Player 1

Chapter 24 Level 2(3)
"You only know what I want you to know, you only see what I want you to see," she put her hands on her chest, "It's not who I am, Wade, and it's not mine It's true."

"I don't care! I'm in love with your soul—I'm in love with you, and don't care what it is."

"You're just saying that," her voice was agitated. "Trust me. You'll regret it if you see me in person."

"Why do you always say that?"

"I could be ugly and deformed, I could be paraplegic, I could be [-] years old. You have to figure it out."

"I don't care if you have all three. Tell me where you are, and I'll prove it. I'll fly anywhere. You know, I will."

She shook her head, "You don't live in reality, Z. That's how I feel about you, I don't think you ever live in reality. You're like me. We all live in this world," she pointed Referring to the virtual surroundings, "You can't possibly know what true love is."

"Don't say that!" Tears welled up in my eyes, and I had no intention of hiding it, "Is it because I told you I've never had a real girlfriend? Is it because I'm still a virgin? Is it because—"

"Of course not," she said. "Not at all. Not at all."

"That's why, tell me, okay?"

"This game. You know. We need to compete with each other in order to achieve the goal. We should find the emerald key. You don't know what Sorrento and the 'sixth man' are doing now. Besides them, you have other competitor."

"Fuck the game! And that egg!" I yelled, "Didn't you hear what I just said? I'm in love with you! I want to be with you! Nothing else matters. "

She just stares at me, or rather, her character stares at my character, "I'm sorry, Z. This is all my fault, I let this get out of hand, and we have to stop."

"What do you mean? Stop what?"

"I think we should spend some time apart. Don't spend too much time together."

I felt like a slit in the throat, "You want to break up with me?"

"No, Z," she said firmly, "it's not breaking up with you. Because we've never been together." She suddenly became angry, "We haven't even met!"

"So, then...you just want...not to talk to me?"

"Yes. I think it's the best option."

"how long?"

"Until the end of the game."

"But, Artie... it's going to waste years."

"I know, but sorry, I have to."

"So winning that money is more important to you than me."

"It's not about the money, it's about how I can use it."

"Yes, protecting the Earth. That's noble."

"Don't be silly," she said, "I've bet my youth on it for five years. You're too. We're closer now, and we can't just let it slip by."

"I'm not telling you to give up."

"You're wrong, you're telling me to give up. Maybe you don't realize it yourself."

The Cindy Lauper song was over, and Ogg played the next dance number—"James Brown Is Broken Down," L.A.-style.Applause erupted in the club.

I feel like something is weighing me down.

Artemis was about to say something—goodbye, it should be—but then there was a thunderous explosion above our heads.I thought it was Ogg playing a new song.But when he looked up, he saw a big hole had been blasted in the wall of the clubhouse, near the top of the disturbing planet.A team of "Sixth Men" was filing in through the hole, flying their craft while firing suppressive beam pistols.

The club is in disarray.Half the players squeezed for the exit, while the other half drew their weapons and chanted spells, fighting back at the intruders. The "Sixth Man" has more than 100 troops, all armed to the teeth.

I can't believe they dared to do such a thing.What are they capable of attacking a club full of high-ranking hunters at the Hunters Evening?They might kill a player or two, but they'll lose over 100 characters and gear.Why is that?
The answer is obvious.The news that Artemis and I were here must have hit every news site.And when Sorrento learned that the two hunters at the top of the scoreboard were having fun in an unprotected PvP area, he must have thought it was an unmissable opportunity to clear out the two top contenders in one fell swoop.In comparison, sacrificing more than 100 premium accounts is nothing.

It was my irrationality that got us where we are now.Blaming myself for my stupidity, I drew and reloaded my gun and shot at the nearest "sixth man".While dodging bullets, I glanced at Artemis and saw that she had just knocked over a dozen "sixth men" with the blue plasma light ball in her palm in five seconds.But her energy shield also suffered a lot of fire bombardment at the same time.My shield isn't much better either, and it's also taking a ton of hits, and while it's holding up, it's clearly in jeopardy.The durability warning is already flashing on the screen, and my health has started to drop.

For us, things took a turn for the worse and it looked like it was game over.

I noticed the music didn't stop.

I looked up just in time to see Ogg come out of the bubble.The great legendary wizard looked really, really angry.

