Chapter 585: Visiting the "Garden"

Deep in the valley, the small town was as quiet as ever.

In the open space in front of a small cottage near the castle, the golden-haired Algrande elf was leaning against a small tree with her arms crossed, her mind wandering as she stared in the direction of the distant mountains.

The sky above was bright, with only sparse clouds in the clear expanse. On the slope, a row of glimmering flashes could be seen—that was Yun Qingzi trying to teach the mass-produced dolls in the valley how to fly on swords.

Occasionally, ethereal and pleasant singing drifted from nearby—that was the mermaid humming, punctuated by the sound of splashing water, which meant she was practicing her swimming skills in the pond behind her house again. Sometimes the singing would abruptly stop, replaced by a brief yelp—that was the sound of her sinking.

A golden "tumbleweed" leaped down from the castle wall nearby, a bright smile emerging from the flying blonde hair: "Luo! Let's go catch fish in the river!"

"No." Luo waved her hand lazily, then slumped into an even more languid posture against the tree, her face wearing an expression of utter burnout.

She had already changed out of her tattered silver-white dress and was now wearing a black dress and jacket sent over by the Special Operations Bureau. Coupled with her current dejected demeanor, she looked utterly despondent.

The long-haired princess didn't mind the rejection. After retracting her hair to ankle length, she swaggered over, sat down on a swing beside Luo, and swayed in midair. "Then how about going to the forest to pick mushrooms? I can write you a pass. Let me tell you, there's a kind of pale blue long-stemmed mushroom over there that, when eaten, lets you see little people..."

"There are little people everywhere in this valley. Why would I need to eat mushrooms for that?" Luo sighed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few mass-produced dolls carrying large baskets of supplies for the cafeteria, scurrying across the intersection on their stubby little legs. She sighed again and glanced sideways at the golden-haired girl beside her. "What, are you assigned to keep an eye on me today?"

"Why so gloomy? There's no 'keeping an eye' or anything," the long-haired princess said, tilting her head. "Let me tell you, no one here is really watching you. Big Brother said you can wander anywhere near the town as long as you don't go outside the valley. Anyway, you can't beat anyone here anyway—at best, you could take on kids below kindergarten level, but even they have at least two dolls watching them, and you can't beat those dolls either."

"...Well, I appreciate the vote of confidence," Luo said, the corners of her mouth twitching. But then she sighed again. "Forget it. Every time I think about losing everything I own, I lose all motivation to do anything... And knowing the Special Operations Bureau and Bai Liqing, the best I can hope for is long-term confinement, probably somewhere even more cramped than here. Might as well get used to loneliness and boredom in advance."

Hearing this, the long-haired princess's eyes began to sparkle. The next second, she grabbed Luo's arm. "Then you'd better enjoy yourself while you can! What if they really lock you up for life? By then, you won't even be able to catch fish anywhere, and you'll regret not taking the chance! Come on, come on, let's go!"

To be honest, few people could keep up with the long-haired princess's energy, let alone Luo, who was deep in her sorrow. She instinctively resisted at first, but after pulling her arm twice, she couldn't break free from the princess's grip—strength that could tear apart demons barehanded. After all, Luo was just a scientist; even if her mechanical body had been modified to make it easier for her to tighten screws and clean test tubes, she was no match. So, without a doubt, she was dragged toward the outskirts of the town.

The long-haired princess didn't even notice Luo's resistance.

But they hadn't gone far when Luo suddenly felt a chill run through her, followed by an involuntary shiver.

This time, the long-haired princess noticed.

"What? Got a cold?"

"No, I don't know," Luo shuddered again. Her spiritual instincts seemed to be warning her of something, but when she instinctively looked around, she didn't see any threat within sight. "I just feel like someone is scheming against me... Last time I did business with Bai Liqing, I got the same feeling."

"What's there to scheme against you for? Your space station got swiped by my big brother," the long-haired princess said, being the comforting type. She waved a hand carelessly. "You're just weak from lying around for too long. Later, I'll teach you how to make fish soup with mushrooms..."

Luo: "..."

She wanted to say something more, but the long-haired princess pulled her close, and the rest of her words were scattered in the wind.

...

Garden network, upper-level consciousness access layer.

The city simulated by the network data was bustling and lively. Two figures were walking down an old street with a vintage, nostalgic feel.

One figure had golden hair flowing over her shoulders and wore a black Gothic dress. The other wore a blue maid uniform with a decorative wind-up key slowly turning at her back.

