Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

Chapter 68 The Sincerity of Mirror Image

"You...you've finally arrived."

The mirrored voice seemed to come from a very far place, or perhaps it was spoken by Jiang Chen himself, carrying a strange echo.

Jiang Chen stared at that "self"—the height, build, movements, and even the breathing rhythm were the same.

But the mirrored eyes are different; they have no pupils, only flowing golden data streams, like two thin rivers swirling in their sockets.

"Who are you?"

"I am you. Or rather, you at a certain point in time," the mirror image said, the fragment of rules in its palm emitting a soft golden light. "Take it. Then, you will know everything."

Shiyu gripped her short bow tightly: "Don't touch it! Who knows what that thing is!"

"She meant no harm."

How did you know?

"Because I can feel it." Jiang Chen stared at the mirror. "There's some kind of connection between her and me—not at the data level, but at a deeper level."

The mirror nodded: "That's right. We are different instances of the same code. I come from the last backup of the old version of the system. The system automatically backed up your data before you entered the core data layer."

"Backup?"

"Yes. The core agreement of the Seventh Administrative District stipulates that the system automatically generates a data mirror image for everyone who enters the core area, which is stored in the deep data area. I am the mirror image of you before you entered, and I have been waiting for you here."

Lin Bei frowned: "So, the system predicted Jiang Chen would come here even before he entered?"

"It's not a prediction, it's a logical inevitability," Mirror said. "Those who have the ability to read old versions of data will eventually end up here. This is a backdoor left by the system—a 'self-checking mechanism' for those who can discover the truth."

Jiang Chen was silent for a few seconds: "Then what is this fragment?"

"Data Anchors: Fragments"

[Data Anchor Points - Fragments]

[Effect: Marks a coordinate point in the blank area of the data, which can be returned to at any time. Duration: 30 minutes. Cooldown: 300 seconds. Cost: 20 Spirit Points per use]

[Note: This fragment only works in the data blank area; it is a "homecoming signpost" left by the old system version.]

"What is a data blank area?"

"Where you are standing now." The mirror image looked around. "The core area of the Seventh Administrative District was designed by the old version of the system as a three-layer structure—the surface layer is the data flow, the middle layer is encrypted data, and the deep layer is a data blank area."

Why are there blank areas?

"To preserve core data," Mirror said. "Do you know why paper is more durable than electronic storage?"

Because paper contains no data, it cannot be attacked by viruses.

Similarly, the older system version had a deeply embedded area containing no data and no code, designed to store the most crucial truth.

"the truth?"

"The truth behind the old version's crash, the truth behind the 07-02 module being written, and..." Mirror paused, "...the system's true identity."

Jiang Chen felt his heart race: "The system's true identity? Isn't a system just a system?"

"No. The system was created by someone," Mirror said. "The old version of the system was not a product of natural evolution, but was designed and deployed by an organization. The crash of module 07-02 was not an accident, but someone deliberately triggered the 'version termination agreement'."

"Version termination agreement?"

"A supreme-privilege command hidden at the lowest level of any system. Simply put—it's a suicide switch."

Jiang Chen clenched his fist: "Who triggered it?"

"I don't know." Mirror shook its head. "My data only goes up to the moment of backup. But I can tell you one thing—the trigger was using the highest-privilege account of the old version of the system administrator."

"Administrator privileges?"

"Yes. In other words, the triggerer was one of the designers of the old version of the system."

Shi Yu interjected, "The designer of the old system version? Wasn't that your colleague?"

"I'm not sure," Jiang Chen said. "I've never met the system's designer. All I know is that the old version of the system was developed by an organization called 'Project Morning Star'."

"Project Morning Star?"

"Yes. I saw this name in an older version of the data archive. An interdisciplinary research team, consisting of computer scientists, neuroscientists, and game designers. They developed this system, and then... disappeared."

Mirror nodded: "Yes. All members of Project Morning Star disappeared after the system was deployed. Nobody knows where they are, or even if they are still alive."

"Who triggered this?"

"I suspect that the trigger was one of the members of Project Morningstar."

Lin Bei pressed, "Why?"

"Because only they know about the version termination agreement," Mirror said. "This agreement is hidden deep within the system's code, and even the system administrator may not know about it. Only the person who designed it knows how to trigger it."

Jiang Chen stared at the mirror image: "So what do we do now?"

"Let's delve deeper." Mirror reached out and handed the fragment to Jiang Chen. "With the data anchor, you can freely traverse the data blank areas. Find the deeper entrance, where the original execution logs are stored—who triggered the protocol, when it was triggered, and what permissions were used."

"Where is the deeper entrance?"

"I can't tell you. The structure of the data gaps is dynamic and changes every time you enter," Mirror said. "But you can find it with this fragment—it will guide you towards the direction with the highest data density."

Jiang Chen took the fragment.

The moment the fragment touched his palm, a warm stream of data flowed into his palm, spreading like a warm current along his arm and throughout his body.

In the field of vision, faint golden lights appeared in what was originally a void of darkness, like fireflies, floating in space and forming a blurry path.

[Data Anchor Points - Fragments Already Equipped]

[Mental Energy Consumption: 20/time]

[Current coordinates are marked: Data blank area - entry point]

"What did you see?" Shi Yu asked.

