https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-620-The-Transportation-Device-Posing-as-a-Wishing-Machine/12852468/
Chapter 621: The Optimized Programmer
Chapter 621: The Optimized Programmer
Time flew by for a decade. Qin Muye, in his form as the shadow avatar of the Sage's Book, had already wandered the world for a long time, experiencing over five hundred incidents of unknown AOE. These included containment failures of anomalous entities and direct confrontations with newly born or unsealed anomalies.
In short, he encountered all sorts of peculiar unknown AOE, making his presence so low that even if he were to streak, no one would notice him.
For him, whether as this avatar or his true self, a decade was just a fleeting moment, even with his fast-paced life.
During these ten years, 8th-stage spirits were successfully developed and a large number of spies were deployed. However, the originally smooth infiltration plan encountered its first setback when faced with the All-Worlds Defenders Organization. The spirits' mimics successfully infiltrated, but they were identified.
This incident caused the All-Worlds Defenders Organization to conduct an extremely rigorous self-inspection, creating quite a stir. They then launched a full-scale attack on the spirits.
However, because the spirits were 8th-stage in strength, not a single one was captured. When the All-Worlds Defenders Organization targeted the spirits, they activated various black technologies, which broadened Qin Muye's horizons. If he were to evaluate the All-Worlds Defenders Organization's strength, they would be around 8th-stage under normal circumstances.
But once they went all-out on certain fundamental issues, they could reach 9th-stage strength. Although not everyone would be 9th-stage, the black technologies formed by various anomalous entities like causality and illogical anomalies were enough to make a 9th-stage flee in panic.
At the time, if not for the spirits' high health, thick defenses, and skill in running away, as well as Qin Muye's protection as the Will of the Abyss, there might have been casualties.
Thus, the infiltration of the All-Worlds Defenders Organization naturally failed, and they subsequently abandoned the plan.
What else could they do? They knew it wouldn't work, so they couldn't just keep pushing blindly.
It wasn't that the spirits' mimicry failed in the 8th-stage replica world; rather, the All-Worlds Defenders Organization was just too peculiar. In a more normal server or replica world, they could still infiltrate.
As long as it was normal, there would be a corresponding social structure. The All-Worlds Defenders Organization was very similar to Qin Muye's Endless Abyss, which is why the infiltration failed.
Besides the birth of 8th-stage spirits, there were also numerous scientific achievements, such as the second territory trait made from a Mythical-level treasure.
Although the Corruption Abyss created by the Dead World served as a prerequisite, it only gave Qin Muye an idea. Mythical-level treasures were not the same, so they couldn't be directly applied.
Furthermore, Qin Muye had initially deciphered the unit buildings and was currently attempting to territorialize them, thereby breaking free from the constraints of "The Age of Lords." This was a significant advancement.
Currently, all his experimental projects involved the core of "The Age of Lords," so the research time could not be measured in months but rather in years, decades, or even centuries to make substantial progress.
Fortunately, time was not a pressing issue at the moment, given that the server had crashed and he was in a replica world.
"Tsk, it's been ten years. I wonder if my true self has made any big moves or is just waiting for the world to collapse."
The avatar Qin Muye lounged with his legs crossed, browsing his phone, wondering if there was anything entertaining to see. At this moment, he suddenly came across an interesting post.
"At first, they had human heads and snake bodies, three heads and six arms."
"Later, they had eyes with double pupils and large ears that hung to their shoulders."
"Now, they are just like us, with no differences at all."
"They learned to hide in history and became part of us."
The post was short and concise, making Qin Muye think the writer had a very imaginative mind, coming up with such ideas.
Although it sounded a bit plausible, in reality...
"Actually, it does make a little sense," Qin Muye initially thought it was nonsense. Why would powerful monsters hide among the weak? But then he thought of the powerful All-Worlds Defenders Organization and felt relieved. Could anything be stronger than the All-Worlds Defenders Organization?
"I wonder if this poster is just being imaginative or if they really know something."
