Chapter 109 Live Stream 3 Taking Photos
(Author's note: This section contains "if" statements; interested mothers can take a look.)
A perfectly sunny day, and then it started snowing.
You wrapped your coat tighter around yourself, holding your phone steadily in one hand, adjusting the live stream feed.
You've successfully navigated the first potentially disastrous situation so far; perhaps others will need to step up their game.
Your face remained turned the same, but your eyes turned slightly to the side.
Anna and I made eye contact.
She smiles at you, and you smile back at her.
Turning back to what's in front of you, there's an open area in the middle of the bear enclosure, sparsely scattered... don't count the number of bears!! A few bears.
Some of them lay on the snow, some moved slowly, and some tilted their heads and stared at the sky, like a group of children who had lost their way.
According to the procedure at the bear enclosure, it's time to take a close-up photo with the bears and create the most heartwarming memories.
You lower your eyelashes slightly, and the comments on your phone scroll rapidly:
Hurry, hurry, hurry!! I've been waiting for this for so long!!!
[Make sure to hug the bear in the photo!! Please show my face!!!]
Please, just show your face!!
What kind of live stream is it if you don't show your face, hahaha?
You did not respond immediately.
Instead, carefully adjust the camera, keeping your phone pointed at the bears at all times. As you slowly approach the bears, keep your eyes and ears open.
There was a faint crunching sound in the snow, and the wind carried a damp, cold breath.
The bears lay there lazily, occasionally moving their paws, but were unusually quiet overall.
It was so quiet that you slowed your breathing and maintained a natural pace.
At the same time, they secretly observed the condition, posture, and changes in the eyes of each bear.
Anna always seems to be just out of your way, her voice gentle: "Give me your phone, I can take the picture for you. Everyone really wants to see your smile!"
She took a few steps closer, her off-white coat swaying gently in the wind, the end of her scarf brushing against the back of your hand, cold as ice.
You turned your head and smiled at her, your voice gentle: "Oh, by the way, the comments keep saying that Miss Anna has a great sense of the camera. Why don't you demonstrate for everyone? A photo of our Miss Rose with the teddy bear will definitely be more popular~"
Before the words were even finished, the live chat exploded with comments:
[I want to see it!! Miss Anna!]
Please! Take a picture with the bear!!
[A girl from the Kingdom of Los makes an appearance!!!]
[Yeah, Beauty and the Beast would definitely have a cinematic feel to it!]
Anna paused, a flicker of hesitation crossing her eyes, but as you might expect, she didn't refuse.
Not to mention that in this live stream, her role is that of an assistant, and it's best if she follows your orders; moreover, she didn't object when you filmed her at the beginning, so now that you're going along with it, it's even harder to spoil the fun for the viewers in the live stream.
She could only smile and nod, "Okay~ I'll do it~"
With a gentle turn of your wrist, you smoothly shift the camera towards Anna. These past few days of editing videos have taught you how to make a specific person the center of attention in the frame.
He then stepped back half a step, completely disappearing from the frame.
In the footage, Anna crouches down, reaches out, and gently strokes a small black bear that approaches.
The little black bear raised its head and rubbed its wet nose against the back of her hand.
The chat erupted in cheers:
[Ahhh, my heart is about to explode!!]
This is so therapeutic!!!
[Wow, girls from Los Angeles are so gentle! Hehe]
As you watch Anna, you catch her as she crouches down, her fingertips gently tracing several fine lines in the snow.
A highly anxious, stereotyped behavior.
Hmm, what else does she want to do?
As you pondered, you continued to egg them on: "Our assistant, Ms. Anna, is really amazing, isn't she? Little Bear loves her. Everyone is welcome to come to the bear park in Los Kingdom to experience the unique feeling of getting up close and personal with large wild animals!"
The comments section remained consistently enthusiastic throughout.
[Group photo over!! Let's do it again from a different angle!!]
Come on, come on, stand in the middle of the bears and take a picture!
[Don't be a coward, streamer!! Join in and get closer to the bear!!]
Is the host feeling unwell? If she doesn't want to appear on camera, don't force her.
If you don't steer the conversation towards Anna, the barrage of comments will start targeting you.
Anna, as if she were monitoring the live chat comments, stood up, turned around, and smiled broadly: "Want to try it? Like they said, take a picture standing among the bear cubs~ It's very safe~"
She squeezed the bear's raised paws.
