Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

After coming down from the office building rooftop, Jiang Chen and Shi Yu spent the entire morning walking through all seven forming fissures in the city.

Shi Yu drew a simple map on the back of a crumpled supermarket receipt, marking a point for each crack she found.

When all seven locations were marked, she stared at the paper for a long time, her brows furrowing more and more tightly.

"Did you notice?" she asked.

Jiang Chen took the paper, glanced at it, and then fell silent.

The locations of the seven fissures, when connected on the map, form a circle.

It's not a perfect circle, but the deviation is small. The error of each radius does not exceed fifty meters.

"This is a coverage area," Jiang Chen said.

"What coverage area?"

"Have you ever played area coverage missions in online games?" Jiang Chen pointed to the points on the map. "When the system defines an area, it sets several anchor points on the boundary to determine the boundaries and scope of that area."

These seven points are like seven anchor points, forming a circle.

What is the center of the circle?

Jiang Chen stared at the map for a while, then looked up and glanced around to confirm his location.

"The center point... is the office building where we are."

Shigure's expression turned serious.

"Therefore, these cracks do not appear randomly. They form in a regular pattern around a central point."

"Yes." Jiang Chen put the map away. "And this center point is exactly where that door that has already been stabilized is located."

Shiyu was silent for a few seconds, then said, "You mean, that door isn't the only entrance, but a 'main entrance.' The other six fissures will eventually connect to form a complete network of passages?"

"That's possible," Jiang Chen said. "But there's another possibility—those cracks aren't just doors, but some kind of 'boundary markers.' They're demarcating an area, enclosing something within it."

"What are you circled?"

"I don't know," Jiang Chen said, "but if we can find the location of the seventh crack, maybe we can guess it."

Shi Yu was taken aback: "The seventh place? Didn't you say the seventh place?"

"Seven cracks form a circle." Jiang Chen looked at her. "But the anchor point of the circle needs at least three points to be determined."

If these seven points are anchor points, then there should be something more central within the area they enclose.

It's not a crack, it's something else.

Shi Yu opened her mouth, a look of realization flashing in her eyes.

"You mean, the door on the rooftop of that office building in the middle is actually the eighth point?"

"Yes," Jiang Chen said. "It's not 'one of them,' it's the 'center.' The other seven fissures all serve it."

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the same thought in each other's eyes—that door was more special than they had imagined.

"What do we do now?" Shigure asked.

"Let's confirm one thing first," Jiang Chen said. "Let's see if the formation rate of these cracks is related to their distance from the center point."

The two began to check the progress of the cracks one by one, following the points on the map.

The first site is a crack in the exterior wall of the office building, at 34% completion.

The second issue is the cracks in the sidewalk tiles, at 12% completion.

The third location is on the wall of an alley, progress 8%.

Fourth, at a bus stop, progress 5%.

The fifth location is on the trunk of a roadside tree, progress 3%.

The sixth location is on an abandoned railway track, with progress at 2%.

The seventh location is on a riverside railing, progress 1%.

Jiang Chen quickly scanned through the data recorded by Shi Yu.

The fastest progressing crack is the one closest to the center point. The one on the exterior wall of the office building, less than fifty meters from the center point, is at 34% progress.

The slowest is the riverside railing, which is the furthest from the center point, about two kilometers away, and its progress is only 1%.

"The pattern is obvious," Jiang Chen said. "The closer to the center point, the faster it forms. The farther away, the slower it is."

"So, the areas near the center should be the first to stabilize three days from now?" Shi Yu asked.

"No." Jiang Chen shook his head. "The door at the center point has already stabilized. The one that will stabilize the fastest next should be the one closest to us, on the exterior wall of the office building. It should stabilize in about three days."

Then there was that spot on the paving stones, and then there was the one in the alley…”

He paused, looking at Shi Yu:

"What will happen once all these cracks stabilize?"

Shi Yu remained silent for a while.

"I don't know," she said, "but it certainly won't be anything good."

