Evolution of a Girl

However, during the previous mission, it seemed that she had gotten separated from the others. However, Asuna considered that these people might come looking for her again, so she did not leave the area.

Most of the content was made up by Tongzi himself.

But after imagining all this, Tongzi suddenly felt that this was how things should be.

"Ah - um -" Asuna on this side also nodded.

"Let's go back." Tongzi didn't bother to investigate any ghosts.

Rather, she had guessed that the Asuna in front of her might be a ghost.

There was no light in Asuna's eyes at this moment, and although she was able to communicate, her words were halting.

And she is still in NPC status.

Asuna in the NPC state, no matter what her original identity is, after she has been educated, she can only be a "slave of the Smiling Coffin" in this state.

Kiriko called on Kradir and asked him to help cover up, and finally brought the somewhat dazed Asuna back to the Blood Alliance Knights.

Asuna was then secretly treated by someone arranged by Kraldir.

Meanwhile, Kiriko also found Kayaba Akihiko.

"Captain, we've found Asuna. But she might be in a bad state..."

Kayaba Akihiko glanced at Kiriko and said, "It's okay. The capture time has been postponed for a few months. I heard that undercover agents often have side effects. What she needs at this time is rest and recuperation."

——Asuna has reached her limit.

Kayaba Akihiko had already seen it.

It wasn't that Asuna was that big. It was that after consuming the Fluctlight and the Virtual Fluctlight, Asuna had already entered a phase of marginal effects.

In the past, you got what you paid for, three cents for two, and five cents for three. But now, Asuna Hina's proportion has become increasingly powerful, reaching the point where you get what you pay for.

In order to continue researching and "feeding" Asuna, Kayaba Akihiko needs more NPCs and players.

But this is not possible.

NPC is easy to make, just set one parameter.

But that's just the "general situation."

These NPCs with AI and virtual fluctuating lights were actually very labor-intensive to create. Furthermore, they also had a particularly troublesome problem: they hogged system resources.

Therefore, the experiment here is temporarily over.

"But it's not enough." Kayaba Akihiko suddenly felt as if the world itself was restricting the other party's development.

"Let her recuperate for a while. Perhaps it's the intertwining of two forces..."

What Kayaba Akihiko cares about most is the issue of "integration".

A chemical reaction occurred in Asuna.

The Yaoguang and virtual Yaoguang that she swallowed seemed to gradually merge together.

With so many souls and so many Fluctlights, Kayaba Akihiko felt that even if these people suddenly attacked his brain, he would be dizzy and disoriented due to the sudden attack.

But Asuna completely mastered this state. This is so strange...

“She has talent.”

This was Kayaba Akihiko's previous judgment.

“She has unparalleled talent.”

This is what Kayaba Akihiko thinks now.

"But why exactly is this happening?"

Kayaba Akihiko knew a lot of people.

However, among the beings that Kayaba Akihiko knew, there were very few who could reach Asuna's level.

Kiriko's spirit is very tough and resilient; Yuuki's swordsmanship and reflexes are even more terrifying.

But they all exist in the category of "human beings".

But Asuna is different, she has reached a certain inhuman level.

This feeling even made Kayaba Akihiko think of Tianyin for a moment.

Tianyin always carries that "inhuman" feeling.

"Maybe I should quit."

Kayaba Akihiko was wondering whether he should exit the game and observe it.

Aincrad is the hard work of Akihiko Kayaba, but the changes in Asuna are Akihiko Kayaba's hope.

Is her life form progressing towards a higher level?

The thought of this made him feel very curious.

"But I always feel like something is wrong." However, Kayaba Akihiko realized that there seemed to be something he had overlooked.

But what exactly is it?

"The plan went smoothly, even too smoothly." Kayaba Akihiko thought.

This doesn't seem to be a problem.

The reason why the plan went so smoothly was because of the ambitious man Nomi Tatsuno who worked behind the scenes and helped Kayaba Akihiko a lot.

"But something just doesn't feel right. Well, whatever, as long as the plan goes according to plan, that's all that matters."

Variables always exist.

In that case, let's just let it go and see what happens next...

……

I can't bear it anymore, I'll take two days...

SAO is skipping ahead, and the next chapter is almost over. I feel like there's still a lot more to write about, but it feels like even this much is…impossible to write. Ahem.

Chapter 529 Kayaba Akihiko's Grand Plan

Aincrad, 22nd floor, Kiriko and Asuna's cabin.

"Asuna, are you cooking?"

As soon as Kiriko entered the house, she saw Asuna cutting vegetables.

In the world of Aincrad, players' cooking skills are purely based on their proficiency. Making meals is a skill and does not require doing it personally. However, Asuna is now in NPC status. In this world, she is more like an ordinary villager living here. Therefore, no matter what she does, it is no different from the real world.

"Ah."

Asuna turned her head with a smile.

Asuna was wearing a white robe with an apron over it, but underneath the robe, a faint trace of black latex could be seen.

Kiriko saved Asuna, but Asuna is still an NPC.

More than half a year has passed since Asuna was rescued, but Asuna's current condition has not changed at all.

