Chapter 159, 142857: "This is the final step in extracting the gold..."
"The art of alchemy is the process of transforming base metals into precious metals, especially gold."
The TV was playing a long commercial, but the content was strange; it taught people how to extract trace amounts of gold from scrap metal.
Strengthening acid, filtration, impurity separation... step by step, but at the last step, an urgent news report was suddenly inserted.
News Channel 8: The prisoner's trial will be moved up to tonight.
The big screen outside the window is showing this news, and my phone is also getting news notifications and trending topics about it.
By the time the news ended, the advertising time had been used up, and the originally scheduled TV drama was seamlessly broadcast. The final step of metal extraction remained unknown.
The television showed no further abnormalities. Xue Chao set up two mobile phones to monitor the situation in real time before leaving the house.
Strange things have already happened, but the murder case is also worth paying attention to, and it just so happens to have happened earlier than expected... He wants to go to the scene to see for himself.
The square was crowded with people. Police were maintaining order with a cordon, and people outside the cordon were holding up protest signs, waiting for the damned murderer.
Television reporters were also present. One reporter from Channel 8 hurriedly pushed aside Xue Chao in the front row, showed his work ID to the police, and quickly entered the scene.
"I'm in the central square right now, and you can see the public's intense interest in this case. There's still some time before the trial starts—oh, the suspect has arrived!"
The bald man was escorted off the bus by the police. His somewhat muscular body shrank slightly, and he remained silent. But his dark eyes slowly swept over the indignant crowd, and a provocative smile crept onto his face.
Completely unrepentant!
The crowd erupted in uproar, and the police almost couldn't stop them. The escorting officer pressed down hard on the man's back, yelling, "Behave yourself!"
The man's laughter grew louder, as if he was about to say something, when an egg was thrown at him and shattered on his face, the sticky yolk sliding down. His gloomy eyes darted around, and people outside the police line began throwing vegetables and garbage at him one after another, everyone wearing an angry face, as if they were dealing with rats in the street. The escorting police had no choice but to quicken their pace.
The public's anger ignited this demon, who was not ashamed but proud. Even when he was pulled to the ground and staggered, he dared to let out a deafening laugh, further fueling everyone's anger.
"Death penalty! Death penalty! Death penalty!"
"Quiet! Quiet! Don't disrupt the trial!" The police officer maintaining order shouted through a megaphone. A whooshing sound was hidden beneath his shout as a stray bullet flew precisely toward the prisoner's head.
However, the unrepentant murderer was blessed by Lady Luck. The bullet passed through the square and struck a reporter who happened to be moving towards the courthouse entrance to explain the entire process of the murderer being escorted into the courthouse. The reporter fell to the ground and became the scapegoat.
Seconds later, the screams near the courthouse entrance spread like dominoes to the other side, and before the angry crowd could calm down, it descended into even greater chaos.
Running away, trampling, screaming replaced the original curses.
The cordon was ineffective. Police drew their weapons to try to calm the crowd, but a second shot followed immediately. The perpetrator had just stepped into the courthouse when he heard the commotion and turned around excitedly, only to have a bullet pierce his forehead.
He remained with a spectator's expression, lying stiffly at the entrance of the courthouse, blood flowing everywhere.
The murderer's shooting led to a new case, which was the change they were looking for, but in Xue Chao's eyes, ordinary criminal cases were no longer enough.
Many players were lurking in the square. Xue Chao would occasionally glance at the camera positions to keep track of different perspectives and the players' movements.
A member of the public outside the line, a photographer holding a camera, and a policeman escorting a prisoner—they all pretend to be some kind of NPC.
The player disguised as a police officer immediately hid inside the courthouse, leaned against the wall, and observed the murderer's body.
This is what made Xue Chao frown deeply—in all the players' cameras, the reporter and the murderer were bleeding, red blood, but in front of Xue Chao, the liquid spreading under the corpse was golden, like molten gold.
The reporter's work pass is for TV 8, and the advertisement for gold refining is for TV 8.
The advertisement didn't just disappear; the interstitial news segment included the ending, the final step in extracting the gold.
Upon closer inspection, he realized that the "players" on the scene were not disguised players, but rather the original NPCs who had been replaced by players.
He and the players weren't even in the same location.
