24
JOON CRUNCHED INTO the wreckage of Corpus’s office. Smoke wisped across the ceiling, choking up the air. Joon ignored it, knowing it was no threat.
Yu Ying’s avatar had crumbled into tiny fragments. They were slowly decaying, like ash burning of its own accord. Joon wondered how she was holding up in the real world. Avatar death was especially rough if you were synced—physically and psychologically. If his own avatar were destroyed like that, Joon would feel like his whole world had been torn away. To him, it was just as real as his flesh and blood meat suit.
Pushing the thought aside, Joon surveyed the office. It was an absolute mess, but he had to find the file. If the Holos was under threat, Joon wanted a hand in helping protect it. It was his true home—he still felt alien and dis
