Chapter 120 The Origin, Surrender, and the Need for Repeated Verification of Lies...
After listening to Fu Ze's long narration, Yuan Jianxing fell into a long silence, so long that Fu Ze felt a little guilty.
Because during the narration, he omitted one thing from the story—
The person who holds the [key], Yuan Jianxing, may not be a [player].
This cannot be considered as Fu Ze actively concealing the truth; it's more like he was unwilling to admit the result without verifying it himself.
Since he hasn't acknowledged the result, there's no need to burden Yuan Jianxing with this psychological burden.
Fu Ze took a sip of water, mentally justifying himself:
All senses of sound and color are governed by physical laws.
But those cunning villains are full of tricks and schemes. How could Yuan Jianxing possibly see through their lies without the help of the [Key]?
Yes, that must be it.
That must be it.
Um.
Just a second before Fu Ze broke free from his somber mood and tried to lighten the atmosphere with a joke, Yuan Jianxing finally spoke: "Do you... really believe all of this?"
“I don’t really want to believe it, because such saviors are often accompanied by all sorts of sacrifices.” Fu Ze stretched his legs, hunched his shoulders slightly, and nestled into the sofa in Yuan Jianxing’s office. “But I seem to have no choice but to believe it, after all, there must be a reason for everything.”
It concerns one's own death and rebirth.
The murmurings I heard during my death and rebirth.
Regarding the [key] and the earth-shattering changes it has brought to the world.
Looking at the faint reflection of Que Ling's face in the water glass, Fu Ze was somewhat lost in thought. "And the explanation provided by Long Ji perfectly explains everything. I can't find a point to refute it."
However, Hara Kensei raised an objection: "It's not entirely just right."
Fu Ze looked up at Yuan Jianxing, his eyes asking the other to elaborate.
"Assuming that everything Longji said is true and hasn't been altered or embellished by him," Yuan Jianxing circled a line on the sheet of paper in front of him filled with symbols only he could understand, "then there's only one possible outcome for this event—"
"After all players have safely left the game, the entire world mechanism has been restored to its original state, which is the state where there is no virus infection and players with the [key] can log in and out freely."
Upon hearing this, a question suddenly popped into Fu Ze's mind—
What should player login and logout look like in this world?
In ordinary games, a player's login and login are represented by "appearing out of thin air" and "disappearing out of thin air".
But in this world, there seems to be no similar phenomenon.
Clearly, the [Center of All Things] will present the player's online and offline status in a different way through calculation and correction.
What could it be?
Just as Fu Ze's thoughts were about to drift further and further away with his doubts, Yuan Jianxing's decisive words pulled him back: "But this is probably not the result that Dragon Spine wants."
Putting the question aside for the moment, Fu Ze asked with some surprise, "What do you mean?"
"Put yourself in Longji's shoes," Yuan Jianxing said calmly, "and imagine you were a successful entrepreneur, so successful that your biography would be on elementary school exam papers, with companies thriving across almost every industry." He continued, "What other pursuits would you have in life?"
“Maybe that’s why I can’t be a big shot.” Fu Ze tilted his head and sighed. “If I were in that position, I could earn the money for a Magic Lizard 757 by closing my eyes and silently counting to ten. I probably would just want to enjoy life and live a life of debauchery.”
Although he spoke lightly, after Yuan Jianxing's prompting, Fu Ze did indeed realize the key point.
For someone like Longji, his life is a perfect example of a comeback.
But just then, someone suddenly descended from the sky with the truth about this world, and then demonstrated the immense power of the [Key].
Compared to the two, worldly things like money, status, and power are utterly insignificant.
Considering Dragonspine's rare, somewhat personal question, "How special do you think it has to be to be considered special?", this person may have realized that no matter how successful he became, he was merely an accessory to the players, an existence that served the players.
This sense of loss... must be really unpleasant.
"So for Dragon Spine, cooperating with that hacker was arguably the best choice," Yuan Jianxing continued his analysis. "Then why did he suddenly approach you for cooperation? Was it because he discovered that the hacker had concealed some truths from him that didn't affect his own interests, and thus switched sides to the completely opposing party?"
Fu Ze recalled: "His reason at the time was that he hated uncontrollable variables."
Yuan Jianxing tapped the paper with the tip of his pen. "I think this is just his excuse. If there's any variable, the biggest variable is clearly the hacker himself."
"Then what do you think his real purpose is?" Fu Ze asked.
"If you got your [special key] back and became a GM again, what would you do?" Yuan Jianxing asked rhetorically.
Fu Ze answered in a standard tone: "Find out the problem, repair the [Center of All Things], and at the very least get the players out safely."
“That means the world will return to its previous state.” Yuan Jianxing further elaborated on Fu Ze’s answer, “The [Key] will once again become a tool used by the [Center of All Things] to identify and assist players in logging into and out of the game, and will activate some powerful but limited abilities according to the player’s needs to optimize the other party’s gaming experience.”
He paused for a moment before continuing, "For example, my ability to 'insight'."
Fu Ze nodded repeatedly, each nod as if trying to engrave Yuan Jianxing's point of view into the other's heart.
But the more deliberately he affirmed it, the more unusually clear-headed a part of his mind became.
