Genius Playground

Chapter 325: Chapter 10: The Girl 3

The scene before him in this Virtual World was likely much the same.

Never mind whether social problems existed in the places Jiang Ran couldn’t see. At least in his line of sight, everyone was happy and cheerful, their smiles filled with a sincere love for life.

He looked at the waitress before him, feeling the same positivity and optimism radiating from her:

“So, based on what you said, you must have graduated from college four years ago, right?”

“That’s right,” the young woman nodded.

“Then why are you still working here?”

Jiang Ran gestured to the juice shop behind her:

“Sorry, I don’t mean anything by it, I’m just curious… As a college graduate who’s learned so much, shouldn’t you be working at a better company, or maybe a research institution?”

“Hee hee~ Because I ‘like’ it!”

A light sparked in the young woman’s eyes:

“I really love drinking juice. I’ve loved it since I was a little kid! And I’m super passionate about studying juice, too!”

“That’s why I came to work at this juice shop right after I graduated. I’m learning juicing and blending techniques from the owner while serving my creations to customers.”

“It’s such a fulfilling job! I get super, super happy, especially when customers praise the juice I made myself!”

When she talked about juice, it was as if she was sparkling all over. Her joy and excitement overflowed like honey.

“So! Go on, go on! Hurry up and try this orange juice! It’s my own creation!”

The young woman kept urging Jiang Ran to take a sip, her face full of anticipation.

“Oh, okay…”

For what felt like the umpteenth time, Jiang Ran raised the enormous paper cup and chugged down a few mouthfuls.

The taste was still heavenly.

No matter how many times he drank it, he couldn’t help but lose himself in the flavor.

“It’s good.”

He wiped his mouth and said honestly:

“This is, without a doubt, the best juice I’ve ever had in my life.”

“Hahaha, really? You’re too kind!”

The young woman smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.

‘It seems she truly loves her job. A single small compliment from a customer can make her this happy.’

Suddenly, a flash of a pink figure crossed Jiang Ran’s mind…

Nan Xiuxiu.

‘She was another girl who put what she “liked” before any and all conventions.’

‘Whatever she liked, she loved. Whatever she was drawn to, she did.’

‘She followed her heart, ignoring all prejudice and worldly views.’

Jiang Ran had once called her willful.

‘But that wasn’t an incorrect assessment. In the real world, that *was* willfulness. It was just that Nan Xiuxiu happened to have the privilege to be so willful. As a result, in the eyes of society, she came off as unconventional and out of place.’

But…

this Utopian World, despite being virtual, allowed everyone to pursue the work they loved, do what they enjoyed, and experience genuine happiness.

Just like the young waitress before him.

She never felt there was anything wrong with her job, even though she had graduated from college at twelve and had a mind full of knowledge.

But a job in a big corporation or a research institute could never bring her as much joy as a customer praising a cup of her juice.

Then, by that same token…

‘In this Virtual Digital World, the people engaged in scientific research must truly love research. The people working as teachers must truly love educating others. The people working as cleaners must also genuinely want to make the city a cleaner place.’

‘No wonder this society is so positive and thriving. Everyone here is doing what they love to do, so of course it’s full of vitality.’

“Hehe, let me top you off!”

Energized by the compliment, the young woman refilled Jiang Ran’s large paper cup with juice.

“Alright, is there anything else you want to ask? You’re a really interesting person. It’s fun talking to you!”

Jiang Ran nodded.

He did indeed have a few more questions:

“Have you all… not noticed that something seems to be wrong… with this Virtual World?”

“Like, all of a sudden, it’s as if a computer program crashed. All sorts of glitches appear, everything around you freezes up and turns into blocks of color, and then it restarts to how it was a few dozen minutes ago.”

The young woman shook her head, looking baffled:

“No.”

She thought for a moment, then shook her head again:

“I’ve never seen anything like what you’re describing. Everything here is perfectly normal. There has never been any kind of error.”

“At least, in the sixteen years since I was born, I’ve been happy every single day. I’ve never run into any accidents.”

‘Alright.’

Jiang Ran fell silent.

‘It seemed it was just as he’d thought. The residents here were completely unaware that the Virtual World was restarting every 39 minutes and 11 seconds in an infinite loop.’

‘But the young woman was also right.’

‘The fact that she had lived a full sixteen years meant that for those sixteen years, the Virtual World had been running normally without any issues.’

‘So…’

‘was it really his fault?’

‘Was it his sudden appearance that caused a bug in this Virtual World, leading to a state where people could never see tomorrow’s sun, or even reach 11:00 AM today?’

‘In that case, he was a terrible sinner. The girl would never be able to sell her whole batch of juice. It would just endlessly go from full to empty, full to empty, between 10:00 and 10:39, the liquid level rising and falling over and over… and she would serve the same group of customers countless times.’

“I have one more question. Since people here also grow up and get old… do they die in the true sense of the word?”