"The finished product is already made?"
He approached with surprise, but his head was quickly smacked by Dr. Tesla next to him: "How could it be that fast? It's just a semi-finished product."
Pushing away Yǔ's hands that wanted to touch everything, Dr. Tesla began operating the computer on a nearby table, while Dr. Einstein stood before them.
With her slightly messy curly hair and unenergetic eyes, she looked at them and explained, "The estimated full release of the mature product will be four to five years from now; we are still conducting tests on new technologies one by one."
"Of course, the most important safety issues have been guaranteed. Currently, we are verifying the virtual reality sensation and cross-platform online functions."
"When looking for testers, Welt recommended you. He said to let you get in touch with it in advance, so you can better transplant pokemon into the virtual reality world later."
"So, I can now experience true virtual reality?"
Yǔ completely ignored Dr. Einstein's long speech, selectively hearing only this one thing.
"If you want to think of it that way, then of course you can."
Yawning, Dr. Einstein's eyes closed a little more, and even her voice became more listless: "Dr. Tesla has almost finished adjusting the basic settings. You can lie down in it now."
Pointing to the large iron box in the center of the room, she slowly said.
"Then…"
Yǔ did not step forward. Instead, he looked back at the three equally expectant figures, then looked at Dr. Einstein with an inquiring gaze.
His meaning was clear, but the doctor shook her head: "I'm sorry, there is only one available test machine at the moment."
"Is that so…"
Patting their suddenly disappointed little heads, Yǔ wanted to remain calm, but the corners of his mouth, which he couldn't suppress, still made him say with a smile: "Since that's the case, I'll experience it for you first."
"Tsk, hurry up."
Not wanting to see Yu's smug look anymore, Bronya pushed him, and he took the opportunity to walk over to the large iron box, slowly crawling in according to Dr. Einstein's instructions.
Inside the iron box was a hollowed-out metal groove. Besides the circular restraining devices, there was only a rough helmet that could be worn, with dense data cables connected to it, making for a rather peculiar sight.
Following the prompt, he lay down at the bottom of the groove, then picked up the helmet and put it on his head.
The ergonomic design of the bottom made him feel comfortable when lying down, even as comfortable as a soft bed, but the helmet felt a bit rough when worn.
After adjusting the angle for a while to make the back of his head more comfortable, Yǔ signaled that he was ready.
"Mm."
Click.
As Dr. Einstein pressed a button, all the restraining devices closed, tightly clamping his limbs. Before Yǔ could get nervous, he heard her slowly say: "Don't worry, these are just to accurately measure your vital signs, to prevent your heart rate from accelerating due to excessive stimulation, which could lead to a series of accidents. They are a form of safety device."
"I see."
Yǔ wanted to nod, but found that his head was also clamped at this time and he couldn't move at all.
"Is this thing still dangerous?"
Seele's worried voice came, and soon received Dr. Tesla's comforting voice: "Don't worry, this kid is strong and healthy, he'll be fine. This is mainly for those who are weak or have cardiovascular diseases. Putting it on him is just a precaution. The safety has been rigorously tested, otherwise Cocolia wouldn't agree, right?"
After comforting Seele, Yǔ soon saw Dr. Tesla's head poke out from outside the iron box, looking at him and saying: "How does it feel?"
"Not bad, it's just that the comfort of this helmet needs improvement."
"Oh, the previous testers all seemed to say that. We'll let the design students optimize it later."
Not too concerned about this, Dr. Tesla looked at the screen next to her. After confirming that Yǔ's body had no problems, she finally spoke: "Since that's the case, I'm ready to start. Relax your body."
Relax?
Without giving him time to think, Yǔ suddenly felt a numbness in the back of his head, and then his eyes went black, losing his vision of reality.
He didn't faint; instead, he had an indescribable strange feeling. His consciousness seemed to be dragged by something, slowly rising in one direction, rising, and rising again.
After an unknown amount of time, perhaps an hour, perhaps a second, Yǔ felt like a survivor who had just escaped from drowning, lying on the ground and breathing heavily.
Wait, lying down?
Quickly realizing something was wrong, Yǔ suddenly lifted his head. His vision had no delay, and just like in reality, he saw a scene identical to the actual one.
This was a small room about twenty square meters. There was no bed, no window, only a full-length mirror in front of him and a door.
