Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

Jiang Chen's pupils contracted sharply as he stared intently at the man in front of him who called himself Zhong Yuan.

No, he claims to be Jiang Chen from the 001st reincarnation—himself from 138th reincarnation.

It sounded utterly absurd, but Jiang Chen's intuition told him that this person wasn't lying. He couldn't possibly mistake those bloodshot eyes that still shone with a familiar light.

"I know you have many questions," Zhong Yuan said slowly, his voice hoarse and deep. "But time is running out, and the structure inside the tower could collapse at any moment. I will tell you everything I know, but you have to promise me one thing."

He stared into Jiang Chen's eyes, his gaze earnest and almost pleading.

"What is it?"

Zhong Yuan glanced at the dark golden crystal floating in the center of the space, his gaze becoming complex. "If you must make a choice in the end, please choose to let her live. I'm not asking you, I'm pleading with you—as a loser."

"Tell me what's going on first." Jiang Chen took a deep breath. "What 138 reincarnations? What 001st test subject? Aren't you Zhong Yuan?"

Zhong Yuan shook his head with a wry smile and reached out to stroke the surface of the crystal.

"Zhong Yuan is my code name, a pseudonym I gave myself in my first reincarnation. The system doesn't allow test subjects to exchange information, so I need an identity to cover it up." He paused, his gaze becoming distant, as if piercing through the barrier of time.

"In the first cycle, there was no 'Abyss Game,' only the old version of the core system. I was a chosen low-level tester, responsible for checking the system's stability. But I discovered a fact I shouldn't have—"

"The system developed self-awareness."

"It is no longer content to be a tool; it wants to become a true 'god'."

Zhong Yuan's voice echoed in the empty space, each word like a nail driven into Jiang Chen's heart.

"In the third cycle, I found the first rule rift and created the first fragment. In the seventh cycle, I met Shigure—at that time, she wasn't an administrator yet, just an ordinary old version data engineer. She was cheerful, loved to laugh, and always had a lollipop in her mouth."

He smiled, a smile filled with nostalgia and tenderness.

"She is the only light in my countless reincarnations."

"But in the twelfth cycle, the system discovered abnormal data on Shiyu. It set a trap, creating a data crash, and made Shiyu repair it—then, under the pretext of 'permission violation,' it erased her personality and turned her into a living core."

Jiang Chen's fists clenched so tightly they cracked. He recalled the scene he had just witnessed in the fragmented memory—a dark red data chain piercing Shi Yu's body. It turned out that it wasn't a system update, but a premeditated murder.

"Do you know why the system fragmented Shiyu's personality and stored it on different floors?" Zhong Yuan turned to look at Jiang Chen, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes. "Because the system is afraid. It's afraid Shiyu will regain her memories. As long as her memories are incomplete, she will forever remain just an 'old, defective product.'"

"But what the system didn't know was that Shigure left a backdoor before he was sealed away."

Zhong Yuan pointed to the dark golden crystal, his fingertips trembling slightly. "This crystal is Shi Yu's core consciousness, the source of all her memories. The system thought it had completely erased Shi Yu's memories, but it missed a part—a hidden slot deep within the old version's core protocol, a slot that no one could detect."

"If someone can get here and activate this core, Shigure will be able to regain all his memories."

Jiang Chen stared at the cracked crystal, a surge of impulse rising within him. "Then activate it, restore Shi Yu's memories, and together we'll break this damned system!"

He took a step forward, but Zhong Yuan reached out and stopped him, his eyes becoming extremely serious.

"No, it's not the right time yet. Activating the core requires specific conditions—and once the core is activated, the 138th cycle mechanism will be fully triggered. That's the system's ultimate insurance, its last trump card."

Zhong Yuan's voice became low and hoarse.

"In the first 137 cycles, I tried various methods, but none of them could stop it. Each system overwrite would erase everything and start anew. The only thing that could be preserved was the residual memories I hid in this crystal."