You tilted your head slightly and repeatedly suggested, "Anna, let's do it again~ Everyone says they want to see more pretty girls."
The comments section immediately followed suit:
Yes, yes, yes!!
[Girl, take another picture!!]
Is it possible to get my wish to see Anna hug two bears?
Anna's eye twitched slightly. But at this moment, she really couldn't refuse.
You keep the camera focused, slowly back away, create distance, and completely detach yourself from the frame.
A bear nuzzled Anna's arm, and she knelt down in the snow to take a second photo.
The scene seemed harmonious, but Anna's gaze towards you had lost its gentleness.
You hear your own breathing, calm and deep, and wave your hand with a smile.
I will never appear on camera.
Not even a tiny fingertip will be captured on camera during this live stream.
This is a rule you set for yourself.
You may be a little overwhelmed by the overwhelming enthusiasm and praise these past few days, but it would be too embarrassing if you let these guys lead you by the nose.
From the fact that Auntie didn't show any abnormalities during the exhibition, to you being in charge of editing videos, and now being pushed to do live streaming, everything makes perfect sense.
The warning strings in your nerves are so loose they're itching, to the point that you've become unusually cautious.
You don't know what's going on behind all this, you don't even know who Anna is, and the messy comments on the screen are like mosquitoes buzzing in your ear, making you feel annoyed. But anyway, you really have to do what they want you to do, there's only one thing:
Cannot appear on camera.
You still haven't figured out why they insisted on having you do the live stream, what kind of trap could there be behind it? But if all you need to do is come once, record a video, and edit it, why do you have to do it live? That just means some pitfalls only happen during live streams.
After much thought, you feel that when it comes to live streaming, the most unique aspects that people think of are "authenticity" and "the streamer showing their face," so you deliberately choose not to show your face.
Let's take it one step at a time and see what happens next.
You can feel that the instance is targeting you severely, but you also know that the fact that the instance hasn't killed you outright further illustrates two points: First, rather than saying that the instance's consciousness has a malicious intent, it's more accurate to say that the instance's consciousness isn't omnipotent and can't simply eliminate a certain "annoying person." Perhaps, just perhaps, it also has to abide by certain rules, even if those rules are rules it set itself. Second, in these events that seem to have a script, the clues will only be more hidden, but they won't disappear entirely, because the premise of an instance is the existence of rules, and a certain death situation without rules doesn't exist.
Having figured all this out, you're in a much better mood, leisurely enjoying the praise in the comments—okay, you're still a little bit cocky. Ah, that's human nature.
At this moment, you defiantly stick out your tongue at Anna, expressing endless contempt.
The other person's calm demeanor, which they had been trying so hard to maintain, cracked, and they became ferocious.
Ah, it seems like she's angry.
You held your phone steadily and said, "I heard that people from Los Angeles don't like to laugh because it's too cold and they're frozen stiff, so they're not used to making big expressions. Hasn't Miss Anna been melted by the enthusiasm of our comments and Xiong Xiong's cuteness? Come on, smile!"
Anna pulled up at an upward angle.
The comments section was filled with excitement and noise.
[The host is so gentle, Anna is so beautiful, I'm totally shipping them!]
Don't bump into things randomly; it's very impolite.
[It's none of your business!]
[Oh, Anna is so beautiful, and our anchor is...very charming too.]
Is that all for today? How about we do something else?
Just then, Anna turned around, and you could see the gritted teeth beneath her standard smile: "Let's get something done, otherwise we won't be able to complete today's live stream task smoothly~"
Her voice was light and airy, like snowflakes falling into my ears.
You narrowed your eyes, gave a cooperative smile, and waited quietly for her to continue.
Anna pondered for a moment, then her eyes lit up as if she had suddenly thought of something: "How about music? It's a perfect opportunity to promote the culture of the Kingdom of Los!"
She tilted her head and smiled, her voice light and cheerful: "We can hold a cozy little celebration here."
--music.
A sense of unease crept into your heart, but outwardly you simply nodded naturally.
Anna leads you through the bears and straight to an open area on the other side of the park.
There stood an old audio system, its surface covered with a thin layer of fine snow.
The staff nearby had already set everything up and were just waiting for you to begin.
Anna smiled and explained, "This used to be the bears' little stage for performances~ Everyone loves music~"
This person seems to have mastered the skill of saying what to say in front of the camera.
She turns to look at you, a strange light hidden in her eyes.
