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墨書 Inktalez
I paced back and forth in the apartment, my mind racing with thoughts about what to do next. The shadow of Genesis Corporation loomed larger each day, and if this continued, more and more programmers would become their victims.
"Lin Xi, why don't you sit down for a bit? Walking around like this won't help you come up with a good plan," Su Qing said from the sofa, gesturing to the seat beside her.
I shook my head and continued to pace. "No, we can't keep being passive targets. Today it's Xiao Wang; tomorrow it could be us."
"So what do you plan to do?" she asked.
I stopped and turned to face her. "We need to unite other programmers and form an alliance. Only by coming together can we hope to stand against Genesis Corporation."
Su Qing's eyes lit up for a moment but quickly dimmed again. "But how do we contact them? We don't even know where they are."
"I can trace the recently active accounts through the system logs." I sat down at the computer and began typing rapidly. "Got it! There are five programmers who have left traces of activity in the system recently. I can send them encrypted messages."
Three days later, we met four programmers who responded to our call in a rundown internet café's private room. Their expressions varied—some were nervous, some curious, but most were skeptical.
"Thank you all for taking the risk to come here," I said, scanning the room and lowering my voice. "I think everyone knows what Genesis Corporation has been doing in this game. They use us to test their systems, treating us like lab rats."
"Do you have any evidence?" asked a tall, thin man wearing glasses. "This sounds like a conspiracy theory."
I spread out the materials I had gathered. "These are data I intercepted from the system backend, proving that Genesis Corporation is monitoring our every move and collecting our behavior patterns and response data."
"So what?" interrupted another man with a buzz cut. "Even if what you're saying is true, what can we do? Instead of fighting them, we should find a way to clear the game and get out of this hellhole as soon as possible."
"He’s right," chimed in a girl wearing a plaid shirt. "We're just ordinary programmers; how can we possibly stand up against a tech giant?"
The atmosphere grew tense. Su Qing stood up. "If we don't unite, we'll be picked off one by one. They've already started eliminating players—who knows who will be next?"
Just as the discussion reached an impasse, the door to the room swung open. Zhou Kai walked in with his trademark smile, followed by two unfamiliar faces.
"What a coincidence, Lin Xi," he said, scanning the room before his gaze settled on me. "Looks like everyone is thinking about forming an alliance."
I watched him warily. "What do you want?"
"Don't be so tense." Zhou Kai spread his hands. "Like you, I just want to find some allies. But my plan might be more practical—obey the rules of Genesis Corporation and become one of their premium testers in exchange for the right to survive."
"Are you crazy?" I couldn't believe my ears. "You want to beg like a dog?"
Zhou Kai shrugged dismissively. "This is called a wise choice. Resistance will only put you in danger. Trust me, I have connections within Genesis Corporation. As long as we act according to their requirements, we can receive special treatment."
I noticed a flicker of uncertainty in the eyes of several programmers. Zhou Kai clearly picked up on this and spoke with more confidence. "Join me, and I guarantee you'll be among the last victors."
The meeting ended in chaos. Despite the efforts of Su Qing and me to persuade them, only two people chose to join us—Li Wei, Su Qing's college classmate, and a programmer named Zhang Yan. The others were drawn to Zhou Kai's promises and left with him.
"Don't be discouraged." On the way back, Su Qing patted my shoulder. "Having two is better than none. Plus, Li Wei is great with algorithms, and Zhang Yan is a security expert; they can be a big help."
I forced a smile. "I hope so."
In the following days, we began our secret operations, trying to gather more information about Genesis Corporation. We embedded probes in the system to monitor unusual changes in the game world. Zhang Yan designed an encrypted communication system that allowed us to communicate securely.
But things took a turn for the worse quickly. On the third night, one of our critical monitoring points was detected by the system and cleared out. Worse still, a system vulnerability we had just discovered was inexplicably patched.
"Someone leaked information." I stared at the computer screen, my heart sinking.
