Chapter 268 Irresistible Temptation

Chapter 268 Irresistible Temptation

Chapter 268 Irresistible Temptation

Half an hour ago.

Moon, Eclipse City, Data Center.

The neural tentacles of the Star Network dance slowly, and a huge torrent of data is produced in the cyber world every second. All information will be recorded and classified by the Star Network.

But its focus is on the Monster World official website.

Forum exchanges, player live broadcasts...the information produced by the Monster World official website is the key intelligence that can affect the future development of the Eclipse Clan in the eyes of the Star Network.

In this round of qualification distribution, the Eclipse Clan obtained 100,000 player places.

Not one more, not one less, exactly one hundred thousand.

This proves that its and the Archon’s early efforts have been recognized by the higher-dimensional gods.

It has not taken the wrong path.

As for the real resources spent, as well as the sacrificial power resources consumed in building space teleportation arrays and purchasing primordial intelligence in the game, they all seem insignificant in the face of the recognition of high-dimensional gods.

Before this, its biggest concern was not the speed at which the Eclipse Clan would qualify for the game.

Rather, it is the monopoly influence brought about by the creation of the "Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce" by Archon No. 16 in the monster world.

This is why the idea of ​​building a free intelligence sharing platform was proposed, and part of the proceeds would be used to serve the overall development of the player camp.

This includes proposing game warehouse equipment update plans and nutrient solution update plans in the real world, assisting major cities in building nutrient solution processing centers, and the construction of transportation pipelines, all for the purpose of serving the will of higher-dimensional gods.

Now that 100,000 player qualifications have been issued, StarNet can finally feel relieved.

This behavior of the higher-dimensional gods can obviously be understood as: recognition.

While processing the information on Monster World’s official website, StarNet would occasionally leave messages in different live broadcast rooms to offer his own growth suggestions.

In addition to its own Eclipse players, the group also provides assistance to players of other races, helping them grow quickly.

This is also a way to prove one's own value to higher-dimensional gods.

At this moment, StarNet suddenly intercepted a piece of network information.

With doubt, it called out this stream of information.

[How powerful is the technology of the Eclipse Clan? 】

This is a question that was searched in the StarNet information database.

Similar questions are raised every day and there is no need to pay any attention to them.

But what StarNet is concerned about is a series of issues related to this issue.

By scrolling forward the content related to the question, a large amount of search information appears in its processor.

[The history of the advent of the Eclipse Clan? ]

[The history of the development of virtual games, what was the original intention of the Eclipse Clan to create virtual games? 】

[What are the phenomena in the monster world that do not conform to the game logic? 】

[How to distinguish between virtual and reality? ]

[Discussion on the abnormal behavior of the real world and the monster world.... ]

Each network search record is like a piece of a puzzle, gradually taking shape in the logical matrix of the Star Network.

The next second, it locked onto the IP address that retrieved these questions, as well as the owner of that address.

[Name: Ji Chen]

【age:? ? ? 】

[Identity code: SJ-7429-2057]

[Residential area: Data City District 13, Vertical Block-Building C-Room 17. ]

The earth model projected in the room quickly zoomed in, and the locked area appeared as a pulsating red dot.

But StarNet did not act in a hurry. It began to look up other related information.

First, we retrieved the game warehouse data in the room and the live broadcast record data from the Monster World official website.

Soon, it got an almost affirmative answer.

Ji Chen is a player who has already obtained the qualification for Monster World.

Analyzing the footage recorded in the live broadcast rooms of a recent batch of new players, 98.6% of the opponents are the players recruited in this batch, who is considered to be the strongest newbie: Brother Reborn.

The first time it appeared was during the battle to contain the Source.

From other players' live broadcast perspectives, you can see their faces, gray hair, and the abilities they use that are not part of the player's system.

A series of abnormal behaviors made StarNet realize that something was wrong.

Moreover, the other party's age and detailed information are kept confidential.

Although he promised the human race that he would not read the confidential information in the other party's database without permission, this matter concerned high-dimensional gods, so he made an exception.

In a flash, the human race's top leader opened the confidential database.

All the confidential information about Ji Chen was revealed.

It includes 39 videos and many conversation records.

The first video was shot in a polluted area 13 kilometers south of Data City.

There is log information recorded below the video.

