Origin Chip

Just as everyone had expected, Punklorde's Second Global Cyberwar had officially erupted.

Over the course of a year, the downgraded Aetherium Chips that had originally flowed into places like the Great Wilderness and Scrap Mountain had completed a generation of optimization and upgrades. Both their performance and operational range had improved enormously.

Yet no one had expected the war to break out so soon. During an Oasis District government meeting, someone had said that even if the rebels in the Great Wilderness who had obtained Aetherium Chips wanted to threaten the Oasis District, they would need at least several years to prepare—at the very least, until they had fully mastered the Aetherium Chips they possessed.

But now, war had erupted far sooner than anyone had anticipated.

Spreading outward from the Oasis District, the scale of the war gradually encompassed all of Punklorde. Hackers from around the world joined the conflict. Some fought to defend their own interests, while others simply wanted entertainment and chaos, launching a global battle of attack and defense.

As a senior government official of the Oasis District and one of Punklorde's finest hackers, you naturally joined this global cyberwar as well. Though for most of the conflict, you played the role of defender.

By early winter, the war had already continued for a full month. Civilization and order throughout Punklorde had begun to collapse, but perhaps because of this war, the Dark Domain fluctuated one night.

It was also on that day that you successfully cracked the method of entering the Dark Domain and obtained the information you sought. You learned the identity of the enemy who had killed your parents. As expected, it was Owl Serpent. Yet even upon learning this result, not a single ripple stirred in your heart.

What surprised you, however, was discovering another secret—the Second Global Cyberwar of Punklorde was also connected to him. Those downgraded Aetherium Chips had been personally delivered into the Great Wilderness by him.

As for why he had done so, you had not understood at first. That was until he saw three words within the Dark Domain—Annihilation Gang.

You had once heard of this organization that existed in the cosmos. They were desperadoes who walked the Path of "Destruction," and perhaps the chaos caused by this war was exactly what he wished to see.

As you hacked deeper into the Dark Domain, you indeed found that Origin Chip within. You had thought entering the Dark Domain was merely the start of the dungeon, and that obtaining the chip would require defeating the final boss. But you had not expected there to be no boss here, not even a single minor enemy. The final treasure chest simply sat there quietly, inviting whoever wished to claim it.

In early winter, sparse snowflakes fell across the streets of Punklorde, swept up by the wind before quickly melting into slush.

Bai Heng stepped across the soggy ground. The once-prosperous streets had already become ruins, leaving behind only broken walls and crumbling wreckage.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, he arrived at the entrance of a fast-food restaurant.

The glass door had been completely shattered, leaving only shards scattered across the floor. The restaurant itself was empty as well.

Bai Heng walked inside and tried to turn on the lights, only to discover that even the bulbs had broken.

With no choice but to withdraw his hand, Bai Heng felt his way through the darkness and entered the restaurant, gently pulling open the basement's rolling shutter.

He descended the stairs until he reached that cramped basement.

The night outside filtered through the gaps in the blinds, barely illuminating this small corner of the room.

As always, Silver Wolf had preserved the room's original layout. When he approached the arcade machines, one of the undamaged cabinets lit up, its pink glow spilling across the floor like the city's neon lights.

In a daze, Bai Heng recalled the five years he had lived here. Thinking carefully, that had probably been the most peaceful period of his life.

But for today's sake, Bai Heng had left Silver Wolf behind, hoping she could live a normal life.

Because he had joined the Slag Gang and become part of the government of the Punklorde Network Corporation, every move he made was watched by countless hackers throughout Punklorde.

Therefore, he could not take the initiative to seek out Silver Wolf, not even to greet her online.

He simply had not expected the future to turn out like this. Silver Wolf had become an outstanding hacker, and her future achievements might not even be below his own.

And before he had found the murderer of his parents, a war that changed all of Punklorde had arrived ahead of schedule.

Thinking of these troubles, Bai Heng shook his head and turned on the arcade machines in the basement one by one.

There were eight arcade machines in total, but only three could still be powered on.

Yet after Bai Heng activated them, he unexpectedly discovered that Silver Wolf had already broken the astronomical records he had left behind.