"Impossible." Su Qing frowned. "Only the four of us know this information."
"That means there’s a mole among us."
Su Qing and I began a secret investigation. We provided each member with different versions of "confidential information" to see which one would be leaked. Three days later, the truth came to light—Li Wei's false intel had been exploited by Zhou Kai's people.
"I can't believe it." Su Qing's face went pale, her voice trembling. "Li Wei has been my good friend since freshman year; how could she..."
I took her hand and said, "In the face of life and death, people reveal their true selves."
We decided to set a trap, sending Li Wei with false information—claiming that we would infiltrate an abandoned warehouse in the game world the following night to search for the so-called "System Core."
The next evening, Su Qing and I arrived early, hiding in the shadows to observe. Sure enough, Zhou Kai arrived with six or seven people, including the traitor Li Wei.
"Come out, Lin Xi." Zhou Kai's voice echoed in the empty warehouse. "I know you're here."
Su Qing and I exchanged glances and decided to reveal ourselves. "Hello, Zhou Kai," I stepped out from the shadows. "It seems you've received our 'information.'"
Zhou Kai laughed. "Stop pretending. Do you really think this little trap of yours could fool anyone? I’ve known you were suspicious of a mole for a long time; I was just going with the flow."
He waved his hand, and several people immediately blocked the exit of the warehouse. "Now, you have nowhere to run."
Li Wei stood behind Zhou Kai with her head down, unable to meet Su Qing's gaze.
"Why?" Su Qing's voice trembled. "Aren't we best friends?"
Finally, Li Wei lifted her head, her eyes filled with guilt and fear. "I'm sorry, Su Qing. I... I had no choice. Zhou Kai convinced me that the only way to survive was to side with Genesis Corporation. I didn't want to die..."
"Betraying friends will let you live?" Su Qing's voice turned icy like never before. "From today on, we are no longer friends."
Zhou Kai interrupted them. "Enough! The reminiscing is over. Lin Xi, you might as well surrender. Join us, and I can overlook your past actions."
I scoffed. "I'd rather die than live on my knees."
"Then go die!" With a wave of his hand, Zhou Kai's men lunged at us.
I pushed Su Qing aside and charged toward the enemies. Though we were outnumbered, I refused to sit back and wait for our fate. In the midst of the fierce battle, I felt something awakening within me. Fragments of code flashed in my mind, forming a complex network of algorithms.
"Lin Xi, be careful!" Su Qing's shout snapped me back to reality as a burly man swung a steel pipe toward my head.
In a split second, I felt an explosion of energy within me. I clasped my hands together and then thrust them apart, unleashing streams of blue code light that shot from my fingertips, creating a "Code Storm" that knocked down all the enemies around us.
Zhou Kai stumbled back in terror, "This... this is impossible! How could you..."
I was equally shocked by my newfound ability, but there was no time to ponder. "Let's go!" I grabbed Su Qing's hand and carved a bloody path through the chaos.
Amidst the turmoil, we successfully escaped the warehouse. In the night, we ran breathlessly, with Zhou Kai's furious curses echoing behind us.
"Lin Xi, what was that just now?" Su Qing asked, leaning against a wall to catch her breath.
I looked at my hands, still faintly glowing blue. "I don't know either. Maybe in that moment of crisis, I unlocked a new skill—Code Storm."
"That's amazing!" Excitement sparkled in Su Qing's eyes. "It means we still have hope!"
I nodded, but my heart felt heavy. Tonight, we had not only lost an ally but had also irrevocably severed ties with Zhou Kai's faction. War was now unavoidable.
I gazed at the distant city lights, steeling my resolve: no matter how many challenges lay ahead, I would persevere until I exposed the Genesis Corporation's conspiracy and rescued all the trapped programmers.
Su Qing squeezed my hand. "No matter what happens, I'll stand by your side."
I returned her grip as we continued forward into the night.
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