Herta shot Bai Ming an annoyed look and gave a deliberate, heavy click of her tongue.
Then, with a huff, she turned her back, refusing to look at her further.
"Fine, that's that. You can mull it over once you're back. I need to prepare a dragnet for Kakamond, so I won't be staying to chat."
"Alright then. Call me if you need anything."
As soon as she spoke, Bai Ming's figure vanished. A smile played on Herta's lips as she quickly disappeared into the crowd.
--+--
On the other side, Bai Ming withdrew her consciousness from the small world and turned toward Acheron.
"What do you think of this plan?"
"Are you asking me? I can't even tell the difference between these NPCs' logic and that of a normal person. If you want my input, all I can say is that either way works for me."
Acheron declined to give a real answer. She truly didn't see how these NPCs acted any differently from real people, and she couldn't understand how everyone else seemed to be able to tell.
"Fair enough. Come with me to the Xianzhou Luofu, then. You can't just stay here forever."
"Are we going to see that Qingque?"
"Of course. Since we're using Originium to build this platform, it has to be affiliated with Celestial Sparrow Entertainment."
Although the broad strokes were settled, the actual mechanics of making a game—how to guide player behavior and such—definitely required the expertise of the designers at Celestial Sparrow Entertainment. Bai Ming intended to consult them for their opinions.
Acheron had no objections to the plan. However, as the two held hands, preparing to depart from the borders of IX, Bai Ming suddenly turned to her.
"Acheron, even with me helping you suppress it, how is your will to resist Nihility holding up? If you're feeling off, you have to tell me."
Hearing this, Acheron turned her head to look at Bai Ming.
"It's... alright. After all, my obsessions and my pursuits were all wiped away by you. Although I've found a new anchor to place my feelings in, I'm still not sure if it's reliable."
"Huh? You don't even know if it's reliable? Then how did it become your emotional anchor?"
Bai Ming looked quite startled. How could something like that serve as an anchor to help her withstand the Nihility?
"Isn't that all because of you?"
"...??"
For some reason, hearing Acheron's answer gave Bai Ming a sudden, sinking feeling.
Then, shink—a cold sweat broke out across Bai Ming's skin.
Acheron looked her straight in the eye with a heart-stirring smile and said, "Because you were so serious about taking responsibility for me, and because you are the hero who saved me... I have made you my firmest, and only, anchor."
"..."
Bai Ming stared into the intense emotions blooming in Acheron's eyes, rendered momentarily speechless.
When she had said she would take responsibility for Acheron, she only meant until she had solved the Nihility Equation.
She meant she would help suppress the Nihility within Acheron and accompany her to find a new anchor.
Why else would she be so proactive about taking Acheron out for strolls? It was all to find a more concrete, vivid anchor.
But instead...
Why did she become the anchor herself?
"Are... are you serious? You're not joking?"
"Do I look like I'm teasing you?"
"Okay, you don't."
Bai Ming didn't know whether to be moved or to feel the crushing weight of the situation.
This was bad. The mission to find a new anchor had collapsed before it even began. She had already uprooted Acheron's previous obsession once; she couldn't exactly force a second removal.
Acheron wasn't some ordinary person; she relied on this obsession—this craving for existence—to resist Nihility and stay alive! No one would dare try to dismantle that twice.
But... taking her as an obsession? Why did that sound so "heavy"?
Even though she knew Acheron wasn't the obsessive, clingy type, Bai Ming felt as if an invisible gravitational field had suddenly enveloped her.
Is this really going to be okay? Bai Ming doubted herself.
Besides, when she said she'd take responsibility, she never said she'd take the other person's heart, too! Now she was at a total loss.
Looking at Acheron's gaze... it didn't look like the kind of anchor one has when they worship an Aeon. It looked more like Acheron was lingering in this world solely because she was there.
"Whew..."
Bai Ming took a deep breath, forcing her thoughts to settle.
Even if this wasn't her intention, things had already reached this point. She couldn't ask Acheron to change it now—it was too dangerous. And thinking about it, who else in this world could Acheron trust or open her heart to besides her?
Her homeland had been swallowed by Nihility; no one even remembered it.
Other survivors at least had a world that people remembered existing. Izumo was different. People still argued over whether it had ever existed at all.
To this world, Acheron really was like a piece of drifting duckweed.
