Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

Chapter 66 Echoes of the Old Version

The deep sound echoed in the space, like a boulder thrown into water, creating ripples.

"Intruder detected... Defense mechanism activated..."

Lin Bei's expression changed: "Damn! The system's alive!"

"It's alive?" Jiang Chen asked.

"The Seventh Administrative District's defense system! It's detected us! Not just the surface defense, but the core, mid-level defense!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the giant gear overhead suddenly accelerated its rotation, emitting a piercing metallic scraping sound. The data stream on the wall became violent, pulsating like blood vessels, its flow rate visibly doubling.

"Hide! Find cover!"

The three rushed behind a huge mechanical device and crouched down.

A beam of light swept across the spot where they had just stood, leaving a charred mark on the ground. The edges of the mark were reddish, emitting wisps of smoke, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt plastic.

"That's... a laser?"

"It's not a laser, it's a data erasure program." Lin Bei lowered his voice and spoke quickly. "If it scans you, your data will be completely deleted, from your physical to your mental state, nothing will be left. I've seen a data hunter get scanned and disappear on the spot, without even leaving a piece of clothing."

Jiang Chen swallowed hard: "How do I turn it off?"

"It can't be turned off. Once the defense system is activated, it won't stop unless all intruders are eliminated."

"So, we have no choice but to force our way in?"

"Forced entry isn't out of the question, but we need to find the control center of the defense system." Lin Bei looked up at a high platform in the center of the space. "There. I see it; there's a control console on it."

The platform, about fifty meters high, was constructed with metal supports and had no obstructions on its sides. A control console sat on the platform, its screen flashing a faint blue light.

"What is the scanning mode of the beam?"

"Circular scan, clockwise, one revolution every ten seconds. We have a ten-second window."

"Ten seconds, fifty meters, that's enough."

Lin Bei shook his head: "Not enough. The physical rules of this space are unstable; your full-speed running will be compressed to half of your normal speed."

Why?

"Because the data flow density in the middle layer is too high, it will hinder your movement. Running 100 meters in the middle layer is equivalent to running 200 meters in the real world."

Jiang Chen stared at the high platform, calculating the distance and speed.

"It will take twenty seconds. As long as we can accurately calculate the trajectory of the beam, we can reach the platform within the window."

Are you confident?

"No. But we can try."

Jiang Chen took a deep breath and activated the Rule Chain - Reconnaissance.

[Rule Chain - Reconnaissance Lv.1 Activated]

[Data Retrospective - Incomplete Documents Take Effect]

[Analyzing beam scanning mode...]

Within the field of view, the scanning trajectory of the beam became clear.

The beam scans in a circular motion, clockwise, completing one revolution every ten seconds. The beam is two meters wide, and the swept area is marked "cleared" before proceeding to the next revolution. The beam moves very quickly, at approximately thirty degrees per second, with almost no pauses.

"The beam of light will sweep across our current location within ten seconds. We must reach the platform before it passes."

"How exactly do I go?"

"I yelled 'Run!' and we all rushed forward. After reaching the high platform, we rolled right in to avoid the beam's scanning range."

"Understood."

The three crouched behind the mechanical device, waiting for their chance.

The beam of light swept through the space in circles, like a giant eye surveying its territory. With each sweep, a charred mark was left on the ground; the marks multiplied until the entire floor of the space was covered with black spots.

Ten seconds later, the beam swept over their heads.

"run!"

The three of them rushed out of the cover at the same time.

Jiang Chen ran at full speed, but the ground beneath his feet felt as heavy as lead, making each step extremely difficult. The air also felt thick, like running in water, creating immense resistance.

"The rules of physics have been compressed!" he shouted.

"Hold on! Thirty meters to go!"

Twenty-five meters.

Twenty meters.

Fifteen meters.

The beam of light had already begun a new scan behind them.

"Ten seconds! Ten seconds left!"

ten meters.

five meters.

"Jump!"

The three of them jumped up at the same time and tumbled into the high platform.

The beam of light grazed Jiang Chen's heel, leaving a charred mark on the ground less than five centimeters from the sole of his shoe. He could even feel the burning sensation on the sole of his foot as the beam passed by.

"Damn... almost."

Lin Bei got up and dusted himself off: "Cool, but don't take such risks next time."

Jiang Chen stood up and walked to the control panel.

The console was a massive metal platform covered with a dense array of buttons and screens. The text on the screens was an old-style code he couldn't understand—it was a symbolic system composed of geometric shapes and numbers, completely different from the current common language.

"Can it be operated?"

"Sure, but it needs to be decoded." Lin Bei took out the decoder and plugged it into the control panel.

[Decoding in progress...]

[Target: Seventh Administrative District - Mid-Layer Defense System Control Console]

Estimated decoding time: 10 minutes

"Ten minutes. Can we hold out?"

