Player 1

Chapter 23 Level 2(2)
Maybe the emerald key is hidden in the toy whistle, in some Captain Click nacho box—but where would the box be?

It is stored in the Forgotten House.

I still don't understand what this forgotten house is and how to find it.I went to every dilapidated house I could think of, the house from The Addamses, the abandoned house from the Ghostbusters trilogy, Tyler Durden's old house from Fight Club, and Tatoo Lars' house on [89].But the Emerald Key was still missing, and time and time again I came back empty-handed.

only after collecting trophies

Only then can we blow the whistle on the other side

I still don't know what the third line means.What trophies do I collect?Or is that a metaphor?There must be some simple connection that I haven't thought of, or I'm not knowledgeable enough to think of its source.

Since then, I've been at a standstill, and every time I see a quatrain, I can't help but think of Artemis, put down the Grail Journal, and ask her out to hang out, and she says yes almost every time.

I convinced myself that it wasn't a big deal to relax a bit, since no one was making much progress anyway.The scoreboard fell silent again, and it seemed that everyone was stumped by the puzzle.

Time flies, the sun and the moon fly, and Artemis and I spend more and more time together. Even if we are busy with other things, we will send emails and secret words to each other.It feels almost gluey.

I really want to meet her in reality, but I haven't been able to tell her.I'm sure she felt strongly about me too, but she always kept me at arm's length.No matter how much I said about myself—I told her everything about me, even my real name—she never shared any details about her personal life.She won't say anything other than she's 19 and lives somewhere on the Pacific Northwest coast.

In my imagination, she looks like a replica of the character in "Oasis", with the same face, eyes, hair, and figure, even though she later told me that she looks nothing like the character at all, and in reality she is not beautiful at all Afterwards, I still couldn't stop myself from imagining this.

Because of the long time of hanging out with Artemis, Ichi and I gradually became estranged.Instead of meeting a few times a week, we meet a few times a month.Edge knew that I fell in love with Artemis, but he never complained about it. Once I let him dove to hang out with Artemis temporarily, he just shrugged and told me to be careful, "I I very much hope you understand what you're doing, Z," he said earnestly.

I do not understand.There is no doubt that no matter how you look at it, Artemis and I should be on the opposite side, but I cannot control myself.Before I knew it, my passion shifted from finding Halliday's eggs to Artemis.

Finally, we decided to "date" and go to some exotic places in the oasis.Artemis objected at first, she thought I should keep a low profile so as not to attract the attention of the "Sixth Man" and continue to be hunted down.But I told her that I didn't care, that I was already hiding from the Sixth Man in the real world, and it would be unmanly to keep hiding in the oasis.Besides, I am already level 99, and I am no longer the fighting power of a three-legged cat.

Maybe I'm just trying to impress Artemis with my bravery, and I think that should work.

We will keep our names under wraps until the trip, and once people know that Parsifal and Artemis are together, all the media will seethe.But there were exceptions. That night, she took me to see "The Rocky Horror Show" at a large theater on Yi Xing Xing.Every week, some of the most popular movie clips in the oasis are played there, while activities and audience interaction in the seats are held.Normally, only the top members of the Rocky Horror Fan Club get the chance to stand out from the crowd of thousands and take part in the event—and even they need to participate in a speech contest to qualify.But Artemis used her fame to solve these problems, and she and I were both allowed to perform.Although the entire Yi Xingxing is a non-PVP area, there is no need to worry about being attacked by the "sixth man", but I had a lot of stage fright before the show started.

Artemis played the glamorous Columbia, and I played Eddie, her undead companion.I purposely changed myself to look like Eddie in the film, but the dubbing was really bad, but the audience helped me a lot, because I was the famous Parsifal, and their cheers The sound overshadowed everything.

I told Artemis from the bottom of my heart that this was the best night of my life, and then she came and took my first kiss.Of course, I didn't feel it (it's just a virtual world after all), but I could still feel my heart jumping out of my throat.

There are tons of warnings online about online dating, but I ignore them.Every time I see Artemis, I feel like I want to melt away.I was determined that no matter who she was or what she looked like in real life, I would love her.

Finally, one night, I told her how I felt.What a fool I am.

0018
It was a Friday night, and I was doing my research, and I was going to finish watching "The Prodigy" [91] episode by episode.Born in the early 80s, this TV show tells the story of a young geek who uses his computer skills to solve puzzles.I had just finished watching the episode "Deadly Passage" when an email arrived in my inbox.The email was from Ogden Morrow with the subject line "We Can Dance If We Want".

