IWOL Chapter 187: Soul Fusion

“Oh my God…”

Cui Zuojing murmured. He looked around like a child who had gone out to see a novel world for the first time, his eyes nearly popping out.

He had known for a long time that people with mental abilities would have their own conscious space, but this was the first time he’d seen one with his own eyes.

Everyone’s conscious space was intensely private, and so they naturally wouldn’t allow others to enter. Additionally, allowing other people to enter one’s consciousness also poses a great risk. If the person wasn’t careful, the other party might end up injuring his conscious space and he would end up a fool.

Only two people who absolutely trust each other would dare to do so.

The data streamed passed by him at a speed difficult for the naked eye to capture. The information superhighway was incredibly busy. Cui Zuojing was afraid that the data might run into him. Just as he was about to move away, he saw something rushing straight at him. Before he could react, the thing passed through him in an instant.

“In the kernel, we also exist in the form of data, so don’t be afraid of them.” Dong Zheng took Cui Zuojing’s hand. The moment their two consciousness touched, his body felt a strange dislocation of reality. For a moment, he didn’t know where to look.

He still couldn’t do what Dong Zheng did, which was being able to control his body and consciousness at will.

Outside, the young man leaned on the bed with his eyes closed. The constant information that he was receiving in his cerebral cortex made his eyelashes tremble. Dong Zheng wrapped his arms around his back and laid him flat on the bed, half-holding him. He pulled the comforter over them and lay beside him.

“What is that?” Cui Zuojing pointed his finger curiously at the extremely eye-catching temple in the sky. Dong Zheng’s kernel could be said to be some kind of visualization of a computer, but how could something with a completely different style appear here?

“That is the ability I acquired after the collapse of the northern temple in Dusk Island. After opening the door, I awakened Naive Bayes,” Dong Zheng explained. “The evolution of my ability seems to be related to the degree to which I can explore in the temple. Currently, I can only enter the lobby on the first floor. The other places are blocked by barriers. Opening them may require stronger mental power or some opportunities.”

Cui Zuojing nodded. He knew every step of Dong Zheng’s ability evolution, but this was the first time he became aware of the specific process. The security bacteriophages that hovered high above his head had a huge and terrifying appearance, ready to grab any abnormality or uninvited guests that appeared in the kernel.

The information superhighway rose vertically, turning into a maze of interlaced bodies—a network.

Everything was like something Cui Zuojing had never seen before. Dong Zheng waited patiently next to him. He turned his head to look at Cui Zuojing and could see the strange and amazed expression on the young man’s face. He was very satisfied so how could he feel bored?

“Let’s go. Let’s go and see ‘you’.” After waiting for a short time, Dong Zheng reminded him. Cui Zuojing was reluctant to take his gaze back. He stared at a place where data was constantly being woven in the distance, but he finally said, “Okay.”

As soon as his voice fell, the scene in front of his eyes suddenly changed. In this kernel world, Dong Zheng was like a God. He could already travel inside it at will and no longer needed to use crawlers as a mode of travel.

An endless white space stretched out as far as the eye could see. This empty whiteness nearly made Cui Zuojing jump.

When he sneaked in through a baby’s dream and caught a ride on an endless train to this world, what he saw along the way was this kind of monotonous white.

…What was the truth?

Dong Zheng didn’t know what he was thinking. He took Cui Zuojing’s hand and walked a few steps forward.

Cui Zuojing quickly saw the small, thin green plant. His eyes widened and he quickly walked over to Arabidopsis’ side, crouching down to take a closer look.

Cui Zuojing was very familiar with this kind of small weed that grew randomly outside. He stretched out his hand in amazement, and gently touched the top of the white flower. The moment his fingertips touched it, he felt a light stroke at the top of his own head.

Cui Zuojing:?

An idea immediately came to mind, and he poked the other parts of Arabidopsis, only to feel the corresponding parts of his body being touched.

Amazing!

As if sensing his excitement, the Arabidopsis thaliana grew taller and shook the head of its flower toward Cui Zuojing.

Cui Zuojing finally understood what was going on. If this grass was his mapping in Dong Zheng’s core and could reflect his true situation, it would explain why Dong Zheng was able to provide support and help him when he was in critical condition, despite the lack of a prisoner link.

Dong Zheng also squatted down beside him. He stretched out his hand. Even before he could touch it, the small Arabidopsis leaves took the initiative to hug his fingertip, full of affection.

Cui Zuojing was shocked. Seeing the little grass holding Dong Zheng with such reluctance to let go, he stared at Dong Zheng suspiciously for a few seconds, and said, “You didn’t do anything strange to me, did you?”

Dong Zheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Even if I wanted to do something, it’s just a plant.”

Cui Zuojing said, “Okay, I’ll tentatively believe you.”

Dong Zheng continued to let the grass hold his finger, but he leaned over to peck Cui Zuojing on the lips. With a smile, he said, “Since I can do this to the person, why would I use something else?”

Cui Zuojing raised the back of his hand and wiped his mouth. He pushed Dong Zheng away without much effort, smiled, and cursed, “Get out of here.”

Then he asked, “Will I respond here no matter what happens?”

