Free Web NovelChapter 752: Chapter 1: Fleeting Reality (Part 1)
Little Buding was named by the headquarters for commendation.
Because the mission was so successful, he received rewards that he never even dreamed of before.
Faced with this unexpected good news, Little Buding felt a bit dizzy for a while. If not for pinching his arm repeatedly causing pain, he would almost think he was dreaming.
The leader of the headquarters personally pinned a medal on him, praising him for his promising young talent, saying he would certainly become the bureau’s most outstanding agent in the future.
All day long, Little Buding’s smile didn’t leave his face, and colleagues came to congratulate him on his promotion.
Soon, Little Buding was promoted from the cramped container office to a fully equipped, spacious, and bright single office.
Even the chair inside was a genuine leather executive chair, which felt more comfortable than sitting on a cloud.
Although all this happened suddenly, Little Buding had somewhat anticipated it. After all, he and Jiang Lai had already flawlessly completed so many missions, so the promotion was to be expected.
Moreover, according to the contract, Jiang Lai’s mission was already complete.
So, he cheerfully told Jiang Lai.
"You will soon be able to go home."
Jiang Lai was still asleep because after each mission she needed to sleep for a very long time. The system would perform a corresponding memory clearing based on her attachment to the previous world.
It wasn’t about making her forget everything.
It’s just about letting her feelings for people or events in the previous world fade, so they wouldn’t affect her upcoming tasks.
This time she slept particularly long, and Little Buding stayed by her side every day, watching her. Just when he thought there was something wrong with the machine, Jiang Lai woke up.
No, strictly speaking, it was Jiang Lai’s spiritual body that woke up.
Now she appeared insubstantial and transparent, only a vague outline could be seen, yet she looked clearer than when they first met.
"You slept for a long time this time."
Indeed, Jiang Lai’s mind took a while to reboot before she realized where she was now.
Looking around, it was still a void, but seemed a bit more spacious than before.
"Thanks to your help, I’ve been promoted. Let me share some good news, you’ll be able to go home soon."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, if you don’t believe me, you can just stay here by then."
"I trust you, of course I trust you."
Jiang Lai yawned wearily, then looked around.
"Knowing you’re going back, why don’t you seem too happy?"
"Happy... Has this place changed? It feels much bigger than before."
"Of course it has changed. This is the host’s rest station that every agent has. The higher the level, the better the healing effect of the rest station.
Being in here is good for your body."
Jiang Lai looked around.
"What if I go out?"
"Of course you can’t go out. You are now a spiritual body, do you understand what that means? Superstitiously it means you are now in a soul state, your real body is still in the hospital.
Without the protection here, going outside would result in death."
Jiang Lai nodded, circled around, then tentatively reached out.
Beneath her palm was something hard, cold with a slight electric current. Keeping her hand there, she could clearly feel pain.
She retracted her hand.
"Okay, didn’t you just say I could go home soon? Let me go back and take a look, I almost forgot where home is after being away so long."
Little Buding hesitated for a moment.
"This requires an application, I don’t have the authority."
"Tut tut tut... President Ding is not competent enough."
Little Buding felt a bit unhappy, keeping a stern face.
"Some rules must be followed, otherwise there will be penalties, but don’t worry. With my current status, the leadership won’t disagree with such a small request."
Half an hour later.
A cold mechanical voice came from the intercom.
"Before the mission is completely finished, the host cannot touch the outside world. As an agent, don’t you even understand such basic knowledge?"
Little Buding was silent for a long time.
Upon returning, before he could speak, Jiang Lai said directly.
"Suddenly it seems there’s no point in going out, forget it, might as well just lie down and rest instead."
Little Buding looked at Jiang Lai, almost thinking she knew everything he had just gone through.
But how could she know?
Perhaps she really just didn’t want to go out.
But... Jiang Lai is so smart. If she could guess, it wouldn’t surprise Little Buding.
"I just got approval for you. If you want to go, then go and have a look."
"President Ding is really amazing."
"Of course, but you must follow my instructions strictly. When I tell you to go, you must go, and when I tell you to come back, you must return immediately without a second’s delay, understand?"
Jiang Lai nodded.
"Okay."
There’s no way around it. Going through so many worlds with Jiang Lai, seeing her exert every effort to complete each mission, while he was like a bystander, barely able to help her.
He felt a bit guilty, and looked at Jiang Lai with a bit of unease.
If he couldn’t fulfill such a request, then he would make a very poor partner.
"You rest first, I’ll let you know when it’s time."
Jiang Lai lay down peacefully and continued to sleep.
Watching her like that, Little Buding once again muttered a complaint.
"You seem really relaxed."
He said it with a suppressed smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Doesn’t this just show that Jiang Lai trusts him enough?
Indeed, he is the best agent.
It’s hard to know how much time passed before Little Buding called Jiang Lai awake.
"Stop sleeping, get up and do as I say."
Jiang Lai groggily got up.
She looked at the void space ahead, which suddenly slowly cracked open. Little Buding urged.
"Hurry, walk through it." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Jiang Lai quickly responded, deftly slipping through the crack.
The instant she got out, her body suddenly felt weighted down like it was filled with lead, becoming incredibly heavy. The limp limbs and heavy head made even opening her eyes difficult.
At that moment, she knew she was back, back in her own body.
This body felt like a long-abandoned machine, with every part rusting, even the simplest act of opening her eyes left Jiang Lai utterly drained.
The glaring sunshine made her eyes squint.
Despite this, she stubbornly stared into the light.
Such a real feeling, this half-dead sensation precariously clinging to life with the next second about to die, it’s been many years since she felt this.
Opening her eyes was the first step. Sitting up was the second. Jiang Lai used up almost all her strength, drenched in sweat, leaning against the bed and looking around.
The alarm sound of the monitor was harsh inside the hospital room.
Soon, footsteps came from outside, hurriedly.
The moment the door was pushed open, she turned her head to look at the first person walking in.
Wearing a white coat, with a stethoscope hanging around the neck, black socks and gray leather slippers on his feet, his hair was long, almost covering his eyes, the whole head of natural curls tied up casually with a knot.