After all, the First Emperor had once told him that the other party's yuan ying, after reincarnating, would exhibit imperial characteristics, such as double pupils and large ears that hung to the shoulders. These were peculiar appearances and partial imperial features. In ancient times, emperors often had to have some unique traits to prove their legitimacy.
Qin Muye immediately infiltrated the network, retrieving the IP address and various details of the poster. This was relatively easy for him, as long as he didn't encounter the network anomalies guarding the All-Worlds Defenders Organization's data libraries, modern networks couldn't stop him.
Looking at the long list of information, Qin Muye felt it was partly a joke, but from the poster's online comments, it didn't seem entirely like a joke. Instead, it seemed like someone hinting at something they knew.
He tried to control some of the electronic devices around the poster for remote surveillance.
The person's name was Sun Zhen, a programmer living a 996 lifestyle. Recently, he had a conflict with his supervisor over unpaid overtime and was subsequently "optimized" (laid off). He was now preparing to leave the bustling city and start a business in his hometown.
Qin Muye checked Sun Zhen's recent situation. The reason for Sun Zhen's optimization was simple: the unpaid overtime was one issue, but the real reason was that the supervisor deliberately optimized him out to transfer the project to his nephew. Unfortunately, Sun Zhen didn't see through it.
"There are some blank spots. From what I can see, it seems like Sun Zhen really did encounter something," Qin Muye decided to meet Sun Zhen in person.
He couldn't discern much from remote video surveillance.
"Quite far, not even in the same province," Qin Muye located Sun Zhen's position.
He wasn't the main character, so it was natural that he wouldn't randomly meet someone in the same city or even on the same street.
Thus, it was normal for them to be far apart.
Qin Muye quickly used his Wish Spell to arrive in Sun Zhen's city, even reaching the entrance of his neighborhood.
He then walked in casually. With his current presence, not only did the security guards ignore him, but even the entrance machines couldn't detect him. His presence had become so low that it was almost incomprehensible.
Sometimes, people would chat with him, and in the middle of the conversation, they would subconsciously forget about him, looking puzzled about what they were doing and who they were talking to, and then ignore Qin Muye, who was sitting right in front of them, and leave.
He had encountered this many times. After all, he couldn't just start soul-searching or mind-reading right away when asking for information. In a different world, he might have dared, but in this peculiar world, he had to be cautious. What if he encountered some hidden powerhouse in the crowd?
Although he wasn't the main character, and it was unlikely that powerful figures or ancient beings were hiding around him, walking the night path often enough would eventually lead to encountering a ghost.
So, he definitely tried to use such methods as little as possible.
In the distance, Qin Muye saw Sun Zhen, looking dejected, come down the stairs. His face was covered in a thick beard, showing that he hadn't shaved in a long time. It seemed that after being optimized, he had been living day by day without much direction.
His plan to return to his hometown and start a business was still just a plan, not a reality.
"Just this look, if he hadn't encountered anything, he wouldn't have this kind of spirit," Qin Muye could see Sun Zhen's condition at a glance.
His spirit was severely depleted, not from being drained by someone else, but due to psychological pressure.
"Looks like he's got a case of 'yu yu zong' (a play on words, suggesting he's got a mental breakdown)."
Qin Muye muttered, initially thinking about mentioning graduate school, but then realized Sun Zhen's gender made that impossible. Even getting a gold coin bonus would be difficult.
"But what exactly did he encounter, or is it just his own doing?" Qin Muye sensed the area but detected nothing unusual.
Everything seemed normal, almost as if it was a mental issue caused by the stress of being optimized. Such issues are usually resolved once the person runs out of money.
Of course, he could see a psychologist. Once he saw the price list and his bank balance, the chilling realization would likely cure his mental issues without medication.
Don't be fooled by Sun Zhen's 996 programmer lifestyle. In reality, he had very little money. After paying off his mortgage, car loan, rent, utilities, and other expenses, his base salary alone wasn't enough to cover his basic needs without the overtime pay.
(End of Chapter)
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