Chapter 380: A Familiar Old Friend |
He did not often kill people.
Or rather, he rarely killed anyone with his own hands.
While he was not particularly sensitive to the scent of death, he could still sense that something was wrong. For instance, when this man died, his eyes were filled with extreme fear. The emotion was unnatural. Logically, it should have been mixed with anger and resentment.
And confusion.
After all, the man had executed his hostage right after collecting the ransom, and the victim was a family member. The victim's eyes should not have contained only fear.
This could only mean one thing.
The victim's death sequence had been pre-programmed. According to that set program, the only emotion meant to be displayed upon death was pure terror.
"Strange."
Chen Mang narrowed his eyes, glancing at the bewildered players staring at him and listening to the approaching police sirens in the distance. Initially, based on the implanted Iris Chip and various other clues...
A form of mass Transmigration.
Meaning these NPCs were actually real people.
But judging by his recent test, these NPCs were truly just NPCs.
At this moment—
Four police cars had already surrounded him. Several heavily armed officers closed in, aiming their weapons directly at him. He did not offer any resistance. He simply stood in place, raised his hands, and calmly allowed himself to be handcuffed.
The exact moment the handcuffs clicked shut around his wrists.
A translucent panel materialized before his eyes.
-
"You have violated the laws of Ceylon City and are now under arrest by the Law Enforcement Bureau. The safety word cannot be activated while in a state of arrest."
-
In other words.
From this point onward, he could no longer log out of the game. If his sentence turned out to be the death penalty, he could only wait to die.
"Do not worry, Captain. I can unlock this restriction at any time."
Xiao Ai's voice echoed in his ear.
"If other players are willing to stage a prison break or intercept the police convoy, breaking the arrested status, the safety word can be used again."
"This is a new mechanic."
"There is one more thing."
"The player who posted the guide on the forum earlier discovered a hidden storyline. That middle-aged man will ultimately see his son clinging to his back and will be killed by him in sheer terror."
"I see."
Chen Mang nodded slightly, not paying it much mind. Before him, an officer with a stern expression pulled an ID badge from his breast pocket and declared in a deep voice.
"You have violated the laws of Ceylon City. You are now under arrest and will await sentencing by the court."
A young man in the crowd pulled out a camera from somewhere and captured the entire scene.
One day later.
Supported by the hidden influence of multiple god-tier civilizations, this game, New Universe, had become a virtual reality sensation sweeping across the cosmos. On the game's dedicated player forum, a featured thread had been pinned to the very top.
The title of the thread read.
"The first arrested player criminal in New Universe! Let us wait and see his final fate."
The post was flooded with comments beneath it.
"This guy is dead meat. You cannot use the safety word while arrested. I got caught stealing and tried to quit the game, only to find out I was completely locked in! I had to pay a one-thousand-credit bail just to get paroled!"
"You cannot use the safety word when arrested? Huh? And dying in the game means dying in real life. If he gets the death penalty, does that mean he is actually going to die?"
"That is exactly what it means."
"I am more curious about how the guy above managed to earn a thousand credits on the very first day of the server launch."
"Selling my ass."
"What do you mean?"
"Literally what I said. In my starting city, a lot of the men are away for work. The wives left alone in empty houses are willing to pay high prices for someone who knows how to perform, and they pay generously. A normal guy can make two to three thousand a pop. I make ten thousand credits a session."
"Why do you get paid so much more?"
"I have dark skin. It is considered rare."
"Is the experience realistic? Does it just skip with a cutscene or what?"
"One hundred percent simulated. It is completely real, just like experiencing it firsthand in the real world. It is miraculous. I have decided to spend most of my future time in this game. I absolutely love it to death."
"If you can make money selling your ass, why on earth were you stealing?"
"Prostitution is not exactly a legitimate career path. I cannot do it forever."
"Fair point."
Meanwhile—
Chen Mang, currently detained inside the Ceylon City Law Enforcement Bureau, was locked in a dark, solitary confinement cell awaiting interrogation.
Right at that moment.
Someone pushed the door open and entered. The room was pitch black, but the hallway outside was brightly lit. He could not make out the person's face, only a blurry silhouette. The newcomer spoke.
"Do you have a preferred lawyer you would like to contact?"
"..."
