Player 1

Chapter 37 Level 3(5)
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"Z!" Edge yelled at the sight of me. "What's going on, man? I've been looking for you all week!"

"Me too," Soto said. "Where did you go? How did you get these files from the Sixth Man database?"

"It's a long story," I replied, "let's get to the point first." I turned to Soto and Artemis, "You two left home?"

They nodded.

"Is the login location safe?"

"Well," Soto said, "I'm in a manga café right now."

"I'm at the Vancouver airport," I heard Artemis's voice for the first time in months, "in a musty communal Oasis sign-in kiosk, and I came out with only my clothes. So you sent us The 'Sixth Man' profile had better be real."

"Yes," I said, "trust me."

"So sure?" Soto asked.

"Because I personally entered the 'Sixth Man' database and downloaded it."

They were all staring at me. "How did you do that, Z?" Edge raised an eyebrow.

"I got a fake identity and went to the IOI headquarters as a contract worker. I stayed there for eight days and I just came out now."

"My God!" Soto whispered, "Really?"

I nodded.

"Dude, you're tough," Edge smacked his lips, "Dick."

"Thank you."

"Assuming you're not bragging," Artemis said, "how could a contractor get access to the Sixth Man's confidential files and company memos?"

I turned around and looked at her, "The entertainment system of the contractor is connected to the company's intranet. And through a series of background operations, I broke through the firewall and invaded the secret database of the 'Sixth Man'."

"You really did it? Alone?" Soto looked in awe.

"It's true."

"It's a wonder they didn't catch you and eat you alive," Artemis said. "How could you be so stupid as to take your life?"

"Why? To find a way to break their shields and get into the third door," I shrugged, "and it was the easiest way I could think of."

"Z," Edge can barely stop laughing, "you're a fucking lunatic." He walks up to me and high-fives me, "but that's all I like dude!"

Artemis glared at me, "Oh, when you found out about these secret files about us, you couldn't help but read them, didn't you?"

"I've got to see," I said, "to see how much they know! You would do the same."

She shook her finger at me, "No, I won't. I know how to respect other people's privacy!"

"Artemis, calm down!" Edge interjected, "You know, Percy probably saved your life."

She seemed to think about it, "Well, pretend I didn't say it."

She was still brooding over this matter, but I didn't know what to say, so I had to continue the topic just now.

"I sent each of you a copy of the 'Sixth Man'. It is a full 10ZB in size, and you should have received it." After they checked their mailboxes, I continued: "In terms of the materials about Halliday Well, the 'Sixth Man' collected untold amounts of data, down to the last detail. They even collected video interviews of everyone Halliday knew. It would take at least a couple of months to go through all of that."

I wait for them to browse through the library submenu.

"Wow!" Soto said. "This is crazy." He looked at me. "How did you escape?"

"I've always acted cautiously."

"You're such a fool," Artemis shook her head repeatedly, "but Edge is right." She hesitated, and then added: "Z, I owe you my life."

I opened my mouth to say "you're welcome," but ended up just shrugging.

"Well," Soto said, "Me too, thank you."

"Stop talking about that, guys," I finally said.

"Hmm..." Edge changed the subject, "What about the other bad news? How far is the 'Sixth Man' from going through the third door?"

I giggled when I heard that, "Listen, they don't even know how to open it."

Artemis and Soto had unbelievable expressions on their faces, while Edge grinned and tap danced with his hands raised up, as if he heard something heavenly, "It's great!"

"Are you kidding me?" Soto asked.

I shook my head.

"Aren't you kidding?" Artemis said. "How is that possible? Sorrento has the crystal key and knows where the door is. All he has to do is open the door and walk in, doesn't he?"

"The first two doors are like this," I replied, "but the third door is different." I opened a video window and turned to them, "Look at this. This is the first time in the file that 'Sixth Man' tried to open the door scene."

The scene of Sorrento in front of the gate of Anola Castle appeared. The gate of the castle, which had been dusty for several years, slowly slid open like an automatic door in a supermarket. "As long as you have the crystal key, you can pass through the gate of the castle," I explained, "no one can enter the castle without the key."

We watched Sorrento walk through the gate and into the wide golden vestibule, stepping over the colored bricks on the floor, towards the huge crystal door in the north wall.There is a keyhole in the center of the door, above his head, are three big characters arranged from right to left: Faith, Hope, Love.

