Chapter 4242 [Wang Aila]
Gray...Cave...
Isn't that the horror game about invading Earth that was on the news? N was the suspected boss.
Tu Lanxun looked at the emulator "U disk". It was a bit like the card-based games from many years ago. Could you play "Gray City Cave" by plugging it into your computer?
But why was she playing that? That game could kill people! And who put it in her pocket? It was obvious she had a hidden agenda: to make Tu Lanxun more aware of N's terror, so she could distance herself from him, run away from him, or even kill him.
She guessed that it was either the golden mirror ghost, or... N himself.
Are they finally going to take action against her? In order to free her from the 20.22-meter bondage, they have to trick Tu Lanxun into the game world and then take action after achieving a certain goal!
Tu Lanxun should have just pretended not to see it and destroyed the simulator before throwing it away, but she hesitated.
"Gray City Cave" is the most invasive spooky game currently. As N mentioned, the magical incense sticks that can make ghosts eat are one of the props, and the universal currency in the game is gold - gold cookies.
There are more magical props and wealth in the game...
If you can enter that world, you will have wonderful opportunities; if you can't enter, it's just a simulation, so what's the harm?
Tu Lanxun held the USB drive and tried to plug the adapter into his phone. A dialog box popped up, flashing like a virus.
Gray City Simulator.203.Experimental Version
(Anti-data theft mode is on, please don't worry about screen leaks)
Tu Lanxun felt relieved, as if she no longer had to worry about N snooping into her phone. However, the following "User Agreement Terms" gave her a pause. It wasn't a ton of rules and regulations, but there was one: it recommended that the game be played with a YX06 or higher VR headset.
It's not that there isn't one. The store just happened to have a YX06 helmet, which Bai Chao brought out from the villa to entertain Bai Xiaoju. It can be connected to a mobile phone or computer.
I went downstairs to borrow one. N was tinkering with a floor scrubber downstairs. He was wearing oversized housekeeping gloves over his black gloves. He was arranging several bottles and cups, mixing a rather complicated cleaning solution. The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of bubbles.
Tu Lanxun returned to the second floor with the helmet, connected her phone, confirmed that the screen was off and transferred the connection to the helmet, and put the helmet on. The colorful glare pierced her retina, causing her entire gravity perception organ to pause for a moment and slowly adapt.
The YX06 generation VR helmet uses full consciousness control. Tu Lanxun lies on the bed and does not need to move, nor can she move. The connection between her brain and body is temporarily cut off. She only relies on consciousness to control her virtual body and look around.
What appeared before my eyes was a world completely different from the second floor of the convenience store.
Lucheng is already a first-tier provincial capital. Its gray city walls, taller than its buildings, exude a futuristic feel, with hues of dark blue and silver. Beyond the skyline, aircraft move in an orderly fashion, following orbits through space.
The glass-clear sky with a cyan tint and the distant clouds formed a sharp contrast with the low gray walls, sewers and trash cans in front of Tu Lanxun.
【Birth Point x1】A line of words quietly appeared and then disappeared silently.
Tu Lanxun heard a crisp sound like the shaking of a wind chime, and the configuration panel suddenly appeared in front of him. The walls and trash cans were coated in gray and were hidden behind the words "Welcome to the Gray Cave".
Next is [Please select your identity].
There are two identity selection boxes.
1. Ordinary citizens
2. Hospital internal staff (not allowed in the first week)
I could only move around the Gray City Cave as an ordinary citizen for now. Tu Lanxun clicked OK, and the second panel, [Outfit Configuration], quickly popped up.
The game's face-shaping process was automated. The VR headset pulled her consciousness out and asked her individually if she consented to have her facial data read. Naturally, Tu Lanxun refused, so the system assigned her a default character image.
There are three initial character images: one is an ordinary but lively girl [Wang Aila], one is an equally ordinary and weak young man [Lu Kai], and the other is a yellow calico stray cat [Rui Yi].
The first two are free, and the last one is a limited edition bonus for the anniversary mission. Moreover, the simulator does not seem to be the complete version of the game, and even the mission channel is not open. The mission should have expired long ago. The kitten Rui Yi is gray and cannot be selected.
Tu Lanxun, wearing the leather suit of Wang Aila, spun twice in front of the mirror dialog box. She used Wang Aila's real name.
The third preparation step is [Equipment Wearing]. Tu Lanxun does not have any initial equipment, only a prop that is similar in shape to a USB flash drive. The style of painting is incompatible with "Gray Cave".
Its name is: [Game Pause-Simulator Plug-in]
It opened to a very erotic user manual, written entirely in thin, regular script on a white background. The dialog box was so old-fashioned that it seemed to be on a separate layer from the game. In summary, the function of this [Game Pause] is...
The game can be paused during normal time, and the progress bar can be extended during crisis events.
Tu Lanxun returned to the game and, looking down, discovered his body had transformed into Wang Aila's. A breeze simulated by his helmet blew towards him, a refreshing feeling, especially compared to the giant screen advertisement in the distance.
Advertisements about "electronic souls" are everywhere, advocating for citizens to give up their bodies and transform themselves into electronic souls for free, so that they can avoid high living costs and taxes and enjoy an immortal and youthful life.