“Almost. It can best reflect your state. If I want more specific details, I’ll just need to touch it. I can receive information from you, or pass information to you. I used this method before to give you spiritual strength and to pass along predictions during the battle.”

Cui Zuojing blinked. “Then you could be my exclusive support?”

“Yes.” Dong Zheng smiled and grabbed Cui Zuojing’s hand. “In addition to these, I should be able to do more.”

Their two fingertips touched the Arabidopsis leaves at the same time.

At this moment, an electric current seemed to run through their hearts at the same time. This feeling could not be fully described in words. It seemed as if there was a bridge connecting them closely together. Their emotions, their moods, and even a little bit of their thoughts were clearly presented in each other’s heart, unable to hide.

This connection was stronger than the emotional link through the blood contract. The joy, the satisfaction, and the lazy happiness in Dong Zheng’s heart filled Cui Zuojing to overflowing. For a moment, he couldn’t help but think that these emotions belonged to him.

No. In fact, these might be his true feelings. At this moment, their exchange of heart and emotions gave him an overwhelming sense of satisfaction.

It was impossible for even the closest couple to reveal everything in their hearts to each other. But now, even those dark and unspeakable thoughts were exposed to each other without any secrets.

As if this was a true fusion of souls.

Cui Zuojing raised his head and turned his gaze toward Dong Zheng. He saw his own figure reflected in Dong Zheng’s eyes.

Cui Zuojing told himself that he shouldn’t immerse himself in other people’s thoughts, but he couldn’t summon up the wherewithal to pull away from it. There was a voice in his heart that kept shouting—Just a bit longer, just a bit more.

It’d been too long since he’d felt this kind of emotion. The joy and happiness everyone could experience but he couldn’t made him unable to help but indulge.

When he came back to the Pure White Realm, all that was left in him was a sense of emptiness, a dull tiredness, and an inevitable sense of dislocation. But now, the whiteness in front of him suddenly seemed to have become very colorful.

These came later.

“…..”

Cui Zuojing opened his eyes after some time had passed.

The only light in the room came from the lamp on the nightstand. Dong Zheng was leaning against the headboard, reading the book Cui Zuojing had pulled from the nightstand to cover up his emotions.

Meanwhile, Cui Zuojing himself was lying on his side under the comforter, facing Dong Zheng. Their bodies were so close that he could feel the man’s heat even when he breathed.

“Awake?”

Perceiving Cui Zuojing’s sudden disappearance from his kernel, Dong Zheng put down the book and smiled. “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something? When I came here, I got a reminder that said to gather downstairs at 8.”

Cui Zuojing had just come back and still had a sense of unreality. Then he thought about how Dong Zheng could move freely and simultaneously in both worlds, and he couldn’t help but sigh at the power of a mental developer.

He sat up and tried to recall the emotions he’s experienced, but he could no longer feel it.

Sure enough, he still needed to wait until he got his feelings back…

Cui Zuojing glanced at the clock. He’d only stayed in the kernel world for half an hour but he felt as if the time had been much longer.

“The other arenas should also be over. Let’s go and see if those people manage to get tickets.” Cui Zuojing lifted the comforter and got up. He stretched and reached out his hand to Dong Zheng. “Let’s go.”

Dong Zheng was slightly startled, and then he smiled. Maybe Cui Zuojing didn’t realize that he had already revealed his intimacy in his gestures.

When they walked out of the room, they heard noises coming from downstairs. The people resting in other rooms also walked out at this time.

Once Cui Zuojing arrived on the first floor, he saw the white cat crouching on a chair tilting his head toward the window.

“Uncle!” Cui Zuojing yelled. To be honest, he didn’t expect Victor to win the knockout. The cat’s body restrained him too much. What’s more, he had to collect identification cards and secret letters but he had nowhere to put them.

Victor immediately turned his head with his ears perked up. He saw Cui Zuojing and Dong Zheng walking down the stairs and immediately shot past several people with a whistling sound. Like a white ball of lightning, he rushed into Cui Zuojing’s arms.

Victor’s four paws were nearly black with dirt, and there was still soil stuck between the pads of his paws, but Cui Zuojing didn’t mind. He hugged him and asked, “Uncle, how can you get an admission ticket?”

“Luckily, I got a forest arena and hid secret letters I found in a tree. Everything went very smoothly.”

Dong Zheng raised his hand and touched Victor’s head. The white cat rubbed the palm of his hand. Victor smelled Dong Zheng on Cui Zuojing, and Cui Zuojing also had the scent of Dong Zheng. His keen sense of smell told him that the two of them had already been here for a long time and had stayed together.

“Is there anyone else in the team here too?” Dong Zheng asked. Victor stretched out his tail and pointed upstairs.

Wang Que and Xia Qiongyun were walking together. Seeing Cui Zuojing and the others, Wang Que immediately waved and eagerly ran over.

“Is there no one else?” Cui Zuojing looked behind them and couldn’t find Dong Linhai or Lin Hangzhi. He’d expected Lin Hangzhi to be eliminated. After all, his ability was too difficult to control. But Dong Linhai…what happened?

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