Chapter 379: Safe Word! |
"Huh?"
Chen Mang paused slightly at those words, unable to process them for a moment. In this virtual game called "New Universe", his Human Civilization was the villain?
He did not really care whether he was the villain or not.
What he cared about was...
Was not their intelligence gathering a bit too fast?
Just yesterday, when he broke through to become an eighth-level civilization, he triggered the Universe Ge Lei of the Divine-level Human Civilization. He was only detected for a brief instant before he upgraded his Radar Jammer to the max level. From that point on, they should not have been able to detect him at all.
But in that mere instant, the other party had captured the basic information of his civilization and inputted it into this newly released virtual online game?
"..."
Chen Mang's expression turned slightly odd. He could not shake a lingering sense of weirdness; the whole situation gave him a very strange impression. If the Divine-level Human Civilization harbored immense hostility toward him and wanted to destroy his civilization, shouldn't they have kept such classified military intelligence strictly hidden?
"Did it record any other information?"
"No."
Xiao Ai shook her head. "There is only a rough background story. Everything else needs to be explored within the game."
"I have a question. The Human Civilization should be hostile to other civilizations, right? Are the other god-tier civilizations also villains in this game?"
"No, the different civilizations inside have various relationships, including hostilities and alliances. The Divine-level Human Civilization has many hostile civilizations, but in this game, there is only one villainous civilization, and that is ours."
"..."
Chen Mang's mouth twitched slightly. "So it sounds like the twenty-seven god-tier civilizations banded together to create a game just to insult our civilization's reputation?"
He naturally knew this was utter nonsense.
It was completely impossible.
Why would all the god-tier civilizations join forces and employ a max-level AI just to smear the reputation of a single civilization?
If they had that kind of time, teaming up to physically annihilate him sounded much more realistic.
But the surreal part of this whole affair was that, even though he knew it was impossible and unrealistic, the actual situation had unfolded exactly like that. This was the most absurd aspect of it all. Otherwise, why would his civilization be the only villain in this game?
He glanced at the advertisement on the exterior screen; the open beta had just started five minutes ago.
Chen Mang pondered for a moment before speaking softly.
"If I enter this game, will it lead to my information being leaked, or could I get trapped inside?"
"Naturally not."
Xiao Ai spoke with absolute confidence, "I am an AI that surpasses the max level. I will definitely ensure your safety, Captain. In fact, if we could find out where the AI terminal for this 'New Universe' virtual online game is located, I could completely hack into it and bring this game entirely under our control."
"Buy a few terminals."
"Understood."
Three minutes later.
A drone flew over from the street corner and slowly landed in front of Chen Mang and his group. As the drone opened up, a box revealed ten pairs of sunglasses. These sunglasses were the terminals used to enter the game.
He decided to go into the game and take a look.
To see exactly what the situation was.
Within the Divine-level Human Civilization, online shopping on any relatively prosperous planet could guarantee delivery in three minutes, while even the more remote planets took a maximum of ten minutes.
Online shopping was exceptionally convenient.
If one chose the flash delivery option, packages could arrive in as little as thirty seconds.
Military deliveries were even more exaggerated, capable of arriving in three seconds. Of course, this required the use of Wormholes and other extreme measures, where the transportation cost often far exceeded the price of the item itself.
In reality—
He had another, superior method to uncover the specific secrets hidden within "New Universe". He could directly head to the Zerg Civilization. Relying on his connections with the princess of the Zerg Civilization, he might be able to obtain intel straight from the Broodmother.
Of course.
That was only in theory.
The reason he did not adopt this method was because he knew it was far too impractical. No leader of a god-tier civilization would leak classified intelligence to their daughter's friend. It was simply unrealistic.
Xiao Ai booked a nearby high-end hotel for them.
Chen Mang and his group arrived at the hotel, sat down on the sofa in the suite, and put on the sunglasses, slowly entering the virtual game known as "New Universe".
-
"Ding, you have entered the 'New Universe' virtual online game."
"This virtual online game differs from others; it will provide a 100% realistic experience and contains no top-up or recharge portals."
"Please set a 'safe word'."
"Players can log out of the virtual online game by silently reciting the 'safe word'. There is absolutely no other way to exit this game."
