Player 1

Chapter 38 Level 3(6)
We turned to see a tall gray-haired man appearing behind us, the mighty Ogg, the character of Ogden Morrow.He didn't materialize gradually, but directly, as if he had been here all along and had just decided to break his invisibility.

"Has any of you ever been to Oregon?" he asked. "It's beautiful there this season."

0033
We all looked at Ogden Morrow in shock.

"How did you get in?" Edge finally said, "This is a private chat room."

"Well, I know," Moreau seemed a little embarrassed, "I think this is a bit sudden, but I hope you can accept my sincere apology. I came with good intentions, really."

"Dear sir," Artemis said, "you haven't answered our question yet, how did you enter the chat room without an invitation? And without us noticing?"

"Forgive me," he said, "I know why you're worried about this power, but you can rest assured. I have many unique abilities, and uninvited access to private chat rooms is just one of them." Luo went to Edge's bookshelf and flipped through an out-of-print RPG game magazine, "In the first edition of "Oasis", when James and I created characters, we gave ourselves the power to control the entire virtual world, except for invincibility and immortality. Plus, we can be anywhere and do anything we want. Now that Anola's gone, my character is the sole controller, or GM." He turned to the four of us, "No one else can If you want to come in, the 'Sixth Man' won't even think about it, I assure you, the private chat room of "Oasis" is very well protected," he giggled, "although I did break in."

"He knocked over the stack of comics," I said to Edge, "just after our first meeting, remember? I said it wasn't a system error."

Ogg nodded and shrugged, "Yes, I'm used to carelessness."

There was another silence, and I finally mustered up the courage to say to Moreau directly: "Mr. Moreau—"

"Please call me Ogg." Moreau held up a hand.

"Okay," I laughed nervously, oh my god, I can't believe I'm running into Ogden Morrow in this situation, "Ogg, would you mind telling us why you're eavesdropping?"

"Because I wanted to help you," he replied, "and you seem to need my help." The four of us exchanged nervous glances, and Ogg seemed to catch our doubts. "Please don't misunderstand," he continued, "I'm not here to tell you how to get through the third door. That would ruin all the fun, wouldn't it?" He put down his book and walked towards us, his tone becoming serious, "Just before James died, I promised him that I would do everything in my power to make sure the game didn't turn bad. And that's why I'm here."

"But, Mo-Ogg, in your autobiography you say you and James Halliday haven't met for ten years."

There was a sly look on Moreau's face. "Oh, boy," he said, "it's better to have no books than to believe in books." He laughed out loud, "Actually, that's true, we really didn't talk much in the last ten years. Zhou just started contacting again." He paused, as if lost in memory, "At that time, he didn't even know that he was already terminally ill. We met in his chat room. He told me about his illness And his plan—I'm talking about this game. He is worried that there are still a few bugs in that door that have not been fixed, and he is also afraid that someone will use this game to destroy his treasure-"Oasis."

"You mean guys like 'Sixth Man'?" Soto asked.

"That's right," Ogg said, "like a 'Sixth Man' guy. So James asked me to oversee the game and step in when necessary." He stroked his beard, "Honestly, I'm It's not particularly cold, but how do you say it? It's my best friend's last wish, so I just accept it. I've been following you guys for the past six years. The 'Sixth Man' has done so many dirty things , You still survived, it is really commendable. But looking at the current situation, I think the time for Auger to act has finally come."

I, Artemis, Soto, and Edge exchanged looks in surprise, as if trying to confirm from each other's eyes that we were not dreaming.

"Come to my house in Oregon," Ogg said, "where you can safely make plans and execute them freely without agents of the Sixth Men coming and kicking in the door. And I can give you every Individuals are provided with a physical reality device, the fastest connection to Oasis and anything else you can use."

Another moment of silence.

"Thank you, sir!" I resisted the urge to kneel and thank you.

"At least I can help you a little bit."

"You have a very kind heart, Mr. Moreau," said Soto. "It's a pity I live in Japan."

"Don't worry, Soto, I've prepared a private plane for you, and it's waiting at Osaka Airport. As long as you tell me where you are, I can arrange a car for you to pick you up."

Soto was too moved to speak, and bowed deeply to Ogg, "Thank you, Mo Luosan."