He seemed to smile with some satisfaction, then started a game. Before long, the record holders on all three arcade machines had become him once more.

After leaving the fast-food restaurant, Bai Heng began making his way toward the headquarters of the Punklorde Network Corporation.

But along the way, he encountered two children.

They were two ragged little girls, curled up in the corner of a deep alley.

The moment they saw Bai Heng, they quickly ran deeper into the alley.

They were orphans left behind by this war. Just like during that natural disaster years ago, he and Brownie had both become orphans.

Bai Heng knew he had frightened them, so he called out:

"Don't be afraid. I'm with the government."

"Are you hungry? I have food here."

Perhaps because they heard the word food, the younger sister, who had clearly been starving for many days, stopped in her tracks.

But the older sister still intended to pull her away and run.

Before the younger sister could be dragged along, Bai Heng had already arrived beside the two girls and gently stroked their messy long hair.

His action made the older girl immediately shield her sister behind her, then look at Bai Heng anxiously.

Only when Bai Heng opened his right palm—revealing two compressed biscuits hidden inside—

did the two girls finally relax.

Even so, they still did not dare move, merely staring wide-eyed at Bai Heng.

Seeing this, Bai Heng placed a compressed biscuit into each little girl's hand and said softly:

"Eat."

The younger sister clutched the compressed biscuit tightly and cautiously glanced at her sister. Only after receiving permission did she begin wolfing down the hard-earned food.

Meanwhile, the older sister watched her sister gently, silently tucked her own compressed biscuit into her filthy pocket, then bowed to Bai Heng and said:

"Thank you, mister."

"What are you talking about? Call me big brother." Bai Heng corrected her irritably. He was only twenty. Being called mister was far too early.

"Oh... thank you, big brother." The older sister froze for a moment before changing her words.

Bai Heng then pinched the younger sister's cheek and said:

"You have to call me that too."

The younger sister looked only five or six years old. With the compressed biscuit still in her mouth, she spoke in a soft, muffled voice:

"Fank you, big bwother."

Bai Heng waved a hand.

"Fank you... Forget it, close enough."

After the brief exchange, Bai Heng became serious again and asked gently:

"Do you hate war?"

The younger sister said nothing, but the older sister gritted her teeth and said quietly:

"Our parents both died. Just a few days ago."

Looking at the tears in the older sister's eyes, Bai Heng placed a hand on her head and said softly:

"Then let it end today."

At the top of the Punklorde Network Corporation headquarters building.

Bai Heng cursed himself a few times for being a "fucking idiot" and a "hopeless do-gooder," but on second thought, maybe coming up with such a solution really did make him a genius.

Besides, life was only a few short decades. What was wrong with showing off for once today?

He pressed the button on the Origin Chip, and an imaginary display appeared before him. Bai Heng chuckled.

"This thing is a lot easier to use than the Punklorde Network Corporation's knockoff."

He entered commands and began editing.

Neural capacity expanded, thought sensitivity increased, extreme stress resistance increased, computational power increased...

Compared to the ability of ordinary Aetherium Chips to edit reality, the Origin Chip could even edit a person's physical functions.

After completing a series of edits, Bai Heng felt his mind become completely blank, while his body endured an immense burden.

But it did not matter. Just this once.

With every procedure complete, Bai Heng smiled.

"Everyone, time to join the game."

Through the Origin Chip, you hacked into Aetherium Chip terminals across the globe and challenged every hacker in Punklorde at the same time.

At that moment, everyone was pulled into the Dark Domain network by you. For hackers, being forcibly dragged into a match was undoubtedly a provocation. At the same time, every attack command focused fire on you. Chaotic streams of information surged toward you without end, while your body, rewritten by the Origin Chip, defended itself with horrifying computational power.

But the price was blood spilling from the corner of your mouth. You could clearly feel your vitality draining away at a rapid pace.

1, 2, 3... After 180 seconds—three minutes—everything went exactly as you had calculated.

A sweet, metallic taste rose from your throat. You bit through your tongue and sprayed a mouthful of boiling blood.

At the same time, Punklorde's global network fell into paralysis.