Sorrento stepped forward, took out the crystal key, inserted it into the lock and turned it.

Nothing happened.

Sorrento glanced at the three words on the door. "Love, Hope, Faith." He read aloud, but the door remained as solid as a rock.

Sorrento pulled out the key, read the three words again, and then inserted the key into the lock.Of course, he failed again.

I watched the expressions of Artemis, Edge, and Soto. Their excitement and curiosity were gradually replaced by their concentration when deciphering. "There's a team in Sorrento watching his every move," I said, "you can hear them in some clips. But so far, they haven't made much progress, look—"

In the video, Sorrento tries again, this time in a different direction.

"They tried everything they could think of, and Sorrento read the three words in Latin, Burgundy, and other languages. Then he started reciting the thirteenth chapter and thirteenth verse of [-] Corinthians. It is clear that love, hope, and faith are also Christian teachings. The Sixth Man has been focusing on this the past few days."

"Nonsense," Edge said, "Halliday's an atheist."

"They're desperate," I said. "Sorrento is just about to strip by the gate."

"I'd like to see that," Edge said with a chuckle.

"Love, Hope, Faith," Artemis read these three words slowly, she turned to me, "I seem to have seen it somewhere?"

"Well," Edge nodded, "sounds familiar."

"I thought about it for a little while too," I said.

They all looked at me expectantly.

"Read it backwards," I reminded, "it's backwards."

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "Faith, hope, love. Faith, hope, love." She repeated a few times, and then she became excited and began to sing: "Faith and hope and love..."

Edge continued: "Heart and brain and body..."

"Here's three, it's a magic number!" Soto sang.

"School of Rock!" they yelled in unison.

"Right?" I said, "I knew you'd figured it out. They're smart people."

"Three Is a Magical Number, Bob Dorot [133], 1973," said Artemis.

I smiled at her. "I think this is Halliday implying how many keys we need to open the third door."

Artemis laughed too, and she sang: "It's three."

"Not much, not less." Soto continued.

"You don't need to guess," Edge continued.

"Three is that magic number." After singing this sentence, we each held up our own crystal keys, "We have four keys, as long as three of them are in front of the door, we should be able to open it."

"And then?" Edge asked, "Shall we go in together?"

"What if only one person can enter?" Artemis asked.

"I don't think Halliday would set it up that way," I replied.

"Who knows what that old lunatic thinks?" Artemis said. "He has played tricks on us for so long."

"Maybe it's for us to collaborate with each other," I said.

"Either he just wants to make this final chapter more intense," Edge said, "Think about it, if the three of them enter the third door at the same moment, then they can only beat their companions by moving forward with their lives."

"Crazy and evil old bastard." Artemis cursed.

"Well," Edge nodded, "the evaluation is just right."

"Let's put it this way," Soto added, "if Halliday hadn't been programmed to have three keys to open the door, the 'Sixth Man' would have probably won the game."

"But they've got a bunch of crystal keys," Edge said. "If you find out what's going on, you can open the door now."

"Who can blame this?" Artemis commented, "It's their own fault that they are not familiar with "School of Rock". How did these idiots get to where they are today?"

"Cheating," I said, "remember?"

"Oh, yes, I'm really forgetful." She smiled brightly at me, and I staggered and almost fell down.

"Just because it hasn't been discovered yet doesn't mean it never will be discovered," Soto said.

I nodded. "Soto's right. They're going to think of School of Rock sooner or later. We can't waste time."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Soto said excitedly, "We know the location of the door and how to open it! Let's go! Victory belongs to the real hunters!"

"Don't get excited, Soto." Edge said, "Parsifal hasn't told us how to break through the shield and defeat the defenders of the 'Sixth Man'." He turned to me, "You are prepared, yes Bar?"

"Of course, I'm about to talk about this." I swiped my right hand, and a perspective view of Anola Castle emerged in the void. A huge blue transparent shield surrounded the castle in a spherical shape. From the ground to the sky, there was no trace. Leaks. "Tomorrow at noon, the shield will disappear by itself, about 36 hours from now, and then we will rush straight in."

"The shield will disappear by itself?" Artemis recalled my words, "The war has started for two weeks, and the shield has not moved at all. How can you make it disappear automatically?"

"It's been arranged," I said, "trust me."

