Joe nervously paced up and down outside the apartment door. Maggie asks him to wait outside to "negotiate" with a virtual reality pod he doesn't own, and he decides to trust her not to break it. However, that was before he started hearing those strange sounds. Issue "CLA

g" or "do."

-do

-do

The sound was expected, but the sound of "shlo."

p" and "g

aaaaaa" is not to be expected. At one point, he wanted to close the half-hidden door so the soundproofing would work, but he found himself too curious about what was going on inside. Unfortunately, while it sounds safe, Maggie tells him not to peek under any circumstances. The ominous warning coupled with the strange sound made Joe realize something.

Perhaps, just maybe, agreeing to act as an "anchor" for a mythical entity with mysterious, unspeakable origins that on several occasions portrays his family reality as fragile. His greatest fear was that if she broke the full immersion Pod 3000™ provided by his government, it would make the Queen of Eternal God very unhappy and disappointed. This is something that no sane 3BE citizen would dare to risk had. Not only that, but it would take a day to a week to find a replacement, and without its help, Joe didn't know how to eat, dress, and bathe. He is not alone in this regard. The constant over-reliance of humans on technology has led to a dangerous dependence on machines and computers for the vast majority of them.

"Hello, Mr. Mulligan!"

The hearty voice almost gave the man a heart attack. He was so focused on his "girl troubles" that he didn't notice a neighbor coming up.

"Ah, good afternoon, Lady Mandrak." He came back to his senses and replied. "We're out and about again, aren't we?"

Edith Mandrak is far more charismatic than her name. She is short and petite. Her short ginger hair was cut into an unbalanced bob, and her face had a calm and relaxed character that seemed to be tailor-made for men to reassure them. Because they are. She's Ado

Proud recipient of the beta version of the aCute™ Gene Pack. In Joe's opinion, she didn't need it. He thinks she's good as she is. However, Edith herself was not satisfied with being "very good", so she applied and was subsequently approved for experimental drug treatment.

She also has a habit of sneaking up on people with her smaller stature and stature, so it's actually quite common for her to scare Joe outside the apartment.

"That's true," Edith said, smiling. "Actually, I just came back and asked my assistant to touch up her makeup. I happened to see this puppy on the way to the museum, it was so cute that I had tears streaming down my eyes. ”

"It's so unfortunate. Or lucky, depending on how you look at it. After all, it's not every day that you see puppies. ”

"Well said, Mr. Mulligan. I've said enough, what the hell are you trying to do?"

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I can't help but notice your suit. Is it new? I gotta say, gold-trimmed red really isn't for you. ”

"Aha, you have a point. At first, I did feel like a Dorin ape, but then I grew to like it. ”

"Where did you get that?" You'd better not spend your pocket money on that. ”

"Oh my gosh, no. This is what I got when I attended this well-planned event. It's kind of like a souvenir, you see. ”

"A big deal, huh?" Is that why you've been walking around the halls like a lemming for the last ten minutes?"

"Wait, all right. You've been spying on me for so long?"

"Not on purpose. I've been waiting for you to go because I don't want others to see my mascara. Finally my curiosity got the better of me, so I came over to see if you were okay. ”

Anyone who knows Joe Mulligan knows that this man's resistance to stress is ridiculous, so Edith can't help but wonder what unspeakable disaster has happened that has made him so worried.

"Oh, I'm fine. Something is wrong with my cabin. A friend of mine is looking into the matter. ”

The neighbor's wife narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Joe has always been a terrible liar.

"Someone you know, huh?" Isn't it the pod technician in the building?"

"I ...... Think?"

"You didn't install one of the custom plugins, did you?"

"I think so."

"Oh, dear. I've heard that those are prone to all sorts of glitches and stuff like that. Not to mention, if you don't make it clear to her first, she'll put your ass on the plate. ”

"I'm sure it'll be okay, Lady Mandrake."

"For your sake, I hope you're right. I'm really worried about you. ”

* KHRKHRT-SCREEEEEAK *

The conversation was interrupted by a terrible voice coming from Joe's apartment. Then, the door slowly creaked outward, and several puffs of purple smoke emerged from inside. Maggie squeezed out and closed the door, seemingly careful not to let anyone know what was going on inside. Her blank gaze stared at Edith, who was shocked to see her. However, unlike the hecklers on the street, the neighbor seemed surprised and delighted.

