Want to be human, but cube-like

Looking up and around the room, it seemed that only the guitar placed in the corner could be used to kill time.

But this guitar is also filled with memories created with Alex.

After all, I've been practicing guitar so hard, even getting calluses on my fingers, all for the sake of playing with Alex and Lenore.

Ignoring the somewhat conspicuous guitar, Ai Yin continued to let her gaze wander aimlessly over the various objects in the room until she noticed the hard drive on the table, which had been taken from a broken laptop. Her eyes widened in surprise.

Speaking of which, I think I posted a thread before asking about the game Minecraft. I wonder if there are any useful replies in that thread now that it's been so long?

For a while, I was so engrossed in things related to Alex that if I hadn't been looking for something else to distract myself and noticed this hard drive, I would have almost forgotten about the game.

Since she had nothing better to do, she simply took her tablet out of the drawer, opened the browser, and searched through the browsing history. She quickly found the browsing history of that game forum.

However, as soon as Ai Yin clicked in and logged into her new account that she had only used once, a private message popped up in her message bar.

Could it be a fellow Minecraft enthusiast?

With that in mind, Ai Yin opened the private message.

[May I ask, is the character you are controlling in this game male or female? What is their name?]

The first thing the other person said surprised her.

…………

Volume 1: Chapter 191 Are you Anon?

Why would you focus on this kind of place first?

Ai Yin looked very confused.

In this game, the character controlled by the player is only the least important part. If you don't pay attention to the character's skin, the average player won't even notice that the character they are controlling has a gender and a name.

[They're female! The male character in this game is named Steve, and the female character is named Alex.]

A few doubts arose in her heart, but Aine still replied.

She's quite familiar with this, since she always gives her character new skins.

After thinking for a moment, Ai Yin deleted the question she originally wanted to ask about the game's official website and instead typed in another sentence.

Have you ever played this game?

What Aine didn't say was that she wasn't questioning why the other person didn't know the character's gender and name, but rather why the other person would ask such a question in the first place.

It's no wonder she raised such a question; after all, most players who understand the game wouldn't make such a strange statement.

At least they won't focus on things that are unimportant.

Meanwhile, Xiangzi, who was still looking at the other party's previous reply, had just calmed down his somewhat excited emotions.

To protect Alex's privacy, Xiangzi certainly wouldn't ask her directly by name. She could only probe indirectly, letting her reveal information about the game that might relate to Alex.

However, she didn't expect that it would be so easy to get information from the other party that might be related to Alex.

The game styles are so similar, the character names are so identical... Could this really just be a coincidence?

Xiangzi felt that he was about to uncover the truth.

But then she saw the next inquiry from the other party, and she was slightly taken aback again.

Of course I've played it, but I'm still a newbie. I'm currently playing Skyblock World...

After hesitating for a moment, Xiangzi nervously typed out a message.

She has never been very good at lying.

In fact, Xiangzi really didn't know much that players of this game should know.

After all, although she could say she had personally experienced it, her perspective was completely different from that of a gamer.

Moreover, as an ordinary person, Xiangzi couldn't understand what Alex possessed—what she used to see as superpowers, but now should be called the various special abilities of the game system.

To be on the safe side, Xiangzi felt she needed to communicate a little more and gather enough information. At the very least, she needed to confirm her suspicions before she could feel more at ease trusting the other person.

To lower the other person's guard, Xiangzi began to recall some of the knowledge she had acquired on the Sky Island, slightly modified it, and sent it up. She also organized the wording of some settings that Alex had discussed with her and told the person on the other side of the screen.

The other party didn't seem to be very wary of her. After a brief exchange of game knowledge, Xiangzi could see that the other party's replies revealed a sense of relaxation.

After all, probably no one could have imagined that the game they were playing would actually become a real world, and that they would travel into reality together with the game character they were controlling.

Just as Xiangzi was about to press her advantage and ask more direct questions about sensitive information, she suddenly remembered something.

The poster, whose identity is currently still active, seems to have initially posted because she said she suddenly couldn't access the game's official website.

The game they mentioned, called Minecraft, and its official website...?

This means that she also downloaded and played the game from somewhere else, and it also implies that she might not be the only one who has played this game...

With a slight frown, Xiangzi's fingertips, which were tapping on the screen, paused hesitantly.

If Alex is being manipulated by someone else, wouldn't it be too dangerous to so openly reveal the fact that the game has crossed into reality to this unknown poster?

Ultimately, everything before was just her personal speculation.

However, to this day, Xiangzi has not found a second person online who has said that they have played this game. Even in the help post that has become a popular post, there are more than just two or three people in the comments questioning whether the game mentioned by the poster actually exists.

All of this contradicts what the poster said about the game having an official website.