The email was blank, save for a single attachment—an invitation to Oasis's most exclusive party: an invitation to Ogden Morrow's birthday party.In the real world, Moreau never appeared in public; in the oasis, he only appeared once a year to hold this grand ceremony.

The invitation featured Moreau's character Ogg.This great wizard with gray hair and beard is hunched over the DJ mixer panel playing discs, wearing headphones, biting his lower lip, apparently intoxicated.The tape recorder was emblazoned with an anti-Sixth Man sign—a yellow 6 with a red circle on it.The text at the bottom of the invitation read:
Ogden Morrow's 80s Prom
Celebrating his 73rd birthday!

Tonight - 10:00 OST Disturbing the Planet
This invitation is for one person only

I was amazed.Ogden Morrow actually invited me to his birthday party, which was the greatest honor I've ever had in my life.

I call Artemis.She received the same invitation, and said that she would not miss such an opportunity if she was killed, even if the disturbing planet is a PVP area and there is a risk of being attacked.Of course, she is like this, and I can't be a coward.

If Ogg invited the two of us, then the other three of the five tigers should also be invited, but Edge probably won't show up, after all, he has to be broadcast live every Friday night on the "Death Arena" around the world show up.Both Daito and Soto always try to avoid appearing in the PVP area.

Disturbing Planet is a famous zero-gravity dance club on Neonor, designed by Ogden Morrow decades ago, and has always been his exclusive property.I've never been there before, I don't know how to dance anyway, and I haven't thought about communicating with the hunters there.But Ogg's birthday party is a special event, so the club will be cleared for the night.Tonight, the ball will welcome a celebrity crowd -- movie stars, musicians, and at least two members of the Fab Five.

I spent more than an hour tinkering with my outfit, and finally settled on an 80s-inspired outfit: a light gray blazer, the one Peter Weller wore in Born to Love, a red tie, plus a pair of Collector's edition adidas high-tops in white.I also took my best armor and a bunch of weapons.Neonor, where the disturbing planet is located, is a PVP area with dual licenses for magic and technology, so going to a dance party there is not like playing house, especially for a hunter like me.

Oasis is spread across hundreds of cyberpunk-themed worlds, and Nyonor is the largest and oldest of them all.Seen from orbit, the planet looked like a marble covered in spidery rays.There are only nights in Nyonor, and countless cities are spread all over the world. Aircraft travel between skyscrapers, and the streets below are crowded with NPCs and players showing off their weapons.

I circled down in a DeLorean, a Back to the Future quest reward, equipped with a (decorative) fluid capacitor, as the crowd cleared way for me.I also added a lot of other gadgets and trinkets to it, including an AI built-in computer and Knight Rider scanner that I bought at an online auction.There is an oscillating accelerator outside the car (this is a mission item in "Magic Gate 7"), which allows DeLorean to drive more smoothly.Finally, in order to make the 80s style more intense, the "Ghostbusters" [93] logo was affixed to the doors on both sides, and the number was ECTO-88.

The car I just got a few weeks ago has become my signature.

I know that stopping my baby DeLorean in the parking lot of the PvP area may trigger some foolish behavior.So there are several anti-theft systems installed on the DeLorean, and there is also a small trap in the ignition system, in the style of Max Madness[94]. If someone tries to drive the car away, the small nuclear bomb in the trap will explode.But even so, there's no guarantee it's safe on Neonor.So as soon as I got out of the car I chanted the shrinking spell, brought it down to model size, and stuffed it in my pocket.You see, magic is still kind of good.

A velvet-looking force field blocks thousands of players, allowing only those by invitation.I made my way to the gate, and there was an uproar from the crowd, ranging from swearing, autographs, death threats, and marriage proposals.I switched to a defensive stance, but surprisingly, no one actually attacked me.After the invitation was verified by the cyborg doorman, I ascended the crystal steps leading inside the club.

Stepping into the disturbing planet was like stepping inside a sphere, and I seemed to lose my sense of direction.People appear very small under the huge space contrast.On the curved surface in front of me is the bar and chat area.The moment you step through the gate, the rules of gravity change.Wherever you go, your feet stick to the floor beneath you, so you can walk all the way up to the ceiling and then back down the other side.The center of this space is the dance area, you can jump right in.

