Player 1

Chapter 18 Level 1(16)
"Hehe," I responded, "then you guys are really impressive now, I admire you. But why are we still chatting here? Oh, yes, you don't have any clues about the brass key yet, and you want me to help you Bar."

Sorrento narrowed his eyes, then laughed out loud. "Interesting, boy." He bared his teeth at me. "You're very smart and talented. I appreciate it."

We walked on, and a few minutes later we were in the huge offices in Sorrento.Outside the window is the view of this magnificent "city".There is an endless stream of shuttles and aircraft in the sky, and the virtual sun is slowly setting.Sorrento sat down on the chair behind the table and beckoned me to sit down too.

The game starts, I sit back and have fun, Wade.

"Let's get straight to the point," he said, "IOI would like to hire you as a consultant to help us find Halliday's easter egg. All the resources of our company are at your disposal, money, weapons, equipment, starships, technology, whatever you want something you want."

"What about my job?"

"Head of Easter Egg Researcher," he replied, "you manage the entire department, and you are only subordinate to me. That's five thousand well-trained employees, and they all obey you."

"Sounds good." I tried to be as calm as possible.

"There is no doubt. But the real point is that we are happy to give you an annual salary of 200 million, which does not count the 100 million signing fee. If you help us find the Easter egg, you will get an additional 500 million bonus."

I pointed at the imaginary banknotes with my finger, "Wow, so much money, can my family fit it?"

Sorrento didn't seem to know I was taunting him. "Unfortunately," he replied, "you'll have to move to Columbus, but we'll promise you a nice room, a private office, and, of course, special somatosensory equipment—"

"Wait," I interrupted him with a raised hand, "You mean I have to live in IOI headquarters? With you? And all the kneeling-egg researchers?"

He nodded, "Until you help us find the eggs."

I resisted the urge to curse, "What about social security? Will I have medical insurance? Including dental and eye care? There are other things, such as spa membership cards?"

"Of course," he began to look impatient, "so, have you decided?"

"Can I think about it for a few days?"

"Sorry, no," he said. "Things are changing fast, and I need answers now."

I leaned back in my chair and glanced at the ceiling, pretending to be deliberating.Sorrento looked at me expectantly.When I was about to answer, he suddenly raised his hand, indicating that he had something to say.

"Listen up before answering, I know most hunters think the IOI is absurdly evil, and the 'Sixth Man' is always playing tricks, which is far from the credo of fair play, right?"

I nodded, almost failing to applaud his precise assessment.

"Well, it's all nonsense." He winked at me and showed a friendly smile. I guess he is running some motion beautification software, "'Sixth Man' is no different from those hunter guilds, but the configuration is more complete. IOI They share the same likes and dislikes with the hunters, and their goals are exactly the same."

Fuck your target, I want to yell at him and help you destroy the oasis forever?Destroying the very reason for life to go on?
Sorrento seemed to take my silence as a default. "You know, contrary to popular belief, Oasis won't change much because of IOI's entry. Yes, we will start charging monthly and increase advertising investment, but we will also make a series of improvements, Including purifying the game content and refining the construction guide. We will make the oasis better."

Shit, I think, you're just going to make it a commercial theme park and suck everyone's money until they can't even pay for admission.

This kind of shameless propaganda makes my ears callous.

"Okay," I said, "you don't need to continue talking nonsense, I am willing to sign a contract with you, and join the team now."

Sorrento looked surprised, obviously not expecting things to develop so quickly.His smile widened, and he reached out to me again.

"But I have three small conditions." I interrupted him, "First of all, I want 5000 million. This is the asking price for helping you find the easter eggs. Two thousand and five can't satisfy me, so I have to double it."

He didn't even hesitate, "Success. What else is there?"

"I don't want to be deputy, I want your position, Sorrento. I want to be in charge of everything here, I want to be head of operations. Head of operations. Get it? Oh, everyone here has to use Latin Call me ElNumero Uno[80], understand?"

My mouth seemed to lose the control of my brain, and I continued to speak incessantly.

The smile on Sorrento's face disappeared, "What else?"

"I don't want to work with you," I pointed at him, "I'll fucking throw up when I see you. Of course, if you pack up and leave, I'll join right away, it's as simple as that."

There was silence.Sorrento was expressionless.He may be flying into a rage, but the expression is caught by the filter system.

