Chapter 122

Chapter 122

Every contestant's rest area is decorated identically, and except for the security staff, no one can come and go freely.

The more the competition progresses, the fewer people remain in the rest area.

Now, as he stepped into the large corridor, it was eerily silent.

After attending the banquet, Su Ziyan, unable to contain his excitement, waited for his escorts to turn and leave. He immediately knocked on Du Li's room door.

Unfortunately, despite it being late at night, no one responded.

Su Ziyan was slightly confused.

At this moment, a female staff member responsible for the night patrol passed by and coldly said, "She was sent for surgery."

Su Ziyan was puzzled: "What surgery?"

"The company rejected her request to withdraw from the competition," the female staff member replied chillingly. "So to save time, they had to rush to perform surgery on her. In the 'Crazy Pawnshop' dungeon, Du Li didn't redeem her physical strength or luck, so..."

Su Ziyan couldn't believe it: "But... it's just a game, is it really happening?"

"Facing a global event, would the rules lie intentionally?" The female staff member retorted. Realizing his close relationship with Du Li, she comforted him: "But don't worry, it's just a modification to the lucky value data in her brain chip. As for physical strength, it can be weakened with gene drugs, and then some exercise will suffice. There's no real danger in the surgery."

Su Ziyan's mood turned heavy: "But... with such a tight schedule, when will there be time to train? Without luck, it's easy for Li Li to lose in the game."

The female staff member smiled faintly: "Though it's pitiful, think about it from another perspective: your chances of winning just increased. Isn't that great?"

With those words, she cruelly walked away.

Su Ziyan stood in place, lost and dejected. His excitement from earlier had evaporated, and a trace of resentment grew in his eyes.

Meanwhile, in another contestant dormitory, Luo Xi and Xi Yu were sitting side by side on the narrow bed, taking advantage of the opportunity to discuss the events of the evening quietly, away from surveillance.

Xi Yu anxiously asked, "Can you recall anything about Xiao Zeya? Ever since meeting him, you've been acting strange."

At this point, Luo Xi was open with him: "No, it's just a strong intuition. I feel like I recognize him."

Xi Yu didn't dare to mention that he had the same feeling and fell into a worried silence.

Luo Xi gave a wry smile: "I'm not like you. My memory is really just limited to Cloud Tower, except... I've dreamed about you repeatedly."

He had mentioned this before when they had just met, but now, with a different mood, Xi Yu couldn't help but smile: "What exactly have you dreamed about?"

Luo Xi was silent for a moment, then held his hand: "Only two things. One was when I was trapped in a fire, and there was no one around. You came to save me but got hit by a burning beam. The other was when we were playing a game... but I can't piece together the specifics."

Xi Yu blinked: "Could the fire have also been something that happened in the game?"

Luo Xi shook his head: "In the game, you had long hair and an arrogant expression... But in the fire, you looked just like you do now. I could tell."

Now, the dream's protagonist, Xi Yu, was also at a loss for words. After a while, he asked, "But you were once an entry-level broadcaster. How could you be playing a game with expert-level broadcasters? Isn't the ranking difference too great?"

Luo Xi sighed: "It's rare."

Xi Yu fell silent.

Luo Xi lowered his eyes: "Forget it, let's not think about this for now. I plan to spend some time infiltrating the security system. Once I control the surveillance, we can open the Cloud Tower doors. We'll be one step closer to freedom."Xi Yu couldn't help him much in this regard and could only nod: "When we left today, Su Ziyan clearly had something to say. I don't know how to meet him."

Luo Xi smiled faintly: "No rush. Recently, the company has had a lot of promotional events, deliberately seeking him out would only raise suspicion."

After saying that, he raised his computer and blinked.

Xi Yu saw that it displayed three company names and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"

Luo Xi sneered: "These companies are behind the Zhao Zhusheng account, supporting him. I found this out while sneaking a look at the guest network during the banquet. Though, I don't really know what these companies do."

Xi Yu pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin: "I wonder if Mr. Lin would be willing to help us."

Luo Xi didn't oppose: "We can try. He has no reason to help us and still help Zhao Zhusheng. Supporting Zhao Zhusheng has someone else behind it."

Xi Yu continued to think and agreed.

Luo Xi couldn't help but rub his head: "Alright, sleep now. I need to connect to the surveillance."

Only then did Xi Yu snap back to his senses and lay back in bed, holding Xiao Qi.

Meanwhile, Luo Xi quickly returned to the disconnected position and swiftly clicked to control the room's surveillance system.

Everything fell into silence.

Compared to the bloodshed and chaos in the game, doing such thrilling things in Cloud Tower actually felt more like a game.

Didn't Xi Yu want to escape too?

Of course, he longed for freedom with Luo Xi, but he hoped that Luo Xi would endure less suffering and always have an escape route — this was Xi Yu's instinctive "selfishness," something he didn't want to say to anyone.

In the luxurious, open-plan living room, the floor-to-ceiling windows offered a relaxing bird's-eye view of the beautiful city.

