If one were to join the filth, the best outcome would still be becoming another massive corporation, one of the despicable leeches.
Not only would this mean losing all popular support, but more frighteningly, it would mean the loss of the moral authority to rally global progressive forces.
Every moment, in every place, whether visible or hidden, progressive forces are waiting to erupt in unison, to burn away the decaying shackles. Nestor Corporation intends to use the Northern Archipelago as a base to support progressive causes around the world until they can respond to a single call.
When the true World War breaks out, Nestor Corporation will find allies all over the world!
When a survival crisis arises, and the company can’t reconcile the issues, the rage of those with nothing will burn incessantly, targeting the monopolistic corporations themselves. By then, the true bloodbath will commence, and the fate of the entire civilization may well be decided within the next few generations.
Nestor Corporation, Seven Seals, other massive corporations, Ancient Mystics, Interstellar Giant Gods... The biting cold winds were like a warning, spurring them to gird for war. The conflicts among them were irreconcilable, and one must annihilate the other three.
As Xu Yang returned to the city from the forest, his mind swirled with thoughts. He intended to undertake the most earth-shattering task in the most composed and prudent manner.
It was at this moment that he heard Rinne was in trouble.
Xu Yang rushed back to the medical center at Nestor Headquarters, where Rinne lay on a medical bed, eyes closed, her brain connected to a health monitor.
He glanced over and saw that all her health indicators were stable, meaning Rinne was in good condition, but for safety reasons, the medical staff had given her a dose of the Pale Cure Injection to keep her asleep.
"It was me who brought her here," Pan Ruiyi stood at the door, wearing a helmet, her face not visible, but her voice conveyed great anxiety, "Yesterday we were playing just fine, but today something’s not right."
"Cyber-mental illness," Xu Yang checked the medical team’s consultation log. They had used sedatives and immunosuppressants on Rinne to suppress her mind’s growing tendency to split. Her condition had improved, and the initial diagnosis was an outbreak of cyber-mental illness, a rare event.
"Is it because of us?" Pan Ruiyi was shocked, guilt-ridden at the thought of the little fruit they had given Rinne the day before, "Then we can’t... do that anymore."
"Her last record was in the Virtual Reality Pod. The doctor determined she can’t go through any more consciousness data conversion programs." Xu Yang reviewed the medical report, which suggested that virtual reality technology had affected Rinne’s recognition of reality, triggering her cyber-mental illness, "It probably doesn’t have much to do with us. Mainly, she... she should not be loaded with any virtual reality enhancement technologies. Was she undergoing virtual combat training here?"
"She’s often in the headquarters’ Combat Simulation Pods," Pan Ruiyi said more urgently, "Is that so? I told her to use it for no more than 2 hours at a time. She wouldn’t misuse it, would she?"
Xu Yang examined closely.
"She’s been using it for over 4 hours each time, with the longest session lasting 8 hours," Xu Yang murmured, "She even modified the pod’s alarm system with hacking techniques to avoid being forced offline."
"...No wonder she’s progressed so quickly," Pan Ruiyi was despairing at her own negligence, "I thought she had extraordinary talent! Turns out, she’s been punishing herself! Staying in those insane combat scenarios for so long, no wonder... no wonder she ended up ."
"She does have talent, it’s just..." Xu Yang said slowly, "she still lacks various kinds of experience."
"I haven’t looked after her properly!" Pan Ruiyi lamented loudly, beside herself, "She... she wanted to become stronger as quickly as possible, but who am I that easy to deal with? I should have let her win against me at least once, then she wouldn’t have pushed herself so hard!"
People who have been injected with the Pale Cure Injection only awaken under extreme external conditions, and at that point, Rinne was indeed roused by Pan Ruiyi’s clamor.
She opened her eyes, looking weak.
"...I remember I hurt a Synthetic Human," Rinne murmured, "How is it doing?"
"It’s been sent for repairs," Pan Ruiyi leaned in quickly to reassure, "Don’t worry."
Rinne took a moment to breathe and then turned to look at Xu Yang.
"I’m sorry... Mr. Web Monitor..." Rinne apologized tiredly.
"Your current mental split percentage has risen to 6%," Xu Yang held Rinne’s hand, trying to comfort her, "...You can’t participate in any virtual reality-related activities anymore. You have to face this world wholeheartedly, the world we truly live in."
"But I must..." Rinne raised her voice.
"There’s nothing that’s a must... no more virtual combat simulations," Xu Yang cautioned, "no more virtual games, no courses on the Helis Sea, and use of subjective slowdown implants is forbidden too. They’re the starting point of your descent into mental splits. Not until you complete your treatment and your mental split percentage slowly falls back to the original 2%."
"...I’m like a useless person," Rinne said self-deprecatingly, "Can’t even withstand a bit of coursework. Any 14-year-old child can enjoy virtual games, and yet such things trigger cyber-mental illness in me."
"It’s not your fault; it’s what others have done, leaving psychological shadows on everyone, including me!" Pan Ruiyi almost jumped onto the bed, hugging Rinne so tightly it almost crushed her, but luckily Pan Ruiyi let go in time.
Rinne stayed silent, her face buried in her hands.
"I still..." she looked up, "...I still want to be of help, to do something useful. But now I can’t do anything?"