"Can I talk to your bosses about this?" I asked him, "or are they watching now? I bet they are." I waved at the surveillance cameras, "Hey boss , what do you think?"

A longer silence.Sorrento stared at me silently. "They're watching, no doubt," he finally said, "and they've made up their minds that they'd be happy to accede to your request." Sorrento didn't sound particularly agitated.

"Really? Great! When do I get in? Oh, and when are you going to fuck off?"

"Right now. The bosses are preparing the contract, which will be sent to your lawyer. Then we—they'll send you to Columbus to sign the physical agreement." He stood up. "Then—"

"But—" I interrupted him again, "It took me a few seconds to figure it out just now, your invitation was rejected, it's more interesting to find Easter eggs by yourself, thank you." I stood up, "You and All the other kneeling and licking are playthings."

Sorrento started laughing, and I was a little uneasy with his hearty laugh. "Very good! You're really good, boy! Play us around, huh?" He paused. "That's the answer I expected. Now, let's look at the second proposal."

"Anything else?" I sat down again and put my legs on the table, "Well, let's talk."

"We will immediately transfer 500 million to your oasis account—I mean, immediately—in exchange for the strategy to pass the first door. All you have to do is tell us step by step how to pass the door. You can continue to look for easter eggs alone, and the content of this transaction will be kept secret and no one will know."

To be honest, I did hesitate for a while, 500 million is enough for me for a lifetime, and even if I help the "sixth man" pass the first door, there are still two doors behind to stop them.

"Trust me, boy," Sorrento said, "make this deal while you still have the chance."

His patriarchal tone was nauseating, but it only strengthened my belief that I couldn't sell myself to the Sixth Man.If it does, and they end up winning the game, I'm a fucking sinner.I, Wade, don't want to spend the rest of my life in shame.Hope Edge, Artemis, and the rest of the hunters think the same way.

"It's no use," I put my feet back on the ground and stood up, "Let's leave now."

Sorrento looked at me, it was strange, he showed a look of pity, "Don't worry, it's not over yet. We have one last proposal, Parsifal. The last one."

"Don't you understand? You can't buy me off. Stop pushing, idiots, and see you later."

"Sit down, Wade."

I stayed there and he called me by my real name?
"That's right," snapped Sorrento, "we know who you are. Wade Owen Voight, born August 2024, 8, parents deceased. We also know where you live, where you live with your aunt In a mobile home complex on 12 Street in Portland, Oklahoma City. To be precise, it is Unit 700-K. According to our investigation, you have entered your aunt’s mobile home for three days and have not come out yet.”

A video pop-up window appeared in front of him, showing the stacked building where I lived.The video is shot from above, so it must be an airplane or satellite.From this angle, they could only monitor the two main entrances and exits of the trailer, not my secret passage.They don't know I've left long ago.

"How do you feel?" Sorrento's voice returned to its former cheerfulness and pride. "You should come out and walk, Wade. It's not good for your health to stay at home in an old house." He magnified the image several times, and then cut Thermal imaging showed that several human silhouettes could be seen in the activity room. There were adults and children among these people sitting upright.They didn't make any movement, obviously logged into "Oasis".

I was too surprised to speak.how did they find meNo one should be able to steal user information from the Oasis database, and I didn't even write down my address in my account information.There is no need for an address when creating an account, just a name and retina records.How did they find my aunt's house?
Eighty percent is the information when I registered at the school.

"Your instinctive reaction must be to quit the game and run," Sorrento said. "I hope you don't take that risk. The prefab is surrounded by high-explosive bombs." The remote control thing, "My finger is on the blast button, and if you force quit the game, you're dead in seconds. See what I'm saying, Mr. Walter?"

I nodded slowly, not allowing myself to be overwhelmed by despair.

He was scaring me, he must have been, and even if the bomb was real, he wouldn't know that I was in a secret cabin half a mile away.It seems Sorrento decided I was one of the thermal imaging profiles.

If he actually blew up my aunt's trailer, I'd probably be fine too, those old cars are covering me up like bunkers, aren't they?Also, killing everyone in the prefab for me is too—

"How do you—"

"How did we find out who you are and where you live?" He interrupted me with a smile. The address was given to them, presumably for transcripts, I guess."

Sure enough.My character name, real name, and address are all in the student file, which only the principal can access.This is a stupid mistake.But Halliday hadn’t passed away when I first went to school, and the easter egg contest hadn’t started yet, so there was no need to hide my real information, so I really can’t blame me for this.