"So, do you think we should wait until they're all stable, or do something about it before then?"

Shiyu didn't answer immediately. She leaned against the river railing, looking at the distant city skyline, and remained silent for a long time.

"Do you remember a sentence Old Shen wrote in his notebook?"

Which sentence?

"He said, 'When the system updates, it doesn't tell you in advance what it's going to delete.'" Shigure turned to look at him. "The same goes for these cracks now."

They are forming, and we don't know where they will lead or what will happen after they stabilize.

But if we do nothing and wait until everything stabilizes, it might be too late.

Jiang Chen looked at her without saying a word.

"I don't want to wait any longer," Shi Yu said. "Last time I waited, I got a version update, and then the entire Dawn City was sealed underground."

"This time, I don't want to wait for the results anymore." She looked at Jiang Chen, her eyes calm. "I want to investigate on my own."

Jiang Chen looked at her, remained silent for a few seconds, and then nodded.

"it is good."

"So where do we begin?"

"Start with the most unstable part," Jiang Chen said.

"The most unstable one?" Shigure paused, "Shouldn't we start with the most stable one?"

"The most stable door is on the rooftop, and we can go in at any time," Jiang Chen said. "But the most unstable one is this one by the river, where progress is only 1%."

It has just begun to form. If we can observe the entire process from its formation to its stabilization, we will know exactly how these fissures function.

Shi Yu thought for a moment and nodded.

That makes sense.

The two walked down the riverbank and found the location of the seventh fissure.

It was an abandoned railway bridge, the rails were rusty, and the river water under the bridge was murky and smelled of rust.

The crack appeared on the bridge pier; it was a thin, long black fissure, about ten centimeters long, as if it had been carved with a knife.

Jiang Chen squatted down and touched the edge of the crack with his hand.

[Rule Reconnaissance (Lv.1) in use]

[Consumed: 15 Spirit Points | Current Spirit Points: 45/90]

[Target: Dual-boundary fracture - Unstable]

Status: In progress (1%)

[Source: Data layer penetration test of the old version]

[Permeation rate: 0.003%/minute]

[Estimated stabilization time: Approximately 21 days]

"21 days," Jiang Chen said. "That's the slowest."

"21 days is enough for us to do a lot of things," Shi Yu said.

"That's right." Jiang Chen stood up, dusted off his hands, and said, "We can use these 21 days to figure out all the other cracks."

Then, before the fastest stabilization occurs, that is, three days later, a decision will be made regarding whether to enter.

Shi Yu looked at him: "You've already made up your mind, haven't you?"

Jiang Chen did not deny it.

"I want to go in and take a look," he said. "Not out of curiosity, but because if these fissures represent the merging of two worlds, then sooner or later they will affect everyone. Rather than waiting to be affected, I'd rather take the initiative to find out."

Shiyu was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"You really have changed."

"What has changed?"

"You used to be a passive person, but now you're proactive," Shi Yu said. "I like you better now."

Jiang Chen paused for a moment, then remained silent.

A breeze swept across the river, creating ripples. In the distance, the sound of a passing train could be heard, its tracks vibrating rhythmically on the bridge.

"Let's go." Jiang Chen turned around. "Let's go back and rest first. We'll check the second crack first thing tomorrow morning."

"and then?"

"Then, three days later, we went through that door."

The two walked back along the riverbank, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun.

The river surface shimmered with golden light, and the city skyline gradually blurred in the distance.

Shi Yu walked beside Jiang Chen, her steps a little lighter than in the morning.

"Jiang Chen".

"Um?"

"What do you think is behind that door?"

Jiang Chen thought for a moment and said, "It could be the old version of Dawn City, or it could be something else."

Aren't you afraid?

"I'm scared," Jiang Chen said, "but I have to go."

Shiyu didn't ask any more questions.

As she gazed at the distant sunset, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

If she really did live in the old version, could there be answers she forgot behind that door?

She didn't know the answer.

But she knew she would find out in three days.