144: Love, Fate and Mecha (Part 2)

【She comes to your side and expresses her heartfelt gratitude to you. She takes a pear out of her clothes and hands it to you. You refuse, because eating this might cause your Mech's waterproofing to deteriorate.】

【You eat it anyway.】

【Ge Ran wants to touch your hand, even though her palm is not even as large as one of your fingers.】

【She touches it, and then is scalded to tears.】

【You feel extremely dejected.】

【Non-gregarious + 10】

【Loneliness + 10】

【You thought the day was over. It is already very late, and the setting sun is about to sink below the horizon, becoming redder and redder.】

【Ge Ran, however, refuses to give up. While blowing on her scalded hand, she sits down beside you.】

【Then, she leans her head against your arm.】

【Her damp long hair steams with heat. For the first time, your steel body perceives the concept of softness. Soon, Ge Ran's hair is dried by the heat of your body. Ge Ran points to her hair, saying that her mother has to spend money to get a perm, but she got hers permed without spending a cent. She repeats this sentence several times. She is very happy and wants to share this happiness with you. Obviously, she hopes you understand, fearing you might not.】

【You watch that slightly singed hair dancing in the evening breeze. Data tells you she is lying, but everything happening before your eyes is stored separately in a blank area of your memory drive, undisturbed. You cannot yet grasp the meaning of such content, but you feel it is meaningful.】

【You have gained a friend.】

【Loneliness - 1】

【You are very surprised that your loneliness decreased so little.】

【Before going to sleep, you figure it out.】

【You know that a Mech and a human cannot have a future. Furthermore, you have a greater mission, an innate mission.】

【At 12 years old, you are about to enter junior high school. Your mother hears that the school you are attending has been exposed for several instances of school bullying. Your mother is very worried about you, fearing that school bullying might befall you. But your father tilts his head back 90 degrees, looks at you, already 8 meters tall, and thinks your mother's words make a lot of sense—if school bullying were to happen to you, your 8 million in savings wouldn't be enough to compensate the other party.】

【You lower your body and lie on the ground so that you can be at the same height as your parents. Your mother gently strokes your head; her hands are cool and comfortable. You do not notice your mother's brows trembling slightly, as if everything is as it should be.】

【Elementary school life is unforgettable. You made a friend, a fleeting friend. That day, Ge Ran went home and was given a "mixed doubles training," crying very loudly. Your mother mentioned the [Swimming Pool] incident, but you were very sleepy and didn't take it to heart.】

【Your parents vaguely reveal that Ge Ran's parents drew a Red Card and will be promoted to the upper class. Ge Ran will also move to a big city to attend the best junior high school in the country, and she will make friends with the children of the people at the very top of this world.】

【You gradually realize that time passes very quickly. Everything you cherish and value will remain in the past. People are bombarded by infinite new things, thus forgetting those unimportant memories, just like a web novel tagged as a "power fantasy." When you are attracted by the beginning and start reading, and when you feel it's satisfying, seeing content that doesn't satisfy you makes you remove the book from your bookshelf and choose another one, because you know there are too many power fantasies to choose from. And even for a web novel you've read hundreds of chapters of, you wouldn't flip back to read the previous chapters again, because you know this is just a crudely made power fantasy catering to the market.】

【But at least, you are only 12 years old now. You cherish everything before you and have not yet come into contact with the core gameplay of Streetlight Gacha.】

【You are 16 years old.】

【Your study habits maintain the bare minimum approach, and your grades are consistently poor. You believe that as long as you open a few dozen KB of your storage space, you could crush the top student in the grade, but you do not do so.】

【You were born with a mission. You are destined to live until the very last day, plainly, without ripples, unnoticed, and lonely.】

【Your memory drive records some content that seems unimportant.】

【In the second year of junior high, you become the class monitor for three classes. It is not because your academic grades are outstanding and you are valued by the head teachers of the three classes, but because your height has already reached 15 meters. Sitting on the 3rd floor, your head sticks out next to the blackboard newspaper on the 6th floor. You are very intimidating, making those underachieving students afraid to cause any trouble.】