"A spot of light." Jiang Chen pointed in a certain direction. "There's a road over there."

Is it believable?

"I don't know. But it's our only option."

Lin Bei sighed, "Then let's go."

Jiang Chen looked at the mirror image: "And you?"

"My mission is complete," the mirror image said, its voice fading. "I will disappear, but my data will remain with you. I will reappear when you need me."

"Reappeared?"

"Yes. I am a part of you. As long as you live, I will never truly disappear."

The mirror image's body began to shatter—falling off from the edges, turning into golden data fragments, and dissipating into the darkness.

Jiang Chen reached out as if to grab something, but the fragments slipped through his fingers and scattered like quicksand.

In the end, only a face, a smile, and then eyes remained.

Then, nothing was left.

Jiang Chen stared at the spot where the mirror image disappeared, remaining silent for a few seconds.

"Let's go." He turned and walked along the light.

The darkness in the data blank area is not like ordinary darkness; it's more like a state of "no color."

It's not that we can't see it because of insufficient light, but rather that the concept of "light" simply doesn't exist in this place.

Although my eyes were open, I couldn't receive any visual information; there was only a void, a dizzying emptiness.

Lin Bei turned on the flashlight. The beam of light shone out without any reflection—as if swallowed by darkness, it disappeared the instant it left the lamp head.

"Damn, the flashlight is useless."

"This is the data void," Jiang Chen said. "There's no data, no physical rules, no light reflection. Our senses are ineffective here."

"So, how do we get there?"

"Use data anchors." Jiang Chen closed his eyes, focusing on the newly acquired fragment.

[Data Anchor Points - Fragments Take Effect]

[Sensing data density distribution...]

[Mental Energy Consumption: 20/45]

The light spots became clearer in my field of vision.

They are not evenly distributed, but rather flow like a river in space, meandering in a certain direction.

The direction with the denser light spots is the direction with the higher data density, which is also the direction of the deep entry point.

"Follow me." Jiang Chen stepped forward.

Shi Yu followed closely behind him, her left hand always resting on the bowstring.

Lin Bei walked at the back, a faint light displayed on the decoder screen, the only source of light that could illuminate something in this space.

After walking for about ten minutes, Jiang Chen suddenly stopped.

"etc."

"What's wrong?"

There's something ahead...

"What is it?"

"I don't know. But the light spots became very dense there, like a large amount of data was piling up."

Lin Bei walked up to him: "Data piling up? In a data gap?"

"Yes. Logically, there shouldn't be any data in the data blank area. But the density of light spots ahead is higher than anywhere we've been," Jiang Chen said. "It's either a large accumulation of data fragments, or something important."

"Let's go take a look."

The three approached the area with the densest concentration of light spots.

As they drew closer, blurry outlines began to appear in Jiang Chen's vision—not data, not code, but something in a physical form.

He reached out and touched it.

Cold.

Metallic.

"It's a door."

"Door?"

"Yes. It's a metal door with a textured surface."

Shiyu lit the lighter, and the faint flame barely illuminated the surroundings.

In front of them was indeed a huge metal door, about three meters high and two meters wide.

The door's surface was covered with a dense array of patterns. Not patterns, but code—code etched into the metal surface, densely packed, like some kind of ancient runes.

"This code... is from an older version of the system language."

"Can you understand it?"

Jiang Chen activated the Rule Chain - Reconnaissance.

[Rule Chain - Reconnaissance Lv.1 Activated]

[Data Retrospective - Incomplete Documents Take Effect]

[Analyzing the code on the door...]

[Mental Energy Consumption: 30/45]

In my field of vision, the code on the door began to flow.

Each line of code seemed to come alive, floating from the metal surface, rotating, rearranging, and arranging itself in mid-air. Jiang Chen stared wide-eyed, trying to catch every single character.

"This door... is the emergency exit of the old version of the system."

"EMERGENCY EXIT?"

"Yes. Before the system crashed, the system's designer left himself an escape route—a door that could be opened manually, leading to the physical world outside the system."

"The physical world?"

"It's the real world," Jiang Chen said. "This door doesn't lead to a certain area in the game, but to a place in reality."

Lin Bei gasped, "Damn... so this door is the exit from this game?"

"may be."

"Then what are we waiting for? Open the door!"

Jiang Chen shook his head: "It can't be opened. There's a lock on the door, and you need a specific key to open it."

"What key?"

"The old version of the system administrator's password—a special code. Only core members of Project Morningstar knew it."

Shi Yu stared at the code on the door: "So, without that warrant, we'll never get out?"

"No. There's another way," Jiang Chen said. "We can find deeper into the data center and locate the original execution logs. The logs might contain the contents of that command."

"The workload is too heavy."

"But this is the only way."

Jiang Chen turned around and looked at the wall next to the door.

Several lines of text were carved on the wall.

It's not code, it's words written by a person, engraved on metal with some kind of sharp tool.

The handwriting is messy, but still legible.

"If you can see these words, it means you've arrived here."

"You are only one step away from the truth."

"But remember—the truth is sometimes more terrifying than a lie."

"If you're ready, go to control room 07-01."

"Everything you want is there."

The signature contained no name, only a symbol.