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"Ok?"
This move made both Screw and Black Tower, who were acting as narrators, stunned for a moment.
"…She seemed to have returned to the previous level… through graffiti."
After confirming that there was no data left of Silver Wolf in the current level, Black Tower directly exposed his existence:
"Dr. Kong, it seems that because of your warning, she used her backup plan—"
"You need to give the child some room to struggle. If she struggles but is still grabbed and beaten, she will understand the cruelty of the world out of despair."
There is no blood and no tears.
"...But, in order to restore the real universe, the timeline of the simulated universe will cause her to fall into the void by going back through the levels...Now, neither I nor ScrewGum can pull her out of the previous level, because that is already the "past"."
Heita hesitated for a moment. "This is a bug. The modeling and planes of the previous levels have disappeared. She has fallen out of the movable area and is falling infinitely."
"...?"
135. An open world game
"No, why does the simulated universe have to be designed as a sandbox-style level? I thought you only limited the activity area when designing the path, how come it became a soapbox? Isn't this thing even an open world?"
"I originally wanted to create an open world, but according to Stephen's calculations, this is the most resource-efficient way. When the materials are needed, we can call up the scenes and piece them together. This not only saves energy but also saves memory..."
Heita muttered, "We didn't expect that someone would violate the rules of the game and forcibly return to the room frame where the data has been cleared."
ScrewGum tried to save Black Tower from embarrassment: "Completely simulating the operation of the entire universe and letting players fully immerse themselves in it is too stressful for the brain. And even if it is only in a local area, the mental influence of the star god is a severe test for mortals. If it weren't for the strong physical fitness of Dr. Kong and your two family members... I'm afraid we wouldn't even be able to find suitable testers. Our own activities in the simulated universe are limited, and we can't simulate too much."
...I'm sorry, Silver Wolf. I thought I was here to teach you how to be a dua Lang, but I didn't expect that you would teach me, an adult, a hard lesson first - the lesson of plump ideals and skinny reality.
"How can we get her back?"
Kong could imagine the pain of "urgently peeing" during an endless fall. Although the Star Core Hunter had seen big scenes before, a long period of falling would definitely bring more and more serious mental pressure, and even make people give up thinking... This was not the same as the punishment originally thought of.
And if she discarded the cartridge, terminated the link with her clone, and retreated into bed dejectedly... for both Silver Wolf and Sora, it would be a waste of time and would be the worst option.
"Miss Silver Wolf will definitely find a way to return from the infinitely falling coordinate system... but after all, this was our mistake, and we should make amends."
ScrewGum still spoke gently.
Being able to be so gentle to a "data thief", Kong didn't know how to comment on such gentlemanly behavior.
If he hadn't sat halfway on the Silver Wolf's side, he would have felt a little embarrassed.
"I'm tracking her coordinates. The gravity coefficient we used when simulating the fall in the space station is based on the basic value of the Azure Star. As long as we find the coordinates that still refer to this basic value... Okay, I got it."
"Create an exit directly below her coordinate system, Dr. Screw."
Kong immediately thought of the simplest solution.
"It's done. The export location is set in the rest room...right above you."
Outside the simulated universe, he adjusted his bow tie and put his consciousness into the launcher: "It's time to officially meet this talented hacker lady - I'm going to put myself into the system as well."
As ScrewGum's voice faded away, a hole appeared above Sora's head, and he could see the endless starry sky outside through the dome of the space station - although that was probably just a texture that had not been activated in some sense.
The silver wolf fell into Kong's arms while howling, and was held horizontally by him in a posture that he liked to see.
"...Ah, how come this seemingly powerful but weak project has so many bugs? I don't have time to check the developer logs. Damn, I miscalculated!"
Although Kong's arms were full of warmth and his posture was quite suggestive, Silver Wolf's little face was still filled with disappointment and lactic acid.
After all, her seemingly clever way of handling the situation, which had enough backup plans, was scrapped because the opponent's system was too simple. Even if it weren't for Screw's mercy, she would have to endure the instinctive fear of falling while looking for an exit. This feeling of frustration was really extraordinary.
It can be said that through the accident just now, Kong's "educational goal" has been half completed, allowing Silver Wolf to re-examine his bad habits of taking things for granted and being arrogant.