Sure enough! Xue Chao had been thinking, if the area outside the dungeon's regular range isn't the dungeon's main area, then what about within it?
He sent a message in the group, reminding players to pay attention to the news live stream.
Then he calmly walked through the chaotic crowd, approached the reporter lying on the ground, picked up the reporter's work badge from the liquid gold, and hung it around his neck.
He gestured with his chin, indicating to the terrified cameraman to raise his camera; the live stream was still going on.
"Hello viewers, I am Xue Chao, a reporter from Channel 8."
Xue Chao turned to the side, revealing the reporter's corpse and the murderer's corpse in the distance outside the courthouse.
"As you can see... this is the final step in extracting the gold."
[Recommended host's alternate identity: News Channel 8 reporter (this alternate identity cannot be freely selected)]
The host role has been revealed.
Han Zheng stared at the liquid gold at the host's feet in the live stream on her phone, then looked up at the pool of blood in the distance. So that's how it is. She turned and disappeared from the square.
They are no longer in the same world.
Xue Chao on television reveals a deeper layer of the world.
At a supermarket near the square, Zhuo leaned against the door, scratching lottery tickets. He didn't win, sighed, and changed to the next one. He glanced at the small screen in the supermarket. The host in the black coat looked very photogenic; his face was perfect for the screen. Behind him, some people in the crowd returned and gathered at the police line, staring intently at the gold flowing from the corpse.
But when Zhuo Yi looked up, everyone was running outside, and the police tape was covered in dust as it rolled around under their feet.
The group was discussing this matter, but Xue Chao, who was at the center of the discussion, didn't say anything and didn't reply to private messages.
If Xue Chao didn't do it intentionally, then it's because he's not in the same world as them, and the message couldn't be transmitted.
Xue Chao also discovered through the camera angle that the message was blocked, and the strange thing happened after he bought the discs at the audio-visual store.
Like the videotape world in the school scenario, has he now entered the world of discs?
The players also determined their direction: the main stage of the dungeon was on the television.
In the next level of the world, Xue Chao went to the audio-visual store again, bought a few discs and took them home, but this time nothing unusual happened.
Isn't a disc a medium? Is any electronic screen acceptable?
He took out the disc and switched back to the original TV channel, which was showing a mineral water commercial.
Xue Chao looked carefully but found nothing unusual, so he was somewhat disappointed. He then browsed the internet for clues while listening to the sounds from the television.
At this moment, the system notification arrived.
His host identity, which he had unlocked for half the night, turned gray again and became "to be unlocked" once more.
Is this even possible?
In the Giant's Harbor instance, even with Left Harbor closed, he was still AI Yotner. Now, only half a night has passed, and he's no longer a Channel 8 reporter...
Xue Chao had a flash of inspiration and sent an emoji in the group chat. This time, the players saw his message, and it immediately went viral.
All players have entered the world of the disc, which is the "inner layer" of the original world.
Now they're on the same floor, but he's not on the TV the players are watching, so he can't be their channel host.
If he wants to unlock his identity, he must be one level ahead of the player in the world.
How many layers of the world are there?
Just then, he suddenly realized that the TV had already aired four or five commercials, but they were all related to water.
There's a mineral water ad, two beverage ads, a new milk tea brand ad, and now a milk brand promotion is airing: buy a case and get a co-branded water bottle free.
Xue Chao stared intently at the advertisement, which had a high-end feel and cleverly used the interplay of light and shadow. The co-branded water bottle was placed in a dark place, and then pure white milk was poured in, making it as smooth as silk.
But Xue Chao heard a faint scream.
He picked up the phone that was recording the video and reviewed the advertisement again. The mineral water advertisement emphasized that it was made from spring water. In the advertisement design, the reflection of the mountain was reflected on the surface of the water in the bottle, and the shadow of a little person was hidden in the reflection!
The advertisements for beverages and milk tea are also very subtle, with little figures inside the bottles.
Players in the group kept asking about the situation. He had just sent out an explanation, but had not received a response. The players were still asking.
He had somehow arrived in the world of the second disc again, one level ahead of the players. So this was a strange thing in the new world.
The night was deep, and the streets, which were quite lively during the day, were deserted, deliberately quiet. The nightlife in the upper two worlds was still quite vibrant.