"This, this, this…"
He widened his eyes in shock, looking at his identical face in the mirror. Leaning closer, even each strand of hair was distinct. He raised his hand to touch it, and the smooth sensation made him feel as if he were truly in reality.
"This is too absurd."
He muttered to himself, while also feeling himself all over.
At this moment, he suddenly remembered something and quickly lowered his head to look at the white shorts he was automatically wearing after entering, reaching out his hand to them.
Damn, they really wouldn't come off!
This thing was like it was stuck to his body. Although he felt like he was wearing something, he just couldn't take it off; no matter how much he pulled, it was useless.
"Hello, hello, hello, can you hear me?"
Just as he was constantly trying to figure out how to take off his shorts, Dr. Tesla's voice suddenly came from his ear.
"I can hear you, I can hear you."
"Okay, then I'll make it short. Swipe down with your finger to bring up the virtual menu. You can check the specific content yourself. In two minutes, you'll be teleported to the cross-device cloud in cooperation with Schicksal. At that time, you just need to stay there to test the stability."
"Alright, anything else?"
"No… Oh, by the way, the underwear can't be taken off, no need to try."
"...Can you see what I look like now?"
"No, but every previous tester asked the same question. Did you try to take it off too?"
"...No!"
"Okay, keep up the good work. The first test is expected to end in two hours."
Tesla's voice then disappeared, and Yǔ, following her instructions, gently swiped down with his hand.
Subsequently, a virtual interface, like the strip menu in SAO, appeared before his eyes.
"Personal Profile, Change Outfit, Items, Settings, Log Out."
There were only five simple options. Personal Profile, needless to say, contained his personal information. The item bar was also empty. In Settings, he could adjust some things, such as visual effects and pain sensation. Pain sensation was defaulted to 10% and could be adjusted up to 50%.
Finally, he turned his gaze to Change Outfit. He had expected it to be as empty as the item bar, but the dazzling array of 'equipment' almost blinded him.
Alright, alright, you haven't even made the items yet, but you're making skins first, huh? Are you Tencent?
He grumbled inwardly, then looked at them one by one.
Homu, Hime, Himeko, Ho…
After looking around, all of them were Homu series. Tsk, there must be a fanatical Homu fan mixed in with the R&D team. He casually clicked on the most basic Homu King set, and he immediately felt something put on his body.
"Is there no animation for putting on clothes?"
He mumbled, and then looked at the mirror again.
In the mirror, a foolish figure appeared, completely yellow, with erect ears, a large head, dull eyes, and a wide grin.
To be honest, Yǔ had never been able to understand this aesthetic. How did Homu become popular all over the world?
He tried to move a few times and found it surprisingly flexible. He jumped and bounced, propped himself on the ground, and did a Thomas flare, as if he had truly turned into a doll, without any stiffness.
"Hmph, just wait. In four or five years, this place will definitely be filled not with Homu, but with my pokemon!"
Just as he was about to remove the outfit, a sudden sensation of weightlessness came over him. He suddenly remembered Tesla's words—was it time for the transfer?!
"Hello, hello, I haven't changed my clothes yet!!!"
Unfortunately, Tesla, who was operating outside, couldn't hear him. Of course, even if she did, she probably wouldn't care, right?
After the sensation of solid ground returned, the dazzling light made him unable to open his eyes for a moment.
And at this moment, a voice full of surprise appeared in his ear: "Wow, it's really Homu! Grandpa didn't lie to me!!"
"Hmm?"
His eyes adjusted to the light a bit, and as soon as he opened them, he saw a white-haired little girl excitedly pouncing on him. Her height reached at most his chest. She directly jumped up and hugged him, rubbing against him happily.
Lowering his head, looking at the swaying little head, his two thick arms didn't know where to put themselves for a moment.
What's going on? How come there's a loli throwing herself into his arms as soon as he arrives? Did Tesla arrange this kind of benefit?
Is he that kind of person?
Although his body made no movement, Yǔ's heart had already begun a profound condemnation.
At this moment, the little girl looked up at him, her red eyes as beautiful as gems, and a genuinely happy smile on her delicate and cute little face.
"Hiss~"
This was a bit unfair.
He raised his arm, carefully placing his arm, which had no hands, on the little girl's head. She immediately squinted her eyes and rubbed against him, her white hair tied into low twin pigtails swaying with her movements.