"Don't take it to heart, kid." He turned to Artemis. "Girl, you're at the Vancouver airport, aren't you? I've arranged a flight for you. A driver is waiting for you right now in the baggage claim area, holding a The sign of 'Benata' will take you to a specially prepared plane."

For a second I thought Artemis would bow too, but instead she rushed to Ogg and gave him a bear hug. "Thank you, Ogg," she said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome, dear." Moreau laughed awkwardly, and when Artemis finally let go, he turned to Edge, "Edge, I know you have a car and are now near Pittsburgh, right? Edge nodded, "I think you don't mind driving to meet your good friend Parsifal, and I'll arrange the two of you on the same plane at Columbus Airport. What do you two guys think?"

"Nevermind, it's just awesome," Edge glanced at me. "Thanks, Ogg."

"Hey, thanks," I repeated, "you saved our lives."

"I hope so too," he smiled at me, then turned to everyone, "Safe travels, take it easy everyone, I'll be here waiting for you." Then he disappeared, as suddenly as he appeared.

"Well, it's too bad." I looked at Edge, "Artemis and Soto both have private jets, and I have to share a broken car with you idiot."

"Fuck a dick," Edge laughed, "welcome aboard, idiot."

"It seems interesting," I glanced at Artemis, "the four of us are finally going to meet."

"I'm honored," Soto said. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Well," Artemis stared at me, "I can't wait."

After Soto and Artemis exited the chat room, I told Edge where I was, "It's a special private room, contact me when I get there, and I'll come out to see you right away."

"Well, well... But I have to remind you, I am completely different from the game."

"Hey, who else is the same? I'm not so tall, I'm not so strong, and my nose is a bit big—"

"I just remind you that meeting me may...surprise you."

"Well, why don't you tell me what you look like now?"

"I'm on my way," he simply ignored my question, "see you in a few hours."

"Okay, bon voyage, buddy."

No matter how I pretended to be calm, I was still much more nervous than I thought.Seeing Edge like this, I simply don't know how it would feel to meet Artemis in Oregon.Just thinking about it makes me tremble with excitement and fear.What is she like in reality?Is it different from what I thought?Is there any chance between me and her?
I tried to imagine the upcoming battle to keep her out of my mind for a while.

After exiting the basement, I sent the email titled "Holding Weapons" to every "Oasis" user in the world. Of course, many of them would be blocked by the firewall, so I also posted it on every hunter website, and on a private TV channel, I also played a short statement video.

Messages are like a storm.In less than an hour, the plan to attack Anola Castle became a hot topic in all media, such as "Hunters declare all-out war on the 'Sixth Man'" "Top hunters accuse IOI of kidnapping and murder" "The Halliday game is about to end? "Such headlines popped up one after another, like mushrooms after rain.

At least one news site has played the video I sent them of Dayto's killing, along with the Sorrento memo attached to the same news, and the IOI has always refused to comment.Sorrento must know that I somehow got into the Sixth Man database.I wish I could see his face when he finally figured out how to do it—I was within a hundred meters of him for a whole week.

I spent the next few hours arming my character while feeling uneasy.The fatigue was almost a relief, and with eyelids as heavy as lead, I finally decided to take a nap before Edge arrived.I blocked most of the noise of the game, half-lyed on the haptic chair and fell into a dreamless slumber, still holding the gun I bought before.

I was woken up by Edge, who had gone outside.I crawled out of my suit, put my things away, and returned the key to the front desk.Night had descended on the streets of Columbus, and the air was as cold and pervasive as icy water.

Edge's small RV was parked on the street a few yards away.It was a brown daywalker, about twenty feet long, that looked at least 20 years old.Most of the paint is covered by the solar panels, and the rest can be seen with rust.The windows are pitch black, so you can't see what's going on inside.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the RV.It left a small ladder on the sidewalk on the right side, and I climbed in the car door along it, and found myself standing in the kitchen of the RV. The room was dark except for the glimmer of light on the carpet. I turned and walked out slowly. The kitchen, through a curtain.

A fat African-American girl is sitting in the driver's seat, holding the steering wheel tightly and looking ahead.She was about my age, with tomboy hair, chocolate skin, a T-shirt with bees on it, black washed jeans and riding boots.It was warm and cozy in the car, but she seemed to be shaking.

I stood still and watched her silently.Finally, she turned her head and smiled at me, the smile Edge had seen a thousand times on his face when I and I made cheesy jokes watching cult movies in the Oasis.Moreover, I am familiar with not only the smile itself, but also her chiseled eyes and face.Really, this young girl in front of me is my best friend, Edge.

