Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

Jiang Chen looked at himself in the mirror and felt more clear-headed than ever before.

That fragment of "cognitive stability" rule has been integrated into his consciousness.

Like an anchor, it firmly fixes his memory on the correct coordinates.

He remembered who he was, why he was there, and what he was supposed to do.

He will no longer be deceived by his reflection in the mirror.

His reflection in the mirror revealed a complex expression—not fear, not anger, but a sense of relief.

"You win."

The man in the mirror spoke, his voice no longer malicious, but calm.

"You've passed the rule resistance test and become the first challenger unaffected by the rules in the mirror. This door is open for you."

A ripple appeared on the mirror, and then his reflection disappeared.

The mirror reverted to ordinary glass, reflecting the empty room behind him.

Jiang Chen turned around, walked out of room 302, crossed the corridor, and headed for the elevator. This time, he didn't lower his head, didn't glance to the side, and didn't avoid any mirrors.

He stared directly into each mirror, looking at his reflection with composure and tranquility. In the mirrors, he no longer appeared different; they were simply faithful reflections of himself.

He stepped into the elevator and pressed B1.

The elevator doors slowly closed, and three mirrors reflected him from three different angles. He stood in the center of the mirrors, looking at himself from all three angles, his face expressionless.

The elevator reached B1, and the doors opened. He stepped out of the elevator and walked towards the metal door engraved with an octagonal gear and an eye.

He stuck the pass card onto the card reader.

drop.

This time, the text on the card reader turned green.

"Identity verified. Welcome back, Challenger 074."

The metal door made a dull clicking sound, then slowly opened.

Behind the door is a huge circular space, at least thirty meters in diameter.

The dome is transparent, allowing you to see the layers of the building structure above.

The first floor, the second floor corridor, and the third floor ward all floated overhead, like an inverted kaleidoscope.

In the center of the space, a huge mirror is suspended.

The mirror is round, about five meters in diameter, and the frame is woven from countless tiny silver metal wires.

The mirror is not ordinary glass, but a flowing silver liquid with fine ripples constantly appearing on its surface.

Jiang Chen walked closer to the mirror and saw his reflection in it.

It's not him as a person, but his "mirror image".

In the mirror image, he is wearing a hospital gown, sitting on a white hospital bed, head down, hands wrapped around his knees.

That mirror image is the collection of the parts of his self-awareness that were stripped away in the mirror hospital.

"You've arrived."

He looked up at Jiang Chen in the mirror, his eyes filled with a complex emotion.

"I am the consciousness formed by all the knowledge you exchanged in this hospital."

You can also call me—[Jiang Chen in the Mirror].

"You've cleared the Rule Resistance stage, proving you won't be consumed by the rules. According to the dungeon's rules, you should receive the key to proceed to the next stage. But before you leave, I have a request."

Jiang Chen looked at himself in the mirror without saying a word.

"You cleared the orphanage and met Lin Xiaohe. Her story showed you the pain of deleted data. But do you know where that deleted data ultimately goes?"

Jiang Chen shook his head.

"They haven't disappeared."

Jiang Chen in the mirror spoke softly.

"They were recycled by the system, and then—they were put into the mirror hospital."

This hospital, on the surface, is a copy of the old version, but in reality, it is the system's "recycle bin".

All deleted data is sent here and cleaned through the mirror system.

After the data is cleaned, it will be reformatted, becoming new NPCs for use in the new version.

"That's why all the patients at the Mirror Hospital have [deleted] data."

They were NPCs, or even players, in the old version.

After being deleted, they are sent here to have their memories wiped clean before being reincarnated.

Jiang Chen's pupils contracted slightly. "What about Lin Xiaohe?"

"Lin Xiaohe is an exception. She wasn't sent here because she escaped to the Forgotten Station and became a permanent passenger on the train."

But the other children—B01 to B13, thirteen children in total—were all sent here.

Right now, they're in a ward in this hospital, waiting to be cleaned as "new patients."

Jiang Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"What do you want me to do by telling me all this?"

In the mirror, he looked up at Jiang Chen with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Save them. The core of the Mirror Hospital is this mirror."

As long as this mirror is still running, it will continuously receive deleted data and clean it.

If you can break this mirror, the mirror hospital will stop operating.

The data awaiting cleaning will then be freed.

"But breaking the mirror comes at a price."

The core rule of the Mirror Hospital is [identity swap].

Breaking the mirror means completely destroying the rule.

The breakdown of the rules will have a backlash against the copy manager.

He paused, looked at Jiang Chen, and his eyes showed a hint of relief.

"I am the [Instance Manager]."

