Chapter 103 Information Exchange

The most recent player to leave the game -

If Qiao Song remembered correctly, the last person to leave the game was the one who won over Yin Yin in Hearing Car Entertainment. Calculating the time, are they the same person?

That guy turned out to be a member of Dawn Country.

Bai You had been observing her expression and understood a lot in an instant: "You really have received news from her."

Qiao Song: "What I care more about is the time. How long has it been since it was confirmed that a human player could leave here?"

Bai You said frankly: "Fifteen years ago."

It has been fifteen years since any player went out.

Qiao Song: "How many years has this infinite game been around?"

Bai You didn't know this either: "In fact, there is a way within our organization to contact other members. Players who have been in the game for more than four or five years will basically disappear in the end."

She took out a metal badge with a sun and cloud relief engraved on it. "This badge is a special item made by our president. It can save lives and also provide feedback on the life status of the bound players. Of the more than 100 badges sent out by Dawnland so far, more than 90 are missing. The status of the badge shows that they are not dead, but missing."

But it is unreasonable that he is still alive after being missing for so many years.

Bai You continued, "Except for one person, her badge cracked directly. The guild master's skills cover a very wide range. Unless the bound player has left the game, the badge's texture will only have two states: glowing and extinguished."

Qiao Song looked at her and said, "So you can't be sure that the player with the cracked badge has left the game?"

Bai You took a deep breath and said, "We only know that her last stop is Hearse Entertainment. Over the years, we have sent people to participate in the Terminal Game and have entered the top ten countless times, but have never reached the terminal."

Hearse Entertainment is an open dungeon that is opened once in a period of time. There are no restrictions on players and spectators, but a player can only participate in one game within a certain period of time. There are many missing players in Dawnland. Even though they know that Hearse Entertainment may be hiding the secrets of other members, more members will choose to complete the dungeon by themselves, rather than pinning all their hopes on a teammate who may just be missing and wasting time in the same dungeon.

A group of desperate people who were returning home together, exchanging information with each other was the reason they formed a guild.

Bai You even said bluntly: "If it weren't for the disagreement in philosophy, many people here would actually choose the strategy team as their first choice."

The strategy group is indeed a group of desperadoes who truly love games to the point of not wanting to go home, and are referred to as game maniacs. However, not everyone in the group has a high level of skills. They enjoy completing various strange side quests in the dungeon rather than clearing the dungeon directly.

Qiao Song quickly assessed the value of this information, and after a moment he said, "If you are looking for the player who cleared the dungeon last time, then I can tell you that she has left the dungeon."

As soon as she finished speaking, Bai You's eyes almost blossomed with an indescribable brilliance. Guessing was one thing, and getting an accurate answer was another. She was like a traveler chasing a mirage in the desert and finally saw the real visitor to the oasis.

But soon, Bai You calmed down again: "She was the only one who left Hearse Entertainment?"

Qiao Song raised his eyebrows, understanding her implication: "If I could go out, would I still sit here?"

At the terminal of Hearse Entertainment, there may have once been a door of survival that could allow one to leave this world, but now that door has disappeared.

Except for the fact that Can and Yinyin invited her to share the copy, Qiao Song talked about the other things about completing the game, including the sentence "I found my own door". Bai You thought about it for a long time after hearing it.

Completing the level and returning home is the ultimate goal of every player, and that escape door is the end point that every player is pursuing.

"The members of Dawnland are the guild members who have experienced the most dungeons, except for the strategy team. Of the twelve committees mentioned by the Lord of Hell, we in Dawnland know the names and locations of half of them."

Qiao Song raised her eyebrows. Since she had already told the other party the information about Hearse Entertainment, Bai You was saying this now, obviously wanting to make a new exchange of interests.

Bai You said slowly: "I want to know, in the last fantasy world of Hell Community, did you see the projection of reality?"

When Bai You asked this question, Qiao Song didn't react much. Instead, the other guys at the table who had been watching their backs finally had a chance to speak.

Lin Xuan had been somewhat hesitant and had been planning to contribute some intelligence, but he was not a core member of the Black Iron Guild. When he heard Bai You's words, he was silent for a while, and then he slowly recalled and said:

"I saw my daughter reading me her report card in the ward, as well as the speech she was going to give at the flag-raising platform next month. She said she was going to be in the second year of junior high school soon, and although she was living with her aunt, she was doing well. She told me not to worry, but also not to be too stingy. At least sit up and give her some reaction. The little girl even had a scratch card in her hand."

