Time goes by day by day.
For most people in this world, it's just a normal day, but for some, it's not.
A young man wearing glasses pushed open the door and rushed into the room, coming to the computer desk, which was already surrounded by people. Most of them were wearing glasses, and at the moment they were staring at the screen in front of them with nervous expressions and flushed faces.
"The ninety-ninth floor, the ninety-ninth floor!!"
"Almost, just a little bit more! Can they do it?!"
"The Dark Moon Sword is fine, but the Dark Nebula and the Red Knights may need a few days of repair..."
The programmer sitting at the table was so excited that he almost typed like a piano.
These people are not ordinary spectators, they are members of the SAO Incident Countermeasures Headquarters. After Kayaba Akihiko created this horrific incident, the government immediately organized a department to track and manage the progress and follow-up of this incident.
As the world's first full-dive game, no one expected that a game would attract the attention of the whole world. After the SAO incident broke out, not only was the full-dive technology itself strictly banned by various countries, but even various social discussions were launched in conjunction with it.
The pressure on the SAO Countermeasures Headquarters was enormous. You know, before this, although the full-dive technology was originally used in gaming entertainment, it can also be used in various fields such as military and medical health. Just when everyone was ready to create a new future era, this vicious incident was like a blow to the head, almost everyone was stunned.
If I were to put it in a nutshell, it's like humans built the first nuclear power plant, but it exploded just after it was completed and started trial operation. The consequences and impacts are naturally self-evident.
The problem now is to see the “post-event handling” and “number of casualties” of the disaster.
Although more than a year has passed since then, and the outside media seems to have rarely broadcast news about this incident, everyone knows that the lack of attention does not mean that this matter is over. If this matter does not have a good ending, then it will be a real trouble.
But to be honest, there is actually very little they can do.
Kayaba Akihiko is a genius scientist. The system he designed has almost no loopholes. At first, the Countermeasures Headquarters wanted to forcefully invade, but later chose to give up like Fang Zheng. After all, the errors caused by invading the main system are likely to cause the entire world to completely collapse. If 10,000 people died at that time, then they would be finished.
Not to mention that among these victims there are not only ordinary players, but also diplomats and descendants of some powerful families. The forces behind these people are not easy to deal with!
At the beginning, the Countermeasures Headquarters decided to find the mastermind behind the incident, Kayaba Akihiko, and force him to release the others.
Later on... Kayaba Akihiko was found, but he was already dead.
According to the autopsy report and investigation results, it was finally determined that Kayaba Akihiko suffered an accident while using the full dive device, which caused the pulse signal to suddenly increase, causing a violent impact on the brain that was no less than a diamond drill opening the brain. The doctor finally gave the result of brain death.
Upon hearing the news, everyone in the Countermeasures Headquarters was dumbfounded.
The culprit is finished, what to do?
Although it is a good idea to hang Kayaba Akihiko's body out and let the angry family members of the victims whip it, this cannot solve the fundamental problem!
Although some people suggested sending a group of people in to help those players overcome the difficulties, this idea was ultimately rejected. After all, the game world is different from the real world. There is an old Chinese saying that a hero breaks the law with force, which is very appropriate to apply to the game world.
The players at that time were generally around level 30 or 40. Although they were not as good as the East Evil and West Poison, they were at least stronger than the Grass Flying or the Wave White Shark. If they wanted to send people in, even active soldiers would be at the level of government soldiers - any bandit could defeat them.
Not to mention that it is so dangerous, who would be willing to go in and die?
Ultimately, it all depends on the players themselves.
Fortunately, except for the initial period, there were not many casualties for most of the following time. And because of this, the Countermeasures Headquarters focused more on taking care of the victims to avoid accidents - they could not intervene if someone died in the game, but if there were casualties due to real-life factors, then it would be their responsibility.
There are a total of 10,000 players. Almost two years have passed, and the death toll has been fixed at 853 so far... Relatively speaking, this is already a very exciting number. This means that if everything goes well, most players can return to the real world alive.
If all goes well.
But now, what stands in front of them is the last obstacle.
"Is there really no way we can adjust the boss's strength?"