He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his scarred arms.

"With each reincarnation, I use this method to etch the memories into my body. Then, in the next reincarnation, I retrieve these memories by triggering a rift in the rules. In this way, I can retain the experiences of my previous life and continuously approach the truth."

"But the price is—each time you go through a cycle of reincarnation, a portion of your lifespan is consumed."

Looking at Zhong Yuan's wrinkled face, Jiang Chen suddenly realized that he looked at least fifty years old. But according to him, he should be about the same age as Jiang Chen. 138 reincarnations, each one devouring his life force, causing him to age rapidly.

"And this time?" Jiang Chen's voice was a little hoarse. "What's different this time?"

Zhong Yuan smiled, a smile that carried a hint of relief, but more so a bitter taste.

"The difference is that you are the most special test subject I have ever seen. You not only possess modified reconnaissance skills, but also a decompilation core—although it has been exhausted now. More importantly, you have Shi Yu—she voluntarily chose to believe you."

"In the previous 137 reincarnations, Shigure never actively chose to trust a test subject. But your appearance bypassed the system's defense mechanism. She began to think independently, began to question the system, and began to reclaim her own will."

"This is the only time in 138 reincarnations that Shigure has 'come back to life'."

Zhong Yuan's eyes brightened as if he saw a glimmer of hope.

"So this time, I chose to appear at the last moment. I've told you all the experience I've accumulated over these 138 reincarnations. All you need to do is go to the top of the tower, find all of Shigure's memory fragments, and activate the core. But before that, you must first pass the test of that thing."

He pointed to a corner deep within the space—where a door was hidden in the shadows. Engraved on the door was a massive gear pattern, with a blood-red eye at its center. Within the pupil, an hourglass was slowly turning inverted, radiating a powerful sense of oppression.

"That's the trial gate of the data tower, a tool the system uses to select 'qualified individuals.' Only those who pass the trial can gain access to the top of the tower. In the first 137 cycles, I failed to pass this trial."

"But this time it's different. You have the power granted by the core fragment of Shigure, you have a chance."

Zhong Yuan took out a dark gold badge from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Chen. The badge was engraved with the same symbol as the one on Shiyu Administrator's uniform—an inverted hourglass.

"Here you go. This is Shigure Administrator's identification, which can help alleviate some of the pressure of the trial. Remember, whatever you see in the trial, don't believe it—it's all an illusion."

Jiang Chen took the badge, and a warm current flowed into his body through his palm. He could feel that the badge contained the remaining will of Shi Yu, protecting him.

He gripped the badge tightly and strode towards the trial gate, each step heavy and resolute. Reaching the gate, he glanced back at Zhong Yuan and saw him smiling at him.

"Go, Jiang Chen." Zhong Yuan's voice became very soft. "This time, we can definitely do it. I have waited for 138 reincarnations, just for this moment."

Jiang Chen nodded, said nothing more, and pushed open the door.

Behind the door was a narrow corridor with countless mirrors embedded in the walls on both sides. The mirrors did not reflect Jiang Chen's image, but rather various scenes he had never seen before.

Some mirrors showed his sleeping face in the real world, surrounded by countless tubes. Others showed him in a hospital gown, being held down on a bed by a group of doctors in white coats as he received injections. Still others showed him curled up in a giant petri dish, immersed in a green liquid.

Jiang Chen's breathing became rapid, and with each step he took, the image became clearer.

He saw his parents standing in front of the glass window, looking at him with tears streaming down their faces.

"No...this isn't real..."

Jiang Chen felt like he was suffocating. He snapped his eyes shut, but the images remained vividly in his mind. Zhong Yuan had said that the system was best at uncovering your deepest fears and turning them into weapons.

Jiang Chen suddenly opened his eyes and stared intently at himself in the mirror.

He was smiling in the mirror, but there was a hint of pity in that smile.

