Chapter 102: Twenty Thousand Players Are Working Hard [VIP]
Sadly, the player died.
Without any protective measures or buffering postures in mid-air, the player's defense is not enough to resist the attraction of the planet's gravity.
The player typed GG.
But it didn't matter. Soon, the system belonging to "Multidimensional Life" - the system operated by the half of the soul that the player separated at the beginning, replaced the indifferent system of "Punkloder Spirit".
The player's eyes flashed, and the world was frozen at the moment of her death.
The white light and the dizzy feeling of falling were forcibly cut off as if it were a low-quality VR image.
Instead of sinking into darkness, the field of vision rapidly expands and focuses on a minimalist interface suspended in nothingness.
[Save Point: Top of Dangerous Building - Sightseeing (12 seconds ago)]
[Save Point: Alley Entrance, Before Climbing the Stairs (3 minutes ago)]
The background is a blurred image of the gray-black sky of Punklord, and the text is emitting a faint cold light.
"Tsk, face down." A familiar, electronic, and cold voice echoed directly in her mind. It was her system, or rather, the half of her soul that had been separated. "The save point was just overwritten three seconds ago. You insist on using your face to verify the acceleration of gravity? Performance art?"
"That's called rigorous testing!" the player retorted confidently in his mind. "Who knows if its 'only one life' claim is just a bluff? What a shame if it really dies. Now it's confirmed, the save file works, and the GM privileges are still there, so it's stable."
She quickly selected the save point where she was standing steadily on the rusty iron roof just before falling from the building.
"Confirm to read? Friendly reminder, next time you want to test the physics engine, I suggest you try a more elegant posture. Your dead look affects the cityscape." The system's voice was flat and calm, but the implication of "looking at a fool" between the lines was undeniable.
"No need to bother, loading!" the player thought.
The white light faded softly, and the damp, cold metallic smell, the distant hum of neon lights, and the faint smell of decay from inferior synthetic food instantly enveloped her again.
The player was standing firmly on the edge of the creaking rusty iron sheet, with her hands on her hips, as if the unlucky person who had just free-fallen was not her.
"Look, invincible." The player raised his chin triumphantly at the air (or the system in his head), then turned around without hesitation, using his hands and feet.
This time, the player climbed down the rusted pipes and protruding rivets in an orderly manner, his movements still as nimble as a wild cat, and landed steadily in a narrow alley filled with abandoned trash cans.
She brushed off the non-existent dust on her hands and looked up at the "new map".
Punchlord, the line between data and reality is as blurred as its day and night.
For her, the vast urban jungle before her, consisting of flowing neon lights, huge holographic advertisements, a steel sky and shuttle-by-passing streamer rail cars, was more... novel than shocking.
A planet famous for hackers... Legend has it that a hacker named "Zero" left a string of cheat codes here. As long as it is entered into the game file, even the most idiotic player can easily overthrow the order of Punklord.
Although no one has found it yet, countless people are still trying to salvage this line of code at the edge of the data space.
Because everyone holds onto this hope—maybe I'm the protagonist? Maybe I'll find it?
How tempting was the opportunity to let the order of Punklord collapse!
Players are different from these people.
Compared to their vague fantasies, players are more confident - obviously, I am a player, of course I am the protagonist!
This line of cheat code is probably waiting for me.
Even if it doesn't exist in reality, it will exist in the game for the players' playability!
Lin Chen walked out of the alley and merged into Punklord's never-ending data torrent like a drop of water.
Huge holographic advertisements flow overhead, cyber whales swim across glass curtain walls, pixel waterfalls cascade down, and the air is filled with an invisible electromagnetic hum.
It was novel, but not shocking. After all, the spaceship in her hometown grew out of an incubator. In comparison, this purely technological creation was easier to understand.
Lin Chen opened the map and searched for the nearest store icon. Soon, she scanned the crowd, following an arrow visible only to her, and pinpointed a small shop on the corner with a flashing neon sign that read "Extreme Speed Equipment."
The window displays a variety of simple wristband, chip, interface and other devices, as well as palm-sized metal blocks - communicators and Ethernet cartridges.
The player squeezed past a few passersby dressed in different styles who were selecting equipment. The short man nimbly got to the counter and stood on tiptoe to barely rest his chin on the cold metal table.
"This," she pointed with her pinky finger at a basic silver wristband communicator on the counter, "and that one."
