029 : On a vast, scorching expanse of yellow sand lay a man dressed in black. His face was pale, his lips equally colorless, resembling a patient gravely ill, making it difficult to gauge his actual age. His face resembled that of a youth, yet his eyes were as pitch-black as the most mysterious black holes, lifeless as a deep pool, bleak as twilight. He lay carelessly upon the yellow sand, an eyepatch covering his eyes. Had Xiu Jin been present, he would have recognized this eyepatch as the NR projection device he had painstakingly sought; however, this particular unit had clearly been modified into a pair of "glasses."

The original NR device resembled a small radio, shimmering with a glittery finish; especially when operating, its surface emitted a dreamlike starlight—precisely what had attracted Nong Jiusi. Now, somehow, it had been transformed into a pair of "glasses,"

worn on the face of a young man many called "the Magician."

Even the method of use seems to have changed. Surrounded only by himself and sand whipped into a swirling storm by the wind, with no projections in sight, he was, in fact, playing a game. The Magician had bought the NR device merely to construct a mechanism; upon its successful completion, he tried it on. The moment he put it on, he "saw"

a game icon depicting a little girl. A few strands of doubt rose between the magician's brows; it was a rare situation that could puzzle him, so he tapped the icon with a measure of caution. Then, a lengthy recap appeared, making it clear that this was merely a post-apocalyptic child-rearing game. The child to be raised was a five-year-old girl named Bianbian; her grandfather, Lu Yu, had turned into a zombie, leaving her alone to survive in the apocalypse. Upon entering the game, he became bound to Bianbian as her father, tasked with the responsibility of raising her to adulthood. [ "Please actively raise Bianbian and ensure no danger ever comes near her,"

the system prompted.] The magician glanced indifferently at the message, then prepared to exit the game. Sensing his intention, the system quickly intervened:

[Such an adorable little daughter—really not going to give it some thought?]

An enlarged, heart-melting photo of Bianbian appeared. [Playing games can help you relax; raising a caring little "cotton-padded jacket"

in-game is a guaranteed win with no losses!] The magician let out a cold "Hmph,"

a sound that somehow made the system sense an indescribable danger, as if this person were even more difficult to deal with than Nong Jiusi. This individual was gloomy and sinister, hardly suitable to be a good father; letting him protect and raise Bianbian within the game was like placing a wolf mother among a flock of lambs. Yet the rules had chosen the magician, and no matter how reluctant it felt, as a system, it could only execute them accordingly. Silently, the system changed its approach, deciding first to spark at least a slight interest in the game within the magician. Aren't you bored right now? This is the perfect chance to meet Bianbian and spend some time with her; you'll soon discover just how adorable she is. Besides, you have plenty of time, and… The rest of the sentence vanished amidst a suddenly blaring alarm. It didn't know why the alarm had triggered, but it understood one thing clearly: fortunately, those remaining words were never spoken, or else something uncontrollable would have occurred.

No one knew which part of the system's message had struck a chord with the Magician, but the latter's previously expressionless face suddenly rippled with emotion.

"How do we play?" he asked.

System: [Feel free to improvise; just protect Bianbian well and let her feel the warmth of a father's love.]

The Magician stood in the living room, staring at the tiny figure sitting on the floor mat, his gaze dark and heavy. The little one remained completely unaware of his presence until she grew tired of drawing and finally stopped. Then her small stomach let out a rumble; she got up and headed to the kitchen to boil water, preparing to mix herself a bottle of milk. Seeing this, the magician's gaze swept around the room, pausing briefly on the magic orb. It seemed somewhat familiar to him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall where he had seen it before. He wandered around the room and finally, utterly bored, opened the window.

System: [Don't—]

Too late. The window had been pushed open. The Magician paid it no mind and turned around.

The little one, clutching a milk bottle and drinking, noticed the open window. She stared at it blankly, then made a rather strange expression, her mouth opening and closing. A speaker icon appeared above her head. The Magician reached out—his fingers just as pale—and tapped the icon. A soft, timid child's voice rang out: "Uncle, is that you?"

"Didn't you say she and I are father and daughter?"

The title "Uncle"

made the Magician frown uncomfortably, his expression turning exceptionally grim as he coldly questioned the system. System: …

[Boundary doesn't know; you two are only bound together, but you can hint to him about your identity.]

Even in a game, since it belongs to him, the characters within naturally belong to him as well. To verify their "father-daughter"

relationship, the Magician immediately picked up his brush and paper, directly revealing his identity to Bianbian. However, what he hadn't expected was that Bianbian couldn't read. In an instant, it felt like punching cotton, filled with a sense of powerlessness. The magician tore the page from the sketchbook in a few swift motions and tossed it into the trash bin.

"Uncle, are… are you angry?"