At this point, Lin Xuan couldn't help but laugh. "My daughter has never talked to me so much. When I was young, I liked scratching lottery tickets, so I opened my own sports lottery station. After I had a daughter, I didn't play this much anymore, and I didn't allow her to touch it. Instead, she found opportunities to come here to provoke me."

He held the cup in front of him and swirled the tea around with a bitter look on his face.

"Even if this is also an illusion, at least it allowed me to secretly meet my daughter, which is good."

Tang Xiaoxiao touched the colorful pattern on the mug, a little absent-mindedly: "I seem to be in the hospital too, my mother is talking to me next to me, I can see myself lying on the bed, surrounded by many instruments."

"As for me, I sleep in the nursing home that I invested in." Aunt Huo rubbed the orange cat's forehead. "The nurses around me are helping me do some basic exercises for vegetative patients. It doesn't feel like a fantasy, but more like a daily scene in reality."

Those caregivers were all familiar employees to Aunt Huo, and they would talk to her from time to time.

Qiao Song kept tapping on the table and quickly integrated the information: "It seems that the good news is that the scene everyone saw is very likely to belong to the real world."

"Bad news. If the time in the real world also flows when we enter the Infinite Highway, and our souls that flow into the Infinite World fail to return to the real world in time before our bodies decay, then even if we pass the game, can we go back?"

Everyone was silent.

"But don't be too pessimistic. I asked the Lord of Hell, and he said that returning to reality is possible. He was a little vague about the speed of time flow, and he probably couldn't answer it. But since we can go back, this problem can be solved."

Qiao Song clicked his tongue, but he forgot to ask that boy Crow why everyone else saw the scene through the crack in the door but he didn’t. Isn’t this the reward for passing the administrator’s test?

"The lion and I didn't see it."

Bai You's face fell, as if he knew the reason: "Part of our souls were mortgaged to Infinite Highway, the lion's soul was mortgaged to Zootopia, and mine was mortgaged to Blind Box Paradise."

She smiled bitterly: "This is the price of gaining power."

Lin Xuan seemed to know something as well, and suddenly realized: "In Infinite Highway, the upgrade speed of players' professional skills is not very fast. Some extremely special abilities can even change the rules of the dungeon and affect the dungeon boss. There are even some extremely special prop sets. Any set can have special effects comparable to the skills of high-level players."

Bai You nodded, and even took the initiative to tell Qiao Song about the situation of one of her archenemies:

"It is said that You Yitong's magician appearance is the super S-level combination set he got from the blind box paradise. If I am not mistaken, part of his soul has also been mortgaged to the blind box mall. But there are rumors that the Newcomer Alliance seems to have its own set of methods for managing soul contracts, which can avoid the constraints of the copy to a great extent."

Qiao Song already had a scale in his mind. He thought that the Newcomer Alliance might have established some kind of special cooperation with the dungeon boss over a long period of time.

The fact that he came to muddy the waters when Boss Cai invaded Hell is enough to explain everything.

"Almost every one of those famous guilds has its own unique skills."

Bai You was full of sincerity on this trip, and he directly used the paper and pen on the table to draw a few patterns: "Every member of Dawn Village has a special badge that can remotely display the life status of all guild members. Once someone really leaves the game, the information can be transmitted in time."

The pattern she drew seemed to be the emblem of Dawnland, but she also said that there were not many players outside of Dawnland. Basically, they were either in the dungeon or on the way to the dungeon.

The second pattern is a string of strangely twisted characters.

"The Newcomer Alliance is good at discovering newcomers with potential, and it seems that most of them are good at raising ghosts. Perhaps it is related to this so-called contract ability."

Next is a Rubik's Cube pattern.

"The strategy team. It is said that their leader has special abilities. He can make a game strategy for the guild members in advance, which greatly increases the chances of clearing dungeons."

Qiao Song was already familiar with the last triangular badge, after all, he had received business cards from it several times.

"The Black Iron Guild is wealthy and powerful, and is one of the largest guilds with the most members. It has a strict internal hierarchy. It is said that the highest-level members have almost developed a complete business line on the Infinite Highway. They are also the largest item middlemen outside the system."

