A bizarre and terrifying experience; I messed up the dungeon world.

She walked to a tall building at the edge of the square, preparing to climb up and take off.

Li Qiang watched her retreating figure. He knew he could no longer cling to this powerful figure.

"Boss, there are Black Gold people over at the TV tower," Li Qiang suddenly shouted. "We just saw them drive by in armored vehicles."

Han Yingying stopped and turned around.

Black Gold Guild. It's them again.

She nodded. She didn't say anything. She walked into the tall building.

The building has thirty floors. The elevator is out of service. Han Yingying takes the stairs.

Her stamina seemed limitless. After administrator privileges were revoked, her physical data was classified as highest level by the main system. She never got tired. She didn't need to eat.

I reached the rooftop. The wind was strong. Red mist swirled beneath my feet.

The television tower is on the other side of the city, about five kilometers away. A red light flashes at the top of the tower; that's the signal transmitter.

Han Yingying stood on the edge of the rooftop, checking the latches on the hang glider.

She was calculating in her mind. What was the Black Gold Guild doing at the TV tower? With the main system resetting reality, everyone's goal should be survival. The Black Gold members were organized and disciplined, which meant they knew something beforehand.

Or, they may have already defected to the main system.

Han Yingying unfolded her hang glider and leaped into the air.

The wind lifted her body. The metal frame of the hang glider creaked slightly. She glided above the red mist. The view was expansive.

The city is unrecognizable. The streets have become a maze. Some buildings are suspended in mid-air. The laws of physics have completely broken down.

The flight covered a distance of five kilometers in just ten minutes.

She walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down.

Below the TV tower was a plaza. Three black armored vehicles were parked there. Dozens of Black Gold players in uniform were setting up defensive positions. They had set up heavy machine guns. There were even two small laser cannons.

They're on defense. Against whom?

Han Yingying drew her sniper rifle and observed through the scope.

In the center of the square, there was a person in a white lab coat, with their back to her. They were operating a portable terminal. The terminal was connected to the TV tower's base station interface.

The person turned their head.

Han Yingying saw the face clearly through the scope.

Li Changsheng.

She paused, stunned. Just now, on the third basement level, she had clearly killed a Frankenstein's monster that had mutated from Li Changsheng. Why was there another one here?

The memory resurfaced.

"The NPC reuse mechanism," Zhou Lang's voice said. "If an important NPC dies, the system will regenerate it at a nearby spawn point. It will retain its memories, but its stats will be enhanced."

Han Yingying understood. Li Changsheng wasn't a player; the main system had already identified him as an important NPC. Or rather, he was the main system's agent in the real world.

Li Changsheng tapped on the terminal. The signal lights on the TV tower began flashing wildly, faster and faster.

Han Yingying knew what he was doing. He was expanding the coverage of the red mist, accelerating the assimilation of the real world.

We can't let him finish.

Han Yingying put away her sniper rifle and activated the grenade launcher.

The distance is too far; the grenade won't hit the square. She needs to get closer.

She walked to the stairwell and went down to the third floor of the commercial building. There was an enclosed skybridge that connected directly to the second-floor platform of the TV tower.

Several low-level zombies roamed the overpass. They were assimilated civilians.

Han Yingying didn't use a gun. She drew a short knife and walked over.

A zombie lunged. She dodged to the side. The blade sliced ​​across the zombie's neck. The head fell off. Without pausing, she continued forward, killing as she went.

Walk to the end of the overpass. There's a glass door. Behind the door is the second-floor platform of the TV tower.

Four snipers in black and gold stood on the platform, keeping watch over the surroundings.

Han Yingying stopped behind the door. She sheathed the dagger at her waist and activated two flashbangs.

The instant the door was pushed open. The ring. Thrown out.

A white light appeared.

The four snipers covered their eyes.

Han Yingying rushed out, gripping a miniature submachine gun in both hands. She fired.

Four snipers fell to the ground.

The gunshots drew the attention of the square below.

"There are people up there," shouted a black-and-gold captain.

The heavy machine gun turned and opened fire on the second-floor platform. Bullets shattered the glass door, sending cement debris flying.

Han Yingying hid behind a bunker at the edge of the platform.

She leaned halfway out, raised the grenade launcher, aimed at a laser cannon below, and pulled the trigger.

The grenade traced an arc and landed next to the laser cannon. It exploded.

The laser cannon was blown over. Several black gold players nearby were thrown into the air by the blast wave.

"Kill her." Li Changsheng looked at the second-floor platform. His voice was icy.

The men from Black Gold began rushing into the TV tower, preparing to flank it from the stairs.

Han Yingying threw away the grenade launcher. She then brought up the permissions panel.

She's going to exploit a bug.

During the game design phase, to facilitate testing, she left a physics collision loophole in the TV tower's load-bearing columns. Anyone who hits the column at a specific angle can clip through the mold and fall into the TV tower's underground control room.

She ran to a circular load-bearing column on the platform.

The men from Black Gold had already stormed up to the second floor. A dozen guns were pointed at her.

Han Yingying ignored it. She turned her back to the supporting pillar and stepped back.

"Fire!" Captain Black Gold shouted.

A bullet flew over.

Han Yingying's body slammed into the load-bearing pillar. There was no solid sound of impact. Her body disappeared into the pillar as if passing through water.

The bullet hit the pillar, leaving a bullet hole.

Captain Black Gold ran over. He touched the pillar. It was solid. He stared at his hand as if he'd seen a ghost.

Han Yingying was falling in the darkness. The feeling of weightlessness was intense.

A few seconds later, she landed on the ground, her feet on the metal mesh floor.

This is the underground control room of the TV tower. There are no lights. Only a few servers are flashing green lights.

She summoned her lightsaber, illuminating the surroundings.

In the center of the control room, there is a main control console.

She walked to the control panel and placed her hand on it, preparing to forcibly sever Li Changsheng's external connections.

The screen lights up.

A line of text popped up.

Welcome to the real world. Administrator 02.

Han Yingying frowned. This wasn't a system notification.

A person emerged from the shadows in the corner of the control room.

Wearing a gray trench coat. Wearing a faceless mask.

Masked man.

"You're haunting me." Han Yingying gripped her lightsaber tightly.

The masked man didn't move. "I told you, I'm a merchant. I've come to deliver some information to you."

"I'm not buying it," Han Yingying said.

"It's free." The masked man's voice was processed by a voice changer. Mechanical. "Zhou Lang lied to you."

Han Yingying didn't speak. She just looked at him.

"The transit station doesn't have a main server at all," the masked man said. "The game you designed back then never had a server. It was a living thing."

Han Yingying's pupils contracted slightly.

"He kept you in reality, not so you could guard the nodes." The masked man took out a silver USB drive and placed it on the control panel. "He kept you outside. Because he is the mutated main system."

The masked man took a step back. His body transformed into blue data code and vanished from the spot.

Han Yingying looked at the USB drive on the control panel.