Eileen was once again entering the Garden network under Maryse's guidance. Unlike the "test connection" in the doll printing room back then, this time, she had truly entered the network's "bustling area."

Maryse raised her hand and introduced the scene to her guest: "This is the 'Gathering Place' in the Garden network. There are many similar gathering places, mostly distributed in the upper network. They are where Alice dolls rest, gather, or exchange information... Miss Eileen, are you listening?"

The golden-haired doll beside her was currently busy studying her own arms and legs. She snapped back to attention two or three seconds late and quickly nodded: "Oh, oh, I'm listening, I'm listening. Gathering place, right? Where you eat and then go out to hunt ancient dragons..."

Maryse paused and looked at the golden-haired doll with some helplessness: "Miss Eileen, there are no ancient dragons in the Garden network, nor dark colossi or little monsters that can be captured in balls. The upper network is very safe and stable. It's mainly used for communication and rest."

But the golden-haired doll in front of her clearly wasn't paying attention—Eileen was already eagerly studying her own hands and feet again. She even hopped in place and happily told Maryse: "I'm normal height here! Look, I'm one meter sixty-seven..."

Though a bit exasperated, Maryse patiently explained: "In the Garden network, you are active in the form of a 'mind-body.' The 'appearance' of the mind-body is not affected by the state of your physical shell; it only presents the original form of an Alice doll."

"Oh, oh, that's good. I like this setting," Eileen beamed. After suffering the "shrinkage" in the doll printing room, she had finally found some consolation for her height in the Garden network. But then another question popped up: "Wait, what about you? Maryse, you're not an Alice doll..."

"I use a simulated mind. To assist the master, our series of servo robots have added extensive expansion modules adapted for the Garden network. Relevant information can be found on the Pan-Union Industrial Corporation official website. Order expansion modules through the Universal APP to enjoy a ten-year worry-free replacement plan and free main..."

But Eileen's attention had already shifted. She didn't hear the rest of Maryse's advertisement—she was staring wide-eyed, looking around with great curiosity at this "gathering place" in cyberspace.

It looked like a fairly large city, but its style was different from any city she had seen, like Boundary City or Ink City. The buildings in sight were mostly crowded and tall, with mottled walls that seemed eroded by sea winds and pointed black roofs. Huge steam pipes crisscrossed above the streets. Wrought-iron lampposts with old-fashioned gas lamps lined both sides of the road, and vehicles driven by steam engines rolled down the streets. On either side of the old street, shops had bright display windows, their warm light revealing goods whose purpose she couldn't quite discern.

Farther away, in the city center, there were towering inner walls and large cathedral-like buildings. Massive steam pipes rose from the city center, occasionally spewing white steam clouds. Amid lingering steam whistles, the vapor slowly merged into the simulated sky generated by the Garden network.

The city was filled with a strange atmosphere—warm, peaceful, evoking a sense of inexplicable nostalgia in visitors. Alice dolls and various attendants they led came and went on the streets, and some dolls even ran those street-side shops with unclear purposes.

Eileen stared wide-eyed at this place, then belatedly recalled what Maryse had told her earlier.

"...Does everyone operate in the upper network? And I remember when you brought me in before, everything was blurry and I couldn't see any of this..."

"Eighty percent of access occurs in the upper network. It is the safest and most stable layer. The middle network is the maintenance layer; depending on the need, Alice doll minds may exchange information there or call upon additional computing power to complete their tasks. Below that lies the deep network, but that place is very dangerous. Even the mistress can only make short-term dives into the deep network with sufficient protective measures.

"The deep network is where all dangerous and ancient data fragments settle, along with invasive pollutants that have been dismantled and exiled by the upper and middle networks. Scavenger programs periodically clean the deep areas and will also attack Alice dolls that lack protection and accidentally become contaminated. I strongly advise a novice like you not to approach that layer."

"Oh..." Eileen scratched her head, unsure how much she had absorbed. But her attention was soon captured by something else. "What's that over there? Why do so many sisters bow or curtsy when they pass that place?"

Maryse looked up and followed Eileen's finger to a shop at a street corner.

The shop had an old, antique style, its facade decorated with motifs of artifacts and crafts. Warm light spilled from the wide display window, revealing shelves inside that seemed somewhat disorderly, with antique vases and various sundries casually placed on them.

Stylistically, this shop was similar to the other street-front stores along the road.

But unlike the neighboring open shops, this corner shop's door was firmly shut, with a hazy light curtain blocking the entrance. Eileen squinted and saw a few words floating around on the light curtain:

"The captain and I are out~ See you all later~"

(End of chapter)