Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 14: Cloudwalk Heights [Complete]

1814: Would You Like to Make It Real?

It didn't matter if she was seated on Exodus without a spacesuit.

In the vast, pitch-black universe before her, Lin Sanjiu's vision stretched endlessly until, at the very edge, she could barely make out faint silver threads floating in the darkness, wrapped in a soft, dim glow like strands of spider silk unfurling delicately. She knew that was the Data Stream Library. The darkness surrounding Exodus like the depths of the ocean represented the grand prize—or at least, that was how she imagined it.

"Do you see that?" Lin Sanjiu pointed at a small spacecraft moving along below Exodus. "That looks like Yu Yuan working on the ship's maintenance."

Rena shook her head. "I can't see it."

Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment and then said, "Before I went to find Bohemia, I promised J7 that I'd check on the progress of Higher Consciousness with it. You have no idea how rigid that robot is. If I don't keep my promise, it'll lose all trust in me..."

Her voice trailed off as she smacked her forehead. Of course, since this was all just an illusion, the real J7 wouldn't be angry with her.

Lin Sanjiu drifted into a daze for a moment. "It's too real," she murmured with a sigh. "It's just too real... Looking back now, every moment of the past few years felt like something I truly experienced. It felt like an integral part of my life. No, even now, I find it hard to accept that I'm actually caught in an illusion."

It couldn't possibly be fake. She could almost hear faint laughter drifting out from inside Exodus. If those years had never existed, wouldn't that mean a chunk of her life had been carved out and discarded?

Rena sat beside her, her legs clad in black pants stretched out against the white surface of the ship.

She turned her head slightly, the corners of her mouth lifting in a smile Lin Sanjiu had never seen on her face before. It was so effortless and natural, a simple movement of skin and muscle. Yet beneath that smooth, relaxed smile lay something cold, dark, and unyielding. Lin Sanjiu didn't know what it was; she couldn't see it.

Aside from a fleeting glimpse in Wu Yiliu's memory, she had never seen the grown-up Rena before, much less her smile. Lin Sanjiu had filled in many gaps with her imagination, even turning Bohemia into a jellyfish at one point. But this smile? She knew she couldn't have imagined it, especially not on the vibrant, lively girl Rena used to be.

And then there was the voice.

The Reno aboard Exodus still had the youthful face of years past and the same voice he'd had not long after his voice had started changing. But when Rena spoke, her once light, playful tone had become deep and mellow, like a sip of cold bourbon.

That same voice, one Lin Sanjiu knew she couldn't have conjured herself, spoke once again in her ear.

"The reason it feels so real is because, in a way, it isn't just an illusion."

Rena exhaled softly, gazing into the black expanse of the universe ahead. What did she see in her eyes? She spoke slowly, almost as if telling a story. "Everything we experience in life is perceived through the brain. Everything created by the brain and everything experienced by it is, fundamentally, a series of neural signals generated internally. To your brain, you really did spend several years here."

"But it's not real," Lin Sanjiu said with a wry smile. "I imagined it."

"What is real?" Rena tilted her head. "For you, isn't the existence of this universe, of the human world, dependent on your own existence? If you were to disappear, wouldn't this world disappear for you as well? So, what your brain creates is naturally part of the reality within your world. Isn't it?"

Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment before shaking her head with a smile. "I've never been good with philosophical discussions. What caused all of this? A pocket dimension?"

Rena was forthright, showing no intention of hiding anything. "It's part of the [Thought Experiment Series], which is categorized as a Special Item. It has many sub-branches, containing numerous thought experiments. The one you're in right now is called 'Brain in a Vat.'"

So that's what it is, Lin Sanjiu thought with a sudden understanding. She had heard of it before.

"If you hadn't shown up and I had imagined you instead, then everything would have been seamless, wouldn't it? Would I have spent my entire life here in the Brain in a Vat?" Lin Sanjiu asked.

Rena was silent for a few seconds, as if lost in thought.

Slowly, almost deliberately choosing her words, she said, "My appearance isn't really a flaw. Human imagination is incredibly flexible and accommodating. Many things can be explained away... You've experienced it too, haven't you? In dreams, everything feels natural and logical, but upon waking, it all seems absurd. Similarly, even if you think you couldn't imagine how I look now, my appearance can still be explained within the framework of your imagination. A fleeting thought like, 'Wow, I couldn't have imagined this,' would suffice to rationalize it. That alone wouldn't be enough to wake anyone up."

Lin Sanjiu was taken aback. "Then why did I realize this was all an illusion?"

"I think the most important reason is that you don't want to stay immersed in the life of the Brain in a Vat."

When Rena spoke, Lin Sanjiu always felt as though she was recalling something else. "If... if someone knew that there wasn't much left to cherish in life outside and wholeheartedly wanted to live another life within the Brain in a Vat, then no amount of so-called flaws could wake them. To them, they'd have lived a complete, coherent life. For those outside, it might just be a single day's sunrise and sunset. Which one is real? Even I don't know."

Lin Sanjiu found herself understanding that feeling.

Even though she knew, deep down, there were many unresolved matters and people she needed to find, which made it imperative for her to leave, she still couldn't bring herself to go.

She wandered around Exodus several times, greeting everyone she could. She reminded Hei Zeji to take breaks, urged Puppeteer to eat more, warned Soulsqn to stay away from Nu Yue, and introduced Maxin to Hu Changzai. She said everything that could be said, met everyone she could meet, and committed to memory every detail—the warmth of a touch, the softness of fur, the reflection of inked tattoos, the scent of figs. Only then, with a sense of bewilderment, did Lin Sanjiu walk toward the waiting Rena.

"Where am I, really?" she asked. As she tried to recall, her thoughts had to span across years, searching through memories long past. "When did I enter the Brain in a Vat?"

"Do you remember going to Chimeric City?" Rena asked.

"I do..." Lin Sanjiu furrowed her brows, recalling. "I walked into an alley, saw a few people in biohazard suits, and a row of screens..."

Rena smiled. She reached out, taking Lin Sanjiu's hands in hers, meeting her gaze. Her eyes, shimmering like starlight, were full of sincerity.

"I placed you in the Brain in a Vat not to harm or torment you," she said softly. "I wanted to remind you, to help you see the future that matters most to you. If I told you that everything from the past few years could truly become reality and that I hold the key to making it happen... would you want to make it real?"