【In the third year of junior high, the Dean of Students does not want you to be the class monitor, so he chooses to let the students of the three classes vote.】

【The first candidate for class monitor is a male student, the top student in the entire grade.】

【The second is the top student among the girls in the grade.】

【There are 210 students in total. The rules are simple: all three candidates have 210 votes, spread over three rounds. The one with the most votes becomes the class monitor. However, voters can choose not to vote, meaning they can choose to abstain on the slip of paper. The Dean of Students considers that if they voted normally, some people might receive very few votes, which would hurt their self-esteem—for example, that student who can provide heating to three classes without turning on the air conditioning.】

【The first, Student A, the top student among the boys, received 106 votes. More than half of the students cast a vote for him.】

【The second, Student B, the top student among the girls, received 104 votes. Slightly less than the first candidate. She is a bit disappointed.】

【The Dean of Students feels there is no need to continue voting. After all, based on observations, your performance among the students is not good; your grades are poor, you are not gregarious, and you often affect other students' studies due to accidents.】

【Your head teacher, that slightly balding head teacher with a very lecherous look in his eyes, smiles and tries to smooth things over.】

【The voting proceeds anyway.】

【The results are out.】

【210 people voted, and you received 209 votes.】

【You look at that number, unable to understand why it is this number. You see a male student in front turn around; half a month ago, his mother was sick, and you donated 100 yuan. You see several female students looking at you and smiling; you sat downstairs at the girls' dormitory, extended your arm under the drainage faucet, and the cold water fell onto your arm, instantly turning into comfortable hot water...】

【The student closest to your head secretly whispers to you. You remember him; he took the wrong bus home, and you carried him and delivered him to his doorstep. He gives another answer: "I bribed the student collecting the votes in advance. I wrote over a dozen votes myself. My dear class monitor, you must understand... it's just... turn a blind eye..."】

【Time passes really fast.】

【For your junior high graduation exam, you slightly increased your scores just enough to get into the most ordinary high school.】

【You are suddenly a bit reluctant to leave. In junior high, you met many classmates. Some were shy, some were lively. Within a distance that could not be escaped, the contact you could not refuse was like forced time, leaving forced traces.】

【You suddenly recall that at the New Year's party in your third year of junior high, you were enthusiastically invited to choose a song to sing at the party. This is a secret; the head teacher will keep this secret for you and will not tell anyone before the party, regardless of whether you agree or not.】

【You hesitate.】

【The head teacher says you need to try to be more cheerful, and you also need to try to ask others for things, or rather, get what you deserve. Only then can you make friends, get rid of loneliness, and gain happiness.】

【Your processor tells you this violates your great mission.】

【But your second processor tells you that this might unlock hidden side quests, even though you cannot see the acquisition of points or side quest points.】

【You agree to the head teacher. You write down a song you happened to hear and thought was the best-sounding one at the very bottom of the New Year's party song list.】

【Expectation + 1】

【On the day of the New Year's party, the others' performances were unsatisfactory. They chose songs praising love, and there were even male-female duet segments. The boys from the three classes scoffed at this.】

【You take the stage. You turn on the Mech's accompaniment. It is as if everyone is in the presence of a symphony orchestra; the sound of the violin is gentle and melodious.】

【Your voice is hoarse and green. Many classmates hear you speak for the first time.】

"After the wind and rain, there may not be a beautiful sky"

"It doesn't mean there will be a rainbow just because it clears up"

"So your innocent face"

"Does not mean you are naive"

【They listen quietly, unlike the noise and playfulness when watching others. They are very quiet, as quiet as you have been for the past three years.】

"In heaven or on earth"

"If it is truly worth praising"

"It is because of you"

"That it becomes noisy"

"The sky is big, the earth is big"

"The world is more hazy than you imagine"

"I cannot bear to deceive you anymore"

"I hope you can understand"

(From the Green Onion Scientist version: Human World)

【Entering high school does not go that smoothly. At 16 meters tall, a separate teaching building needs to be built for you. No school dares to accept you. You say you can sit in a corner without moving, so one high school accepts you.】

【Years later, when you are one hundred meters tall, you will still recall that time in high school. Back then, you thought it was your loneliest time, but it was just the beginning.】