Lin Xuan nodded. This girl in the strange skirt really knew a lot. At least her description of the Black Iron Guild was very accurate.

Bai You continued: "Finally, there is this item manufacturing guild in Hell. They are indeed quite mysterious. I don't know much about the Eye of Wisdom. Their existence is very special and there are very few people, but it seems to be the only guild that is not only joined by players."

"It seems that their guild also has local copy creatures."

Qiao Song noticed it very subtly. Bai You just glanced at the little kid behind the RV. That little kid was also a copy creature.

It is indeed difficult to accurately describe the native creatures of the Infinite Highway. When they are in the dungeon, they are living NPCs, but sometimes they become ghosts after being killed, just like in the Ghost Story Middle School.

It is incredible that two completely different states of life exist in the same space at the same time.

If you think about it carefully, during the first convenience store copy, they also received customers with animal heads, and among the players there were guys in animal form like the lion man and Gao Chengcheng's brother.

Ghosts, monsters, and human players live together on this rule-boundless highway. The distinction between their camps is sometimes clear and sometimes vague.

The Hell community includes the security guard who has just started working in Hell, Tu Kang, a cartoonist who clearly stated that he was a player transformed, and the drunkard lady who is not of a low level.

These three seemed to have once been humans, and Qiao Song had not yet asked them how they joined the NPC camp.

A certain guess gradually formed in Qiao Song's mind: "Do you think those missing players will become local NPCs?"

"For example, the administrator of the Hell Community, we have all temporarily experienced it. This position does not necessarily need to be held by ghosts."

Bai You shook his head: "Without direct evidence, it's hard to say. At least the president can sense that the owner of the badge is not dead, but there is no way to locate them."

"Regarding the badge, if I get more information in the future, I will inform you in time." This was her sincerity.

Qiao Song suddenly became curious: "With so much information, would your president mind making a deal with outsiders like us?"

"No, she is the one with the most neutral attitude in Dawnland. She might be busy clearing a dungeon right now. She told me that 'only by exchanging information with the right people can you get more valuable information'."

But the lion's mood was too violent, which might be due to the influence of animalization, or it might just be his original character. Anyway, when Bai You was with him, most of the time he could only kill his way through the dungeon together with this powerful warrior. Now that the other party was in a bad mental state, it was a good time for Bai You to adopt a conciliatory policy.

Her attitude today was very positive, which was also for the purpose of discussing the next cooperation:

"I'm saying this so that I can work with you later."

Bai You took out a tarot card. The dress she was wearing now was not the one she wore when she turned into a doll. Rather than a shrine maiden's costume, it was closer to the priestess's outfit on this tarot card.

"Aurora is willing to share basic intelligence about the Twelve Committee directly with you. Our only request is that we stay on the same side as you in Zootopia."

Qiao Song raised his eyebrows: "I didn't say I would definitely go there."

Bai You shook his head: "Some copies will come to you on their own initiative. They will do everything they can to summon the best players on this road to enter there."

"However, you can't just go to Zootopia whenever you want. It needs to be open during a specific period of time, and you need an invitation. I'm just making an appointment. If you go to Zootopia one day, I hope to be in the same camp with you. If that doesn't work, it would be fine if I knew which camp you chose."

You actually need an invitation to enter Zootopia, it is indeed one of the only two unconquerable dungeons in the Twelve Committees.

A blank tarot card was handed over, with a picture of a priestess with a pale face on it.

"Given the state of the lion, I may have to go to Zootopia with him first. If you guys come over later, you can use this tarot card to contact me."

"This is the name of some of the copies of the Twelve Committee, and the possible locations where they may appear."

Qiao Song took the papers left by the other party. Bai You quickly straightened his clothes and stood up. "Then I may have to take the lion to Zootopia first. As for Gao Chengcheng and his sister, I can also take them with you if you need. Although my relationship with her is not good, if we go to Zootopia, the more allies we have, the safer we will be."

Qiao Song frowned. Gao Chengcheng and his sister were resting at the connection of the RV. She certainly couldn't hand them over in this state, but she couldn't enter Zootopia without an invitation, which was indeed a bit troublesome.

