"Who are you guys?"

"It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is that we're asking you to come with us."

Luo Bing couldn't figure out why a group of unexpected visitors showed up at his house in broad daylight. Especially the two muscular men next to the man with glasses. Their arms were thicker than ordinary people's thighs, and one punch from them could take down ten Luo Bings.

"Don't come any closer!"

Luo Bing immediately shrank behind Luo Xiao Ming and exclaimed, "In broad daylight, this neighborhood has surveillance cameras. I advise you to think about your own actions!"

Xiao Ming looked at Luo Bing in surprise and asked, "Are these people outside your friends? Why did you hide behind me?"

Luo Bing frowned and said, "Have you ever seen me have friends who look like they're from the underworld?"

"What? Should we call the police?"

"You idiot, you just said it out loud. How can I call the police now? Xiao Ming, help me buy some time. I'll take the back door and immediately call the security guards. Three minutes is all I need!"

"Hey, why should I get involved in something that has nothing to do with me? You selfish jerk!" Xiao Ming was displeased with Luo Bing's shameless behavior.

The people outside the door looked at the two loudly conspiring individuals blankly, all wearing confused expressions. The man with glasses couldn't help but clear his throat and said, "No need to panic, we mean no harm. It seems I should introduce myself first. Here's my business card."

The man with glasses took out two business cards and handed them to Luo Bing and Xiao Ming respectively.

"Xiao Zhe? Senior Director of the Marketing Department of Changjiang Company?... Are you here to invest?" Luo Bing hesitated and asked, his gaze shifting between the man with glasses and the muscular men.

Could it be that these two strong men are the man with glasses' secretaries? This guy has a peculiar taste.

"No, I'm not here for business. Being a senior director is just a secondary identity," Xiao Zhe said, taking out his law enforcement certificate to show Luo Bing. "We belong to an organization under the national government. The higher-ups are from the Ministry of National Defense. I am the person in charge of this organization, and you can consider me as a police officer. There are foreign enemies who will be active in S City, and their target is you. Therefore, you'll be in danger. We want to protect you for a while and release you when the risk passes."

"By foreign enemies, do you mean...?"

"Do you know about Organization K?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, it's normal that Xu Fang didn't tell you," Xiao Ming said in surprise, "Did he send you guys?"

"To be precise, we made a deal with Xu Fang. Protecting you is part of the deal, and I'm taking on a certain amount of risk by being here."

"I can't go with you..." Luo Bing hesitated and said, "There's still a lot of work for me to handle in my company, especially during this time. I can't free myself."

"We will find someone to impersonate you and handle all the affairs of your company. We will bear all the financial losses during this period," Xiao Zhe continued, "Luo Bing, I'm not seeking your opinion. Whether you agree or not, you have to come with us. After all, you've made a deal with Xu Fang, and I can't explain if something happens to you."

With the words spoken, Luo Bing had no choice. Xiao Zhe represented the government, and his words were the law. He could only cooperate.

Luo Bing was a little surprised. Who exactly is Xu Fang and how did he get connected with the central government? Judging from Xiao Zhe's tone, Xu Fang was highly regarded.

"Alright, I'll go with you, but you better not harm me. Xu Fang is my friend, and we've been through life and death together. Our relationship is deep."

"I know," Xiao Zhe nodded with a smile and looked at Xiao Ming, "What about you?"

"Where's Xu Fang? Can I meet him?"

"I don't know, he should show up after a while."

Xiao Ming thought for a moment and agreed as well.

The two followed Xiao Zhe into a modified car. The car was divided into two levels, with the glass on the back layer coated with a reflective layer so that the inside couldn't see the outside. The glass on the front layer was normal.

Xiao Ming and Luo Bing were assigned to the back, and according to Xiao Zhe, the place they were going to was called the "shelter," where it was absolutely safe.

Luo Bing tried to chat with Xiao Zhe, wanting to inquire for more information, such as the name of the organization behind Xiao Zhe and what they usually did, etc.

But when it came to sensitive topics, Xiao Zhe simply replied with "no comment," yet he talked endlessly about everyday things.

After going around in circles for the afternoon, they finally arrived at their destination. Luo Bing looked at the small map and realized that they hadn't left the S city, but were in the suburban area on the outskirts of the city.

"Normally, newcomers have their communication devices confiscated, but you two are special. Besides freedom, we won't restrict you in any way."

"Can I go online and play games?" Xiao Ming asked.

"You can, but for safety reasons, don't use your own account."

The "shelter" that Xiao Zhe mentioned was actually located in the countryside away from the city. It had military facilities and underground bases. Luo Bing and Xiao Ming were arranged in a seemingly inconspicuous but luxurious underground room.

The underground room was spacious with good ventilation. Soft sunlight filtered through light pipes on the ceiling, giving a completely non-threatening feeling.

Luo Bing and the company cut off communication, and bored, they started playing computer games. Luo Bing realized that his PUBG skills had improved significantly. If he teamed up with the Yi Yun sisters again, he believed he would never be a burden.

Xiao Ming, on the other hand, was preoccupied with her memories. Because of that small stone, she remembered many unfamiliar yet familiar memories. These memories seemed to come from a parallel world, rushing in all at once.

She sorted through these memories from start to finish.

Xu Fang once said that he wasn't real, that everything about him was false. But Xiao Ming believed that Xu Fang was Xu Fang, no matter in what form he existed, he was real.

He and Xu Fang had gone through the demon world, the worm email, and other deadly games together. Xu Fang always managed to overcome difficulties.

