Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

When the train arrived at the station, there was a person standing on the platform.

Jiang Chen got out of the car and saw that person—a middle-aged man wearing a gray trench coat.

He was in his forties, with some gray hair, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and holding an old notebook in his hand.

He stood in the middle of the platform, as if he had been waiting for Jiang Chen.

"You've finally arrived," the middle-aged man said, his voice hoarse but strong.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, test subject number 074."

Jiang Chen stopped and did not approach.

He glanced around. The platform was large, like an abandoned subway station, with faded tiles on the walls and a few fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling.

There is a passageway at each end of the platform, leading to unknown depths.

He couldn't see any signs, bus stops, or notices; there was only this middle-aged man.

"Who are you?" Jiang Chen asked.

"My name is Zhao Yuan, test subject number 031," the middle-aged man pushed up his glasses, "I entered here about... three years earlier than you, but the time here isn't very precise."

Jiang Chen remained vigilant. The words on the note were still etched in his mind.

Next stop, don't trust anyone.

"What are you doing here?" Jiang Chen asked.

"Wait for you."

Zhao Yuan said, "We're also waiting for all the test subjects who can get to this level."

The fifth stage cannot be completed by one person alone; it requires cooperation.

I've been here for almost two years and tried all sorts of methods, but nothing works.

Until I saw you pass through the fourth floor.

I know you're the one who can help us get through this.

"us?"

Zhao Yuan turned to the side and pointed to a passage behind him: "There are other people waiting inside."

You are not the only test subject here, number 074.

The number of test subjects deleted by the system is far more than you imagine.

Jiang Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

He needs more information.

He activated his reconnaissance skill, and his pale golden vision swept over Zhao Yuan, the result of which surprised him somewhat.

Zhao Yuan does indeed have the markings of a test subject, just like the markings on Zhong Yuan back then.

The old version of the core protocol is marked with the number S-031.

He was not a proxy created by the system; he was a genuine test subject.

But the warning on the note made him unable to easily trust anyone.

"Lead the way," Jiang Chen said.

Zhao Yuan nodded, turned around, and walked into the passage.

Jiang Chen followed behind, keeping a distance of about two meters, his right hand in his pocket, holding the blank page of the book.

If anything seems amiss, he can activate the external signature at any time.

At the end of the passage is a circular underground space.

It was very large, like an underground plaza, with several old-fashioned chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, casting a dim yellow light.

In the center of the square, there was a long table with five people sitting around it—three men and two women, ranging in age from their early twenties to their forties.

Their expressions towards Jiang Chen varied; some were curious, some were wary, and some were expressionless.

"A newcomer?" A man in his thirties with a buzz cut stood up, sizing up Jiang Chen. "What number are you?"

"074," Zhao Yuan said, "we just passed the fourth level."

The crew-cut man raised an eyebrow: "The fourth level? That's no simple matter. I was stuck on the fourth level for a whole month back then, and I almost gave up."

"My name is Liu Meng, number 042," the crew-cut man said, extending his hand. "Welcome to the fifth stop—the Maze of Trust."

Jiang Chen didn't shake his hand, but simply nodded.

"What are the rules for this floor?" Jiang Chen asked.

Zhao Yuan walked to one end of the long table and opened his notebook: "The fifth station is called 'Trust Maze,' a multiplayer collaborative game."

The condition for success is that all surviving members must reach the central exit of the maze simultaneously.

"at the same time?"

"right."

Zhao Yuan said, "It's not about one person arriving first; everyone must arrive at the same time."

If someone arrives early, the exit will close, the maze will reset, and everyone will have to start over.

If someone dies midway, the remaining people will also be unable to pass, because the exit requires at least two people to activate simultaneously.

Jiang Chen frowned: "What if there's only one person left?"

"Then this person will be trapped here forever," Liu Meng continued, "like the previous No. 054. He watched helplessly as his teammates fell one by one, until he was the only one left, but he could never get out of this maze."