"I'm sorry, Asuna. I haven't found a way to return from NPC status to normal. I can't find a way to remove that suit of gear you're wearing either..."

Tongzi said regretfully.

"Nothing," Asuna smiled. "Besides, I'm very strong now. Although it's the Laughing Coffin uniform, this NPC equipment has stats several times higher than player equipment."

In turn, Kiriko, who was comforted by Asuna, also fell into a dilemma.

"Yes, even if a player reaches the 100th floor and obtains max-level equipment, they still won't have this kind of attribute..."

Tongzi didn't say the second half of the sentence.

Because this set of equipment is for the slaves of the Smiling Coffin, when Asuna wears this set of equipment, her identity will always be a slave of the "Smiling Coffin" and will never change.

"Asuna may appear unconcerned, but she must be deeply worried..."

Tongzi sighed in her heart.

However, Kiriko had no way to help Asuna, because Asuna's condition was originally caused by a bug, and the equipment she got now was still NPC-only high-level equipment with attributes far exceeding those of the player.

If this wasn't a death game, in a normal game, such a player's account would probably be banned immediately...

And Tongzi also had a subtle feeling in her heart.

If Asuna remained in this state, then she would have another chance to wear Asuna's "disguise" in the future. Although it was a disguise, the feeling of a girl was real, and that addictive feeling made Kiriko unable to stop.

It was for this reason that Kiriko brought Asuna back and let her recuperate here, while to the outside world, Kiriko continued to pretend to be Asuna.

Heathcliff also agreed with this.

Kayaba Akihiko, the mastermind behind the scenes, ostensibly agreed to Kiriko's request with the reason that "Asuna has been missing for too long, and the Asuna you play now is even more popular, but if it's switched back, it will easily lead to misunderstandings." But in fact, Kayaba Akihiko wanted to observe Asuna more closely. What was Asuna's current state at this moment made Kayaba Akihiko a little interested.

After dinner, Kiriko told Asuna about what had happened recently.

The strategy team is now in high spirits and is moving towards higher levels. After those PK guilds were eliminated, although there are still some remnants, the strategy team has become much smoother.

The Sword Art Online in this world is in global public beta. It is rare that everyone can reach a consensus, and the higher-ups have decided to seize this opportunity to rush to the next level.

After spending some time with Asuna, Kiriko left the small room on the 22nd floor and moved to the upper floors - he wanted to attend the strategy meeting as Asuna.

After Kiriko left, Asuna also took off her white robe, revealing herself in slave attire.

On her face was a barcode indicating she was a slave of Laughing Coffin, and on her arms, exposed by her one-piece latex combat suit, were tattoos of Laughing Coffin.

She walked to the door and opened it.

"Master..." Standing at the door were the two remnants of the Smiling Coffin gang.

"Have you investigated it clearly?" The two men entered the house and asked.

"Yes. Some of the captured guild members are being held in the Black Iron Prison, but a large number are being held in separate locations to prevent them from colluding." Asuna... no, Slave No. 02 said respectfully.

The two remnants of Laughing Coffin nodded.

After Asuna was rescued by Kiriko, she seemed to return to her original form. At that time, the remaining members of the Laughing Coffin were very worried because Asuna knew many of their secret bases.

PoH seems to have been killed by unknown persons. Now the remaining members of the Smiling Coffin have no way to unite. They are barely surviving, but are worried and afraid.

But they gradually discovered that although this Asuna was found, she was indeed still a slave of the Laughing Coffin, not the "Flashing Asuna".

This made the remnants very happy.

At first, they were a little scared, but now they can sit on the sofa casually and wait for each other to serve them.

The opponent is no longer the former vice-leader of the Blood Alliance Knights, but the ruthless and cold-blooded killer 02 from Smiling Coffin.

"Very good. Those prisoners... Next, you go and kill them all. And the traitors. All of them."

"Yes."

A grim expression appeared on the faces of the remnants.

Although Laughing Coffin and other murderous guilds were wiped out, those guilds actually had no intention of letting these remnants go.

They had a stronghold before, but it was destroyed because of the betrayal of one of the traitors.

Traitors are more hateful than enemies, and no one knows when another person will betray them.

In that case - just kill it.

They were said to be former teammates, all members of the murderous guild, and even if they were teammates, they were still merciless.

There are also people in the killing guild who don't kill, but that's not because they don't want to kill, but because the killing guild also needs to contact the outside world, go undercover, trade, etc. These green-named killing guild players are the most troublesome.

But Asuna is different.

Asuna is an NPC, so even if she kills the green-named character, there will be no problem. The other party will be killed just like a monster.

"Damn it, if the boss and the others hadn't died suddenly, even if we were defeated, we wouldn't have become a pile of scattered sand." One of the remnants roared.

Asuna placed the fruit plate in front of the two of them and stood beside them consciously.

"It is said that not only our boss, but also the senior executives of other guilds who escaped were killed..." another person sighed.

……

"A new world, a new life, this is all wonderful." Kayaba Akihiko looked at Asuna's data with joy on his face.

There is a difference between players and NPCs.