Player 1

Chapter 44 Level 3(12)
"Well, that's all right now. What happened just now?"

"Once you're in Halliday's office, we can't talk to each other."

"It's a good thing you don't need our help," Soto said. "Good job, buddy."

"Congratulations, Wade." Artemis said quietly.I want to tell her that she has a part to play in this too.

"Thanks," I said, "I wouldn't be here today without you."

"Well said," Artemis giggled, "don't forget to say that at the media meeting, there are hundreds of reporters flocking here right now. Ogg said it."

I scanned the red bookshelf behind me, "Did you hear what Halliday said before he disappeared?"

"No," Artemis replied, "We just saw him say 'use your strength to do good' to you, and then the video cut off. Did something else happen after that?"

"It's nothing serious, I'll tell you later."

"Dude," Edge said, "you should check the scoreboard."

I opened the scoreboard, and the ranking and points on it had disappeared, and my image took up the entire screen.The portrait shows me in the robes of Anorah, with the silver egg in my arms.There is also a line of cursive characters at the bottom, which reads: Parsifal won!
"What about the 'Sixth Man'?" I asked. "The ones still in the door?"

"Don't know," Edge said, "the video cut off when the scoreboard changed."

"Either they're dead," Soto said, "or—"

"Or just got kicked out the third door," I said.

I unfolded the map of Cthonia, and found that as long as I select a destination on the map, I can teleport there instantly.I clicked on the outside of the castle gate and saw myself there in an instant.

I guessed right, the moment Parsifal passed through the third door, the eighteen "sixth people" who were still inside were kicked out by the system.When I appeared out of thin air, they all stood there in a daze, looking suspiciously at the golden light shining in front of them.

When they finally identified who it was, they first stared at me in silence for a few seconds, and then roared together and rushed towards me with guns and swords in hand.Their looks are all reproduced from the same template, so I don't know which one is Sorrento.But right now, who cares about that.

I made a swipe gesture to select all the "sixth people". After they were judged as hostile targets and their outlines turned red, I clicked the skull icon in the shortcut bar, and they disappeared suddenly, leaving only eighteen Pile of weapons scattered all over the place.

"Damn it!" Soto cried. "How did you do it?"

"Halliday said it," Edge explained, "and he's a god now."

"Well, it seems he wasn't joking."

"Halliday also says you can get anything you want," Edge asked. "What do you want most?"

I thought for a while, then clicked on the new command icon that appeared on the edge of my field of vision, and said, "I want to revive Edge, Artemis, and Soto."

A confirmation dialog pops up.After confirming, the system asked if they want to restore all their equipment, and I confirmed again.Then a message appeared in the center of my screen: resurrection complete, character reset.

"Guys," I said, "why don't you log back in?"

"Too late! We've already done it!" Edge yelled.

A few seconds later, Soto logged back in. He materialized not far away, where he was killed a few hours ago, and ran to me, grinning, "Thank you, Parsifal." He bowed deeply. bowed.

I returned the salute and hugged him. "Welcome back," I said.At this time Edge also ran out from the entrance of the castle and ran towards us.

"It's great to be born again," he looked at his body, "Thanks, Wade."

"You're welcome," I glanced at the gate of the castle, "Where's Artemis? She should come too."

"She didn't log in and seemed to say she was going out for some fresh air."

"Did you see her? She..." I pondered the right words. "How does she look?"

They laughed happily.Edge put his arm on my shoulder, "You'd better get ready, she's waiting outside."

I nodded, and as I was about to exit, Edge cut me off with a raised hand, "Wait! Before you exit, you have to watch something." He opened a new window and turned to me, "Listen, 'FBI Grabbed Sorrento', the news was flying, they stormed the office and grabbed him in his tactile seat!"

The video on the web page starts playing.It was shot with a handheld DV.I watched a team of Bureau agents lead Sorrento through the corridors of the IOI corporate office.He's still wearing a haptic suit, and what appears to be a lawyer is busy blocking the camera.Sorrento looked furious.The headline below the window read: IOI exec Sorrento suspected of plotting murder.

“The news played tapes of your conversation with Sorrento all day,” Edge said, “especially the part where he threatened to blow up your aunt’s trailer and kill you.”

The news continued, and agents continued to escort Sorrento through the hallway, surrounded by reporters shoving and yelling at each other.A reporter who was facing the camera struggled to push away his peers and handed the microphone to Sorrento. "Did you personally order Wade Watts to be killed?" he yelled. "How do you feel when you know you lost the game?"

Sorrento smiled, but did not answer.His lawyer stood in front of the camera and told reporters: "The allegations against my client are not serious. There are rumors circulating outside. We will not comment on this."

Sorrento nodded, smiling all the way as the agents led him out of the building.

"The bastard will probably be acquitted," I said, "after all, the IOI has access to the best lawyers in the world."

"That's right," Edge smiled, "but, now we can too."