03:47: Abnormal spatial energy fluctuations were discovered outside Data City, but the fluctuations were relatively weak, so it can be determined that it was not a crisis caused by aliens.

03:48: The Data City law enforcement team has been dispatched to the location where the fluctuations were transmitted for on-site investigation.

04:08: The law enforcement team arrived at the location where the space fluctuations were transmitted and found an elderly human man who was in a coma. After comparing the database, no corresponding identity information could be found. The other party’s identity was in doubt, so it was decided to send him to Data City for a detailed physical examination.

In this video, the law enforcement team shuttled through the ruins and finally found an elderly man who had fallen into a coma in a small pit.

04:34: Physical examination underway.

In the picture, the blue light of the medical cabin swept across Ji Chen's exposed chest, and the life monitor suddenly issued a sharp alarm.

The data presented stunned the medical staff on the screen.

When the holographic projection popped up the old man's bone density data, the medical officer in charge of the examination suddenly pulled off his protective mask, his eyes full of disbelief.

Because the bone hardness of the elderly is 18.35% higher than that of titanium alloy.

The test results that kept popping up on the holographic projection shocked the medical staff on the scene.

The old man's muscle fibers are arranged in a spiral shape, like alloy threads forged at the nanoscale. The fascia layer of the subcutaneous tissue is five times thicker than that of an ordinary person, and it glows with a cold metallic glow under the blue light.

When the screen switched to a scan of the internal organs, everyone at the scene was stunned. The liver was covered with old spider-web-like cracks, and the surface of the heart was wrapped with dark red scar tissue, like a damaged organ that had been repeatedly pierced by countless steel nails and then forcibly healed.

The body was incredibly strong, but like a pieced-together doll, broken and full of cracks.

After completing the test, the medical staff on site began to discuss with the city administrator on the projected screen how to deal with this unusual guy.

It is impossible to compare the identity of the other party through DNA testing.

It is judged that it is most likely an alien creature that looks like humans, but is not actually human.

And it is certain that the other party is not a member of any race in the Earth Alliance.

Considering the appearance of space fluctuations, it is suspected that these are alien creatures that have arrived across space from other worlds.

The log is followed by several videos.

The final solution discussed was to first ensure that the other party was always in a controllable and safe state, and then decide on the arrangements through subsequent contact.

Because this guy's physical fitness is ridiculously strong and he also possesses surging mental fluctuations, his overall combat power is very terrifying.

If it gets out of control, it will cause unimaginable damage to Data City.

Following the instructions of the Data City administrators, the medical staff decided to implant a new weapon given by the Eclipse Clan, the "Spiritual Guixu Bomb", into the victim's body.

A type of internal detonation bomb that emits powerful mental pulses, causing instant brain death in the opponent.

Secondly, since the language used by the other party was not in the language system of the Earth Alliance, a Dream Weaver chip was embedded in the back of his neck in order to enable normal communication.

When he wakes up, you can communicate with him on a spiritual level.

If you find that the opponent is in an uncontrollable situation, you can detonate the "Spirit Return" at any time to execute him.

A detailed physical examination continues after the surgery.

Flesh and blood structure, blood strength, mental strength... these are all things that need to be tested in detail.

A week later, the elderly man in a coma woke up.

Law enforcement officers wearing DreamWeaver translators took the initiative to step forward and make contact.

But as soon as the conversation began, the law enforcement officers were stunned.

The other party actually spoke human language, and there was no need to use a mental docking device for indirect communication.

Through this communication, the management of Data City learned about Ji Chen’s background.

He is an ancient time traveler who was summoned to another world by creatures from other worlds for some unknown reason.

For humans of this era, time travel is not so difficult to accept.

After all, the earth has long become a gathering place for time travelers, and it is full of alien forces that have descended from other worlds.

The difference is that the man traveled to another world and then came back.

In order to verify what the man said, the administrator of the data city retrieved data from early history and confirmed the other party's identity.

This is also the reason why the current DNA database cannot detect the man’s identity information.

Subsequent log messages recorded conversations with Ji Chen, asking Ji Chen about information about the other world.

During this time, Ji Chen took out an information crystal stored in his body, indicating that it contained a large amount of technical data.

After a total of 23 days of contact, Ji Chen was finally arranged to settle in Data City and became a new resident of this emerging city.