"We have to hold on, even if we can't."

Shiyu stood on the edge of the platform, her short bow still strung, her gaze sweeping across the space below.

"The monster is coming."

Jiang Chen turned his head to look.

Below the platform, the ground began to crack, the fissures spreading outwards like a shattered mirror. A gigantic monster crawled out of the cracks, its eight legs braced on the ground, each leg like a sharp blade, reflecting a cold light in the dim light.

The monster's body was composed of a mixture of metal and data streams, with a layer of dark red data streams covering its outer shell, writhing like a living thing. Its head was shaped like a spider, but it only had one eye—a huge, glowing red eyeball that kept rotating in its socket.

【Data Ripper - Lv.12】

[A defensive unit in the old version of the system, adept at both physical and mental attacks.]

[Weakness: Joint connections, areas of unstable data flow]

"Damn it... Data Ripper." Lin Bei gripped his short knife tightly. "Jiang Chen, you continue decoding. Shi Yu, we'll hold it off."

"clear."

Shiyu drew back the bowstring, aiming the arrow at the Data Ripper's head.

[Precision Shooting Lv.2 Activated]

Hit rate +30%, Critical hit rate +20%

The arrow shot through the air, leaving a silvery-white trail before striking precisely the Data Ripper's head—its enormous eyeball.

But the Data Ripper merely swayed; it wasn't repelled. The arrow pierced its eyeball, but a dark red light appeared on the surface of the eyeball, enveloping the arrow before melting it away.

"Normal attacks are ineffective!"

"Then use your skills!"

Shiyu took a deep breath and drew back the bowstring.

[Precision Shooting Lv.2 + Quick Reload Lv.4]

[Dual Skill Stacking]

Arrow speed +40%, critical hit rate +30%

[Mental Energy Consumption: 25/55]

A silver arrow shot from her hand, its tail trailing a long, slender beam of light. It arced through the air and struck the Data Ripper precisely at its joint—the junction of its left foreleg and body.

The data flow at the joints began to become erratic, and the dark red light became unstable, flickering like a poorly received television signal. The monster's movements became sluggish, and its left foreleg was clearly unable to exert force properly.

"Hit!"

"Keep going! Attack the same spot!"

Shiyu drew his bow again and fired three arrows in quick succession.

Three arrows struck the same joint in succession, causing the data stream at the joint to completely collapse. The dark red light turned grayish-white and then shattered like glass.

The Data Ripper let out a deafening roar—a sharp, piercing sound, like metal scraping against glass, making Jiang Chen's eardrums ache.

[Suffered a mental attack: Mental damage +10]

[Mental Strength: 50/90]

"It's using psychological attacks!"

Lin Bei rushed down from the platform, brandishing his short sword, and slashed at the Data Ripper's other foreleg. The blade struck the data stream, producing a piercing bang and sending sparks flying.

"Jiang Chen! What's the decoding progress?"

Jiang Chen glanced at the control panel.

Decoding progress: 30%

"Thirty percent!"

"Too slow!"

"I know!"

Jiang Chen stared at the console, but the data stream on the screen was moving too fast for him to understand. The decoder was slowly parsing each line of code, but the amount of data was too large; ten minutes was already the theoretical maximum speed.

The Data Ripper turned around, and with all eight legs exerting force simultaneously, it lunged at Lin Bei.

Lin Bei dodged to the side, but his left arm was still cut by the blade, and blood flowed freely, staining his sleeve red.

[Attacked: Physical damage +15]

[Mental Strength: 45/60]

"Lin Bei!"

"It's okay! Keep decoding!"

Jiang Chen took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He looked at the console and suddenly noticed a flashing icon in the corner of the screen—a very small, almost negligible symbol that looked like a key.

"What is this?"

He tapped the icon with his finger.

Hidden access point detected

[Do I need to use permission fragments to unlock?]

[Consumption: Core Data Layer - Permission Fragment ×1]

Core Data Layer - Permission Fragment - The dark red crystal he obtained in the safe house.

"Damn, I almost forgot."

Jiang Chen took out the fragment and pressed it onto the control panel.

[Permission fragment identification in progress...]

[Recognition successful]

[Granted: Temporary Administrator Privileges]

[Unlocking hidden permissions...]

[Unlocked successfully]

The data stream on the console screen suddenly stopped flowing and then disappeared, leaving a simple interface with only one line of text and one button.

"What...what is this?"

Lin Bei glanced at it briefly: "Damn! You unlocked hidden permissions! Just click 'Disable Defense System'!"

Jiang Chen clicked the button.

The defense system is now disabled.

The beam of light disappeared.

The Data Ripper let out a desperate roar as its body began to disintegrate—first its head, then its body, and finally its eight legs, scattering like sand into a pile of grayish-white data fragments that vanished into the air.

