As an “outsider” who had been in this world for just a short while, Hao Ren did not feel the same as Nolan thought. He could hardly imagine what effect thousands of years of reincarnation would have on people. But what he was sure was that the world in Nolan’s eyes had long faded; everything was elusive and meaningless. When the world had become a readily changeable scene of a stage play, nothing in this world could trigger her feelings. She accumulated experience and knowledge as well as a thick shell deep inside her with each reincarnation. She was right; if the world could reset at any time, the feeling of attachment to this world was worthless.
Everything you value, hate, and trust are just temporary. It’s all arranged. It is possible that when you wake up, they would be all gone. They might be your friends now, but friends could quickly become foes. After such a long time, Nolan had learned to survive efficiently and readily give up everything, including the Grey Fox mercenary group that he had formed.
But today, Hao Ren and the girl-corpse-MDT became an exception. For the first time in thousands of years, she found people who could retain their memories like her. It was significant to Nolan. She felt that she finally had partners, real partners.
So she told Hao Ren everything and even ignored the eccentric nature of Hao Ren and the MDT. Now the most important to her was to help the two compatriots to understand the situation quickly, which meant that she would live better.
The sun had already wholly set, and the two small moons had risen from below the horizon, one after the other — the dim moonlight cast silvery glow outside the cave. Nolan came to the cave entrance. Again, she carefully checked the surroundings. “Looks like the battle over the base is over. There is no explosion. The imperial marines must have already kept things under control.”
“Is this place safe?” Hao Ren walked up from behind, then looking over his shoulder at the cave. The girl-corpse-MDT was curiously studying the LED light stick hanging in the car. Some light leaked outside the cave. “Are those soldiers not pass by here when they retreat?”
“It is safe here. I have checked it… in my memory,” Nolan nodded. “As long as you don’t light a bonfire. The remote sensing infrared detector of the Imperial Marines is still very sensitive.”
Hao Ren hummed and looked up at the sparsely starry sky above. The strange stars twinkled in front of his eyes, but he was thinking of his next exploration. “These stars are beautiful,” he murmured.
“Yeah, indeed,” said Nolan as she raised her head. Her eyes widened, as she suddenly seemed to discover the stars above her. “I miss it. I have not seen the stars for more than ten years. It looks like the script is not that bad this time after all. At least the sky is clear.”
“I can’t imagine that permanent dust and haze were still shrouding this world and tar smell was still in the air six hours ago,” Hao Ren said with a sigh. Suddenly a thought came to his mind. “Did the sky change in previous reincarnations?”
Nolan shook her head. “Not much. Probably because it was so far from humans that they had not been able to touch it, the ‘director’ behind this world seemed not bothered to create a more elaborate starry sky. I have never seen humans are capable of interstellar colonization after those reincarnations.”
Hao Ren slowly fell into deep thought. Nolan pulled his the corner of his cloth and said, “Let’s go back inside and have something to eat. Rest early. There’s a long way to go tomorrow.”
The two of them returned to the cave. The girl-corpse-MDT waved at Hao Ren. “Hey, partner, back from hook-up?”
Nolan eyeballed Hao Ren. “What is the relationship between the two of you?” she asked.
She was entirely at a loss to the relationship between Hao Ren and the blonde. She could not help it. Even sociologists would be left dumbfounded when seeing a supposedly tragic love story turning out to be a comedy.
The girl-corpse-MDT could have cared less. “We’re brothers in arms!” she said.
Hao Ren thought for a moment, surprised at how apt the MDT said—brothers in arms, yeah.
Nolan fumbled through a pile of resupplies in the car; in her memory, she got the supplies in the small town under the foothill twenty-four hours ago. She tossed two bags of compressed dry food and two bottles of water to Hao Ren and the MDT. “Just eat it, but don’t overeat; it will screw up your mental alertness.”
Hao Ren took the food. Before he could tear open the package, the girl-corpse-MDT quietly pulled his sleeve and asked, “Hey, can I eat?”
The usual head-scratching question struck him again. He looked at the blonde with the corner of his eye as if saying, “You must be out of your mind,” and said, “Maybe you would like to try the drink first.”
The girl-corpse-MDT awkwardly unscrewed the cap of the water bottle and took a mouthful. It whispered, “I feel like it just flushed down the throat into the stomach, and then it just oozed away in all directions.”
“You had better don’t eat. Your esophagus is broken,” Hao Ren said as he wondered if the taste of this topic was too extreme. “And you have never visited the loo and felt weak after going so long without food or drink. I think eating is unnecessary.”
Hao Ren knew that he might be a little unscientific, but since the world was highly likely to be fake, he could care less. Or probably there was a bug during the MDT’s crossover to this world, causing its body to function in defiance of nature. How did it work? Well, since the world was false, who cares?
Nolan looked on as Hao Ren and the blonde whispering into each other’s eye. She could not help but ask, “Oh yeah, I haven’t had time to ask, what’s your name?”
She was talking to the girl-corpse-MDT. Hao Ren and the MDT froze. The MDT looked at Hao Ren and said quietly, “Oh shit! Quickly think of a name!”
Even the MDT knew that the Mobile Data Terminal was not a person’s name.
Hao Ren was beating his brains out to make up a name. Considering his naming ability, which was barely a hare-brained idea at best even in the best-case scenario, he was nervous as hell. Before he could say a word, the MDT quickly interrupted him in his mind. “Stop being nervous! I know I couldn’t count on you in such a situation. Let me think!”
Nolan looked on, puzzled by the eye-exchanges between Hao Ren and the MDT. At this time, the girl-corpse-MDT said, “Oh yeah, my… my name is Pattie-Ann, you can call me Pattie.”
Nolan nodded but did not ask more. Hao Ren whispered to the MDT in his mind. “Where did you get the name suddenly?”
“PDA.”
“That’s freaking crude and simple, and easy to remember.”
The night was darkening. They had to rest. Nolan climbed into the car, took out a sleeping bag and insulated tarpaulin, and laid it out. “We need a night watch. You guys sleep first. I’ll be on the first shift.”
Hao Ren looked at the starlight shone into the cave. He waved to Nolan. “You sleep first. Pattie and I take a walk outside.”
“This time?” Nolan paused. “It’s not wise to waste your energy, especially in this unfamiliar place after nightfall.”
“Don’t worry, I am also a professional,” said Hao Ren, who was already at the cave entrance. The girl-corpse-MDT was limping beside him. “I’ll go to check out the surroundings. I will be okay. Have you forgot about the wand?”
Hao Ren pointed his mouth at the sentry wand hanging on Nolan’s waist. “I have something more powerful than this. But let’s leave it to the other day.”
Nolan glanced down at the mysterious weapon on her waist and reminded of the secrets that Hao Ren possessed. She did not ask more but just nodded. “Be careful.”
After coming to an open space outside the cave, the MDT asked, “What do you want to do? Do you think I’m your brother in arms?”
“I need to fix you after we get home. You must have burned your chips during the abnormal crossing,” Hao Ren said while looking up at the sky. “I need to take a look from above to see how large the simulation is.”