Caught in a deep dilemma, Xiangzi pondered for a long time whether or not to ask the other party for more sensitive information.

Then she looked up and saw that the other person was already asking her about the game's official website.

If this topic continues, Xiangzi might be exposed, since she doesn't even know how to spell the exact link to the inaccessible official website.

If I can't say it, I'm afraid I'll be seen as a scammer and blocked.

Do you frequently change the clothes and skins for your game characters?

Xiangzi forcibly ignored the other party's question, pondered for a moment, and then, as if changing the subject, asked a question first.

This might erode some of the trust you've just gained, but it's worth it as long as the other party can give you a clear answer.

Now that things have come to this, how could Xiangzi not understand that the clothes in Alex's wardrobe, which she claimed were handmade by her mother, are essentially just sets of skins?

【Huh? Yes, what's up?】

This time, the reply was indeed slower, but the other party still answered her question.

This could only serve as a weak piece of evidence. Xiangzi gritted his teeth and decided to ask a slightly more sensitive question.

【You are... a girl, right?】

Of course, it's not that I'm sensitive about myself and Alex, but rather that I'm a bit sensitive about the person who posted this.

W-what...? Cyber ​​harassment?

On the other side of the screen, Ai Yin blinked, somewhat taken aback by the abrupt question.

She was already puzzled as to why the other person ignored her questions and changed the subject, and now she felt even more confused.

Why are you suddenly asking this?

After thinking for a moment, Aine felt a sense of unease and typed out the sentence.

As expected, I was asked a question in return.

Xiangzi pursed his lips and pondered for a moment.

[I just happen to really enjoy changing the clothes and skins for my game character, so I was wondering if other players do the same... By the way, I'm a girl.]

She sent a reply.

Saying it that way might make the other person lower their guard again, who knows?

What a coincidence! Me too!

The next answer he saw also relieved Xiangzi.

The girl seemed familiar; she liked to dress up her game characters; and her tone of voice sounded somewhat familiar…

Should we be more direct and try probing with the name?

The fingertip hovering over the screen hesitated for a long time before finally falling.

Xiangzi was still a little worried that his guess might be wrong.

but……

"It's just the pronunciation of a name. Even if someone says it out loud, there shouldn't be any major problems, right?"

After hesitating for a long time, Xiangzi finally pressed the send button and sent out the message he had already written, only after the other party asked again.

Excuse me, is your name Anon?

…………

P.S. I'm super! Box!

Actually, the first two chapters hinted at it quite clearly; I've even seen readers guess how this chapter will develop.

However, a complete thought process and communication are still necessary; this is not something to be taken lightly.

Volume 1: Chapter 192 Tokyo is really too dangerous!

Cardiac arrest.

This was Aine's reaction upon first seeing the message.

hacker?!

Where did they get this information?!

Almost instinctively, she straightened up and sent out a question.

How did you know?!

But the next moment, Aine realized that this reaction might be exactly what the other person wanted to see.

By responding like that, wasn't she directly telling the other person, "Yes, my name is Anon!"

Biting her lip, a feeling of fear welled up in her heart. Ai Yin typed in the input box for a long time, but she didn't dare to send the next message to the other party.

Ultimately, she was just a girl who had just graduated from junior high school and was about to enter high school. Even an adult would probably feel anxious and panicked if they encountered something like this, let alone Aine who had not yet entered society.

Don't be nervous! I mean no harm!

The other party quickly sent back a message, but Ai Yin was no longer in the mood to figure out the other party's true intentions.

She instinctively flipped the tablet over, covered it on the table, covered the camera with something, stood up, and paced back and forth in the room twice, feeling uneasy.

Am I being monitored? What methods did the other party use to obtain my name?

She clearly used a newly created account on that gaming forum, with no useful information in it. Even people she knew well would never be able to connect her to that account.

With a nervous heart, Ai swallowed hard, then sat back down on the sofa, picked up her tablet, and carefully covered the camera with her thumb.

"Oh no... I think I scared her..."

Having basically confirmed that this person was most likely Xiangzi, Alex's mother, he stared at the private message window on the screen, which had remained silent for a long time, and muttered to himself with some distress.

But there's one more thing she needs to confirm.

Xiangzi also needs to find out if this girl whose name is pronounced "anon" is Chihaya Aine, who has been with them for almost two months.

Although this guess was really outrageous, so outrageous that Xiangzi didn't dare to believe it.

But based on the information she has so far, this possibility is very high.

Xiangzi could already guess that the person she was communicating with privately was probably Chihaya Aine herself.

To be on the safe side, one final, decisive question will be all that's needed to confirm the result.

[I just want to ask one more question: Did you just graduate from the third year of junior high school? And are you planning to study in the UK?]