Chapter 163: The Head Pat (Bonus Chapter for orz_wohencai)

Wen Nan, just like the others, was currently wrapped in the "welfare prop," hanging precariously on the wall directly above the furnace like a tiny fish roe by the lake.

Through the translucent membrane, Wen Nan raised his head and looked at the colossal structure looming directly above.

A skyscraper far more massive than any pillar-holding titan had come to life, pressing down right above their heads. It extended an arm made of reinforced concrete, flailing it wildly. Such a sight filled everyone with panic and unease, yet on Wen Nan's face, not the slightest trace of fear or panic could be seen.

He lifted his face to gaze at the frantic, gigantic body above him, his eyes deeper and darker than the surrounding night.

Within that towering building, he saw the shadow of Irene.

Even though it was just a skyscraper, devoid of a face, let alone expressions, for some reason, Wen Nan felt that he could clearly see Irene's aggrieved gaze and urgent tears shining in the strip of light along the top floor.

From the very moment the building began to move, many of the guesses and deductions lingering in the back of Wen Nan's mind were confirmed—

There was something wrong with this instance.

The problem was buried so deeply that the system built into the instance could not repair it on its own. Therefore, the five main quests had been designed in their current form.

Wen Nan boldly guessed that the main quests they received this time were entirely different from those obtained by players who had previously entered this instance.

The purpose of the series of main quests they were currently assigned was no longer to let players experience a dating simulation game, but rather to use the players' hands to help the system repair itself.

No wonder Wen Nan had always felt the style of this map was slightly strange.

Once this point was established, reviewing the instance from the beginning made the train of thought suddenly crystal clear—

The main quests stated that Irene was sick, that somewhere on Irene felt terribly itchy as if countless insects were crawling over it, and she needed the players to help.

These "insects" were clearly not literal bugs, but rather referred to the system bugs appearing within this map.

And this bug was naturally the pathogen hidden behind the G-spot inside that confidential laboratory—something the players successfully tracked down through one quest after another.

The source of the illness was that small piece of metal embedded inside the black marker.

That must have been a microchip.

That confidential laboratory was essentially a cluster lab. Inside the rows of storage shelves, the neatly arranged square metal boxes were individual computing nodes, connected via wires into the ground, controlling the entire map centered around the headquarters building of the Irene Corporation.

As for that microchip embedded in the marker, it was likewise connected to the underground by a spiral wire, successfully linking into the core processor interface of the map's internal system, thereby exerting a profound and subtle influence on this map.

As for what this influence was...

Wen Nan guessed that it forcibly allowed certain souls, which had no business existing in this gaming world, to be preserved.

That was why Li Shuyi's secondary personality had been unexpectedly retained and even managed to send a message to Wei Junjie, who had long since left the instance. That was why Yang Jingyuan had suddenly been awakened in the garage, retrieving the soul that should have been incinerated by the furnace. And that was why Guan Irene had been able to stand before the floor-to-ceiling windows and pour out those awakened thoughts to Wen Nan.

Among all the characters affected by this tiny chip in this place, Guan Irene was the most special one—

Unable to bear the thought of harming the players, she had woven her soul threads directly into the headquarters building of the Irene Corporation.

Because of the traction of those soul threads, Guan Irene, her soul puppet, and this skyscraper formed a unique connection of one soul sharing three bodies.

It was that chip that had breathed life into this skyscraper, allowing Guan Irene to retain many memories that should have been forgotten, thereby prompting her awakening.

In the eyes of the game system, this chip accidentally inserted into the system's cluster servers was a pathogen—a bug that needed to be uprooted to maintain the normal operation of the game. However, in Irene's eyes, it was the miraculous medicine that granted her a new life.

Now that this medicine had been completely purged from the world, it was entirely understandable that she had become manic, restless, and heartbroken. Gazing blankly at the colossal entity in the night, Wen Nan's expression grew complex.

Guan Irene was a woman cold on the outside but soft on the inside. Beneath her aloof CEO exterior lay a pure and tender soul.

Similarly, the towering, humanoid skyscraper that currently looked as terrifying as Mount Tai pressing down upon them was merely an appearance.

Peeling away her hard outer shell, on the inside, she was nothing more than an insecure young woman eagerly yearning to find her miraculous medicine again.

If he were facing Guan Irene's physical body, Wen Nan would have reached out to gently stroke her hair, soothing her emotions and telling her not to be afraid, that with him by her side, everything would be fine.

Yet now, facing a building of this scale...

Wen Nan shouted upward, "Irene! Stop!"

But the building could not hear him at all.

Even when Gu Junxing fired so many signal flares from the respawn point toward it, the entity had shown no reaction whatsoever. Wen Nan's faint shouting was simply treated by the humanoid skyscraper as a gentle breeze and completely ignored.

Irene...

Calling her name in his heart, Wen Nan's intense desire to establish a connection with her caused the arm hanging at his side to twitch slightly.

At the same time, the wing annex on one side of the skyscraper also swayed twice.

It was the soul threads!

Irene's soul puppet, bound to the soul threads around Wen Nan's wrist, simultaneously established a connection with all three bodies of Guan Irene's single soul.

Thinking of this, Wen Nan held his breath, concentrated his focus, and tried to lift his left arm.

Following his mental intent, the wing annex slowly rose. Accompanied by the rumbling sound of colliding architecture, the arm made of reinforced concrete slowly stroked the roof of the building.

Like someone soothing their own frightened little kitten, Wen Nan's technique was skilled and precise, quickly locating the exact spot that could calm Irene down the fastest and gently massaging it.

The skyscraper's arm, which had been violently smashing toward the ground, froze suspended in mid-air.

Slowly rotating the strip of light on its top floor, the building looked in bewilderment at the uncontrollable arm soothing it.

"Wuwu..."

A short sound echoed from the building—still resembling the whistling of wind blowing through a valley, but Wen Nan felt as though he could hear his own name.

"It's me," he continued his soothing movements without pause. "Irene, trust me, everything will be fine. Stop this."

Rumble—

A deafening crash resounded.

Many of the "tentacles" supporting the skyscraper simultaneously slammed into the ground, and the previously suspended structure heavily crashed back down onto the earth, kicking up billowing clouds of dust once more.