The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician
Chapter 338 - 209: Ostrich Liu Tingruo?

Chapter 338: Chapter 209: Ostrich Liu Tingruo?

"Hmm?" Sawada Kazu hadn’t noticed there was anyone else. He furrowed his brows, and wrinkles stacked upon his face, showing his age.

But quickly, his eyebrows smoothed out, as if resigning himself to the situation, he muttered to himself, "Never mind, it might just be an auditory hallucination. I’ve been working a bit too long this month, I’m feeling a bit drained."

Drained?

Jiang Shu’s mind repeated Sawada Kazu’s words, but suddenly, he opened his eyes once more.

A sense of fatigue, like the one when spiritual power had been sapped from him before.

And in front of him was Liu Tingruo, age twenty-six.

Liu Tingruo’s concerned gaze seemed to melt him.

"Jiang Shu, why did you suddenly faint?" Her voice came urgently.

"I fainted?" Jiang Shu attempted to rise from the bed but was immediately held down by Liu Tingruo.

Her face grew tense, "Don’t move just yet, I’ll have Xiao Wu check on you again."

"I’m fine." Jiang Shu lay obediently on the bed, understanding that this must be a side effect of the Thought Link from earlier.

"Let Xiao Wu check." Liu Tingruo said firmly, then asked, "Have you had this happen before?"

"Never." Jiang Shu told the truth, then asked, "How long was I unconscious?"

"About... fifteen minutes or so." Liu Tingruo glanced at the time. "Do you feel discomfort anywhere?"

Fifteen minutes...

Jiang Shu estimated the time, which seemed about the same length as when he had seen that other world.

Which meant, the flow of time was consistent.

"Really, I’m fine." Jiang Shu still recalled the scenes he had just witnessed, moving his head around, looking at his current surroundings, he recognized the lab’s setup. "Is this still the same lab from before?"

Liu Tingruo nodded, "Yes."

At that moment, Xiao Wu slowly flew over, with a small compartment opening on its belly, which contained a scanner-like device. It scanned Jiang Shu’s body and then displayed the patterns and results on a Simulated Light Screen.

"There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong..." Liu Tingruo looked at the data on the Simulated Light Screen and muttered quizzically.

"Yeah, just a minor issue earlier." Jiang Shu didn’t elaborate, as he hadn’t fully understood the situation from before.

This had never happened before.

Was it an imaginary dream, or had he really linked to a future Sawada Kazu and seen a vision of the future?

Moreover, in that place, Liu Tingruo around forty and Sawada Kazu around seventy, surely there was some hidden story here.

Either the so-called "Contribution Points work" caused Sawada Kazu to age rapidly, or the future Liu Tingruo used a special method to delay aging.

But, didn’t that era have any methods for eternal youth?

And what exactly was this "Contribution Points work"? It sounded like just lying there, browsing videos and playing games could earn Contribution Points, but from the words of Sawada Kazu and another elder, he couldn’t determine whether this "Contribution Points work" was a mandatory weekly task or a salaried voluntary job.

But, getting paid just to lie around and have fun?

It didn’t seem like a symbolic welfare gesture. Instead, it was because their lying around actually brought social value; otherwise, there wouldn’t be a system where the longer you spent, the more Contribution Points you earned.

Yet, how did lying around bring about any social value?

It reminded him of the words Sawada Kazu muttered to himself.

This was Sawada Kazu’s job, and long hours could exhaust one’s spiritual energy.

Jiang Shu furrowed his brow slightly.

If one had to guess, it might be related to spiritual power.

If, in that world, spiritual power had become a tangible energy source, and wearing a specially designed helmet to lie around could extract spiritual power...

Everything seemed to make sense.

As a pioneering figure in Spiritual Mechanics, it also wasn’t unusual that Liu Tingruo’s image was hoisted on billboards for public adoration.

But such a society—if it truly was what this woman helped to bring about—how terrible could it be upon further thought?

Jiang Shu glanced at Liu Tingruo at the bedside. She was seriously examining the data just scanned by Xiao Wu, as if conducting a test.

If that was the future, what exactly had happened over the years to cause such a change in Liu Tingruo?

Exiting the link due to insufficient spiritual power—he should be able to link with that Sawada Kazu again after recovering, right?

Then, he could ask Sawada Kazu some questions and make more inferences.

"There doesn’t seem to be any problem." Liu Tingruo’s puzzled voice interrupted his thoughts. She bent down and compared Jiang Shu’s forehead temperature with hers, using the back of her hand, her eyes still filled with confusion.

Seemingly unable to detect any temperature difference, she tried another method, slightly lifting her bangs, then pressed her forehead against Jiang Shu’s to feel something.

While Jiang Shu watched Liu Tingruo’s face come just a few centimeters from his own, her beautiful flawless face not marred by a single blemish, and with her warm, scented breaths coming in waves due to the proximity, he unapologetically planted a kiss.

"Eh, what are you doing?" Liu Tingruo recoiled in surprise, standing over the bed looking down with stern righteous indignation, "A mere patient should maintain a respectful attitude."