But Luo Xi was filled with anger, arguing loudly: "Do you have a persecution complex?! Since I came back to the country, how many dirty things have you done? Do you think I don't know?!"

Standing in front of him was a man, familiar yet unfamiliar — it was Xiao Zeya, whom he had hurriedly met earlier.

Xiao Zeya smiled gently: "Ayu, I know you've always had an extreme personality, but you can't slander me."

Luo Xi completely lost control of his emotions: "Slander you? You think I don't have evidence? Wait for my lawyer's letter!"

Xiao Zeya remained unfazed: "Why make things so ugly?"

Luo Xi was about to say something when the wooden door leading to other rooms was suddenly opened.

A slender, pure-white figure quietly appeared, stopping the argument in the living room.

Luo Xi wanted to see him clearly, but the chest tightness he couldn't suppress made him feel farther and farther from this chaotic dream.

Sweaty sheets, chaotic breathing.

Luo Xi opened his eyes motionlessly in the dark, realizing that he was still in the enclosed broadcaster dormitory.

Xi Yu and Xiao Qi were curled up beside him, fast asleep, proving that this reality was as calm as it was before he fell asleep.But...

The events that Luo Xi had just dreamt about made his emotions surge like a storm.

— Could it be that he really recognized Xiao Zeya? It felt like they not only knew each other but had a deep connection...

This couldn’t be possible, unless...

Unless he wasn’t a Cloud Tower artificial person after all.

Luo Xi’s heart raced faster as he couldn’t recall what had happened, even feeling a bit nauseous and restless.

Luckily, at that moment, Xi Yu woke up in confusion and reached out to touch his sweaty face: “What’s wrong?”

Luo Xi didn’t want to cause Xi Yu unnecessary worry, so he softly said, “Nothing, I dreamt that you were surrounded by corpse spirits and couldn’t escape.”

“...Liar, are you really that fragile?” Xi Yu didn’t press further, but instead hugged him tightly. “It’s okay, no matter what happened, I’m here.”

As expected, the company had started promoting the competition schedule again.

Two days later, they suddenly organized a new promotional photo shoot.

This time, Lin Yuze sat leisurely at the scene, smiling kindly at every broadcaster he saw, showing no signs of CEO arrogance.

Su Ziyan, who was feeling restrained, quickly found an opportunity to strike up a conversation with Luo Xi. He dared not speak too loudly and quietly mumbled, “I heard the boss’s son tell Xia Zi to get rid of you quickly.”

Luo Xi was surprised: “Me? He didn’t mention Xi Yu?”

Su Ziyan shook his head: “He whispered to Xia Zi, didn’t say much, but complained about Xi Yu being a lingering ghost.”

Luo Xi raised an eyebrow.

Su Ziyan put his hands in his pockets: “Nothing else strange, mostly just businessmen discussing how to make money, they don’t consider us as people.”

“Okay, understood. Thanks.” Luo Xi nodded cautiously, then advised, “Don’t tell anyone else, be careful not to bring trouble on yourself.”

Su Ziyan was a bit stunned because he had already shared the gossip with Du Li, but in order to avoid angering Luo Xi, he lied and nodded, “Don’t worry, I’m reliable.”

Luo Xi gave him a half-believing look but then focused more on Xiao Zeya.

It seemed that not only was he connected to that person, but that connection was likely filled with blood and deep hatred.

At the same time, Xi Yu had finished his tough photo shoot. Reluctantly, he approached Lin Yuze to greet him: “Mr. Lin, what brings you here today to see us?”

Lin Yuze smiled and gestured toward the nearby camera: “The company is filming a documentary.”

Xi Yu nodded in understanding and politely asked, “The next game will be very challenging. I’ve been working hard in preparation, but Cloud Tower’s resources are limited, and some publishing companies haven’t provided us with books. Mr. Lin, could you help us find them?”

Lin Yuze smiled: “Sure, as long as the content doesn’t violate any rules.”

Xi Yu handed him a piece of paper: “Here’s the book list.”

In fact, Lin Yuze wasn’t completely free. After opening the list, he would immediately be scanned by the Cloud Tower surveillance system.

Fortunately, the list was filled with book titles, and even the publishing companies were clearly marked.Xi Yu smiled again: "There's something I don't quite understand."

Lin Yuze looked up and asked, "What?"

Xi Yu said: "About the substitute broadcaster, that Zhao Zhusheng is just a new broadcaster, how could he have so many votes?"

"That's none of your concern." Lin Yuze shrugged: "Although his selection is surprising, the company respects the rules. As long as the votes are valid, the list is valid."

Xi Yu raised his eyebrows indifferently: "Alright then, I need to return to the rest area. Goodbye, Mr. Lin."

Lin Yuze smiled warmly and bid him farewell, then turned back to study the book list.

He found these books to be quite strange, not in the sense of being suspicious, but because the content was somewhat vulgar and boring, not the kind of thing a broadcaster would be interested in. Moreover... these books all came from a few of the same cultural companies.

Could it be that Xi Yu was sending some kind of message?

Lin Yuze recalled the question Xi Yu had asked him before and gradually furrowed his brows.