Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

Jiang Chen grabbed Shi Yu's arm, forcefully interrupting her.

"It's too late."

He stared at the wildly glowing heart, speaking rapidly.

"It would take at least two minutes to run back to the west wing, but there's less than a minute left before the restart, so we don't need to run."

Shi Yu was stunned.

She frowned, thinking he had gone mad.

Jiang Chen's eyes, however, were unusually bright as he pointed to the shimmering pillars of light at the base of his heart.

"The old and new versions of the map are mirrored, which means the underlying code is flipped."

At the moment the core is forcibly restarted, the cached data of the old version will be briefly released, forming a physical mapping channel.

We'll just use this bug to get through.

Shi Yu was stunned for a full two seconds, and the confusion in her eyes was gradually replaced by sudden realization.

She took a deep breath and quickly constructed a spatial model in her mind.

"In order to save computing power, the new system directly flipped the underlying code of the old version."

Her voice sounded a little strained.

"When the core restarts, the old version of the cache will be cleared, which will cause a few seconds of data overflow during the process."

If we interrupt the data stream at the moment of overflow, it can be directly flushed to the old version's mirror area.

But that's too dangerous. The data turbulence would tear our physics model apart, beyond even the ability to revive it.

"So we need an anchor point."

Jiang Chen took out the decompilation core from his backpack. [Energy remaining 72%]

There is also a crystal fragment with cracks on its surface. [Remaining uses: 2]

The countdown has reached 50 seconds.

He crouched down, placed the decompilation core under the metal plate, and inserted the crystal fragment vertically on top of the core, making a simple lightning rod.

"When the light is at its brightest, we must actively face the thickest beam of light."

He looked up at Shiyu, his eyes frighteningly calm.

"Stay close to me and don't let go."

Once we get separated in the data stream, we can never get back.

This isn't a game; it's a real data meat grinder.

[Countdown 30 second]

The heartbeat became extremely heavy, and each pulse caused fine cracks to appear in the translucent material of the ground.

The air temperature plummeted to freezing point, and Jiang Chen's breath instantly turned into thick white mist.

A layer of fine goosebumps rose on his skin, and a chill crept into his bones through his pores.

The strong static electricity made his hair stand on end slightly, and the hairs on his arms stood up.

The surrounding data light river began to boil, and the originally soft blue light turned into a blinding white, emitting a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound.

It felt like countless insects were crawling wildly on my eardrums, making me dizzy.

[Countdown 10 second]

Jiang Chen pressed his right hand firmly onto the decompilation core.

He glanced at the skill's cooldown time; there were still 137 seconds left.

Then, the modified "Reconnaissance" skill was forcibly activated.

Although he didn't know if he could succeed, he had to take the gamble.

A pale golden light spread along his arm, piercing through the crystal fragments and colliding violently with the pale light of his heart.

His vision was instantly filled with countless flowing data codes, and his eyes stung so much that he almost cried.

Successful.

He stared intently at the nodes of the data stream, searching for that one and only "gap" among thousands of flashing characters.

Sweat slid down his forehead and evaporated instantly on the metal plate.

He could feel his mental energy being rapidly drained.

Dark patches began to appear at the edge of my vision, and my temples throbbed.

[Countdown 3]

【2】

【1】

The heart suddenly contracted into a tiny bright spot, and all the beams of light went out in an instant.

Absolute darkness descended, and even sound was completely silenced.

Jiang Chen felt a sharp pain in his eardrums, as if the whole world had been muted.

Immediately afterwards, an indescribable, terrifying suction force came from beneath my feet, as if the entire space had been instantly turned upside down.

He instinctively grabbed Shiyu's hand tightly, and the two of them were swept into that bottomless vortex of data.

In the last second before he lost consciousness, he saw the heart shatter completely into countless blue powders.

It was then completely swallowed by darkness.

Weightlessness and a tearing sensation struck simultaneously. Jiang Chen felt his body being disintegrated into countless glowing pixels, his consciousness drifting wildly in the void.

