[Third Ring District·3:29 AM]
The night had deepened, the streets were without running water or electricity, leaving only the halos from car headlights and flashlights, and the footsteps of people were cluttered and chaotic.
Looting, smashing, arson, murder... While claiming to fight for the residents’ freedom, people behaved like beasts, killing the very "residents" ntioned in their slogans before any peace could be achieved.
A red-haired youth held an umbrella, silently watching the chaos on the streets.
...Is this what they call the changing of an era?
...Begging for rcy from the invading "Ta Wei," seeking help from Ta Wei to overthrow this city-state—isn’t this the act of a traitor?
The youth didn’t see any passion or dawn in it; instead, he saw countless sins and desires.
As he turned around, he heard a voice coming from an alleyway.
"Hey, kid, I’m talking to you, red-haired kid!!" A group of rebels, dressed like black beetles, ca through the rain, their guns pointed at him:
"—Hand over all your cash, bank cards, and the passwords! Also, where do you live? Take us there!"
These were lowly personas who, amidst the chaos of the city-state, planned to fish in troubled waters. They were once potential criminals who kept their heads down while working, but now strutted about like deities who ruled the city-state.
The red-haired youth sighed softly:
"Now, what’s the difference between you and those Plunderers in the Danger Zone? Invoking the nebulous na of freedom to break order. Just a spark of passion is enough to illuminate the failed existence of people like you."
The lowly personas looked at each other, puzzled. They didn’t understand the ramblings of this red-haired kid, but they did understand the term "losers."
A bald man decisively pulled the trigger.
In this city-state, at this mont, these people represented "absolute justice," and whatever they did was permitted.
To storm Central City, to kill Yasa Acto, to destroy the Dawn System, that was the absolute "right." As for what would happen after, whether there would be enough survival resources for a million people, whether the city-state would beco a jungle where only the strong survive, who would do the hardest work, who would go to the most dangerous places to search for resources—it was all irrelevant to them now.
Because they were birds, symbols of freedom.
"Bang!"
The bullet was fired, rushing towards the red-haired youth.
In the heavy curtain of rain, the youth’s finger flicked, and with a "snap," instantly closing the umbrella.
His hand trembled slightly, and the spine of the umbrella was thrown out, glowing with a golden shine.
He gazed heavily at the "black beetles" in the alley, feeling that these people were no different from the ugliest bugs.
Like a sacred golden sword, the closed umbrella surged forward, shattering the speeding bullet, disassembling the precise firearms into pieces, then brushed past the necks of the people in the line, like a returning Crescent Arc.
Bright red blood splashed out, and a vivid red line gradually appeared on the people’s necks.
The closed umbrella securely circled back to the youth’s hand, and with a "clatter," the umbrella unfolded like a blooming lily. Holding the umbrella, he remained in the original position, completely dry.
"Patter patter patter—"
The people fell one by one, and their blood mixed with the rainwater, flowing down into the sewer.
—Su Rin turned away.
He walked through the blood-stained streets with his umbrella, looking at the rain falling like slender swords.
"The robin that brings the dawn will never satisfy the endless desires of people."
He muttered to himself.
On his shoulder, a Shadow moved slightly.
"Humanity never learns from history," Little Ai said.
She was looking at a live broadcast screen on the street wall — it was showing the latest progress of the Rebel Army.
The Players had inflicted terrifying casualties.
The Hawk Hound Army, initially deed sufficient to quell the disaster, couldn’t stop their advance. The strength of the Players had far exceeded the grading of current data.
Among them, Edward demonstrated a magical power that the residents had never seen before. He killed an entire group of the chanical Army with his overwhelming strength, not allowing any bullet to penetrate his azure shield.
It was as if, he were a Mage who had co from "Ta Wei."
...
[Checkpoint · 4:02 AM]
[War broke out, the 62nd minute]
Luna looked up amidst the chanical Army.
Dressed in a Hawk Hound uniform, she stepped over the rain-soaked cent ground, her white hair dancing in the night breeze.
The wind at night was cold, the seasons in the Ruined World leaning toward harsh winter.
Above the towers, Sentinels were adjusting the angles of their searchlights, casting them across to the darkness, illuminating the night with brilliance.