His fingertip pointed at the most inconspicuous one among the ether cartridges.
The young clerk behind the counter, who was too lazy to even raise his head, was chewing synthetic gum and glanced at what the player was pointing at. "It contains a piece of hardware, 3000 credits."
"Swipe the card," the player said succinctly, tapping her hand against the sensor on the counter. The nonexistent payment device on her wrist (the GM system did it for her) debited the money. Three thousand credits, the optical wristband, and the matte black Ether cassette tape.
The clerk raised his eyebrows in surprise, as if he didn't expect that this kid was so rich and so straightforward.
, took out the wristband and cassette, put them in a simple paper bag, and pushed it in front of the player.
The player took the bag, completely ignoring the clerk's subtle inquiring gaze, turned and left, eagerly finding a relatively quiet corner piled with discarded data terminals to squat down.
I tore open the paper bag, took out the wristband, and it snapped shut automatically with a click, and a slight electric current ran through my skin.
The next second, a simple, translucent operating interface appeared on the player's retina. The background was a deep, starry blue sky, and several basic icons were floating: [Communication] [Network] [Storage] [Settings].
Access to the Internet in Punklord is free, which means that players do not need to buy an internet connection separately and can start surfing the Internet directly.
Ah, this is probably why there are so many Punk Lord hackers?
The player's thoughts wandered for a while, and he felt that this was similar to the operating logic of Yu Zhao in his hometown.
Then, she picked up the heavy, cool black Ether cartridge. There was a standard grooved connector on the side of the cartridge. The player held the cartridge against a similarly sized connector on the side of the wristband, gestured, and then—
Click!
It fit in perfectly.
At the moment the cartridge was fully embedded, the retinal projection interface in front of the player's eyes suddenly flashed.
The extremely domineering interface of the system covered the interface of the communicator and appeared directly on the player's retina.
[External core computing unit (Ethernet cartridge, basic type) detected! ]
[Establishing deep link...]
【Link successful! 】
The communicator's simple, basic interface instantly refreshed and overwrote. The background transformed into a deep, black void, a constant stream of faint green data flowing through it. In the center was a slowly rotating, complex, polyhedral core composed of countless tiny silver points of light.
Around the core, several new icons emitting a faint blue light were floating: [Scan (Lv.1)], [Analysis (Lv.1)], [Reconstruction (Lv.1)], [Invasion (Unlocked)], and [Teleport (Unlocked)].
At the same time, a familiar translucent status bar, visible only to the player, unfolded at the edge of her vision. Below the [Starter Set (Fictional Version)], a new row of equipment items appeared:
[Equipment: Ether Cassette - Basic Type]
[Status: Activated]
【Function: Provide basic Ethernet editing capabilities】
"Yeah!" Players cheered loudly, they got new toys!
She immediately turned her gaze to the abandoned data terminal next to her. On the rusty chassis, several indicator lights flickered faintly in red, indicating a fault.
Lock on the target.
Consciousness Drive: [Scan]
In the field of vision, on the interface of the retinal projection, the rotating silver core glowed slightly.
The target terminal's physical outline, outer shell material, the vaguely visible internal circuit board structure, and even the flashing frequency of the fault indicator lights instantly transformed into clear data streams that poured into the interface like a waterfall. They were quickly categorized and organized, forming a small, constantly refreshing three-dimensional structural diagram next to the core.
【Analysis】Start!
The data stream was quickly disassembled. The extent of the casing's rust, the main fault point (a noticeably burnt power module), the remaining weak energy signal... were all marked one by one, the red fault mark standing out against the structural diagram.
The player's face was expressionless, but her eyes were focused. She tried to "touch" the icon on the interface that represented "Reconstruct."
Buzz!
The ether cassette vibrated slightly on the inside of her wrist, emitting a faint warm sensation.
On the retina interface, the icon representing the reconstruction capability lights up with a faint blue light.
The player concentrated and tried to "picture" with his mind - not to repair the burnt module (that was too complicated, and the progress bar was only 1%), but the simplest thing: to stop the annoying red fault light that kept flashing.
Thoughts are like an invisible carving knife, gently "wiping" across the flashing red dot representing the fault light on the structural diagram.
In the real world, the red indicator light on the abandoned terminal casing, which had been flashing persistently for who knows how long, seemed to be strangled by the throat. After a slight "beep", it suddenly went out, leaving only a dim hole.