Jiang Chen glanced at everyone present: "How many times have you all tried this?"

"I tried six times," Zhao Yuan said. "Liu Meng tried four times, and the others each tried two or three times. Each time, someone made a mistake along the way, or someone... betrayed us."

"Betrayal?" Jiang Chen caught the word.

"The core mechanism of the trust maze."

Zhao Yuan pushed up his glasses: "The maze is not fixed; it changes dynamically based on each person's 'trust value'."

The higher the trust level, the simpler the maze and the easier it is to find the passage.

The lower the trust level, the more complex the maze and the more traps there are.

The change in trust level depends on every choice you make in the maze.

Did you help your teammates? Did you share information? Did you abandon others in crucial moments?

"It sounds simple," Jiang Chen said.

"Easy?" A young girl sitting in the corner laughed, her voice cold. "You haven't even gone in yet, of course you think it's easy."

Jiang Chen looked at her. She was in her early twenties, with short hair, wearing a black hoodie, and her eyes held obvious hostility.

"Her name is Lin Xue, number 058," Zhao Yuan introduced. "She was betrayed by her teammates last time, and her trust level is almost zero. Now, the maze is more difficult for her than for anyone else."

Lin Xue gave Jiang Chen a cold look: "I don't trust you, nor do I trust anyone here. But Zhao Yuan said you are the key, so I'll give you a chance for now."

"Don't thank me," Lin Xue stood up, "After we clear the level, we'll go our separate ways."

Jiang Chen didn't reply; instead, he turned to Zhao Yuan and asked, "Where is the entrance to the maze?"

"The maze will open at four in the morning."

Zhao Yuan said, "We have two more hours."

You can use this time to rest or meet other people.

Jiang Chen glanced at the clock on the wall; it was two in the morning.

He found a corner to sit down, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes, but he didn't really rest.

He mentally went over everything. The fifth station was a multiplayer cooperative instance where everyone needed to reach the exit simultaneously.

But the warning on the note told him not to trust anyone, which meant there must be something wrong with these people.

He couldn't completely trust them, but he needed to cooperate with them to pass the level.

This contradiction is the core of the fifth station.

At four o'clock in the morning, the clock on the wall rang precisely on time.

The entire underground space began to shake, and the wall opposite the long table slowly cracked open, revealing a dark passage.

On the walls on both sides of the passage, a faint glow began to appear, like some kind of ancient runes.

"Let's go," Zhao Yuan stood up. "This time, we'll definitely get through."

Six people walked into the passageway.

The passageway was narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. Jiang Chen walked at the very back, his hands always in his pockets, clutching the page of the book.

He noticed that after entering the passage, his reconnaissance skills were suppressed; his pale golden vision could not penetrate the walls and could only see a few meters ahead.

They walked for about ten minutes, and then the passage suddenly opened up, turning into a huge underground maze.

The walls of the maze are made of a semi-transparent black stone, through which faint light and shadow can be seen, but it is impossible to see exactly what it is.

The ground was covered with gray stone slabs, each engraved with a number ranging from 0 to 100.

"Be careful," Zhao Yuan crouched down and touched the ground. "These numbers represent trust levels. Stepping on a slab with a smaller number is safer. Stepping on a slab with a larger number is more likely to trigger a trap."

"What if you step on 0?" Liu Meng asked.

"Stepping on 0 means you completely trust everyone and won't trigger any traps."

"What if you step on 100?"

Zhao Yuan looked up at him and said, "Stepping on 100 means you don't trust anyone at all, which will trigger the strongest trap."

Jiang Chen looked down at the stone slab under his feet; the number he stepped on was 47.

It's neither too high nor too low, just in the middle. This shows that he neither completely trusts nor completely distrusts these people.

He looked up at the others. Lin Xue's slab was 89, Liu Meng's was 33, and Zhao Yuan's was 12.

