197: Chapter 197 Shake hands, shake hands
Meanwhile, inside a "parallel instance" of another timeline.
The 2D streamer A-Dai was following closely behind Meltryllis, cautiously stepping into the interior of the oil rig base.
The metal corridor was covered everywhere with that eerie, red-and-black fleshy tissue that seemed to be breathing.
"Such a stifling feeling……" A-Dai swallowed, feeling as if the surrounding air had become heavy.
Meltryllis, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped and turned around, her purple eyes filled with seriousness.
"Since the contract has been established, there are some cruel realities I must explain to you in advance."
"This deep-sea computer paradise is based on the physical form of the oil rig base and was forcibly constructed using virtual spiritrons."
"Due to the terrifying water pressure at the bottom of the sea and BB's special settings, the flow of time here has a massive time difference of a full hundred times compared to the outside world!"
Hearing the hardcore sci-fi concept of a "hundred-fold time difference," A-Dai was stunned for a moment.
The audience in the livestream also perked up their ears.
"In other words," Meltryllis extended those slender, fair hands and gestured a number.
"In terms of Earth time outside, this oil rig base has about two and a half hours left before it will be completely crushed by the water pressure and sink into the deepest part of the Mariana Trench."
"And when converted into the time within our paradise……"
"We have at most less than ten days to defeat the mastermind and solve everything."
A-Dai gasped.
"Ten days?! In such a massive labyrinth, we need to find BB and also defeat her?"
"That's right. Once the time limit is exceeded, the paradise will be completely annihilated along with the physical collapse of the oil rig, and we will be buried with it."
A rare look of gravity appeared on Meltryllis's exquisite, cold face.
However, facing this life-or-death countdown crisis.
A-Dai's focus, however, shifted to an unbelievable place.
Her gaze followed Meltryllis's slender neck, all the way down, landing on the pair of hands slightly hanging by her sides.
"Um…… Sister Meltryllis, Sis Li~"
A-Dai rubbed her hands together, a lecherous blush suddenly appearing on her face, and even her voice became coy.
"Although time is very tight, but…… can I, shake your hand?"
Once these words were spoken, not to mention Meltryllis, even the tens of thousands of viewers in the livestream were dumbfounded.
"WTF? Is Dai-mei's lecherous girl attribute acting up again?"
"She was shivering in fear just a moment ago, but now she can't even walk when she sees a cold, beautiful girl, right!"
"Death under the peony flower is still romantic! As expected of you, Dai-mei!"
Hearing this request, Meltryllis was visibly stunned.
"Huh? What kind of crazy talk is that?"
Meltryllis subconsciously took half a step back, her brows furrowed tightly, and a rare flicker of panic flashed in her eyes.
"First, to thank you for saving my life from the fox swordsman just now."
A-Dai emboldened herself and stepped forward, extending her right hand with eyes full of anticipation.
"Second…… as proof that we have officially formed a contract and will be fighting side-by-side for the next ten days!"
Looking at this defenseless, warm, and fragile human palm in front of her.
Meltryllis fell into a long silence, seemingly hiding some unspeakable secret.
But from the perspective of the Blue Star players, this was just an ordinary, good-willed handshake.
Meltryllis bit her lower lip tightly.
As if she had made some huge decision, she took a deep breath.
Afterwards, that perpetually cold hand, with a tremor she herself had not noticed, gently and carefully rested in A-Dai's palm.
"Only this once."
Meltryllis turned her head away, not daring to look into A-Dai's eyes.
The moment they touched, the VR senses perfectly simulated that strange sensation of coldness and softness intertwined.
However, at the very instant their hands clasped.
Because they were so close, A-Dai's keen hearing clearly captured a whisper, extremely faint and filled with endless complex emotions, drifting from Meltryllis's lips:
"So it was…… this simple……"
This abrupt, nonsensical sentence left A-Dai stunned for a moment.
"Eh? Meltryllis, what did you say just now?"
Meltryllis pulled her hand back as if electrocuted; the fleeting moment of fragile emotion vanished without a trace, and she donned her arrogant, sharp-tongued, thorny exterior once again.
"Nothing!"
She snorted coldly, crossed her arms, and glanced at A-Dai superciliously from the corner of her eye.
"I was just surprised that there would be a stupid human who would want to take the initiative to touch an Alterego who could take your life at any moment."
"Stop giggling there, hurry up and follow! If you drag me down, I'll be the first to chop you into pieces!"
With that, the purple-haired girl stepped on those chilling silver blade-legs and walked toward the depths of the corridor without looking back.
Leaving only A-Dai scratching her head in place, looking at the palm she had just used to shake hands.
"Strange, why did it feel like her eyes were about to cry just now?"
……
Just as the yuri bonding plot on A-Dai's side was sparking a frenzy in the comments.
In another timeline, PD's livestream welcomed a bizarre Rashomon moment that was enough to make everyone's brains crash!
"Phew…… why doesn't this ghost place even have a light? Old Thief Gu's hellish aesthetic hasn't changed one bit."
PD was following behind Meltryllis, cautiously passing through an abandoned storage area shrouded in darkness.
Suddenly.
From the dark corner ahead, a ball of incomparably dazzling, almost blinding golden light lit up!
"Enemy attack?!"
PD was so scared he immediately summoned his tactical UI, preparing to engage.
However, when that golden light drew near and revealed its true form, PD froze on the spot.
It was a tall knight clad in heavy, silver-white armor, with brilliant blonde hair, and his whole body radiating a holy brilliance like the scorching midday sun.
In his hand, he held the holy sword that symbolized the wheel of the sun—Excalibur Galatine.
Our Servant!
The conscience of the Knights of the Round Table, the Sun Knight—Gawain!
"Master! Thank goodness, you are safe and sound!"
The moment he saw PD, a look of relief immediately appeared on Gawain's handsome face.
He strode forward, planted the holy sword in the ground, knelt on one knee, and performed a standard knightly salute.
"Just now, when we Rayshifted into this Singularity, we were forcibly repelled by an unknown force, causing everyone to become separated."
"I searched for a long time, and now I have finally reunited with you!"
Looking at the Prince Charming radiating blinding light in front of him, PD opened his mouth wide, and three huge question marks slowly appeared on his forehead.
"No…… wait!"
PD subconsciously took a step back, pointing at Gawain's nose, his voice cracking.
"Why are you here?!"
Gawain was completely baffled by the question, his azure eyes filled with pure confusion.
"Master, what are you talking about? As the guardian chosen by you, I should naturally follow you into this deep sea."
"Bullshit!"
PD was so agitated he jumped up, "Before I came here, the three Servants I chose were clearly Nero, Emiya, and Tamamo-no-Mae!"
"Where is my Roman tyrant?! Where is my Umu-monster?! Where did that beautiful girl in the red dress with big eyes and a delicate demeanor go?!"
"How did my delicate red Saber wife turn into you, a 1.9-meter-tall sun gorilla, as soon as I landed!!!"
Facing PD's hysterical breakdown and roar.
Gawain was similarly stunned and bewildered.
He thought seriously for a moment, then looked at PD with a gaze full of concern, even suspecting that his Master's brain might have been blown out.
"Master…… did you experience some hallucination during the impact just now?"
Gawain corrected him straight-faced: "At the time in the control room, the three Servants you chose were a Saber, Mr. Emiya, and Ms. Tamamo-no-Mae."
The knight patted his hard chest armor, emitting a dull thud.
"I, Gawain, am that Saber!"