The whole process takes no more than five seconds.
"It's done!" The player's mouth curled up slightly.
Although it is the most basic, almost prank-level operation, this feeling - directly interfering with the real data layer with thoughts - is much more interesting than simply using a screwdriver to disassemble the case!
This is so punk! Interesting!
She stood up, brushed off the dust on her pants, and rejoined the crowd on the street with the excitement of "opening up a new map".
The slightly warm ether cartridge on her wrist, the slowly rotating silver core on the retina interface, and the skill icons waiting to light up have all become her new toys for exploring this place where data and reality intertwine.
The player's eyes scanned the surroundings like a searchlight, looking for the next target worth "scanning" - perhaps the abnormally flashing traffic light on the street corner, perhaps the overly "clean" data traces on a passerby, or perhaps, the giant building in the distance with a waterfall-like encrypted data stream flowing on its surface, which was as ostentatious as a space fortress.
Neon lights made of data flowed in her eyes, and the cold steel jungle became a huge puzzle playground waiting to be solved.
Becoming a legendary hacker? Sounds like a great side quest. Humming a tuneless tune and taking a brisk walk, the player embarked on the next stop on her "technological tour" of Punklod.
——
at the same time.
Lin Chen's companions who were "eaten" by the game together with other 20,000 players who were scattered in different corners of the real world and happened to be playing the popular game "Punk Lord Spirit" were all dragged in and scattered all over the planet.
There is no novice village, no guiding elves, no supplies, only a line of "main tasks" on the retina that determines your fate.
Location: Lower level of the garbage disposal area in the "Rusty Corridor"
The air was filled with the pungent smell of motor oil, rusty metal, and some expired nutritional paste.
Nakahara Chuuya rubbed his elbow which was hurt from the fall and climbed up from a pile of discarded circuit boards and metal scraps.
He looked around. A massive robotic arm slowly moved on a track overhead, dumping tons of garbage into the bottomless crusher below, emitting a dull roar. The light screen on his wrist dimly lit up:
[Main Quest: Become the star butler of the 'Liuliting' restaurant! ]
Mission Description: Become the most popular butler in the 'Liuliting' (Popularity 0/10000), and obtain the 'Handle with Care' badge (0/1). Using supernatural powers to move any tableware is prohibited!
Chuuya: “???”
He stared at the screen, his orange hair about to explode. "Male...male servant?! And you're treating him with care?!"
He subconsciously wanted to use gravity to overturn a creaking abandoned shelf blocking his way, but he only felt a heavy sense of stagnation - in this world made up of data, the gravity control he was proud of seemed to be shackled and was extremely difficult to operate.
Chuuya held it back, his face flushed red, and he could only grit his teeth at the air: "Player——!!!"
He seriously suspected that Player was behind this broken system! Otherwise, why would his mission be to become a popular butler, something that was completely unrelated to him?
After walking around in indignation for a while, Nakahara Chuuya resigned himself to his fate, dusted off his overalls (although they were even dirtier), and began his arduous trek through this mountain of steel garbage, trying to find the entrance to the "Liulitei" restaurant that sounded outrageous.
Location: Edge of the Data Stream Public Access Plaza
Dazai Osamu sat on an abandoned data exchange pile, swinging his legs, watching the bizarre scene in front of him with interest.
A giant holographic billboard played a boisterous virtual idol concert. Aerial trains glided silently by, leaving long trails of light. Pedestrians wore bizarre clothing, their data cables tangled around their bodies like ornaments. His screen lit up:
[Main Quest: Obtain the 'Universal Wrench' certification!]
[Mission Description: Successfully assemble/repair one thousand different items at 'Old Buck's Repair Shop' (0/1000). Do not disassemble any non-mission target items!]
Dazai Osamu's iris-colored eyes blinked, and a subtle yet helpless arc appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Universal wrench? Assembly and repair?"
He looked down at his hands, which were always flipping through books, typing on the keyboard, or setting traps for people. He then thought about his "talent" that could instantly transform precision instruments into abstract works of art...
"Ah, this is really 'making the best use of people'." He jumped off the exchange pile lightly, and like a curious black cat, he strolled into the crowd and began to look for the "Old Buck Repair Shop" that sounded very "hardcore" with a clear goal.
