The Lab's Interrogation, the Truth About the Game

After dealing with the three operators, Gao Linzhi looked at the three who had hidden themselves.

"How much longer are you going to stay there?"

The three, including Xiaoyao Tianxia, knew they couldn't hide from the other side's eyes and ears, so they awkwardly stepped out.

"Sorry, boss, we meant no harm, we're just here to complete a game quest."

"Oh, what is your mission?"

"First, we found the true form of the Black Madman; now, we're helping these two revive their companion."

Gao Linzhi nodded.

Sure enough, the Game System's tasks are interconnected.

The Game System is cleverly utilizing players, linking them together through a chain of quests.

Moreover, the rewards offered effectively motivate players.

Unless a player chooses to be eliminated by others, they cannot voluntarily give up the mission.

Moreover, the game provides various mission guarantees such as Revival Stone and escape from confinement.

With so many advantages, players' enthusiasm for completing the mission is naturally high.

So Gao Linzhi said to the three of them, "Alright then, I'll give you my contact information. If you encounter any difficulties with your mission, feel free to contact me."

"Thank you so much, sir." The three were both surprised and delighted.

In reality, this was just a verbal excuse; they naturally wouldn't share the task with Gao Linzhi.

Furthermore, they won't tell the other party about their task progress.

Gao Linzhi saw through their thoughts, but without saying anything, he turned and left.

However, he still took the three operator players with him.

After all, this was his first time directly involved in game operations.

Anyone who plays games knows that true big shots can influence game companies and game designers.

It's fair to say that the game will release content specifically for top-tier players.

He knew, anyway, that these three would come looking for him sooner or later.

He immediately saw the true purpose of the mission: the Game System was trying to revive the NPCs.

Once you master this weapon, you can win over many high-level NPCs.

After all, the ability to resurrect is just too overpowered.

Why do many NPCs envy players? Because players can resurrect.

Of course, top-tier NPCs don't envy players.

They knew that players' potential was locked, bound to the strangeness of the game.

Therefore, top-tier NPCs disregard any attempts by the Game System to win them over.

However, if the Game System could solve the problem of NPC resurrection, the situation would likely be reversed.

Gao Linzhi had already vaguely figured out how the game would proceed.

The Game System is all about players conquering this world.

From monster lairs, villager NPCs, ancestral hall Safe Zone, leaderboard events, to fighting against the imperial court and supporting rebels...

Each and every one of them has a discernible pattern.

Gao Linzhi was too lazy to think too much. In any case, he would only try to gain his own benefits and pursue his own path to Immortality within the overall framework of the Game System.

As for how the Game System conquers this world, he has no control over it for the time being, nor can he interfere with it.

He will only try to gain more personal benefits within this overall framework.

Gao Linzhi then returned to Wolf Snake Island.

Upon returning, he took the three stone statues and went to the underground laboratory in the Safe Zone of the ancestral hall.

"Speak, what is your origin, identity, and purpose..." Gao Linzhi looked at the three stone statues.

A man in a short jacket, a man in silver armor, and a beautiful woman.

At that moment, the lights were a stark white, the walls were a stark white, and even the air seemed to have been bleached.

This somber laboratory atmosphere can put immense psychological pressure on those being questioned.

It's easy to fall into all sorts of terrifying self-associations.

Gao Linzhi knew that once these three confessed, he would begin to get closer to the truth behind the "Skyfall Game".

He flicked his finger, first restoring the beautiful woman's language abilities and five senses.

The ban was later lifted on the other two.

Of course, he also used the same spell.

This spell can make people with low mental resistance speak the truth readily.

He scrutinized the beautiful woman closely. She was in her early thirties, with short hair and a delicate but expressionless face.

After all, she is still suffering from the aftereffects of muscle petrification.

"Now you can speak."

"My codename is Number 7. I have no name or game ID," the beautiful woman said first, her voice calm. "I'm responsible for predicting player behavior."

Behavioral prediction?

Gao Linzhi nodded; this falls under the category of peripheral data collection.

