Chapter 276

At almost the same time, in the real world, in City H.

With a deafening roar echoing through the city, reconnaissance helicopters spun their rotors, creating a massive hurricane that swept over the buildings.

Below the city, the noise continued. Police cars and private vehicles sped along the extensive network of roads, and countless figures, some humanoid, some like humans, and some like animals, raced against time, moving swiftly through the streets and alleys, conducting a thorough search of all suspicious areas.

This massive search has been going on day and night for a full month since the dungeon "Game House" opened.

Until one instant, a high-pitched, piercing alarm bell rang out like thunder, causing all the searchers to turn their heads sharply.

"Found it!"

No. 2231, Tongluo Avenue, Antai District, H City.

The street where this address is located was originally planned as an expansion project for the adjacent amusement park, but the project was forced to be halted because the developer violated the contract terms and offended the original construction company.

When Xie Kaile led his team to this place, there were hardly any people around. Most of the buildings had their walls demolished, and the broken stones and tiles that hadn't been moved were piled up haphazardly. The street was chilly, and only a few birds were chirping in the trees, creating a sense of silent desolation.

Their target was in the middle of the street: a shop that showed no signs of demolition and was so intact that it stood out from its surroundings.

To be more precise, it was a privately owned building that had been illegally converted into a retail video game store.

The team member reported: "We had previously investigated and found that the homeowner had accepted the compensation offered by the project team and agreed to the demolition. However, after the first batch of expanded shops were completed and opened for business, the customer traffic was overwhelming. The homeowner immediately went back on his word and secretly built shops on his own."

The homeowner probably wanted to take advantage of the scenic area expansion to make a fortune, but he didn't expect that the two project partners would have a conflict, which eventually led to the project coming to an abrupt end.

Although it's only a road away, separated by a half-high roadside wall, one side is bustling and prosperous, while the other is desolate and lifeless, like an abandoned village from the 1980s. Most tourists who accidentally wander in will feel uneasy and leave in fear.

In the end, they didn't even make any money, let alone open for business. Plus, they gave up the demolition compensation, resulting in a complete loss.

Xie Kaile noticed that the style of the sign at the entrance looked very familiar, almost exactly the same as the one at the most popular direct-sale store in the scenic area.

Clearly, the homeowner's envy of that store's revenue and profits was more than just a little bit.

None of these findings are the most important.

The moment Xie Kaile stepped into the store, a strong premonition surged into his heart like a tidal wave.

He stopped abruptly, looked up abruptly, and the gray sky, as if filtered, suddenly turned into an eerie and ominous scarlet, like blood.

There's no mistake, this is the Demon King's Domain!

Xie Kaile's heart was pounding. He immediately sent someone to inform Pei Yuheng and the others, and at the same time, he led the team deeper into the area without hesitation.

The investigation data provided by Cen Xiangcai was very comprehensive. It stated that the owner of the shop had not appeared in public for at least two months, and the nearby residents had moved away one after another. No one cared about the situation here, and occasionally passersby would see the owner moving something to the door.

The last sounds heard were of beatings, insults, and screams.

Xie Kaile carefully searched the store. The building had two floors, with the first floor open for business. Rusty shelves, pirated game discs, second-hand computers and video game equipment, peeling wallpaper, and mottled floors... The already poor and old-fashioned furnishings looked even more dilapidated after being covered in a layer of dust.

The second floor wasn't much better. The odds and ends of the shopping trip were piled up in the stairwell and hallway. The only room that could be used for living was littered with dirty clothes, smelly socks, and garbage. Instant noodles had been spilled on the floor, the soup and liquid seeping into the floor. Mold had grown on the noodles, the chili oil had solidified into clumps, and the air reeked of a nauseating sour stench.

It was dirty and messy.

They searched the store thoroughly, even prying open the floorboards to check, but after three whole hours they only found the information that was in plain sight. There was nothing else unusual, and they couldn't find any trace of the homeowner.