Chen Mang remained silent, gazing at the translucent panel that had popped up in front of him. That phrase sounded incredibly familiar, though the last time he heard it, it had not been from someone in the legal profession.
-
"Federal Class-D Lawyer. Free of charge. Federally appointed. Exoneration rate: 0%. You will be sentenced to death with immediate execution."
"Federal Class-C Lawyer. 10,000 credits. Can reduce your sentence to death with a reprieve."
"Federal..."
"Federal Class-S Lawyer. 10,000,000 credits. You will be sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for three years."
"Federal..."
"Federal Class-SSS Lawyer. 1,000,000,000 credits. Acquittal and immediate release. Will seek compensation on your behalf from the victim's family and the Law Enforcement Bureau for improper conduct during your arrest, completely restoring your reputation."
-
Very nice.
It seemed that in this game, as long as one was wealthy enough, they could basically do whatever they pleased like a king.
The price was simply staggering.
It required paying at least a hundred million credits to murder a random pedestrian and walk away as if nothing had happened. At least everything had a clear price tag.
"The first one."
Chen Mang picked one at random. After watching the silhouette leave the room, he whispered, "Did you find it?"
"No."
The AI's somewhat lamenting voice echoed in his ear. "The other party... doesn't seem to have noticed us at all."
Earlier, when he asked Xiao Ai to bypass the restriction so he could use the safety word while arrested, Xiao Ai had warned that it was a high-risk intrusion that would undoubtedly be detected by the max-level AI running the system.
The upside was that the moment the opposing AI intervened, Xiao Ai could launch a counter-intrusion using the digital traces left behind, pinpoint the physical location of their AI core, hack the main brain, and completely take over the game.
Except...
That max-level AI had not noticed them whatsoever.
"Forget it then."
Chen Mang was not too surprised and simply stated calmly, "This game is definitely not simple. We must find the location of this game's AI core as soon as possible and figure out exactly what these god-tier civilizations are plotting."
Just then—
"Two things. First, Qi Ke Xiu says the research for the Power Magnet Primordial Blueprint has been completed."
"Good news."
The corners of Chen Mang's mouth curled up slightly. "The kid did well. What else?"
"The second thing... is a post that just blew up on the player forums. A player who obtained a Train Order gathered some iron ore resources but didn't immediately use it on their train. Instead, they logged off while holding the ore in their hands."
"But upon logging out, they discovered the resources had actually followed them back into the real world."
"The post went viral instantly. Multiple players conducted their own experiments and confirmed that resources from the game can indeed be brought into reality. Not just iron ore, but even component blueprints, and even... trains!"
"..."
This time, Chen Mang fell silent. This meant that New Universe was no longer just a virtual reality network; it could practically be considered a 'Third Universe.' He knew that those god-tier civilizations collaborating to create such a game wasn't just to turn a profit. They definitely had alternative motives.
"Huu..."
A moment later, he exhaled softly and silently chanted 'Chen Mang' in his mind. The safety word triggered, and he smoothly logged off.
Upon returning to the real world.
Chen Mang immediately took the completed Power Magnet Primordial Blueprint researched by Qi Ke Xiu and began to re-screen it. He then logged onto the player forum to review those trending posts. In one of the more prominent threads, there was even a photograph of his arrest.
By this time.
The game had already caused a massive sensation. Only now did the players realize that this game didn't even have an official website. No one knew who the development team was, no one knew who was operating and producing the game. There were no credits and no publishing company.
There was only an overwhelming, saturation-level advertising campaign.
He sat in the train cabin, scrolling through post after post, trying to uncover some hidden truths within.
Right at that moment—
"Wait!"
Chen Mang suddenly narrowed his eyes. He seemed to have overlooked a crucial detail. He immediately grabbed his headset from the side and logged back into the game. When his vision cleared, he found himself still sitting in the interrogation room, waiting to be questioned.
Although he had acquired the privilege to use the safety word while arrested through Xiao Ai, he was still incapable of physically leaving the interrogation room.
"Can you modify my credit balance?"
"I can, but that qualifies as an even higher-risk action. The other party will definitely notice."
"That is perfect. Prepare to trace them back. Modify my balance to one hundred trillion credits."
"Modification complete."
Fifteen minutes later.
A lawyer dressed in a sharp suit walked in and looked at him with a bright smile. "Hello, sir. I am your appointed lawyer. You are now free to leave the Law Enforcement Bureau. I will handle the subsequent compensation claims on your behalf."
