I really don't want to date a girl addicted to the internet!

"Could this be..." Zhou Han's round eyes widened slightly. Although she didn't know what Lin Wanqing looked like, she still guessed something.

“They’ve been here, and these are all left behind,” Shen Xi said softly, touching the people in the photos with her fingertips, as if trying to touch the heart of the woman in one of them.

Cheng Fei thought for a moment, then nodded to show he understood. "It seems your mother really did leave a lot of things along the way."

Shen Xi nodded, put away the photos, took a deep breath, stood up, and resumed her expressionless state. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?" Cheng Fei asked, looking at her.

“Go see the real World Tree.” The girl exchanged a glance with him, then held out her hand to Leia. “Give me the necklace.”

The elven saintess looked at the necklace in her hand, which was still glowing and floating, and did as she was told.

Shen Xi took the necklace and quickly walked to what appeared to be the closed entrance of the building, placing the necklace directly on the panel next to the entrance.

The entrance slid open, revealing a clean and bright hall. Shen Xi raised her chin and walked in, looking like the owner of the house returning home.

"Wait, what's with this feeling that you're gradually understanding everything? Are you still Shen Xi?" Cheng Fei followed her, carefully observing her beautiful yet cold face, which was as lovely as ever.

"Are you so afraid that I'll turn into someone else? Cheng Feiyu really is an insecure creature." Shen Xi glanced at him and sneered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Of course, I love you." The boy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shut up, you sweet-talking trash." The girl kicked him, clearly disgusted.

Once everyone had entered, Shen Xi made a gesture in the air, summoning a floating panel in front of her and closing the door.

Cheng Fei noticed that the panel looked similar to the game interface in the corridor and was completely confused. "Teacher Shen, so what exactly is this place for? Please explain."

The others also looked at Shen Xi, with similar expressions.

“In short, this leads to a narrow dimension.” Shen Xi clicked quickly on the panel without looking up.

Cheng Fei nodded seriously, "I see. So, what is the dimension of the slit, Professor Shen?"

Shen Xi paused for a moment, then said, “I told you before that dimensions are separated by directionality. Matter emerges in different dimensions through the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the vacuum. This emergence can only occur in natural dimensions.”

"Okay, I understand completely. By the way, what exactly constitutes 'normal'?" the boy asked, looking at her.

Shen Xi frowned slightly, seemingly struggling with how to explain it. She opened her mouth and said, "You can think of tropism values ​​as a string of codes, and the so-called natural dimensions are like integers on a number line, evenly arranged."

"Round numbers like one, two, three?" Cheng Fei looked at her intently.

The girl nodded and said softly, "You can understand it this way. For example, matter can emerge from dimensions with a tropism value of one or two, and even become the twin dimension that is hypothesized. But between these two natural dimensions, there are actually countless other dimensions."

“Countless... so the tropism value can be a decimal?” Cheng Fei thought for a moment.

The girl nodded. "In these dimensions, due to the inherent properties of the vacuum, it is difficult for spontaneous symmetry breaking to occur, so no matter will emerge. Moreover, any matter that accidentally enters will quickly fall into the nearby natural dimensions, just like water flowing from high to low. Therefore, there is almost no matter in these dimensions."

"Without matter, there is nothingness. What's the point of having or not having anything?" Cheng Fei shrugged.

Shen Xi looked at him, a hint of pity on her face. "Of course it has meaning. Under natural circumstances, it is a void, but that doesn't mean that intelligent life cannot enter these dimensions."

"So that's what the slit dimension means?" Cheng Fei was taken aback.

“That’s right. As long as a civilization has enough technology, it can enter the rifts beyond these natural dimensions. These are the rift dimensions.” Shen Xi raised her chin, a hint of confidence on her small face.

"I understand. The great Protoss must be able to do this easily." Cheng Fei said, adopting a respectful expression.

“Even for the Protoss at their peak, the use of the rift dimension was only just beginning.” The girl shook her head. “And the rift dimension at the crash site wasn’t created by the Protoss.”

"Who else is so powerful? Those extinct indigenous people?" Cheng Fei asked suspiciously.

Shen Xi gave him a deep look. "The World Tree."

"The World Tree is that powerful?" Cheng Fei exclaimed in surprise.

"I don't know either, I just saw it in the illusion." The girl shook her head.

"Why does it only tell you and not us?" Cheng Fei asked in surprise, glancing around at the other people listening in.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

“I don’t know, but it seems to recognize me.” Shen Xi said thoughtfully.

Cheng Fei recalled the hallucination from earlier, "It really should recognize you; you saved its life."

The girl remained expressionless and noncommittal. "So get ready, we're about to teleport to the rift dimension."

