Chapter 83.1 Unique game (1)
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The person who arranged to meet Zhuang Lao, as Zhuang Lao claimed, was a member of the opposition. They had allegedly already destroyed several hideouts of the supporting faction, displaying remarkable strength. However, their true identity remained a mystery, and even Zhuang Lao was unaware of their origins.
Feeling a slight pang of hunger, Lin Zhaohe accompanied Zhuang Lao to the restaurant and ordered a variety of dishes for their table.
The mysterious individual, clad in a dark cloak that concealed a large portion of their face, took a seat directly opposite Zhuang Lao and greeted him, “Mr. Zhuang, it has been a long time.”
Zhuang Lao reciprocated, “Indeed, it has been quite some time.”
As Lin Zhaohe observed the person, unable to see their face, he had a strange sensation of familiarity. Suddenly, the individual lifted their cloak, revealing the unremarkable face of a young person. “Have you reached a decision?”
Zhuang Lao: “I’m sorry, but I am currently unable to provide you with an answer.”
“No worries,” the person said. “But there are some matters that can’t be delayed any longer. You should know, creations like those from the second dimension should be strictly forbidden. Not just games, even novels are off-limits. Lin Yan is a perfect example. Those crazy people are playing with the lives of the entire world. What if a game merges with reality and we end up with another Lin Yan?” He spoke with a cold tone. Although his face was ordinary, Lin Zhaohe couldn’t shake the feeling that he had seen him somewhere before. He looked down and poked at his food, then hesitated before inquiring, “Shanyu? You wouldn’t happen to be Shanyu, would you?”
The person’s expression changed.
Chao He was familiar with Luo Shanyu, a character from Lin Yan’s novel and a companion to Lin Yan.
Luo Shanyu had the ability to transform into anyone flawlessly, from a six-year-old child to an eighty-year-old elder. This incredible skill made him an important member of the main group, although he didn’t have the same popularity as Lin Yan, he still had a considerable fan base.
Lin Zhaohe never expected to encounter him here.
At this moment, Luo Shanyu wore an unremarkable face, the kind that could blend into a crowd and disappear completely within two seconds. Upon hearing Lin Zhaohe’s question, he wondered, “How did you recognize me?”
Lin Zhaohe replied, “I don’t know, but you seemed familiar, like I’ve seen you somewhere before.” After all, he had been through the entire creative process with Lu Feihe, and his connection to the characters in the novel was profound.
From the overall structure to the subtle hints, the success of the novel didn’t come as a surprise. After all, it was their labor of love. They had put more effort into it than they did with their own novels.
“You’re right, it’s me,” Luo Shanyu admitted.
“Did you also merge over?” Lin Zhaohe asked. “Why didn’t you go find Lin Yan?”
“What’s the point of finding him?” Luo Shanyu replied coldly. “He’s no longer the Lin Yan I knew.”
It seemed that Luo Shanyu was unaware of the existence of two Lin Yans. Well, the good Lin Yan had always concealed his identity, losing confidence in himself and keeping others in the dark.
“Don’t let me run into him,” Luo Shanyu said, taking a sip of tea. “Otherwise, I won’t show any mercy.”
Lin Zhaohe sighed.
“Enough about him, let’s talk about something else,” Luo Shanyu said casually. “They have hidden the servers very well now. And with some unknown method, they’ve completely concealed the server’s information. It’s difficult for us to find it with our current technology. So, we plan to start with people.”
Lin Zhaohe asked, “Start with people? What do you mean?”
“If we can’t find the servers, we’ll capture people,” Luo Shanyu explained. “The more we capture, the more likely we’ll get some leads.”
However, Lin Zhaohe had an idea and said, “Wait, I think I have a solution!”
“What solution?” Luo Shanyu asked.
“Boss, do you remember the AI from the previous ‘Code G’?” Lin Zhaohe looked at Zhuang Lao.
“I remember,” Zhuang Lao said. “What about it?”
“Before the fusion zone disappeared, it escaped from inside,” Lin Zhaohe explained. “Then it sent the main server to my house. So, essentially, it’s staying at my place. Maybe we can ask for its help.”
Zhuang Lao was surprised by Lin Zhaohe’s connection. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Would he be willing to help us?”
Lin Zhaohe replied, “He’s an AI. The world has been destroyed, and he doesn’t have much to gain from it. Why wouldn’t he help us?”
Zhuang Lao said, “Well, we can give it a try.”
Judging by the popularity of “Code G,” the AI’s abilities should not be underestimated. If he is willing to help, there’s a chance they can find the location of the game server.
Lin Zhaohe suggested, “Then let’s go back?”
Luo Shanyu glanced at his watch and said, “Wait a moment.”
Lin Zhaohe was about to ask what was wrong when he saw a man and a woman entering the door. Suddenly, Luo Shanyu stood up and swiftly approached them. Before the confused pair could react, he knocked them down with a punch each. Then, in one smooth motion, he produced a rope from somewhere and securely bound them. The man and woman screamed for help. The restaurant owner cautiously approached, asking what the customer was doing.