He clearly felt that every time he agreed, he was pushing his subconscious conclusion in the completely opposite direction.
A lie needs to be repeatedly verified.
The truth often remains silent.
He can't fool himself.
Yuan Jianxing naturally interpreted Fu Ze's nod as the other party following his thoughts, and continued, "Just as you said, you don't think that a hacker team could break through the results of a team's collective wisdom, and I agree with that view."
Realizing that Yuan Jianxing had not noticed his deliberate misleading, Fu Ze secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"The most likely scenario is that the other party found a vulnerability that was accidentally overlooked, and then made a big deal out of it." Yuan Jianxing was still immersed in his analysis.
"But this vulnerability cannot exist forever. As long as one player leaves the game, people outside will definitely be able to deduce the vulnerability based on his experience and feedback."
"No matter what means this 'virus' used to 'kidnap' the players, once the first batch of players leave, there will definitely be corresponding measures from the outside world."
"It is unknown whether a third, even more powerful GM will enter the game at that time."
"In short, the vulnerability will definitely be patched sooner or later. Colluding with hackers is definitely not a long-term solution."
"So you think he's surrendering to me?" Fu Ze asked, somewhat surprised.
“One of the characteristics of intelligent people is that they recognize the power of ‘riding the wind to the clouds.’” Yuan Jianxing said. “And Longji can be said to be the most intelligent of the intelligent people, and he probably thinks much more clearly than we do.”
“Then I should thank them for their favor.” Fu Ze said, laughing and crying at the same time. “Even if everything is true, even if I really am some kind of architecture director, if I can’t get back my special key, it will all be for nothing.”
Clearly, Yuan Jianxing's thinking here coincided with Fu Ze's: "At present, no matter what the situation of this virus is, the highest priority is to find the man you met in the stairwell and then find a way to get your [special key] back."
"We'll discuss how to get it back later," Fu Ze asked respectfully. "How do you plan to find him?"
According to Longji, he met the hacker three times in total. Except for the third time, when the hacker took the elevator to experience the sightseeing elevator and get a view of V City's night scene, the other two times the hacker appeared next to him without any warning.
Without a doubt, this is the power of the key, or even the special key.
If Fu Ze's guess is correct, then this hacker probably possesses hundreds of [keys] that were taken from players, as well as [special keys] that were taken from the first GMs to enter the game.
Considering this person's proficiency in using his abilities, it seems that the power he possesses in this game world is no different from that of the creator god.
Although the water in his hands was still warm, Fu Ze felt his fingertips were chillingly cold.
Sometimes, the more you know, the more afraid you become.
For a moment, he couldn't say whether he regretted going to the Dragon's Backbone.
Perhaps one day I will have to take on the responsibility of "Fu Ze", but can it be a little later?
She had finally settled down, she could finally walk freely in the sunlight with a new identity, and she and Yuan Jianxing had just confessed their feelings to each other...
"But he's still human, right?"
Despite having just analyzed information that could overturn one's worldview, despite knowing that the information was no different from Fu Ze's, and despite being able to deduce the hacker's terrifying power, Yuan Jianxing did not seem to feel any fear or wavering.
"Since we are still human, and since we have not completely broken free from the established framework of this world, we must still act in accordance with human behavior."
"As long as he exists, I can find him."
Seeing that Yuan Jianxing was so certain, Fu Ze suddenly realized: just because Longji couldn't find this hacker didn't mean Yuan Jianxing couldn't find him.
After all, no matter how much influence Longji has in other industries, he can't possibly mobilize the resources of the Tribunal to find someone who comes and goes without a trace, just like Yuan Jianxing.
Taking a sip of water to suppress his unease and anxiety, Fu Ze narrowed his eyes and said in his most signature tone, "Truly worthy of being the chief, always so reliable."
However, before he could finish speaking, he felt a warm substance pressed against the side of his cheek.
When Fu Ze opened his eyes, he realized that Yuan Jianxing, who had been sitting opposite him, had somehow moved to sit next to him.
The other person's hand was resting against his face, half-supporting and half-stroking.
Unlike his confident demeanor when discussing the current situation and arranging subsequent actions, Yuan Jianxing Fuze's tone now seemed somewhat guilty, "Should I... go with you today?"
As he spoke, he rubbed the corner of Fu Ze's eye twice with the knuckle of his thumb.
Then his hand moved down and grasped Fu Ze's slightly cool fingertips holding the water glass in his palm.
Although the temperature of Yuan Jianxing's palm was slightly lower than that of the water, Fu Ze felt that the heat seemed inexhaustible, continuously filling his sense of emptiness.
“Dragon Spine only invited me. What would it look like if you came along?” Fu Ze laughed, scratching Yuan Jianxing’s palm twice with his fingertips, “I’m not a kindergarten kid who needs an adult to accompany and pick me up when I’m out and about.”
Yuan Jianxing raised an eyebrow: "But the way you acted when you came out of the art center was no different from that of a child who had just finished school."
"I missed you terribly after just one day apart," Fu Ze replied without batting an eye.
Without exposing the other party's pretense, Yuan Jianxing simply went along with it, saying, "If you think like this after just one day apart, what will you do in the future?"
after……
Fu Ze's heart skipped a beat.
Once this is over, will there really be a future?
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