Brain-Melting Gibberish

"I believe there's very little in this world that I can't get if I want it."

On a rainy day, nine-year-old Qiuchan spotted an animal locked up in a dark corner of the circus.

It had been abandoned, and was so tiny and thin that its chains and collar were bigger than its wrists. Its fur was sparse, and every rib showed.

"Do you have a name? Do you have parents? Can you talk? I'll give you a name!"

The other simply looked at her in silence.

And so nine-year-old Qiuchan rescued Xiaochun, ragged and barely able to speak, and bought her to take home.

Qiuchan discovered why Xiaochun had been abandoned. She seemed to have unusual side wings, and could stare directly at the sun. Strange rustling sounds came from the kitchen in the middle of the night, and at certain moments, Xiaochun looked less than human.

The other grew stronger and more mature, yet remained silent. No matter how many years passed, her gaze stayed calm whenever she looked at Qiuchan.

It wasn't until she pinned Qiuchan's hand down that Qiuchan belatedly felt a faint sense of shock.

...She was so strong now. Qiuchan couldn't break free anymore.

※

"Safety Guidelines for Handling Lifeform ASR19-002":

1. Do not attack at night. The organism is unstable at night, with increased attack power and a higher threat level.

2. Do not use conventional firearms. The organism's hearing threshold is 10 Hz-76 KHz. Within 0.3 seconds of an attack being initiated, it can determine the nature of the attack through vibrations in the air.

3. Carefully monitor wind speed, sound levels, and thermal radiation around the organism. If any exceed normal levels by 10%, evacuate immediately.

4. As the organism has recently escaped, all units are to search for it while ensuring workplace safety. ASR19-002 is extremely unstable and highly aggressive, and cannot hide naturally among crowds. Search diligently in remote mountains and caves far from human society.

5. ASR19-002 enters a weakened state from September to December due to a lack of energy, remaining close to dormant for most of this time. During this period, pay close attention to locations it could use for hibernation.

6. ...

7. Good luck, everyone.

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I'm planning to start a sci-fi idea-bucket novel at the end of the year, called Just Say You Like Video Games. I've really wanted to write about a game developer in a cultivation world... Cultivation with spiritual energy just isn't fun without some tech!

Here's the blurb:

After two straight months of working overtime, Liu Xi finally died gloriously from overwork. Then she became the master of a secret realm in the cultivation world.

Secret realms are usually ownerless spaces filled with countless traps, formations, and guardian beasts. Every year, sects send batches of promising young disciples to explore them as part of their trials.

The master can control a secret realm at will. With nothing better to do, Liu Xi turned hers into an escape room.

During the sect trials in the first year, the disciples were nearly wiped out by all the Cthulhu NPCs inside.

During the sect trials in the second year, the disciples brought better equipment and more powerful protective artifacts, then played a cultivation-world version of Werewolf mixed with an escape room.

On their third visit, the cultivators got their first look at the cyberpunk world's magnetic field cannons, plasma lightsabers, and blasters.

The cultivators: ...This is so flashy! It's so cool I'm shaking!

Spiritual energy is a kind of energy, too! So artificial reactors can produce it! Physical jumps! Space transmission! ...Cyber-cultivation is within reach!

Before long, the secret realm was more lively than ever.

Senior Brother of Xunfeng Sect: Junior Sister, aren't you going to morning class today?

Junior Sister of Xunfeng Sect: Ahem, I've already done my trial. Aren't you supposed to be teaching the disciples, Senior Brother?

Senior Brother: Uh, improving our strength is important. Anyway... I've already done my trial, too.

After watching for a while, Liu Xi began to smile. "Just say you like games. Why pretend?"

The stronger the mechanisms in a secret realm, the more precious the spiritual treasures it contains. The more explorers it attracts, the more spiritual energy flows back to the realm.

After opening a portal into the secret realm, Liu Xi discovered that, perhaps because her soul came from another world, she could enter the realm through the electronic sea, which took the form of a full-immersion game.

There were few cultivators, but plenty of spiritual energy. Blue Star had little spiritual energy, but a huge population. And so one day, Silkwoven Virtual Reality Technologies and Entertainment Co., Ltd. went live as well.

With the help of spirit stones and energy fields, a truly revolutionary full-immersion game began sweeping the globe the very next day, taking the world by storm.

As the number of players exploded, spiritual energy as vast as the sea surged toward the secret realm's master.

Silkwoven Virtual Reality: Boundless Frontiers Everywhere.

"Boundless+Frontiers+Everywhere."

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Theme: Hold fast to the faith in your heart