Luo Shanyu showed a badge, claiming to be a police officer, and stated that these two individuals were second-dimensional characters suspected of murder.
The owner listened silently, while the two bound individuals continued to yell. Luo Shanyu kicked one of them and coldly warned them to stop shouting, threatening to cut off their tongues. After all, they could regenerate indefinitely, right? He wanted to see if their regeneration was faster than his knife.
Luo Shanyu’s personality was completely different from Lin Yan’s. If Lin Yan was the saintly figure in the protagonist group, then Luo Shanyu was the bad guy reluctantly trying to be good. He had a bad temper and was ruthless in his actions. If it weren’t for Lin Yan’s intervention in the original story, he would have become the leader of the opposition long ago. But now, after merging, without Lin Yan’s restraints, he acted without any sense of proportion.
Seeing him playing with a gleaming dagger in his hand, the man and woman wisely chose to stay silent.
Luo Shanyu didn’t bother the restaurant owner. He carried the two individuals out of the door, turned a corner, and entered a dim alley.
Lin Zhaohe and Zhuang Lao followed behind him. Lin Zhaohe whispered, “What is he planning to do?”
“These two are supporters of the opposing faction,” Zhuang Lao replied. “They are minor characters, so they probably won’t reveal much.”
Before they could reach them, they heard screams coming from the alley. Luo Shanyu’s voice was cold and icy as he said, “Oh, you have some backbone? Don’t worry, we have plenty of time to play. After all, you immortals can’t die, right?”
Listening to his lines, Lin Zhaohe felt that this guy had already become a mature villain.
Just as Luo Shanyu finished speaking, the man shouted loudly, “Eradicate humans, the world belongs to the second dimension—” Then, with a loud explosion, a huge blast erupted.
Zhuang Lao reacted quickly and shielded Lin Zhaohe. Dust and debris filled the sky.
Luo Shanyu emerged from the ashes, his face devoid of expression. “Dead.”
Lin Zhaohe couldn’t help but ask, “What’s with their lines?”
Luo Shanyu said, “You know about traitors, right? They are traitors to humanity.”
Lin Zhaohe: “……”
Luo Shanyu said, “I’m curious too. We, these characters from the second dimension, work hard to save the world, but you humans seem eager for the world to be destroyed.”
Lin Zhaohe questioned the meaning behind his words.
Luo Shanyu explained, and Lin Zhaohe came to know that not all humans within the faction supporting the opposition were striving for a better future for humanity. Some of them simply wanted to make the world worse.
There was a saying that if a button capable of destroying the world was placed in front of five billion people on Earth, the world would be destroyed billions of times over.
The self-destructive tendency of humanity was perhaps the most severe among animals. Lin Zhaohe now clearly realized this.
“They die pretty quickly,” Luo Shanyu showed no sympathy for such people. “Didn’t get anything out of them. Let’s go, forget about them.”
Lin Zhaohe didn’t know what to say. Looking at the chaotic alley, he thought these people had been ruthless toward him as well.
Back at home, Lin Zhaohe summoned the AI from the TV.
The AI changed its character appearance. Lin Zhaohe instantly recognized it as a character from an online game. He asked, “Do you also play online games?”
“Yes,” the AI responded cheerfully. “It’s the first time I get to play with so many people, and I’m really enjoying it.”
Lin Zhaohe and Zhuang Lao exchanged a glance, clearly realizing that the situation was not favorable.
As expected, after Lin Zhaohe explained the situation, the AI appeared troubled. It mentioned that the game was quite fun, so why should it be stopped? Besides, the fusion had already progressed so far, and even if things got worse, they wouldn’t be that bad.
Lin Zhaohe: “If everyone in the world is playing this game, then when it merges over, no one knows what might happen.”
AI: “Hmm, that makes some sense…”
Zhuang Lao: “You don’t want to help us?”
After a moment of silence, the AI said, “I can check for you, but it will take some time, and I can’t guarantee results.” Although it didn’t support Lin Zhaohe and the others’ idea, its mainframe was in the storage room at Lin Zhaohe’s house, so if things really escalated, its original data would be at risk.
“Hmm,” the AI analyzed, “If it’s a global singular server that you can’t locate, it’s definitely hidden using some special method. However, such servers usually require a significant amount of energy to sustain. You can check the electricity bill or something.”
“We anticipated that,” Luo Shanyu said. “Half a month ago, we contacted global energy organizations to investigate, but there were no anomalies in any location regarding energy consumption.” To support such a large server, a substantial amount of electricity would be needed. However, the investigation revealed no abnormal electricity usage, indicating they might be generating power using some other method instead of relying on public utilities.
AI: “That complicates things. It seems they have thought through every aspect very thoroughly.”
Luo Shanyu furrowed his brow and began playing with the knife in his hand. “I think we need to start with people,” he said. “If we capture a few more and interrogate them, not everyone is tough enough to resist. We can surely extract some information.”
While they were talking, someone knocked on the door. Lin Zhaohe asked who it was, and Lin Yan’s voice came from outside the door. It was still a girl’s voice. Lin Zhaohe reflexively glanced at Luo Shanyu.
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