After the matter of whether the Short-Haired Mita would go to the real world was settled, the sisters made a promise with Alain: once they worked together to completely resolve the crisis with the Core and the viruses, they would accompany him to reality. Moreover, the older sister seemed to be very curious about real life, which put Alain's mind at ease for the time being.

Alain also took the opportunity to ask for information about the Failed Work that had appeared in the real world.

"A Failed Work appeared in reality?" The Short-Haired Mita seemed very surprised. "That's impossible, isn't it? A creation from the game appearing in the real world... that's not scientific." As she pondered, she offered Alain a theory. "It should... also be related to the Modified Entity you mentioned. After all, isn't its ability to control doors and connect to various versions?"

"That's the only conclusion I can draw," Alain said, though he felt it couldn't be that simple.

Prankster Mita also expressed her concern. "Based on the intel I have, the Modified Entity's permissions have likely increased significantly. It might have developed more flexible abilities. Perhaps that's how it was able to link to the real world. Of course, it's just a guess in the end, but you have to be careful!"

"Mmm, I'll be on my guard."

After the final conversation with the sisters, it was time for a brief farewell with Misha.

"My dear, I'll be waiting for you in version 1.15," the long-haired girl said, clinging to his arm, reluctant to part.

Alain... was naturally helpless against this. It was the first time they would be briefly separated in the game world. But there was no other way.

"Stay in 1.15 and guide the two sisters well. And make sure you stay safe."

The three girls stood at the entrance to version 1.15, which was Mini Mita's room. Alain took the opportunity to say another goodbye to a certain "lollipop candidate," then activated the ring and opened the door. The version number changed accordingly. The light behind the door gradually grew dim, and through the crack, he could see miscellaneous objects like a vase.

Amidst the three girls' reluctant goodbyes, Alain stepped into the world behind the door. The door closed automatically.

Feeling the emptiness beside him, Alain realized that this was the first time he had acted alone since meeting Misha. He had been spoiled a bit by his beloved.

"Alright, get it together, Mita-Man!"

He gripped the hilt of his sword, took the gamepad from his Cloud Storage and put it in his pants pocket, then turned on the Bluetooth connection. The familiar feeling of overflowing stamina surrounded his body. He then scanned his surroundings.

The version he had chosen was the one closest to the grey-white room where the Black Ball was located—the infinite Long Corridor that the Devourer had previously occupied. Without the Devourer and without a certain long-legged Mita constantly walking around, the corridor was now quiet and empty. It was a rare moment of peace.

Alain's gaze fell on the path ahead. Beyond those endless doors was the Modified Entity's lair. Looking closely, he could still see the faint black stains on the doorframes. He resolutely stared at the door and walked forward.

He had considered setting the version's entry point directly in the grey-white room, but to prevent getting killed the moment he opened the door or a possible ambush, he had chosen the Long Corridor as a safer bet. This would give him more time to react.

As he was thinking, he arrived at the door. He took a deep breath, and his hand landed on the handle without hesitation. Click.

The grey-white room: as the name implied, it was a room decorated with grey and white squares. But under the Modified Entity's corruption, the floor should have had thick lines made of black blocks. However, in the view he saw through the crack of the door, there wasn't a trace of black; everything was bright and tidy.

Could it be that the Modified Entity's progress hasn't reached here yet?

He pushed the door wide open and was immediately proven wrong by his earlier thoughts.

The grey-white room was still the grey-white room. Compared to when he had heavily injured the Modified Entity, the only thing missing was the black lines on the floor. And inside the room, the spare furniture, the grey-and-white checkered walls, and the black sphere floating in the center of the ceiling had not changed at all.

Alain's gaze passed over his "old friend" and focused on the door on the other side. There, the originally wooden, brown doors had all turned pitch black, as if coated in a layer of black paint. He had thought the corruption progress was not as high as he expected. He never imagined that his expectations had been too conservative.

The Modified Entity had already completely corrupted a door.

And...

Alain's gaze refocused on the Black Ball. Compared to when they had "parted," this thing's current form was bloated and fat. The blackness that constantly drifted around it now had an iridescent shadow, a shadow that looked like "colorful black."

As if to welcome him, it slowly floated down from the ceiling and positioned itself directly in front of Alain.

Alain didn't hesitate to give it a probing strike with his sword. The greatsword plunged into the Black Ball's body, the blade feeling as if it were wrapped in a pile of sludge. "Tch... still as disgusting as ever."

The strike didn't cause any significant damage to the Black Ball. It shot back up to the center of the ceiling. Seemingly having witnessed its guest's rudeness, it directly opened the blackened door on the other side, as if to say, "Show yourself out."

"I'm not leaving."

Alain was about to say just that, but the figure inside the black doorframe immediately made his shoulders go stiff.

The door seemed to lead to a place of pure black. The floor, walls, and even the vase and flowers in the corner were all made of black. This made her, standing in the center of the endless black, exceptionally conspicuous. His eyes widened in disbelief. Her posture was slow, as if she were trying with all her might to swing a baseball bat one last time. Her pretty ponytail followed its master's sluggish movements, slowly rising, then threatening to fall.

She was his bad woman—Crazy Mita.

Except, in her current state, it was as if time had been slowed down infinitely, leaving her frozen in place.

"What's going on?"

Crazy Mita is being controlled? That was Alain's first thought. He quickly cast the guess aside. Impossible. This must be a trick by the Modified Entity to get me to go through that door. It's not the first time I've known this Dead Black Ball has some thinking ability.

Alain fixed a hostile gaze on the Black Ball. But in his peripheral vision, he saw the previously grey-and-white floor begin to flicker with a black light. The Modified Entity also began to pulsate with a certain rhythm, various codes scrolling across its surface like musical notes. Just as Prankster Mita had said, with more permissions, it had gained some new abilities.

Driven by some intuition, Alain immediately moved to the side. Sure enough, the spot where he had been standing turned into a black square. The black squares continued to advance toward his current position, like a cold order to leave.

"So unwelcome?"

At the rate the black squares were corrupting the floor, the only place left for him would be the door where Crazy Mita was. It was forcing him to meet with her.

The enemy's wish was a scheme he had to crush. Alain held fast to this principle. He unhesitatingly threw himself toward the door he came from, leaping into the air just in time to pass over the black squares at his feet.

Alain watched the approaching doorknob. Luckily, it was an outward-opening door.

The next second—a series of black static bursts flashed across his vision. The door he had come from was now wide open before him. Of course, the Black Ball wouldn't be so kind. Because behind the open door was Crazy Mita's location. In other words, the positions of the two doors had been swapped.

Has its corruption of the grey-white room's permissions reached this level?

Still in mid-air, Alain's mind raced, and he instantly came to a conclusion: Even if I'm caught in a trap, I'll at least annoy it on my way out.

And so, without a moment's hesitation, he swung his greatsword with all his might, landing a heavy blow on the Dead Black Ball. His position was perfectly aligned with the open door, and he fell into the world of darkness. The door slammed shut. As Alain looked back, he could see a deep gash on the Black Ball's surface, a sword mark that went deep into its core.

The door was closed.

____

Unfortunately, two of our stories were removed... so I created a new account to post them: MikuDayo.

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