Chapter 110 – Lost Consciousness 遗失的意识

Halfway through training, Lin Yuan and the others fought fiercely against another simulation team. Suddenly, an odd electronic sound rang out. The entire game scene froze for a moment, and an imperceptible ripple spread across the virtual sky. Right after, a mysterious warrior in black, wielding a long blade, appeared out of nowhere at the edge of the battlefield. His icy gaze swept over everyone.

[System Prompt: Hidden storyline triggered—"Lost Consciousness"]

"What's this all about?" A deep frown creased Gu Changfeng's forehead. Without hesitation, he stepped forward to shield Shen Haotian and the others.

"Could it be a system glitch?" Chu Yao asked coldly. She tightened her grip on her short sword, eyeing the black - clad warrior warily.

For a split second, Hua Ruobing looked dazed. As she stared at the mysterious NPC, a strange sense of familiarity flickered in her eyes.

"What's this..." Lin Yuan's eyes glinted. He could feel the Nine - Fold Ring vibrating faintly, as if responding to some special signal.

The black-clad warrior suddenly spoke, his voice low and hoarse. "Are you... ready?" His question startled everyone.

"What do you mean?" Shen Haotian scowled and demanded in a deep voice.

"Are you... ready...?" The black - clad warrior slowly lifted his head, his gaze as sharp as a blade. "Last time... you won... This time..."

In an instant, all the AI characters on the battlefield froze. The entire simulation space seemed to fall into silence. Hua Ruobing's face paled. Her heart tightened. There was something oddly familiar about this man in black.

"What's happening?" she mumbled, her voice shaking. Lin Yuan cast a sideways look at her. Lost in thought, he held his tongue.

Seconds later, the system intervened urgently and forcefully ended the training match. Everyone was kicked out of the game. Just before they logged out, Lin Yuan saw the black - clad warrior's lips move slightly, as if he wanted to say more.

However, his voice was swallowed up by the disintegrating data and vanished into the virtual world.

When everyone removed the connection devices from their game pods and returned to the real world, the training room was filled with silence.

The wall clock ticked loudly. Two hours had passed, but the brief anomaly still left everyone's minds in chaos.

"Alright, whether it was a bug or a hidden storyline, the game developers haven't issued any emergency announcements. It probably isn't a big deal..." Gu Changfeng broke the silence first, stretching his body. "Should we continue training?"

"Yeah." Shen Haotian nodded, but a hint of thought still lingered on his face.

Chu Yao's eyes swept over the group. Suddenly, she chuckled. "Don't you think... the way that NPC spoke was a bit strange?"

"Strange?" Lin Yuan looked at her, lost in thought.

"Like..." Chu Yao paused, then continued slowly. "He wasn't just asking us. He seemed... confused?"

"Aren't you overanalyzing things?" Gu Changfeng threw up his hands. "After all, it's just an AI. Maybe they've engineered it to be highly sophisticated."

Just as he finished speaking, the lights in the training room flickered. The air seemed to turn a bit colder for a moment.

Lin Yuan furrowed his brows and scanned the room quickly, but there was no sign of anything amiss.

Hua Ruobing had been silent all this time. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed her wrist, and her eyes were unfocused. Her face was rather pale, as if she was deep in thought or simply spacing out.

"Hua Ruobing?" Chu Yao suddenly called out, her eyes fixed on her.

"Huh?" Hua Ruobing jumped, startled. Shock was clear in her eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" Chu Yao frowned slightly. "You don't look well."

"I'm fine." Hua Ruobing quickly composed herself and forced a faint smile. "Just a bit tired."

"...True. We've been training all day." Shen Haotian didn't think much of it and agreed casually.

"In that case, let's call it a day." Gu Changfeng checked his watch. "Tomorrow's the winner-group assessment. Let's catch some rest and regain our strength." In response, everyone nodded, picked up their things, and prepared to head off.

===================

训练进行到一半,林远等人正与另一支模拟队伍交战,战况激烈.然而,随着一声异样的电子音,整个游戏场景忽然一滞,天幕泛起了一道几不可察的波动.紧接着,一名身穿黑衣,手持长刀的神秘武者突兀地出现在战场边缘,目光冰冷地扫视着所有人.

[系统提示:隐藏剧情触发,'遗失的意识']

"这什么情况?" 顾长风眉头一皱,下意识护在沈昊天等人身侧.

"不会是系统故障吧?" 楚瑶冷声道,握紧了短剑,戒备地盯着那个黑衣武者.

华若冰的表情却有一瞬间的恍惚,她看着那个神秘 NPC,眼神中似乎流露出一丝奇怪的熟悉感.

"这是..." 林远目光微闪,他能感受到九重戒的轻微震动,似乎也在回应着某种特殊的信号.

黑衣武者忽然开口,声音低沉而沙哑:"你们准备... 好了么?"

这一句话让在场的所有人心头一震.

"什么意思?" 沈昊天皱起眉,沉声问道.

"你们... 准备好了么...?" 黑衣武者缓缓抬头,目光犀利如刀, "上一次...是你们赢了…...这次…"

刹那间,战场上的 AI 角色全部停滞,整个模拟空间仿佛陷入静默.华若冰的脸色陡然一变,她心脏猛地一紧,这黑衣人感觉有点熟悉.

"怎么回事?" 她低声喃喃,声音微颤.

林远余光瞥了她一眼,若有所思地没有说话.

几秒后,系统紧急介入,强行结束了这场训练赛,所有人被迫退出游戏.可就在他们退出前的一瞬,林远看到了那个黑衣武者的嘴唇微微动了一下,仿佛还想说什么.

然而,那声音最终被数据的崩解吞没,消失在虚拟世界之中.

当所有人摘下游戏仓的连接设备,回到现实世界时,训练室内一片沉默.

墙上的电子时钟滴答作响,显示时间已经过去了两个多小时,可刚刚那短短几分钟的异常,却让他们每个人都心绪未平.

"好了,不管刚才是 Bug 还是隐藏剧情,反正游戏官方也没发什么紧急公告或者声明什么的,应该不大重要吧..." 顾长风率先打破沉默,伸了个懒腰,"训练还要继续吧?"

"嗯." 沈昊天点了点头,但眉宇间依旧带着几分思索.

楚瑶目光扫过在场众人,突然轻笑了一声:"你们有没有觉得...那 NPC 说话的语气,有点怪?"

"怪?" 林远若有所思地看着她.

"像是..." 楚瑶顿了顿,缓缓说道, "他不仅仅是在问我们,而是在...困惑?"

"你想多了吧?" 顾长风耸了耸肩,"不就是个 AI 吗?也许是设计得更智能了."

话音刚落,训练室的灯光忽然闪了一下,空气仿佛变得微微冷了一瞬.

林远眉头一皱,迅速扫视四周,但并没有任何异常.

华若冰一直没有说话,她的手指无意识地摩挲着自己的手腕,眼神微微有些飘忽.她的脸色看起来有些苍白,像是思考着什么,又像是单纯地走神.

"华若冰?" 楚瑶突然出声,目光落在她身上.

"啊?" 华若冰像是被什么惊到,猛地抬头,眼中闪过一丝明显的错愕.

"你怎么了?" 楚瑶微微皱眉,"脸色有点不太对."

"没事." 华若冰很快收敛神色,露出一个淡淡的笑容,"只是有点累了."

"...也是,毕竟今天打了一整天." 沈昊天没有多想,随口附和道.

"既然这样,今天就到这里吧." 顾长风看了看时间,"反正再过一天就是胜者组考核了,早点休息,养足精神."

众人纷纷点头,各自收拾东西准备离开.