NOVEL NEXT Chapter 78
Chapter 78: Artificial Soul 05
Remaining Participants: 9200.
When Kui Xin returned to the First World, the number of surviving participants was still 9201.
Opening the death list showed that indeed the last name on the list had been updated recently.
“Proxy 8033 died on August 3rd.”
No one had reported who had killed this proxy.
If someone unqualified had taken over a player’s slot, the forum population should have increased by one. With one addition and one subtraction, the total population remained unchanged. Yet, the remaining population only showed a decrease, not an increase.
Kui Xin waited for ten minutes, continuously refreshing the page but found no increase in the survival count.
From this she reached two guesses. One, ordinary people taking on game qualifications could only register for forums when the second beta went live. Two, those who obtained game qualifications had not agreed to the official invite for the early test yet.
The first guess needed no explanation. Given that the first beta test was already underway, letting someone join midway seemed illogical, though marginally plausible.
Kui Xin based the second guess on factual evidence.
Initially, the game used a reservation system. Only those who filled out online identity forms and reserved a spot were eligible for invites. Additionally, invites specified that seniors and minors were not allowed.
At the start, The Crimson Soil appeared as a normal game from every perspective, even the distribution of the invitation cards was via email. It wasn’t until participants accepted the invite did everything start to skew off-kilter. The silver ID cards inexplicably appeared, causing the entire mass to collectively transport to the Second World at midnight, where a mysterious game system then loaded into their minds.
Kui Xin believed this was a clear filtering process.
In this process, the elderly and minors lost their qualifications, and those carrying life pressures or holding high-ranking positions in the military or government lacked the time to commit themselves to an unofficial beta test, leading them not to fill the reservation forms. Most young players joined who had more free time.
Thus, this young group with relatively stress-free lives entered the Second World.
Kui Xin observed that The Crimson Soil often prompted participants with subtle choices.
When Kui Xin received the test invitation, the game official had sent an email with additional documents which she agreed to before obtaining the code.
Before registering for the game forum, the official had warned participants with six pieces of advice and a pop-up warning: “You have only one chance to back out now.”
“You only have one chance to leave.”
A clear decision. If backed out at this step, one could remain an ordinary person, avoiding the turmoil in the Second World.
This at least illustrated that participants were never coerced into playing.
Choosing not to involve oneself in the game meant losing the ability to navigate between the worlds but gaining peace.
Despite not explicitly stating the game’s true nature, hints and explicit directions were given.
Unfortunately, most participants didn’t take these warnings seriously, including Kui Xin.
That’s the nature of fate’s jokes.
Once inside the game, even upon accepting missions, choices persisted.
When triggering missions, players could choose to accept or decline, with no repercussions for either choice. Upon mission completion, instead of skill upgrades or physical rewards, they received “invitation codes.”
Kui Xin could extend an invitation, drawing one person into the game with her.
Though not using the code yet, Kui Xin assumed its usage rules were consistent with initial invitations received.
Those invited could choose to accept or declina.
The term ‘invitation’ was apt because it offered the option to both accept and decline.
Kui Xin hadn’t decided to use this code yet.
She was prepared to keep it to herself, not wishing to reveal her identity or involve others unknowingly in risks.
Exiting a pinned post, Kui Xin noted several new threads.
A cursory glance revealed that a warning issued last night still hovered on the front page, with nearly a thousand replies. Some shared minor information, while the major details from the first poster ‘Lucky Goose’ remained unmatched.
Due to the massive amount of replies and scattered intelligence among other threads, one poster collected all the gathered information in one place, translating foreign posts as well.
Discussions about new rules were intense, but most conclusions mirrored Kui Xin’s own.
Everyone felt certain someone triggered new rules, making the official issue announcements.
Who was the deceased player? Who took the opportunity to seize the qualifications?
Amidst chaotic discussions, some points deserved consideration:
“It might be that after series of events, everyone thinks the Second World is perilous and wants to leave. But we shouldn’t forget the many treasures it holds.”
Top Post: Exactly, treasures. Someone suggested transferring Second World technologies and scientific achievements to the First World. However, not everyone is adept enough to understand complex sciences to apply them directly.
Experts, however, could gain more knowledge by spending more time. Simple technologies could drastically improve the First World.