The live chat was flooded with comments:
What is the music of the Kingdom of Los? Is it the lyre or the vitas, hahaha?
[Let's get some electronic music, something with a strong beat! Make the bear dance!!]
Get hyped! Get fired up!
You know, while the focus of the comments can easily be shifted by the streamer's few words, there are some things that can't be ignored, so you have no choice but to agree.
He glanced down and quickly scanned the speaker control panel.
The equipment is old, the switch is rickety, and the buttons on several preset tracks are faded and worn.
On the notice board behind the platform, there was an inconspicuous line of text.
“Anna, what are they saying over there?” you ask.
As the live stream assistant, Anna still translated it word for word with great professionalism: "Please confirm the music mode before use - the high-frequency stimulation mode is for training purposes only."
Training mode...?
The screen was still flooded with comments:
[Release it quickly! Release it quickly! Release it quickly!]
Anna stared at you and urged, word by word, "Don't be nervous~ Everyone's waiting."
Come on, come on. You pressed play.
A strange melody began to play.
At first, it sounded like ordinary folk music, with a slow and gentle rhythm, and it seemed to have a festive atmosphere.
But in just over ten seconds, the rhythm suddenly quickened, and the tone became sharp and piercing—
Like the sound of high-frequency current tearing through the air, it gradually accelerates and distorts.
You frowned.
wrong.
Who uses this kind of music for a celebration?
This is clearly a high-frequency pattern specifically designed to stimulate nerves and disrupt the animal's natural responses.
—Since you've done your research on bears, you certainly wouldn't miss these key points.
At this moment, this frequency is filling the entire open space without any obstruction.
That was a really bad tactic; sure enough, the next step was to incite a bear riot.
The bells rang incessantly, and even the seemingly laziest bear stood up.
What you see is that some bears have bloodshot eyes in their already inorganic black pupils, their pupils tremble, and their upper limbs are tense.
The comments section was filled with cheers:
[Wow, the bear jumped up! Hahaha!!]
[This is so much fun!!!]
[@Naihu Batianyou came to see the bear performance, it's so intelligent and understanding!]
Anna stood to the side, and this time it was her turn to give you a provocative smile.
But no matter how you look at it, it seems like they're mimicking your expression.
Hmm.
Upon closer inspection, Anna's micro-expressions differed slightly when speaking to each person.
Since you were the only person from the country present, you automatically assumed that Anna's soft voice towards you was simply due to the language barrier.
What if she was actually imitating your tone of voice? — Even knowing that live streaming is a big no-no, you still unconsciously soften your voice and manage your facial expressions even when you're not on camera.
Look at Anna again; she made a crying face.
She still had that provocative look on her face.
Let's ignore her for now.
Your peripheral vision is fixed on the bear pack.
—More than one.
...Why are we counting bears again!
Stop counting bears.
You warn yourself to quickly shift your focus to analyzing the current situation.
The bears gradually raised themselves, their postures stiff and strange, their steps dragging across the snow with a harsh, squelching sound.
[Streamer, please be careful, this looks too strange.]
This comment was quickly drowned out by a flood of "Wuhu".
You hold your phone firmly, the camera still pointed at the approaching herd of bears.
Bullet comments:
[Haha, the bears are so enthusiastic!]
Go and hug them!
The atmosphere is amazing!
This has nothing to do with enthusiasm; these bears are clearly about to lose control.
For example, the huge brown bear in front of us has opened its mouth, revealing its sharp fangs, which have been polished but are still razor-sharp.
It emitted intermittent low growls from deep within its throat.
However, since the comments section seems to think that the bear is very enthusiastic, that's a good thing.
After all, the goal is to "do a good job of live streaming"! If any injuries or other incidents occur during the live stream, then it becomes a live streaming accident.
You calmly said to the live stream, "Wow~ Did everyone see that? Our little bears are so excited~ They really seem to love music~ Hahaha..."
Following the sound, Anna came closer: "Want me to... help you with your phone? That way you can focus more on interacting with the bear~"
This person still harbors wicked intentions.
Her hand reaches for your phone.
You smiled and slightly shifted your body, as if you were letting Anna miss her.
"No, no~ Everyone wants to see the bear cubs more, right? I'll take more cute pictures now~"
As you speak, you quickly shift the camera to capture the bears' increasingly frantic movements in the center of the frame.
The live chat erupted in cheers once again:
[Such an immersive visual]
[The bear is about to get close to my face, quickly record it!!!]