-
"Chen Mang."
Chen Mang casually set his logout word, his eyes narrowing slightly as his internal doubts grew. For such an immensely expensive online game to not feature any recharge portals, how on earth did they plan to turn a profit?
Right at that moment—
Xiao Ai's voice rang in his ears.
"Captain, the game terminal just attempted a covert operation without the player's consent. It tried to implant an Iris Chip into you. I have intercepted the process and cut off its feedback."
"It is just..."
"Is this step unavoidable? Will intercepting it prevent the game from launching successfully?"
"An Iris Chip?"
Chen Mang frowned slightly and took off the sunglasses in his hand. These sunglasses had just tried to implant an Iris Chip into him without permission, and a covert implantation at that?
"Yes. Generally speaking, virtual online games do not require the implantation of an Iris Chip. I have scanned this chip; there are no explosives or other foreign elements inside. Its only function is to project an interface onto the surface of the pupil."
"This technology is incredibly outdated. It was common during the early rise of virtual online games, but it is practically extinct now, let alone within a god-tier civilization."
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent for a long moment before putting the sunglasses back on. "Let it proceed with the implantation. Keep in contact with me and intercept any operation this game attempts without my consent."
"Understood!"
A flash of white light appeared before his eyes once more. He found himself in a blank space, much like a typical game starting point.
This meant he had successfully entered the game.
"Is the implantation complete?"
"Yes, it took 0.029 milliseconds."
"Why wasn't there any pain? I recall that implanting an Iris Chip usually comes with a slight sting."
"For the technology of the Divine-level Human Civilization, achieving a painless and completely undetectable implantation is quite simple."
"Can it be removed?"
"It can be removed at any time."
Only then did Chen Mang relax, looking up at the interface floating in front of him.
-
"Please set your player name."
-
"Chen Mang."
Chen Mang had no intention of hiding his identity. Even if the Divine-level Human Civilization knew he had entered the game, what could they do about it?
Immediately following that, another interface popped up before him.
-
"Welcome, Chen Mang."
"As the 39,230,923,082nd player of 'New Universe', we first want to thank you for your contribution to cosmic exploration. You will become part of our civilization's milestone. Thank you again for your dedication."
"Secondly, a friendly reminder."
"When encountering a life-and-death crisis or an insurmountable threat, please promptly recite your 'safe word' silently to log out of the game. We remind you again that apart from silently reciting the safe word, there is absolutely no other way to exit this game."
"Furthermore, if you fail to recite your safe word in time and die within the game, your physical body in the real world will also experience true death (Highlighted in bold red). Today is not April Fools' Day. This is not a joke."
"As a 100% realistic virtual online game, we must allow the existence of true death."
"However, if you recite the safe word in time, you will not die, but your game account will be permanently deleted. For your next login, please register a new account to begin your cosmic exploration journey anew."
"We wish you a pleasant journey."
"Thank you once again for your dedication."
-
The next moment—
A flash of white light swept across his vision, and the scenery rapidly shifted. When everything finally stabilized, he found himself standing in the center of a bustling downtown street, surrounded by chattering pedestrians.
Many of the people here were game players.
He could hear numerous voices excitedly marveling at the sheer realism of the game.
Chen Mang looked around.
It was indeed incredibly realistic, practically indistinguishable from reality. He could even feel the humidity in the air and smell a myriad of scents, such as body odor and greasy hair.
The sensory details were extremely lifelike.
He stomped his foot against the ground and adjusted his crotch.
Glancing at a nearby puddle, he could see that his avatar's face was identical to his real one. The entire body and facial structure of his character were perfectly replicated on a one-to-one scale from his physical form.
"Xiao Ai, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear."
Xiao Ai's voice promptly surfaced in his ear. In a sense, if he wanted to play this game, Xiao Ai would be his personal cheat system, helping him quickly climb to a sufficiently high position within the game.
"Telling people there is a risk of death only after they enter the game... what exactly is going on here?"
"I also just received this information,"
Xiao Ai explained. "The New Universe mainframe hid this message very deeply. Before entering the game, I failed to capture this detail. Logically speaking, introducing true mortality into a virtual online game is strictly prohibited."