Transferring advanced tech could push the First World into a technologically advanced society akin to science fiction.
Some of our countrymen faced dangers in the Second World, making us wary. People mostly noticed its dangers, overshadowing beneficial potential such as scientific advancements and extraordinary abilities.
The Second World is both a trap and treasure chest. Treasures are there, awaiting plunder, greed driving evil acts.
We’re too insignificant, too fragile. Limited abilities, perspectives constrained by our time. We feel powerless navigating societal waves.
Post 3: Now, my concern is whether ordinary people, knowing benefits, would turn against us to obtain qualifications? Assuming a government investigation, could experts be sent to the Second World for technology transfer?
Post 4: Currently, the only way is to kill players and snatch their slots…
Post 16: Working at a climate monitoring organization overseas, I think hiding Second World intrusion won’t last long. Soon after mirages appeared, our weather planes detected it impossible under prevailing conditions. Mirages occurred globally; obvious anomalies, no one can ignore, governments wouldn’t stay passive.
Post 17: That refers to Beautiful America. Such outrageous acts fit their usual behavior.
Post 18: Now I’m panicking. Most of us lack strong abilities to resist heavy weapons. If targeted, none could survive a confrontation.
Post 25: We wait, hoping第二批内测公告 [official notice of second beta test]. If that comes soon, tension eases. We escape hunting and legit entry pathways become possible.
Post 26: Another issue, how many slots are in the test? If not guaranteed, danger remains.
Post 33: Initially, thought returning would bring calm, but First World transformed into another survival game.
Post 34: Signs were evident. With the game system following us into reality, we knew the dual survival scenarios awaited. Ordinary mode in First World, hellish mode in Second.
Kui Xin turned her stiff neck to rest on the bed, continuing her search through thread posts.
Just dozens of participants from a single province, low density. Few exchanges in real world. Forums being the sole intelligence channel made her like a gaming addict scrolling through mobile threads.
Skipping discussions, she focused on educational posts.
In Second World, Kui Xin faced restrictions, making unrestricted intelligence gathering challenging. Useful insights from peer postings helped.
Educational posts varied widely: from ID usage for public places to public transportation, banking methods, electronic menu orders in restaurants, and maintenance of artificial limbs.
“Let’s talk about removing, repairing, and replacing energy for artificial limbs.”
First Post: Old or new models, switch-off buttons are located in armpits, knees, and inner thighs — a small orange symbol indicates their location. Pressing this triggers removal of limbs.
Cheap black market limbs aren’t reliable by these methods. Usually assembled from recycled materials, often breaking down.
Official repair options are limited—extension of warranty is costly and less extensive insurance means self-repair trips to outlets are required.
Energy batteries for artificial limbs typically replace monthly. Replacement requires visiting specific outlets.
Second World enterprises could improve, achieving continuous power supply, but profits influence design decisions.
Not everyone knows profit margins for limb companies are only 20% from limbs themselves, the rest coming from warranties and batteries. Buying one brand’s limb locks you into their battery ecosystem.
This cycle, capital exploitation, continues. Warranty scams mirror this, with strict regulations enforcing licensed repair personnel in Second World.
Seeing the ugly aspects of capitalistic exploitation, Kui Xin nodded to herself.
From political teachings, “Capitalism drips blood everywhere.”
She scrolled further and saw another informative post.
“Beginning and Current State of Anti-Artificial Limb Movement”
First Post: This movement might not sound familiar.
Similar to environmental or anti-war movements, the Second World also has its own political campaigns. Interestingly, the government doesn’t suppress them intensely. They probably hesitate fearing backlash.
The movement started decades ago with increasing information technology. Concerns over machine reliability and hacker tampering emerged.
An extreme example involved a hacker hijacking a victim’s mechanical arm, ultimately killing them. While rare, it highlighted safety issues.
This led to the rise of the anti-artificial limb movement, with some rejecting prosthetics, preferring manual devices, even advocating returning to pre-technology societies to avoid dependence.
While absurd, real fears revolve around federal control, concerns over federal manipulation through mechanical dominance.
…
Suddenly, Kui Xin received a call from Yuan Lu.
“Kui Xin, we’ve decided to post a coalition announcement on the forum,” Yuan Lu said. “Using anonymous format, preserving member identities. Scheduled meetings for data exchange.”