look to know that she's going to the shooting zone. However, not interfering with the player** was one of his guidelines, so F quietly stepped aside.

Lacrimosa has a slender and flexible body, and its limbs are slightly longer than normal, and in the virtual reality of Maandala, the people who choose this avatar are generally people who are keen on sports. As the guò continues to move regularly in the Maandala, the Avatar becomes more and more symmetrical and powerful. Although this body is slender, it is relatively weak, and it is obviously a very new Avatar.

On the west side of the place where Monopoly is played, there are a number of very old-fashioned shooting machines. This is a very popular type of entertainment device in the real world at the beginning of the 21st century, and it is standard in almost all large shopping malls. "Monopoly" in Maandala is also as retro as possible, even the screen is an old LED dot matrix display, with posters like Slam Dunk that seem very nostalgic now.

Lacrimosa threw three silver coins into the basketball machine, and the LED screen suddenly lit up, the red dot matrix font began to flow from left to right, and the highly incendiary male voice sounded overhead:

"Welcome to the exciting world of street basketball! Freedom is the only rule! The record holder for this sport is-

"しと (Apostle)!"

Thunderous applause and cheers rang out, enveloping the slender and thin girl like ocean waves.

She stood still, tears welling up like a spring.

"しと......" she choked.

A holographic image suddenly appeared on the shooting machine beside her. It was a young man with short, thick and dark hair, and a sturdy and handsome body. He turned his head to her and smiled heartily:

"Look at me, little sister! I'm going to sweep the whole audience today! ”

His smile was so bright and proud, and there was even a kind of conceit in it. This conceit is like the sun in the sky, although it will dazzle your eyes, it will not make you hate.

Because he's that kind of capable person.

Lacrimosa will always remember that day, しと successfully set a new record for all the items in "Monopoly", so that when every new player of the project comes to play, the virtual opponent that appears around him becomes him.

During that time, しと was simply famous in "Monopoly".,Until later,しと walked on the road.,There will be strangers coming to greet him:

"Hey! You're the one! It's so damnable, the whole yard is full of you! ”

しと put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Look, what it means to become famous in one fell swoop, the world knows!" ”

She tilted her head and said, "Can't you just keep a low profile?" ”

しと laughed proudly: "Life must be happy, and there is no word 'low-key' in my dictionary!" ”

Thoughts pulled back from distant memories. Now she is no longer the same person she was then, and he is no longer there.

In the blurred vision,しと began to shoot。 The basketballs seemed to have living things in his hands, and one after another flew out of his hands and hit the basket. The red number of points skyrocketed, and Lacrimosa watched steadily, not throwing a single basketball in his hand. The last ball,しと also turned around beautifully.,Play a fancy shot.。

"User 'Lacrimosa' challenge failed! The winner is - しと! ”

Thunderous applause and whistles and cheers. A frustrated face appeared on the screen directly across from Lacrimosa, prompting her to do it again. She threw in three more silver coins, and しと appeared next to her again, as if tirelessly shooting.

So many years have passed.

The records set by しと in "Monopoly" have been mostly broken by new players. After discovering this novel gameplay, players rushed to try to replicate the success of しと. To this day,The record that still retains しと,That's all that's left of this shooting machine.。

You can still see the place where the dragon is alive.,That's the only place to be this shooting machine.。

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

In the empty and boundless game field, the endless sound of basketballs hitting rebounds echoes all day long, echoing with cheers one after another.

Lacrimosa is ghostly waiting here.,Throw three silver coins at a time.,Waiting for the ghost of しと.。

On this day, Lacrimosa entered the room, and F came to her and said:

"Miss Lacrimosa, there's a new group of players coming over these days. One of them seems to be interested in basketball too.,It's a master.,It's already close to the record of しと.。 ”

Lacrimosa suddenly ran over like crazy.

"Stop!"

She shouted sharply, at the player who was shooting wildly.

The player just glanced back at her and continued to shoot with full concentration, sweating profusely.