I walked straight ahead, while looking up and carefully observing the surrounding environment.This huge space makes hundreds of players look like ants.Some were already on the dance floor, spinning, flying, shaking, shaking to the music.

In the center of all the dancing figures, that is, in the center of the entire huge space, a huge, pure water bubble is suspended in it, and this is where the DJ stays. DJ "R2-D2[95]" frantically DJing DJs with its various robotic arms.What is playing is the 1988 remix of "Blue Monday" by the New Order[96], with a lot of "Star Wars" mechanical sounds in the middle.

I walked to the nearest bar, and the players around kept pointing at me.I ignored them, I was busy looking for Artemis.

At the bar, I asked the female Klingon[97] bartender for a glass of Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasting Fluid[98], and drank half of it in one gulp.At this time R2 changed to another 80s song. "Snake League [99]," I said, "Duran Duran, 1983."

"It's not bad." The voice from behind was not loud, just covering the music for me to hear.I turned around with a smile and saw Artemis standing beside me.Her skirt has a metallic texture, and the blue ink spots seem to be sprayed on it.Her dark hair was curled inwards, making her face look even more beautiful.It was flawless and flawless.

She called to the bartender, "Granger [100], add ice."

I laughed to myself.Connor McLeod's favorite drink.Hey, this girl is really cute.

After getting the wine, she winked at me, then lightly clinked the glass with me, and drank the wine in one gulp.The conversation around me was getting louder, the whole club talking about the simultaneous presence of Parsifal and Artemis and their chatting in the bar.

Artemis glanced at the dance floor, then at me. "How about it, Patsy?" she asked. "Shall I dance?"

I frowned, "Unless you stop calling me Patsy."

She laughed.Just then, "Snake League" ended and the club fell silent.All eyes turned upwards to watch DJ "R2-D2" disappear into the light curtain as if teleported out of Star Trek.Then a gray-haired man appeared in the light curtain, and the crowd burst into cheers.That's Ogg.

Thousands of video windows playing Oggy's writing appeared in the air, all over the club, and everyone could see clearly, the old wizard wearing puffy jeans, sandals and faded "Star Trek: The Next Generation" T shirt.He waved to the crowd and began singing with his own hands.It's Billy Idol's dance remix "Generation Rebellion."

Waves of people set off.

"I love this song!" Artemis yelled, looking towards the dance area.My eyes are a little wandering. "What's the matter?" she sneered, "You kid can't dance?"

She suddenly shook her head and swayed her legs in accordance with the rhythm, jumped up, and then kicked off and flew towards the dance area.I stayed where I was, staring up at her, trying to gather my courage.

"Well," I muttered, "what's the matter."

I bent my knees and kicked off the ground vigorously, following Artemis all the way.She has arrived at the dance area, and she has opened a path for me, a road that leads directly to the center of the dance area.Auger was spinning in his bubble, just above my head.

Artemis winked at me, and her legs melted into mermaid tails.She flicked her new limbs, and immediately swam to me, swaying to the rhythm of heavy metal, then floating in the air, smiling and reaching out her hand, inviting me to join.Her hair was floating, as if she was swimming in the water.

I held out my hand and she took it.At the same time, the tail of the fish disappeared and the legs reappeared.We dance to the music.

I doubted my ability to dance, so I downloaded and tested a high-end dance software called "Travotra" before going out.It could take over Parsifal's actions and make him jump to the music, but if not now, when?

Artemis' eyes lit up with surprise and joy, and she began to revolve around me, and we moved in corresponding orbits like two electrons.

Artemis changed her appearance.She keeps changing shape and color along with the music.I clicked on the mirror dance partner function on the dance software, and followed her movements closely.I began to spin and flow, around Artemis.In the middle of the dance area, it looks like there are two extra lava lamps from another world[103].

At the end of the music, Auger took a bow and switched to a slower song.Countless Times by Cindy Lauper.At this time, the players around us also formed a pair and danced lightly.

I bow to Artemis to dance.She smiled and took my hand.After pulling her close to us, we began to move slowly.Auger adjusted the gravity of the dance area to the rotation mode, and the crowd slowly spun along the invisible boundary, like a shaking snow globe.

Then, before stopping, I said that.

"I love you, Artie."

She didn't answer, just looked at me in shock as she danced.Then switched to a private channel so no one could hear our conversation.

"You're not in love with me, Z," she said. "You don't even know me."

"I know," I insisted, "I know more about you than anyone else I've ever met in my life."

(End of this chapter)