"Hey... Player."
Tiny Mita's eyes widened as she watched the swarms of viruses gradually retreat. She raised her tiny hand, pointing in astonishment. "You call that a coincidence?"
"Yeah, just a coincidence." Alain nodded, listening to Misha relay Ugly Mita's response through his earpiece.
"'Player, I've regained control of those Man-Headed Spiders. From now on, if there are any more spiders, please let me know as well.' That's what she said."
He gave a slight nod, acknowledging the response.
As an extremely unstable Mita in the game and the owner of an older version—Version 0.5—Ugly Mita had the ability to control bugs.
And the Man-Headed Spiders were, in a sense, a type of bug themselves.
"Now that's what you call specializing in your field..." Alain thought to himself.
"Hmph, coincidence." Tiny Mita wore a dazed smile, her worldview collapsing.
She rested her small head against Alain.
Alain noticed Cool Mita was still staring blankly in the distance and walked over to her.
"Hm... you're here."
The way she looked at Alain was different now. She sized him up and down, as if looking at a monster.
"You're even more amazing than I thought... I never expected you to be right about everything."
The girl rubbed her forehead as if nursing a headache. "This feeling is so complicated. How did you know all that?"
Alain remembered what Cool Mita had said to him before they set out and chuckled. "It's called specializing in your field. Satisfied now?"
"Mmm..." Cool Mita glanced around.
The ground was covered in stains left behind after defeating the viruses. Her gaze was deep, still finding it hard to believe it was real.
She had tried to break through this place several times before, but the sheer number of viruses had always made her shrink back.
This time... under his command, they had broken through the encirclement with ease.
Cool Mita's gaze toward Alain now held a certain warmth.
"With him here, I can definitely find Cute Mita! Maybe... I can even defeat the Corrosive Entity!"
"Alright, alright, that's enough small talk for now." Alain patted her shoulder comfortingly, then immediately looked at something off to the side.
"So... can you tell me what this thing is?"
"...This thing?" Cool Mita paused, stunned for a moment, and followed Alain's gaze.
"Huh? What's this?"
She just now noticed that next to the door leading to the next version, there was an iron pillar.
And at the top of the pillar was a bright red button...
...and a sign.
A red arrow was drawn on the sign, pointing to the button, with the words "Press it" engraved on it.
"This is way too suspicious..." Alain commented.
"Yeah... but for some reason, I have no desire to press it." Cool Mita was puzzled, and Alain understood.
Usually, when he saw a button in a game, Alain would be curious.
If it said "Absolutely do not press" next to the button, he would definitely press it.
But the current situation was... This button had "Press it" written next to it, which paradoxically gave him a strange feeling...
He thought of a possibility and asked Cool Mita, "Is this Cute Mita's handwriting?"
According to Cool Mita, Cute Mita had passed through this very door, safe and sound, to get to the next version. So was it possible this was a hint she left behind?
"No." The high-ponytail girl's shake of her head cut off Alain's speculation. "Her writing should be much fancier."
She looked at Alain. "So? Alain, should we press it?"
And he quickly came to a conclusion:
"Let's see if the door can be opened first."
Alain walked to the door and tried pulling the handle.
With a click, the world of the next version successfully opened before him.
He closed the door again. "It doesn't affect the door, so let's just ignore it."
"Okay." Cool Mita followed his advice without hesitation and walked to the door.
"Huh? You're not gonna press it? Now I'm kinda curious..." Tiny Mita looked at the button, then at Alain's face.
"No. Even if we were to press it, now is not the time."
He shook his head, opened the door again, and stepped aside to let Cool Mita go in first.
The girl gave him a puzzled look but didn't dwell on it, leaving the sci-fi version.
As for Alain... he took one last look back at the scenes of the sci-fi version, his gaze finally focusing on that strange button... and the Man-Headed Spider next to it.
His lips moved, silently mouthing "I'm counting on you," before he strode forward and left the sci-fi version.
After passing through the doorway, the ring glowed faintly, indicating that they were on the correct version path.
Looking up, he saw Cool Mita already waiting for him up the road.
"Click"
Unexpectedly, the sound of a door locking came from behind Alain. He glanced back, and saw the door had closed automatically.
He put his hand on the door and tried to open it. But the door didn't budge, showing no sign of opening in the slightest.
"Is there no going back...?"
It seemed he wouldn't get the chance to press that button personally.
However, there was still something he needed to confirm.
"Did they make it in safely?" Alain spoke quietly into his earpiece.
"Yes. Except for the one you left by the button, the other Man-Headed Spiders have entered with you." Misha was as reliable as ever.
"What's wrong?" Having arrived in the version where Cute Mita was, Cool Mita seemed a little anxious, but she still considered Alain's opinion, speaking slowly and calmly, clearly treating him as her savior.
"The door's locked. It doesn't matter." Alain hadn't planned on going back anyway.
He looked around, taking the opportunity to observe this version.
"This place... is certainly special."
If the place they were just in was called the "sci-fi version," then the new version they had arrived in was like a lonely, forgotten land.
This version seemed to be built upon the clouds. Mist was everywhere, reducing visibility.
Silvery-gray iron railings formed the paths and structures they walked on, and occasionally a biting wind would blow past.
The silvery-gray railings and the gray, gloomy sky created a lonely version.
"This place is called [The Forgotten Jigsaw Puzzle]."
Cool Mita noticed Alain observing the version and patiently explained, "Because normally, no Mitas or players ever come here, over time, no one really remembers this place."
"So that's why it's described as 'forgotten'?" Alain found it fitting.
"Alain!" Misha's slightly anxious voice came through the earpiece. "After the Man-Headed Spiders got into position, they found traces of viruses."
He lightly tapped his earpiece, signaling that he had received the message.
"And what's more, they've found the Cute Mita you were talking about!"
___
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