Zongman, Rebirth of the Heaven-Defying Kirito

As she fell into a deep sleep, Xiaoxing's consciousness seemed to sink into the cold, deep sea, gradually plummeting downwards.

Everything in my vision was blurry, as if I were in a cold vacuum.

I don't know how long I floated, but suddenly images began to appear before my eyes.

When I came to my senses, I was already on a clean, smooth floor, and the clothes I was wearing had somehow turned into an oversized white lab coat.

Looking up, there was a pale white ceiling overhead, devoid of any decoration, with only cold light tubes emitting a glaring light.

This looks like a laboratory.

But deep in her consciousness, a voice told her: This is a cage, a place that traps her.

Not far away, several figures dressed in identical research coats were busy at work. Their movements were mechanical, their faces expressionless, and they didn't even make a sound when they walked.

Xiaoxing's gaze was involuntarily drawn to a figure directly in front of her.

It was a tall man wearing a white lab coat, his back to her, intently adjusting a complex piece of equipment in front of him.

The moment she saw the other person, a strange sense of familiarity suddenly welled up in her heart, causing her to catch her breath.

I seem to... know this man?

She tried hard to see the man's profile clearly, to recall fragments of memories about him, but her mind was as if shrouded in a thick fog, and no matter how hard she struggled, she could not penetrate that barrier.

Who is he...?

Just then, the man suddenly stopped what he was doing.

He slowly turned around, his movements slow and stiff, like a marionette.

But Xiaoxing could clearly feel a cold, emotionless gaze falling upon her.

The man finally spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion, and devoid of any warmth befitting family: "It's your turn."

"Yes... Father."

"—!"

Xiaoxing suddenly sat up in bed, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for breath, her forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

She stared in shock at the familiar wooden ceiling before her, her heart still pounding uncontrollably.

The dream she just had was too real; the cold laboratory, the mechanical researchers, and the man's emotionless eyes were all deeply imprinted in her mind.

"Was that...my memory?" she murmured softly, her eyes filled with confusion and fear.

As her emotions gradually calmed down, Xiaoxing looked around and found herself sitting on the bed.

Yui was still fast asleep beside him, her little head resting gently on the pillow, a faint smile on her lips, seemingly unaware of the commotion that had just occurred.

The adults who were originally lying on either side were no longer in bed.

Xiaoxing carefully rolled out of bed, trying not to make a sound and wake Yui.

Following her memory of yesterday, she tiptoed down the stairs to the living room on the first floor.

Kirito was sitting on the sofa with a blue virtual screen floating in front of him. He was gently swiping his finger across the screen, seemingly browsing the news or something.

Seeing that Kirito was still there, Sachi felt a sense of relief.

For some reason, she always subconsciously felt that the warm family atmosphere in front of her was somewhat unreal, as if it might disappear at any moment.

Especially the terrifying dream she just had made her even more afraid of waking up to find herself all alone.

She hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Father, where did Mother go?"

Upon hearing this, Kirito closed the virtual screen in front of him, turned to look at the girl, and smiled gently: "Oh, it's Sachi. You're up so early. Asuna has some things to take care of, but she'll be back soon."

He didn't tell Xiaoxing that Asuna had actually logged off; after all, she was still human and needed to eat.

This was something he and Asuna had agreed upon.

The two took turns logging off, ensuring that one of them always stayed in the cabin with the two children.

This answer completely put Xiaoxing at ease.

Then, she suddenly realized what Kirito had called her earlier and tilted her head in confusion: "Sachi... was he calling me?"

Kirito smiled and explained, "Yes, you've temporarily forgotten your name, so last night, Asuna and I discussed it and named you 'Xiao Xing'."

Kirito quickly added, "Of course, if you don't like it, we can change the way we address you."

Unexpectedly, the girl whispered, "No need to change it. 'Xiao Xing' is a very nice name. Please, Father, call me that."

Her voice was soft, yet carried a hint of firmness.

This was the first name that belonged to her after she woke up, and she liked it very much.

Kirito smiled and nodded: "Okay, then I'll call you Sachi from now on."

Xiaoxing didn't say anything more, but simply sat down next to Kirito without making a sound.

She really liked this hard-won family atmosphere.

The warm fire and the gentle 'father' beside her made her feel exceptionally at ease.

A short while later, the door of the wooden house was gently pushed open, and Asuna walked in.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw two figures, one tall and one short, sitting close together on the sofa. She couldn't help but laugh and tease, "You two have become such good friends?"

The girl didn't care, but Kirito had already stood up helplessly: "I'll go call Yui down for breakfast..."

Asuna walked over to the girl, gently patted her head, and asked, "Is Sachi hungry? I'll make breakfast right away."

Xiaoxing actually wanted to say that she wasn't hungry yet, but seeing Asuna's enthusiastic eyes, she swallowed the words back.

She nodded gently: "Okay, thank you, Mother."

She also really enjoyed the delicious food, especially the food prepared by her 'mother'.

Asuna smiled, ruffled her hair, and turned to walk into the open kitchen.

Kirito brought the dazed Yui to the dining table, just as Asuna finished breakfast.

Xiaoxing was still a little confused as to why breakfast could be prepared so quickly, in less than ten minutes.

The answer is SAO Technology.

It wasn't until Asuna came out carrying the tray that this happened.

Plates of fresh shrimp dumplings were neatly arranged, and the tender pink shrimp meat inside could be clearly seen through the thin skin; next to them were several bowls of pumpkin porridge, which looked sweet and delicious.

The two combined greatly increase one's appetite.

"Wow~" Yui, still half asleep, rubbed her eyes and walked into the living room. As soon as she saw the food on the dining table, she instantly woke up: "It looks so delicious!"

The four of them sat around the dining table, chatting and laughing as they finished their breakfast.

Afterwards, Kirito took the initiative to clean up the tableware and quickly made the table spotless.

Just then, Asuna suddenly beckoned the three of them to the center of the living room: "Come here for a moment, I have something to show you."

Kirito walked over, puzzled. "What's going on? Is there some kind of surprise?"

Asuna smiled and winked, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense: "Did you think I just left the cabin to log off and go eat?"