As for Anna, she could only stand there helplessly.
You are even more certain that you are the streamer, the power to broadcast is in your hands, and she cannot force you to do anything.
The constraints of her identity were her shackles.
And you, since you have a firm grip on this rope, perhaps you can try to tighten the space of her role.
You reach out and point to a restless clearing where... some bears are rolling and roaring wildly, their claws slapping the snow with thunderous roars.
It looks like a very dangerous area.
You immediately turn the camera around, centering Anna in the frame, and cheerfully shout to the live stream, "Let's invite Miss Anna to perform with the bears!!"
Bullet comments:
I loved this episode! Go, girl!!
Boycott animal performances, but not human performances.
This is a great job!
Anna clenched her fists, her fingertips trembling slightly beneath her sleeves.
"Focus on your live stream." You mouthed to her.
She could only force a stiff smile and nod at the camera.
She said it herself: the most important thing to remember during today's live stream is, firstly, not to count the bears, and secondly, to do a good job of the live stream.
Now that she has appeared on screen and gained the favor of a wide audience, she naturally has to shoulder this responsibility.
Now, the comments are overwhelmingly demanding that Anna interact, and you keep the camera firmly locked on her.
She had nowhere to run.
Anna gritted her teeth and had no choice but to bite the bullet and approach the nearest bear.
While filming, you commentated on the live stream with an excited yet adorably nervous tone: "Wow~ This girl is so brave!! Look how much the bear cubs love her~ Keep it up!!!"
You've completely swayed the comments section:
【Ahhh, goddess!!!】
[This girl is amazing!!]
[Highly interactive]
Anna was clearly no pushover either.
After suffering such a huge loss, she actually led a bear to charge towards you.
It seems they still want to take advantage of the current chaotic scene to get you into the shot.
Hehe, you won't.
You raise your phone high, take off running, and film her from afar, shouting with all your might, "Bear Race! Everyone, cheer for our girl! Miss Anna, let's go!!!"
The barrage of comments exploded once again:
[The goddess is invincible!!!]
The girls from Los Angeles are so athletic and have amazing stamina!
Anna's movements paused slightly, her features momentarily blurred as if twisted into a vortex, before she resigned herself to her fate and stopped bothering you, focusing instead on dealing with the bear's "live broadcast."
You laughed for a while, then became serious again.
These bears seemed to be unified by some invisible signal, surging towards the center of the arena—and you, besides Anna who was being chased, were not safe either.
We must take action.
Staying put will only make you a target to be torn apart the next second, regardless of whether there are any accidents during the live stream.
While keeping the camera steady, he subtly adjusted his direction, moving quickly but without appearing abrupt, towards the already locked-on direction—the control zone at the edge of the bear enclosure.
A black bear suddenly turned around, its eyes bloodshot, and stared straight at you.
Bullet comments:
[Look to your left, the bear wants to play with you!]
What is real outdoor live streaming now? I suggest we all do it this way from now on.
[Interactive session begins!!!]
I want to see Miss Anna!
Just want to see Anna!
Keep your camera focused on Anna while slowly panning to the side, hiding your body between another bear cub and a snowdrift, cleverly creating a safe distance.
The black bear exhaled white mist from its nostrils, shook its head, and then, its attention drawn to the surrounding chaos, pounced to the other side.
Before she could relax for long, Anna approached from the side again, her voice urgent: "This way! Come with me! Quickly!"
She pointed to what appeared to be an open area.
If you believe her, then you shouldn't play this game.
You smiled and nodded: "Okay~ Miss Anna is so helpful in showing us the way!"
But she deftly changed direction and loudly announced to the live stream: "Look everyone~ Anna is teaching the bear cubs to dance~!"
After repeated defeats, Anna had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue playing the role of the assistant in front of the camera.
But at this point, the viewers in the live chat seemed to realize that something was amiss.
Are these bears just playing around...?
[This looks terrifying, I hope nothing bad happens?]
"Don't worry, the bears being active means the zoo is treating them well." You're just making things up. Anyway, it'll be over soon, just make sure nothing goes wrong for now.
The chat was quiet for a moment:
[It's still pretty scary, streamer, don't wander off, go back inside.]
[Yes, run towards the crowd quickly!!]
[Don't wander off! Stay with the others!!]
Isn't the administrator there?
I couldn't bear to watch anymore, so I left.
The number of viewers in the live stream began to decline.
You're squinting; that's not a good sign.
You need to get the situation under control faster.