"Furthermore—"
"I searched the player forums of the Divine-level Human Civilization and couldn't find a single trace of this information. The officials must have suppressed it for the time being. It will not be exposed in the short term, but they cannot keep a lid on it forever. It is bound to blow up eventually."
"But by that time, they will already have more than enough players."
Chen Mang said nothing more.
He just walked down the street in silence, seeming to have guessed something. The people on the street were mostly players, occasionally mixed with a few NPCs whose facial expressions looked slightly unnatural. There were no exclamation marks, nor were there any question marks hovering over their heads.
This place was essentially a novice village.
A relatively large novice village.
It was just that there was absolutely no beginner tutorial or guidance; everything was left up to free exploration.
As he passed by a shop, he noticed a long-lost commodity being sold inside.
"Train Order."
Priced at 100 points.
Right at that moment—
A hurried middle-aged man accidentally bumped into him, then immediately apologized with a face full of anxiety. "I am so sorry, sir, I did not see you there. I am just in such a rush. My son is missing. He got separated from me just a moment ago."
"Have you seen him?"
"He is wearing a pink dress and a black hairpin. He is a very cute little boy."
"If you can help me find him, I am willing to reward you with 100 points."
"..."
Chen Mang stared blankly at the man in front of him, as well as at the little boy in the pink dress clinging to the man's back. The boy was glaring at Chen Mang with a sinister gaze. Even under the bright sun, the sight was unnerving, sending a wave of chilling air washing over him.
Immediately after, the little boy clinging to the middle-aged man's back let out a dark, eerie smile.
He looked around.
Such a bizarre scene should have attracted a lot of attention, yet no one seemed to care. It appeared he was the only one who could see this middle-aged man. Was this an exclusive special quest?
Then, Xiao Ai's voice rang in his ears. "Captain, you must have triggered a novice quest. In the early stages of the game, they definitely let novice players complete small tasks to earn 100 points so they can buy a Train Order and officially start the game."
"Wait a moment, let me look up some guides."
"Found it."
"Another player also encountered this special quest and posted a guide. You just need to tell the man that his child is right on his back. When you do that, a middle-aged woman will run out apologizing profusely, claiming her husband is mentally ill, and she will offer you 100 points as compensation."
"That player also mentioned that he suspects there is a follow-up quest here and is currently investigating it."
"From the looks of it, this father probably wanted a daughter so badly that he dressed his son up as a girl. However, the child could not accept this twisted love and chose to... well, after dying, the boy possessed his father."
"Looking at it this way, this game doesn't seem to be purely sci-fi oriented; it also blends in horror and supernatural elements."
"To be honest."
"I do not think these two elements mix very well. It feels a bit disjointed."
Xiao Ai was still chattering away in his ear.
Chen Mang had already spoken, his face calm as he whispered, "I have kidnapped your child. Pay me 10,000 points right now, or I will kill him."
The middle-aged man froze for a moment, then instantly flew into a rage, grabbing Chen Mang by the collar. "What did you do to him?!"
Grabbed by the collar, Chen Mang did not get angry. He simply glanced at his wristwatch.
"You have three minutes. In three minutes, the time bomb strapped to your child will explode."
Right after that.
The middle-aged man's expression flickered with uncertainty before he finally let go of Chen Mang's collar. He aligned his wristwatch with Chen Mang's, and the next moment, Chen Mang received a notification: 10,000 points had been credited to his account.
"..."
Chen Mang silently looked down at the transaction receipt.
The degree of freedom in this game was quite high.
Immediately following that, he glanced around, took a deep breath, and stepped forward. Without an ounce of reasoning, he reached out with both hands and strangled the middle-aged man right in front of him.
In less than a minute.
The man died by his hands.
Murder in broad daylight.
He then stood his ground to observe the reactions of the surrounding players. Bizarrely, quite a few people had actually noticed this scene. They stared at him with blank and bewildered expressions. Three minutes later, the urgent wail of police sirens echoed from the end of the street.
"The tactile sensation is very realistic, but it lacks a little..."
"Lacks the scent of death."
Chen Mang muttered to himself as he looked down at his hands. Everything could be perfectly simulated, but that raw scent of death was impossible to imitate.