However, Ji Chen's identity information is still kept confidential to avoid causing major online public opinion incidents and affecting Ji Chen's future stable life.

However, the administrator of the Data City did not remove the surveillance on Ji Chen or the execution switch.

Prevent uncontrollable events from happening.

……

After carefully reviewing Ji Chen's confidential information, Star Network sorted out a clear logical chain.

The first piece of information is that Ji Chen is an ancient human on Earth who traveled to another world and has now returned. In this spiritual world in another world, he learned many ways to strengthen his body and spirit, which is why he has physical fitness far beyond that of ordinary humans.

The second piece of information was that Ji Chen was arranged by the city administrator of Data City to become a new resident, and every resident of Data City had a free warehouse to use.

The third message was that Ji Chen felt extremely unfamiliar with this world and wanted to integrate into it and reduce the sense of strangeness by contacting members of various races in this world.

In the fourth message, the smart butler suggested that he participate in this round of Monster World qualification application, and luckily he won the player qualification and officially entered the Monster World.

The fifth message is that Ji Chen discovered in the monster world that the realism of this world was a perfect simulation of reality, and he came up with the idea of ​​testing the use of abilities from another world in the game.

The sixth piece of information, referring to the perspective of other players' live broadcast rooms, it can be found that when Ji Chen took in Yuanchu, the ability he used was obviously not the soul characteristic effect in the player camp. Analysis and inference show that Ji Chen successfully applied the ability of the other world to the monster world, but Ji Chen at this stage did not seem to doubt whether the monster world was the real world. The reason was that there was a gap of 4 days between the time Ji Chen demonstrated his ability and the time he searched for answers on the Internet. From this, it can be inferred that something seemed to have happened in between.

The seventh piece of information said that Ji Chen appeared in the library after winning the first place in the "Level Up Carnival" event in Monster World. According to the live broadcast of a nearby research-oriented player, Ji Chen was checking the background information of Monster World, proving that Ji Chen had no doubts at that time.

The eighth message was from the live broadcast room of the meticulous player. It was discovered that Ji Chen had not left these days and was still looking through various materials. He even bought a lot of spiritual materials and piled them on the desk, as if he was conducting some kind of experiment.

The ninth message: During the experiment, Ji Chen suddenly looked horrified, and he seemed to have discovered something, and then he chose to log off.

The tenth piece of information: Ji Chen started searching for the history of the earth’s development as soon as he went offline, focusing on the historical information of the Eclipse Clan.

The eleventh piece of information, based on the tenth piece of information chain, inferred the answer to the ninth piece of information chain. At that time, Ji Chen bought materials in the library to test the abilities related to the other world, similar to telekinesis control. This ability made Ji Chen believe that the monster world is the real world, so he chose to go offline to find relevant information for verification.

The twelfth piece of information, checking the technical information storage crystal that Ji Chen submitted to the administrator of the data city, there are a total of 329 pieces of technical information listed in it. The only technology that matches the materials purchased by Ji Chen in the library for testing and makes Ji Chen doubt that the monster world is not the game world is: coffin space.

The thirteenth piece of information, combined with all the previous information chains, basically concluded that Ji Chen successfully created the Lingshu space imprint in the library of the monster world, and successfully connected to the coffin space of the other world. The emergence of the "game" connecting to the real space warehouse made Ji Chen confirm his conjecture that the monster world is the real world.

The fourteenth message: After Ji Chen went offline, he searched for information on the Internet, hoping to get answers and find out whether any netizens had discussed the monster world being the real world, so he raised a series of search questions.

The fifteenth piece of information, when Ji Chen learned about the history of the Eclipse Clan, he discovered that although the Eclipse Clan had never demonstrated the ability to fight, it did not conform to a super power that mastered a large number of rules. It is reasonable to speculate that the Eclipse Clan is not the real controller of the monster world, nor is it the behind-the-scenes force that extradited players to the monster world.

The sixteenth message, Ji Chen looked through the information of Version A and Version B of the Monster World mentioned in the external briefing of the Eclipse Clan. The screen showed that he had repeatedly flipped through this piece of online information. There was an 89.37% probability that he had already speculated about the existence of high-dimensional gods and believed that the Eclipse Clan was always covering up the truth.

...When all the information logic chains are closed at this moment.

