Chapter 10 Let's Set Sail, ███! "Someone's chasing you."...
The water platform resembles two narrow water droplets with their tips aligned, but not entirely; the droplets are only two-thirds the size of a droplet, and the water platform to the left rear is not connected.
A massive harbor rises from the sea, with two perfectly symmetrical teardrop-shaped terminals standing side by side, mirror-like.
A kilometer-long approach bridge extends straight into the sea, like a chain, tethering Zuogang, the route they came by.
The ∞-shaped aerial tunnel outlines Palembang, with the side closer to the coast higher and the side facing the sea lowered to the second floor for easy boarding.
The left port is made of transparent glass, while the right port is a solid metal tube, resembling a giant ventilation duct.
Another pipe extends from the two vertices of ∞, connecting the two terminals, but the only intersection of ∞ has been blocked, cutting off the only passage between the left and right ports.
They are at Terminal 1 in Zuogang.
Terminal 1 looks like a dilapidated factory, but at least it's a technologically advanced one, and it's still operational. The only access road between the left and right ports is closed, and the right port is completely abandoned.
The equipment was all left to gather dust, and he had nowhere to stay, which was a major blind spot for him outside of Zuogang.
The other is the Destiny cruise ship, which is about to dock. Like the protagonist of a horror movie, it is the last ship of the day to arrive from the storm.
Based on the current clues, Zuogang is just a stopover point; the game won't stay there forever, and the program, or rather the "story," will inevitably move forward.
He has a grand but empty title of "controlling Hong Kong," but in reality, his authority is limited even in Hong Kong. It is just a trap that lulls him into a false sense of security and makes him forget the dangers.
He must leave first and sneak into the next game's main arena, which is the first real test that all players who realize this will face.
It's also a good opportunity to boost popularity, since seventh place sounds very appealing.
The question is, will the next main battleground be the Destiny or Right Port?
Xue Chao: "Border inspection uses the electronic channel, and you can wear a life jacket under your coat."
After he finished speaking, the machine cabinet next to Pu Fengchun opened its "fish mouth," and rows of life jackets were neatly arranged. The fish fins turned and made a "please" gesture. Pu Fengchun, who was a little confused, had no choice but to respectfully comply.
“It’s not orange, please take the dark green life jacket.” Based on the fog detection plan and the “dark green garbage bag” by the water platform, Xue Chao deduced that this was a safety device with a function greater than a simple life jacket, and he also roughly guessed what it was. “You should speed up, the Port of Destiny is about to arrive, or you will miss it.”
Suddenly, the long blast of a ship's horn broke through the rainy night, slowly approaching from afar. The red signal lights, like the ominous eyes of a monster, flickered on and off. The silhouette of the Destiny emerged from the rain and mist, descending like a colossal ship. The long blast sounded again; the cruise ship was about to dock.
The border inspection pace quickened, and on both sides of the boarding gate stood two fish-shaped guard robots with long fins holding long guns. Their tails were much longer than the previous robots, and the ends were becoming increasingly narrow, making them almost unlike fish.
These are probably the most intelligent machines in Zuogang, besides Xue Chao. Whenever a passenger passes through, a spiked gun will open the passenger's collar, and another fin will sweep across their skin to stamp a "pass" mark, like an assembly line for inspecting whether food meets standards.
Because of blood loss and shock, everyone was pale and emaciated, like a flock of ducks being herded onto the boarding passage, waiting for the arrival of that behemoth to send them to the other side of their fate.
What would happen if I missed it?
"The Destiny is the last ship of the day. Giant Harbor will close after it departs."
But the Destiny docks at 11:30, which is now. After passengers have finished boarding and disembarking, it will be past midnight, and it will be a new day. So Pu Fengchun asked, "What about tomorrow?"
"If there is a tomorrow."
"..."
"A little bit of humor, but it doesn't look very good."
"The person who designed you is definitely a megalomaniac with no sense of humor."
Xue Chao shrugged his non-existent shoulder, taking it as a compliment.
The Destiny has arrived at the port. The gangway has been lowered and the pipes have been connected. The fish-shaped guards just stamp the documents without even looking at them.
Pu Fengchun blended into the crowd and was stamped. The ink was reddish-brown with blood, and she didn't know what kind of flesh and blood tissue was connected to it. It was sticky and cold, like being licked by a cold-blooded animal. She controlled her trembling instinct and stepped into the aerial tunnel called "The Giant's Arm".
Passengers left one after another, wandering aimlessly, as the dark, gloomy atmosphere of a stormy sea of clouds poured through the pipes, scattering over them like zombies.
She glanced instinctively in the opposite direction; the pipes were covered with prohibition signs, their faded yellow and curled edges telling the story behind them, reading "No Entry"—the only road leading to Right Harbor.
"Is the person you're looking for also on the Destiny? I'm already on board, can you still contact me like this... J? Are you there?"
There was no response from the earphones, and Pu Fengchun suddenly felt uneasy. She tapped the earphone body lightly, but there was no response. It was as if the AI had suddenly disappeared.
However, J wasn't originally an AI specifically designed to serve her. Managing the entire cruise port meant J had many things to handle; with the cruise ship docked, it should be busy with more important matters. She reassured herself.
"ah--!"
Suddenly, all the lights in the pipes went out, plunging the area into darkness. Panic-stricken cries rose and fell, startling the numb crowd into a jumble of shoves and shoves, like a group of shrimp jumping around in a pot.