"The invitation you mentioned, will Zootopia proactively send it to ordinary players?"

Bai You nodded: "You can't go in before you get an invitation. The only free residents in Zootopia are the ghosts with animal heads. Lions are not considered residents. They are just deeply affected by them. There may be some changes in Zootopia recently, and all players related to it will be summoned."

The same situation applies to Gao Bin.

The unconscious brother and sister were placed on a small sofa near the reception room of the RV. Xiao Ni was looking after them after making tea. Suddenly, a little head popped out: "Sister Qiao Song, Sister Cheng Cheng is awake."

Gao Chengcheng's vision was a little difficult to focus, as if she had drunk too much. She tried hard to stand up by holding on to the wall: "Sister Qiao Song, don't worry about us. Don't come to Zootopia. It's not a good place."

Qiao Song noticed that Gao Chengcheng's originally orange hair was dotted with colorful clips, and now something was slowly moving among those orange hair.

A pair of orange-gold fox ears with a hint of red are slowly emerging from under the hair.

After slowly transforming into animal form, Gao Chengcheng regained some of her sanity. She frowned and sat down at the table with Xiao Ni's help.

After taking a look at the little witch Bai You sitting opposite Qiao Song, Gao Chengcheng unceremoniously took out a stack of prop cards and slapped them in front of her.

"I can't drive, so you take me and my brother."

Bai You raised her eyebrows. If she met Gao Chengcheng normally, she would definitely say something back, not to mention the other party's attitude.

But today, she got the news she wanted and was very happy. Moreover, since Gao Chengcheng had a good relationship with Qiao Song, her attitude was also better than before.

"I've accepted the reward, but you should know that we are entering Zootopia together, and you should be clear about what to do and what not to do." The implication is that you have to listen to her when you get to the dungeon.

Gao Chengcheng sneered: "Don't think of disciplining me as your subordinate. The lion next to you is half dead. If we don't form an alliance, you won't be able to take a single step in Zootopia."

The two women looked at each other and quickly left the sight in disgust.

Gao Chengcheng had joined the Dawn Town before, but later withdrew with his brother due to differences in ideas. It was obvious that he didn't get along well with Bai You at that time.

But obviously, now both sides are under the call of Zootopia and have to cooperate temporarily.

Gao Chengcheng scratched the fox ears on top of her head with some dissatisfaction, and immediately took out an ice cream and started eating it. By the way, she stuffed a small concentrated ice ball into her brother's mouth. After thinking about it, although her face was full of impatience, she also gave one to Bai You and the lion man respectively.

"An inhibitory effect?"

"nonsense."

After a brief conversation, the two women rolled their eyes at each other again.

Qiao Song: ...

"Then I will wait until I get the invitation letter from Zootopia before going there. Now, let's decide where to go to the next dungeon."

Gao Chengcheng's eyebrows were tightly knitted, and the ears on top of his head shook from time to time. He really wanted to persuade Qiao Song not to go to Zootopia in the future, but when he thought about it, with Qiao Song's strength, it was only a matter of time before she received an invitation letter. It was something that could not be avoided, and almost all high-level players would have that day.

"Sister Qiao Song, did you get the map?"

Qiao Song nodded and said, "I got it at the Archaeological and Cultural Creative Shopping Center." The price is not cheap, but the effect is really worth the price.

The map she slowly unfolded was more like a foldable computer screen. By gently swiping across the surface, countless white and red dots could be quickly mapped out. These were small dots representing the level of the dungeon.

There are numerous copy points and the road information is quite comprehensive.

Unlike the joint maps I got at the convenience store before, this map can be zoomed in and out directly, covering almost the entire Infinite Highway.

After Qiao Song continued to shrink the map, a strange circle appeared in front of him, with fog at the edge.

From this perspective, the Infinite Highway game is more like a projection of a planet in infinite space.

As the view of the map changed, the densely packed white and red dots disappeared, leaving only four strange black dots and two whirlpool-like circles.

Qiao Song clicked on the black dots one by one, but there was no response. However, on the bright red dots, he could see the names of the dungeons, "Hell Community", "Hearse Entertainment"...

For other big red dots, the copy name will appear directly after clicking on them, and you can even directly plan a driving route to them.

The intelligent map directly shows the time required in the past, and the farthest destination may take nearly a month to drive.