The person reporting said, "Captain, we've used all our instruments, but we can't detect anything abnormal."

But the Demon King's domain is here, and it shows no signs of fading!

However, if the Ghost King wants to remain hidden in his own territory, outsiders are completely helpless against him unless they are several times stronger than him!

Xie Kaile clenched his jaw, his face tense, and strode quickly between the shelves, his eyes scanning the store from top to bottom once again, not wanting to miss a single detail.

No one knew that his nerves were already on edge, and he seemed to hear Xie Xubai's parting words in his ears: "I have more important things to entrust to you."

Just a month ago, when Pei Yuheng and the others heard that Xie Xubai planned to go alone to deal with Theseus, whose strength was unknown, they were extremely excited and strongly disagreed with Xie Xubai going into danger alone.

Xie Xubai said, "This is not a risky undertaking alone. On the contrary, whether we can win this game in the end, including whether I can survive, depends on your next actions."

Hearing Xie Xubai's serious tone, the group finally calmed down and regained their composure.

Pei Yuheng and Xie Xubai exchanged glances for a moment, then Pei Yuheng asked directly, "What do you want us to do?"

"Find the 'birthplace' of that guy (Theseus)."

The fact that three consecutive trial instances—"Dog Harm," "Dragon Slayer," and "Please Follow the Setting"—are all set in H City is clearly no coincidence.

The outer perimeter of H City is blocked by an air wall, preventing normal people from leaving. No outsiders can enter the airport, train station, or long-distance bus station. Forcibly breaking through will only reveal a void shrouded in white mist.

Are they isolated from the world?

No.

If H City is merely in a "helpless" situation, then they will be "exiled" and left to die in a forgotten corner, rather than becoming the main arena that determines the outcome of the game.

It was precisely because all the trials took place in H City that Xie Xubai had the opportunity to re-participate as an NPC, interfering with or even dominating the outcome of the game.

If the system had any other choice, it wouldn't have given Xie Xubai such a huge advantage. There's only one reason it did this: the rules stipulate that the game venue in Zhongzhou can only take place in H City.

The worst-case scenario is that all other cities in Central Continent fall, leaving only City H as the last bastion.

Xie Xubai said, "In either case, the next game is very likely to take place in H City again."

"The cloaked man provides a virtual space that is not connected to reality as the location for meeting him, which is likely to cover up the real game location."

Only by finding the actual game location, the place of origin that led to the "birth" of the Demon King, can the enemy's weakness be discovered.

However, H City has more than two hundred large building complexes recorded on the municipal network, including commercial office buildings of forty or fifty floors. Each floor has 5 to 15 independent rooms depending on the area, and each room could potentially become the site of the next infinite game.

In other words, among these two hundred-plus large building complexes, just one office building alone has up to 750 search points that require on-site investigation by personnel, and the extreme value is as many as 150,000!

What does this mean?

This means that a team, even if they only glance at it briefly, will have to investigate for three or four months without eating, drinking, or sleeping!

Moreover, in addition to the large buildings, there are more than 400 medium-sized buildings, more than 600 small buildings, and private sites that have not yet been clearly registered, hidden in remote areas and deep forests, with no clear number of secret buildings.

Such a massive and vaguely defined search would be enough to make any investigator sweat profusely and give up.

"Moreover, the system will definitely try its best to hide it. We are like looking for a needle in a haystack in the vortex of wolves stirred up by the enemy," Xie Xubai said. "It's tedious, complicated, difficult, clueless, and a pipe dream. I can only feel at ease if this operation is entrusted to you."

The vengeful spirits of cats and dogs under Bai Gou Ping An's command, the law enforcement team temporarily led by Xie Kai Le, the network of contacts accumulated by Pei Yu Heng when he served as dean, and the intelligence network and execution team established by Cen Xiang Cai as the chief secretary of Sheng Tian Group.

"I need you to use all your resources, go all out, and find it as quickly as possible."