Opposite her, at less than fifty ters away, was an uncountable mass of people, like mouse droppings. They were dressed differently, like a swarm gathered in disarray, all holding weapons they had seized.
Their bloodshot eyes bore a layer of dull light in the night, like a pack of wolves ready to attack, possibly storming the checkpoint any mont.
This group of Players, who had always been suppressed by the force of the instances, finally possessed the strength to counter the instances. With many heavy firearms disabled by interrupted commands and unable to start, they fought like the most powerful Assassins.
Whether it was the astonishing magical powers or combat pets summoned out of nowhere, they shook the gun-dominant State of asurent.
Those with inferior personas following them couldn’t help but wonder — if they allowed the invasion from "Ta Wei," they too might possess the players’ miraculous abilities.
Look, the legendary Mages and Summoners were right before their eyes.
The handso young man with blond hair and blue eyes — was wielding a god-like strength — Ti.
The bullets rushing toward them were harshly restrained by the ability of Ti, freezing in midair, instantly losing their montum, thus allowing them to smoothly reach this point.
It turned out that a city-state could be subverted.
It turned out that they could also be this powerful.
"—Lay down your weapons, disarm! Don’t let Ta Wei dominate your minds! You are citizens of the city-state!"
Anjie, the white-haired, vigorous elderly lady who was the leader of the Hawk Hound Army in the Second Ring District, shouted through a gaphone.
Her voice carried far in the rain, like fire flowing through the cold rain.
She stood shoulder to shoulder with Luna, standing before the checkpoint. Behind them was the uninvaded Hawk Hound Army, and in front of them was the dense Rebel Army — the Hawk Hound Army and the Rebel Army now at a standoff.
In the curtain of rain, the dark mass of people were clearly divided, an invisible boundary drawn between the two sides.
The next mont, the leader of the Rebel Army, the blond young man, raised his arm high. A gunshot sounded —
"Bang!"
A giant azure clock image appeared behind him. His face showed no fear, and his black robe fluttered in the night breeze.
Like a declaration of uncompromising defiance of peace, his gunshot silenced the old lady’s persuasion.
"—We are citizens of the city-state?" Edward laughed heartily.
His voice was loud, seemingly amplified by so kind of sound enhancing skill.
By his side were Pearl, Hou Li, Feng Sheng from Feng City, top Players like Natalie, Daphne, Violet, Babru...
These confident Players all revealed smiles.
"No, we’re more likely to be your slaves, right?"
Edward’s loud shout spread throughout the square, and the windows of the residential building not far away opened, one after another. People stood on their balconies, watching the war unfold before their eyes as if witnessing a piece of history.
"You—emphasize the correctness of the eight personality types, grade people, bind their ways of thinking... you could even say it’s brainwashing," Edward shouted. "This requirent to fit the correct environnt, like unchangeable values and logic—that’s how you expel those with inferior personalities from the happiness of the City-State, turning them into your slaves!"
Edward turned around and opened his arms to the people:
"My friends! None of us are slaves! None of us are naturally inferior!
This system of eight personality types forcibly divides us into classes and wantonly squeezes our lives and futures!
Is emotional asurent really everything? Can rational people not engage in art? Are potential criminals bound to beco actual criminals?
The City-State’s asurents are too cold, too absolute! We are humans—my friends, we are humans! We cannot let an Artificial Intelligence control our hard-earned lives! We are free!"
Edward’s words resonated with the people, who raised their flashlights high, as if lifting up torches.
Countless voices rose among the crowd, like a wildfire spreading uncontrollably.
"—That’s right! We want human rights! We want fair welfare!!"
"—Why should those with inferior personalities only do the lowest jobs, barred from high-end venues? We are humans, not the City-State’s pigs and dogs!"
Hearing these voices, Edward sneered inwardly.
... His own class prejudice was, in reality, more severe than anyone else’s.
But what did that matter? These were just NPCs—these "tools" were his to use as he wished, manipulating them with words was just a ans to an end.
In front of the Hawk Hound Army, Luna couldn’t stand it anymore. She lifted a gaphone:
"—Enough! Without the City-State, you’re just a bunch of savages struggling to survive in the Danger Zone! Without the Dawn Brain, how could we possibly sustain a population of millions? You..."
