Disaster Simulator, global collapse begins.

“One lie leads to countless others to cover it up,” Flash interjected. “Look at the packaging of chocolate bars, mineral water bottles, and the words printed on compressed biscuits.”

"They all speak the same language...the common language they use."

"If all of this is a lie, then the entire chain of evidence is far too perfect."

His gaze was fixed on the distant wilderness:

"Besides, do you really think we have a choice?"

The speed of the flying car was too fast; it disappeared in a flash, and their beat-up SUV couldn't keep up at all.

Ash stared into Flash's eyes: "Have you made up your mind?"

"Someone has to scout ahead." Blitzkrieg waved his G52 tactical shield, or rather, half a shield now.

The previous rock crab attack, coupled with the battle with the mercenaries, has rendered this expensive tactical shield officially obsolete.

"Do you remember that data? I was always the first to rush to set up barriers."

“Alright, if anything goes wrong, we will respect your sacrifice and try to avenge you.” Ash patted him on the shoulder, then looked at the most burly chariot, “Alexander, tie him up.”

"and many more?"

"To prevent you from being controlled by those liquid metals, or from undergoing any mutations," Ash explained, "and tie yourself up tightly."

The way Shuanghua, the girl with the clips, looked at him was as if she were saying goodbye to a corpse.

Blitzkrieg really wanted to shout that this wasn't the way he wanted to sacrifice himself. Well, whether he sticks his neck out or not, he'll still get stabbed, so he might as well act bravely.

"Okay, let's go!"

The cold liquid was injected into the blood vessel.

A tingling, numb sensation.

"These things seem to have come alive; they're crawling all over my body!" Flash told everyone, describing his feelings.

From the injection site in my forearm, a cool sensation spread along my nerves to my spine, and then to my limbs.

I felt weak all over, followed by waves of soreness, itching, and pain.

Adult nerves no longer grow and are already fixed; if a personal terminal is injected... the strong side effects in the short term will be more intense.

In short—it's incredibly uncomfortable.

The attacker arched his body backward, twisting left and right, as if suffering some kind of inhuman torture.

Invading nerves, connecting to the brain, and adjusting signals—each step of this process is far from pleasant.

As a trained elite, Blitzkrieg was a true man, and he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.

In fact, there is another slow access method for personal terminals, which involves continuous connection for about two days.

The advantage is that it greatly reduces the pain; people will only feel like they have a bad cold, with weakness, fever, and pain all over their body.

However, considering that the Rainbow Team would have difficulty persisting in the desert for so long, Chen Jie thoughtfully changed the arrangement to a quick half-hour shuttle service.

You're welcome!

After half an hour of torture, Flash lay on the car seat like a dehydrated salted fish.

It seems that the little water he just drank has all turned into cold sweat.

"Kuz, how are you?"

“I’m fine, Cohen… could you get me that QR code?” Blitz said through gritted teeth.

"It was as if a whole new world had unfolded before me. She hadn't lied to us... but I still wanted to greet the little kitten in beautiful English."

He said, half-jokingly and half-seriously:

"The kind that starts with F!"

……

Chapter 149 Free Will, an Unbroken Flame

Let's switch gears back to the Guard Bureau.

The four from Rhodes Island left temporarily; they had their own things to do.

These unscrupulous companies that make their employees take on part-time jobs to earn their own travel expenses are scum.

The investigation is deadlocked.

They did capture a group of mercenaries who were sabotaging the Black Tower, and through autopsies, they learned that a powerful force was behind them.

But at this point, the chain of evidence breaks, and it becomes impossible to trace back to find out which company did these things, as all traces have been thoroughly cleaned up.

Chen Jie raised his hand:

"I'll give it a try."

"If the other party has exchanged data through virtual Terra, then there must be traces left behind."

Hoshiguma and Melantha clearly didn't have much hope. Throughout history, countless brilliant hackers have tried to breach the defenses of Virtual Terra, but they have ultimately been blocked outside that high wall of the network.

However, since the two of them hadn't come up with any other methods yet, they might as well let Karin give it a try.

What if it works?

Although no one had ever done it before, there is no such thing as the present being inferior to the past. Every progress and innovation is the result of doing something that no one could do before.

"Their terminals have had some functions disabled, which can indeed allow them to evade our Guard Bureau's special privileges, but at the same time, they also lose some protection."

While activating the hyperdimensional hacking, Chen Jie talked to the two of them, describing his operations and effects as if printing cards on the spot.

“Through these vulnerabilities, I was able to bypass the most heavily guarded parts of the entire Virtual Terra defenses. As for how I did it… every hacker has their own little secrets.”

99% perspiration and 1% technology.

As it was an official matter, the computing power of the Guard Bureau could be used for support. Within those three seconds, all members of the Guard Bureau felt their internal software freeze for a moment.

"found it!"

"All the data uploaded by these people was centralized to a person named Druqi before being transferred to the normal virtual Terra network, and this person is from a nearby tribe."

Hoshiguma's eyes lit up, and she stood up and got into the car:

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go and arrest that guy named Druitch!"

“That’s the problem,” Chen Jie sighed. “His identity is no ordinary one; he is the ruler of several nearby tribes.”

Hoshiguma touched the demon horn on his forehead:

"What a hassle..."

Although Sargon is located in a remote area, the kings and chieftains have considerable influence in the inner ring. In terms of military strength alone, they have two armies that are famous throughout the continent: the Immortal Army and the Kheshig Legion.