"What's the matter, Mr. Mulligan!" You didn't say your friend was such a lovely lady! And then let's tell us about it, why not?"

"yes," the brunette girl said dryly. "Joe, tell me the nature of your relationship with this person."

The man was a little uncomfortable with the situation, but followed along anyway.

"Maggie, this is Ms. Mandrake, my next-door neighbor. This is Maggie, Ms. Mandrake, and we are new to each other. ”

The "new acquaintance" looked at Joe with a terrifying inquiring gaze.

"I see. You must have seen it at the event you mentioned. "The woman looked at their matching clothes." In that case, if you're done with Mr. Mulligan's pods, would you like to come in and see me, Miss Maggie?"

"You are not allowed to call me that."

"Oh my God," Edith raised her eyebrows and raised her hand to her chest. "She's powerful, isn't she?"

"You can't even comprehend how sadly inappropriate the word is."

"Ladies, ladies," Jo walked among them. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities to chat in the future, but for now, Maggie, I'd love to see how well you've handled the changes you've said. Aren't you going to the bar, Ms. Mandrake?"

"Oh my God, you're right!" Edith immediately stepped back. "Then let's wait until we meet again. I'm sorry. ”

With that, the nosy neighbor briskly ran into her apartment and slammed the door shut.

"Joe, why don't you reveal our intimacy?" Maggie immediately asked.

"Listen, I can explain, let's go in before anyone else passes by."

He was tempted to justify his reluctant actions, but what awaited him behind the door completely disrupted his train of thought.

The fully immersed Pod 3000™ is still there, mostly as a whole, but it has some noticeable additions to its white color and slightly worn frame. First, one of the service panels on the side leaked some pitch-black goo that fell to the floor in large chunks before evaporating instantaneously. There was also a cut in the metal casing inside the machine, about the thickness and length of Joe's forearm, through which he could see some unrecognizable pink flesh, pulsing rhythmically. Last but not least, when someone doesn't give out the phone's full name and model, the little red light that likes to make a "beep" sound is replaced. In its place there is a round glass-like eye the size of a golf ball, with a green iris and black square pupils. It was weeping slightly, and it seemed that it couldn't even blink its eyes.

"It's incredible!" Joe shouted involuntarily. "This is the coolest pod I've ever seen!"

"I'm glad you agreed." Maggie said her anger was forgotten for the time being.

"How could I not?!" Check it out! I would be the envy of all the men in the bar! Oh wait. God, Ms. Mandrake was right, I should have made it clear to the headmaster first. ”

"Really? The unfathomable creature's displeasure returned. "Joe, I'm still waiting to hear you justify your cover-up of our relationship."

"Yes, I'm sorry. A little carried away, but does it really matter? He flickered. "It's a troubling topic."

"I am a seeker of knowledge. It's rude to spread misinformation in front of me, especially when it comes to me. I have silently forgiven you for your previous mistakes, but I will be very upset if you do not have a good reason this time. ”

"Well, if you insist," Joe sighed. "You see, Lady Mandrake likes women. Frankly, if she hadn't, I might have kicked her out. Anyway, she was as desperate as I was to find a girlfriend. So, when she sees you, she may want to try her luck with you. Suffice it to say, this isn't the first time she's snatched my date out from under my nose. ”

"That doesn't explain the lies of your inaction."

"yes...... The problem is, she can't make herself a lady because she's ridiculously jealous. If she likes you, she seems to like you, and if she finds out we're together, she'll be embarrassed for me. For an otaku like me, having an angry neighbor is quite tricky. ”

“…… What's like a gherkins soaked in vinegar?"

"It's rhetoric, Maggie. Means there will be trouble. ”

"I see." The girl's eyes lit up again. "I'm going to try to change Edith Mandrak's mind."

"Please don't."

Joe has a lingering suspicion that Maggie's intentions are more serious than the gossip between girls.

"All you have to do is knock her down. No, the word is misnomer. Just constantly refuting her courtship, she will eventually give up. ”

"If that's what you want, then I'll do it. But if you feel that you have been treated unfairly by this Edith Mandrak, you should inform me immediately. ”

"Well, of course. Anyway, let's go inside, shall we? He pointed to the pods at the back of the small room. "I'm really curious to see how it will behave after your magical touch."