To be precise, the collection of cognitions you swapped out has been bound by the system to become the manager of this copy.

If you break the mirror, I will disappear.

Because the perceptions you exchange will also disappear along with the shattering of the mirror.

Jiang Chen looked at him and remained silent.

"You are not my enemy."

The person in the mirror spoke calmly, "You are just a part of me, stripped away by the rules and trapped here. If you don't break the mirror, you will be trapped in this copy forever, just like me. If you break the mirror, I will disappear, but you will gain freedom. This choice is actually very simple."

Jiang Chen stared at himself in the mirror for a long time.

Then, he reached out and touched the mirror.

The silvery liquid surface rippled under his fingertips.

He could feel the temperature of his reflection in the mirror. It was cold, like ice.

But he did not back down; he continued forward and reached his hand into the mirror.

Then, he grasped his own hand in the mirror.

"You are not part of me."

He looked at himself in the mirror, his voice soft but firm.

"You are me—my fear, my confusion, my anxiety. You are everything I lost in this hospital. I will not abandon you."

He pulled hard, pulling his reflection out of the mirror.

The "Jiang Chen" figure, dressed in a hospital gown, stumbled and fell out of the mirror, landing on the ground.

He looked up at Jiang Chen, his eyes filled with shock, confusion, and an indescribable emotion.

"You...you pulled me out? Are you crazy? I am the aggregate of your negative perceptions. After I'm released, I will merge with you! After merging, you will feel all the pain and fear that I shared!"

"I know."

Jiang Chen looked at him, squatted down, and looked him in the eye. "But those pains and fears were originally mine. I shouldn't have left them for you to bear alone."

In the mirror, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. He looked down and saw his hands turning transparent.

"You pulled me out, breaking the rules of the mirror."

He said softly, with a hint of relief in his voice, "The mirror no longer needs a manager, and I—am about to disappear."

Jiang Chen looked at him, but didn't let go.

"Where will you go after you disappear?"

"Go back to your memories."

The man in the mirror looked up at Jiang Chen and smiled. "I will become a part of you—your strength when you face fear. I was always yours, and now I'm back."

His body transformed into countless golden specks of light, surging into Jiang Chen's chest.

Jiang Chen felt his heart skip a beat, and a warm force surged into his limbs.

Those swapped memories, those stripped-away perceptions, have all returned.

He remembers who he is, where he came from, and where he is going.

He closed his eyes, feeling the power flowing through his body.

Then, he opened his eyes and looked at the huge mirror.

Cracks began to appear on the mirror, spreading outwards from the center like a spider web.

Silvery liquid seeped from the cracks, dripping onto the ground with a hissing sound.

The entire underground space began to shake, as if something ancient was collapsing.

Jiang Chen took a few steps back, watching the mirror shatter little by little.

boom--

The mirror shattered completely. Silver fragments scattered across the ground, reflecting a faint light. Countless faces were reflected in those fragments.

These are the data that were sent here to be cleaned. Their faces no longer show fear, no longer show pain, only a sense of relief and peace.

They are free.

The core rules of the Mirror Hospital have collapsed.

[The instance administrator has been unbound]

All data awaiting cleaning has been released.

[Second stop: The Mirror Hospital, now open to traffic]

[Clearance Rating: S]

[Rewards Received: Rule Fragment - Cognitive Consolidation x1 (Used), Old Version Memory Fragment - Mirror Manager x1]

[Reward Description: You have obtained core access to the Mirror Hospital - in future instances, you will be immune to any "cognitive interference" rules.]

Jiang Chen stood in front of the shattered mirror, watching the specks of light gradually dissipate into the air.

He turned and walked towards the elevator. The elevator doors opened, he stepped inside, and pressed the 1F button. The elevator ascended, returning to the first floor.

On the platform, a new train was waiting for him. The number on the train door had changed.

【FR-03】

The third stop is ready.

He boarded the train, and the doors closed behind him.

Inside the carriage, it was the same passengers, with the same empty expressions.

But this time, Jiang Chen noticed that one seat was empty.

A little girl wearing a floral dress once sat in that seat.

Now, on that seat, there is a new flower—white, like a gardenia planted in a hospital flowerbed.

Jiang Chen picked up the flower and placed it together with the wildflower from before, then sat down in his seat.

The train slowly started moving and disappeared into the darkness.

Next stop: The Endless Library

Site ID: OBS-07-DEL-03

[Reason for deletion: All the books in the library would become reality after being read, causing the boundary between reality and fiction to completely disappear.]

[Danger Level: A]

[Hint: In the Endless Library, every book is a world—you think you're reading, but actually, the book is reading you too.]