According to Dr. Tesla, this was the cross-platform cloud where Schicksal and Anti-Entropy collaborated. So, this little girl in front of him was the person from Schicksal who was testing with him?
It's just, this face, the more he looked at it, the more familiar it seemed…
Schicksal plus this cute face, no way…
The hand stroking her head suddenly froze. Meeting the little girl's somewhat puzzled gaze, Yǔ bit the bullet and asked: "Are you Theresa?"
"Eh?"
The little girl froze for a moment, then a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth: "Homu, you know me?"
It really is her!
Gah! Why is this old woman acting like a maiden!
He opened his mouth, and after hesitating for a long time, Yǔ said somewhat dejectedly: "I grew up listening to Teriri's songs."
"...Pfft, hahahahaha~"
He expected to see Theresa's embarrassed look, but instead, she was still hanging on him, inexplicably laughing non-stop.
No, he was mocking her for being old, right? Why was she still laughing so happily?
"That…"
"Oh, don't worry about it so much! Let's go play!"
His arm was suddenly pulled, and Theresa dragged him forward.
"Play?"
At this moment, Yǔ finally noticed their current situation.
Unlike the enclosed room from earlier, they were now standing on an open, sunlit plain. The direction Theresa was pulling him towards was a grand gate, emblazoned with the five large characters: 'Homu Amusement Park'.
From afar, they could already see the incredibly rich array of rides inside, which in reality would undoubtedly be a sea of joy.
A virtual world naturally didn't require tickets, so they simply rushed in.
Immediately, a cacophony of sounds, a boisterous atmosphere, and pleasant music filled the air. The moment they stepped through the gate, it was as if they had entered another world.
However, Yǔ felt a bit strange seeing all the little Homus acting as tourists and staff.
Unlike him, the light in Theresa's eyes was practically overflowing. She released Yǔ's arm and ran forward happily, her black and red dress fluttering in the wind, revealing her slender, pale calves underneath.
She ran a small circle, looking left and touching right, then turned around, her back to the sun, and happily waved at Yǔ: "Houmu, let's go play!"
Her adorable, constantly swaying figure made Yǔ involuntarily smile.
Forty-something is forty-something, but such a cute Theresa was truly hard to refuse.
Waving back, he, the large Homu, clumsily ran to her side, making her laugh incessantly. Then, she pulled him along, and the two of them started to play wildly on all the amusement rides.
...
Destiny Headquarters.
A man with long golden hair, dressed in the attire of a Destiny Archbishop, entered the deepest laboratory. He dismissed the medical staff in the room and looked at the glowing nutrient capsule, his calm expression revealing an unconcealable tenderness.
This was one of the unparalleled treasures in his heart.
He even lightened his footsteps, slowly walking to the side of the nutrient capsule. Inside, a frail, adorable little girl with large red eyes smiled happily when she saw him.
"Grandpa~"
Her amplified voice was slightly distorted. Otto bent down, placed his hand on the capsule's glass, and asked with a gentle smile: "Luna, did you have fun today?"
"Fun!"
At this, her fragile little body seemed to burst with infinite vitality. She excitedly shared with her grandpa: "Today, I ate cake with Houmu, played bumper cars with him, rode the carousel with him, and..."
After listing each of her experiences, Luna finally added: "Of course, the happiest thing was meeting Houmu, who stayed with me the whole time!"
"Hmm, it's good that Luna is happy."
Otto didn't feel anything amiss. It was Homu Amusement Park, after all. It was normal for Luna to like Homu so much, just like his granddaughter.
"Grandpa, when can we go play next?" Luna's voice carried an expectant tone.
"Perhaps in a week."
"That long..."
The visible disappointment in his granddaughter's eyes made Otto's heart ache a little. He said softly: "Wait a little longer, Luna. Wait a little longer, and the gene adjustment and treatment will be completed soon. Then you'll be able to stand in the sun carefree, just like your sister."
"Mm!!"
The future her grandpa described filled Luna with longing. Then she asked with some anticipation: "Then, when I'm better, can I go play with Houmu?"
Otto paused, then smiled gently: "Of course."
It's just a Homu. As long as Luna likes it, buying a whole building full of Homus wouldn't be a problem!