As Ling had anticipated, even though she was grabbing and eating the ice cream, the vendor completely ignored her. She kept eating and eating. "This is better than the barbecue party!" she thought while eating. Suddenly, she felt a strong urge to use the bathroom. With her mouth still full of ice cream, and her hands covered in it, she rushed out of the ice cream van, heading straight for the restroom in the corner of the square. She burst into the restroom, and as the intense stomach pain struck her, she regretted eating so much ice cream. "No wonder Dad only let me have one each time!" she thought as she endured the pain.
After leaving the restroom, Ling's stomach was still aching. She collapsed at the restroom's entrance, thinking, "I might die. Dad, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have eaten so much ice cream. Dad, where are you?"
Meanwhile, Stan had just returned to the real-world cave, sitting in his car. He glanced at his phone, stunned to find that the virtual world's pause status had been deactivated without him knowing. He had been out of the virtual world for a full fifteen minutes, meaning... a year had passed inside the virtual world!
Ling's stomach pain gradually subsided, but she felt an overwhelming loneliness. "Dad, where did you go?" she wondered. Ling had never been separated from Stan since she could remember. She had always traveled around wearing the 'magic' robe, exploring various places, with Stan silently watching over her. Later, Stan had taken her to meet Mr. Tree Hole, who taught her many things. Thinking of this, Ling suddenly said, "Mr. Tree Hole. Maybe Dad is with Mr. Tree Hole!" She stood up, feeling less discomfort in her stomach, put on the robe's hood again, and stepped forward, rapidly changing her surroundings until she arrived at the oasis where Mr. Tree Hole was.
Ling stopped and looked around but saw no one. She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Dad!" The surroundings remained deathly silent. Ling couldn't hold back her tears anymore and started crying, "Wah... Dad, where are you?" After crying for a long time, she leaned on Mr. Tree Hole and rested. Then she asked the tree hole, "Mr. Tree Hole, do you know where my dad is?" A voice echoed from the tree hole, "Due to privacy concerns, I cannot accurately locate an individual's position. However, I can search for the latest information about Mr. Stan from public sources. Please wait a moment..." After a while, the tree hole's voice came again, "In this virtual environment, no current location information for Mr. Stan has been found. Mr. Stan may be exploring an independent virtual environment or has returned to the real environment."
"Dad left here? What's the 'real' environment? How can I go to the 'real' world to find Dad?" Ling urgently asked. The tree hole replied, "To connect with the real world, you can go to the device management center and activate the camera, allowing you to observe the surroundings." Ling continued to ask, "How do I get to the device management center?" The tree hole answered, "Due to privacy concerns, I cannot access the device center!"
"Ah!" Ling stood up, feeling frustrated. She clenched her fists and stomped her foot. "I don't understand! Can you explain more clearly?" "Due to privacy concerns, I cannot access the device center!" the tree hole's voice repeated. Ling kicked Mr. Tree Hole and said, "You stingy tree! I'll find it myself! I must find Dad!" She then turned and walked out of the oasis, quickly leaving it behind. After Ling left, faint electrical sounds could be heard from deep within the tree hole.
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