The remaining two team members are a 40-year-old man named Wang Hai who is 55 years old, and a young girl named Xiaoyue who is 71 years old.

"The higher the trust level, the smaller the number of stone slabs you walk on," Zhao Yuan said. "So Liu Meng walked in front, I followed closely behind, and Lin Xue walked at the back. Her trust level was too low, so walking in front would easily trigger a trap."

Jiang Chen understood. This was a maze where the route was determined by trust levels. People with high trust levels led the way, while those with low trust levels followed behind, avoiding stepping on the high-value stone slabs.

They began to move forward.

Liu Meng walked steadily and chose a reasonable route.

He would choose stone slabs with smaller numbers whenever possible, and when he encountered a fork in the road, he would stop and wait for Zhao Yuan to determine the direction.

Zhao Yuan held a notebook in his hand, on which he had drawn route maps from his previous attempts, marking which intersections were dead ends and which passages would trigger traps.

They walked for about twenty minutes without encountering any problems.

But Jiang Chen noticed that Lin Xue was staring at him.

It wasn't a casual glance, but a scrutinizing and wary look.

He glanced back at her, and she immediately looked away, pretending to look at the wall.

"Stop." Zhao Yuan suddenly raised his hand.

They stopped at an intersection. In the center of the intersection, a line of words was carved into the ground:

Choose a path. The more people who trust you, the safer your chosen path will be.

Liu Meng turned and glanced at Zhao Yuan: "What does this mean?"

"It means we need to vote," Zhao Yuan said. "Each person chooses a direction, and the direction with the most votes is the safest route."

"What if it's a tie?"

"A tie indicates a breakdown in trust within the team. All four paths will open up, but three of them are traps," Zhao Yuan said.

"Then let's vote," Liu Meng said. "I'll choose the left."

Zhao Yuan and Wang Hai also chose the left side. Xiao Yue chose the right side.

Lin Xue glanced at Jiang Chen: "Which side do you choose?"

Jiang Chen did not answer immediately.

He noticed that the fluorescent lights on the wall were flickering slightly, as if they were recording something.

He looked to the left, then to the right.

There are three people who have chosen on the left, and only Xiaoyue has chosen on the right.

If he also chooses the right side, it will be a tie—three against three.

If he chooses the left, it's four to one, so the left is safe.

But the warning on the note made him realize that things weren't so simple.

"I choose the right side," Jiang Chen said.

Lin Xue paused for a moment, then said, "I'll choose the right side too."

Three against three, a tie.

Zhao Yuan frowned: "It's a tie, all four paths will open. We need to choose one path to take within thirty seconds, otherwise—"

Before he could finish speaking, the ground began to shake. Lights simultaneously illuminated all four directions of the intersection, and all four lanes opened.

At the entrance of each passage, a line of text lit up:

Left-hand passage: [Trust is a bridge, but also a trap]

Right passage: [Doubt is both a curse and a protection]

Ahead: [The truth often lies hidden in the deepest recesses]

Rear passage: [Turning back is another option]

"Which way?" Liu Meng asked anxiously.

"The right side," Jiang Chen said, "I choose the right side. Whoever comes with me, come with me."

He turned around and walked directly into the passage on the right.

Lin Xue gritted her teeth and followed.

Zhao Yuan hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Liu Meng cursed and followed.

Wang Hai and Xiao Yue exchanged a glance and followed.

All six people entered the passage on the right.

The passageway was narrow, and on the walls on both sides, some blurry images appeared—like projections of memories.

Jiang Chen saw some images: a man writing code in a laboratory, a woman crying, and a child being taken away in the dark.

These images flashed by, but he could sense that they were fragments of memory from a test subject.

They walked for about five minutes, and the passage suddenly opened up into a circular hall.

In the center of the hall, there was a stone platform, on which sat a silver key.

"The key!" Liu Meng's eyes lit up. "With this key, we can open the door to the next floor!"

He rushed forward and reached for the keys.