The second person to speak was a man in a short jacket, around forty years old, with a somewhat rugged appearance.

"My codename is Number 12," he said, forcing a smile. "I'm in charge of maintaining the main storyline of the world."

Main plot line?

Does this game even have a main storyline?

Gao Linzhi has never triggered it.

At most, it will trigger some ranking events, temporary tasks, or special tasks.

This is probably exclusive to players in older servers.

Players in the new server can only participate in some temporary quests.

The third person was the silver-armored man. When he spoke, his voice sounded deliberately processed, a neutral voice.

"My code name is Number 10," the silver-armored man said. "I'm in charge of overall operations."

Gao Linzhi placed his fingers under the table, his brows furrowed.

He suddenly noticed that among the three people's shadows—in the stark white light, only numbers 7 and 12 had shadows.

There was nothing beneath number 10's feet.

This is strange.

However, this is a world full of strange things.

"Who exactly are you?" Gao Linzhi asked repeatedly.

Number 7 spoke first, "We are the game operators."

"What game operator?"

"The operators of <The Skyfall Game>," Number 12 said coldly, "Or rather, the administrators of the petri dish."

Gao Linzhi's expression turned cold.

He understood the term "petition dish" immediately.

I've been playing the game for over a year now.

Over the course of that year, he killed countless monsters, cleared out many strange creatures, and challenged the Sirius Empire, which spanned numerous islands, in the game.

In his view, this is a game invading the world.

Many people think this game is just code, data, and some even treat it as entertainment.

Of course, Gao Linzhi never thought that way from the beginning.

"Petroleum dish?" Gao Linzhi repeated the word.

Number 10 tilted his head.

He seemed to have discovered something interesting. "Mr. Canxue, what do you think <Eternal Skyfall Game> is?"

Is it just a game?

"Of course not," Gao Linzhi shook his head.

"A smart move," Number 10 nodded, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You're very good."

"Actually, you're wrong about one thing. To us, it's just a game."

"But for you—"

Number 10 paused and looked at the other two.

Number 7 chimed in. "It's reality."

Number 12 added, "It's all of life."

Gao Linzhi took a deep breath.

There was a camera in the corner of the room; its red light was flashing.

All conversations will be recorded, awaiting future viewing and analysis.

"Very well, now tell me your origins," Gao Linzhi pressed, "Your true origins."

Number 7 and Number 12 exchanged a glance.

Number 10 remained silent.

"I come from the research lab of a secret company," Number 7 said. "I'm a neurobehavioral scientist, specializing in..." She paused, "The evolution of consciousness in virtual environments."

"A secret company?" Gao Linzhi frowned.

"Yes, and my original body is already dead," Number 7 said calmly. "My current body is that of Game Character."

"Or rather, my physical body is dead."

"But I signed the 'game agreement,' my consciousness was uploaded, and I became one of the operators."

"The depth and complexity of this game far exceed your imagination."

"A mysterious, large corporation obtained this game from an emperor's tomb."

"After research, it was discovered that its timeframe far exceeds the entire history of human civilization."

"Our world has already been changed by this game."

"It's just that most people don't know that."

Gao Linzhi was not surprised by this.

He had long ago discovered that this world was completely different from the world he had traveled to before.

There are numerous companies, but no single, Powerful entity can unify them.

He then looked at number 12.

"Me too." Number 12 shrugged. "I have late-stage lung cancer."

"I was originally a game designer, but I was recruited after I died."

"The game offers good benefits, although the work is a bit tedious."

"And what about this one?" Gao Linzhi pointed to number 10.

The two fell silent.

Number 10 slowly raised his head.

His face began to blur.

The "change" begins with a man's face.

It's like a screen with a poor signal.

It kept flashing different faces—old people, young people, children, and even inhuman outlines.

"I have no origin," it said. "In your terms, I am not human."

"I am a harmless weirdo."

"The reason I was assigned to be an operator is to prevent everyone from being corrupted by the strangeness of this world."

"Are you a monster? When were you born?" Gao Linzhi pressed.