Looks like he's going to have to break this record.

"Please stop!" She pleaded loudly. "Please leave me the しと, I can pay you the silver coins...... Anything for you! ”

"Maniac!"

The man didn't look back, but spat on it with disdain.

"Hey! Say what about you! Where did the mad woman come from! You opened this playground? My eldest brother is going to break the record, you get out of the way! ”

Suddenly, a couple of players came and forcibly pulled her away.

"Freedom is the only rule!" The blood-pumping sound of the machine is still repeated. That player failed the challenge by three thirds, and opened another game as if enchanted.

"I beg you! Dead by the eye, if you break the record, I won't see him again-" Lacrimosa's pale and cold face showed red eyes, "I can give you what you want—"

"Phew!"

The group of players pulling away looked her up and down and laughed dismissively, "Such a garbage Avatar, new here!" Don't get in the way of our boss breaking records! ”

"しと died? It's good to be dead! - It's none of my business if he dies or not! You want to see him at the cemetery! ”

They knocked Lacrimosa to the ground with a single palm.

It's just one point.

It's only one point missing.,しと is going to disappear.。

Lacrimosa's gloomy eyes suddenly flashed with a fierce light, and the light in her hand skyrocketed, and a three-foot-long silver sword appeared in her hand, stabbing the player who was shooting with accuracy and ruthlessness.

A dazzling trail of blood appears on the player's back.

The red integrator stays at that fraction.

The user's "Black Edge" challenge failed! The winner is - しと! ”

Piercing cheers drowned out the stunned crowd of players. Lacrimosa drew his sword, and the shooter suddenly froze to the ground, and three seconds later, the "black edge" avatar turned into a fine point of light, and the ground was empty in an instant.

One Avatar died.

Obviously, the arrogant player of "Black Edge" never expected his death, nor did he prepare for it, and the form of death is still the default "ashes" in Maandala.

Many years have passed since the prosperity of "Monopoly". People don't remember much anymore that the game land of "Monopoly" has opened the cold weapon battle mode. This kind of weapon attack is not possible in other areas of security, but in "Monopoly", it is indeed possible.

The players who were still alive were stunned for a while, and they also took out their weapons and hurriedly launched an attack on Lacrimosa.

The force value of such a brand-new Avatar, they do not pay attention. What they hated was an Avatar that the "Black Edge" had cultivated for so long, and it was wiped out like this, what a shame and unwillingness! It must be to bury this thin crazy woman in pieces!

Lacrimosa's face was still pale and gloomy, but there was a faint coldness that flickered with it. She parried with her sword and retreated. Her swordsmanship is sharp and powerful, unlike those rabble slashing and slashing. However, the new Avatar's power was still limited, and she slashed her opponent, only to be more severely wounded, and her white clothes were dripping with blood.

"Crazy! It must have hurt! If it hurts, it's offline! Otherwise, our brothers will cut you with a thousand knives and let you taste the taste of Ling Chi! ”

Lacrimosa's indifferent gaze shot out.

Probably there won't be any pain more painful than losing しと.

Wasn't the pain exactly what she needed? She can't even feel the pain, and she no longer deserves to be called alive.

Foolish people, you never know who is watching over you.

しと's death really has nothing to do with you.,But it's closely related to thousands of people.。

If you want to kill me, it's fine. It's just an avatar. It would be nice if the real me could die like this......

The sharp blade slashed into Lacrimosa's shoulder, and half of his arm was gone. She lifted her pale face, the light in her hand waving, and another avatar went up in smoke. Maandala is a virtual reality for all people, and it is not too bloody. She estimated that even if all the blood of an Avatar were to drain, it would be 400cc at best.

"Stinky maniac! Which neurology hospital let you out! ”

The men roared, but for a moment Lacrimosa couldn't hear anything. Did she read it wrong? Could it be that Avatar also hallucinates in front of his eyes before he dies?

It's しと!

