The night before the promotion

Chapter 91 Stone Fortress
Ruan Linrui was still wearing her loose work clothes, like a wobbly emperor penguin. Next to her stood a figure that Zhou Si found a little unfamiliar.

He was a middle-aged man with gray hair and wrinkles around his eyes. He was also wearing a uniform of the Supervisory Bureau. Although he had a smile on his face, he gave people a kind of awe-inspiring temperament.

Zhou Si remembered this person, he was Dong Yuan, the director of the Supervisory Bureau of Anyan City.

There are many cities in this world, like the stars in the sky, connecting the entire human world. But just as some stars are bright and some are dark, as cities, their social, economic, and political significance are also completely different.

Due to the existence of Shenwei Technology, Anyan City can be regarded as an uncrowned city in the field of science and technology, and its importance is far beyond imagination.

Therefore, the stone fortress where the few people are located has a server with high walls and a large system, and as the director of the Supervisory Bureau of this city, Dong Yuan’s importance is far more than just that of a director.

In addition to the two of them, there were also armed personnel and several security avatars following them. The drones hovering overhead made a buzzing noise, constantly reminding Zhou Si that they were being watched by countless eyes.

"This is my first time here," Song Qiliang exclaimed, "The security level is really high."

"In theory, this place is designated as a military zone," Xiang Ji explained, "which means that if someone tries to invade, they will be shot directly without any chance of escape."

The fortress stands tall on the earth. Most of its facilities are located deep underground, divided and protected by layers of armored doors and equipped with multiple layers of protection. Even the attack of bunker-buster bombs can hardly reach its core.

Li Weiyun whispered, "The lifeblood and cornerstone of the cyber world."

"Everyone has arrived."

A man in a white uniform walked over quickly. He was tall and thin, wore glasses, and had an ID card on his chest.

"Hello, I'm Wu Qinwen, a researcher at Stone Castle."

Wu Qinwen extended his hand in a friendly manner, first to Dong Yuan, then to Ruan Linrui, Zhou Si and others.

Dong Yuan said, "We are here to investigate the Paradise incident. You should have analyzed the information from the recovered data."

"Of course," Wu Qinwen smiled, "otherwise I wouldn't have notified you to come."

"Please come with me."

He said, turning around to lead the way for everyone.

The team followed him into the solemn stone fortress. The hall was empty and the sound of footsteps echoed all around.

“It’s really depressing.”

Song Qiliang looked around. The walls and the ground were the same grayish white color, making it difficult to distinguish the limits of the space. There were hardly any living people in sight. There were mostly heavily armed security avatars and a few armed avatars standing silently like sculptures.

He felt like he had walked into a morgue, a silent cemetery. If it weren't for the team following him, Song Qiliang would even feel inexplicably panicked.

Song Qiliang sighed, "If it weren't for the agreement of the High Wall System, only Stone Fortress has the ability to fully analyze the data of those incarnation shells and thought storage cores, otherwise, I really don't want to come to this damn place."

"Do you think I just want to come to this place?" Li Weiyun reminded, "Say less."

The Stone Fort has always been so mysterious. Even though the Supervisory Bureau often cooperates with it, most of the time, it is only done on the Internet. Few outsiders will actually step into it or even go deep into its hinterland.

Entering the elevator, Wu Qinwen led everyone to a deeper level. They saw the numbers on the elevator changing rapidly, along with the depth displayed on the side.

"After analyzing the recovered data, we also made some rational inferences, and the results were very interesting."

Wu Qinwen said as he walked, "Let's not talk about the feathering technology that should have been sealed. Just the newly discovered paradise system is very interesting in itself."

"Usually, after using the mind consciousness system, humans use the sensory feedback on the avatar body to perceive the material reality. However, this system directly omits the complex switching process in the middle and directly uses the simulated electrical signals in the brain to create a real illusion."

Wu Qinwen asked in return, "Do you understand what this means?"