"I believe you," Edge said, "but even if we get the shield and want to enter the castle, we still have to kill the largest army in the oasis world." He pointed to the "sixth man" army on the picture, "What about the bastards? And their tanks and battleships?"

"Obviously we need a little help," I said.

"A lot of 'little' help," Artemis corrected.

"Who can help us? This seems unrealistic," Edge asked.

"Everyone," I said, "every hunter, every player." I opened another window, which was the letter I just wrote, "I'm going to send it out tonight, to every " Oasis users."

Hunter friend:

The days were dark, and the "sixth man" who had been planning for many years finally came to the third door by relying on money and cheating.

As you know, the IOI set up barriers at Castle Anola, blocking the way for others.We also already know that the "Sixth Man" is using illegal means to learn the identity of the hunters and then murder them.

If no action is taken, the "sixth man" will win, and the oasis will never have peace.

Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world, and the attack will be at noon tomorrow.

Join us!
Sincerely

Edge, Artemis, Parsifal and Soto
"Deliberately," Artemis said after reading it, "When did you learn this word?"

"I just want it to look more formal," I said, "more official."

"Whoa," Edge said, "that's awesome."

"Thanks, Edge."

"That's it? Is this your plan?" Artemis asked, "Ask for help from the entire oasis?"

"Almost, that's the plan."

"You really think people will show up and join the fight?" she said, "for the word 'justice,' which is invisible and intangible?"

"Well, I think so."

Edge nodded, "He's right, no one wants the 'sixth man' to win. No one wants the oasis to fall to the IOI. They will join the fight. Hunters don't want to miss such an epic battle .”

"But? Don't people feel like they're being used?" Soto asked.

"Of course," I replied, "but they've basically given up on winning, and everyone knows it's over. But don't you think, people would prefer us to win?"

Artemis tilted her head and thought for a while, "Yes, this email might work."

"It's amazing," Edge patted me on the shoulder, "You're a genius! As soon as the email is sent, the media will go crazy! How do you say that? It's like a prairie fire. By this time tomorrow, Everyone in Oasis flies to Cthonia."

"It's better that way," I said.

"Okay, they will show up," Artemis said, "but how many people will actually join the battle? Once they see the army on the opposite side, most of them will just move out of the bench and eat melon seeds to watch us Get beaten."

"It is indeed possible," I said, "but the Hunter Guild will definitely make a move. Anyway, for them, their own existence is meaningless, so it is better to have a final carnival. Besides, we don't need to defeat the entire 'first Six' legion. Just fight your way into the castle."

"But we have to make sure that at least three people get there alive," Edge said. "One more loss and we're finished."

"Yes," I said, "survival is the first priority."

Both Artemis and Edge laughed wildly, and Soto just shook his head.

"Even if the door is opened, we have to deal with the contents behind the door. It must be more difficult than the first two."

"Let's think about that later," I said, "we haven't even seen the door yet."

"Okay," Soto shrugged, "That's it."

"I want to join too," Edge said.

"So, you two really decided to do this?" Artemis asked.

"Sister, do you have a better idea?" Edge asked.

"No, no." She shrugged.

"Okay," Edge said, "that's it."

I close the email window, "This email will be sent to each of you first, and tonight, everyone will send it together, not only to everyone on the contact list, but also to the blog, Don't leave your personal TV channel behind either. We have 36 hours of public opinion that should drive everyone to Ketonia."

"The 'Sixth Man' will hear the news, and they'll be ready to defend," Artemis said. "We've got a slim chance."

"They might take this as a joke," I said. "They think their shields are indestructible."

"That's right," said Artemis, "so I hope you have a way to destroy that shield."

"don’t worry."

"Worried?" snapped Artemis, "Maybe you forgot, I'm homeless right now! I'm at a paid public check-in station at the airport right now, but I don't have that much cash to last until tomorrow. I can't Fighting here, let alone going through the third door, I can't go anywhere."

Soto nodded, "I also feel that I can't stay where I am now. I'm in a manga cafe in Osaka. There's not much private space here, and it's even less safe."

Artemis looked at me, "Do you have any suggestions?"

"I hate to say it, but I'm living in some Internet cafe on the street now, remember? I've been hiding for a whole year."

"I do have an RV," Edge said, "which will give you some protection from the limelight, but I don't think I can drive around Columbus, Vancouver, and Japan in 36 hours."

"I think I can help you." A deep voice sounded.

(End of this chapter)