"Sora, our actions have been exposed... The path just now was set for me by ScrewGum. He knew that I was pretending to simulate data."
The silver wolf "squirmed" in Kong's arms quite uncomfortably.
She was not resisting Kong's princess hug, she was simply upset about her recent defeat.
A duel that she had been eager to try, but in the end, she was trapped by a loophole that no one had expected.
Kong didn't expect it, Black Tower Screw didn't expect it, and Silver Wolf didn't expect it either, because this was a duel between geniuses, and the Arena was among the projects of geniuses, it should have been more perfect, and Silver Wolf's previous ridicule was just to satisfy his desire to talk, but who knew that he would soon face retribution.
There is no fun, no satisfaction, only endless emptiness. It feels like a tank getting stuck in the mud on its way to the battlefield to make achievements. There is a sense of emptiness with power but nowhere to use it.
Silver Wolf, a void walker who has been pursuing happiness and challenges, felt the true meaning of nothingness for the first time, but she really hoped that there would be fewer such overly boring and realistic accidents.
"So... this black tower in front of us... is also real... Tsk."
Heita looked at the Silver Wolf who was embraced by Kong, and for a moment she didn't know whether she should taunt him with some harsh words. But after the problem of the simulated universe was exposed, she seemed to be a little weaker in momentum, and could only wait for the Silver Wolf in silence.
ScrewGum quietly appeared behind everyone, waiting for Silver Wolf to recover on his own, or for Sora to make the next explanation.
Only Kong felt a little funny after being confused. He also had the leisure to feel the touch of the silver wolf's leg hollow. It must be said that it was very elastic.
The silent laughter of a certain entertainer who had been watching them from the dark was so deafening, and this farce made Him very happy.
"Ms. Silver Wolf, you are a talented hacker. Unfortunately, it was our negligence that caused you to be unable to continue dancing on the stage. I sincerely apologize to you."
Seeing that Kong had no intention of breaking the deadlock, ScrewGum hesitated for a moment, but still took the initiative to step forward and bowed slightly to Silver Wolf, who was still being held in Kong's arms and had an expression that was hard to tell whether it was aggrieved or upset.
"However, this can be considered as an unexpected success for Black Tower and I. We never intended to indulge you and let you have fun."
"...It's fine if your defense system is lousy... but you're so perfunctory even with your core projects. You really have no future."
Silver Wolf finally couldn't help it and shrank half a step further into Sora's arms, complaining.
"I just checked. The game logic and the sandbox mode were all written by Stephen. Didn't you force that weirdo to optimize it?"
"Stephen is too much trouble."
For some reason, Heita, who originally had deep hostility towards Silver Wolf, actually nodded in agreement: "That little lazy bum is always like this."
...What's going on with this subtle atmosphere?
Ruan Mei, who was watching secretly, was a little confused - she felt that with her extraordinary talent, she couldn't understand why they suddenly had such a tacit understanding.
136. When a lawyer cannot pass the driving test, when a hacker cannot keep his account
The wonderful tacit understanding will not last forever.
Regardless of whether Kong helps Silver Wolf find a reason or not, Silver Wolf is an "invader". This is an unchanging fact, and she is also aware of this.
"...Even though you found me, I can still move away immediately - I have already swapped the cassette, the fake and the real one have switched places, ScrewGum, if it weren't for your final 'care', this should have been a complete victory for me, but you turned this duel into your charity, you tainted it."
Even though he was being held by Sora, Silver Wolf had no intention of jumping down and speaking nonsense again. He was not shy at all as he criticized the "hypocrisy" of the mechanical nobles.
"Didn't you say you play games for fun? Where does this inexplicable desire to win come from?"
Kong sighed and pinched Silver Wolf's calf with dead eyes, as if reminding her not to be too arrogant, otherwise she would continue to enjoy the endless fall.
"It's different. There's no need to fight a mediocre person against a madman, but a fight with two geniuses... Tsk, there's no point in talking about this. Hey, Screw-Gum, I got the real thing, okay?"
This guy has already admitted his failure in his heart, but he is still being stubborn.
"Ms. Silver Wolf, the original has long been moved away. This is just a replica. You can use the information in it at will."