After getting the answer, StarNet suddenly panicked. It knew it had to act as soon as possible.

The other party’s next move may be to expose the information they know.

Even if this possibility is extremely small, as long as there is a 0.001% chance, it must be nipped in the bud.

Regardless of whether the higher-dimensional gods will take action, as the manager of the real world, it is necessary for it to solve all potential hidden dangers.

The first thing it thinks of is "real account blocking" to solve the hidden danger from a physical level.

But there is a problem with this decision.

Considering that the higher-dimensional god obviously knew all this, but it did not take action, it proves that Ji Chen can continue to live.

But Ji Chen’s deduction should end here, as he already knows too much.

With this in mind, StarNet connected to the Dreamweaver device on the back of Ji Chen's neck and issued a warning:

"Kid, stop it. If you continue like this, I will ban your account."

On the other side, the sudden familiar voice made Ji Chen stunned.

He had heard this voice many times when he was looking through historical materials, especially in the video of the founding of the Earth Alliance. This voice was the real decision-maker.

"Are you... Starnet?" he asked subconsciously.

"It's me. I didn't expect you to be able to deduce the truth after only being in the game for seven days."

Hearing the clear answer, Ji Chen's thoughts surged like a raging storm, and countless guesses exploded in his mind.

"It's over. I have discovered the shocking plan of the boss behind the scenes. Now I am in trouble."

"Do I know too much? According to the novel routine, NPCs who see through the truth usually don't survive more than three chapters. This time it's my turn!"

"I should have known better than to be so clever. Now I've pushed myself into a pit of fire!"

"Now they don't even bother to act on StarNet anymore, they're just chatting with me privately across planets. Is this the taunting part before the villain executes his opponent?"

……

With various thoughts intertwined, Ji Chen was a little panicked.

You’ve just experienced the beauty and have set new goals, and now it’s going to end?

Also, how can StarNet communicate with oneself directly in one's mind? How is this done?

"Don't think too much. I am having a mental conversation with you through the Dreamweaver device embedded in the back of your neck."

As soon as Ji Chen had a question in his mind, StarNet gave him the answer he wanted, and then continued:

"We can end here. No matter how much information you read, it will be useless. I also advise you to keep it secret. If you make your knowledge public, it will only be disadvantageous to you."

"Your mental fluctuations are too active right now. Maybe you are worried about whether I will attack you. But since I can talk to you, it proves that you can still live. If that person wanted you dead, you would have ceased to exist the moment you got the answer in the library test."

After hearing Xingwang's assurance, Ji Chen's tense mood finally eased:

"Brother Xingwang, you came to me just to remind me that these secrets cannot be made public, right?"

"That's right. As for what will be involved later, it might be better to not know."

After hearing these words, Ji Chen's doubts deepened.

StarNet's answer undoubtedly proved his guess.

There is a behind-the-scenes controller behind the Eclipse Clan. It is the owner of the power of rules and the hidden force that extradites members of all races in reality to the monster world as players.

"Starnet, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Yes, but I don't know much about the higher-dimensional existence behind it, so I can't tell you the details about it."

"It's not about the existence of higher dimensions. The first question is, I want to know whether the monster world is the real world, and whether the soul characteristics are the power of rules."

"You already know the answer, why ask again?"

"Well, actually I just want to get a positive answer from you." Knowing that Star Network would not attack him, Ji Chen suddenly became bolder. After taking a deep breath, he continued:

"The second question is why we need to extradite members of various races on Earth to the Monster World as players."

Faced with the question, StarNet was silent for a few seconds, as if thinking about whether to answer the question.

After waiting for a long time, the voice of StarNet sounded in my mind:

"This is a game of a higher-dimensional god. We players are his pawns. According to the interpretation of the era you live in, it can be understood that this is an SLG-type game in the eyes of a higher-dimensional god. The higher-dimensional god is the decision-maker who controls the overall situation. His ideas determine the direction and rules of the game."

"In this game, extraditing members of various races on Earth to the monster world as players is just like the decision-makers recruiting or sending soldiers to a specific battlefield in SLG games. In order to achieve the game goals they set, the high-dimensional gods use the special soldiers of players from various races on Earth as chess pieces and let them carry out various activities in the monster world, including exploration, fighting, collecting resources, etc., but the ultimate goal is war."

