"This is..."
Wende frowned slightly as he looked at the machine half-buried in a snowdrift.
This is the thing my Yin-Yang power found?
Whatever, I should check it out first.
He walked towards the machine, its purpose still unclear. He first observed its exterior, then grabbed it by its sides, planted his feet firmly, and used the strength of his arms and waist to heave it upwards.
Snow scattered everywhere as the unknown machine was forcibly dragged out onto the ground by Wende.
"This is..."
Stroking his chin, Wende felt as though he had seen this machine somewhere before.
It had the appearance of a large rectangular prism, with a display screen in the middle of its body. The screen seemed to be loading something.
However, from the looks of it, it wouldn't finish loading anytime soon. Its current speed was even slower than a cloud storage service without a premium subscription! He didn't have time to wait for it to finish.
Wende decided to use external force to help speed up the loading process. He then slowly raised his powerful left hand.
BAM!!
He slammed his hand down hard on top of the machine. This "appliance-repair fist" was a move that never failed him!
Except for being a bit wasteful on the appliances...
Looking at the dent he had just made, Wende silently retracted his hand. Well, it wasn't his machine, so it didn't really matter.
Perhaps the machine had finally finished loading some data, or perhaps Wende's first-aid fist truly possessed the power of some cosmic law. The progress bar on the screen, which had been crawling along, suddenly began to race forward. In just a few seconds, the current page finished loading.
"Hello, welcome to the intelligent Q&A system. Only by correctly answering all the questions can you pass this stage."
A gentle, synthesized male voice emanated from the cold, large iron block.
"Intelligent Q&A?"
Before Wende could react, the machine presented its first question on the screen.
"Question: If you were fake, would you accept this fact?"
As the machine asked its question, the surrounding scenery began to change... The snowfield started to melt, the frighteningly cold wind gradually became warm and gentle, and the high mountains began to level out. One by one, tall buildings emerged from thin air... Modern architecture closed in around Wende until finally, walls appeared around him. He found himself wearing the T-shirt he used to wear most often, the one he had on before he transmigrated...
Everything seemed to happen in an instant. Wende surveyed the incredibly familiar surroundings... his bed and computer, and his two roommates "adjusting to the time difference" on their beds... Outside the window was an athletic field, where he could occasionally see young couples walking hand-in-hand...
"This is..."
Wende stared at the scene in utter disbelief. This was his... before he crossed over...
Bzzzt...
The phone on his desk began to vibrate. Wende subconsciously picked it up and opened a chat conversation.
Roommate: "Wende-daddy! Can you order me some takeout?! I can't do it from class!"
Wende: "ok"
Roommate: "Thanks, Godfather!!!"
"..."
Had he... come back?
No, that's impossible. It must be that the machine's question caused the illusion to change accordingly. I can't lose my composure here. I don't know how the rest of the crew is doing. I have to get out of here as soon as possible.
The Primordial Chaos within Wende's body began to circulate, but even so, he felt no change in the scenery around him... He could even hear one of his "sons" talking in his sleep...
Bzzzt...
His phone vibrated again. It was a text from an unknown number. The source... unknown, and the number was only two digits: 42.
Sender: 42
Content: Question: If you were fake, would you accept this fact?
The same question, just presented in a different format.
"Fake..."
Wende murmured the word, staring at it.
What did it mean? What was "fake"? Was he fake? Or were all of his experiences fake?
Was there never a person named "Wende" in this world, and had the Express never gained a Nameless called "Wende"?
Was that what the machine meant? Was every person he had met, every planet he had visited, every world he had crossed into, ultimately just a fabrication?
Looking at the question, Wende thought it over carefully. Finally, he replied to the text with two words.
"I would."
He would rather die on the train in a virtual world than live out a mundane existence!
With Wende's answer, the scenery changed once again, and the machine's next question appeared before him in a new form.
He was in space, surrounded by countless stars. One by one, bright suns arranged themselves before his eyes, and the second question emerged from them.
"Would you endure loneliness to save the world from a predetermined destruction?"
"? What does that even mean? Your questions are completely unrelated."
Wende stared at the question doubtfully. Then, the scenery began to shift again. The magnificent, brilliant river of stars began to fall into "annihilation." One by one, the stars dimmed, then erupted in the most dazzling flash of their long lives, before rapidly shrinking and collapsing, transforming from shining suns into dim white dwarfs, neutron stars... or even black holes...
A figure symbolizing "the end" roamed the cosmos, wailing...
It mourned for all the lives that had passed. It grieved for the destroyed universe...
It brought the end of all things, yet it whispered ceaselessly to the past...
The pitch-black universe returned to a cold, dead silence, and that murmuring voice was like a eulogy for the world...
The oppressive, somber atmosphere was suffocating. Then, Wende made his choice.
"I would!"
His gaze was resolute. If the loneliness of a single person was all it took to prevent the world's destruction, what reason did he have to refuse?
He didn't consider himself a hero, but if he had to choose between the fate of his friends and loved ones and his own, he would always give them the chance.
This wasn't some kind of heroism, nor was it being a saint. This was just a transaction that seemed like a surefire win. The goods were [The World], and the [Currency]...
Was him.