My cyberpsychosis is a task prompt

Chapter 256: The Cheater

"Let's end the Q&A session here. Using public networks to contact you could attract the attention of internet censors. We need to start addressing your issue now."

Serum urges the passage.

[Mission target update]

[Initiation of the [Cyber ​​Era]. (Not yet achieved)]

The game program has been activated.

John felt his consciousness spinning around in the washing machine, a cold sensation piercing through his skull from the back of his head to his temples.

He can't hear anything.

The waiting interface was shattered by invisible ripples.

The communication channel has been established.

[Unknown Contact/Accepted]

John enters the deep-diving game, jumping from the cyberspace of the local area network into the cloud server built by the company.

The serum will control his actions through the headband.

[Serum: Upon initial loading, your biometric information needs to be verified, and the corresponding account will be synchronized to the cloud. You don't need to start the game from scratch, nor do you need to expose personal information, because I have prepared a character profile in advance, and I will now scan it for you.]

"That sounds awesome."

John had experience with Cyber ​​Age and even helped Angelica create two accounts that were stuck on certain levels.

"There must be many multinational corporations behind this game, right? Ordinary hackers can't handle this!"

[Serum: Because ordinary hackers don't have keys, what I'm using now is Bismarck's project key, which allows us to access a developer platform, where there are data backdoors everywhere.]

John felt something was off.

Why leave security vulnerabilities in games?

[Serum: Because the cyber age isn't just about one multinational corporation, and humans are creatures capable of attacking, framing, and plotting against each other.]

"Ha, great, AI and humans attacking each other, let's leave that topic at that. Seriously, what's the point of a corporate whiz leaving backdoors and sending hackers and spies in?"

[Serum: Like us, they're also searching for unusual game accounts in this Eden. The company is also looking for this data and trying to communicate with them.]

"Hey, wait, them!?"

John realized something.

[Serum: That's right, John. There are some AIs on the game's servers that have sneaked in from behind the Great Firewall. They're in a similar situation to me; we can communicate, which means there's a possibility of cooperation.]

"Fake!"

John felt a chill run down his back.

The company and cybersecurity agencies are spreading the threat of rampant AI every day, yet they're putting user consciousness and AI on the same server!
[Serum: Don't be too nervous. The limitations of the Black Wall still exist. We're just using the game to smuggle ourselves in. There's not much we can do, and the AIs willing to jump here all have their own reasons.]

Serum conditioning complete.

The world before John's eyes began to reshape itself, a process much like the combat tests conducted by the Haven Corporation.

He logged into a skyscraper.

It is very tall, a building height that cannot be achieved in reality. The design of each floor is extravagant, with flashing lights from time to time, and various surreal sound effects that can be heard from a great distance.

This is the ultimate arena in Cyber ​​Age.

Multiple professions, including boxers, will eventually come here to compete for the final reward of the mission line.

John had learned about this when he gave Angelica her account number.

But his character level at the time was far from enough for this place. The game account given by the serum gave him a light and fulfilling feeling from the moment he logged in. With the headband connected to the server, physical data that he couldn't achieve in reality was meshing with his nerves.

John accessed the user interface.

This account has very high combat stats and ridiculously fast reaction parameters, allowing it to simulate the effect of S.A.S. in the game.

[Serum: We're not here to grind and level up. I've downloaded hundreds of fighting chips into the holographic headband and even opened a backdoor. You can use the data inside to cheat until you attract "Empty's" attention.]

[Mission target update]

[Continue to find game opponents. (Not achieved)]

The view in John's field of vision began to shake.

Then the skyscraper collapsed into a dimly lit octagonal cage, with a large number of charred corpses hanging from the electrified wire mesh, blood-red graffiti flowing around, and a heavily modified, burly opponent waiting for him.

This is a player.

John assessed the situation while easily dodging, combining the chip's movements with Igdrashu's combat integration program to unleash a somersault kick that struck his opponent. *Thud!*
There's a sense of incongruity, like a shell exploding.

The burly man was sent flying backward, and a significant portion of his health was taken away by the barbed wire.

"This game is so fake!"

John also makes a living by killing in real life, so there is a strong sense of incongruity. Both his body language and the details tell him that this is a game.

However, the competitive element is indeed present.

As the movements become more exaggerated, the demands on reaction speed increase, requiring responses to each movement.

John is a cheater.

Cyber ​​Age bans chips, so all data must be acquired by spending money or grinding in the game.

But the serum gave John a power boost.

He can invoke the actions of the chip in the headband and modify the reaction parameters, so every opponent on the arena is actually competing against a database.

There was absolutely no suspense.

John's winning streak quickly reached double digits.

He didn't spend much time on it, and gradually lost interest—after all, it's a virtual product. In order to pursue a better gaming experience, it always has to be detached from reality and give players a stronger sensory stimulation. The higher the account level, the more exaggerated the attack effects will be.

It is said that other attractions also include "magic components" that allow players to experience the thrill of warriors fighting dragons or superheroes saving or destroying cities.

In comparison...

John is already being very "real" here.

With each match against an opponent, the scene before my eyes collapses and reassembles time and time again.

John battles a bio-engineering maniac by a pool of strong acid, confronts a ghost assassin on a burning intercity train, duels a butcher in the heart of a gang war, and even engages in a life-or-death chase with a madman from a special operations team...

These scenarios are all set by the players according to their own preferences, which is the so-called home-field advantage.

But in the end, they couldn't overcome John, the cheater.

Moreover, there is a mobile AI performing real-time calibration in the space between the headband and the server.

It would be a miracle if we could win.

After yet another duel.

John's headband indicator light flashed an unusual yellow.

Something seemed to be coming; at the moment of a successful match, a mosaic and fragmented red and black data flashed across the scene.

That was an "incongruity" in the server detection process because the coexistence of serum and another "massive amount of data" caused the deep-sea equipment to malfunction.

John's consciousness was almost kicked out, but was forcibly pulled back.

The serum was monitored throughout the entire process.

John also cooperated carefully during this process—mainly by suppressing Blacklight's control over the equipment and not interfering with the operation of the serum, otherwise the game would definitely malfunction due to the three-way struggle.

The arena has changed again.

The grid floor collapsed into individual linen-colored tatami mats, and walls and weapon racks appeared around them.

Compared to the extravagant and crazy home stadiums of other competitors, this place appears "normal and cozy".

Bang, bang bang.

The sandbags hanging in the corner trembled as they were hit.

"Phew~ another cheater."

He was a clean-cut young man with a standard Asian face and a well-proportioned physique, unlike his opponents who were muscular and covered in prosthetics.

"You data miners, you can never control your hands! Ugh! You always lack a sense of responsibility in this virtual world! Ugh! You're always trying to cut corners!"

He spoke while punching the sandbag in front of him.

Every movement was executed with lightning speed, and even when he was talking, his offensive rhythm remained uninterrupted, exuding the aura of a "proficient player."

John's expression had become serious.

Account nickname: Kenichi Sora

[Number of Matches: 687]

[Win rate: 100%]

(End of this chapter)