Night World Players

Chapter 196: I Play Myself in a Virtual Reality Game? (Two-in-One)

The disaster of intelligent machines?

Last looked at the historical background introduction in his mind and fell into deep thought.

As a time traveler, he was naturally familiar with the term "Intelligent Disaster".

The historical echoes generated in the night world often correspond to a disaster that occurred in a previous civilization and use it as the historical background.

For example, the echoes of history he had experienced in the past correspond to the "Iron Cross Plague" that occurred in Deep Blue Port during the Steam Age and the "Vermillion Moon Mist" that occurred during the Dark Ages.

At this moment, Last is in the science fiction era of the near future... The disaster background is the intelligent machine crisis of artificial intelligence and mechanical rebellion, which is reasonable.

only--

Rast glanced out the window at the bustling and peaceful modern urban scene.

Obviously, the so-called "Intelligent Disaster" is still in the stage of secretly incubating and gradually accumulating, and has not yet reached the time point of a complete outbreak.

Just like the cycle that Last had experienced in Deep Blue Harbor, with a day consisting of 24 hours, the entire city was calm in the first twelve hours, and he could still play role-playing games and play the game of life as an ordinary person in the peaceful port town.

But in the next twelve hours, the situation suddenly changed. The Iron Cross Plague broke out, turning the entire Deep Blue Port into the Iron Cross Paradise... and Rast's gaming experience suddenly changed from "The Sims", "Grand Theft Auto" and "Cowherd Simulator" to "Resident Evil", "Dying Light" and "The Last of Us".

The historical echoes of this time should also be a similar development.

The world now seems calm, but there are turbulent undercurrents slowly surging and accumulating in the shadows, just waiting for the moment when disaster will completely erupt and arrive.

If you just want to achieve the most ordinary clearance, then you only need to wait for the "Intelligent Disaster" described in the background to come, and then find a way to survive the disaster.

If he just wanted to escape and save his life, Last thought it would not be difficult for him.

Perhaps for ordinary fifth- or sixth-level night travelers, this so-called "Intelligent Disaster" is extremely dangerous, but it is obvious that the civilization of the Sixth Epoch ultimately survived this disaster, which proves that this is not a dead end.

He also secretly tricked Dean Yin, a foreign aid, into coming in. In terms of life-saving ability alone, Last believed that there were not many people in the world who could surpass him.

However, the purpose of Last's trip is not only to pass through the night world - but also to explore the secrets behind it, including clues about Canaan, Xiao Ai, and his own true identity.

Thinking of this, Last turned his attention back to the "optional tasks" below the night world information.

Obviously, compared to simply surviving and passing the game, these two inconspicuous optional tasks can reveal deeper secrets in this night world.

"Explore the Artificial Angel Project's Mechanical Research Institute and uncover the truth behind the Omnic Disaster?"

"It seems the impending omnic disaster is inextricably linked to the artificial angel project... Artificial mechanical angels and an omnic rebellion certainly sound suspicious. The former might even be the cause of the latter."

"Exactly, why does it seem like there's something weird mixed in with the optional quests?"

Last fell silent for a long time as he looked at the line of text: [Optional Task 1: Participate in the limited-time event "Deep Blue Harbor Speedrun Challenge" in the virtual reality game "Poem of the Shorekeeper" and win first place in the event.]

"Poem of the Shore Guardian" is the name of the virtual reality game that is popular all over the continent.

According to Dean Yin's information, the virtual reality game "Poem of the Shore Guardian" and the artificial angel project are the last two things that Gray left for the Sixth Epoch Civilization before she suddenly disappeared after breaking through to become an angel.

Many players believe that these two things contain the secrets that Grey left behind for the Sixth Epoch Civilization... secrets related to the reasons for her own disappearance. After exploring all these secrets, perhaps they can find the whereabouts and destination of Leader Grey.

However, the Artificial Angel Project is highly confidential, and most people have no chance to participate in it. Therefore, they can only release their enthusiasm for finding the leader's trace in the game "Poem of the Shore Watcher".

Of course, to use Dean Yin’s words, perhaps this group of players are simply addicted to the Internet, but they insist on finding a plausible reason for their addiction.

However, this limited-time event, "Deep Blue Harbor Speedrun Challenge"...

If we ignore the extremely unlikely possibility of having the same name, then the only explanation is that this is the "Deep Blue Harbor" that I have experienced -

"Laster, come here!"

"I told you, I'm not playing this game for fun, but to help you investigate the Artificial Angel Project and Canaan."

"Look, I've found a clue for you! A way to get into the Mechanical Research Institute responsible for the Artificial Angel Project!"

Dean Yin's loud shouting came from the computer desk not far away, interrupting Last's thoughts.

When Last came to the computer desk, he saw Dean Yin squatting on the computer desk, typing frantically on the keyboard with his two little paws, almost dancing out a phantom.

On the huge surround screen, lines of text were being typed out rapidly, showing that Dean Yin was passionately arguing with someone online.

This seems to be a question-and-answer forum for game enthusiasts of "Poem of the Shore Watcher". People often ask questions, and netizens below actively answer them, which is very similar to the Hulu of Last's previous life.

Last sat with Dean Yin at the computer desk and read for a while. He found that most of the questions were about things like "If the shore guards of the Dark Ages were supplied with instant noodles every day, could they conquer the Western Continent within three years?" Moreover, most of the characters involved were shore guards from the Dark Ages after the Iron Cross Plague broke out hundreds of years ago.

And Last's own name has become a hot word with the highest traffic, and is mentioned and discussed repeatedly in these issues.

Last glanced at the search bar. Two-thirds of the forum's hot searches were related to himself, and the other third were related to Cecil and Grey.

