Fickle Fate

This operation involved a total of six people: Dida, Baozi, pptouzi, Zhang Tongxue, Sange, and Jijie.

Umbrella Bro is a special case; he is controlled by that "textile machine" and can only provide remote guidance, not direct participation.

So, out of the five people, four have died, and the one remaining—

"@Sister Ji, Sister Ji?"

Where is Sister Ji?

"Sister Ji, are you still alive?"

"Something's not right. I see she's still online."

After a long while, Sister Ji, who had been eagerly awaited, finally came online.

"Stop howling, stop howling, the person is still here," said Sister Ji.

"You're not dead? That's not scientific! How could you not be dead? Weren't you at the center of the explosion?" Baozi let out a wail of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

"Did something slightly unexpected happen?"

"I think I can sense you," Umbrella Bro, who had been lurking, suddenly popped up and said.

"A feeling? Could it be an affair?!" PP's boss instinctively started snorting.

"Pah! I'm determined to sleep with three thousand handsome men. Why would I give up a whole forest for one big tree? Cool guys like Umbrella Bro, cold-blooded killers... yes, that's one of my hobbies. @RainyNightWithKnifeNoUmbrella, how about we give it a try?"

"Stop rambling, stop rambling, get straight to the point!" Baozi was so anxious he was about to jump up and down.

"Okay, let me sort out the situation. I was knitting a name for him as Umbrella Bro suggested, and once I started, I couldn't stop. It was like I was completely connected to that 'loom.' And after finishing the name, I had a strong feeling of being swallowed up; I almost disappeared."

"Sorry, this is something I didn't expect. I owe you a second favor." (He carried a knife but no umbrella on a rainy night.)

"Don't interrupt, Umbrella Bro. By the way, I failed Level 4. Umbrella Bro, how about you consider owing me another favor?" I love Baozi.

"Shut up Baozi!" - PP Leader

"Shut up, Baozi!" (Tick-tock)

"... Anyway, just when I was about to die, another super boss appeared. The two bosses started fighting, and it was incredibly intense, with one powerful attack after another. You guys, oh, you were all dead by then, so you couldn't see it."

'...'

'...'

'...'

"Back then, I was controlled by the Spinning Machine of Fate. I could clearly feel that the overall boss of this assassination alliance was losing power rapidly. When he couldn't hold on, he started draining my power. My level dropped by 10 levels in a row, dropping back to level one."

"Sister Ji, I was wrong. You're in a much worse situation than us," Baozi replied.

"I wasn't finished yet. Just when I was feeling utterly hopeless, I suddenly sensed that the power of this spinning machine had been drained away by another super boss. Do you understand what I mean?"

To explain in more detail, Sister Ji has started posting erotic pictures again.

A handsome guy with minimal clothing was being held by another handsome guy with minimal clothing in a way that was inappropriate for children.

And behind the person carrying the other person, there was also a handsome guy being carried.

"That's roughly what happened. It was initially just drawing blood from me, but now it's getting drawn in too, and then I was directly sucked into its body."

"Not only have my level been restored, but I've also gained a new class, 'Fate Weaver.' Oh, and @RainyNightWithKnifeWithoutUmbrella, I'm now the leader of your Assassination Alliance."

"..." on a rainy night, without an umbrella.

"Envy, jealousy, and hatred" - I love Baozi

Envy, jealousy, and hatred +1 pp leader

Envy, jealousy, and hatred +2 - Sister Ji

Envy, jealousy, and hatred +3. I will always love Zhang Aiping.

"Hehe, I suddenly got a big faction quest in my quest log called 'Rebuild the Assassination Alliance.' Remember to come help me out, I'll give you some good quests."

"By the way, does anyone know what 'Collapse Entity Carrier No. 4' is? Why is something like that appearing on my character panel?"

About half an hour later, Baozi turned off the communication with a complicated expression.

Who would have thought that the biggest beneficiary of this mission would be Sister Ji!

Not only has a new hidden profession been added, but also a new quest to create a large-scale power!

Heaven have mercy, Baozi is the player who most wants to build a faction.

Baozi could vaguely sense that leveling up by defeating monsters wasn't that important in this game; rather, building power seemed to be the answer in this version.

"And that mirror... it's Mr. G again!" Baozi's feelings were complicated.

The Mr. G Research Association —this Mr. G is most likely the same Mr. G from the City That Never Sleeps.

Moreover, before he died, he tried to see what the "super boss" looked like. Although he couldn't see it very clearly, he could vaguely make out that the "super boss's" facial features had many similarities to those of the one in the City That Never Sleeps.

So, was I tricked by an NPC?

Meanwhile, in a detached villa on the other side of freedom, the senior engineer slowly opened his eyes.

