Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1071 Does it matter whether there is a title or not?

Alice's words made Lingge speechless. In her description, he seemed to be a sycophantic person who followed the trend. But the problem was that he was not interested in games in the past, but he didn't hate them to the point of hatred, right? He never forbade Alice from playing games, nor did he forbid others to play games with Alice. It was simply because the genius player liked to cheat that everyone was reluctant to play with her.

If it were in the past, Lingge would have ruthlessly exposed her lies. Anyway, the genius player was thick-skinned enough that even if he was exposed in front of him, he would probably just laugh it off.

But now... forget it, just bear with her for now.

Linger took the initiative to give in. He had to admit that he was indeed the evil parent described by Alice. Now he had come to his senses and was about to admit his mistake to her: "It was only after I personally experienced it that I realized that excellent works in video games are indeed quite fun and meaningful, and can make people addicted to them."

He hinted that he had not been interested in games before because the games made by someone were not very good.

"Oh."

Alice said casually, "So you really like the game, instead of sitting here and doing something you are not interested in just to comfort me? I thought you were really that great, Lingge."

It started again.

Even when Alice was in an autistic state, her tone was still sarcastic, and her love of cheating was ingrained in her bones and had not changed from beginning to end.

Lingge didn't know whether to say he was relieved or sad.

He shook his head helplessly, sat down next to Alice, and also picked up the controller beside him. The genius player's game character just jumped into the lava and fell to death. She glanced at Lingge, silently retreated to the game opening interface, selected the two-player mode, and thoughtfully left the new character to Lingge, that was a green hat uncle - the nose was also very big.

Two game characters jumped up and down on the screen.

Ling Ge was able to hold it together at first, but as time went on, he couldn't stand it anymore and finally couldn't help asking, "Can you stop stepping on the lava?"

A vein popped out on Alice's forehead. She finally smiled, but it looked like a fake smile. "Okay, then let's go back and play the game we played earlier. Hand, down, lose, check."

She deliberately emphasized the last four words.

"Didn't you say you were tired from playing?"

"Oh, now I'm not tired anymore."

It's really hilarious.

After the fourth game ended because Alice stepped on the lava, Linger finally couldn't stand Alice's operation anymore. He ignored her attempts to restart the game, put down the controller, and got back to the main topic of the night: "Okay, now that we've had enough games, when are you going to go back for dinner, Alice?"

"It's still early." Alice said this, but her body yawned honestly: "I can stay up all night. If you're hungry, just go back and eat. Don't worry about me."

leave me alone.

What a... strange sentence! Lingge hasn't heard it for a long time. Even the youngest child, Medien, would never say this when he has a quarrel with his family.

Alice seemed to have lost interest in the game. She put down the controller, stood up slowly, and floated to the next game console like a ghost, not taking Ling's words to heart. The young man did not follow her this time. He just sat there, silently watching her back disappear at the edge of the cold light on the screen and gradually blend into the darkness. He suddenly spoke, his voice piercing the cheerful background music of the game: "How long do you plan to escape, genius player?"

Alice stopped suddenly, standing there motionless, with her back to Lingge. There was a look of surprise on her face, because as far as she could remember, this seemed to be the first time a young man had addressed her by this title.

Moreover, unlike those netizens on the Earth Forum who called her a genius player but were mostly teasing and mocking her, Ling'er's tone was very serious, as if there really was such a genius player in the world - and it was this thin, autistic, internet-addicted girl in front of him.

Linger withdrew his gaze and returned to the game screen. He did not look at Alice again, but manipulated the controller and started a single-player game with ease. While controlling the character on the screen to run around and jump up and down, he said in a calm tone: "In fact, when I came to you at the beginning, I wanted to use some more...direct words to stimulate you. For example, don't indulge in the fake world. It's time to jump out of the boundaries of the game and face the real reality; if you refuse to face reality and just keep escaping, you will never be able to grow... and so on."

Every time he said a word, the girl's back trembled slightly. The transparent glass in the darkness watched this scene, reflecting her heart like a mirror. The young man closed his mouth after he finished speaking, focusing on his game. The brisk background music replaced the noise from others and his heart. But the electronic music that used to sound very pleasant, now inexplicably made people feel very irritated. The genius player pursed his lips, and after a long while, he slowly uttered a reply that seemed to be dry as fire and hoarse as sand: "What a disgusting statement."

To be exact, it's disgusting.

"A lot of people say that, not just people who look down on games, but even the players themselves think so."

With her back to Lingge, Alice shrugged her shoulders. She tried to make her tone more casual, to show a nonchalant attitude. But from the actual observation of young people, it should be said that it is just the opposite. She cares a lot about other people's opinions, just like a child who is eager to attract the attention of adults: "When you mention games, they are electronic drugs. When you pick up the controller, you are not doing your job properly. Once you immerse yourself in it, it is the so-called escape from reality. Because fantasy and reality are exactly the opposite, does that mean people who like fantasy will definitely escape from reality? This statement is unreasonable. I thought you understood, Lingge."

This was the first time she called out Lingge's name since they met, and there was disappointment in her tone.

Is she disappointed that Lingge doesn't understand her and has never thought about understanding herself? But isn't what she is doing now just escaping from reality?
Lingge didn't say this out loud. After controlling the game character to dodge the BOSS's attack, he slowly replied, "That's why I said this was the original idea."