All around was a raging river of data light, the original cold blue turning into a dazzling dark red.

All I could hear were shrill, synthesized electronic sounds, like countless people screaming at the same time.

He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as lead.

He could feel his bones remodeling, his muscles tearing, and every nerve being stretched beyond its limits.

This pain is indescribable, as if the soul is being repeatedly polished on rough sandpaper.

Anxious.

He landed heavily, the intense impact forcing the air out of his lungs, and a strong, metallic taste of blood rose in his throat.

He coughed violently as he got up. The first thing that rushed into his nostrils was a strong smell of rust mixed with the burnt smell of ozone.

This is the rotten smell unique to the old version, with a musty, stale odor.

He was breathing heavily, feeling a stinging pain in his lungs as if they were being rubbed with sandpaper.

Every part of my body was protesting; every breath was accompanied by muscle soreness.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, suppressed the dizziness, squinted and looked around, trying to see this unfamiliar place clearly.

Shi Yu collapsed onto the metal grille not far away, her face as pale as paper.

Jiang Chen ran over and helped her up. She coughed twice and waved her hand to indicate that she was fine.

The two helped each other to their feet and looked around at their surroundings.

This is not the core area that was filled with pillars of light and had a semi-transparent ground just now.

Instead, it was a dark, dilapidated, dusty, enclosed room.

Half of the ceiling light tubes were broken, and the remaining few were flickering faintly due to poor contact.

Visible dust floats in the air, and every breath makes my lungs feel uncomfortable, as if the air is filled with tiny shards of glass.

The room layout is exactly the same as the S-07 management room, but everything is a mirror image.

The console is on the left instead of the right, and the door is on the right instead of the left.

Jiang Chen walked to the wall and used his sleeve to wipe away the thick dust from a nameplate.

It is clearly engraved on top in the old font.

【S-07 Management Room (Abandoned Area)】

They actually managed to exploit the bug.

Successfully entered the old version area that was buried by the new system.

Jiang Chen's heartbeat calmed down a little, but his vigilance was at its highest.

Who knows what deadly dangers might lurk in this place that has been abandoned for who knows how many years?

In the center of the room was an old-fashioned physical terminal, without a beam of light, only a faint holographic projection.

Jiang Chen walked over and inserted the crystal fragment into the reading slot.

The terminal emitted a piercing gear-grinding sound, and the screen lit up.

A folder named 【OBS-07-TAM】 pops up.

Jiang Chen's fingers hovered above the screen, trembling slightly.

This is what their hearts were desperate to find.

He took a deep breath and opened the folder.

There were no logs, no code, only an encrypted video.

He forcibly cracked the core using a decompiler—the energy dropped by another 5%, leaving him with 67%.

After a period of static on the screen, the video began to play.

The screen flickered a few times, and then a woman wearing an old-style gray uniform appeared.

She stood with her back to the camera in front of a huge data tower.

Jiang Chen frowned. The woman's back looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.

The woman slowly turned around, revealing a face that Jiang Chen knew all too well. It was Shi Yu.

But her gaze was so cold it chilled one to the bone, completely lacking the usual aloofness mixed with a touch of gentleness.

Jiang Chen suddenly turned to look at Shi Yu beside him and found her staring intently at the screen, her face even paler than before, her lips trembling slightly, and her eyes filled with disbelief.

In the video, Shi Yu looks directly at the camera, her voice completely flat, as if stating a given fact:

"If you've seen this video, it means the new system has taken over, and the old version of consciousness is dying out."

She paused for a moment, then her gaze suddenly became extremely sharp, as if piercing through the screen and striking Jiang Chen's eyes.

"Remember, no matter what, do not trust Jiang Chen."

He wasn't a tester at all; he was used by the system to clean us up...

The video abruptly ended, and the screen went black instantly.

The room was deathly silent.

Jiang Chen's breathing grew heavier and heavier, echoing in the empty room like a bellows.

Shi Yu lay to the side, her breathing gradually becoming rapid.

The two men's heavy breathing rose and fell, sounding particularly jarring in the deathly silence.