Developing the economy seems to be a weakness of these tribal chiefs and kings. Even if Originium mines are discovered in their territories, they will be tricked by Victoria's merchants into transferring them at low prices.

If the emperor were still alive, and the Holy Roman Empire had not yet fallen apart, the members of the Guard could indeed arrest people based on suspicions that weren't exactly solid evidence, but now...

Arrest them?

I'll just fork you out and feed you to the vultures!

“Wait, I remember the area where Franka and the others were doing their mission was in Druich’s territory.” Melantha suddenly remembered this.

"Let me check... Changquan Town, it really is."

"Looks like we'll have to give these Rhodes Island guys a bit more overtime pay."

I made a remote call with Rhodes Island to hand over the new mission and agreements.

Hoshiguma decided that the three of them would split into three groups to investigate the other three settlements under the command of Drucci, outside of Long Spring Town.

The captured mercenaries and the recovered Soul Steel were sent to the military headquarters along with their coordinates.

This message was sent to multiple garrisons and high-ranking officials of the Guard Bureau. Although only one team will ultimately send troops to handle the matter, the more people who know about it, the harder it will be for the powerful force behind the scenes to make a move.

If the other party actually makes any move, the chances of being exposed will be much greater.

……

Druqi King's territory, Black Tower Town.

Rainbow Squad's initial idea of ​​heading towards the Black Tower in search of human traces was indeed correct, as there are many Black Tower towns throughout Sargon and even the entire continent of Terra.

Just as everyone yearns to live in the inner ring, people believe that the protection of living next to the Black Tower is faster and stronger than that of the periphery.

However, the four of them were a bit unlucky. The black tower they found nearby was not inhabited by any humans, and it was targeted by the destroyers as a source of soul steel.

After parting ways with Hoshiguma and Melantha, Chen Jie arrived at Black Tower Town, which can be considered the political center of the entire Druch Kingdom, as the chieftain's residence is located there.

Although the other party doesn't live here at all, they only return from Night City during the coolest month of the year.

Chen Jie observed from the shadows that the locals seemed somewhat lifeless; even though it was daytime, not a single person was out working.

They seemed to do no production at all; all water and food were obtained by queuing up at set times.

"Strange, could these kings and chieftains really be so conscientious that after they became rich, they used the money they earned in Night City to buy supplies and support the poor people in their territories?"

That's so fake.

Log in to Virtual Terra and contact the Brotherhood leader.

"Uncle Altaïr, I would like to borrow special terminal access for one day."

Because she failed to complete the full training, as an outer member, she cannot use those special permissions. However, she can apply to the Assassin Master for temporary access, and if the Master agrees, she can temporarily obtain them. Such temporary permissions are mostly used in scenarios that require the cooperation of outer personnel.

"Little Karin, why do you suddenly want to borrow my privileges? Are you planning another prank?"

Perhaps the self before the original consciousness entered was indeed not very proper...

"No, it's for investigation purposes..." Chen Jie briefly described the case and the strange phenomena in Black Tower Town.

“When I was studying before, I came across a description like this: In the subconscious of many victims of illegal slave trading, there is a desolate desert.”

"Considering the fact that the lords here are supporting them without pay, I have every reason to suspect that Chief Druchi is involved in the illegal slave trade."

"Therefore, regardless of whether I am acting as a member of the Guard Bureau or the Brotherhood, I have a duty to investigate Drucci!"

Listening to Chen Jie's clear and logical analysis, Uncle Altaïr gave him a look that said, "You've finally grown up."

"Okay, I can temporarily lend you the access."

"But you must swear in your heart to our creed that you will never put yourself in a life-threatening situation... after all, you are their only bloodline."

"No problem, no problem. Although I'm not good at fighting, Originium Arts can manipulate space, teleport, jump, and escape are my specialties."

“If it’s confirmed that Drouch is involved, you don’t have to handle everything yourself. Remember, the entire Brotherhood is behind you,” Altaïr said.

"A sword in the shadows, a nightmare for the fallen, our job and the meaning of our existence is to take down those seemingly glamorous but difficult-to-deal-with big shots from the Royal Guard!"

Chen Jie suddenly found this kind of dialogue quite interesting, so he replied to the leader according to the ancient etiquette of the Brotherhood:

"Free will, the flame of which will never be extinguished!"

……

Chapter 150 Holy Rome, Your Emperor Has Returned!

"I am the dove-like assassin; I am devoid of emotion."

Chen Jie hummed an off-key song and began his legitimate infiltration work.

Assassin privileges are somewhat like an enhanced version of Guard Bureau privileges... That's not quite the right way to put it; it's more accurate to say that they have different focuses.

They no longer have the authority to imprison others or send them to jail, but they have gained many strange and unpredictable abilities.

For example, invading someone's subconscious from the virtual Terra, or even launching an assassination directly from their consciousness!

Truly, murder through the internet.

So she still doesn't understand how the parents of this simulated entity, who had such powerful permissions, managed to mess things up.

People nearby.

There were only adults, not a single child!

Suspicion immediately arose: this wasteland, and even a large area around it, including the entire Sargon region, had been designated as a school area.

After setting up a special area, faculty and staff will have special permissions matching their status.

Students are prohibited from accessing the internet!

For thousands of years, Virtual Terra has been absolutely secure; anyone with a terminal can connect anytime, anywhere…