[Slay Data Ripper Lv.12]

Experience points gained: 600

[Drop: Rule Fragment x2]

"pretty!"

Lin Bei sat on the ground, panting heavily, his left arm still bleeding from the wound.

"Let's take a break before continuing."

Jiang Chen walked up to Lin Bei and examined his wound—the wound was deep, and the edges glowed with a dark red light, a sign of data contamination.

"The wound is deep and needs treatment."

"It's nothing, just a minor injury."

"This is no minor injury. Data Ripper attacks leave behind data remnants, which can cause infection if left untreated."

"What should we do?"

"Use mental power to eliminate the residue."

Jiang Chen reached out and pressed his hand on Lin Bei's wound.

[Data Retrospective - Incomplete Documents Take Effect]

[Clearing residual data traces...]

[Mental Energy Consumption: 20/45]

Lin Bei's wound began to heal, albeit slowly, but at least the bleeding had stopped. The dark red data residue was gradually removed, revealing the normal skin underneath.

"Your mental strength is insufficient."

"We can hold on for a while longer."

"Don't push yourself." Lin Bei pushed Jiang Chen's hand away, took a bandage out of his pocket, and wrapped it around the wound. "I'll take care of the rest myself. Rest for ten minutes, then continue."

The three rested on the platform for ten minutes.

Jiang Chen sat on the ground, looking at the two fragments of the new rules in his hand.

[Rule Fragments: Data Defense - Incomplete]

[Effect: Briefly generates a data barrier to block one physical attack. Cooldown: 300 seconds. Costs 30 Spirit Points per use.]

[Rule Fragments: Data Awareness - Incomplete]

[Effect: Expands the range of perception and increases sensitivity to data fluctuations. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 240 seconds. Consumes 20 Spirit Points per use.]

Two new skill fragments.

Jiang Chen held the fragment up to his eyes. Tiny points of light flowed inside the dark red crystal, like a miniature galaxy slowly rotating.

"Data Defense - Fragment, Data Awareness - Fragment." He murmured the names of the fragments. "One can save my life, the other can detect. They'll perfectly fill my current gaps."

"Then keep them." Lin Bei leaned against the control panel, took out his water bottle and took a sip. "The fragments in the data graveyard are all remnants of skills from the old version of the system. Once you collect them all, you can unlock some exclusive skills from the old version. But I have to warn you—the more fragments you have, the more varied the skills will be, and the heavier the mental burden on you will be."

How do you determine if something is suitable?

"It depends on the compatibility of your existing skills." Lin Bei pointed to the fragment in his hand. "Data defense takes a defensive approach, which is different from your current reconnaissance skills. After equipping it, your skill tree might develop in the direction of 'all-rounder'—knowing a little about everything, but not being proficient in anything."

"What about data awareness?"

"That complements your existing reconnaissance skills perfectly," Lin Bei said. "It expands your perception range and increases your sensitivity to data fluctuations, essentially upgrading your reconnaissance techniques from 'passive reception' to 'active scanning'."

Jiang Chen thought for a moment, then put the data perception fragment into his pocket and kept the data defense fragment separately.

"I'll assemble it when I get back. I don't have enough mental energy right now, and assembling the fragments also consumes energy."

"Smart." Lin Bei stood up, stretched his left arm, and said, "Let's go, we can't delay any longer."

Jiang Chen gathered up the fragments and looked at Lin Bei: "Are you still able to walk?"

"Yes, it's possible. But it will be a bit slower."

"Let's move on."

The three left the platform and entered the depths of the space.

The passage narrowed, the walls drew closer, and the data flow became increasingly dense. The data stream on the walls was no longer dark red, but had turned deep purple, flowing rapidly and emitting a buzzing electrical sound.

"We're almost at the core area."

How much further?

"It's about one kilometer. Once you cross this passage, you'll see the entrance to the core data layer."

Jiang Chen nodded and continued forward.

After walking about 500 meters, he suddenly stopped.

"etc."

"What's wrong?"

"There's a sound up ahead..."

The three stopped and held their breath.

From deep within the passage came faint footsteps. Not the footsteps of a monster, but the crisp sound of human shoes striking the metal floor, one step at a time, rhythmically.

"There's someone there."

"Not a monster?" Shigure asked.

"No. It's the sound of footsteps."

Lin Bei frowned: "Impossible. I've never encountered anyone else in the middle area."

"But there were definitely footsteps."

Jiang Chen clenched his fist and activated the Rule Chain - Reconnaissance.

[Rule Chain - Reconnaissance Lv.1 Activated]

[Data Retrospective - Incomplete Documents Take Effect]

[Analyzing the source of the sound ahead...]

In my field of vision, about thirty meters ahead, there was a blurry human-shaped outline.

"A person. Standing in the middle of the passageway, not moving."

"A living person?"