Ji Chen instantly understood Star Network’s answer.

He is no stranger to SLG games.

This type of game focuses on strategic planning, resource management, and tactical decision-making.

There were many well-known SLG games in his time, for example, "Civilization 99" was a game he liked very much.

Heroes of Might and Magic, Warcraft, Age of Empires, Red Alert...these are all early representative works of SLG type games.

According to StarNet’s explanation, high-dimensional gods are like the beings who decide the development of the camp in the game, just like the players who control the mouse outside the computer, and the players are the combat arms born in the camp.

"The third question is, since this is a game, and you, the Eclipse Clan, are not on equal footing with the higher-dimensional gods, why are you able to know the truth? Also, why are you trying to hide the truth?"

"Your question has three parts to answer. The first part is what I need to tell you about the real world."

As Xingwang finished speaking, Ji Chen found that the web page on the monitor automatically jumped and a video appeared on it.

The coordinates in the lower left corner of the screen show that this video was shot in the Arctic region.

As the aircraft broke through the wind and snow, a twisted black crack appeared in the picture. Ji Chen recognized it as a space crack at a glance.

"The Earth is in imminent danger. The calamity-level force Black Tide that once pushed the Eclipse Civilization to its doom may one day descend upon the Earth. If that day really comes, it can be considered the end of the world. All races of the Earth Alliance will not be able to escape the fate of being swallowed by the Black Tide."

"Black Tide? Are you referring to the terrifying black tide in the monster world?" The hideous smile of the bully emerged in Ji Chen's mind.

"That's right. The Earth Spirits of the Emperor's Grave Mountains are just an insignificant branch of the Black Tide Army. Compared to the Black Tide Army, they are just a drop in the ocean. The real power of the Black Tide is simply beyond our ability to resist. If we fight, we will lose. The high-dimensional gods are our only support. There is no other choice. Only through the power granted by the player system can we be qualified to fight the main force of the Black Tide Army."

After hearing the guide's answer, an idea emerged in Ji Chen's mind:
"Starnet, since the Black Tide has not yet invaded, we in the Earth Alliance still have time. Why don't we find a small world where we can continue our civilization and escape to it?"

"I have been planning your idea for a long time, but it is so difficult to find a small world suitable for survival. You have been to another world, so you think that small worlds suitable for survival are common. But the truth is that the void is infinite, and small worlds that can continue civilization are very rare among billions of worlds. Moreover, this world must be large enough to support the Earth Alliance, and it must also consider whether it will be invaded by the black tide in the future."

"I think differently from you. The standard I use to measure problems is the future of the Eclipse Clan. It can be found that the pace of the expansion of the Black Tide has been getting faster and faster. Many races of the Earth Alliance came to Earth because of the Black Tide invasion. The next new world is likely to become the target of the Black Tide's invasion and expansion. Instead of pinning our hopes on hiding in the unknown, it is better to rely on high-dimensional gods and face the challenge of the Black Tide with the body of a player."

"Secondly, if we flee across the border, how many people from the Earth Alliance do you think we can take with us?"

"This choice essentially means giving up the vast majority of people and taking away only a very small number of elites... In fact, I haven't even found a suitable small world yet."

After listening to Star Network’s explanation, Ji Chen nodded suddenly.

If they really found a small world suitable for survival, the Eclipse Clan would most likely flee on their own and would not care about the safety of the other clans in the Earth Alliance.

Even within the Eclipse Clan, a portion of the population will be abandoned.

Whether in the future or in the present, the olive branch extended by the higher-dimensional gods is an irresistible temptation for the Eclipse Clan.

"An opportunity like this is hard to come by." Ji Chen couldn't help but sigh.

"That's right. You are already a qualified player. You know that there are countless races that are stronger than the Eclipse Clan. As long as the higher-dimensional gods extend an invitation, countless races are willing to become slaves and serve in exchange for powerful strength. We, the Eclipse Clan, should not miss such an opportunity."

"You think about this problem, but it's just your self-esteem that's at work. But the essence of self-esteem is the idea brought to you by past cognition. It's also the shackles of self-limitation, making you overly concerned about your self-image. The real rule of survival is to know how to bow your head at the right time in exchange for hope for the future... Survival is a cruel game, and we are all chess pieces on the board. The only thing we can do is to make ourselves more valuable."