My heart surged, and after the shock, I felt cheated.How could he—she—have kept it from me for so long?I feel a blush in my face as I think of all the private things I've said about my teenage years.

I didn't say anything, and she stared down at the boots.In embarrassment, I moved my butt to the guest seat.She sneaks a glance at me from time to time, then looks away nervously.

She was still shaking.

Anger and feelings of being cheated suddenly evaporated.

I couldn't help but let out a hysterical, inexplicable laugh, and she let out a long sigh of relief, loosened her stiff shoulders, and laughed out loud.It sounds like there is still some crying.

"Hey, Edge," I asked after the laughter stopped, "how's it going?"

"It's great, Z," she said. "Sunshine and rainbows everywhere." The voice was familiar too, just not as muffled as it was online, and she must have used voice-adjustment software.

"Ah," I said, "anyway, here we are."

"Well," Edge repeated, "we met."

After an awkward silence, I decided to listen to my instincts and walked over to her and hugged her. "Nice to meet you, old chap," I said, "thanks for coming to pick me up."

She also hugged me, "Each to each other."

I let go and took a step back. "God, Edge," I laughed, "I know you've been hiding something, but it never occurred to me—"

"What?" she instinctively defended herself. "What did you never think about?"

"The world-renowned Edge, the most terrifying and wild arena god of war, in the real world is a—"

"Fat black woman?"

"I would say 'young African-American girl.'"

Her expression darkened, "There is a reason for this."

"I believe the reason must be very important. Even if you don't want to say it, I can understand it."

"Really?"

"Of course, you're my best friend, and, frankly, my only friend."

"Thank you, but I think I can explain myself."

"Well, I'll wait until I get on the plane. We'll have to fly for a long time, and I won't feel safe until I leave the city."

"Then we're on our way, man." With that, she lit the engine.

According to Ogg's guidance, the RV drove into a private apron next to Columbus Airport, and then the car was arranged into a garage.It can be seen that Edge has lived in the car for a long time, and he is somewhat reluctant to leave it.

The small luxury aircraft Ogg prepared was nothing short of amazing.I've seen planes fly across the sky, but never got up close to them.In this day and age, airplanes have become the monopoly of the rich, and Auger prepared three special planes for us at once, which is really rich.

The plane was fully automatic and there was no one else on it except the two of us. The AI ​​welcomed us on board with a calm voice, then told us to buckle up and get ready to take off, and within a few minutes we were in the air.

We were both flying for the first time, so Edge and I spent the first hour staring out the window, reveling in the vast expanse of land and changing clouds.When the novelty wears off, Edge turns to me, looking ready to speak.

"Okay, Edge," I said, "tell your story."

She smiled slightly, then took a deep breath and began her story. "It was all my mother's idea," she said.

Her real name was Helen Harris, she was just a few months older than me, born in Atlanta, and raised by her mother alone.Her father died in Afghanistan when she was still a baby.And her mother, Mary, had to work remotely for a network data storage company to make ends meet.In Mary's view, Oasis is a paradise for women and people of color. From the beginning, Mary has set up her persona with a male white appearance, which helps to avoid discrimination and makes it easier for her to transact online. .

When Edge first logged into Oasis, he followed his mother's advice and created a male, white character. "H" is the nickname her mother gave her, and she decided to use it as her online name[134].A few years later, when she was being educated online, her mother also gave her a fake name, gender, and race. As for the photo required by the school, what she submitted was just a composite picture.

Edge told me that she never saw or spoke to her mother after she ran away on her birthday.The day Edge decided to come out, she told her mother that she was gay, and she told her mother that she had been dating a girl she met online for a year.

After Edge explained this, he watched my reaction.To be honest, I'm not that surprised.Over the past few years, Edge and I have discussed our respective types of girls a few times.I was relieved to know that Edge wasn't talking nonsense, at least she was honest in that regard.

"How did your mother react?" I asked.

"Uh, hit bottom," Edge said, "she kicked me out of the house and said she never wanted to see me again. I was homeless for a while, on the streets, in shelters. But I earned enough money at the arena in the Oasis to buy the RV, and I’ve lived in it ever since. Basically, I’m always on the road unless I need to recharge.”

(End of this chapter)