【You are like an observer, watching everything happening around you. When the students do their exercises, you sit on the side and watch. If you were to move, the entire school would be destroyed.】

【Compared to junior high, in high school, you vaguely come into contact with the core gameplay of Streetlight Gacha, which is to increase the probability of drawing Green Cards. This requires diligent study to enrich yourself to increase the probability. This is not empty talk, but a real, tangible increase in probability.】

【As mentioned before, the probability of drawing cards can be changed. As long as you study hard and strive diligently, everyone can change their own life.】

【You sit next to the teaching building, looking through an open window at the teacher teaching. You see the impassioned slogan written on the blackboard: "9 days left until the college entrance exam, must draw three Green Cards."】

【You can choose your future direction, which will also affect the future probability of drawing cards.】

【1. Choose Liberal Arts: Your comprehension +50%, memory +50%. When working in fields like education, media, law, finance, culture, and arts in the future, the probability of drawing related Green Cards increases by 50%.】

【2. Choose Science: Your logic ability +50%, pragmatism +50%. When working in fields like scientific research, technology R&D, engineering design, medicine, and programming in the future, the probability of drawing related Green Cards increases by 50%.】

【You are curious about what would happen if you didn't choose anything, but your processor tells you that not choosing will affect the acquisition of side quest points. This is part of fate.】

【You choose 2.】

【Logic ability + 50%】

【Pragmatism + 50%】

【You fall into memories again, and a flashback starts before your eyes.】

【Your pragmatism tells you that falling into memories is not a good thing, so you set off, leave your hometown, and head to university.】

【You originally thought that after meeting more people, someone would be willing to be friends with a 25-meter Mech. You are too big, making people fear and dread you.】

【Gregariousness - 80】

【Loneliness + 80】

【Uniqueness + 80】

【Occasionally, you watch the humans at your feet; it takes them a while just to walk from your heel to your toes.】

【It seems you don't need to be friends with bugs either.】

【Gregariousness - 200】

【Loneliness + 200】

【Uniqueness + 200】

【Your parents come to visit you. A strange smell often appears in your memory. Later, when you enter a big city and pass by a barbecue restaurant, you smell a similar scent.】

【When your mother wants to stroke your head, you make no move. You look at your somewhat panicked parents. From your perspective, they are very far away from you, even though they are right at your feet.】

【You are 23 years old. Looking back at the past, your card draws have been mediocre; no Blue or higher cards have appeared, nor have any major illnesses or disasters occurred.】

【Your employment is a big problem. This world has clear class distinctions; people at the bottom can only do the work of those at the bottom. No one can break the class barriers. Your height has already surpassed 36 meters, and there isn't much space for you to choose from.】

【You keep your mission firmly in mind, but your second processor reminds you not to be too stubborn. Fate is dead; the person who set the mission rules might hope you possess more subjective initiative.】

【You turn off the second processor. You feel that fate cannot be insulted; it is the only meaning of your existence. Denying fate is denying your 23 years of Mech life.】

【So, what is fate? It is very clear: live until the last day, no matter how long that day may be.】

【And before that, you need to be cautious and careful in obtaining points and side quest points.】

【Your first job does not go very smoothly. The other party requires proper attire, but you are dressed too fashionably. The other party doubts your work attitude, and you are eliminated.】

【So, you decide to start with basic work. You choose to deliver food, but you cannot quite control your strength. Your strength is increasing every moment, and you can easily spill the food.】

【You set your sights on delivering packages, thinking that packages wouldn't involve soups or liquids. You miscalculated; you crushed a phone worth 10,000 yuan, and you are fired.】

【But you eventually find a job suitable for you. In the largest city of the Streetlight world, which is booming, various talents are needed.】

【You get a good job moving bricks at a construction site. You are a mobile, zero-cost crane. Your efficiency is unrivaled. Although you will displace many people because of this, the boss doesn't care; after all, he still only pays one salary.】

【Later, you notice a girl getting very close to the boss. You open your long-sealed memory drive and find the same face—that day's sunset, the singed hair—that you still haven't figured out to this day.】