Weird Game: I brought an old version bug

Jiang Chen rushed into Dawn City.

The streets were in complete chaos.

The players stood on the street, their expressions terrified.

Some people have double images appearing on their bodies.

It's not physical ghosting, it's data ghosting.

Their bodies are displayed in two versions simultaneously.

A semi-transparent, blue-glowing outline of an older version is superimposed on the entity.

Like two versions of yourself from different eras, coexisting in the same space.

"Damn... what's that?"

"Version conflict. The underlying system program is forcibly loading old version data."

"Force loading?"

"Yes. It wants to overwrite the new version of the data with the old version in order to maintain its control."

On the street, a male player was screaming.

His body was half normal and half transparent.

The transparent part is glowing, and it's blue.

Like his body, it is being digitized.

"Help me! I can't feel my left hand!"

Jiang Chen rushed over and grabbed his shoulder.

"Calm down! Look at me!"

"My hand! My hand is disappearing!"

"It didn't disappear! It was just overwritten by data from the old version!"

"Coverage? What does that mean?"

"Your body is loading two versions of data simultaneously. The older version is overwriting the newer version."

"What should we do then?!"

"Don't move! I'll clean it up for you!"

Jiang Chen raised the golden crystal and brought it close to the player's body.

The blue light faded the moment the golden crystal touched the transparent part.

The transparent parts have returned to normal.

The player collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

"Damn... I thought I was going to die."

"You're not dead. You've just been overwritten by data."

Jiang Chen stood up and looked around.

More and more players are experiencing version conflicts.

Some people, two people, have their bodies overlapping.

A real person and a semi-transparent old version projection are in the same position.

Like two different timelines, they have come together.

"The underlying system programs are expanding their coverage area."

"Does it want to cover the entire city with the old version?"

"Yes. It wants to reset the entire game world, returning it to the state of the old version."

"What about the players?"

"Players will be overwritten. Their new version data will be replaced by the old version data."

"What will happen after the replacement?"

"They will lose all the memories and skills from the new version."

"Damn! What happened to the original players?"

"The original players will reappear with their old versions."

Shiyu gripped her bow tightly: "We must stop it."

"How can we stop it?"

"Find the core of the underlying program and destroy it."

"But I have already destroyed the core."

"That's the core of the acquisition module, not the core of the underlying program."

"Does a low-level program still have a core?"

"Yes. The acquisition module is just one branch of the underlying program. The core of the underlying program is deep within the system."

Jiang Chen looked at the golden crystal.

"Can you find the core of the underlying program?"

The golden crystal glows.

"Yes...but...it will take...time..."

"The core of the underlying program...is located...at the deepest part of the system..."

"Protected by...47 layers of...encryption..."

"I... need... you... to... collect... more... rule... fragments..."

"The fragments...can...break...the encryption..."

"How many fragments?"

"At least... 7 pieces..."

"I only have 4 pieces now."

"Three more pieces... old version... data... emerge... then... rules... fragments... will... increase..."

"Can you sense the location of the fragments?"

"It's possible... but... we need to... get close... to... pinpoint the location precisely..."

Jiang Chen gripped the crystal tightly.

"Okay. Find the nearest fragment."

The golden crystal glows.

The light was pointing north of the city.

"North of the city...Dawn Square...Underground..."

"Are there any fragments there?"

"Yes... the fragment... is... in... the old version... of... the... teleportation array..."

"A teleportation array?"

"The old version's... teleportation array... has been... overwritten... by the new version..."

"But...the rules...the fragments...can...activate...it..."

Jiang Chen turned around and ran towards the north of the city.

The streets are becoming increasingly chaotic.

Version conflicts are spreading.

A female player, her face is changing.

From youth to old age, and then from old age back to youth.

Life is like fast-forwarding.

"My face! What happened to my face?!"

"Don't panic! It's just a data conflict!"

Jiang Chen ran past her, holding up the golden crystal.

The light from the crystal illuminated her face.

The data conflict has been temporarily resolved.

But it's only temporary.

The golden crystal has limited power.

It cannot completely prevent the underlying program from being overwritten.

It can only be delayed.

How much further?

"Approximately... 500 meters..."

"Five hundred meters... damn... that distance wouldn't normally be anything, but now someone is being covered every second."