Xue Chao walked alone in the quiet neighborhood. He walked very lightly and made no sound. The closer he got to the corner of Unit 8, the louder the "thud" sound of the blade piercing his body became.
Another murderer?
Xue Chao hid around the corner, secretly observing.
A man squatted on the ground, clutching a black plastic bag. The cat's bloody leg protruded, covered in knife wounds. He squeezed it hard, and the blood flowed into a bottle he held in his other hand.
The man stared excitedly at the falling column of blood.
There was already blood in the bottle, and this cat's blood filled the last gap in the bottle.
Xue Chao, hiding behind the man, was also curious about what was going to happen.
But nothing happened. The man's expression gradually contorted; he shook the bottle frantically, finally smashing it on the ground and running away.
Xue Chao approached and stared at the spreading bloodstains—he understood; the man was looking for gold.
"Recently, several cases of animal abuse have occurred..."
The big screen was broadcasting the latest news. Xue Chao listened and searched online. After the trial, dozens of cases of animal abuse had occurred, causing a great uproar online, but there were no videos.
The perpetrator's main purpose was not to find satisfaction in abusing animals, so he did not record his "works" and sell them to fellow enthusiasts.
They were there to extract gold.
But the effect was not good; the animals could not produce golden blood.
So many people tried to turn flesh into gold in one night; sooner or later they'll turn on people.
Not only the golden blood, but also the bottle—it's the energy drink featured in the advertisement.
According to rumors circulating on social media, the popular brand "Water Elf" has confirmed a new spokesperson and will be filming an advertisement in a building tomorrow.
Xue Chao took advantage of the darkness to sneak in ahead of time, but unexpectedly, the advertisement was to be filmed at midnight.
The filming has already finished, and the celebrity who is endorsing the product has other events to attend and has already flown away, but the scene is still bustling and chaotic.
The director snapped, "Didn't I say there were a few more close-up shots of them getting wet? Is he the only one busy?"
"He said a body double would be fine..."
"Where am I supposed to find a stand-in for him in the middle of the night! He's so unprofessional!"
Xue Chao disguised himself as a staff member and mingled in the filming location, which was a swimming pool. Taking advantage of the chaos and everyone's frantic state, he grabbed a bottle of beverage.
He had been observing these drinks for a long time, but there were no little people inside.
Animal blood cannot be turned into gold, but the blood of the dead can. So what about the blood of the living?
He opened the bottle cap and secretly dripped a drop of blood into it, but was stopped by the director, who was watching from all sides: "Hey you over there, yes, you, come here!"
With his back to the director, Xue Chao quickly tightened the bottle cap and ran to the director.
The director looked him up and down, his irritated eyes growing brighter. His gaze lingered for a long time on the sexy physique that even the fully armed black hoodie couldn't hide, before he patted the man's arm with satisfaction: "Go change into a white shirt now and fill in for a few shots."
Xue Chao feigned a bit of timidity and eagerness to seize the opportunity, and was taken by the staff to change clothes and put on makeup.
This shot shows him swimming upstream underwater, lifting the drink to the surface.
Xue Chao held his drink and plunged it into the water. The water enveloped him, blocking out the sounds from the shore. He could only faintly hear the director shouting 3, 2, 1.
After the director finished speaking, he held up his drink and swam to the surface.
But he couldn't break through; he felt he was being overwhelmed.
In the blink of an eye, he was more than ten meters away from the water's surface, but how deep was this pool?
Fortunately, he was experienced. He had tied the prop rope to the ladder when he went into the water, and now he was desperately climbing up the rope.
Fortunately, the pool does have a certain depth, unlike the strange pool in the school library, where there's always a fixed distance between you, making climbing futile.
He emerged from the water, and the world around him distorted, as if covered by a curved glass.
He swam to the edge and tried to look out. Outside was the filming location, and it was enormous.
He immediately re-examined his surroundings—he had shrunk, and he was inside a bottle!
In the pool at the filming location, the person who went into the water vanished into thin air, leaving only the bottle of drink he was holding, which slowly sank to the bottom of the pool, leaving the people around him looking at each other in bewilderment.
And the bottle he was in was the very one from which he had spilled his blood.
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