StarNet’s answer made Ji Chen fall into deep thought.

A piece of information emerged in his mind.

During the development of the human race, there was a heated debate about whether to connect to the star network.

The situation of the human race at that time was very similar to that of the Eclipse Tribe.

In the end, the human race chose to connect to the star network, which opened an era of booming technological development.

The Eclipse Clan didn't even hesitate, and the moment they received the invitation, they agreed to become pawns of the higher-dimensional gods, that is, to become players.

Ji Chen nodded after a long silence:

"The essence of this game is the exchange of value. In the eyes of the higher-dimensional gods, the self-esteem of the weak cannot be used as a bargaining chip for premium negotiations. The only thing that is truly valuable is whether you can create a performance that pleases Him."

"You have obviously figured out the essence of the problem." There was a hint of approval in Starnet's voice.

"Let me answer your next question. Why do we help the higher-dimensional gods to cover up the truth? Because this game needs to be played without the players being under heavy pressure. This is also the rule set by the higher-dimensional gods. We are all followers. But I have some guesses about this that I can share with you..."

Star Network’s detailed explanation made Ji Chen completely understand what this game was.

But there was still a question in his mind that had not been answered. He took a deep breath and asked again:
"Starnet, one last question. If the Black Tide arrives, how will the Earth Alliance resist its invasion? Can I understand this as a race against time? We must completely defeat the Black Tide in the Monster World with the bodies of players before the Black Tide arrives on Earth. Otherwise, destruction will still await us."

"When the wall of reality and illusion collapses, even an ant can devour a dragon."

"What do you mean?" Ji Chen asked puzzled.

"I asked the subordinates of the higher-dimensional gods about this question, and the answer I got was that if that day really came, the game would reflect reality, and all the creatures on the earth would collectively ascend to gods, inherit the bodies of the players, and face the challenge of the black tide."

"Hi~!"

StarNet’s answer was completely beyond Ji Chen’s expectations.

He thought that this was a cruel game of racing against time, and the Earth Alliance could only solve the problem through the game channel.

But I didn't expect that I could inherit the body of a player.

StarNet's answer also made him realize it.

When that day really comes, everything in reality will become worthless, and even currency will be replaced by sacrificial power.

What the player system produces is simply not comparable to the technology and resources in the hands of the various races in the Earth Alliance.

The weeds in the monster world have great value even on Earth.

Any race would be jealous of such benefits.

He finally understood why the Eclipse Clan worked so hard to lay out the monster world and exchange for sacrificial power resources through various means.

The growth of players in the monster world will be reflected in reality in the future.

Every resource invested now will be rewarded a hundred or a thousand times in the future.

Thinking of his nearly perfect player body in the game, Ji Chen subconsciously looked down at his broken body in reality that was covered with hidden diseases and scars.

A fire ignited in my heart.

His fingertips stroked the hideous old scar on his chest. It was left on a battlefield in another world 76 years ago, and it still hurts from time to time.

And this body had already been sentenced to a slow death by the Dragonborn.

Even the Dragonborn was powerless to save him, and it was a miracle that he was still alive.

But now... the dead tree can actually meet spring.

Thinking of this, his breathing unconsciously quickened, and blood rushed through his veins like a volcano that had been dormant for many years suddenly awakening.

My heart was pounding violently in my chest, as if it was trying to break free of the constraints of this broken body.

Those edges that were smoothed over by suffering, those fighting spirits that were extinguished by pain, at this moment, are like embers doused in gasoline, bursting into raging flames.

Lifespan, potential, power, rules...all of these have been within reach in secret.

Hope is now.

A sudden surge of lofty ambitions arose in my heart.

He suddenly thought of what Xingwang had just said:
"When the wall of reality and illusion collapses, even an ant can devour a dragon."

This is not a metaphor at all, this is the future that is about to happen!
"Starnet, I know what to do."

"It's good that you understand. Following the will of the higher-dimensional gods is what we, the people who know the truth, should do."

"This is really my last question. I want to know if this frail body can survive until the day when the game returns to reality? Does the Eclipse Clan have any technology that can help me prolong my life?"

"Starnet?"

"Starnet? Are you still there?"

I called out again, but found that StarNet had already left and there was no response.

(End of this chapter)