This action instinctively unsettled Bianbian; she seemed to sense the writer's displeasure and spoke with extra caution.

"You haven't met the conditions to make me angry," he said.

Though Bianbian couldn't hear it, the system heard every word clearly and understood that the Magician's remark was meant for it. Downstairs, the zombies' roars echoed, making the Magician frown repeatedly; the sound was truly unpleasant.

Suddenly— "Uncle Zhu Yuan."

The little girl's body trembled slightly as she called out, her voice quivering uncontrollably. A zombie flew to the window, its hands clawing at the sill as it tried to crawl inside, its cold, dull eyes fixed intently on Bianbian. When the Magician turned around, he nearly found himself locked in an intense, face-to-face stare with the undead creature. He didn't move. The zombie, however, froze for a moment, as if sensing some imminent danger. Bianbian clutched her milk bottle and sprinted toward the kitchen, since it was the closest room to her. But before she could even start running, Uncle Zhu Yuan entered. No, it wasn't that Uncle Zhu Yuan moved so fast he crawled in; rather… Bianbian's feet unknowingly came to a halt, her gaze fixed on Zhu Yuan. Uncle Zhu Yuan seemed to have been yanked down and slammed heavily onto the floor. Bianbian raised her hand and rubbed her eyes.

The zombie that had fallen to the ground struggled to get up but couldn't move at all, as if something extremely heavy were pressing down on its back, preventing it from turning over. Bianbian watched for a moment, then gathered her courage, dashed over, quickly scooped up the little bear from the floor mat into her arms, and retreated back to the safe zone. Her actions highlighted just how important the little bear was to her. The Magician's lips suddenly curved upward. Glancing down at the zombie beneath his feet, the Magician's gaze turned cold; in an instant, he considered hurling it out the window, yet the corner of his eye caught Bianbian's worried expression as she looked at the zombie. The motion of throwing halted; he pressed Zhu Yuan's hands behind his back, a classic arrest posture. Bianbian saw Uncle Zhu Yuan's hands snap behind his back in an instant and knew that whatever Uncle had done must be invisible.

Understanding the gravity of the situation, the little girl pattered off to Lu Yu's room, fetched a leather belt from the cabinet, then pattered back. Cautiously approaching the immobilized zombie, she offered the belt: "Uncle, use this to tie up Uncle Zhu Yuan."

The Magician glanced at her, took the belt, bound the zombie's two hands together with a slipknot that tightened the more the zombie struggled, then bent its legs backward and secured them with the other end of the same belt. The zombie struggled desperately, but to no avail; it couldn't even summon a gust of wind, rendered as helpless as a fish on a chopping block. Bianbian ran back to the wardrobe, retrieved one of her grandfather's old large coats, and draped it over Zhu Yuan's head. She explained her actions to the blind uncle: "If Uncle Zhu Yuan can't see me, he'll calm down."

Sure enough, the zombie, unable to break free from its restraints and with its head covered by the coat, found its hearing and smell impaired. Combined with the oppressive pressure exerted by the zombies upstairs, its angry and resentful roars gradually subsided into silence. The Magician kicked him into the corner with a single blow, producing a loud clang. Bianbian flinched, pressing her rosy little lips together as if wanting to say something, but then swallowed her words. Today, Uncle seems to be in a bad mood. Could it be because I can't read, and that's why he's unhappy? Bianbian felt somewhat uneasy inside. Unable to see where Uncle was standing now, she could only obediently remain in place. After a while, Bianbian couldn't help but glance at Zhu Yuan's current posture, wondering if being tied up like this was uncomfortable for him… As soon as this thought crossed her mind, the little girl suddenly lay flat on the floor mat, clasped her small hands behind her back, lifted both her little legs into the air, and then her eyes lit up.

For she discovered she could easily grasp her own upturned foot without any discomfort whatsoever.

"This way, Uncle Zhu Yuan can stay tied up forever!"

The little girl, having personally tested the binding posture on Zhu Yuan herself, beamed with delight, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

"And Uncle Zhu Yuan won't feel uncomfortable either."

—Completely unaware of what flexibility even meant. Glancing at the immobilized zombie, then at the little figure earnestly testing her bound posture, the Magician smiled faintly, the corners of his mouth lifting. That normally expressionless face seemed to come alive in that instant. Before the Magician could react further, the scene before him vanished entirely, replaced by several large characters:

[You have been disconnected.]

"…"

Meanwhile, Xiu Jin, who hadn't seen his precious daughter for several days, finally couldn't resist the longing in his heart; he tapped open his light-brain and logged into the game. The moment he came online—

[Intimacy +150.]

[Why are you logging into the game at this time!]

Two system notifications hit Xiu Jin so hard he was left completely bewildered—he wondered if the system had encountered a bug. ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ Second update delivered, chirp~

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Dad Xiu: Confused.jpg