Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

Thousands upon thousands of dark golden eyes opened simultaneously amidst the crimson light.

There is no white in the eye, and no pupil.

It was a pure, dark gold, like ten thousand cold glass beads.

They were locking onto Jiang Chen and Shi Yu from all directions.

The air freezes.

Jiang Chen felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart.

The nutrient solution inside the glass column began to boil, with bubbles rising wildly.

The sleeping players convulsed violently, and dense black blood vessels appeared on their skin.

The data cable detached from their necks, spines, and skulls with a "click-click" sound.

The hatch of the first glass pillar popped open.

Nutrient solution poured out and spread across the gray ground.

The player stepped out of the glass pillar, his wet, bare feet leaving a watermark on the ground.

Then the second, the third, the fourth... thousands of hatches popped open at the same time.

The dull rumbling sounds rose and fell, deafeningly loud.

Jiang Chen pulled Shi Yu backward, their backs pressed against the cold wall.

He activated "Reconnaissance," and his pale golden vision swept across the attribute panels of those players.

[Reconnaissance skill activated]

[Cooldown Remaining: 167 seconds / Reset in 180 seconds]

[Mental Energy Consumption: Ongoing]

But the screen only showed crimson gibberish; there were no names, no ranks, nothing at all.

"They are empty shells."

"A puppet controlled by the system."

Jiang Chen's voice was low and urgent.

Shiyu didn't speak; her body was trembling slightly.

Her eyes were fixed on the glass pillar in the seventh row.

The "core administrator" who looked exactly like her was still floating in the nutrient solution with her eyes closed.

The player at the very front suddenly moved.

The movement was incredibly fast, leaving a blur in the air.

With his five fingers joined together, he thrust them straight at Jiang Chen's throat.

Jiang Chen dodged to the side and drew the dagger from his waist.

The blade cut into the other person's arm, but it was like cutting into a wad of cotton; there was no resistance, no blood.

The severed arm turned into black mist and quickly dissipated.

The player glanced down at the severed arm expressionlessly, countless tiny streams of code flowing from the wound.

In just two seconds, a brand new arm grew out of the severed area.

"It has regenerative abilities and no sense of pain."

Jiang Chen cursed inwardly, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

He immediately changed tactics, no longer pursuing lethality, and used "coordinate manipulation" to create distance.

[Coordinate tampering activation]

[Cooldown Remaining: 174 seconds / Reset in 180 seconds]

He quickly scanned the structure of the hall, looking for a breakthrough.

In the center of the dome, there is a huge gear relief that is slowly turning.

"Shigure, can you still sense your memory backup?"

Jiang Chen asked while dodging.

Shi Yu kept her eyes tightly closed, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

"Yes...but not in this hall."

"It's up there, deeper down."

She pointed to the gear relief on the dome, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Behind that gear is a passage, and my core is calling to me."

Forcing our way in is definitely not an option.

These monsters are unkillable, and their numbers are thousands or even tens of thousands of times greater than theirs.

Jiang Chen took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and analyzed the environmental data.

There are 3,720 glass pillars in the hall, distributed in seven circular areas.

Each area is connected to a central platform by a passageway approximately two meters wide.

The platform was about ten meters high, with a huge crystal pillar standing on it, emitting a ghostly blue light.

The surface of the crystal pillar was engraved with old version runes, exactly the same as the runes on Shigure's body.

At the top of the platform, directly below the gear relief in the center of the dome.

A route instantly flashed into my mind.

Use "coordinate manipulation" to jump to the central platform, and then use the crystal pillar as a springboard.

You can then touch the gear relief and open the passage to the next level.

However, the area around the central high platform was the most crowded with players, almost completely packed with them.

"Shigure, do me a favor."

Jiang Chen turned around and stared into her eyes.

"Can the old version of the core within your body briefly unleash its oppressive power?"

"Three seconds is enough, give me time to jump."

Shi Yu paused for a moment, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes before turning into determination.

"I can give it a try."

"But I'm not sure if I can control it."

"The last time it ran out on its own, I was completely unaware of it, like I had blacked out from drinking."

"So if I fail, or if I end up like that..."

She bit her lip and said softly, "Don't hesitate, just do it."

Jiang Chen was silent for a moment, then reached out and patted her shoulder.

"It won't come to that."

"Trust me, and trust yourself."

He gripped the dagger tightly, the pale golden light dancing on his fingertips, illuminating his resolute face.

"Tell me when you're ready, and I'll jump the moment you unleash your pressure."

Shi Yu took a deep breath, slowly closed her eyes, and began to mobilize the dormant power within her body.

The surrounding players are rapidly closing in, no longer walking slowly, but running.

Countless bare feet trod on the wet ground, making a dull but orderly sound.

The entire hall seemed to tremble with their steps.

Shigure's body began to glow faintly.

Pale golden runes emerged from beneath her skin, this time not wildly, but gently meandering.

Her breathing became even and deep, as if she were making a pact with some ancient will.

An extremely powerful force is awakening and gathering within her.

"Now!"

Shi Yu suddenly opened her eyes, her clear pupils instantly swallowed by dark gold.

An extremely terrifying pressure erupted from her body, and a shockwave, as real as a physical object, swept outwards.

The players who were charging forward suddenly froze, as if a pause button had been pressed.

They froze on the spot, and for the first time, a flicker of fear appeared in their dark golden eyes.

Jiang Chen did not hesitate at all.