"We're not here to do quizzes."

Zhou Si's tone was cold, showing his tough attitude.

Wu Qinwen looked a little disappointed. "Okay, okay, you don't seem to have much sense of humor."

"To put it simply, the Paradise System is great. Its emergence means a new market with a market value of trillions of dollars. Just like when the incarnation shell and the consciousness network were born, it will bring a new round of changes to traditional human society."

When Wu Qinwen mentioned professional knowledge, his expression was particularly serious and his tone was earnest.

"But this also shows one thing. The Paradise System is definitely not something that can be developed by a group of incarnated killers. After all, they are just a group of desperate people who are paid to do things. Without sufficient researchers and technical accumulation, as well as huge research and development funds, it is simply a fantasy to let such a group of people create this great technology."

"The Paradise system does not come from the Paradise itself, but from their superior, a person called the Supreme Immortal."

Zhou Si repeated, "According to our speculation, the immortal is most likely the deceased Chen Wen Ge."

"Do you think that Chen Wen Ge secretly developed the Paradise System after the failure of the Feathering Technology, and handed it over to these people to conduct... large-scale testing?"

Wu Qinwen commented, "It's an interesting idea. In addition, the LeTu system is indeed very immature. According to our current tests, once the human brain maintains a long-term connection with it, it will cause irreversible damage to the neurons."

"That is to say, if a human being completely indulges in the paradise, in reality, his brain will gradually be boiled into a meat paste."

Wu Qinwen realized, "The Paradise system is just like the original feathering technology, it is not perfect and mature enough."

"So what's going on here?"

Zhou Si still didn't understand. During this period of rest, in addition to recuperating from his injuries, he sat on the floor and meditated, letting his thoughts fall into that endless storm.

The immortal, Chen Wen Ge's death, and his ascension to immortality...

The clues collected so far are like countless broken puzzle pieces. Zhou Si tried to piece them together into a complete picture, but no matter how hard he tried, he could only build a hideous, weird and riddled painting. Even after moving forward for so long, Zhou Si still couldn't see the truth. It could even be said that he had stepped into a deeper fog, and it was pitch dark.

"What's going on? That's something you should investigate. It has nothing to do with us."

Wu Qinwen pushed up his glasses and said, "We are only responsible for helping you retrieve the data you need."

Zhou Si was too lazy to argue with Wu Qinwen. He looked at Ruan Linrui and said, "Then according to this line of speculation, the problems within Shenwei Technology may be bigger than we expected."

If the Le Tu system was secretly developed by Chen Wen Ge, that means he was not only perfecting the metamorphosis technology, but also developing a new system, which required the mobilization of resources beyond imagination.

But Zuo Zhi and even the entire senior management were unaware of all this. It is hard to imagine what kind of changes have taken place in the shadows within Shenwei Technology. It is chilling.

For a moment, Zhou Si suddenly felt that he shouldn't have resigned. If he had stayed in Shenwei Technology, he might have been able to notice this subtle change...

But what’s the use of noticing it?
After all, Zhou Si was just an illegal doctor without a medical qualification certificate. Without the endorsement of the Supervisory Bureau, many of his actions were restricted. Without the assistance of Shenwei Technology, Zhou Si could only fight patients with an axe and a nail gun.

Zhou Si once again realized how insignificant and fragile he was. In this vast world and the torrent of the times, even if he tried his best, there were still very few things he could do, and even fewer things he could change.

"Okay, let's forget about these things and focus on the problems at hand."

Zhou Si took a deep breath, and the elevator continued to descend until it reached an open space, presenting the entire underground world to everyone.

Hidden deep underground is a huge monster - a huge underground server center. It seems to be a strange fusion of technology and nature, which not only shows the ultimate of human wisdom, but also reveals a hint of surreal mystery.

The first thing that catches the eye is the spectacular sight of countless cables interwoven together. They converge from all directions, like twisted roots, and finally condense into a sturdy "digital tree", rising from the ground and piercing the invisible sky above the rock layer.