But just as his fingers were about to touch the key, Lin Xue suddenly shouted, "Don't touch it!"

Liu Meng's hand froze in mid-air: "Why?"

"Didn't you see?" Lin Xue pointed to the stone slabs around the platform. "Those slabs have numbers engraved on them, and each number is different. If you pick the wrong one, it will trigger a trap."

Jiang Chen walked to the stone platform and carefully examined the stone slabs.

Around the stone platform, there are six stone slabs that extend outwards, forming a hexagonal pattern.

每块石板上都刻着一个数字：0、1、2、3、4、5。

"It's simple," Wang Hai said. "The smallest number is 0. If you walk on the stone slab with the number 0 to get the key, you won't trigger the trap."

"No," Zhao Yuan shook his head, "If it were that simple, it wouldn't be the fifth stop."

This should be the "assignment of trust values".

There are six of us, each assigned to a stone slab. The key can only be safely retrieved when we are all standing on the correct slab.

"So, who should stand in which spot?"

「信任值最高站0，中等站1、2，最低站3、4、5。」赵远说。

"Following this logic," Jiang Chen said, "Zhao Yuan stands at 0, Liu Meng and I stand at 1 and 2, and Wang Hai, Xiao Yue, and Lin Xue stand at 3, 4, and 5."

"Why should I?" Lin Xue sneered. "Does having the lowest trust level mean I have to stand in the most dangerous position?"

"That's the logic," Zhao Yuan said. "The lower the trust level, the more likely you are to trigger a trap. Staying further away reduces the risk."

"What if I insist on standing at number 0?"

"The trap will be triggered the moment you take the key, and the key will not recognize you," Zhao Yuan said.

Lin Xue bit her lip and remained silent.

Jiang Chen didn't speak, but he kept observing.

He noticed that although Lin Xue had been uncooperative since entering the maze, each instance of her "uncooperativeness" indirectly helped the team.

Her eagerness to stop Liu Meng from taking the keys didn't seem malicious; it was genuine concern.

But the warning on the note made him hesitant to draw any conclusions.

"Let's do as Zhao Yuan says," Liu Meng said. "There's no time to hesitate. We don't know when this hall will close."

Zhao Yuan walked to stone slab number 0 and stood still.

Jiang Chen and Liu Meng stood in positions 1 and 2 respectively.

Wang Hai went to number 3, and Xiao Yue went to number 4.

Lin Xue glanced at stone slab number 5, then at everyone else, and finally walked over.

All six people stood still.

The stone platform began to glow, and the key slowly rose. Zhao Yuan reached out and grasped the key.

The moment he grasped the key, the entire hall suddenly went dark, and then a line of huge words appeared on the wall:

Do you believe them?

Zhao Yuan was stunned.

"That's a question," Jiang Chen said. "The system is asking you: do you trust us?"

Zhao Yuan looked at the key in his hand, then at everyone present, and said, "I believe you."

Why?

The words on the wall changed again.

Why should you believe them?

"Because—" Zhao Yuan took a deep breath, "because if I don't trust them, I'll never get out of this maze. Trust is, after all, a choice."

The words on the wall disappeared.

The hall was bright again.

The key in Zhao Yuan's hand emitted a soft light and then transformed into a complete silver key.

"I've cleared it," Zhao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. "This level is over."

Jiang Chen remained silent.

He always felt that this level was too easy.

Is it solved with just one question and answer?

But there was a warning on the note.

Don't trust anyone.

Is it just a bluff?

He glanced at Lin Xue, who was standing on stone slab number 5, her head bowed.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Jiang Chen's mind remained uneasy.

[Fifth Stop: The Maze of Trust, First Level Cleared]

[Obtain Clue Fragment - Key Approval]

[Next floor entrance: East side passage of the lobby]

"Let's go," Zhao Yuan pointed to the passage on the east side, "there are two more floors."

Jiang Chen glanced at the silver key, then at everyone else.

He always felt that the real test had only just begun.