Players need to enter a dungeon every one or two weeks. The higher the level of the dungeon they last cleared, the longer they can rest.

Qiao Song and his friends can rest for 10 days this time.

Gao Chengcheng next to her was hesitant to speak. It was her suggestion to come to the Hell Community. Although Sister Qiao Song was happy that she successfully obtained the map, the changes in the Hell Community were far beyond her expectations.

The dizziness in her head continued, and she knew that she had to set off for Zootopia with Bai You. The longer she delayed, the more danger her brother would be in.

Bai You had just pried open the lion's mouth and stuffed an ice cream in it to relieve his symptoms. He had just washed his hands in Qiao Song's RV and was wiping his fingers slowly with a handkerchief.

"Are you guys preparing to go to the next dungeon? If I remember correctly, you have a grudge against the guy on the display screen. If there are too many people chasing you recently, you can try going here."

She swiped the iPad-like map, found a certain road, and tapped one of the brighter red dots.

【Paper-Zha Town】

"This place also belongs to the Twelve Committees. It is a relatively safe red copy."

"I can also provide a little information about the paper-making town. After entering the town, all the people and ghosts no longer have their original appearance. There are only skeletons and paper figures here. There is no need for any disguise, and no one can recognize who else. Moreover, once someone is going to harm you, the corresponding pattern will be directly displayed on the skeleton. It is a good place to avoid assassination and escape enemies. This route is also close to the mall. Don't you want to find the Eye of Wisdom Guild? Going down this road, the next place will be Blind Box Paradise, where their guild is stationed for a long time."

With Qiao Song’s strength, he will definitely receive an invitation letter from Zootopia within two copies.

Qiao Song tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingertips as he looked at the dots on the paper-making town. His eyebrows raised, and he suddenly remembered something. When the hearse was entertaining him, he seemed to have educated the little paper-making kid.

"Are there many paper-making craftsmen in this instance?"

Bai You nodded: "But this copy is not a Chinese-style weird horror copy, it is the kind of..."

The little witch paused, and while she was still thinking of an adjective, Gao Chengcheng, who was munching on a new ice cream, silently added, "This is a beauty pageant copy."

Bai You sighed, "That's not true, but in Zhazhi Town, you either have good aesthetics or are strong. Anyway, this dungeon is not dangerous, and the NPCs inside are also quite special. They will prohibit players from killing each other. You will know when you go there."

The people on the table looked at each other. The cat in Aunt Huo's arms suddenly meowed. She touched the head of the white lion cat with heterochromatic eyes: "Maomao said that this copy will bring us good luck."

Speaking of luck, Lin Xuan suddenly became excited. He touched the little red dot with one hand and took out a lottery ticket with the other hand. He scratched a set of numbers with a surprised expression: "This copy really gives me a feeling that I will have good luck when I go there."

Is that so?

Qiao Song knew that Aunt Huo's cats all had many special abilities, not to mention Lin Xuan who could test his luck. Hearing this, she simply said, "Then let's go here."

Bai You continued to talk about some information about the paper-folding town. Gao Chengcheng would occasionally retort to her until she had almost drained all she knew. Only then did Gao Chengcheng nod twice to show her agreement.

Chengcheng's brain is working slowly now. The information is in her mind, but it is difficult to integrate it. Anyway, as long as she speaks out to refute, the little witch will take the initiative to help answer.

When Bai You realized that this orange-haired guy was plotting against him again, his expression suddenly became long.

Before she could make a few sarcastic remarks, Gao Chengcheng ignored her.

Bai You: "Tsk, if you can't talk, then don't talk. It's almost time. Go to my car. Looking at your condition, I guess you won't be awake for more than a few minutes."

After eating a few ice creams, the animal ears on Gao Chengcheng's head began to slowly shrink back, and at the same time her mind began to become confused little by little.

Although she said that she hated the little witch, she actually got into the other's car obediently. From then on, her and her brother's lives and property were tied to Bai You and the Leo man.

There is no main quest in the Zootopia copy, only a survival theme. They are very sure that being forcibly summoned this time is not a good thing. Even if Qiao Song will have the opportunity to come into contact with Zootopia after two or three copies, they seem to still be in Zootopia at that time.

"Don't forget, if you come to Zootopia, you can follow that tarot card to find us."