"Look, these idiots think they can ruin my birthday party?" he yelled, and since he was wearing a microphone, his voice was beamed through the loudspeakers throughout the planet of Annoyance, making him look like a god.He floated to the center of the dance area, turned to face the invading "Sixth Man".

Ten red lightning bolts shot out from Ogg's fingertips, flying in all directions.Each bolt hit exactly one of the "sixth men" in the chest, and for some reason, the surrounding invitees were unharmed.

Within seconds, all "sixth men" in the club were cleared.They were fixed in place, and then disappeared in the red light.

This is too powerful, I have never seen such a fierce and domineering attack.

"Nobody can come to my party uninvited!" Auger yelled, his voice echoing through the silent club.The remaining players (those who didn't flee in fear or die in battle) gave out cheers of victory.Ogg is back in the DJ's bubble, "Let's get this party back on, shall we?" He cuts to the Blonde[105] remix "Atomic."It took a few minutes before people recovered from the shock and jumped back to the dance floor.

I searched for Artemis, but she seemed to have disappeared.When she finally found it, she was flying out of the hole that the Sixth Man had just made.She hovered outside for a short while, just long enough to get one last look at me.

0019
Before sunset, computer music woke me up from my nightmare, and it was time to start my daily homework.

"I'm awake!" I yelled into the darkness.After being abandoned by Artemis for a week, waking up in the morning has been nothing like heaven for me.So I simply turned off the alarm and set the computer to play Whammy's "Wake Me Before You Gone" on a regular schedule, so I had to get up in order to turn off the music.It's an uncomfortable way to start your day, but life has to change.

I turned off the music player and readjusted the haptic chair into a seat.The computer gradually turned on, and my eyes slowly began to adjust.There was no other light in the apartment.The only window used to show the residents the Columbus sky, but it was covered with black spray as soon as I moved in.I think that all external things are a distraction from my goal, and I must not waste my time.Of course, I didn't want to hear the sound of the outside world, but since I couldn't afford to improve the soundproofing of the apartment, I had to endure the sound of wind and rain outside, as well as the noise of traffic in the street and in the air.My thoughts are often driven by them, and sometimes I even listen to the sounds outside, forgetting the passage of time.

I have modified many parts of this apartment for safety and convenience.First, I removed the original cardboard door and installed a vacuum compressed metal sealed double bulletproof door.When I need food, toilet paper, groceries, and anything else, I order online, have the courier drop it off to the right of the outer door, and then scan my ID to confirm his identity.Then the outer door opened automatically, revealing a steel-reinforced air cabinet the size of a shower cubicle.Once the delivery man puts the package, pizza, or whatever in the air cabinet, he has to leave.Afterwards, the outer door automatically closes and locks, and X-rays begin to scan and analyze the package.Only after verifying the contents, I will open the inner door and take out the items.The progress of capitalist society makes it possible to complete transactions without face-to-face, and I am happy to do so.

The room itself wasn't very pretty, but that's okay, I hardly looked at it anyway.This place is actually a square, with a length, width, and height of ten meters.There is a one-piece bathroom built into the wall, and the kitchen is on the opposite side.I've never cooked anything in the kitchen since I ate frozen or fast food all the time.The microwave was about the only everyday electronics I used in the room.

The rest of the room is occupied by the oasis immersive somatosensory equipment.I spent every penny I had on upgrading my device, just to make it newer, faster, and more capable.

And that customized oasis mainframe is like the crown on this pile of equipment, or the most expensive piece of jewelry.This computer is my world.It was assembled bit by bit by myself, not only has the brand new Black Mirror Odin processor - its speed is beyond human perception - but also is equipped with a super large hard drive, enough to back up all the data that exists in the world now Up three times.

I spend most of my day in the HC5000 state-of-the-art fully automatic tactile chair.Two robotic arms clasped the walls and ceiling of the apartment, hoisting the chair.This chair can rotate in any direction, so when I fall in the oasis, fly, or drive forward in a nuclear power sled, it can also vibrate, rotate, or shake, so that I, who is fixed on it, will also get real experience.

The chair comes with an all-in-one motion suit that wraps around my entire body from the neck down, and with the included relax button, I can quit the game and take a rest without taking off the entire suit.On the outside of the clothes is a layer of fine receptors, and the artificial tendons and joints on it can sense and transmit my movements.The inner receptors are used to adjust the clothing, so that it does not fit too tightly with the skin, and to transmit electrical signals to it.These functions allow me to feel what is happening in "Oasis" at any time, and assist me to act better in "Oasis".A spare set of motion suits sits in a Moss cleaning machine in the corner of the room.These two sets of clothes are all my current body suits.The previous set has long been thrown somewhere in the cabinet by me to keep company with the dust.