Three days have passed since I went to the "Virtual No. 1" building.

He did not go to work at Ghost in the Shell as previously arranged, even though "Miss Shell" had urged him more than once.

Ever since he sensed the preparations of several junior players at the training center, he had been secretly observing them for the past two days, waiting for their actions.

Sure enough, they just made their move.

But the ending was somewhat unexpected.

Neither "the owner of Database 0" nor "Ara-maki" really surprised Senior Engineer.

The reason was explained at the end of "Ara-maki".

Whatever fate bestows, fate will take back.

Based on the name "Honkai Collapse Entity 4 - Destiny's Weaving Machine", he could roughly guess that this thing's ability was probably like a wish-granting machine. The wisher made a wish to "move fate", and then at some point in the future, when the "Destiny's Weaving Machine" needed it, you had to take action unconditionally.

Throughout history, this "weaving machine of fate" has influenced the destinies of countless people. Even without the intervention of these two individuals, other powerful figures would most likely have taken action. Therefore, it is not entirely unexpected that he failed to succeed.

There were two situations that truly surprised the senior engineer.

Firstly, this "Fourth Collapse Entity" seems to easily abandon its "body," which is different from all the Collapse Entity that the senior engineer has seen before, such as android A, Rose, and Prometheus, who have basically "deeply merged" with each other. Unless the host dies, it is impossible for them to separate so smoothly.

Second, Ara-maki is actually number six!

This is what truly surprised the senior engineer, because during their last meeting, he hadn't sensed any Collapse Entity energy from the other party.

So, he completed the fusion during this period?

The senior engineer did a quick calculation and found that out of the 13 Collapse Entity, about 5 Collapse Entity on their side.

If you use yourself as the "box" to complete the artifact synthesis, these five should be no problem.

However, the others, especially the first three, are more troublesome. One is the planetary host's "second personality," another has become a "ghost host," and the third is about to devour all "Big Data Conceptual Entity," becoming the nemesis of all artificial intelligence.

Without weakening them, containment would be virtually impossible.

The latter two, in particular, are two of the larger waves in the entire "cyber wave".

So, the senior engineer added another plan to his notebook.

Before the Cyber Tide reaches its peak, complete the collection of other 'Collapse Entity', while weakening the first three as much as possible.

"The Loom of Destiny" is a good target.

Although its summoning ability is strong, its physical body does not seem to be strong enough.

At this time, the senior engineer was unaware that the host of the "Destiny Spinning Machine" had actually become a player.

The senior engineer took out his spoils, which were a pile of golden yarn and a ball of blue light.

The senior engineer showed the former a skill.

Name: Spinning of Destiny

Category: Fate Vessel

Quality:??

Danger level:?

Weight: 0

Note: Fate bestows gifts because the giver needs redemption.

He tossed the blue light around again and swiped it once more.

Name: Ecological Membrane

Category: Ecological Collective

Quality:??

Danger level:?

Weight: 0

Note: The environment nurtures ecology, civilization nourishes ecology, and humanity protects ecology.

The senior engineer picked up a gold thread and injected it with Honkai energy.

The gold thread begins to extend forward.

The next moment, something magical happened; he seemed to enter the perspective of a stranger, observing his entire life.

He was an ordinary mercenary, his life a monotonous cycle of missions, training, fighting, and rest.

But upon closer inspection, many important moments are actually gifts from fate.

A serious injury sustained during a mission allowed him to escape death's scythe with a gentle pull of fate.

During a relapse of cyberpsychosis, a friend who was a prosthetic doctor had a sudden idea and went to his house for drinks, which happened to save him.

Behind the doctor's head, there was also a "thread of fate" pulling him in this direction.

During a poisoning attempt by hostile forces, he suddenly had diarrhea and did not eat anything, thus escaping certain death.

This experience ended abruptly at the point where the "golden thread broke."

"Miss Shell".

"I am here."

"Please investigate this person for me."

As soon as the senior engineer had a thought, a phantom of a mercenary appeared before his eyes. It had one eye, and its left arm and right leg had been mechanized. It carried two laser samurai swords on its back and looked very fierce.

"According to our survey, there are 34 people worldwide who fit this image. Please provide the necessary information for further screening."

The senior engineer then recounted some events that had happened to the other party in the past.

"Filtering criteria in progress, filtering complete. Marubeni Technology senior mercenary, Hai Ke, born in 1931 in the Cyber Era..."

The senior engineer matched the two sets of information one by one and confirmed that the person in the thread of fate was indeed this person.

"How is he now?"

"According to Marubeni Technology's internal data, he was ambushed by enemy forces during a recent mission and unfortunately died. His identity has been confirmed based on the identification chip found on his body."

"Fate is unpredictable."

The senior engineer murmured.