Only Player

Chapter 256 Splatoon
[A vending machine from an unknown brand. It is actually a universal wishing machine, but now it has been damaged and can only produce a limited number of different types of food.

During an exploration of the spirit world, Director Reagan found it and then imprisoned it in the basement of the factory. For many years, it has been used as a sow to provide food for the factory. It is really miserable.

Universal wishing machine?
Zhou Yuan was shocked. This vending machine turned out to be a universal wishing machine?!
There is only one such bug-level anomaly in the world. It was discovered and contained by the Control Bureau 80 years ago and has been stored in the most heavily guarded containment site ever since. So far, it has only been activated a few times.

Because every time you activate the wishing machine, you have to pay an equivalent price. A wish that is too small is unnecessary, while a wish that is too grand is too expensive. Therefore, after careful consideration and weighing the pros and cons, the top leaders of the Control Bureau chose the best solution - sealing it.

However, the "universal wishing machine" in front of him seems to be different. Even if it is damaged, he can make his wish come true without paying any price.

Theoretically, this should be the real "universal wishing machine".

Zhou Yuan walked quietly to the foot of the vending machine and looked up. It was as if he was looking down at an eternal steel mountain.

"Hmm? There are words?"

When he walked around to the back of the vending machine, he suddenly discovered that there was a large amount of text and patterns engraved on a rusty area in the lower left corner. These words were not in Earth language and looked like a string of complicated garbled codes, while the content expressed by the patterns was much simpler and clearer.

Zhou Yuan combined the picture with the translation of the Eye of Appraisal and understood what the person who engraved the words wanted to express.

——One day, this huge vending machine fell from the sky and was obtained by a primitive civilization. With the help of the vending machine, this civilization developed rapidly.

But the good times did not last long, as civil unrest broke out. Some people wanted to use vending machines unscrupulously to satisfy all their desires, while others felt that they should exercise restraint, believing that unlimited use of vending machines would inevitably lead to a devastating disaster. The conflict between these two ideas quickly escalated and eventually evolved into an all-out war, leading to the destruction of civilization.

Many centuries later, civilization rose again and people later found this vending machine in an ancient ruins. They believed that it was the source of all evil, the abyss of desire, and the culprit of all disasters, and it must be destroyed to cut off the root of the disaster.

However, despite trying various methods, they all ended in failure. The vending machine seemed to be protected by some mysterious force and was indestructible.

Finally, they could only launch the vending machine into outer space, exiled it among the stars, and left these text patterns to warn individuals or groups who might get the vending machine.

"It led to the destruction of a civilization and was exiled to the deep space..."

Zhou Yuan muttered as he continued to look up, only to see three huge animal claw marks on the back of the vending machine, which had torn the metal casing, severed the internal wiring, and caused serious damage.

Apparently, this is what caused the damage to the vending machine.

"That civilization tried many methods but failed to damage the vending machine. However, some kind of beast destroyed it with just one claw..." Zhou Yuan couldn't help but feel a little frightened.

After a round of exploration, Zhou Yuan found nothing else, so he made a bold decision - to wake up the vending machine.

This vending machine does have its own consciousness, but it is very, very weak. If Zhou Yuan's spiritual power was not high enough, he might not be able to sense it.

He reached out his hand, touched the cold steel, and used his psionic powers to awaken the vending machine's will.

Not long after, a long-dormant consciousness awakened, dazed and confused, as if just opening his eyes from a long nap. Then, a line of strange words appeared in Zhou Yuan's mind.

【It's your turn.】

"???"

Three question marks appeared above Zhou Yuan’s head.

【Who are you? 】

"..."

Zhou Yuan was silent. [Do you want to talk to me?]

Zhou Yuan couldn't hold it in any longer: "Are you from Mars?"

【What? The words of the office have been fulfilled. 】

Zhou Yuan hesitated to speak. Why does this vending machine speak in ancient Martian language? !
[The message has been successfully loaded... Hello, we can now communicate normally. ]

"Language pack? My native language is preset in your program?" Zhou Yuan frowned.

"No. I downloaded it from the Internet after connecting to WiFi." The vending machine replied.

“The factory has no internet.”

"I'm connected to the network next door, a place called Happy Paradise," said the vending machine.

"Can you connect to WiFi from such a distance?" Zhou Yuan was stunned.

"My hardware is very powerful, and I can connect to the Internet even across a galaxy. However, many years ago, when I was wandering in the starry sky, I was attacked by a space monster. Most of the functions were offline, and the signal reception range was severely reduced."

The vending machine sighed sadly, "Not only that, but I was kidnapped by a bad guy and was imprisoned here to produce food for him. I haven't had a rest for a long time... Can you rescue me? If you can fix me, I can fulfill all your wishes."

"I've seen the pictures and texts behind you." Zhou Yuan reminded.

"The destruction of Tuze civilization cannot be blamed on me. I am just a tool and have no choice. It all depends on who uses it. Just like nuclear energy, if good people use it, it can benefit society, but if bad people use it, it will destroy the world." The vending machine said sincerely.

Zhou Yuan thought for a moment and said, "I can take you away, but you have to tell me about this factory first."

"This place is extremely evil and filled with the stench of capital. To be more precise, this factory is the embodiment of capital, which wants to achieve absolute monopoly and pursue unlimited value-added. Fortunately, it has not yet truly developed."

When the vending machine heard that it could leave, its tone became much happier. "The way to deal with this factory is actually very simple. We just need to target the employees. If the employees cannot work normally, all operations of the factory will be affected. If the food produced has some quality problems again, it will be a heavy blow to the factory. By then, it will be weaker than ever before."

"Attack employees?"

Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment, "Can you add some technology and ruthlessness to the food to make everyone lose their ability to move?"

This is undoubtedly the simplest and most effective way.

"Yes." The vending machine replied.

Zhou Yuan touched his chin. "So simple? Didn't Director Reagan take any protective measures for food safety? For example, specifying that the food must be absolutely healthy and fresh, and this instruction cannot be overridden by other instructions?"

"My system is severely damaged and can only execute the simplest instructions. I cannot execute the instructions you gave me as an example."

"So the new command I just gave can overwrite the old one?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Zhou Yuan couldn't help but burst into laughter. Let's welcome the terrifying Wallace time. Everyone, turn into Splatoons!
(End of this chapter)