Research

"So this game can be played AFK! Awesome!"

After completing the task, the bespectacled guy immediately posted on the forum.

The gist is that he encountered a powerful "hacker NPC" with terrifying abilities; he hacked into an armed base with thousands of cameras in an instant.

And this second-tier invasion mission was completed very smoothly thanks to the NPC's skillful micromanagement.

The bespectacled guy was just a bystander the whole way.

Following this post, a series of other posts also appeared, all related to "hiring hackers".

However, it wasn't entirely a tone of gratitude.

"Holy crap, the hacker I hired implanted over 20 different electronic viruses into my body and then dumped me into the enemy ranks! It's like human-to-human transmission of viruses!"

"666, my top player completely ignored me, went to do the quest himself, and then—I got a free quest reward?"

"Damn, I got killed by this NPC just because of one sentence! @GM, this game has a bug!"

"I've been taken in as an apprentice by a hacker, but the price is that I kill my parents, wife, and children to complete a personality transformation. This guy's kind of demonic."

"Where did you get your parents, wife, and children?"

"That's right, so we're sincerely recruiting players to play the roles of dad, mom, wife, and son. Each person will receive 10,000 mechanical points!"

"I don't want 10,000 points, give me 8,000, and I'll be your dad for free."

"Upstairs, fatherhood is a sacrifice."

"It's fine. I've already died once before, and I got a huge loot drop, so dying again won't matter."

"Someone save me! The hacker I hired somehow created a second and a third personality in me. Now, there are three 'selves' fighting each other in my head every day!"

"So, which personality are you?"

"Nonsense, I already logged off to post. Which personality do you think I am?"

"I think you're from Identity V."

Most players are excited about being able to easily hire high-level NPCs, seeing it as a faction perk.

A significant number of players, instead of dying during the mission, were directly eliminated by these hackers, causing them to have a meltdown and immediately take to the forums to vent their frustrations.

Of course, some players said that this is normal. Being able to recruit high-level NPCs so easily would violate the game balance, so they opened blind boxes.

If you're unlucky and end up seeing a grumpy guy, don't blame anyone else.

Despite the uproar on the forum, all two hundred hacker slots were snapped up the next day.

Meanwhile, at Baozi's urging, several old acquaintances also came to the "prosthetic body repair branch" they had visited before.

"Our Baozi has really struck it rich. I even saw him lose on the other side of the river. He's really rich."

One female player, wearing a hood, joked that something seemed to be flowing inside her robe.

"Sister Ji, it's been so long since we last met!" PP's boss said excitedly.

Sister Ji skillfully patted the little girl's face, making her blush, and chuckled, "Long time no see, you're still so cute, little girl. I heard you've completed your second job advancement, are you in the mother city now?"

"Yeah! The Ghost in the Shell Mobile Unit in Mother City, I completed a really difficult mission chain to get into that official department, finally I'm free from 007."

"What does your department do?" Sister Ji asked curiously.

"We'll be investigating 007!" The PP boss had a look of vindication on his face.

"That Baozi guy, he's clearly in charge, why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Sister Ji glanced at the clock and saw that ten minutes had passed. She said with dissatisfaction, and then lifted her hood.

PP, who was about to say something, suddenly widened her eyes and stammered, "Sister Ji, what... what's wrong with you right now?"

What appeared before her was a face made of silk threads. Not only that, but her curvaceous figure was also made of thousands of silk threads, giving people a feeling that was sexy, dangerous, and eerie.

Those eyes, woven from silk threads, were smiling as they looked at the round-faced girl in front of them. Just as they were about to tease her, they were interrupted by another voice.

"Human experimentation, forbidden modification, a change in a life form."

The voice continued:

"If I'm not mistaken, your body has eight systems, but you should have a few less, or a few more."

"Sister Ji, what are you missing?" PP's boss blinked and asked.

"Anyway, the reproductive system is indispensable; my dream of sleeping with every hunky man in the universe hasn't been fulfilled yet."

Sister Ji turned her head and looked at the gloomy man sitting in the corner. She looked him up and down and could sense a familiar twisted aura about him.

"You look familiar. What's your name?"

"I will always like Zhang Aiping," said Zhang, a former corporate investigator and now a member of the Memory Supervision Department in the Sixth Inspection Department, looking at the head of PP.

"We're practically colleagues."

"Ha?"

The PP leader paused for a moment, then suddenly blurted out, "Who is Zhang Aiping?"

"A close friend of mine."

"Interesting. I didn't expect that among our players, there are two employees from the mother city," Sister Ji stroked her chin and smiled strangely, the meaning of which was unclear.

"Don't worry, dealing with the modified individuals from forbidden experiments is the responsibility of the 'Humanity Experimentation Department,' and has nothing to do with my 'Memory Supervision Department.'"