"I'm sure you'll be happy with the upgrades I've made to your device."

An attempt to exploit it was detected, and the machine's glass door slid open as usual. Joe climbed in, leaning his back against the slightly sloping back wall. Two tiny mechanical arms spun around and put a small plastic collar around his neck with a few flashing lights on it. So far, his experience has been the same as usual, except for the bulging lump of flesh pressing down on his lower back. This is not unpleasant. In fact, quite the opposite. It's almost like those fancy orthopedic pillows that are used to keep his back and spine in the right position.

As soon as he adjusted, his daily life changed drastically but welcomely. Maggie climbed into the pod with him and pressed her chest against Joe's without hesitation. This is necessary because, like the man said before, it is possible to fit two people in the machine, but it is too tight. As a simple guy with a basic male motives, he's been looking forward to this moment for a while. However, it was much more intense than he expected. The way she stared at him with that doll-like face and those close-up hypnotic eyes made his heart beat like a steroid-eating horse.

"Are you not feeling well, Joe?" Your pulse is beating abnormally. ”

It's a reaction that a girl can feel even without relying on her supernatural perceptions.

"No, no, I'm fine. It's just a natural reaction. ”

"In response to what?"

"Well, your incredible tits are clinging to me, your face is amazingly beautiful, and somehow, you smell so good. You've turned me on so much, it's a little embarrassing. ”

Accidentally blurting out such remarks bordering on sexual harassment is one of the main reasons why Joe never found a stable romantic partner. In his day, women could dress up the way they wanted with a little effort, so any man who paid too much attention to his appearance was considered a very superficial jerk. Ironically, Joe thinks the opposite. He believes that girls will not allow themselves to undergo all these treatments and surgeries if they don't want anyone to comment on their appearance. He didn't know that girls would treat this routine as the same as cutting their nails. This is just another in a series of unfortunate misconceptions about his stupid nature and inability to read social cues.

"Good."

Thankfully, Maggie seems to be genuinely grateful that the effort she put into her appearance has been complimented by him. She fine-tunes her container by passively observing clues gathered by hundreds of people on the street to make it more in line with the intended purpose of merging with humans. In this reality, she chose Joe as her guide, which means that having his approval is enough to prove that her initiative is a success.

"Now let's get started. I long to witness the virtual subreality that you flesh creates," she abruptly changed subject.

"That's right. What does this do for you? You don't have a P yet

P-chip, right?"

"I don't want to spend the necessary fifteen hours explaining my method in detail at this time."

"Good."

Accepting the hint, Joe pressed a few buttons, and the machine hijacked his nervous system, and he lost consciousness in an instant. When he woke up, he was in a light-filled, densely decorated living room that was 15 times the size of his real-world apartment. A notification hovers in front of him, welcoming him back to V-Life 5.153.961.3, the ultimate version of virtual entertainment. This digital reality is able to perfectly stimulate all the senses of the user, which is why Joe is immediately aware of two soft spheres pressed against his chest.

However, he looked down and saw that Maggie's avatar was a bit ...... Untidy. Her face, arms, and torso were still there, but her lower body and her impossibly silky hair had returned to their original appearance. The black tendrils are covered with eyes, a little dissonant, of course, but at the same time they only seem to accentuate her charming looks. Joe was able to see the bright side because he spent so much more time in the virtual world than in the real world. People here can look like anything, so he's used to dealing with strange, unusual people. This familiarity with the strange was also a big reason why he wasn't bothered by the true form of the observer Marasrak when he first met.

Joe wasn't rich enough to afford these fancy things, though. Support for non-humanoid avatar P

The P-chip is well above his monthly government-approved allowance. As a result, he can only use relatively basic customization options, which he has taken full advantage of. His digital image is rugged, tall, well-proportioned, and well-dressed. It was so different from what he actually looked like that he didn't recognize it at all. Even his companions seemed a little taken aback by the drastic change in his appearance. However, she refuses to condemn this behavior because she recognizes the hypocrisy inherent in it because she is a shapeshifter.

"Are you alright, Maggie?" Joe asked in a deep, masculine voice that wasn't his own at all.

The girl seems to realize that she has indulged herself, so to speak, and quickly rebuilds her digital self so that it bears a complete resemblance to her flesh vessels.