Patapapapapap——

Dean Yin's little paws danced a dazzling phantom sword dance on the keyboard, and then finally stopped.

It took out a small cup tailored for its own size from its own secondary dimension, drank a sip of water, and then slammed the enter key on the keyboard, sending a reply beginning with "Thanks for the invitation, I'm in the watchtower."

"This group of people are actually arguing endlessly about whether the 'forgotten hero' Luster prefers cats or dogs... And their argument is that Gray, the heir to Luster's will, later got a cat. How ridiculous!"

"It's obvious that Rust prefers ferrets! Those slutty cats and dogs are not as cute as ferrets!"

Dean Yin angrily complained at the screen until he noticed Last beside him and stopped talking.

"Oh, you've arrived—" "Perfect timing! Tell me, what do you prefer, cats or dogs?"

"My favorite is a cute, soft, and clingy ferret like Dean Yin. Are you satisfied?"

Last picked up Dean Yin and held him high. "Now, can you tell me what the clue was that you called me here for?"

"That's pretty good. You haven't let me down for taking so much care of you."

Dean Yin's furry white tail suddenly began to wag happily.

"That's the clue I'm talking about: the limited-time event in the game 'Poem of the Shorekeeper,' the 'Deep Blue Harbor' speedrun challenge."

It switched the webpage to an interface that seemed to be the official announcement of the game operation, and then read out the content of the announcement word by word.

"In this limited-time event, players will travel back three hundred years to the Dark Ages, to the first year of the Cataclysm."

"You will transform into the ancient shore-guard hero, Rast, and arrive at Deep Blue Harbor on the eve of the outbreak of the Iron Cross Plague, facing the same desperate situation that Rast once faced—"

"Facing the Iron Cross wreaking havoc on the city, cultists, and the impending half-demonstration of the evil god... Can you, like the hero Rast, survive these endless crises?"

"Or, do better than him?"

Dean Yin slid his mouse, closed the official announcement page of the game, and shook his tail: "This is it, this virtual reality immersive game "Poem of the Shore Keeper" -"

"It seems that Gray, using the power of her own 'fate' sequence, looked back into past history and created this game with these past histories as the backdrop."

"This limited-time event is one of the core gameplay elements of Poem of the Shore Keeper. It allows players to fully immerse themselves in historical moments in the virtual reality world and face the experiences of historical figures."

"I checked the game's official historical operation announcements. There was a limited-time event that took players back to the eve of the Battle of the Broken Shore, allowing them to try to rewrite the outcome of the Battle of the Broken Shore."

"How is it? Doesn't it sound extremely similar to the existence of the night world? Even to the point of being a little scary?"

Dean Yin glanced at Last, and his ruby-like eyes became slightly serious.

"Well, they are indeed a bit too similar."

Luster also nodded.

Let players return to the old history and experience the historical fragments of the past... Isn't this the underlying rule of the night world?

The only difference is that the former is a game player, while the latter is a night traveler. In addition, the former needs to use technological means such as a "virtual reality gaming headband" to achieve it, while the process of the night world entering the echoes of history does not have such obvious differences, as if it were really a time travel.

Last had a vague guess that this virtual game called "Poem of the Shore Watcher" might be some kind of early attempt, an accumulation of experience.

It can even be said that this is the prototype of the "night world"...

"As for the clue I mentioned, it's hidden in this limited-time event, the 'Deep Blue Harbor Speedrun Challenge.'"

"According to the official announcement from the game 'Poem of the Shore Keeper,' the player who achieves the highest score in the 'Deep Blue Harbor Speedrun Challenge' will be invited to visit the Mechanical Research Institute and join the 'Artificial Angel' program."

Dean Yin looked at Last and said, "At this point, the most core secrets of Sixth Epoch Civilization, including the clues you seek about Canaan, are likely hidden within the Mechanical Research Institute of the 'Artificial Angel Project.'"

"And 'Poem of the Shore Keeper' and the Artificial Angel Project are both things left behind by Grey. There is obviously some connection between them."

"Completing the challenges in this limited-time game event and being invited to visit the Artificial Angel Project and the Mechanical Research Institute should be a shortcut."

"Of course, instead of taking this route, directly searching for the Mechanical Research Institute in this world and cracking its secrets through infiltration and violence is also an option..."

Dean Yin paused for a moment. "Of course, if we fail, we'll likely have to go to war with the entire civilization. You'd better be prepared. Given the prosperity of this era, there will likely be more than one legendary figure in charge."

"Don't count on me too much. The most I can do is take you and run away. It's absolutely impossible for me to confront the legend head-on."

"I see."

Luster nodded.

No wonder the Night World task panel gives two optional tasks like that—

Obviously, participating in the limited-time event of "Poem of the Shore Watcher" and exploring the secrets behind the Artificial Angel Project and the Intelligent Machine Disaster are complementary to each other and are a prerequisite for the latter.

He looked out the window at the bustling, prosperous city. "This is the order and civilization that little Gray has rebuilt from those shattered ruins after spending two hundred years of her own labor."

"If possible, I hope to avoid breaking away from this world."

"Besides -"

He looked at the small gaming headset on his computer desk and paused for a moment. "Playing myself in a historical game is quite a novel experience."

"If I can't even get first place in the rankings after speedrunning Deep Blue Harbor again, I might as well just buy a piece of tofu and kill myself."

"Great! That's right!"

After hearing Last's answer, Dean Yin's expression became visibly cheerful.

"This virtual reality headset is designed for humans, but a ferret can't use it at all. Terrible review! No regard for user experience at all!"

"If you come play, I can watch your playthrough live on the console screen and leave comments."

"So, Dean Yin, you really just want to fight against the barrage, right?"

(End of this chapter)