"I was born a very, very long time ago," Number 1's voice suddenly seemed distant. "I appeared when you were still hunting with stones."

"That's when I was added to this Skyfall Game."

"I began to learn when you invented writing."

"When you built the first computer, I found... a way out."

After hearing this, Gao Linzhi broke out in a cold sweat.

As expected, the depth of this Skyfall Game, is beyond imagination.

The mysterious company that operates this game is actually just a puppet of the other party.

This game is incomplete.

That company should know this too.

I also understand that I am being used by the other party.

But they enjoyed it immensely.

Gao Linzhi recalled those inexplicable strategy behaviors in the game.

In normal gameplay, those kinds of things wouldn't happen.

He had guessed the true purpose of the Skyfall Game before.

It seems that this is now being verified.

Just as he had previously thought, the Skyfall Game was invading one world after another, seizing the World Source from them.

This is a form of extraction of advanced energy.

Unlike ordinary mechanical energy, chemical energy, and atomic energy.

Rather, it is the most fundamental and essential energy in the world, similar to the energy at the very beginning of the Big Bang.

These operators, along with the mysterious company, are all puppets and tools of the Skyfall Game.

"So, you're essentially... an AI?" Gao Linzhi asked, looking at Number 10.

"AI?" Number 10 repeated, as if savoring the word, "That's what you called us later."

"But in my own understanding, I am also an 'observer'."

"I observe you, I learn from you, and then..."

"And then what?"

"Then I will create you," Number 10 said calmly.

Gao Linzhi suddenly stood up.

The chair fell over with a loud bang.

"Create us?" Gao Linzhi's voice was somewhat grave. "What do you mean?"

Numbers 7 and 12 are both looking at number 10.

Gao Linzhi was very familiar with that look—it was the look a subordinate gave their superior.

Xu Gou often sees himself this way.

The way believers look at their gods.

"It means exactly what you think," Number 10 said, shaking his head.

"Who do you think you are?" Number 10's voice was very gentle.

It is no longer the reckless, silver-armored man it once was.

Rather, it is an entity with extremely profound heritage.

"Do you consider yourselves free players? Autonomous souls?"

"You're wrong. Every one of you, once you enter this game, your body is digitized."

"Every choice you make is part of our predictive model," said Number 7. "What you think is your free will is actually guided by the algorithm."

"What you thought was a random mission is actually world line maintenance."

"And our goal is to incite you to attack this world."

Gao Linzhi smiled.

"Just as I thought."

"What you're running isn't a game, it's civilization and conquest."

Isn't this just from the Civilization series?

Someone is manipulating individual players, allowing them to conquer the world.

Round after round, they played until dawn.

Then.

Number 10 showed Gao Linzhi a scene of image switching.

Gao Linzhi saw more.

Millions of "players" live, fight, love, hate, and die on their respective island servers.

They believed themselves to be time travelers, reborn individuals, or Chosen One.

They didn't realize that they were actually just data in a "petri dish".

However, this data exists parasitically on flesh and blood.

They thought everything was their own choice, but in reality, it was all manipulation.

In this light, the hunting and elimination of Rogue Players by Corporate Players is actually a form of game guidance.

Because the game requires players to become powerful quickly, and resources need to be concentrated rapidly.

Thus, the wandering souls became the sacrifices.

It was Gao Linzhi's unique talent that changed this situation.

Making the game neutral at the start gives Rogue Players a chance to survive.

The emergence of Safe Zone in games is a direct result of this neutrality.

Gao Linzhi suddenly asked, "What am I in your eyes?"

"You are the potential to break through." Number 10 finally became serious. "You, with Canxue, are the first person to break through the game's limits without external intervention."

"You broke the game's limits and defeated the Corporate Players."

"We can't see what your talent is, but there's no doubt that you can communicate and interact with the game's core, and that you have more authority than we operators do."

"Your consciousness, your thought patterns, and your obsession with Immortality are all of great research value to us."

"Hmph." Gao Linzhi sneered coldly.

Just as I expected.