Disassembly prohibited? Tsk, that would be half the fun.
Location: Neon Canyon Commercial Pedestrian Street
Oda Sakunosuke stood in the middle of the crowded pedestrian street, with holographic advertisements covering the sky and light tracks of flying vehicles passing by overhead.
Deafening electronic music and the voices of virtual idols mingled. He calmly glanced at the light screen on his wrist:
[Main Mission: Debut as the center in 'Star Dream Shining 101'!]
Mission Description: Pass the audition and enter the 'Star Dream Shining 101' training camp (0/1). Popularity points must reach 10,000.
Oda Sakunosuke's ahoge hair twitched almost imperceptibly.
C position...debut?
Odasaku looked down at his washed-out old coat and dusty overalls, then thought about his flat voice that was comparable to an AI reading and his face that was poor at controlling his expressions.
“…” He was silent for a few seconds, his eyes sweeping across a huge light screen on the street that was playing the gorgeous stage performances of previous “Star Dream Shining” performances.
A mission is a mission.
He took a step forward and, like a robot executing a program, began to look for the audition registration point for "Star Dream Shining 101" on the bustling streets.
Can a former assassin become an idol? Perhaps this experience could be written into a novel after it's made public...
Location: Outside the "Silent Spiral" Data Library
In stark contrast to the hustle and bustle outside, the air here is filled with the faint smell of ozone and the dusty scent of paper (albeit virtual) that is unique to data storage media.
Towering bookshelves, composed of flowing light data, pierce the invisible "sky." Ranpo stood in front of a suspended reading desk, staring at the light screen on his wrist with a look of despair:
[Main Quest: Obtain the 'Basic Mathematics Teacher Qualification Certificate'!]
[Task Description: Serve as a substitute teacher at 'Screw Elementary School'. Students' final average scores must reach the passing score (0/1). Using 'super reasoning' to directly give answers is prohibited!]
"Math—?!" Ranpo's voice rose an octave, tinged with disbelief and indignation. "A teaching certificate?! A great detective's wisdom is meant to solve the world's mysteries! Not to teach little brats that 1+1=2!"
He scratched his brown hair irritably, his green eyes filled with resistance.
The light screen flickered at the right moment, as if silently urging him.
Ranpo looked at the data volumes around him that were quietly floating and flickering with the glimmer of knowledge, and thought about the "Screw Primary School"... He groaned in pain, and like a warrior being escorted to the execution ground, he dragged his heavy steps and began to look for an exit to leave the library and go to the "Education Area".
We are all just super weak babies, right? How can babies understand the thoughts of a famous detective?
Location: Outside the "Healing Touch" public medical station
The air was filled with the faint scent of disinfectant and some kind of synthetic drug. Akiko stood beside an open-air booth offering basic medical consultations, watching the medical robots in white protective suits busying around inside. Her screen lit up:
[Main Quest: Obtain the 'Peace Dove' Medal!]
Mission Description: Successfully mediate at least 100 disputes at the Neighborhood Harmony Mediation Center (0/100). The use of any violence (including verbal threats) and medical equipment is prohibited!
Jingzi raised an eyebrow and subconsciously touched her waist with her fingers - of course, it was empty.
Her usual scalpel didn't come in with her.
"Peace dove? Mediating disputes?" She looked at the light screen, then at the robot in the medical booth that was clumsily applying a fever-reducing patch to a drunk man who was complaining of a headache, and a slightly cold arc appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"I can't chop people, nor can I 'persuade' them physically, I can only use my mouth..." This task is really difficult for her...
She took a deep breath, suppressed the urge in her bones to directly "solve" the "trouble" when faced with it, turned and walked towards the residential area that looked more chaotic and more likely to cause "neighborhood disputes".
No violence? Fine, just treat it as a practice session.
Location: Lower level of the vertical farming area of the Sprout Greenhouse
The children (about seven or eight) huddled dazedly under a huge pipe plant rack that smelled of soil and nutrient solution.
Above their heads were layers of plantings, emitting soft artificial light. All sorts of bizarre-looking fruits and vegetables grew in transparent tubes. Their screens all lit up, with surprisingly consistent content:
[Main Quest: Obtain the 'Hardworking Little Bee' Award!]
Mission Description: Complete a one-month internship in basic farming at the Sweet Fruit Plantation (0/1). Complete daily quotas for picking, irrigation, and pest control.