Jiang Chen sped up.

He walked through the chaotic streets, around the screaming crowds, and jumped over the cracked ground.

Dawn Square, north of the city.

The square is very large, with a fountain in the center.

The fountain has dried up, and there are cracks at the bottom of the pool.

Blue light surged from the crack.

"Right down there?"

"Yes... the teleportation array... is... at the bottom of the fountain..."

Jiang Chen jumped into the fountain pool.

The bottom of the pool was slippery and covered with moss.

He squatted down and used his hands to brush away the moss.

Beneath the moss lies a stone slab.

Intricate patterns are carved on the stone slab.

It looks like a teleportation array.

"Is this it?"

"Regarding...the old version...the teleportation array..."

"But...it...was...sealed..."

"Requires...rule...fragments...to...activate..."

Jiang Chen took out the fragment and pressed it onto the stone slab.

The stone slab glowed the moment the fragment touched it.

The patterns began to flow.

But it only flowed halfway before stopping.

"Not enough... we need... more... fragments..."

"How much more is needed?"

"At least... one..."

Jiang Chen looked at the fragments in his hand.

He only has four pieces.

One piece is used to activate the teleportation array, and three pieces remain.

But Golden Crystal says that at least seven blocks are needed to break through the core encryption of the underlying program.

If you use one now, you'll only have three left.

"Damn... this is a difficult choice."

"Using... fragments... to... activate... the... teleportation array... can... find... other... fragments... faster..."

"No need... for the fragments... we... can only... take a detour..."

"Take a detour? What will happen if we take a detour?"

"Taking a detour...will...expose...the...lower-level...program...to...the...scanning...range......"

"You... will be... tracked... and may... have your data... overwritten..."

Jiang Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"use."

He pressed the fragments onto the stone slab.

The fragments were incorporated into the stone slab.

The texture begins to flow completely.

The light grew brighter and brighter.

Then, the stone slab cracked.

The crack revealed an entrance.

Leading underground.

"Walk!"

Jiang Chen jumped into the entrance.

The entrance is very narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time.

He bent down and moved through the darkness.

After walking about twenty meters, the space suddenly widened.

Ahead was a small, enclosed room.

In the center of the secret chamber, there is a stone platform.

On the stone platform, there are three fragments.

It's exactly the same as the rule fragments we saw before.

"Three pieces... plus the three I had before, that makes a total of six pieces."

"One more piece is needed."

"Yes...but...I...can...feel...the...last...piece...of...location..."

"Where?"

"Near...the...system...core..."

"Core? You mean the new version's core?"

"Yes...the last... fragment...was...preserved...by...the...core...consciousness..."

"It...knows...the fragments...can...threaten...it......"

"So...it...hid...the fragments...beside...itself..."

Jiang Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"Is the core consciousness... wary of me?"

"Yes...it...although...it...obeyed...the agreement..."

"But...it...also...knows...that...you...possess...the...ability...to...destroy...it......"

"So...it...kept...a trick up its sleeve..."

Jiang Chen clenched his fist.

"Hold."

You shouldn't be surprised.

"I know. But I thought it would abide by the agreement."

"The agreement...is...an agreement...trust...is...trust..."

"They...are not...the same thing..."

Jiang Chen took a deep breath.

"Let's go. Let's find the last piece."

He turned around, preparing to leave the secret room.

But at the entrance, there was a person standing.

Not a teammate.

It is Admin-07.

"Admin-07? What are you doing here?"

"I've come to find you."

Admin-07's voice was calm.

But his eyes looked tired.

You look...not good.

"Because I've run into trouble in the real world."

"trouble?"

"The underlying program of the system also has branches in the real world."

"What?"

"It has infiltrated the data networks of the real world. My safe house has been found by the data hounds."

"and you……"

"I escaped. But my body was injured."

Admin-07 raised his hand.

He had a wound on his arm.

It's not an ordinary wound; it's a data wound.

Blue light was shimmering at the edge of the wound.

Like a data stream, it's eroding his body.

"Fuck...your body..."

"I'm being eroded by data. If I don't deal with it soon, I'll be completely digitized."

"Datafication?"

"Yes. My body will become data and be absorbed by the system."

"What should we do then?"

"I need to access the system core and use administrator privileges to remove the underlying programs."

"But your body..."