"Replica...Qiong, didn't you say..."
After hearing the indifferent tone of Screw Gumm's voice, Silver Wolf's face immediately froze, and the sense of security he felt in Kong's arms was also reduced by a little.
"...Silver Wolf, have you ever thought about this - I was able to obtain such detailed cassette information, and I also consulted Black Tower. How could Black Tower still keep the original in the damaged hard drive? It must have been rescued urgently."
Sora glanced sideways, looking at the hacker who shrank back again.
"...You, you shouldn't be in cahoots with them, right? Tricked me in and killed me?"
This guy's expression of being emotionally deceived is quite cute.
"No, I didn't favor anyone in this operation. If you think about it carefully, I didn't lie to you at any stage. Although I admit that I was in the mood for fun, whether it was cooperating with you to enter the simulated universe, informing the Black Tower in advance of my intention to borrow the cassette, and telling you that there must be traps in the simulated universe, it was all for your protection."
Sora put on a Liyue merchant's expression:
"But if you come to the trap yourself, then it's not my problem. I'm not doing charity work and I don't have to give you the real thing. Our formal contract only talks about giving you a replica. I have every reason to not care about anything beyond the contract."
His frank expression made Silver Wolf feel aggrieved but also began to reflect... It seemed to be true.
In order to deal with the uninvited little devil, the punishment package that Black Tower originally customized for Silver Wolf was so cruel that even Kong would say it was cruel.
But because of his "interference", both the damage that the Silver Wolf might cause to the space station and the heavy hammer that might fall from the Black Tower were reduced a lot. Although it was a farce, everyone also took the opportunity to get to know each other.
In Sora's concept, the Hunters must live in peace with the Club, in order to prevent the "old friends" from making too many enemies, and also so that Black Tower can introduce new technologies to the project.
"I've already told you not to alert the enemy! What should I do now? Damn it, I'm leaving!"
The Silver Wolf, who had been quite opinionated at first, suddenly lost his temper. He foolishly hit Kong's shoulder with his left hand, intending to release his clone and run away.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Now that you're here, why don't you talk to Black Tower and Dr. Screw first? They all agree with your technology and your personal abilities. I've gone to so much trouble to coordinate with both sides, isn't it just to allow you to enter and exit the database of the simulated universe openly?"
Kong reached out and punched Silver Wolf on the head as revenge.
"Openly...you tell a hacker openly..."
"The simulated universe is the most fun game in the entire universe. Although it still uses the sandbox-style game rules, don't you want to play a more complete beta version? As one of the developers."
The so-called right medicine for the right disease, keeping her in the project under conditions that would interest Silver Wolf, establishing contact, the sound of the abacus ringing in the air could be heard across two star regions.
"Making games and playing games are two different things. Do you want me to be bald at such a young age?"
Who knew Silver Wolf still had the energy to complain.
But at this time, Heita's patience had reached its limit - looking at the way Kong hugged Silver Wolf, and the two of them actually maintained this ambiguous posture and stood chatting for two or three minutes without any self-awareness, not taking her seriously at all, Heita's nameless anger built up dozens of meters high.
"That's enough, Dr. Kong, get her out of here right away. We don't need this boring guy who can only act like a spoiled child and jump around relying on information from his acquaintances."
Originally, she thought that Silver Wolf would be able to give some suggestions for improving the system regarding Stephen's laziness, but in the end, apart from "flirting" with Kong, he had no idea that he was "in the wrong beforehand". He was really spoiled.
"Oh, by the way, Heita is Sora's current boyfriend."
——Silver Wolf immediately followed Black Tower's hostile gaze and thought of something, then smiled with a hint of tea:
"Qiong is holding me like this, Black Tower must be very unhappy, so I thought of an interesting way to play."
She then raised her body slightly, her belly curled up, and put her hands around Kong's neck to hug him, which startled both Kong and Heita.
"Eh... the invitation to a partner should have been more sincere. Look at Dr. Kong, he knows a lot. Bah, an old woman wants the technology but doesn't want to spend a lot of money. It's so beautiful that it hurts your liver~"
She even stuck out her tongue, used her fingers to go around, and put her face close to Sora's ear while making a face at Kurita.
I'm going to crush this little devil to death!!