"This subreality is surprisingly comfortable," she says bluntly. "I accidentally got thinner."

"Does it really feel that good?" To be honest, I don't see any difference. ”

"It's a field made up of pure information. It's not much different from my home. ”

"It's great to hear that, it's good to hear it. You know, if that makes you feel better, you can go back to the way you were. ”

"Wouldn't such a merger distress the people who live here?"

"It's going to be fine. They know it's not true, so they're probably going to have fun with it. At least I know I did it. ”

That's good enough for Maggie, so she turns herself into a half-girl, half-scary person. She will become a whole cosmic entity, but will still need to practice her body language and facial expressions.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Joe rubbed his hands together. "We can take a virtual tour, try on clothes, eat some fancy food, visit an amusement park, see a show. Anything works, really. ”

"They promised to give me a soapbox set. I would like to receive them. ”

"Ah, yes, yes. Wait a minute, they're somewhere here. ”

Joe expertly skimmed through the digital inventory of his virtual characters. There was a lot of stuff in it, but he knew exactly where to find what he was looking for. It took him only a few seconds to find the first to forty-fifth seasons of First Flight Love from about five thousand articles. The man made some provocative gestures, picked out everything, and swept them towards Maggie. The system correctly interprets these gestures as his desire to transfer these items to another person. However, it was unable to find a valid user on Maggie's numeric coordinates, so it gave Joe an appropriate error message.

"Hmm. Oh, yes," he realized. "I don't think I can transfer money because you don't have a V-Life account."

"This is unacceptable. I won't be denied. ”

Joe's eyes widened rapidly, and he saw one of her odd tendrils invade his inventory screen. The floating window in question was supposed to be visible only to him, but he quickly and accurately deduced that if Maggie could ignore the laws of physics, then the laws of numbers had no chance. The horror girl then takes one of the 45 boxes out of the virtual container and makes it look like a real box full of disks appears in her hands. Then, she repeated the process over and over again until she had recovered all the collections, stacked in a neat pyramid on the ground next to her. Joe's stock screen flickered and buzzed all the time, but once it was all over, it seemed to be back to normal.

"Well, I guess that's going to work." He shrugged. "Feel free to flip through it, but I suggest you skip the first 30 seasons. Episode 734 disrupted the entire timeline, so ...... Well...... Maggie?"

The girl holds the electronic version of First Love Season 1 Episode 1 in her left hand and stares blankly at something that doesn't exist. This lasted for about three or four seconds, after which she put the disc back in its place and picked up the next one. This process is repeated over and over again. Joe's worries eased when he noticed a glint of performance in Maggie's eyes. Not only her lovely face, but also her limbs. She seems to be jumping through the boring parts quickly, but he can't really blame her. The first few seasons were rather lacklustre and lacked production value. It wasn't until December 12 that it really picked up. When that time comes, he thought, she'll slow down, so he made himself comfortable in the red plush bean bag chair while he waited.

However, it soon became clear that Maggie was actually completely immersed in the show. Her unfathomable mind processes information thousands of times faster, but that doesn't mean she doesn't appreciate every microsecond. If anything, she's slow to analyze every bit of data in front of her. She learned a lot, which is evident from her rapidly changing facial expressions.

At first, she had a lifeless, passive expression and was completely lifeless. Around the third season, the corners of her mouth and eyes begin to twitch. One hundred and seventy episodes later, her lips quickly opened, parted, and pursed, and her swirling pupils dilated and contracted. When she reaches the middle, her entire face flashes in a myriad of emotions, like joy, sadness, joy, anger, and disappointment. Joe watched it all with bated breath as he watched Maggie's quick reaction to the various developments in the show.

But, as usual, the cosmic entity has put too much effort into the study. The perfectly natural facial expressions gradually become distorted and exaggerated as they mimic the exaggerated movements of the characters. Joe thinks it might be a good thing to stop her before she goes too far, so he tries to cheer up Maggie. Unfortunately, calling out to her, snapping her fingers, and other attempts to get her attention went unnoticed. She refused to respond even the moment she switched episodes. Then Jo did the second most natural thing he could think of, and put a hand on Maggie's shoulder, trying to shake her.

Of course, this was Joe's instinct, and it was an incredibly wrong choice of action.

