# 677
Chapter 678: Game Trap
The faint light from the TV screen illuminated An Qingyu's profile, casting a pale glow across her glasses.
She sat calmly across from Yuzuri Takishiro, completely unfazed by the sudden change. She continued to gaze at Yuzuri Takishiro's body, a faint gray light flickering in her eyes as she continuously analyzed her opponent's physical condition.
"Sorry, I might have been a bit too rough." Yuzuri Takishiro smiled apologetically, then gently raised his hand. The power throughout the entire [Pure Land] was restored. "It's been so long since I could talk to someone other than the Oracle Envoys... I may have lost control for a moment."
"No worries."
An Qingyu pushed up her glasses and smiled in return. "I'm curious though. With how strong you are, why would they keep you here for experiments? With your... level, even if seven Oracle Envoys worked together, you should be able to escape unharmed, right?"
Yuzuri Takishiro shook his head.
"I can't?" An Qingyu was stunned.
"They combined still can't beat me." Yuzuri Takishiro said seriously. "Whether it's level, talent, skills, health bar, or combat power, all of them together still can't win against me, because what I possess is a World Boss-level stat sheet."
"..."
If An Qingyu hadn't played games for a while in the past, she really wouldn't have understood what Yuzuri Takishiro was saying.
"Besides, I don't want to leave this place."
"Why?" An Qingyu asked疑惑ly. "Being locked in this room, being experimented on like a lab rat—don't you crave freedom?"
"But if I leave here, I won't be able to play games anymore."
"...?"
Yuzuri Takishiro glanced at her, hesitated for a moment, then stood up from the sofa. His long white hair dragged across the floor like silk as he moved, eventually stopping in front of the television.
He reached out and opened the drawer, revealing countless game cartridges packed inside like a small mountain, dazzling to look at.
"These are my treasures." Yuzuri Takishiro turned around, meeting An Qingyu's gaze as he spoke seriously.
"Here, I have so many games to play, but if I went outside, where would I find this many games? These must be very rare and precious things, right? As long as I cooperate with their injections every day, I can play them infinitely...
Isn't that wonderful?"
An Qingyu: ...???
An Qingyu stared at Yuzuri Takishiro for a long while before she finally understood what was going on.
She had always assumed the Oracle Envoys had used some advanced control method to keep Yuzuri Takishiro imprisoned here. But she never could have imagined... it was just games?
And all of them were games that had been obsolete for two or thirty years!
Wasn't this just tricking a child?
Think about it carefully—though Yuzuri Takishiro looked so grown up, his mental age was only thirteen... And he had been raised entirely in this place. If the Oracle Envoys deceived him in this aspect, he naturally wouldn't have noticed.
An Qingyu glanced at him复杂ly and walked over to the pile of "treasures," crouching down to search through them carefully.
"Metal Slug, King of Fighters, Contra, Super Mario, Beach Volleyball... As expected, they're all outdated games." An Qingyu sighed deeply.
The Oracle Envoys had used this pile of stuff to make Yuzuri Takishiro willingly serve as a test subject for over a decade?
Really...
"How is it? Isn't my collection quite rich?" Yuzuri Takishiro asked with a smile, his eyes already narrowed into slits.
An Qingyu casually tossed the cartridges aside and shook her head. "These things, in a sense, really are 'collectibles'... The Oracle Envoys tricked you. Games outside are everywhere—they're not precious at all. As long as you spend some money, you can buy ten times as many games anytime.
Besides, so many years have passed—outside, the gaming industry has developed to a level you can't even imagine...
These old cartridge readers have been phased out. Outside, there's PS, NS, even VR headsets everywhere..."
Yuzuri Takishiro stood frozen to the side for a long while.
"What's PS? What's VR?"
"PS is..."
The ghostified Jiang Er stood outside the room, her expression complex as she watched these two young people sitting on the floor inside, seriously discussing the development of the gaming industry. She helplessly supported her forehead...
When Yuzuri Takishiro had cut the power to the [Pure Land], she had thought a fierce battle was about to erupt. She had even prepared to forcibly possess him and create an escape opportunity for An Qingyu. But she never could have imagined that events would develop in such a bizarre direction...
After An Qingyu finished introducing the current state of Japan's gaming industry, Yuzuri Takishiro's expression grew strange. He frowned as he打量ed An Qingyu, seemingly somewhat disbelieving.
"The Oracle Envoys said that the technology here is the most advanced in this country."
"They're not wrong about that."
"Then why are there only these games here? Yuzuri Takishiro asked疑惑ly. "If the technology here is advanced, shouldn't the gaming industry be more advanced too?"
"...Public demand is the primary driving force of any industry." An Qingyu patiently explained. "There are only you few people here, so of course they wouldn't produce games. The games the Oracle Envoys gave you were probably collected from a long time ago and brought here."
Yuzuri Takishiro still frowned.
"You don't believe me?"
"I don't."
"Then just go down and see for yourself, won't you?" An Qingyu smiled. "As far as I know, there's a place called Akihabara in this country. There's a whole street full of game stores. If you go there, you'll definitely understand."
Yuzuri Takishiro's eyes sparkled, seemingly tempted.
"What if the Oracle Envoys come back?"
"They can't beat you anyway, so what are you afraid of?" An Qingyu said unhurriedly. "Besides, I can guarantee they won't be able to return here..."
"You're really not lying to me?"
"Relax, I won't lie to you." An Qingyu hesitated for a moment. "Here, I'll help you keep these game cartridges. If you're gone for an extended period, I'll be here.
After all, with your power, it shouldn't be difficult to return to the [Pure Land] anytime."
Yuzuri Takishiro stared at the small mountain of old game cartridges, struggled for a long while, then finally nodded heavily.
"Alright, I'll go down and take a look! If you're lying, I'll definitely come back for you!"
"Oh, and when you go down, remember to look out for your father. He's been searching for you for thirteen years." An Qingyu hadn't forgotten her promise with Yuzuri Kurotetsu.
Yuzuri Takishiro froze, then turned to look at her. His eyes were full of confusion:
"Father... what is that?"