A Cleaner
Just as Zai Zong and Huan Huan were staring intently at the faces on the screen, the broadcast suddenly rang out, startling the two who were completely unprepared!
[WARNING: W-FBC-0173 has breached security. All personnel at C-Class and above must immediately proceed to the nearest security room. All security agents must immediately form teams of at least five people to search for and control the situation. Remember, if you encounter W-FBC-0173, keep the anomaly within your sight.]
[WARNING: A-FBC-0106 has been breached. Security agents, please increase the number of personnel in each team to 10. Due to the Aleph control level, please follow protocol KE-5-12 for control procedures.]
[WARNING: A-FBC-0682 has breached security. Control Bureau headquarters has been notified, and the MTF will act immediately. All personnel at C-Class and above are prohibited from leaving the premises and must remain in sheltered condition until the security level of Containment Sites -19 drops to normal standards.]
[WARNING: Numerous anomalies have breached control. All security agents encountering D-Class Personnel attempting to escape within the facility may, in accordance with Protocol UE-1-109, execute them on the spot.]
[Notice: All D-Class Personnel are to remain in their dormitories immediately and are prohibited from leaving. This is your final warning; please comply!]
Huan Huan and Zai Zong stunned after listening to the broadcast.
"Holy crap, what? What unusual breakthroughs just happened? Damn, the broadcast was too fast, I couldn't remember them all right away."
"Brothers, did you all see clearly? What unusual things were mentioned on the broadcast just now?"
Zai Zong stared at the screen, asking questions to the viewers and fans in the live stream.
But the answers they got were all the same.
That is, I didn't remember it.
Zai Zong:
Sigh! Fine!
You'll encounter it eventually anyway.
Now, the broadcast has stopped, and the surroundings have fallen silent once again.
But Huan Huan suddenly spoke up.
"Cousin, look, the face on the screen hasn't disappeared yet."
Huan Huan's throat tightened, and her voice trembled.
Wearing headphones and completely immersed in the 'game world,' she was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
The oppressive, suffocating darkness, the flashing Red Light warning lights, and the screams and howls that came from afar constantly stimulated her nerves and reason.
The game's art style has changed dramatically from safe and bright to dangerous and dark.
The stark contrast made her breathing quicken.
So much so that his voice trembled when he spoke.
Now, having finally escaped from the humanoid statue, the moment they stepped outside, they saw a bizarre face, like a negative, appearing on the security monitor screen on the wall in front of them.
Those empty eye sockets were devoid of any life.
His face was as stiff as a dead person's, especially in the current oppressive and suffocating atmosphere, the level of fear increased dramatically!
"I saw it too, but it has a number on it. Let's take a closer look."
"Ah?"
Huan Huan a little nervous. After looking at the monitor screen on the wall in front of her, she gritted her teeth.
Hmph, it's just a game!
What good is it if it's made to look real?
I'll just quit playing!
After reassuring herself, Huan Huan mustered her courage and stepped forward.
One step, two steps, each step fraught with danger in the dim light flickering Red Light.
The face on the wall display screen remained completely still.
It's simply displayed quietly, like a picture.
until
They are getting closer and closer.
"Huh?"
"I'm alright?"
"Cousin, it seems like there's nothing wrong."
Huanhuan mustered up her Huan Huan and walked to the screen, only to find that nothing had happened.
There were no monsters that suddenly appeared, nor were we attacked.
Everything, except for the face in front of me that looked like a negative, was perfectly normal.
"There's a number on it. Wait, don't touch it, let me take a look."
At this moment, the Zai Zong, sitting in front of the computer, frowned as he stared at the screen.
Inside, through her cousin's perspective, she could clearly see three strings of numbers on the monitor screen.
The first one, D-9341, needs no introduction; it's the protagonist's serial number.
But what does the second 1001 refer to?
The third number is W-FBC-0079
Zai Zong didn't even need to think; he knew this was a new anomaly number.
At this moment, the live stream chat exploded with comments.
Many viewers and fans were excited when they saw the new number.
"0079! New number, new anomaly! Holy crap!"
"Is this display screen 0079? Something doesn't feel right. Could it be that the face on the screen is 0079?"
"Does this newly introduced anomaly have any special abilities? I really want to see what 0079 looks like!"
"Look closely at the letter before the number, it's W! This means that 0079 is at least at the same level as that humanoid statue we just saw, because W-FBC-0173 is also at the W level!"
"Does 0079 have any special abilities? Quick, host! Take us to see 0079, is he as unbelievable as that statue?!"
Huan Huan glanced at the comments in the live stream and was about to speak when the game's protagonist spoke first!
[What's going on? I don't recall this screen changing at all before, so why is it like this now that it's been revived?]
Damn it?
Even the main character doesn't know?
The Zai Zong.
