144: Chapter 144 A Reunion Across Life and Death! The Entire Internet Bursts into Tears – This is the True Meaning of Technology!

There were no blinding neon lights of a cyberpunk city.

Nor was there the deafening epic battle music of the Azeroth continent.

After a brief period of darkness, the screen refocused and lit up, accompanied by the full connection of the sensory nerves.

What greeted the eyes of billions of viewers across the internet was an old Southern courtyard house full of a sense of history.

Thick moss grew in the corners of the mottled brick walls.

In the center of the courtyard, that sturdy old locust tree was shedding a few withered yellow leaves in the wind.

Above the red-brick kitchen in the distance, wisps of cooking smoke were rising from the mottled chimney.

The air was even filled with that distinct, choking, fragrant scent that only appears when burning firewood in a rural earthen stove.

The hundreds of millions of viewers in the live stream were collectively stunned.

The entire screen was instantly flooded with question marks.

"Where is this?"

"Is this also a hidden map included in 'perfect life'?"

"Why make it so dilapidated and so realistic?"

Just as everyone was filled with confusion, guessing what kind of black technology Lu Li was going to showcase.

The paint-peeling wooden door of the courtyard emitted a long, dull "creak" and was slowly pushed open from the inside.

An old lady wearing a coarse cloth apron, with gray hair and a severely hunched figure, walked out carrying a plastic basin filled with washed vegetables.

The old lady's movements were very slow.

She put down the basin and casually wiped her wet hands on her washed-out apron.

She raised her head, and on that face covered in the ravines of time, she revealed the kind smile that had appeared in Da Jun's dreams countless times.

The old lady walked over unsteadily, bent down with great effort, and tried to help up the middle-aged man who was sleeping on the muddy ground, dead drunk.

"Da Jun, why did you drink so much alcohol?"

"Wake up quickly, the ground is cold, you can't sleep here."

This call, so familiar it was etched into his marrow, traveled along the neural connection system and exploded directly in the depths of Da Jun's brain.

Da Jun trembled violently and slowly opened his eyes.

What met his eyes was that old locust tree he had climbed countless times as a child, and the tip of his nose was filled with the scent of firewood smoke and the unique earthy smell of the old house.

He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, his rough palms touching his own stubble-covered face.

He muttered to himself: "It's a dream... I've dreamed of home again."

But when he clearly saw the old woman in front of him who was pulling hard on his arm, his pupils contracted violently.

At that moment, all his pretenses, all his strength, and all the dignity of a middle-aged man instantly collapsed.

He lunged forward, clutching the old woman's legs tightly, and wailed like a child who had suffered every grievance imaginable.

"Mom—!!"

"Mom!!"

The shrill and repressed crying pierced through the barrier of the virtual world and echoed in every major live stream across the globe.

The old lady was not frightened by him; she just reached out with great effort and, with those rough yet warm palms, gently patted Da Jun's broad back.

"Da Jun, how have you been lately?"

"You're a grown man, you need to be strong when you encounter problems, how can you hide on the ground and cry?"

Da Jun was already streaming with tears; he buried his face deep in his mother's apron, greedily breathing in that familiar scent of soapberry.

"Wuwuwu, Mom... I miss you so much! I really miss you so much!"

The old grandma kindly stroked his graying hair, her movements as gentle as if he were still a five-year-old child.

"Good child, Mom knows everything. I heard from my good granddaughter that you've encountered some difficult things, haven't you?"

"I don't care how others see you, but you are Mom's pride, and Mom has always believed in you!"

This sentence was like a key, completely opening the floodgates of emotions that had been pent up in Da Jun's heart for a long time.

While sobbing, he poured out all the grievances he had suffered during this time.

He poured out how the bald boss at his company had heartlessly kicked him to the curb.

He poured out the despair of sending out dozens of resumes, all of which sank into the sea without a trace.

He poured out the feeling of powerlessness that made him want to die every night when he looked at his wife and daughter's sleeping faces.

In front of this perfect replica constructed by Lu Li using the ultimate artificial intelligence, he didn't need to be that upright, indomitable father, nor did he need to be that timid corporate drone.

He was just a son who missed his mother.

The old grandma listened patiently, occasionally using her rough thumb to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Don't be afraid, Da Jun, you're the best. You have to keep going, life will get better."

Da Jun was crying so hard he could barely catch his breath; he gripped the old woman's hand tightly, afraid that if he let go, this dream would end.

"Mom, can you go back? Can you come back, please?"

"I haven't fulfilled my filial duties yet... I clearly promised that when I saved enough money, I would take you to visit the capital, but in the end, I never did."

"I'm sorry... Mom, I'm sorry!"

He knocked his head against the muddy ground, making a dull sound.

The old grandma's body began to emit tiny blue lights, and the edges of the entire courtyard began to blur like water ripples.

She lowered her head, her eyes filled with attachment and reluctance.

"Silly child, how can Mom stay with you forever?"

"Promise Mom, stop drinking, and hold your head up high."

"Take good care of your wife, take good care of my good granddaughter... they are your lifeline."

Da Jun looked up abruptly, watching his mother's gradually transparent body, and tried to reach out and grab her in terror.

"I promise! I'll promise anything!"

"Mom! Don't go! Don't go!"

He knelt on the ground, kowtowing desperately, not even noticing that his forehead was scraped and bleeding.

However, the old grandma's figure slowly turned into dots of light in the sky, leaving behind only a whisper that drifted away with the wind.

"Mom is watching over you from heaven, my good Da Jun..."

The courtyard dissipated.

The old locust tree dissipated.

The scene cut back to that slightly cramped real-world living room.

Da Jun ripped off his helmet, prostrating himself on the living room floor covered in beer bottles, crying his heart out.

However, his eyes no longer held that deathly despair from before.

He finished crying, stood up abruptly, and hugged his daughter, who was already sobbing uncontrollably beside him.

"Dad won't drink anymore... Dad will never drink again! Tomorrow, Dad will go deliver food, go carry bricks!"

At this moment, the global internet fell into a deathly silence.

In every major live stream, the bullet comments that were previously reveling and spamming "WTF" had all disappeared.

They were replaced by a screen full of tearful eyes.

"I'm a 1.9-meter-tall man from the Northeast, sitting in an internet cafe crying like a dog! The boss asked me if my account got hacked!"

"This is the ultimate meaning of technology! Companies like Xiaomi and Tencent shout about changing the world every day, but besides finding ways to empty our wallets, what have they actually done?!"

"God Lu! Don't use an emotional knife to kill me! I miss my grandma; when is Guanghui Technology releasing the helmets? I'll go bankrupt if I have to, but I'm buying one!"

"This is a dimensionality reduction strike! Not just a dimensionality reduction in technology, but a crushing blow on the spiritual level!"

"Let cold machines calculate humanity's deepest regrets... Guanghui Technology, from today on, you are the gods in my heart!"

Everyone understood.

While other giants were still fighting tooth and nail over user retention time and ad click-through rates.

Lu Li had already used his unrivaled technology to build a safe haven for all of humanity to rest their souls.

This is the romance that belongs to Guanghui Technology.