Since Acheron had chosen her, she would just have to accept it. She couldn't betray that trust.
"Then... that works. At least if it's me, I can guarantee I'll always be here. Whenever you need me, I'm around."
Acheron's lips curled into a smile.
She had been watching Bai Ming closely, seeing her expression shift from shock to bewildered helplessness, and finally to acceptance. It was actually quite amusing.
She felt a slight urge to keep teasing her, but she wasn't that much of a prankster.
Instead, she opened her arms and gave Bai Ming a hug, nuzzling her face against Bai Ming's neck.
With the heavy burden lifted, Acheron's demeanor and actions had clearly become more lively.
It seemed like a rebound after being suppressed for so long. Bai Ming understood, but she just hoped Acheron wouldn't rebound into some strange personality.
I hope she doesn't change too much, Bai Ming thought as she was being squeezed.
Fortunately, Acheron didn't hold the hug for long.
"Sorry, I lost my composure. Shall we head out now?"
Acheron feigned calmness, though she was actually feeling quite shy.
That hug felt like a declaration of resolve, even if she wasn't ready to voice it yet. Bai Ming didn't suspect a thing, nodding before leading Acheron away from the borders of Nihility.
--+--
The Xianzhou Luofu, Celestial Sparrow Entertainment Office Building.
Bai Ming and Acheron appeared in Qingque's office, giving the girl quite a fright.
"Whoa! Boss, you scared the life out of me. Could you give me a heads-up next time? And who's this?"
Qingque tossed aside the documents she was supposed to be processing and stood up with a grin, circling the desk to greet them.
"Was the trip tiring? Want to rest? How about I take you out for a meal and some entertainment?"
Acheron didn't speak, simply looking at Bai Ming. Bai Ming reached out and poked Qingque's forehead as she leaned in.
"I think you just want an excuse to skip work."
"Hey! Boss, how could you slander my character like that?"
"Quit playing around. Let's talk business. This is Acheron, my companion—she's just here for the ride. I have something I need you, or rather, Celestial Sparrow Entertainment, to do."
"A project? What is it?"
Hearing this, Qingque's playful expression vanished, and she snapped into work mode. She had never been this serious even when dealing with Fu Xuan or Jing Yuan.
"To put it simply, I want to launch a life-simulator RPG on the Originium platform. Players can experience life in any world, as any profession, species, or gender. Do we have game designers for that?"
"We do... but why that kind of game? There are plenty of classics in that genre already; the competition is pretty fierce."
Qingque nodded. They had recently recruited many talented and famous producers, even opening two branch offices outside the Luofu.
She had even taken in some veteran designers and producers who just wanted a place to retire.
Since the company didn't have to pay their salaries out of pocket anyway, she treated it as a talent reserve, waiting for the day the Boss might need them.
"Well, I can tell you. Strictly speaking, it's not just a game. The worlds the players enter are all real."
"Huh??"
"As for the original purpose of these worlds, it's to provide closure for the obsessions of Pathstriders wandering the borders of Nihility. But because that world was built in the shadow of Nihility, I can't easily evolve a large amount of life there. If I use only AI, it lacks... something."
Bai Ming gave a brief explanation of the situation.
Qingque felt her head spinning. Most of this was stuff she had never even heard of.
What did she mean by "the borders of Nihility"? And what was this about Pathstriders' obsessions becoming Sin Thirsters wandering there in pain? And did their company's first big project really have to be so heavily tied to something like Nihility?
Despite the headache, Qingque felt a surge of respect for Bai Ming.
This was the first she had heard that Pathstriders would turn into such things after death, wandering in agony. And her Boss was willing to build an entire massive world for them, even if it meant making a game that wouldn't be competitive on their own platform.
If it were any other company, Qingque would have worried about profit and tried to talk Bai Ming into a different plan. But Celestial Sparrow Entertainment wasn't a normal company.
The Interastral Peace Corporation reimbursed all their expenses.
Qingque didn't need to worry about money; she only needed to worry about keeping the company stable and consistently producing high-quality content.
As for the first major task from the Boss who provided all of this? Qingque was determined to see it through and make it perfect.
"It sounds wild, but the main issue now is designing the game flow and handling how players interact with those... Sin Thirster things, right?"
Qingque quickly grasped the core of the problem.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL