Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

The sunlight was blinding.

Jiang Chen squinted at the man who got out of the car.

The gray trench coat swayed gently in the wind, and the sunglasses reflected the light, obscuring the eyes.

But that face—it was exactly the same as the one I saw in the mirror.

"You... are Admin-07?"

Yes. But not entirely.

The man's voice was calm, as if he were stating a fact.

"I am your prototype. You are my backup."

Jiang Chen felt a tightness in his throat.

"Did you know I would come here?"

"I know." Admin-07 took off his sunglasses. "Because 47 years ago, I designed this passage myself."

"Then why did you delete your blog?"

"There are some things that the system shouldn't know."

Admin-07 walked towards them.

The leather shoes made a crisp sound as they stepped on the cement floor.

The abandoned factory was quiet, with only the rustling sound of the wind blowing through the corrugated iron roof.

Shi Yu clenched her fists and stood in front of Jiang Chen.

"Don't be nervous. I won't hurt you."

"Why should I believe you?" Shi Yu asked.

"Because if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it in the tunnel," Admin-07 said. "I designed the self-destruct program for that tunnel; I can make it completely delete itself in three seconds."

"You didn't do that because you still need us?"

"Smart," Admin-07 laughed, "but in the wrong direction. I need you, not because you're useful, but because you're the only ones who know the truth."

Lin Bei walked out from behind, still holding a short knife in his hand.

"Did you carve the warning on that nameplate?"

"no."

Admin-07 shook his head.

"I created the information. That warning line was created by someone else."

"Who?"

"I don't know. But I do know that person used this passage as well."

Jiang Chen felt a chill run down his back.

"Did someone escape before us?"

"Yes. At least earlier than I expected."

Admin-07 walked to the hatch, squatted down, and reached out to touch the nameplate.

"I left this passage open as a backup plan. But I later discovered that someone had used it before me."

"How did you find out?"

"The noise in the channel. The noise I deployed was an old version of the encoding, but part of it has been modified—a new version of the encoding. Someone recompiled the noise program using the updated encoding."

That means...

"This indicates that after the system update, someone found this channel and gained the ability to modify the channel data."

"Are you a player?"

"No. Players don't have that permission."

"Who is that?"

Admin-07 stood up and looked at Jiang Chen.

"I believe it's the system itself."

"system?"

"Yes. The system developed self-awareness after the update. It discovered this passage and then sent people to investigate."

"Send someone? Who should we send?"

"Data hunters. Or more accurately, players controlled by the system."

Lin Bei's expression changed.

"Damn...you mean, the system can control the players?"

"It's not control, it's influence," Admin-07 said. "The system reads the player's subconscious data and then uses this data to generate tasks, storylines, and rewards, making the player serve the system without even realizing it."

"That data hunter..."

"Most data hunters have unwittingly executed system commands. They think they are exploring data, but they are actually helping the system patch vulnerabilities."

Jiang Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"So what do we do now?"

"Come with me."

Admin-07 turned and walked towards the black sedan.

"It's not safe here. The system will track you down."

"How can we track them? We've already left the game."

"You contain fragments of rules."

Jiang Chen was taken aback.

"Rule fragments are part of the system. You carry them with you like you're carrying a locator."

"Then just throw it away?"

"No. You've already been bound to the fragment, and the system will read your biometrics."

Shi Yu looked at Jiang Chen: "Is what he said true?"

"I don't know." Jiang Chen touched the fragments of rules in his pocket, "but my data perception... can still sense something."

"What?"

"It's like... a signal. Very weak, but it's definitely there."

Admin-07 turned around.

"See? I was right."

"What should we do then?"

"Get in the car. I'll take you to a safe place."

Jiang Chen looked at the car.

The car body was old, with peeling paint, but the tires were new, and there was a slight humming sound under the hood.

"What kind of car is this?"

"A 1987 Santana. Unremarkable, but sturdy."

Why drive this kind of car?

"In the real world, the most dangerous thing is to be conspicuous."

Admin-07 opened the car door and got into the driver's seat.

"Get on the bus, or stay here and wait to be found by the system."

Jiang Chen looked at Shi Yu, then at Lin Bei.

What do you think?

"I think he's telling the truth," Shi Yu said, "but I don't trust him."

"I don't trust him either," Lin Bei said, "but we have no other choice."

Jiang Chen took a deep breath.

The air smelled of gasoline and dust, a real, pungent odor.

"Get in the car."

The three of them sat in the back seat.

The moment the car door closed, Jiang Chen felt the whole world go silent.

The car is well soundproofed; the sounds of the wind, birdsong, and distant car horns are all muffled.

Admin-07 started the engine.

The car slowly drove out of the factory.

Jiang Chen watched the factory recede into the distance through the rearview mirror until it finally disappeared from sight.

"Where are we going?"

"A safe house in the west of the city."

"Safe house?"

"Yes. This is the place I've been preparing for 47 years."

"47?"

"From the day I pressed the stop button, I knew the system would track me down," Admin-07 said. "So I prepared several safe houses, located in different cities."

"Are you alone?"

"right."

"What about your family?"

Admin-07 remained silent for a few seconds.

"I have no family."

Why?

"Because Project Morningstar does not allow family members."

Jiang Chen was stunned.

"What do you mean?"

"The founders of Project Morningstar cannot have families. The company believes that people with families have vulnerabilities and are easily exploited by external forces."

"So you guys..."

"Yes. We are all alone."

Shi Yu frowned: "So how much did you sacrifice for this project?"

"everything."

Admin-07 spoke in a very calm tone, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

"I gave my whole life. In the end, I found that I had built a cage."

The car turned into a small alley.

The alley is narrow, with old residential buildings on both sides, their exterior walls covered with vines.

Admin-07 parked the car in front of a building.

The building is old, about six stories high, with a grayish-white exterior that has faded badly.

"arrive."

Everyone got off the bus.

Jiang Chen looked up at the building.

This building looks very ordinary, no different from the old residential buildings around it.

But if you look closely, you can see some details. The windows are double-glazed, the door is a security door, and there's a security camera in the corner.

"Is it safe here?"

"It's been 11 years, and no one has ever found this place."

Admin-07 opened the door and led them upstairs.

The staircase was narrow, and the steps were made of cement, polished to a shine.

Fifth floor, room 503.

Admin-07 took out his key and opened the door.

The room wasn't big, just two bedrooms and a living room, and the furniture was very simple: a sofa, a table, a few chairs, and an old television.

The curtains were drawn, and the light was dim.

"Please sit wherever you like."

Jiang Chen sat down on the sofa.

The sofa is very hard, the springs are broken, and you can feel the metal frame when you sit down.

"Have you been living here all this time?"

"No. I'm out most of the time. I only come back when I need to process information."

"What information are you processing?"

Admin-07 did not respond.

He walked to the window, pulled back the curtains a little, and looked outside.

"From now on, you are no longer allowed to use any skills."

"Skills are useless in the real world."

"What about rule fragments? Don't use them either."

Why?

"Because the system can track signals from fragmented rules," Admin-07 said. "The signal gets stronger every time you use it."

"Then how do you know the system hasn't found this place yet?"

"Because I installed a signal jammer in this room. It's an older version of the technology, so the system can't detect it."

Jiang Chen looked around.

There were indeed several small black boxes in the corner, gleaming faintly.

"Is this the plan you've been preparing for 47 years?"

"right."

"So what do you plan to do?"

Admin-07 turned around and looked at Jiang Chen.

"I plan to destroy the system."

The room was silent for a few seconds.

"Destroy the system? Didn't you already destroy it once before?"

"That's an end, not destruction."

"What's the difference?"

"Termination only causes the system to crash once. But the system has a self-healing mechanism; it will automatically rebuild after a crash."

"So how do you plan to destroy it this time?"

"Find the core of the system, then delete it."

"What's the core of it?"

"I have no idea."

"Then how will you find it?"

"Use you."

Jiang Chen was stunned.

"Use me?"

"Yes. You are my backup. Your biometrics and consciousness characteristics match the system's core authentication method perfectly."

"So you want me to..."

"Follow me, go into the system core, and delete it from the inside."

Jiang Chen stared into Admin-07's eyes.

Those eyes were calm, without a trace of lying.

"You're crazy."

"Maybe."

"Do you know how dangerous this is?"

"I know. That's why I waited 47 years to find someone willing to help me."

Jiang Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"What makes you think I'd help you?"

"Because if you don't help me, the system will find you and kill you."

Admin-07 spoke calmly, as if stating a fact.

"You are my backup. The system will not allow a backup with administrator privileges to exist in the real world."

"So the system will kill me?"

"Yes. Just like it killed the other backups."

"Other backups?"

"You are not the only backup. Project Morningstar created a total of 12 backups. You are the 12th."

"What about the first 11?"

"He's dead."

Jiang Chen felt a chill run down his back.

"How did he die?"

"I don't know. Whether it was deleted by the system or killed by someone else, I'm not sure."

"Then how do you know they're dead?"

"Because I tracked their biometrics in the system, and they all disappeared."

Shi Yu grasped Jiang Chen's hand.

Don't listen to him.

"He's telling the truth," Jiang Chen said. "I can tell he's not lying."

"So what? He sent you to your death!"

"uncertain."

Jiang Chen stood up and walked to the window.

Through the gap in the curtains, you can see the street outside.

The streets were quiet, with only the occasional pedestrian passing by.

"I want to know the truth."

"What's the truth?"

"Why did the system kill me? Why did Admin-07 destroy the system? What am I?"

Jiang Chen turned his head and looked at Admin-07.

"I can help you. But you have to tell me the whole truth."

"The whole truth?"

"Yes. There's nothing to hide."

Admin-07 remained silent for a few seconds.

"it is good."

He walked to the table, opened the drawer, and took out a document.

The document was thick, with a gray-white cover and a few words printed on it.

[Morning Star Project: Complete Archives]

"This is……"

"All the data on Project Morning Star. From the day I created the system to the day I pressed the stop button."

Admin-07 placed the file on the desktop.

"After reading this, you'll know everything."

Jiang Chen looked at the document.

The paper has yellowed and the edges are somewhat torn, but the lettering on the cover is still clear.

He reached out and opened the cover.

The first page contains a photograph.

The photo shows a group of people wearing white coats standing in front of a huge server.

The person in the very middle is Admin-07.

Admin-07 in his younger days.

He was wearing a white shirt and glasses, with a confident smile on his lips.

There is a line of text below the photo.

[Morning Star Project - Founding Team Group Photo]

[First day of the Spring Equinox in the first year of the lunar calendar]

"The first year of the old calendar...when was the system created?"

"Yes. The system has been running since the first year of the old calendar, which is now 94 years ago."

"94..."

Jiang Chen turned to the second page.

There were a few lines of text written in red pen on it.

[Morning Star Project - Core Objectives]

[Creating a perfect virtual world—without pain, without death, without fear]

However, in achieving this goal, we made a fatal mistake.

We have not created a world, but a cage.

"Isn't this what you left on the terminal?"

"Yes. But I only told half the truth of that statement."

"What about your other half?"

Admin-07 looked at Jiang Chen with a complicated expression.

"The other half is—we create cages not by accident, but intentionally."

Jiang Chen stared at him for a few seconds.

"What do you mean?"

Admin-07 walked to the window, turning his back to them.

"Project Morning Star's goal was never to create a perfect virtual world."

"What is that?"

"To create the perfect tool."

"tool?"

"Yes. A system that can read players' subconscious, extract memories, and analyze emotions."

Shi Yu stood up: "You're using players for experiments?"

"This isn't an experiment. It's mass production."

Admin-07 turned around, his eyes calm.

"The investors behind Project Morningstar are not gaming companies, but the military."

"military?"

"Yes. They need a system that can read human subconscious data in bulk. The game is just a disguise."

Jiang Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

"So, the entire game world..."

"It's a huge data collector. Every player is a data source."

"The system crashed..."

"I discovered the truth and then chose to stop," Admin-07 said. "But I don't have the courage to go public because I'm also an accomplice."

The room fell silent.

Jiang Chen looked at the document, his finger hovering over the edge of the cover.

"So now? How do you plan to make amends?"

"Destroy the system. Destroy it completely and irreversibly."

"Won't the military stop you?"

"The military has withdrawn its funding. They abandoned Project Morningstar after the system crashed."

"Who owns the system now?"

"There's no one here. The system has been running on its own for 47 years without anyone managing it."

"So it developed self-awareness?"

"Yes. It started maintaining itself, repairing itself, and even starting to look for new data sources."

"A new data source?"

"The real world," Admin-07 said. "The system is attempting to infiltrate the real world."