"Student Zhang" said calmly.

All three people present were highly skilled gamers, and they were all highly skilled gamers from completely different backgrounds.

This also subtly reveals a trend.

After reaching Tier 2, to obtain higher-level modifications and equipment, you either need to follow the route through the mother city or take the route where you are wanted by the mother city.

"Everyone's here!"

The door was pushed open, and "I love Baozi" walked in with a beaming smile. It was unclear what good thing had happened, but his face was so happy that you could pinch wrinkles from smiling.

"Baozi, you're late!" Sister Ji said disapprovingly.

Although they were scattered all over the country, the players from that small group back then basically kept in touch, and every day a large number of slackers who didn't play the game properly would just chat in the group.

Especially Sister Ji's "Little Yellow Group", which is extremely active because it spreads positive and uplifting content every day.

"Sorry, sorry. I was doing a hidden quest and earned a very special 'weapon,' which took up a bit of my time."

Baozi gestured with his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Then continue."

Sister Ji didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down in the other person's boss chair. The threads on the lower half of her clothes were covered in scratches from cutting the "high-grade leather," which made Baozi's eyes twitch violently.

"Sister Ji, never mind, let's get straight to the point."

Baozi paused for a moment, then said:

"I've already told you about the mission before. To put it simply, it's about infiltrating the 'Assassination Alliance Headquarters,' destroying that 'weaving machine of fate,' and breaking 'Brother Umbrella's' current strange state."

"The reason I invited you is not only because we are all old acquaintances, but also because you are all considered half members of the 'Information Science Department'."

The PP leader paused for a moment, then asked, "What is 'Information Technology'?"

Baozi coughed lightly and explained:

"According to Baozi information I gathered, this game universe will be very large, and there will be a lot of professions, but no matter how many there are, they will all be divided into four systems: carbon-based, mechanical, information, and energy."

"On the planet Jili, 99% of the professions are carbon-based or mechanical. Whether it's a cyborg, a biological experimenter, or a corporate knight, they're all pretty much the same."

"However, these people may have incredible physical combat capabilities, but when it comes to the 'information level,' they are basically no different from useless."

"Only members of the Information System can fight against the Information System. I suspect that Brother Umbrella became like that because he was infected with some kind of 'advanced information'."

"Then how did you confirm that we are from the Information Science Department?" PP asked curiously.

"It's very simple. When you do your second job advancement, an option box will pop up: Civilization + Class."

Baozi explained:

"If your civilization is a cyborg civilization, then there's no hope. But if it's an artificial data space, then yes. And if it's a brain-based civilization, then there's a small chance it is."

"Brother Baozi, you know so much," pp-tou said admiringly.

"A businessman needs to be well-informed."

"Artificial data space? I've never heard of that before," Sister Ji asked.

"That's because this kind of profession is extremely rare, basically existing only in 'cyberspace.' Now that cyberspace is gone, I suspect that part of the reason is because this kind of 'profession' was too powerful, and the system intentionally adjusted the balance," Baozi said mysteriously.

"Our last teammate is a genuine 'AI.' It cost me a lot to get her here. She has some other things to do, so she'll join us when we're on a mission."

"So what do we do now?" Sister Ji asked. "How about we go check on Little Umbrella? I haven't seen that guy in ages."

Baozi rolled her eyes:

"Did you listen to what I said before? Umbrella Bro can't be online during the day, okay?"

"Shall we go shopping?" PP suggested.

"Stop shopping, I'll get you some equipment," Baozi, a hint of pain in his eyes. "My faction recently received a new batch of gear, let's arm you up."

Sister Ji was immediately impressed:

"After three days of recognition, I never thought you, Baozi, would be so generous!"

"I'm very generous, okay?" Baozi rolled her eyes, then quickly added, "Let's make it clear beforehand that I'm only lending it to you during the mission, and you have to return it to me after the mission is over."

The two women immediately rolled their eyes at each other.

The Baozi are still the same Baozi.

"It seems this trick is quite effective."

During the Research Association, the senior engineer nodded in satisfaction upon seeing his subordinate's report.

Letting these hackers go out and cause trouble is definitely better than letting their energy go to waste.

Ah Hong and Bird of Paradise also breathed a sigh of relief.

While a wanted list ranking can be a reflection of a hacker's skill, it's not the same thing to say that a higher-ranked hacker can definitely hack into a lower-ranked one.

They're all ticking time bombs.

Beside the engineer, Gao Yuanyuan was massaging his shoulders while asking curiously, "Brother, did you call me over for something?"

"There's something I need you big hackers to take a look at."

The senior engineer flipped his finger, and a 'disc' appeared. The cover of the disc was covered with white snowflakes.

That "hedonistic software" called "Avalanche".