Ahead is the fence of the controlled area.
He rushed to the mottled, rusty iron gate, bracing his hands on the door frame, breathing rapidly.
More and more people left the live stream, and some even started tagging the administrators in the chat, saying that something might be wrong.
You glance down at the latch on the iron gate—it's half-open, teetering on the verge of collapse.
You push open the door and enter; inside are only rows of old photoelectric pulse devices, swaying slightly in the wind and snow.
This is it.
High-frequency stimulation makes bears active, but now we just need to reverse that—switch to low frequency—to let the bears' natural instincts activate their hibernation program and calm them down first.
You quickly scan the equipment's control panel. The buttons are worn, the lettering is faded, and only on the central lever are the words crookedly drawn in paint: 【↑ ｜ ↓ 】
It sounds like a bear is chasing us; you hear it banging on the iron gate!
You suddenly push the lever down.
Snap—
A dull thud of electricity rang out, and the air in the entire arena vibrated slightly.
The photoelectric pulse generator started operating, and a series of low-frequency pulse waves, invisible to the naked eye, spread out.
The bear that had been chasing you, its head held high and its eyes bloodshot, suddenly staggered back a step, its legs gave way, and it collapsed heavily to its knees on the snow.
He gasped for breath, then collapsed.
Then, the second, the third… No! Count! Bears!
In short, the bear population seems to have been put to sleep by an unseen hand.
One after another, they crashed down.
The comments section was filled with shock:
What happened to the bear?
Are they all asleep?!
What kind of operation is this?!
You nonchalantly pinched a "shrug" emoji card and waved it in front of the camera: "Our live stream is all about authenticity. Playing with the bears is real, the bear cubs' performances are real, and this intense bear chase was real too, wasn't it? Now, the bear cubs are going to sleep... Everyone, please remember that bears are good friends of humans, and we should respect their natural rhythms."
You're good at this kind of structure: introduction, development, transition, and climax.
Oh, I see.
[That was so exciting! No wonder he's our favorite streamer!]
The audience is as easily fooled as ever. You slowly exhale, and your blood cools down as if the tide has receded.
If you loosen your grip on your phone, your palms will be covered in sweat.
This trip really took a toll on my physical and mental energy.
On the opposite side of the field, Anna stood not too far away in the middle of the snow, looking a bit disheveled.
In the wind and snow, her shadow moved slightly on the ground, as if it were sprouting countless tiny tentacles.
"That's all for today's live stream. Thank you all for joining us. I'm also happy to introduce our Miss Anna to everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful time today with Miss Anna's guidance and company. Now, we'll end the broadcast."
As you were speaking, you abruptly ended the live stream.
“You’re very good,” Anna said, her tone odd and deliberate.
You wrinkled your nose and chuckled, "Of course I'm fine." You gave yourself a thumbs up.
Anna looked a little confused: "Then what are you waiting for?"
"I'll wait and see what you do," you say honestly.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Waaaaaah! Eeeee
The following are IF lines:
A gentle breeze swept across the open space of the bear enclosure, carrying with it a flurry of fine snowflakes. You smiled at the camera.
The screen immediately filled with comments:
[The streamer has revealed her face!! What an elegant and sophisticated lady!!!]
Looking forward to today's journey!!!
The Kingdom of Los is so charming!
You wave gently in greeting, and your face is clearly captured in the camera. You feel a little uncomfortable at first, but after interacting with the comments for a while, you become more at ease.
She would occasionally look at her own expression in front of the camera, as if she had become somewhat concerned about maintaining a certain image.
Anna, the live streaming assistant, is very skilled. With her help and guidance, the atmosphere in the chat is always excellent.
Upon entering the bear enclosure, the bears lazily lay on the snow. Several bear cubs waddled closer, their furry heads nuzzling against your legs, sniffing curiously.
You crouch down, gently extend your palm, and carefully pat a bear cub's head a few times.
They are not aggressive at all; on the contrary, they are just like spoiled children.
The barrage of comments was enthusiastic:
[The streamer and the teddy bear are such a perfect match!!!]
I want to jump into the screen and hug the bear!!
The atmosphere is amazing!!
A staff member from the bear enclosure greets you with a smile, introducing the bear's breed, age, and personality traits in a slightly stiff but extremely enthusiastic voice.
You nodded in response and directed Anna to point the camera at the adorable little bears so that the viewers in the live stream could see them more clearly.