Cen Xiangcai stared intently at Xie Xubai's face and asked worriedly, "Are you sure there really is such a place?"

Xie Xubai shook his head: "Not sure."

Yes, he couldn't be sure.

At this point, they only had a superficial understanding of the overall rules of the infinite game, and even if this inference was highly probable, it could not be proven.

It's possible that in the end, they won't find this so-called "real game venue".

It's more likely that the game will be over before they even find it, and all their efforts will be in vain.

Cen Xiangcai hesitated slightly: "Then..."

Pei Yuheng suddenly said, "There was once a research project that was extremely time-consuming, labor-intensive, and incredibly difficult. It was considered by scholars outside the field at the time to be 'absolutely impossible to complete.' Do you know what it was?"

The group paused, then turned to Pei Yuheng. Xie Kaile asked, "What is it?"

Pei Yuheng said, "That is everything you see right now, all the things."

"Artificial power generation, road construction, increased grain production by hundreds of thousands of acres, barrier-free communication over thousands of miles, and landing on the moon. These things, which seemed like nothing short of fantasy at the time, were discovered and explored by people because of a one percent possibility. They were eventually presented to the world and widely used. Human civilization has been staging a miracle in the present tense from ancient times to the present."

Pei Yuheng looked at Xie Xubai: "How likely is your conclusion just now?"

Xie Xubai and Pei Yuheng stared at each other for a long time, then suddenly smiled and said, "Far higher than one percent."

.

Xie Kaile clenched his back teeth anxiously.

The problem now is that he has very likely found the location the teacher mentioned, but he cannot break through the system's disguise.

Perhaps there would be a solution once Pei Yuheng and the others arrived, but the thought of Xie Xubai being in grave danger, facing a life-or-death situation, made it impossible for him to remain calm.

Xie Kaile's gaze was cold and sharp as he surveyed the store's layout, constantly telling himself: Stay calm, stay calm.

This was Xie Xubai's teaching to him: no matter what happens, he must not panic. Did he want to be a child who never grew up, always hiding under his teacher's protection and causing him worry?

Think about how the teacher usually solves problems; there must be some clues, there must be—

At that moment, Xie Kaile's heart skipped a beat, and a vague thought flashed through his mind.

He had his team bring over the information Cen Xiangcai had gathered, his eyes scanning the text rapidly before locking onto the information he wanted.

The note said that a passerby had seen the homeowner place a certain ornament at the door.

Xie Kaile just remembered that the homeowner wanted to imitate a physical store, and there was a doll standing at the entrance.

That's the key!

The reason why that physical store attracted thousands of customers in just a few days after opening was that they had obtained the sales rights for merchandise featuring a popular game character.

The shop owner had a good business sense and immediately created a life-size, exquisitely crafted doll based on the character from the game, which he placed at the entrance of the shop to attract customers.

Seeing this, the homeowner was extremely envious, so he copied the same doll and placed it at the door, of course, a counterfeit.

This bizarre tactic actually attracted a few fans who went astray, bought things, and then realized they had been scammed, so they angrily reported it.

The homeowner apologized publicly and cooperated by putting the doll back. However, he took it out again as soon as the controversy died down. This back and forth left a deep impression on the people in the neighborhood.

Xie Kaile arrived at the store entrance, cleared away the trash and debris, and swept away the dust on the ground. Sure enough, he found several scratch marks, proving that something had been placed there for a long time.

So where is that thing? Where is that doll?

The homeowner is so stingy that he can't even bear to throw away a rusty iron rod, so he certainly wouldn't throw away the doll either.

Just as Xie Kaile lowered his head to check, his shirt pocket moved, and the golden orb that Xie Xubai had left for them fell out.

Xie Kaile was startled and quickly reached out to grab the ball of light. The next second, something amazing happened.

The golden light landed, splashing up black and red ripples. A gust of wind howled past, and the ripples spread into waves, connecting the original subtle traces of movement with a long, clearer, and continuous line of action.