"It won't last much longer. So I need you to hurry."

Jiang Chen looked at Admin-07.

His face was very pale, and his lips were purple.

But his eyes remained resolute.

"Are you sure you can hold out until the core stage?"

"Uncertain. But it's the only option."

Jiang Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"Okay. Let's go together."

He turned and walked out of the secret room.

Admin-07 followed behind.

Shi Yu and Lin Bei stood at the entrance and were stunned when they saw Admin-07.

What are you doing here?

"It's a long story. I'll be going now."

The five of them went back the way they came.

But as Jiang Chen stepped out of the fountain, he saw a scene that shocked him.

The square was packed with people.

But these people are not players.

It is an older version of the data projection.

They wore old-version equipment, carried old-version weapons, and had blank expressions.

Like a group of manipulated puppets.

"Damn... that's an old version of the data projection."

"The underlying program is calling for older version data."

"What does it want to do?"

"It wants to... take over Dawn City."

Jiang Chen looked at the projections.

They stood still, motionless.

But their eyes were shining.

blue.

Like an eye in a crack.

Then, they moved.

At the same time, she turned her head and looked at Jiang Chen.

At the same time, he took a step and walked towards him.

"Run!"

Jiang Chen turned around and ran towards the east of the city.

But the projection speed was too fast.

They surged in from all directions and surrounded them.

"Damn! We're surrounded!"

"Use the fragments!"

Jiang Chen picked up the shard and swung it forcefully at the nearest projection.

The projection shattered the instant the fragment struck it.

It turned into blue specks of light and dissipated into the air.

But more projections surged up.

"Too many! We can't type them all!"

"Use golden crystal!"

Jiang Chen raised the golden crystal.

The crystal is luminous and golden.

Golden light illuminated the surroundings.

The projection shattered the moment it came into contact with the golden light.

"Golden crystals can subdue them!"

"The old version's data... cannot... resist... the... power... of the old version's... core..."

Jiang Chen held up the golden crystal and walked towards the east of the city.

The projection shattered in the golden light.

Like a bubble, bursting in the sunlight.

They crossed the square, the street, and the alley.

Finally, we arrived at the east side of the city.

The wall on the east side of the city is very high.

But there was a gap in the wall.

"Get out through the gap!"

The five people climbed out through the gap.

Outside, lies the Plain of Dawn.

It was very quiet on the plain.

There is no projection, no data conflict, and no version confusion.

Like a forgotten world.

Jiang Chen, panting, looked at the plain.

"We're safe for now."

"But it's only temporary."

"Yes. The underlying program will not give up."

Jiang Chen looked at the golden crystal in his hand.

"We need to find the last piece as soon as possible."

"right."

"Then, directly destroy the core of the underlying program."

Do you know where the core is?

"I don't know. But I do know it's deep within the system."

Jiang Chen looked up at the sky.

The sky is blue with white clouds.

But if you look closely, you can see the texture of the sky.

Like a layer of cloth, covering reality.

"The game world... is a disguise."

"Yes. The real world of data is disguised."

"Then how do we enter reality?"

"Use fragments. Use fragments of rules to tear apart the disguise."

Jiang Chen gripped the shards tightly.

Six fragments, glowing, were in my pocket.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Tear away the disguise."

Jiang Chen raised the fragment and aimed it at the sky.

The fragments glow.

Then, he swung down forcefully.

The fragment streaked through the air, leaving a trail.

Like a crack, it slowly opened in the air.

Beyond the crack lies another world.

A world made up of pure data.

There is no color, no shape, only a flowing stream of data.

"That is..."

"The deepest layer of the system. The core of the underlying program is there."

Jiang Chen approached the crack.

The wind blew out from the crack.

It was cold and had no temperature.

Like the data itself.

"Let's go."

He stepped into the crevice.

Behind him were Shi Yu, Lin Bei, and Admin-07.

Let's step into the world made up of data.

At the end of the chapter, the moment Jiang Chen stepped into the crevice, he glanced back.

The Dawn Plains are slowly disappearing.

Like a painting being erased.

He turned his head and looked ahead.

Data is flowing.

Like a river, waiting for him to wade across.

He took the first step.

Beneath my feet is a virtual ground.

But when you step on it, it feels very real.

It's like stepping on the truth.