The staff even thoughtfully offer special snacks to guide the bears to your side.
A chubby little brown bear rolled around at your legs, patted the snow, and whimpered affectionately. The atmosphere was cheerful; sunlight filtered through the clouds, making the snow shimmer softly, as if the whole world had softened.
Everything went incredibly smoothly.
The bear was gentle and the staff were enthusiastic. The viewers on the live stream were flooding the screen with messages, and the bear was extremely happy until the broadcast ended.
"That's the end of today's live stream." You said goodbye to everyone with a smile, and the chat was filled with reluctance to let you leave.
You feel a strong sense of satisfaction, but it is also accompanied by some unease.
Something feels off... Oh well, I'll deal with it as it comes.
Anna smiled and took you to see your aunt and the others. You, Ms. Zhang, and some other local government officials had a small social gathering.
Amidst the clinking of glasses, you vaguely feel as if you've returned to a land of flowers.
Sigh, this familiar drinking culture...
Fortunately, you're used to pretending to be well-behaved, so the adults still treat you like a child. With your aunt around, you almost fell asleep during the second half of dinner.
Finally, we could go home. On the way back, my aunts and the others were still laughing and chatting.
You respond cooperatively, but after a busy day, and then this dinner, you feel exhausted.
I'm in the dorm. The doorknob is so cold it instantly sobers me up a bit.
You push the door open and go in.
The room was quiet. The laptop on the table was closed, and the phone charging cable was dangling from the corner of the table. Everything was just as you left—or rather, it looked like it "should" be.
You close the door and lock it.
Just as I was about to catch my breath, a blurry shadow was faintly reflected on the black screen of the television.
You turn around—and there's nothing there.
Only the faint light from the snowy night filtering through the half-open curtains cast a thin, pale shadow on the floor.
You walk to the table, ready to turn off all electronic devices so you can have a good night's sleep.
But when you reach for your phone, the screen suddenly lights up automatically.
No password was required, no fingerprint verification was needed; a pale white dialog box popped up: "Hi...where did you go?"
You twitched your brow slightly and instinctively turned off the power.
I'm so sleepy and tired. My brain feels numb, like it's been electrocuted. I'm going to sleep now... I'll talk to you tomorrow.
You wake up. The radiator in the room is making intermittent noises, and the gurgling sound of boiling water is like it's cooking your heart.
As soon as I opened my eyes, I felt a headache. I tried to turn on my phone, but found that its battery was dead.
Strange, it still had at least 40% battery left when I turned it off before going to sleep... Thinking this, you pulled out the charging cable and connected it to the fast charger.
Almost the instant the electricity formed a circuit, the screen eagerly lit up—countless dialog boxes popped up: [Where did you go?] [Hey, don't run off alone!]...
You're finally back!
Your hand jerked, and your phone fell to the ground with a thud.
As you crouch down to pick it up, the moment your fingertips touch the phone, you hear an extremely low sound. It's like the wind, or the crackling of an electrical short circuit, mixed with a dense, indistinct murmur.
You force yourself to calm down, turn off your phone again, remove the battery, and put it in the drawer.
But when you look up, the laptop on the table—even with the lid closed and not plugged in—has a thin green light on.
It resembles some kind of process that is slowly loading.
You grit your teeth, and beads of cold sweat trickle down your spine.
You turned off all the appliances that could be turned off.
The power was turned off, the curtains were drawn, and only an old kerosene lamp was left to illuminate the room.
This is a side effect of live streaming—undoubtedly—but the question is, what exactly is this weird thing bothering you?
Are they... the audience members? What are they? How did they get into your phone...?
A question I've pondered for a long time has finally been answered—who exactly are those people I've never met on Little Green Book? Why do they only appear when I need them? Why are their accounts all blank?
Numbers—People.
You're not a science or engineering student, but you watch science fiction movies and browse posts about various cutting-edge technologies, so you're not unfamiliar with these concepts.
But what's going on now? Data...intrusion? Because of the live stream?
That's not important. The key question is, what are you going to do? Will they hurt you? Or is it okay as long as you don't use high-tech products?
You waited another day, and almost as if in response to your fear, the next day, all the electronic devices in the dormitory, whether connected to power or not, lit up slightly.
Television, microwave oven, charger, night light—every tiny power source began to emit a low-frequency hum.
You hear the booming sound of electricity in your ears, like tinnitus, like countless suppressed sobs, or like a massive amount of data flowing.