Unlike the steel tree that Zhou Si saw in Yunzhong City, its layout was well-organized and full of the beauty of order, in stark contrast to the chaos and distortion.

The roots of this "tree", that is, the dense cables, are deeply rooted in the ground and spread to unknown depths.

The elevator continued to descend, and everyone saw the end of the roots.

It was a large, quiet, blue pool. Beneath the calm water were stacked server cabinets. They were tightly wrapped in a transparent coolant, like sleeping coffins, breathing quietly in this cold environment.

The coolant glows with a faint blue luster under the dim light, complementing the flickering indicator lights on the server, creating a dreamy and eerie atmosphere, like the farthest stars in the night sky, twinkling in this endless ocean of data. Every flash represents the flow and processing of information, which is an indispensable pulse of modern society.

"As you can see, this is part of a larger system of walls."

Wu Qinwen introduced proudly.

Everyone who sees this data tree will sincerely admire human technology and greatness, and Wu Qinwen enjoys the shock and trance on people's faces.

Unfortunately, Shibao is not a tourist attraction. Unless necessary, there is almost no traffic here. Even if Wu Qinwen wanted to share this shocking scene with others, he couldn't find anyone to talk to.

It is indeed a strange torture for a person with a strong desire to share to work in a confidential unit.

The elevator stopped and the door opened, sending Zhou Si and others to the researchers' working floor. As soon as he entered, Zhou Si felt like he had come to a factory, filled with scattered avatar shells and neatly stacked hard drives and cabinets.

Most of them are rusty and have some degree of damage. They were recovered by the Supervisory Bureau from Yunzhong City, and many were salvaged from the seabed.

It is through these recovered items that researchers are able to recreate the information contained in them and get a glimpse of the true conspiracy of the Land of Elysium.

"Wait a moment, the relevant information has been sorted out. If you have any questions, you can ask them here."

Wu Qinwen walked over quickly and busied himself at a computer at a workstation.

If you forget the special nature of Stone Fort, there is actually not much difference between this place and an ordinary company, and the environment is even worse. At least the various humanized services provided by Shenwei Technology are much better than here.

Zhou Si took a few steps forward and suddenly stopped. He looked at a monitor at a workstation with a puzzled look on his face. A picture of a parade was playing on the monitor.

Hundreds of people gathered, occupying streets, blocking the movement of cars, waving homemade flags and holding protest signs.

Everyone was filled with righteous indignation and roared incessantly. In addition to them, there were many incarnations mixed in, holding up flags together to represent that they were with the people.

Outside the parade, the security guards were on alert. In addition to the police officers, there were also many inspectors on the scene. They were on high alert to prevent any unrest and violent conflict.

Fierce arguments were heard coming from the front of the parade and it seemed that there were people mediating the procession, trying to get them to disperse, but it was clear that judging by the level of anger among the crowd, they were not having much success.

Further away was a group of onlookers. Some were watching the fun, while others were complaining that the parade was hindering their travel.

"what is this?"

Zhou Si felt that the street scene of the parade looked familiar and asked curiously.

"A big parade? Didn't you see the news this morning?" The employee turned around and said with a look of surprise.

"Today, a large number of people gathered near the city hall and started a march. As for the protest, it was also the 524 draft."

Dong Yuan glanced at the screen and said calmly, "They believe that the government and the company are secretly working together to try to prevent the passage of the bill, and they are demanding that the bill be passed faster to acknowledge the existence of Li Shi disease."

"Is that so?"

Zhou Si stood there for a moment, staring at the parade. No one knew what he was thinking until Wu Qinwen's voice woke him up from his thoughts.

"Okay, come and have a look," Wu Qinwen waved to the crowd, "everything we have sorted out is here."

Zhou Si looked away and took a step closer to the truth.

(End of this chapter)