Bai You got into her own car, and Gao Chengcheng shrunk her car into an ice cream-model pendant and put it away.

They had originally come out of the dungeon late, and the Hell Community was still under repair after a series of changes, so the entrance was also closed, resulting in only a few cars in the entire parking lot.

Qiao Song and the others' hearse was inhabited by living souls, and a route had been planned, indicating that they could reach the entrance of the dungeon within 5 days. Xiaoying never spoke in front of outsiders, until this time she spoke: "Boss, there are several cars outside staring at us. Should we shake them off or take the initiative to attack?"

Although he didn't have to drive, Qiao Song still sat in the driver's seat. He quickly lowered the window and saw a few girls peeking in from a distance.

"I know these guys. Go over and say hello. The other cars are keeping an eye on them. Mark them first."

Xiaoying said okay, and the vehicle's central control began to change, and the vehicle's appearance transformed. Qiao Song met several excited girls and got the contact information of the auctioneer and the urban planner. It seemed that the other party stayed just to express their gratitude, and even forced a few prop cards into his hands.

"We know that these ordinary prop cards may be useless to the boss, but this is our sincerity. Thank you for saving our lives."

"Oh, and here's this. The girl who wrote the novel asked me to give you this notebook."

baby?

Qiao Song remembered the girl. She seemed to have said something, and he saw words like "protagonist" above her head.

She took the notebook and flipped through it. It was blank and there was nothing written on it.

What a strange little girl.

Qiao Song stuffed the prop cards and notebook into the toolbox, greeted the passengers in the car again, and prepared to plan the route to the next destination.

Lin Xuan, who had originally planned to get off the car, was now sitting timidly at the dining table. He had just received a message from his teammates that the other party was in a hurry to report back to the Black Iron Guild and drove the car away in advance. He asked him to report his location in the guild and call a car to pick him up.

"This guy must have gone back to the guild with information about the Abyss of Hell to report. He's really heartless." Although the two of them were partners in the dungeon and were not as close as life and death, it was too obvious that he had left me alone and rushed back to the guild to report right after the dungeon was over.

Lin Xuan, Qiao Song and the others talked about the Black Iron Guild's promotion methods, which were either by submitting item cards, buying and selling intelligence, or directly following the main combat force to pass the dungeon.

A lot of intelligence was indeed obtained from the invasion and counter-invasion defense battle in the Hell Community. I'm afraid that the team members can be directly promoted one or two levels up from the middle and lower levels.

After hearing what he said, Qiao Song asked, "Aren't you in a hurry to go back and report?"

Lin Xuan touched his nose and said, "If I wanted to be promoted, I would have been promoted a long time ago."

That's right, this guy's skills are actually quite powerful. He has auxiliary lottery tickets that can detect people's luck, and he also has the strong control ability of scratch tickets. If he is really motivated, he will definitely do better in the Black Iron Guild than he is now.

Lin Xuan had a complicated expression: "To put it bluntly, everyone in our guild works hard to make progress just to have a better life in the game. I feel that the top management players are not particularly eager to go home. They have already regarded building a bigger and stronger guild in the game as a career and are working hard for it."

This is also the current situation of top players on the Infinite Highway. They either become more and more crazy on the road to finding the door home, or gradually face the reality and stop chasing after illusory hopes. Instead, they think about how to survive here, become happier and freer, and even live a fairy-like life that real life cannot provide.

"But I still want to go home." His daughter was still waiting for him.

Aunt Huo next to her also spoke up: "Qiao Qiao, my cat mobile house had some problems in the last instance. It may take another instance to repair it. Could you please give me a ride?"

According to Aunt Huo, her car can be repaired automatically, but it will take some time. She had considered staying in the Hell Community for a longer time, but she didn't expect to be released in just a few dramatic days.

Qiao Song waved his hand and said, "This is easy. It will be more fun with more people. Let's go to the next stop together." It was a good opportunity for them to chat about other things on the Infinite Highway.

I don’t know what kind of place the paper-folding town is. Can beauty pageants and paper-folding be related?

Xiaoying's central control screen flashed, and a route was planned. The hearse slowly transformed into a more comfortable mobile room. The passengers only needed to spend their 5-day vacation leisurely in it.

Next stop, the paper-making town.