“And now, I have changed my mind.”

"Alice, you don't need to face reality, just defeat it, just like defeating those bosses in the game." "Defeat it?" The genius player's back moved. As an avid game lover, she instinctively became interested in this statement.

"Yes."

The game character on the screen jumped up and stepped on the big devil's head. It was obviously short and fat, but it had amazing jumping ability, which enabled it to fight the powerful and evil devil to the end without fear - it even had a big nose. Why did the people who designed this game let such a dull character become the protagonist? Lingge was thinking about this question while controlling the character, but his conversation with Alice was not interrupted by this behavior of multitasking: "Don't you always say, I don't know who the enemy is, where he is, how strong he is, I just know I'm going to kill people - right? Since you are like this in the game, why not extend this optimistic mentality to reality?"

The red-capped uncle with rosacea jumped back and forth on the lava platform, and with his flexible skills and amazing jumping ability, he played the devil in the palm of his hand. The young man suddenly found that he seemed to have this mentality: he could not read the words of the other world, nor could he understand the language of the other world, so all the plots in the game had nothing to do with him, but he didn't seem to need to know these, as long as he defeated all the enemies along the way and then defeated the final BOSS. Can such a battle without knowing anything also bring fun to people? Ling Ge didn't want to admit it, but he had to say that he did get some long-lost, childlike fun in this game.

"Then, the same goes for you, Alice." Linger said, "You don't need to know the meaning of the battle, you don't need to know how powerful your enemy is, you don't even need to know your true identity and the main storyline of the game. Just put all these questions behind you, and then defeat reality without knowing anything, just like defeating the final boss in the game - don't you players often do this?"

Where Lingge couldn't see, the girl curled her lips disapprovingly: "Isn't this still a form of escape?"

"Do not."

The young man looked at the glowing screen. The man in the red hat, whose name he could not tell, had defeated the evil demon king, saved the imprisoned princess, and seemed to have won the princess's love. Although he had a big rosacea, it did not seem to affect the princess's first impression of him. The young man looked at this scene and magically found that he had actually understood the plot. Although he could not read the words or understand the language, there were still some precious emotions that could resonate in the hearts of different people in two worlds. The game is the carrier of these emotions, and it is also the carrier with the lowest threshold. Even if you don't know anything, when you pass the game, you actually understand everything.

He whispered, "That's the way players are, isn't it?"

Alice muttered to herself, "Player's...style?"

"The style of an ordinary player." Ling Ge added: "And you are a genius player. Genius players are naturally different. You must be able to do what ordinary players can do, and do them better, right, Alice? Don't tell me that you can't even beat such a weak BOSS?"

He raised his eyebrows slightly, and this somewhat provocative gesture was projected onto the screen by the gradually dimming light. In the screen, the list of production staff slowly scrolled away. It was short, perhaps even shorter than an elementary school student's homework, but the love, courage and justice that were born out of their fantastic ideas seemed to be longer than the history of the universe since its birth. The story of the red-hatted uncle and his adventures has come to an end, but another story has just begun.

"How, how is it possible!?"

Alice was frightened and retorted without thinking: "It's just reality, isn't it? Watch how I use my control to blow it up!"

"Then do it, Alice." The young man put down the controller, stood up, and stretched. In the past, he would never do this for the sake of his image, but since Saint Shallia made him smile, the young man no longer minded doing things that were inconsistent with his past image. "Unlike other game characters, you have a higher starting point. They are short, fat, and red-nosed uncles with red hats, but you are the only girl king since the creation of the world, one of the most cherished heirs of Her Majesty the Goddess. In this case, you should set your goals for the long term. Overcoming reality is only the first step. You should become the best genius player in the universe, Alice."

"The best and most talented player in the entire universe!?"

Alice suddenly opened her eyes wide, feeling that the door to a new world had been opened to her. Why hadn't she thought of this? As the daughter of the Queen, the offspring of the Goddess of Creation, and the one destined to save the world, how could she be limited to being just an ordinary genius player? She should be a genius player of the universe level!

Her shoulders kept shaking, and she looked like she was having a seizure. Ling Ge walked a little closer and, as expected, heard the genius player's silly laughter: "Hehe, hehe...the genius player in the universe...it has to be me, Alice...hehehe..."

The effect seems a bit too good.

Linger looked up at the sky, speechless for a while. Was this considered a successful enlightenment? However, he knew that this effect was only temporary. There was actually a big loophole hidden in his statement, which the genius player had not discovered. It was like a time bomb that would explode one day. Linger only hoped that it would not explode in the worst case scenario, otherwise, the problem might be more serious than imagined.

When he thought of this, he felt a little stomachache, probably because he didn't have dinner. The young man didn't want to stay here and listen to Alice's silly smile, so he turned around and pretended to leave: "Before you become a genius player in the universe, you should consider filling your stomach first, Alice."

"Eh?"

Alice came back to her senses. When she saw Ling Ge was about to leave, she panicked and rushed over to hug his thighs without thinking: "Wait, don't leave yet!"

"…What are you doing?"

"You want to leave me here to starve?"

"Then come back with me to eat."

"I am hungry."

"I know, you don't need to emphasize it a second time."

"So what I mean is…I'm too hungry to walk."

"..."

"Hehe." The golden-haired maid came up to him with a look of innocence and expectation: "How about you carry me back, Lingge?"

Give me some meow