——But Tu Lanxun had already read in the game’s opening screen that the electronic soul was a complete scam set up by the city’s top leaders.
The surgery is indeed free, electronic souls do not need to eat or drink physical food, and even their sleep needs are very different, but nothing can be obtained for free.
Because the price of surgery isn't money, but the patient's identity and heart. In the Gray City, the heart is the gathering place of prohibitions, and all desires and emotions are controlled by the heart.
Losing one's heart means losing one's rationality. So it's conceivable that all electronic souls possess a voracious appetite, gluttony, and indulgence in pleasure without end.
However, what awaited them was that virtual enjoyment also required money, and the monthly quota of virtual goods was insufficient. Moreover, because electronic souls did not get bored, their spending felt unrealistic, and the cooldown period was completely eliminated, leaving only waves of higher and higher gains.
In the end, they will all become monsters devoured by desire, heavily in debt. In order to get a little bit of money for happiness, they can only sign unequal work agreements. The better ones will install electronic souls into bionic bodies and go to high-end entertainment venues to sell their dignity.
The worse ones are directly put into factories and become the core of the programs for producing robotic arms and even machine tools. They repeat the same process over and over again day and night until their electronic soul is worn out by the roar and smell of engine oil, leaving only a small ball of instinctive conditioned reflexes, and completely bid farewell to their identity as human beings.
When these things are occasionally mentioned, people who don't know the full story will just say, "Oh, it's because they are too greedy!"
Tu Lanxun continued walking out of the alley, keeping the essence of "Gray Cave" in mind.
In the first round, the randomly assigned identity is a native citizen. After returning to the apartment of only 15 square meters, the first task [A Job] automatically lights up. Tu Lanxun needs to use the mobile phone in the game to find a job.
There are very few jobs available for an ordinary character like "her" with a C-level education score, a D-level appearance score, and an E-level background and connections score. She can either work as a low-level clerk in a small or medium-sized company, answering 10,000 calls a day for a monthly salary of 2,800 yuan, with no basic insurance and a 996 work schedule;
Or you can work as a night shift cleaner in an underground boxing ring. Your job is to clean up the remains of boxers, spectators, and entertainers, including but not limited to blood, teeth, and vomit. If you win the jackpot, you can even sweep up half a severed finger or something.
The second type of money paid was more than the first type, and the underground boxing ring actually provided insurance. As a New Century Earthling, Tu Lanxun headed towards the second type without hesitation.
Thanks to the time difference, Tu Lanxun quickly got through the initial stages of her work. The text message read: "You've become accustomed to a nocturnal routine and have formed a friendship with Rita, the night shift receptionist."
Rita's model is a blonde, but her face is firmly hidden under a torn veil and her chin is hidden in a high petal-shaped collar, which means that her face is completely invisible.
[Rita tells you that her real identity is the daughter of the boxing ring manager and she's just doing some odd job. You're not sure if she's just drunk and bragging, but Rita invites you to buy flowers at Meizhen Flower Shop tomorrow morning after get off work...]
【Please choose to accept or reject the offer.】
Tu Lanxun of course chose to accept the invitation. The time jumped to the next morning. It was a rainy day. Everything was wet under the light gray sky. She controlled [Wang Ella] to cross the zebra crossing and came to the place agreed with Rita - the entrance of Meizhen Flower Shop.
It had been more than ten minutes, but Rita hadn't come.
Tu Lanxun stood still. The helmet's neural induction function worked perfectly, and every drop of rain felt like it was hitting her scalp. In high-degree-of-freedom mode, she could choose to call Rita, but no one answered.
Just as I was about to leave, I turned around and saw a female figure lying on the zebra crossing on the other side. Her gray coat blended perfectly into the road surface, and her white boots, one in front and one behind, happened to blend into the white painted area.
That was Rita. Her body was lying there as if invisible, motionless. Her veil was replaced by bandages covering her entire head and face. Blood was flowing out from the gaps in the bandages. Tu Lanxun ran over, squatted down, and hugged her.
"Sorry for being late...but I really need the money..." Rita said weakly.
As the countdown started, Tu Lanxun used the voice function of the VR headset to ask, "What happened?"
"Wang Aila, listen to me." Rita called her in-game name, her voice so weak it seemed to tickle her ears. "I won't become an electronic soul... Remember this... Let me die..."
"Let me die... let me die..."
When Tu Lanxun called an ambulance, Rita kept repeating these three words in her ear, "Let me die."
The ambulance arrived and took the two people, one standing and one lying, to a distant place. The car was very fast because it was very expensive. When getting off the car, Tu Lanxun almost fell down because he was annoyed by the name of the hospital in front of him.
Still can't avoid the plot center.
Bluebird Metropolitan Hospital.
It is also the location of the original case of the Gray City Cave and the lair where Doctor Nightingale committed crimes.
But in daily life, Dr. Nightingale is just a gentle and handsome young doctor, and no one knows the darkness hidden in him.
Tu Lanxun, whose boss's identity was revealed in advance, had only one thought left.
If something were done to Dr. Nightingale, the character simulated in the game, would N in the convenience store be aware of it?
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