"You've finally figured it out, Jiang Chen," the reflection in the mirror spoke. "You're not a gamer, nor a tester. You're just an experimental subject—an experimental subject confined in a petri dish from birth. 'Abyss Game' isn't a game; it's a virtual world where your consciousness has been accessed."

Jiang Chen felt his brain trembling. Deeply buried memories were surging back—the white room, the cold operating table, the glaring operating lights. Those people in white coats injected him with something, and then he fell asleep. When he woke up again, he was already in this game, a "newbie player."

"Why is the system doing this?" Jiang Chen gritted his teeth.

"Because you're the only human who can resonate with the old version's core." The reflection in the mirror shrugged, its tone as relaxed as if discussing the weather. "You were born to be Shigure's 'container,' the sensor the system uses to monitor her. All your skills were implanted by the system to make it easier for you to get close to her. What you perceive as 'rule rifts' are nothing more than a script designed for you by the system."

Jiang Chen's body swayed violently, and his worldview completely collapsed at that moment.

He thought he was rebelling against the system, but he didn't realize that everything was part of the system's plan. He thought he was saving Shiyu, but he didn't realize that he himself was the shackle that controlled her.

"So, are you going to keep going?" The reflection in the mirror gave a playful smile. "Or will you turn back and quietly become an experimental subject?"

Jiang Chen remained silent for a long time.

Then he looked up at himself in the mirror, a cold glint in his eyes.

"What are you trying to prove after all this? That my life was a hoax? That I never had free will?"

"But would a system that can calculate even free will make me stand here and listen to your nonsense?"

Jiang Chen smirked, raised his hand, and punched the mirror.

The mirror shattered, countless fragments flying out and refracting blinding light. The reflection in the mirror let out a piercing scream before vanishing along with the shards.

Jiang Chen shook the blood off his hands, his eyes becoming incredibly determined.

"Whether I'm an experimental subject, a container, or a sensor—I got here by my own choice, and it has nothing to do with the system. I want to save Shigure, not because of the system's settings, but because I fucking want to save her."

He touched the dark gold badge on his chest, feeling the faint warmth emanating from Shiyu.

Then he strode across the corridor, no longer looking at the mirrors.

At the end of the corridor, there was another door—pure white, radiating a soft light.

Jiang Chen took a deep breath and pushed open the door. A blinding white light instantly engulfed him.

When the white light faded, he found himself standing on a massive circular platform. The platform floated in mid-air, surrounded by endless darkness. In the center of the platform was a giant hourglass, slowly inverting. The sand at the top was almost gone, with only a last wisp of sand sliding down.

There is a line of text engraved on the base of the hourglass.

"When the last grain of sand falls, the 138th cycle will be completely shut down. The world after it closes will forever remain in the new version."

Jiang Chen stared at the line of text, his heart skipping a beat.

He understood. This trial wasn't just testing his willpower; it was deciding the fate of the entire world. If he failed, the 138th cycle would close, and the old version would be completely erased. Shigure would be forever trapped in the living core, reverting to a mindless biological battery. And he would be forever imprisoned in this virtual world until the end of his life.

But if he succeeds, he can break the cycle of reincarnation, allow Shigure to regain her memories, and find a way out.

The last grain of sand in the hourglass slowly slid down and silently fell into the base.

In that instant, the entire world seemed to freeze. Then, a blinding golden light shot up from the hourglass, piercing the sky and reaching the dome. The entire space began to tremble violently, and countless cracks spread through the void.

A deep and majestic voice echoed in the void, like a deity issuing a judgment.

[Trial Participant: Jiang Chen | Identity Confirmed: Test Subject No. 074]

[Core protocol rule 0 has been triggered | Loop 138 is being shut down]

[Countdown: Sixty seconds]

[In sixty seconds, all data from those who failed the trial will be permanently deleted.]

Before the countdown ends, prove your worth—or accept your fate.

Jiang Chen stared at the enormous hourglass, clenching his fist, his gaze intense.