It's an avatar of しと! It's real, it's not a hologram on a basketball shooter!

Lacrimosa's soul seemed to be sucked away by the familiar Avatar, she couldn't speak, dropped her long sword, and stretched out her bloodstained right hand to しと. Five or six cold weapons slashed at her.

The man with short, thick black hair—without the proud and bright look she was familiar with—had an unusually long, jet-black knife in his hand, and with a single stroke, it shook all the weapons in the players' hands away.

This is the strength of a hardcore Avatar of the same age as Maandala.

Avatar is indeed しと,Lacrimosa is convinced.

In the stunned eyes of everyone, "しと" strode over, picked up Lacrimosa like an eagle carrying a chicken, and walked towards the door of "Monopoly".

It's still a step away from the neon-lit gates.

With a flick of Lacrimosa's wrist, the previously discarded silver sword flew back into her hand with a "whoosh". She raised her sword and stabbed at "しと"-

"You're not しと."

"しと" sideways dodged the blade of the sword, and pinched the slender girl to the ground, staring indifferently.

Lacrimosa straightened up, holding a silver sword, the tip of which pointed at the throat of "しと".

"Who are you! Get out of his Avatar! ”

A vast wind swept through the wilderness. There is no rain on this game land, and the bedrock ground follows a calculated model of wind erosion, slowly weathering into broken stone chips and even sand.

The thin Lacrimosa and the majestic "しと" face off on the edge of the game. Lacrimosa's long, pitch-black hair rose high in the wind, like a long snake swimming.

"Who are you? Why was he able to log in to his Avatar? ”

Lacrimosa asked sharply, her thin voice blown into the sand.

Maandala is different from other virtual world platforms, and everyone is only allowed to have one account, without any exceptions. Even Teng Hua, the founder of Maandala, can only have one account. Teng Hua is a genius product designer, and in the eyes of many people in the virtual reality industry, he is almost a philosopher, even a god-like figure.

Teng Hua is said to have conceived the virtual world of Maandala in a tantric temple. One of his fundamental design philosophies:

All beings are equal.

So in Maandala, no one has the privilege of having two accounts.

In other words, real people and Avatar in Maandala are mapped one by one.

The technology used to achieve this is actually very simple, which is vein recognition login. Each person's venous image is unique and extremely difficult to replicate, and the system's recognition rate can now be reduced to less than 1 in 100 million. With the current population base, the likelihood of identification errors is infinitely close to zero.

This person is by no means しと. Lacrimosa couldn't be more sure.

しと passed away six months ago.

What's more,This person's behavior pattern,It's completely inconsistent with しと。

しと is pampered by her. He always called her little junior sister, even after the two of them were together, he still called her little junior sister affectionately. He hugged her, kissed her, and stroked her, all with infinite doting.

This person was anything but different to her. Even if she has committed suicide with the original Avatar and re-registered this new Avatar, she believes that if it is true, he can recognize it at a glance.

One of the most powerful things about Maandala is that the expression simulation is extremely realistic. The slight change in the expression of the real person in reality, the tremor of the corners of the mouth, the opening of the wings of the nose, and the slipping of tears from the corners of the eyes can all be projected onto the Avatar instantly.

There is a kind of meticulousness in this "しと" gaze that she is not familiar with、Profound,Even a kind of thoughtful planning and then act。 This is the opposite of しと's flamboyant and bright character.。

He's by no means しと.

"Who are you!"

She asked for the third time.

"しと" is still silent. Suddenly, he turned around and strode across the game to safety.

Lacrimosa pounced and grabbed him by the sleeve, "Answer me!" ”

"You're not him, why are you saving me? It's no accident that you showed up at the right time, you must have been watching me for a long time! ”

"しと" ignored her and walked towards the block on his own.

Close to the city, there are more and more people.

Lacrimosa followed closely beside "しと". She was missing a left arm, and her snow-white clothes were stained red with blood, attracting sideways glances from passers-by.