"Okay." Cheng Fei and everyone else held their breath.

As Shen Xi lightly touched the panel, the group disappeared from the hall.

……

A dark, empty, and silent world.

The orange-yellow fluorescence is unique in this world; even if you travel billions of light-years around, you will not find even a second microscopic particle.

A sphere formed by intertwined dark red roots floats in the vacuum, and the shape of a planet can be vaguely discerned.

And all these roots eventually converge in one place.

The giant tree with its flat canopy stands silently on the planet formed by its roots, some of its leaves turning yellowish-brown, as if it is gradually withering away.

At the foot of the giant tree, a large number of strangely shaped silver buildings appear, shimmering with starlight.

Between these buildings, the Miriam and its crew appeared on a platform.

"Why is there another World Tree here?" Zhou Han looked up at the towering tree above him.

Shen Xi also looked up and pondered, saying, "This is the true form of the World Tree. It connects across dimensions and the land of its fall through its roots."

"Cross-latitude? That's so advanced?" Cheng Fei smacked his lips and looked around at the world.

The night sky here is devoid of stars, like a black curtain spread across the heavens.

The boy took a few breaths and jumped around, wondering, "If this is a slit dimension, why is there still oxygen and gravity?"

“This is an artificially created environment.” Shen Xi looked around.

"So this is Her Majesty the Empress's large research station?" Cheng Fei looked at the nearby buildings again.

Unlike the dust-covered teleportation station at the crash site, the buildings here are bright and new, with an overall silver-white color and an indescribable beauty in their outlines. At the same time, they are so futuristic that their specific purpose is unclear.

Shen Xi nodded and then used her gestures to summon the panel. This time, a large amount of information appeared, and she narrowed her eyes as she browsed through it.

782. The World Tree is not good at speaking.

Cheng Fei moved closer to the girl and found that the panel was filled with incomprehensible symbols that made him dizzy.

"Teacher Shen, is this the language of the Celestials? When did you learn it?" the boy asked curiously.

Shen Xi glanced at him and sneered, "While you're out fooling around every day."

The boy remained calm. "But didn't you say that Stands can interpret natural language?"

“Because this is the Protoss's paradigmatic language, not a natural language.” The girl said expressionlessly.

What is a paradigm language?

Shen Xi frowned slightly and remained silent for a moment. "If the mathematical symbols and program codes used by humans belong to formal languages, which are more precise and concise than natural languages, then the Protoss's paradigm language is a fusion of the two. It can be used for daily communication as well as for calculations and programs."

"I see, that's really advanced." Cheng Fei nodded. "Then I'll trouble you to teach me when you have time, Teacher Shen."

"Heh, I don't know how to teach someone who goes out fooling around all day." The girl narrowed her eyes as she stared at the information on the panel, her tone seemingly pointed.

"If you don't want to, that's fine. I'll ask Xiao Yi later." The boy sighed comfortably.

“If you like Isena, of course you can go find her. It’ll save me time!” The girl gritted her teeth, her tone suddenly becoming more forceful.

"Just kidding, cutie. Of course I'm looking for you. Besides, it's cute how you subtly imply that I don't spend enough time with you." The boy looked at her cold profile.

"Shut up. Stop talking nonsense while I finish looking through this database." The girl said coldly, without even looking up.

"Okay, then you go ahead and get busy. Let me know when you're done reading it." Cheng Fei said, then put his hands in his pockets and walked away.

While the two were talking, the others stayed to the side, carefully observing the surrounding scene.

"So this is... the Sanctuary?" Leia stared at everything before her, her mouth slightly agape, her expression dazed.

Eve glanced furtively at the aloof, silver-haired girl, hesitated for a moment, then leaned close to the elven saintess's ear, "Your Highness, who exactly is she...?"

Miriam seemed still immersed in the previous hallucination. She wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and swallowed hard. "Who was that girl just now? I like her so much... no, I mean she's so beautiful, waaaah!"

Zhou Han watched her from the side, blinking her round eyes, "Milian, that girl is obviously Shen Xi, or rather, the Star Spirit Queen."

"Shen Xi? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! That girl looked like a goddess, so perfect. How could she be that cunning Shen Xi!" The blonde girl grabbed her hair, dumbfounded, unable to accept reality.

Zhou Han looked at her with a hint of pity, and opened her mouth, "Milian, I think you'd better not speak ill of Shen Xi, or she'll get angry."

Cheng Fei looked around and found a bench nearby facing the World Tree. Two girls were sitting together, gazing at the towering tree shrouded in orange-yellow fluorescence. One had bright champagne-gold twin tails, and the other had exaggeratedly long pink twin tails. The scene of the two beautiful girls resting together was more pleasing to the eye than in the real world.