Later, Xu Fang encountered a huge problem that led to him losing his physical body and temporarily surviving as a "doll." It was because of this that Xiao Ming lost all her memories of Xu Fang. Fortunately, she could recover these precious memories.

There was one memory that particularly stood out for Xiao Ming, when Xu Fang confessed his feelings to her one night.

That was a confession, right? It reached the level where "even talking about it again would feel extremely embarrassed." It must be a confession!

Whenever she recalled this, Xiao Ming would feel her cheeks flush.

It suddenly dawned on her that she had never responded to Xu Fang's feelings and had never confirmed these feelings with him again.

It seemed like she was avoiding this awkward topic.

Thinking about this, Luo Xiao Ming felt a sense of loss. She didn't know what Xu Fang's thoughts about her were now. Did he still like her, or had the feelings diminished, treating her only as a friend?

Xiao Ming felt somewhat restless, so she opened her phone, wanting to change her mood through the internet. As a result, she saw the doll Gussy online.

Xu Fang had debuted in a strange way, with the code name "Gussy," and discussions about him were everywhere on the internet.

...

Luo Bing also noticed this. Whenever he saw the loli doll appearing on the homepage, he would mutter to himself, "He's gone crazy, this guy must have gone crazy!"

At first, Xiao Ming thought the same. Sometimes, she hoped that Xu Fang would mention her in his videos. But Xu Fang seemed to only be playing as "doll Gussy," without involving real life.

Xiao Ming couldn't contact the outside world on her own, as she could be tracked, so she couldn't reach out to Xu Fang.

She believed that Xu Fang had his own reasons for doing this. Since she had free time anyway, she might as well continue to follow Gussy's developments. It was actually quite interesting.

...

The strange thing happened on the night of November 9th.

On that day, all news about Gussy disappeared. Major media websites such as X Station, 271, and Tengxun Video seemed to have coordinated and taken down all of Gussy's videos.

If there was intentional suppression from higher powers, it wouldn't be surprising to see this phenomenon. However, isn't it strange that no one on the internet is discussing this matter? Isn't that very strange?

Although the internet has a short memory, it shouldn't be so short to this extent, right?

Gussy, who was still very popular yesterday, suddenly disappeared for no reason. Even if one is not a fan of Gussy, shouldn't one ask, "What happened?" like a passerby?

But no one did.

As if the doll Gussy never existed, the world played a prank on her.

Luo Xiao Ming felt a bit uneasy and broke into Luo Bing's room to ask him about this. To her surprise, Luo Bing just stared at her blankly.

"What joke are you making? That guy keeps a low profile. He only goes out when he's invisible, afraid of appearing on camera. How is it possible for him to make a debut?"

"That's not it. Xu Fang really became famous a few days ago, but today he suddenly disappeared online... Oh, right, you were also watching at that time, and you said, 'This guy must be crazy'... something like that."

"I don't know if Xu Fang is crazy or not, but one of us must be crazy." Luo Bing said so.

Xiao Ming was angry, and just as she was thinking about whether or not to punch Luo Bing, Xiao Zhe's voice came from the door.

"Luo Xiao Ming is right. Xu Fang has indeed been quite active on the internet these past few days."

"Huh?"

"It seems like I'm not the crazy one." Xiao Ming breathed a sigh of relief. If it weren't for Xiao Zhe's testimony, she would've thought her memory was off again.

"Xiao Zhe, what exactly happened?"

"I can't disclose the specifics, all I can say is that there has been a change in the parallel space we are in... But you, Luo Xiao Ming, you actually remember the world before the change? You're quite a rare talent. Do you want to join our organization as an observer? The treatment is absolutely good."

"I refuse. I have no interest in your strange organization."

"How about if Xu Fang also joins us? Will you be willing to join then?" Xiao Zhe pushed up his glasses.

"He joined?"

"Not yet." Xiao Zhe added, "Actually, our organization isn't dangerous at all. We don't go to the front lines of war; that's for the military. Special talents like you have safer and more secure jobs, like 'observing the world.'"

"I'll pass." Xiao Ming shook her head again.

"Don't rush to make a decision. When Xu Fang comes back, I'll talk to you again. Maybe by then, your impression of us will change a lot." Xiao Zhe smiled and said, "Xu Fang just contacted me through a special channel and said he'll be back in S City tomorrow afternoon. You can reunite then."

"Really? That's great!" Xiao Ming was overjoyed.

"Then do we still need to be protected?" Luo Bing asked.

"The Special Police arrested two members of the K organization in S City yesterday and sealed an illegal port for smuggling. It seems like the K organization planned to capture you and take you to the United States, but they didn't expect us to be prepared in advance. We originally planned to stop the protection, but Xu Fang requested to observe for another week."

"Observing for another week... Why does it sound like quarantine?"

"Long time no see, Xiao Zhe." Xu Fang emerged from the shadows and took off his hood, revealing a delicate face similar to Gussy's.

"If you hadn't informed me about your appearance in advance, I wouldn't have recognized you. By the way, this is our first meeting, right?" Xiao Zhe signaled to the heavily armed special police officer behind him to put down his weapon.

"No, it's the second time."

"It seems that our first meeting was too short for the observer to even record it."

"Yes, the first time we met, it was less than an hour before you were shot by a sniper rifle."

"I'm just an ordinary person..." Xiao Zhe smiled, "Let's assume what you said is true. Since you're standing in front of me, does that mean the enemy has been dealt with?"

"I'm not sure, I need to observe for a while."