"How do you know I go to school in Oasis?" I asked.The answer is obvious, but I need time.

"There was a message on the hunter website saying that you and your little friend Edge both go to school in Luders. So we decided to bribe a few Oasis school administrators. Do you know how much they can only make a year, Wade? It's pathetic .One of your principals helped us find someone named Parsifal in the student database, and guess what happened?"

Another window popped up, it was my student file.My real name, character name, student code (Wade III), date of birth, social security number, home address, and academic record are all on it, along with an old photo from five years ago when I transferred schools .

"We still have a file on your friend Edge, but he's cleverly using a fake name and address, so we'll have to spend a little more time."

He paused for an answer, but I was struggling to keep my breath steady so I didn't answer.

"This is our last proposal," Sorrento rubbed his hands excitedly, like a child about to open a present, "tell us how to pass the first door, otherwise we will die."

"Don't bluff people." Although I said this, I knew in my heart that this was not bluffing, not at all.

"I didn't, Wade, I didn't. You gotta figure it out, with all the big things going on in the world, do you really think anyone cares about an explosion in a garbage dump on the outskirts of some city? They'll just think it's a chemical Accident, or some terrorist made a homemade bomb. It just means a few hundred less junkies who will compete with them for food stamps and oxygen. No one cares, and the government doesn't even bother to clean up the scene."

It's all true, but I have to stall for time before I can come up with a countermeasure. "You guys going to kill people?" I asked. "Just for a game?"

"Don't play dumb, Wade, this is about hundreds of billions of assets and the most profitable company in the world. It's not just a game, it never was." Sorrento leaned over to me, "You still have a chance to win , kid. If you are willing to help us, 500 million will still remain the same. How should I put it... You can live a life of luxury and debauchery right now. Or, you can also go to heaven in a few seconds. But, before making a choice, You better ask yourself first - if your mother was alive, what would she want?"

Normally, I would have jumped at the case, but now fear seized me, "How can you guarantee that you won't kill me after the deal is done?"

"No matter what you think, we won't kill people unless we really have no choice. Besides, we have to face two doors, don't we?" He shrugged, "Maybe you will be needed in the future. Although I I personally doubt it, but you have to listen to the boss. And, you don't really have a choice, do you?" He lowered his voice, as if about to tell some terrible secret, "You just tell me how to get the brass key, How to pass through the first door, you can spend your life in peace. Of course, you have to stay here for a while before you are sure what you said is true. If you dare to play tricks, you will not see the sun of tomorrow. Understand? ? Now, let's get started."

The answer almost blurted out, but I finally figured it out. There was no reason for them to let me live: even if I helped the IOI through the first door, I would die.They wouldn't let me get 500 million, let alone tell the press about the death threats if there were remote bombs next to the trailer.

In the end, whether they were just threatening or really wanted to kill, I had only two choices: to help the evildoers, or to fight to the death.

It's time to summon up the courage to make a decision.

"Sorrento," I swallow to keep my teeth from chattering, "I gotta say, you and your boss will never find the Halliday egg. Know why? Because he's smarter than you all put together. It doesn't matter how much money you have or how many people you can threaten. IOI is doomed."

I clicked the exit option and the characters started disappearing.Sorrento didn't look surprised, just shook his head at me pityingly, "Stupid, kid." Then my visor went dark.

In the darkness of the secret hut, I trembled all over, but some time passed and nothing happened.

Tremblingly, I pulled up the mask and took off the gloves. After my eyes gradually recovered, I breathed a sigh of relief.It turned out to be a fake, and Sorrento and I fought an elaborate psychological battle, which was really beautiful and admirable.

I poured a glass of water when there was a deafening explosion.

A few seconds later, the shock wave hit, and I dropped the cup and fell to the ground, holding my head in my hands.The sound of metal tearing as stacked buildings collapse and collide can be heard in the distance.This terrifying sound lasted for a long time, and then the surroundings returned to silence.

I finally got over my fear and got out of the van, cleared my way through the trash, and went outside.Oh my god, on the other side of the stacked building, there is a huge column of smoke that goes straight into the sky.

I followed the flow of people along the north side of the street and ran towards it.The stacked buildings, including my aunt's prefab house, were all smoky ruins, with nothing left but burning twisted metal.

A large number of onlookers gathered, but no one went into the ruins to find survivors.Because obviously, there won't be any survivors.

(End of this chapter)