"Friends, kill these false Guardians who obstruct our freedom—!!" Edward’s piercing shout drowned out her voice.
The next mont, gunfire erupted.
Trucks carrying dozens of powerful Players charged toward the checkpoint, with Player Violet leading the way. The lions she summoned battered the Hawk Hound Army’s riot shields.
Babru flung his anchor-like iron weapon into the crowd, slicing through it like a scythe reaping lives.
Hou Li pulled out a large cannon from beneath her skirt. The Rose Cannon’s gathering light emitted a terrifying charge of energy.
Beside them, the triumphant Players erupted in a dazzling array of brilliance.
— In the charge of these Players.
The defense battle of the Core Area checkpoint officially began at this mont.
...
Su Ming’an opened his eyes.
A woman with coiled red hair was sitting by the bed.
Seeing him awake, she stood up with a smile. Soon, the aroma of brewing tea filled the room. Simulated sunlight stread in through the projector, making the floating dust sparkle.
Fayse was a bionic woman, she didn’t need sleep, and she had stayed by his side until dawn.
He glanced at the System Ti, it was the seventh day since Replica Activation, 8:46 AM.
The nine-person eting last night did not start, it seed as long as he was in the range of Central City, the eting wouldn’t start. He had slept straight through until dawn.
He got up and began to craft the bullets he had not finished yesterday.
"Ding—dong."
He heard the doorbell outside.
"Co in," he said.
"Doctor, I’ve got tickets to the ’chanics Exhibition’ in the Underground City. It features Dr. la’s latest manned P-29 model, and she has been missing you lately. Shall we go check it out together?"
In a white lab coat with a courteous and modest smile, the assistant Qin Shaoli entered. He was the first person Su Ming’an saw at the beginning, a high-level persona.
"Haven’t you invited before?" Su Ming’an said without looking up.
In the first three days of the ga, these people had tried every possible way to curry favor with him, and Qin Shaoli had already used this excuse to invite him once.
"Ah..." Qin Shaoli’s smile turned sowhat awkward, "Is that so?"
He hadn’t finished speaking when another figure walked in.
Treya, with her thickly applied lipstick and beige hair done up, looked like a dazzling urban beauty.
"Doctor, it’s ti to take a break, I’ve made a lot of snacks," she said as she squeezed past Qin Shaoli.
"Miss Treya, I ca here first..." Qin Shaoli adjusted his glasses.
"Who’s interested in that chanics exhibition, of course the snacks are tastier. What’s a big man like you doing asking for an appointnt? Let do it," Treya rolled her eyes.
At that mont, a pair of twins squeezed in through the door, the comical duo Dong Xu and Xu Dong.
"Doctor, aren’t you going to check out the Dawn Brain?"
"Doctor, shall we push you there?"
They each spoke in turn, perfectly in sync, making Su Ming’an’s head ache.
The lab was suddenly crowded with six people, and Fayse had also finished making tea, holding in her hands a cup of tea with leaves like snowflakes.
"Such a lively scene," she remarked. "Yasa, I rember, in the difficult days of the past, you taught us how to make this Snow Leaf Tea. Its thod was loaded into my chip. Have a taste, is it still the taste of the past?"
"..." Su Ming’an’s head ached.
He took the tea and shooed away the crowd to finally have so peace.
After stockpiling 40 bullets, he engaged with a range of high-end technologies in the field of artificial intelligence and pushed "Artificial Intelligence" to level 7, which was the limit.
As noon approached, all the work was done, and he instructed Xike to prepare for spatial teleportation, he was ready to leave this place.
Teleportation’s bright light flashed.
Xike’s teleportation seed sowhat random, last ti his landing spot was on an airship, and this ti it was...
"Boom—!!"
A violent explosion rang out, the wheelchair jolted with the ground.
He looked up just in ti to see the decayed door in front of him get blown open into a large hole, with a dark mass of figures lined up outside.
...Is this the ruined building in Central City?
The man about to step into the building had golden hair and blue eyes.
His eyes, as blue as the sea, just so happened to et his.
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