Even if you can throw away all these appliances, your neighbors across the wall and strangers you meet when you go out will all be flashing their phones, tablets, and computers at you.
Hi, I haven't been able to find you for days, but I'm so glad to finally see you again.
This is your dream. Even if you wake up in a fright, you still feel that some memories that are not your own are eroding your mind.
The human body and brain are natural transmitters of electrical signals and data! You get chills.
Sitting on the bed, holding a notebook you've randomly picked up—you try to calm yourself down and analyze the current situation.
You're trying to deal with them, but you're a physical being, composed of molecules and electrical signals, while they are—electrical signals and numbers. Yes, numbers.
You look down and open your notebook, writing a few simple symbols on a blank page: [0][1]
—Binary. The origin of everything.
If these hatched "digital lives" follow binary logic, then all their actions must be based on simple and basic pattern recognition.
You, being made of flesh and blood, cannot fight against data, but as long as you destroy their identification basis, they will no longer be able to locate and contain them.
If this bizarre event is essentially an extension of binary logic, then it must also follow the most primitive and stubborn rules: when encountering continuous patterns, identify and archive them; when encountering contradictory patterns, perform self-checks, report errors, and restart; when encountering unparseable data, it crashes in an infinite loop.
You try hard to recall the C and Python languages you learned in college. Computer science is a required course for college students, but not everyone studies it seriously.
Thank goodness, you've always been a diligent student. You remember the professor saying that 0 represents a circuit closed and 1 represents a circuit open.
All information—text, images, sounds, even memories—is an endless combination of darkness and light, on and off in the world of computers.
You bite the pen cap, your gaze sharp. As your thoughts race, things you're certain aren't your own keep flashing before your eyes—those things continue to churn your brain, and you have no way out! You have to try; otherwise, if you're biologically "brainwashed," can you still call yourself who you are?
0 and 1. Dark and bright. Light.
If a specific rhythm could be created using a light source, it might be possible to simulate a simple binary stream, causing these odd numbers to actively fall into the trap during recognition.
Breaking them is like interrupting a program that was supposed to run completely.
Your own thinking is being influenced, and you can only quickly jot down each step of your ideas in a notebook to correct any illogical thinking about the past that arises immediately.
Freeze Signal: Creates the illusion of a switch between emptiness and existence. For example, alternating between [101010], an extreme pattern without a stable [1111] [0000], will make the opponent think that the surrounding environment is unsafe and thus freeze itself, ceasing to attack.
Hostile signals: Make different numbers strange—you're pretty sure there's more than one "hacking" your brain—leading to mutual misidentification. Simply divide the data into two clearly defined small groups of patterns, such as [00001111], and then suddenly switch to [00011110001111]. This will shatter the opposing logic and cancel out its own.
Offset protection signal: Uses an extremely simple set of all 1/all 0 signals, such as [111111000000], to create the illusion that "archiving is complete", misleading the digital life into thinking that you have been assimilated and giving up tracking.
Infinite Loop Conflict Signal: This causes the other party's recognition to become overloaded, leading to an infinite loop and eventual self-destruction. The principle is to create rules but always break them, such as [1110 0001 1110 0001], which forces them to constantly self-check and restart, eventually causing a crash.
As you write and work, progressing step by step, tiny streams of numbers appear on the walls, the floor, and even in the air. Like cracks squeezed out of the void, fragmented data lines meander and grow in space. Soon, they weave a vast net throughout the room, and you stand in the center, silently surrounded by thousands of digital lines.
Don't abandon us.
We really like you, come join us!
Get out of here! You imagine the flashlight flashing a specific rhythm: dark (0) bright (1) dark (0) bright (1)...
Your thoughts are swirling in a vortex; you feel like your brain is no longer your own, your soul seems to be disintegrating, and your sense of self is shattering…
Perception sometimes returns, and sometimes it is blocked. You can only rely on the contents of your notebook to constantly build new mental connections amidst the attacks, stubbornly turning the lights on and off.
The opponent has become sluggish... Press your advantage! The opponent seems to have stopped moving, so frantically bombard them with signals that create an infinite loop!
After the last "dead loop signal" is given, it's as if the air in the room has suddenly been torn open, and your brain no longer feels like it's been punched repeatedly.
It's nothing, you just feel calm.
【mistake. 】
【mistake】
【mistake】
…
【 fail】
Your eyes rolled back, and you fell into a deep sleep.
At least, you won.
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