If the protagonist retains his memories every time he loads a save, it means that during the 'blank period' before the game starts, the protagonist never noticed the abnormality of the screen.
It only appears once players get the hang of it.
This means
The monitor screen is for the players!
At this point, the game's protagonist continued speaking.
[9341 My ID is 1001. How many times have I resurrected? 0079 Is this abnormal?]
"Holy crap! 1001 is the number of times the game's protagonist has resurrected? This is insane! I'm absolutely shocked!"
Zai Zong's voice echoed throughout the live stream.
His tone revealed extreme shock.
"Holy crap, the protagonist had already reloaded 1000 times before we even entered the game? Holy crap, that means the protagonist died 1000 times!? Counting the time my cousin just died, that's exactly 1001 times!"
"Then on the 1001st time, the monitor screen showed an anomaly that the protagonist hadn't encountered in the previous 1000 attempts? Holy crap, what is this plot trying to tell the player?"
Amid the bewilderment of the Zai Zong, the protagonist spoke again.
[You mentioned my ID and know my resurrection count W-FBC-0079? Fine. Then I'll come check out your control room. I hope you don't have legs and I hope you don't have a mouth.]
The next second, a prompt appeared in the middle of the game.
Find the control room of W-FBC-0079 to learn what exactly is behind it and what gives you the ability to resurrect.
"Wow, this new anomaly is amazing! It can actually know exactly how many times the protagonist has reloaded their save/load?"
The Zai Zong his tongue in amazement and turned to look at his cousin.
"Huan Huan, now that the main quest has been released, let's find a way to get to the control room of 0079 and see what this anomaly is all about."
"But there are two roads here, which one should we take?"
Huan Huan around warily.
There are two roads, one is the road we came from.
The other one was clearly opened by the orange-clad man that Agent Ulgrin shot and killed.
Both mechanical gates are now open and passable.
But which path to take and which road is safe requires careful consideration.
After all, she didn't want to go from 1001 to 1002.
"Okay, let's go through the door opened by the D-Class Personnel. I have a vague memory of this path, and maybe we can even get a medieval knight's helmet."
"You seem to recognize this road? Cousin, have you played this game before?"
"Uh, no, never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway, just go in."
Zai Zong avoided the topic and looked at the computer screen.
He was referring to the part he remembered, which was actually the part in the true ending of Skyhill where the protagonist escaped from the Z-FBC-0825 Illusion Helmet control room.
In the original game, the protagonist, D-5671, has just returned to reality from a hallucination world. He then wanders aimlessly through the facility, switching between different environments such as the facility and the hotel.
He was only able to reach this location after opening the mechanical door. He was spotted by Agent Ulgrin in front of the control room of W-FBC-0173 and shot dead.
Everything seemed so dramatic.
Therefore, compared to the path taken in the past, the path that the protagonist of "Skyhill" walked is more memorable.
It is indeed quite complicated.
But the thought of getting the 0825 Illusion Helmet, the originator of Skyhill, in the game made him excited and thrilled.
This eagerness to play with anomalous items is probably a common sentiment among all players who understand FBC and the anomalous mechanics.
So, urged on by Huan Huan fans and cousin in the live stream, Huanhuan gritted her teeth, bypassed the orange-clad corpse on the ground, and stepped through the open mechanical door.
As soon as they stepped inside, everyone heard a little tune.
A song, seemingly a tango, was being hummed softly by someone.
The lyrics to the little tune are also below.
[The hero embarks on his journey alone.]
This heavy burden is like a promise, always with me.
[In this game, this idiot was knocked down time and time again.]
Death only gave him a brief respite.
Huan Huan stood there, stunned, Zai Zong frowned deeply.
Is there singing?
In the face of this disaster, are people still singing?
Please, take a closer look. It's all dark here, and there's a flashing Red Light.
Listen more carefully, and you can hear alarms, cries for help, screams, and unidentified roars coming from afar.
In such a disaster situation, how could anyone be leisurely humming a tango tune here?
This is absolutely not normal!
At her cousin's request, Huan Huan walked forward cautiously.
Because there was no Flashlight, the game's visible range was not far.
Further away, the area was swallowed by dense darkness and could not be seen clearly.
So Huan Huan could only move forward by following the flashing Red Light warning light.
As they drew closer, the tango music being hummed became clearer.
This indicates that the distance between the two is decreasing, and the person making the sound is not moving!
Could it be...?
Are they just waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump?
Just as Huan Huan wild thoughts out of fear, a figure slowly emerged from the darkness ahead as she approached.
A the Cleaner holding a mop, with a metal bucket under his feet, wearing a blue work jacket?
And this little tune was hummed by him!
The previous chapter was fixed around noon; readers who subscribed before noon can refresh the page. Also, some good news: the book is finished! No more revisions needed! The editor wants me to write more words; once the word count increases, there will be new recommendations!