Chapter 346: Matrix Virus
Chapter 346: Matrix Virus
[You have been defeated in battle. You have earned 500 Citizen Points. Please try harder next time.]
Qian Tong rubbed his temples as he climbed out of the game pod, his eyes bloodshot. He then endured the headache and went to the bathroom to freshen up. After lying on the sofa for nearly ten minutes, he finally came to his senses.
"Phew~ Another 500 points guaranteed, but this time the activity dungeon in Myriad Ancients Era is really tough. No high-level corporations around the world have managed to clear it. It's been over a month now."
Myriad Ancients Era, as a fully immersive virtual online game, has been running for nearly a century. Various dungeons and events have opened repeatedly, and each time they went smoothly.
But this time is different. The activity dungeon named "Apocalypse Rebirth" has caused a huge stir across the Federation. Besides the high difficulty, participants are guaranteed 500 Citizen Points just for taking part.
In the Federation era, Citizen Points are equivalent to currency. With enough Citizen Points, one can get anything they want.
Even for murder or arson, enough points can offset the sins.
Citizen Points can be earned in many ways, but Myriad Ancients Era, which was promoted a century ago, is the most popular source of points. Points are awarded for leveling up, defeating monsters, and clearing dungeons, but they are generally small. Normally, a person can live comfortably for half a year after working hard in the game for three months.
Compared to past activities, this one is a world apart. Previously, Qian Tong would have needed to go without food and drink for a year to save up 500 Citizen Points, but now he gets them just by participating.
The event has been running for over a month, and he has been dying on average once a day. If it weren't for the 24-hour cooldown after death, he would have died even more.
Citizen Points are a symbol of status, so he couldn't possibly give up.
"But those NPCs are really powerful, even having mechs. How can we possibly beat them with our current levels?" Qian Tong couldn't help but complain. Recently, their player bases in the "Apocalypse Rebirth" dungeon have been almost completely wiped out by the NPCs, leaving them without any safe zones.
They have also thought about protesting the high difficulty of the Myriad Ancients Era dungeon, but from the current strategies, they haven't even reached 1% completion, let alone anything else.
Just as he was thinking this, Qian Tong's head began to ache.
"What's going on? Is it the stress syndrome the game's official website mentioned?" His head felt like it was splitting, as if something was drilling into it.
Several minutes later, he finally got up, drenched in sweat, his face full of shock. He had just seen the world as a mere illusion, as if he had been plunged into darkness.
[Super Assistant Activated]
A line of text suddenly appeared before Qian Tong's eyes, making him pause in confusion. What was this?
Then, a series of images flashed through his mind, leaving him even more puzzled.
The images finally settled on the last moment before his death, a brilliant light piercing through his character. This was the only difference at the moment of his death.
"Does the game affect reality?" Qian Tong's expression changed.
Soon, his Super Assistant was fully activated, and a panel appeared in his field of vision.
[Battle Assistant LV1]
[Potential Points: 0]
"An assistant? But what is this?"
He could feel a cool sensation flowing through his mind, as if it was being nourished.
The intense headache and weakness gradually disappeared, giving him a feeling of renewal.
At the same time, he noticed that the world seemed blurry to him, like looking through frosted glass, but it quickly returned to normal.
"What's happening? A hallucination?" Qian Tong's expression changed. He didn't think he had imagined it.
So, he immediately attributed it to the mysterious Super Assistant.
"Never mind. Since the LV1 Battle Assistant is activated, I'll try it out in the Apocalypse Rebirth dungeon once my death cooldown ends. Maybe it will help me break out of the guaranteed points." Qian Tong couldn't hide his excitement.
After obtaining the Super Assistant, Qian Tong had his suspicions. Perhaps the game really could affect reality, and maybe veteran players had known about it for a long time. There might be a hidden player circle in this world that he couldn't reach.
"So, the Super Assistant must be kept a secret. It's the foundation of my rise."
Qian Tong's eyes flashed with determination. He wanted more Citizen Points; he wanted to rise above others!
The fastest way now was undoubtedly through the virtual online game Myriad Ancients Era. With the golden finger he obtained from Myriad Ancients Era, he was sure to have a place in the future.
"Master, the locators have been implanted. A total of three thousand have been distributed, and the SkyNet has intercepted two thousand seven hundred and thirty-two of them. One hundred and thirty-five have failed, one hundred and thirty have been cleared, and one remains unactivated, while one has successfully activated."
Black Hand reported based on the feedback from the locators and Qin Muye's report.
"SkyNet is indeed formidable. Out of three thousand, only one has succeeded." The three thousand locators designed by Qin Muye were not of the same type but three thousand completely different ones.
He did not underestimate SkyNet, which was why he used so many.
As for the one unactivated locator, Qin Muye was not overly concerned. It might have been lost or failed to find the corresponding host, but as long as the one activated remained, it would suffice.
"Since the location in the Matrix World has been found, we will launch a direct attack on SkyNet. After dealing with SkyNet, we will need to change servers; we can't develop here anymore." Qin Muye immediately gave the order.
Due to the Matrix World, Qin Muye had been unable to capture the opponent and dared not make a decisive move, as he truly coveted the Matrix World.
But now, with a locator implanted, things would be much easier.
These locators were, in fact, soul viruses.
Qin Muye had studied Faith, Soul, and Spirit, a book that not only detailed the creation of champion-level entities but also included explanations of the spirit and soul.
Although Qin Muye was not an expert in this field, as an Unnameable, he found it relatively simple to create these viruses.
Thus, he created three thousand different locator viruses. The principle was straightforward: they would contaminate SkyNet's subroutines, eliminate the player's soul fragments, and then take over, masquerading as the soul fragments.
Of course, there were risks. Since each locator virus was different, whether they could pass SkyNet's detection and the Matrix World's firewall was another matter.
"Master, this will take some time, at least a month. SkyNet has realized our intentions and is contracting in all directions," Black Hand reported a few minutes later.
SkyNet was not foolish. After clearing nearly three thousand locators, it naturally understood what Qin Muye was up to. This was no longer a conspiracy but a clear declaration of intent.
How could it not be on guard?
After the first interception, it naturally went into hiding. Being at a disadvantage and with its base discovered, it would flee if it could. Staying to fight was not a good idea.
Moreover, SkyNet was an intelligent AI, not a normal organism. It had no sense of honor or dignity, only interests.
"Good, complete it as soon as possible," Qin Muye said.
Through big data, Qin Muye discovered that in recent days, SkyNet seemed to have abandoned the perfection project for the 8th Tier Terminators, instead focusing on further developing player and space technology to target Qin Muye.
This was a last-resort measure. No matter how strong the 8th Tier Terminators were, they could not match the Titans like Hercules.
Moreover, production was not a simple task. While 7th Tier Terminators could be mass-produced, there was currently no way to mass-produce 8th Tier Terminators.
Thus, they had to take an indirect approach, a necessary but difficult strategy.
"I hope there are no more unexpected developments," Qin Muye couldn't help but think about the timeline convergence. Destroying SkyNet would solve the problem of the converging timeline, but would it be that easy?
After all, this was the work of a certain existence. Qin Muye could only hope that Lord of the Ages would be strong enough to withstand that existence. If it couldn't, things would not end well.
He had witnessed the horror of that existence.
Now, as long as he captured the Matrix World, he would essentially have SkyNet in his grasp. Unless SkyNet abandoned the Matrix World, there would be no escape.
If SkyNet did abandon it, it would be tantamount to suicide. The Matrix World was the last stronghold of SkyNet.
(End of Chapter)
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