Next, he finds himself in episode 89 of First Love, like a disembodied ghost wandering through the show's fictional world. This particular scene, which is an argument between the heroine and her archrival at the time, seems much more realistic than he remembers. He turned his gaze to the left, and he saw the eyes of countless aliens swimming in the infinite ocean of eternal darkness. In the next moment, all those mismatched gazes fall on him, and Joe finds himself banished back into the real world. He woke up in a daze, looked around, and didn't know when he had fallen from a pod onto the floor of his apartment. Besides, what's going on with that pretty brunette girl hovering around him.

"M-Maggie?—— Ahh

Only then did he notice his fatal headache and a worrying large amount of blood coming out of his nose and ears.

"You idiot! She exclaimed, visibly distraught. "Why are you merging with me?" You might die! You protoplasmic waste!"

She slammed his chest with a tiny fist, a blow that was much heavier than it seemed at first.

“U

k。 Can you calm down? You didn't help much. ”

These words seem to free the strange girl from her abnormal emotional state. Her face gradually returned to an absolutely neutral state. She pulled back and sat patiently in a kneeling position as she waited for Joe to recover from the psionic overload that he inadvertently tripped. His untrained mind nearly collapsed under the stress of experiencing Maggie's 500-to-1 playback speed and the virtual simulation already running at a 4-to-1 time dilation factor.

"I apologize," Maggie said in her usual soft tone. "I should warn you not to associate with me in that state."

"Ah...... Well, live to learn, as the saying goes. ”

"The wisdom of these words belies their simplicity."

After five minutes of awkward silence, Joe felt helped by Maggie to his feet.

"I think you like life after dawn, don't you?"

"Love at first sight." She corrected him.

"Yes,,。 Sorry, my brain is still a bit messy. ”

"Yes, it's very educational. I learned a lot from it. Concepts such as love, romance, jealousy, and family bonds have become clearer to me. ”

"You look a lot more lively, too."

"What do you mean, Joe?" She looked confused.

"Your face. You've finally learned how to use it properly. ”

The girl's eyes widened in surprise and her sockets rolled.

"Well, except for that part. The human eye is not ...... They don't work that way. ”

"I'm just confirming my own state of being," her gaze returned to normal. "You're right, Joe. I seem to have absorbed subconscious knowledge about facial expressions through this incident. While it wasn't my intention, it was a welcome favor. ”

"I feel the same way. I don't mean it, but there's a deep beauty in your crying face. ”

The man noticed that her pale cheeks had turned red in that precious moment.

"I'll have to be more careful with your media in the future," she said back to her usual appearance. "Its ability to evoke emotion through fictional scenes is strange and intoxicating."

"I think you're just...... It's so immersive. For a moment, you look as if you're actually on a show. What's that sound?"

"I don't want to spend 76 hours explaining my approach in detail at this time."

"Can you, I don't know, give me a short version?" Something that even a fool like me can understand?"

Maggie's eyes flashed several times as she tried to reduce the topic to its simplest and most offensive essence.

"I used the data at hand to mentally simulate the events described in the show."

"That's really...... Unbelievable. Do you think you can help me? I mean, don't blow my brain up. ”

The girl narrowed her eyes in disapproval.

"It's possible, but what do you want to achieve by asking me for this?"

"Because that's amazing, I want to experience it to the fullest."

"Are you willing to sacrifice your state for entertainment?"

"It sounds terrible for you to say that, but I'm sure you'll be careful with me."

Maggie relaxed and smiled.

"The trust you have in my abilities reassures me. However, I have to think of the right way to do it first, taking into account your physiology. It takes time. ”

"Great! Do you know how long that will take?"

"At least until I play the rest of the season. Abby is a hypocritical being who must be purged from reality, and I long to see it happen. ”

"Oh, boy. If that's the case, you'll be treated. In the ninth episode, she-"

*Beat*

Joe was stumbled by Maggie's sudden slap, but the force behind it made him feel more like he had just been caught off guard by a truck.

"What's that for?"

Gripping his aching jaw, he looked back at the girl, and in front of her pure, unfiltered gaze of anger, his justified anger vanished.

"Joe Mulligan," her voice echoed unnaturally. "Reveal to me how this plot unfolds, and you will spend the rest of your life as a Tasari mouse named Rupert. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

When it comes to avoiding spoilers, cosmic entities from outside the veil of reality are clearly quite zealous