The trail meanders forward, stretching from the shop entrance to the stairwell, leading to the second floor.

This is the movement trajectory of the homeowner moving the doll!

"Everyone, come here!"

Xie Kaile quickly got up and called on everyone to chase after them.

At the same time, he was astonished to find that the scene before him had changed.

The shelves collapsed, tables and chairs overturned, vases and other items shattered, leaving the floor in a mess.

So unlike before, the fact that the system is trying to cover up is that a fierce battle once took place here!

.

Let's return to the fictional scenario of the system simulation experiment.

When the golden light that Xie Xubai had linked to Xie Kaile located 2231 Tongluo Avenue and told Theseus the address, the latter's face changed, his disbelief turning deathly pale: "How could you...?"

Theseus suddenly fell silent, his expression somber.

No need to ask anymore.

He could sense that Xie Kaile in reality had led the law enforcement team to find his true form.

Even if the Ghost King's Domain can't do anything to him for the time being, it's only a matter of time before we get rid of him.

Before this, Theseus could be said to have played a trick on Xie Xubai by slipping away unnoticed.

Xie Xubai has never been able to forcibly invade Theseus's consciousness world, not because Theseus's willpower is so strong, but simply because the original body that retains the important memories is not here.

Now, he has been completely exposed.

Theseus stared at Xie Xubai with a fierce look that seemed to want to devour him.

Now that all his cards have been exposed, he has no choice but to beg for mercy.

But, beg for mercy?

joke!

Theseus would rather go through all the experiments again and become a complete madman than beg Xie Xubai for mercy!

Xie Xubai's determination was no less.

Without uttering a single wasted word, after successfully testing Theseus, he immediately manipulated the golden light surrounding Xie Kaile to invade Theseus's domain of the Demon King in the real world.

About five minutes later, Ping An arrived, and the golden ball of light left for the big dog joined the ranks of those who were attacking.

Cen Xiangcai arrived one after another, followed by Pei Yuheng, and tens of thousands of investigators, including the vengeful spirits of cats and dogs.

With everyone's combined attack, it took no more than 13 minutes for Theseus's Demon King Domain to shatter!

In the real world, the breaking of the domain unleashed a massive storm that shook the heavens and earth.

In the virtual experiment, accompanied by a crackling and noisy electrical sound, Theseus, with a ferocious expression, disappeared like a distorted data image with a snap.

The main body was threatened and could no longer maintain the existence of the clone, so it was forcibly retrieved.

Golden light bridges the boundary between reality and virtuality, allowing Xie Xubai to reach their final battlefield.

The air was thick with tension. Xie Xubai closed his eyes and could clearly hear his heart pounding.

He understood that even if he used every trick in the book, Theseus would not surrender easily and would fight to the death.

This will be a crucial moment, the final step, the very last step, the finish line for 300 million players, and the final fate for 7.7 billion dead.

Xie Xubai calmed himself down, detached himself from the simulation experiment, and immersed himself in Theseus's final world of consciousness.

...

Xie Xubai didn't deliberately try to remember how long he and Theseus had stayed in the simulation experiment—a few years? Or more than ten years?

Compared to that seemingly endless experiment, Theseus's core memories were short, so short as to be scarce and pitiful, like a short film of only twenty minutes.

The film opens in a dirty, cramped room, where a disheveled man is talking on the phone with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

He stretched out his foot and accidentally kicked a pile of beer bottles. With a few clangs, the unfinished beer spilled from the bottle openings, splashing onto the floor and wetting it.

The man immediately spat in annoyance, kicked all the bottles aside, and continued spitting into his phone: "Just make one of those dolls that the store has on display. It doesn't have to be fancy, just something that can fool people into spending money!"

Author's Note:

Apologies for the late update QAQ Comments on this chapter will receive a red envelope as compensation; the event ends with the next update.