In a panic, someone turned on the flashlight function of their watch. The light moved out the window, illuminating the mottled marks on the ship's side, which looked like rust corroded by seawater or dried blood flowing from the cracks in the ship's side. The ship looked like a terrifying dead thing. The ferocious fish-shaped machine was moving around wildly, guarding the gangway. The red light shooting from its fish eyes kept sweeping over them, as if urging them to hurry up.
Pu Fengchun's heart skipped a beat, and he asked in a low voice, "What happened!"
Xue Chao replied after a while: "Someone is hacking into Giant Harbor's system. I'm dealing with it. I don't know what the hacker's purpose is yet, but if you want to board the ship, please do so as soon as possible."
After he finished speaking, he estimated that the feigned struggle with the hacker was enough. Pretending to have found a breakthrough, he continued to allow the hacker's attack to proceed. The electronic channel of the border inspection area suddenly malfunctioned and plunged into darkness along with the pipeline.
He used a feigned retreat to advance, taking advantage of the chaos, and answered Pu Fengchun's question: "My authority is limited to Giant Port. If you wish, I can access your device system."
Although the AI rules imposed on him by the system stated "no unauthorized absence from duty," as if there were some severe punishment, if he didn't leave his post, he would be immediately punished. He first needed to find a medium for his AI consciousness to escape from Zuogang.
Pu Fengchun's watch then vibrated slightly, a pop-up application appeared, and there was a "^^" emoji in the upper left corner:
[“J” has issued a “full permissions request” to your device. Do you agree?]
【whether】
Xue Chao discovered that one of the players was a hacker.
The other party is very clever. Rather than an attack, it is more of a probe, a slow and steady approach, like repeatedly stroking an eggshell, looking for weaknesses and waiting for the opportunity to penetrate.
So Xue Chao went with the flow, neither driving the other away nor letting him in. He simply used the defense systems that all electronic devices should have to deal with it, like a lifeless, dead program. But he knew that both he and the other party were waiting for a good opportunity.
Now is the perfect time.
"...That tattooed guy came out, and he kept muttering incoherently, like he was possessed. I don't know if the ritual was successful or not. Their methods...tsk, I hope it didn't work. The rest are at the border control. One has already boarded the ship, and the trench coat guy and the bespectacled young man will be there soon too." The watch transmitted a hacked, distorted voice.
"What bad luck to run into hyenas here too..." Zhu Wen, chased by the entire building, couldn't hide his disgust. He leaped from the second floor to the lobby on the first floor. A ferocious hyena with its mouth wide open followed closely behind. As soon as its front paws touched the ground, Zhu Wen raised his hand and yanked, hoisting the fishing line tangled around the hyena's hind leg. The hyena crashed into the second-floor ceiling, and the line loosened, knocking down the hyena pack that followed. "Where is that woman? Did she get on the boat?"
"She went into the pipe with the crowd. She's really lucky. You used blood to cause trouble, and I pushed her down, but she didn't die." Hacker Yan Bocheng pretended not to know her on the bus, acting like he was in the know and playing along with Zhu Wen. He followed Zhu Wen's lead and revealed his name to the other players, cooperating to confuse them. This time, hiding in a secluded place, he could finally send a message to his companions.
"Of course she couldn't do it herself."
"You mean..."
"They've hacked in, haven't they? Take control of the terminal, I'm going after her—"
Zhu Wen licked his little tiger teeth, threaded his fishing line through the broken French window, and swung directly up the outside of the building to the third floor. With his hood over his head, he nimbly jumped over the electronic passageway in the darkness.
He's the kind of person who holds a grudge and seeks revenge.
"Someone is pursuing you," Xue Chao warned.
Pu Fengchun, who was hesitating, suddenly looked up. To his left and ahead, at the gangway connecting to the boarding gate, the fish-shaped machine had already noticed something was wrong and swam toward the pipe. When it got closer, he realized that it was not a machine, but a real dead fish moving!
The terrifying cruise ship lies behind the dead fish, coldly commanding its accomplices.
The right rear connects to the third floor, which is pitch black, but judging from the chaotic sounds, strange machines are forcing passengers into the pipes and blocking the doors... Someone in that darkness is watching her, she thought of the hand that pushed her in the customs area crowd.
Caught between two forces, with no way out, hell lies ahead and an abyss behind.
The life-or-death moment in the customs inspection area flashed before her eyes. When Xue Chao's prompt appeared again, she was determined not to die and started running without hesitation, squeezing into the gaps in the crowd and going against the flow of people to the back.
As they passed the border inspection entrance, all the illuminated devices in the third-floor lobby lit up red, and the scarlet text Xue Chao had set up immediately surrounded them, scrolling rapidly: 【Giant Harbor System Under Hacking Attack!!! Giant Harbor System Under Hacking Attack!!! Passengers please ████!!!】
Xue Chao frowned. It seemed that the Zuo Gang system had triggered a keyword and automatically blocked his words.
The warning red light illuminated the numerous figures in the third-floor lobby—robots herding chickens and ducks, passengers being stamped and forced to enter, and passengers being pushed and shoved as they tried to escape…
And a petite figure wearing a hood was climbing over the electronic border control channel in a corner where no one was paying attention.
The robot, acting as a "guard," instantly locked onto the target, and countless red lights shot from its fish-eyes converged on Zhu Wen in an instant, immediately exposing the boy who had silently infiltrated and making him the focus of the entire scene.
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