0039
When I walked out of the somatosensory suit room, Ogg was already there waiting for me. "Well done, Wade!" He gave me a bear hug. "That's beautiful!"

"Thanks, Ogg." I was still a little dizzy, like I was walking on clouds.

"Several GSS executives were here when you walked in," Ogg said, "and all of James' lawyers, they're all waiting for you upstairs. You must know how anxious they are. It’s just a group of ants on a hot pot.”

"Do I have to talk to them now?"

"No, of course not!" He laughed, "They're all yours now, remember that? Keep those bastards waiting as long as possible!" He leaned over to me, "Of course, I His lawyer is also on it, to be honest, he is a good guy, and very reliable, with him, no one can fool you."

"Thanks, Ogg," I said, "I really don't know how to repay your kindness."

"Where!" he said, "I should be thanking you, I haven't been happier in decades! Well done, boy."

I glanced around anxiously, Edge and Soto were still in their private room, but the door of Artemis' room was open but no one was there, and I turned to Ogg again.

"Do you know where Artemis is?"

Auger smiled knowingly. "Take this staircase, and the first door is the maze. She said she will be waiting for you in the middle of the maze." He said with a smile, "The maze is very simple, and you will see her soon."

Once outside, I squinted my eyes to adjust to the light, the air was warm, the sun was shining, the sky was cloudless, it was beautiful.

The maze is just next to Morrow's villa. It is several acres in size. The entrance is also designed in the style of a castle portcullis. You can only enter the maze through the open gate. Peeping beyond the walls.

After entering it, I wandered around a few times in a daze, only to find that the structure of the maze was actually copied from "Adventure".Knowing this, it took me only a few minutes to find the open space in the center of the maze, where a large fountain stood, just like in the adventure, and three dragons coiled around it, but they spewed water instead of billowing lava.

That's when I saw her.

She was sitting on a stone chair with her back to me, looking down at the sparkling water.The long black hair is scattered on the right shoulder, and the slender fingers can be seen pinching the knee uneasily.

I dare not get too close, even saying "hi" takes courage.

She heard my greeting and turned her head, but didn't turn around.

"Hi," she replied.

I finally heard the voice of Artemis, the voice that had echoed in my ears countless times was like a shot in the arm, and I finally stepped forward.

I walked around the bench and stood in front of her, but she turned her head away, not wanting to meet my eyes.

I watch her.

Just like the photo, she has a curvy figure, pale skin dotted with freckles, violet eyes, black hair, and birthmarks on her face that look like red spots embedded in them.But unlike the photo, she threw her hair back instead of trying to hide the birthmark.Everyone can see her face clearly.

Time passed in silence, and she still refused to look up.

"Exactly as I imagined it," I said, "beautiful."

"Really?" She replied softly, then slowly raised her head, first staring at my feet, and then slowly moving her eyes up.When they finally met, she smiled nervously. "Well, you know what? You look exactly as I expected," she paused, "You're ugly."

We all laughed, and the embarrassing atmosphere disappeared in an instant.It dawned on me that this was the first time we had actually met.

"I haven't been formally introduced yet," she said. "I'm Samantha."

"Hi, Samantha, I'm Wade."

She moved her position, a little space was vacated on the stone bench, and I sat down.

After another moment of silence, she asked, "What now?"

"Give everything you just won to help people on this planet, we'll make the world a better place, right?"

"Don't you want to build a big spaceship, fill it with games, junk food, and a big comfy bed, and get away?"

"Oh, this," I said, "isn't too bad if you'd like to come with me."

"Take it easy," she blushed, "we've just met."

"I love you."

Even though she bit her lip, I could still see them quivering, "Are you sure?"

"Of course, it's true."

She wanted to show a happy face, but two lines of tears rolled down her cheeks, "I'm sorry, I ruined your life," she said, "I ran away from you because—"

"It's okay," I said, "I understand."

"Really?"

I nodded, "You're right."

"You really think so?" She looked relieved.

"Look, we're the winners in the end, right?"

We looked at each other and smiled.

"Well," I said, "we can take it as slowly as you like. You'll soon find out that my uncle has a real heart."

She smiled and wiped away her tears, but said nothing.

"Oh, did I mention that the person standing in front of you is actually a rich upstart?" I said, "Of course, you're also a rich woman, so there's nothing to brag about."

"You don't need to prove anything anymore, Wade, you are my best friend and the person I love the most," her eyes blurred, "Do you know? I...I miss you."

The sudden ecstasy rushed straight to the forehead, almost making people's eyes go black.It took me a moment to gather the courage to reach out and shake her fingers.We sat quietly, intoxicated by the wondrous atmosphere that was not imagined.

After a while, she suddenly leaned over and kissed me.The feeling is so wonderful that even all the beautiful poems in the world can't describe it.I couldn't stop shaking as if I had been shocked by an electric shock.

At that moment, for the first time in my life, I had the feeling that I never wanted to go back to the oasis.

(End of this chapter)