My somatosensory gloves are produced in Japan and are the most high-end products on Okakami.Special tactile sensors completely cover the palm, allowing people to feel and manipulate things that don't exist.

And my mask.The brand new Tina Teo RLR-7800 "Wreckage" see-through mask features a state-of-the-art virtual retina display.It was able to project oasis visions directly onto my retinas.Compared with such an oasis, the real world seems rough and artificial. The RLR-7800 isn't out yet, but I have an advertising contract with Tina Theo, so they sent me a free sample (I had it forwarded a few places so I don't give away where I live).

My audio system consists of a series of ultra-thin speakers on the walls, floor, and ceiling of my apartment that provide 360-degree surround sound.Coupled with the unusually powerful Quake subwoofer, it is enough to make every listener's teeth chatter in the roar of gunfire.

In order to be more realistic, an Alfatris scent maker was placed in one corner of the room.It can simulate more than 2000 different flavors, the floral scent of rose gardens, the salty smell of sea breeze, and the smell of burning saltpeter—all of which can be perfectly reproduced.It's also an industrial-grade gas purifier and air conditioner, and to be honest, that's what I need the most.Some jerks like to deliberately use disgusting smells to bother people with scent machines.So I usually turn off the scent-making function, and never use it unless necessary.

Below my haptic chair, is the Okakami Omni-directional treadmill. (Their slogan is, wherever you go, you can reach it.) The treadmill is about two square meters in size and six centimeters thick.After activating the treadmill, I can run at full speed in any direction without worrying about falling off the platform.If I change direction, the treadmill senses the change and changes direction quickly, keeping me always in the center of the platform.Treadmills also have a built-in surface variation system to simulate walking on inclines and steps.

If you want to experience a more "intimate" contact in "Oasis", you have to buy ACHD (full name is mouth-twisting structural correction tactile doll). ACHD can be male, female, or even intersex, and there are many options for what to look like.They have realistic milky white skin, engine-powered endoskeletons, simulated muscle vibrations, and all the accessory structures and organs.

Driven by loneliness, curiosity, and unquenchable adolescent hormones, I bought the mid-range ACHD, Uber Betty, when Artemis hadn't spoken to me for weeks.After a few days of fooling around at the indie mock brothel called the Pleasure Dome, out of pride and shame, I finally got rid of the doll.During this period, I wasted a total of [-] oasis points and a full week of time, and even the task of finding easter eggs was left aside.Fortunately, I realized that even the most authentic online sex experience is just glorified, computer-assisted masturbation.At the end of the day, I'm still a virgin, sitting alone in a dark room, banging and banging the lubricated robot repeatedly.In contrast, the original way is easier to accept.

I'm not ashamed of masturbation, and thanks to Anola's Almanac, I now consider it a normal biological mechanism, like eating and sleeping.

Annals 241:87 - I think masturbation is the most important adaptation that humans have evolved from animals and is an important foundation of our technological civilization.Our hands evolved to grasp tools, and that includes us, of course.You know, thinkers, inventors, scientists are usually nerds, and nerds are often less sexual than others.Without the inner drive to release sexual urges through masturbation, early humans would have hardly mastered the technology of drilling fire or inventing the wheel.I bet Galileo, Newton, and Einstein would never have made those great discoveries if they hadn't first tried to roll their Italian sausage (or get the proton out of the hydrogen atom).The same goes for Marie Curie, who must have discovered the power of cucumbers before she discovered radium.

Halliday is not a well-known theory, but I like the explanation.

As I shuffle toward the bathroom, the huge, thin screen on the wall lights up, showing the smiling face of Max, the system assistant.With Max, I'm able to get out of bed a little earlier, otherwise it would just be nagging endlessly.

"Morning-early-morning, Wade!" Max greeted excitedly, "Before-morning-forward!"

System assistant software is a bit like a virtual personal assistant—a more advanced version of artificial intelligence.Besides being highly customizable, it also has hundreds of preset options.I set this assistant as Super Max[107], the same as the procedural star in the cyberpunk movie in the late 80s.

"Good morning, Max." I replied feebly.

(End of this chapter)