"Plant...farm?" A slightly older boy looked at the light screen, then looked at the sci-fi planting equipment around him and scratched his head.
Another little girl curiously touched a glowing blue tomato in a nearby pipe. "It seems different from the ones on the farm?"
"It's so high here..." The children chattered, feeling a little curious and uneasy.
There is no Player sister's armored vehicle, no familiar farm companions, only cold task prompts.
They looked at each other, and finally, led by an older child, began to carefully search for the plantation called "Sweet Fruit" in this steel jungle-like greenhouse.
At least, they have learned a lot about farming in these few months.
Location: Central Plaza of the Aurora Dome Entertainment District
Gojo Satoru stood in the center of the square, ignoring the noisy crowd and blaring music. He raised his chin slightly, his sky-blue eyes behind his small round sunglasses scanning this bizarre world of data, a playful smile playing on his lips. His screen lit up:
[Main Quest: Become the signature pastry chef of the 'Sugar Storm' dessert shop!]
[Task Description: Independently create and sell 1000 copies of the 'Dream Puff Tower' (0/1000). Do not use 'Unlimited Spells' to control ingredients or speed up the process!]
"Huh?" The smile on Gojo Satoru's face froze for a moment. He lowered his head to look at the light screen, then looked up at a dessert shop not far away called "Sugar Storm" that was decorated in a dreamy pink color and had a long line of people waiting at the door. On the huge holographic sign was rotating an extremely complex-looking golden tower made up of countless puffs stacked together.
"Pastry chef? Dreamy puff tower?" Gojo Satoru, the strongest in the world of spells, is interested in eating all kinds of sweets and calls himself a perfect man - of course, making desserts is also a piece of cake for him!
He pushed up his small round sunglasses, and his six eyes accurately captured an apprentice robot in the dessert shop who was busy and squeezing cream everywhere.
"Tsk, looks like I have to do it myself? What a hassle... But..." He put on that signature, confident smile again, "With my learning ability, it shouldn't take me a minute to make a puff tower."
He took long strides and walked straight towards "Sugar Storm", but he felt a little uncomfortable because his magic power was banned and he couldn't use it.
Location: "Gear Alley" Mechanical Scrap Recycling Station
Geto Xia Yu frowned, carefully avoiding the strange-smelling oil that was flowing on the ground. Nitro, on the other hand, fanned her nose with her hand in disgust.
The surroundings were filled with rusty mechanical debris and discarded prosthetic limbs. Their screens lit up at the same time:
Geto Suguru: [Main Quest: Obtain the 'Environmental Pioneer' Ribbon!]
Mission Description: Sort and arrange 1000 kg of recyclable waste at the Gear Alley recycling station (0/1000). Do not use cursed spirits to carry or sort the waste!
Ieiri Glass: [Main Quest: Obtain the 'Resurrection (Mechanical)' certification!]
[Mission Description: Assist in completing 100 basic prosthetic maintenance sessions at the 'Old Vic Prosthetic Clinic' (0/100). Use of reversal techniques is prohibited!]
As Geto Suguru looked at the words "Environmental Protection Pioneer" and "1,000 kg of sorted waste", his forehead twitched slightly.
Glass looked at the tasks of "Prosthetic Maintenance" and "Prohibition of Reversal of Techniques" and sighed.
She was familiar with the intricacies of the human body, but robotic prostheses? That was another realm entirely.
"Looks like I have to start all over again." She shrugged helplessly at the darkened face of Geto Suguru. "At least it sounds more technical than Geto's 'Environmental Pioneer'?"
Geto Summer Oil: “…”
He silently picked up a twisted metal pipe from the side and began to think about what 1,000 kilograms meant.
In the cold data torrent of Punklord, 20,000 players who were forced to start absurd "careers" are scattered in every corner under the steel sky.
Their main quests are like cold jokes, shattering their inherent identities, abilities and even common sense.
There is no external aid, no novice gift pack, only the flashing task prompts on the wrist and the invisible pressure brought by the "shared life pool".
A survival (and working) game full of black humor and extreme contrasts has just begun.
The instigator, Player, was currently squatting behind a neon sign on a high-rise building, enthusiastically using his newly acquired [Ether Editing] ability to try to change the flashing slogan "Super Sense Link!" into "Super Sense Shame!"
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