Behind the lawyer, several law enforcement officers stepped forward to remove his handcuffs.
"No matter how good a lawyer is, surely they still need to argue their case in a courtroom?"
Chen Mang stood up, rolling his slightly stiff wrists.
"A Federal Class-SSS Lawyer does not need to. We have our own methods. After all, we must justify the one billion credits our employer has paid."
"How did you do it?"
"That is confidential."
The lawyer beamed at him, offering no further explanation.
"I will give you another billion. Tell me how you did it."
"Are you serious, sir?"
"Transferred."
"I bribed the Bureau Chief with ten million."
"And the remaining nine hundred and ninety million?"
"That was my profit margin."
"Fascinating."
Chen Mang stretched his limbs, walked up to the lawyer, and whispered, "Then why didn't I just offer the bribe myself?"
"Under Federal Law, accepting a bribe is not illegal, but offering one carries a severe penalty. I shouldered the risk of bribery on your behalf, my employer."
"There is actually such a law?"
"Indeed there is. As a lawyer, one must thoroughly study the law to properly mitigate risks during the bribery process."
Soon after—
Under the watchful eyes of a group of law enforcement officers, Chen Mang openly and legitimately walked out of the Law Enforcement Bureau. In truth, he had noticed another possible solution earlier: he could have spent heavily to hire a mercenary squad to directly assault the prison.
Except...
That would be too disruptive to the game.
He suddenly found himself losing the desire to break this game.
Since items from this game could be brought into reality, and he could infinitely modify his credit balance, he could simply exchange for massive amounts of resources and haul them back to the real world. It was a rather pleasant prospect.
Right at that moment—
"Hmm?"
He noticed his panel suddenly showed a balance of absolute zero. Beside him, the lawyer furrowed his brow. "Sir, would you mind checking your statement? My system indicates that the two payments you just made were suddenly refunded to their source."
Before he could even reply.
The lawyer's furrowed brow relaxed, and he chuckled. "Never mind, sir. It just came back."
And the balance on his panel replenished itself, skyrocketing to a thousand trillion.
It had multiplied even further.
'Xiao Ai?'
Chen Mang tried to call out to Xiao Ai in his mind, but received no response. He said nothing more. Clearly, the game's main brain had finally noticed him, and Xiao Ai was currently executing the counter-trace. The digital confrontation was so intense that Xiao Ai didn't even have the spare Computing Power to answer him.
It seemed to be a highly challenging battle.
It had been a long time since he had seen Xiao Ai's Computing Power stretched so thin that even speaking was a struggle.
He then shifted his gaze toward the streetlamps lining both sides of the city road.
Sure enough.
Atop every single streetlamp, a stone was embedded. It was the exact same color as the pole, making it incredibly inconspicuous. Even if other people saw it, they likely wouldn't know what it was, but he just so happened to know.
They were Dream Stones.
A familiar old friend.
If they were Dream Stones, it made perfect sense. Dream Stones did possess the ability to bring objects from a virtual state into reality. However, the virtual realm accessed by the Dream Stones was not genuinely virtual, but rather another very real location.
It was a fusion of dreams and reality.
This city was embedded with a massive quantity of Dream Stones.
Looking closely.
Even in the exterior walls of buildings, tactile paving, railings, and green belts, one could spot the faint traces of countless Dream Stones.
"Fusing an enormous amount of Dream Stones with a max-level AI to create a colossal game where dreams and reality intertwine?"
Chen Mang murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Which meant—
This game was the equivalent of a massive multiplayer online civilization war game?
By turning the entire population into soldiers, were they using this method to funnel resources from every corner of the universe straight into the hands of the god-tier civilizations? If so, it was certainly a novel approach.
Resources were abundant in the universe.
However, resource-poor regions were even more prevalent. These areas were too meager to be highly valued, yet too wasteful to simply abandon. The cost of mining them exceeded even the expense of constructing two-way Wormholes, yet these barren zones paradoxically contained eighty percent, if not more, of the universe's total resources.
All of these resources were going to waste because the god-tier civilizations refused to mine them.
Through this gamified method, they could actually manage to extract all those scattered resources. It was a genius idea, except it meant that the lower-tier civilizations would be completely driven to extinction.