He activated "Coordinate Alteration," leaving a trail of afterimages in the air.

[Coordinates being tampered with]

[Cooldown Refreshing]

[Remaining time: 177 seconds / 180 seconds before resetting]

He stepped on the shoulders and heads of those stiff players, darting past like a cheetah.

Three steps, five steps, ten steps, getting closer and closer to the central platform.

Just as he was about to step onto the edge of the platform, a sudden change occurred.

The oppressive force of Shiyu lasted for less than two seconds before rapidly diminishing.

Those players regained their mobility and reacted even more violently than before.

His dark golden eyes flashed with angry red light.

The player closest to Jiang Chen suddenly reached out and grabbed his ankle.

Jiang Chen lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

Just as he was about to land, he suddenly plunged the dagger into the ground.

Using the momentum, he forcefully twisted his body and rolled onto the high platform.

He was panting heavily and looked back in the direction of Shigure.

Shi Yu knelt on one knee, her face as pale as paper, and the dark gold in her eyes was fading rapidly.

"Don't worry about me!"

Shigure shouted with his last bit of strength.

"I have the old version of the core inside me, they won't kill me, hurry up and get in!"

Jiang Chen gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He knew Shi Yu was right, but reason and emotion were tearing him apart in his chest.

He turned around abruptly, no longer looking at Shiyu, and stared intently at the crystal pillar in front of him.

The old runes on the crystal pillar began to emit a blinding light as he approached.

He reached out and touched the surface of the crystal pillar, and a warm and powerful force surged into his body.

My vision was instantly pulled into a pure white space, with countless fragments of memories floating all around.

In these fragments, he saw what Shigure looked like in the past.

She was wearing an old version of the black administrator uniform, standing in front of a massive data core.

His eyes were focused and determined, and his fingers flew across the virtual keyboard.

She is patching underlying vulnerabilities in an older version of the system in an attempt to prevent a devastating data crash.

But suddenly a blood-red warning popped up on the screen.

[WARNING: Unauthorized system modifications detected]

[Clause Zero of the core protocol has been triggered]

[Executing: Revoking administrator privileges]

[In progress: Memory formatting]

Shigure's eyes went from shock to fear, and then to utter despair.

She turned to run away, but countless dark red data chains shot out from the wall and tightly bound her.

Jiang Chen abruptly pulled his hand back.

The pure white space before him shattered instantly, and he returned to reality.

Tears welled up uncontrollably in his eyes, but he had no time to wipe them away.

He finally understood what Shigure was carrying on his shoulders.

That was the entire old version of despair.

He raised his head and stared intently at the gear relief on the dome, his eyes burning with rage.

"I will rescue you, I swear."

He gripped the dagger tightly, leaped, and pounced towards the gear relief on the dome.

A pale golden light trailed a long tail behind him, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky.

His fingers touched the edge of the gear, and the icy sensation instantly spread throughout his body.

The gear relief began to turn slowly, emitting a dull mechanical roar.

The floor of the hall began to shake violently, and the players emitted piercing screams.

A spiraling passage slowly opens behind the gears, revealing deep darkness.

From the depths of the passage, a faint call came, as if from another world.

Jiang Chen glanced back at Shi Yu, who was surrounded by players in the hall, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes.

Then, without looking back, he plunged into the passage and disappeared into the darkness.

The passageway slowly closed behind him, shutting out all sound from the hall.

He must find Shigure's memory core; that's the only way to save her.

The passage was very long, so long that it seemed to have no end.

The walls around the room were covered with old versions of runes, which emitted a faint glow.

Jiang Chen walked along the passage for about ten minutes when a door suddenly appeared in front of him.

It was a door made of pure obsidian, with a smooth, mirror-like surface that reflected people's images.

There was a line of text engraved on the door, written in an old version of prophetic script.

[Visitor of the 138th cycle, you have finally arrived]

Jiang Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he reached out and pushed open the door.

The sight behind the door made him freeze in place.

Behind the door was a huge circular space with a dome so high that the end could not be seen.

In the center of the space, a huge crystal that emits a dark golden light floats.

The surface of the crystal is covered with dense cracks, like a shattered glass ball.

Inside the crystal, a human figure was clearly sealed.

The figure looked exactly like Shigure, but was wearing a black administrator uniform.

She closed her eyes, hugged her knees, and curled up in the center of the crystal, like a sleeping baby.

Jiang Chen approached the crystal, reached out his hand, and wanted to touch its surface.

But just as his fingertips were about to touch the crystal, a voice sounded behind him.

"You've finally arrived, test subject number 074."

That voice belonged to Zhong Yuan.

But it was completely different from what I had heard before.

This time, there was no mockery, no coldness, only a deep-seated weariness and vicissitude.

It felt as if it had spanned countless cycles of reincarnation.

Jiang Chen turned around abruptly and saw a figure slowly emerge from the shadows.

The man was wearing a worn-out white coat, his hair was gray, and his face was covered with wrinkles.

But his eyes were exactly the same as Jiang Chen's, gleaming with the same light.

"you……"

Jiang Chen opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

The figure smiled slightly, a hint of bitterness in his eyes.

"I am Zhong Yuan, and I am also you."

"Or rather, I am Jiang Chen in the 001st reincarnation."

"The person who died 138 times before the end of the cycle of reincarnation."

Jiang Chen felt his mind go blank, as if he had been struck by lightning.

[Hidden Hint: The 138th cycle mechanism has been activated]

The old version's core is being revived.