Looking at the attributes of the Boss on the 100th floor, many people looked solemn, and some even raised this old question again unwillingly.
"no."
Another technician shook his head.
"We all know that the Full Dive device uses brainwaves as account verification. Now that Kayaba Akihiko is dead, no one can log in to the developer account. External modifications to Cardinal will have unknown effects... For now, we can only watch."
"Why……"
Hearing this, everyone sighed in unison. Although they had held many meetings before and knew clearly what they should and should not do, at this critical moment, they could only watch from the outside... It still felt a little uncomfortable.
At this moment, someone suddenly asked timidly.
"What do you think...if they fail..."
"Shut up!"
“…”
No one wants to be a crow, especially in the current situation.
In fact, this kind of worry is not only shared by people in real life. In the gaming world, this feeling is even stronger.
The town where things start.
The town of Origin was still bustling, but the atmosphere was a little tense. Players would occasionally take to the streets or gather in the park to discuss with each other.
"Have you heard? The raiders have reached the 99th floor."
"Does that mean we can possibly get out? Is that okay?"
"Probably not. Haven't they been doing well all this time?"
"But what if..."
"Go away, if you can't speak, don't speak!"
Some are worried, some are excited, and some are nervous.
They had been in this world for almost two years, and many people had already gotten used to life here, and even forgot what reality was like. But now, as Fang Zheng and the others fought their way up level by level, until they reached the ninety-ninth level... the others gradually began to react.
Wait, what are we doing here?
It doesn't seem like it's for playing games.
Yes, we are trapped here.
As long as we get through the 100th floor we can get out!
Thinking of this, everyone started to worry about the outcome again. Of course, they hoped that Fang Zheng and his team could successfully pass the level. But what if they failed?
What if?
Right now, the three most powerful guilds in the world of Aincrad are Darkmoon Sword, Dark Nebula, and Red Knights. In fact, after the 90th floor, the bosses of each floor were jointly attacked by the three parties. During this period, Dark Nebula and Red Knights suffered combat casualties on the 95th, 98th, and 99th floors respectively. The next floor is the 100th floor... No one knows what the outcome will be.
What if they are wiped out, then... will others still have a chance to leave this world?
Nobody knows.
In fact, even the Dark Moon Sword itself doesn't know.
"call……"
Looking at Eriri who had fallen asleep beside him, Fang Zheng reached out and gently stroked her cheek, tidied her hair, then he got up and left Eriri's room.
As they got closer to the final boss, the members of Dark Moon Sword were under increasing pressure. Ying Lili even had to secretly make love with Fang Zheng every night before she could fall asleep. Fang Zheng could understand this. The end was in sight. Success would be heaven, and failure would be hell.
Even Gabriel, who was always lazy and looked like a salted fish, showed a serious expression for the first time. She even learned to tidy herself up. You know, Gabriel had always been very careless before. She was the type who didn't bother to comb her messy hair, took a shower casually, put on a sweatshirt and lay down to make love.
And now, she has actually started to comb her hair, tidy up her appearance, and practice hard every day.
To be honest, this really surprised Fang Zheng, but it was also expected.
This kind of pressure is much greater than the college entrance examination.
After all, you can still repeat the college entrance examination if you fail.
After leaving Eriri's room, Fang Zheng walked around the base, looked at Yui who was sleeping with Esther, said hello to Sophie who was still wandering around late at night, and returned to his room after confirming that everything was normal in the guild.
However, to Fang Zheng's surprise, when he arrived at the door of the room, he unexpectedly saw the figures of Asuna and the black cat.
"Asuna? Black Cat?"
Looking at the two people standing at his door, Fang Zheng raised his eyebrows.
"Why aren't you going to rest? What are you doing here?"
“…”
Hearing Fang Zheng's question, Asuna and Kuroneko looked at each other with red faces, and finally Asuna gritted her teeth and spoke.
"Um...we...have something we want to discuss with you, Mr. Fang Zheng..."
“…”
Looking at their slightly red cheeks and their evasive gazes, Fang Zheng had almost guessed their intention. So he didn't say much, but reached out and pushed the door open.
"Well, come in, everyone."