Asuna Nagasaki stretched out a big yawn, and a certain awe-inspiring fullness unconsciously appeared. "Finally~ this should be the end. It feels like I've been traveling in this world for so long."

Ye Shuang noticed her chest out of the corner of her eye, then silently focused her attention on the World Tree. After thinking for a moment, she said softly, "So all of this is real."

“Of course, it’s just very far from Earth.” Cheng Fei sat down next to Nagasaki Asuna.

The pink-haired girl glanced at Miriam out of the corner of her eye, confirming that Miriam was still struggling with the identity of the mysterious girl in the illusion. She tilted her head and leaned briefly on the boy's shoulder, covering her mouth and yawning slightly. "I can feel the end credits starting."

As the girl spoke, she began humming an unknown tune to herself.

"That's just the ending theme of the first season. Teacher Shen won't let us off so easily," Cheng Fei said casually. "By the way, what song is that? It's pretty good."

"One Last You is the ending theme of Xenoblade Chronicles 2. If you like it, Cheng Fei, you can sing it for you when we get back?" Nagasaki Asuna asked with great interest.

"That handheld game? I remember it." Ye Shuang pondered for a moment.

Asuna Nagasaki's eyes darted around, and a mischievous smile curved her lips. "Shuangshuang, how about we cosplay the two female protagonists from the show for Cheng Fei next time? Our characters' hair colors match perfectly."

"Nana..." The obedient girl sighed wearily, then pouted, "I would never cosplay any character for this scumbag."

“Master Ye is already very handsome.” Cheng Fei nodded seriously.

"Hey, isn't Nana pretty?" Nagasaki Asuna tapped her chin lightly with her fingertip.

"Of course it looks good too." The boy replied without hesitation.

"Hehehe~" The girl revealed a satisfied smile.

"You scumbag, don't give me that crap." Ye Shuang pulled Nagasaki Asuna closer to her and glared at him without any politeness.

At this moment, Shen Xi walked into the middle of the group, first giving a subtle but sharp look at the back of the neck of someone who had run off to chat with a girl, making him shiver and turn around before raising his voice to speak, "I have a general understanding of everything."

"Teacher Shen, you finished reading the database so quickly? Is it quantum speed reading?" Cheng Fei returned to her side, looking genuinely surprised.

"I only got a general understanding of the important matters." The girl glared at him, then looked at Leia on the other side, raised her chin and softened her tone, "The power of the elves comes from the World Tree. Now the World Tree is being eroded and is too weak to communicate with the outside world, which is why you cannot use the so-called Saint-level magic."

Leia and Eve exchanged a glance, their expressions shocked, and they opened their mouths but couldn't utter a word.

"So this is the truth behind the gradual collapse of the continents in this world?" Cheng Fei raised an eyebrow.

“That’s right. All the floating continents rely on the light magic particles created by the World Tree for support. As the World Tree weakens, the concentration of light magic particles decreases. Even the roots of the World Tree are withering, so the floating continents naturally can’t be maintained.” Shen Xi said expressionlessly.

The boy suddenly realized something: "The floating continent outside may appear to be separate, but the underground roots are still connected to the World Tree itself, making it a whole?"

"Cheng Feiyu does have some imagination," the girl said with a hint of disdain.

Leia looked at the two of them, gritted her teeth, and asked, "Then is there any way to save the World Tree?"

Shen Xi looked at her, lowered her eyes and shook her head, "Not at the moment."

As soon as the words were spoken, Leia and Eve both became stunned, and the light in their eyes seemed to fade.

Cheng Fei thought for a moment, "Teacher Shen, the World Tree should be fine for the time being, right? Don't scare them."

"How chivalrous of you!" Shen Xi narrowed her eyes and sneered coldly.

"Teacher Shen, please don't do this." The boy's expression turned serious.

The girl regained her expression and continued, "Although there is currently no way to cure the World Tree, its vitality is unmatched by ordinary species. It is unlikely to die for tens of thousands of years. It's just that more and more continents will disappear. As long as we find a way before that happens, that will be enough."

"There are still tens of thousands of years left, so relax?" Nagasaki Asuna stood with her hands behind her back, giving Leia and Eve a reassuring smile.

The two elves looked at the group, their faces blank.

Leia hesitated for a moment, clenched her fist, took a deep breath, and her expression became solemn and respectful. "Shen Xi, I want to ask you, no, I want to ask you a question."

"What?" The aloof girl with long silver hair remained unmoved.

"The person who appeared in the illusion is exactly the same as the first saintess recorded in the elven scriptures. Why do you look so much like her?" Leia looked at the aloof girl in front of her and suddenly felt that she was extremely unfamiliar.