If you continue like this, you will attract the police.

"しと" frowned slightly and stopped.

Lacrimosa said sarcastically, "Go ahead." I'll follow you wherever you go and see what you can do with someone else's Avatar! ”

"しと"The familiar heavy black long knife suddenly appeared in his hand.。

Lacrimosa's muscles tensed, instinctively vigilant, and the silver sword appeared in his hand. However, swords cannot be used for attacks in the safe zone. Lacrimosa let out a low self-deprecation as she withdrew her silver sword. Six months have passed, and the habits brought about by the profession have not disappeared.

"しと" looked around at no one, and drew the handwriting on the bedrock of the ground with the tip of the knife.

[You-Yes-]

He wrote very strangely, it turned out to be written backwards, so Lacrimosa, who was standing across from him, looked at the words, and it happened to be right.

[Sheng-Yan-of-female-friend-friend-? 】

When the word "Sheng Yan" appeared, Lacrimosa's heart tensed. It was like being pressed the heart by a heavy lump of lead, and the whole chest was choked.

The heart is beating wildly, the eyebrows are beating wildly, and the fingers are trembling.

He-why did he know that しと was Sheng Yan? Sheng Yan's Avatar in Maandala is known only to those who are very familiar with him. And these people are either relatives, friends or colleagues, and there is no one she does not know. She really can't think of any of them who will pretend to be しと to log in to Maandala.

Vigilance comes with fear like a tidal wave. No. Not admitted. Not to be exposed!

Sheng Yan is dead!

She's dead too!

The two of them will never be seen again in Maandala!

Who the hell is this person!

As soon as she lowered her head, "しと" had already smoothed the handwriting on the ground with a black knife.

Why didn't he speak?

Even if he is mute, he can enter words through guò and speak with a sound synthesizer in Maandala, so why should he bother to scratch the ground with a knife?

This man is so weird. There are so many mysteries that are hard to understand. The unknown is often accompanied by danger, which is the instinct of human survival.

Lacrimosa took two steps back, and suddenly she ran away.

Even if a weapon cannot be used in a safe area, according to Maandala's rules, a seven-year-old Avatar can easily control an Avatar that is only two months in size, just as a seven-and-a-half-year-old child can easily grab a baby in the real world.

This Avatar has some records of her visits. Although she has a habit of purging at any time, she will inevitably keep some. In any case, this Avatar can no longer fall into his hands.

Footsteps followed behind him.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Each blow was like a hammer hitting her fragile heart, and it felt like her heart was about to shatter.

What exactly is this person going to do?

Lacrimosa suddenly regretted using the newly registered Avatar.

It's too weak and can't help it, and it's too useless. After running a short distance, he began to lose his breath.

No, maybe her real body couldn't handle the pressure anymore. Her nerves had become so fragile and so sensitive that she hated this body.

Maybe it's better to be dead.

Just like the Avatar in Maandala, it's gone, re-register a number, and start all over again.

It's just that I lost my memory.

It's okay to forget about jì.

Too tired.

Lacrimosa knows that she can't get rid of "しと". She went straight up to a thirty-story building. Climb to the top of the building and stand on the edge, the realistic wind blowing her long hair. She suddenly stopped.

"しと" also stopped in front of her. He is still marking on the ground:

[Sheng Yan, do you recognize it]

"I don't know Sheng Yan." Lacrimosa said indifferently.

She jumped off the building.

The white clothes fluttered lightly, and the hunt sounded in the wind.

"しと" quickly reached out and grabbed a piece of clothing. He clenched and tried to drag Lacrimosa back to the roof.

In Maandala, however, gravity is too well simulated. Although Lacrimosa was slender, she was not even more than a piece of clothing could bear.

"Whoa-"

Lacrimosa fell unstoppably. White-clothed in blood, like the corpse of a dead butterfly.

"しと" threw herself on the edge of the low steel railing, her lips pursed, and her fingers clenched tightly.