The male supporting character was actually myself.

"Wow! They actually did it!" Du Xuerui's car happened to be parked in front of a large screen. Watching the professional player from the company's cool walkthrough, her face flushed with excitement. She instantly became excited and all the unpleasantness she felt from being with this ingrate vanished.

Si Anrui stared blankly at the video playing on a loop.

I felt an indescribable excitement mixed with a bit of anger. Why was it them who beat the game and made history?

God has been unfair to me!

"Bang!" Si Anrui slammed his fist on the car dashboard, gritting his teeth in hatred.

I clearly have the opportunity to roam freely in the virtual game and show my skills. Those people's skills are all based on their equipment. If I had time to grow and learn in "Perfect World" for a while, I could join them and become a part of making history!

It's all that short-sighted, stupid woman Si Suduan's fault!

If she had bought herself a helmet, if she hadn't taken the blame for the fire that year, which led to her being hunted down in the game, if she hadn't gotten sick and been ripped off at the hospital and forced to get a refund...

"What are you doing?" Du Xuerui, who was immersed in the excitement, was startled. Then, looking at her car with heartache, she said irritably, "The dashboard is all plastic. Be careful if you break it. It will cost a lot of money to repair it."

Money, money, money! All you women care about is money!

For some reason, a burning resentment and anger ignited in his chest. Si Anrui felt that something very important had been stolen from him, especially since the leader of the mission team was none other than the OGN who had killed him. The pent-up anger deep inside him was so intense that his face turned red and his neck bulged. "Damn God, why don't you destroy this damn world! Destroy it, destroy everyone! It's so unfair! So unfair!"

His impotent and irritable roar drew the attention of many people.

Du Xuerui silently told herself again and again not to get angry for the sake of the bonus. After a few seconds, she calmed down and said coldly, "The world is not fair. Isn't that common sense?"

Look at the grains, fruits, and vegetables in the planting base, and the chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, cattle, and sheep in the breeding base. For them, there is only one ending from birth to adulthood—to become food and be eaten by humans.

We all live under the same sky and in the same world. You grew up eating food made from their products, yet you complain that the world is unfair. Don't you find that ridiculous?

If everything were fair, you might not even be able to beat those ingredients and end up being eaten by them.

Si Anrui was speechless after being confronted, and his face turned blue.

But when faced with a pretty girl he liked, he felt embarrassed, especially because of his inferiority complex about his own status, feeling that he was not good enough for her. So he muttered, "I was born in an upscale inner-city community, and I have a noble background... I am no worse than anyone else, so why should I be reduced to this state?"

"Why do you say that?" Du Xuerui said angrily, "I already told you yesterday, how can you be so unambitious and have such unrealistic dreams? Don't you see how many people achieve upward social mobility every year by working hard and studying hard to move their families into the inner city?"

Can't you see how many spendthrifts cause entire families to move from the inner city to the slums every year?

If you hadn't stolen your aunt's savings, if you hadn't wasted her hard work all these years and had studied diligently, she could have made a down payment on a small house in the inner city in just one more year. You could have gone to a better school in the inner city and at least escaped the slums!

Hearing her bring up the matter of her taking money again, Si Anrui became furious and said, "You've been completely brainwashed! All that talk about studying hard and working hard to have a good life is just a pie in the sky painted by tech companies! You're just a leek, a slave, pure labor they've cultivated. The harder you work, the more your boss earns!"

Du Xuerui tried hard to think about the bonus, but she still couldn't suppress her inner rage.

"Then may I ask Mr. Si, if everyone is like you, not studying or working, what do they eat, drink, and live in?" She rolled her eyes and sneered, "I was brainwashed into studying and working hard. At least I can support myself, drive a car, live in a quiet and comfortable house, and save some money to improve my parents' lives."

You haven't been brainwashed. Everyone else in the world is stupid and foolish, only you are clear-headed. So what did you do?

Tell me, what theory have you proposed to help everyone achieve true financial freedom? Or have you done something to rebel against the systems set by tech companies, so that more talented people can be given opportunities to contribute to human progress?

Speechless after being rebuked, Si Anrui muttered under his breath, "If I had a gaming helmet, I would definitely be no worse than a professional player. I just lack a way to showcase my abilities!"

"Ha, so this is the result of you not being brainwashed?" Du Xuerui continued to mock him without even glancing at him. "On one hand, you curse the damn world, but you don't even have the ability to improve your own living environment; on the other hand, you place all your hopes on the virtual games made by technology companies."

And they think they're no worse than professional players?

Not to mention the exceptional physical qualities, reaction speed, and mental fortitude of our company's top-tier professional gamers in the execution department, as well as their teamwork in crisis situations and their survival and combat capabilities in extreme environments.

Just look at that girl in the clip, the one ranked first on the Heavenly Ranking with a weapon, whose ID is Yaoyao. Can you compare to her in terms of physical strength or reaction speed?

Not to mention her ability to design and build professional crossbows.

The game "Perfect World" offers an incredibly high degree of freedom, almost mirroring reality. Creating a powerful weapon isn't just a matter of daydreaming and assembling random parts. At the very least, you need to be proficient in dynamics, physics, and virtual game materials science. You not only need to understand mechanical principles but also be able to use various complex tools to manufacture the individual components.

Do you know how the R&D departments of tech companies M and G select their talent?

The weapons that they couldn't develop, Yao Yao was able to create on her own, which is the fundamental reason why she was able to enter the core team.

Si Anrui, there are countless people and talents in the world. I really don't know where you get your confidence from.

Is it your physical fitness that rivals that of professional athletes, possessing both talent and rigorous training? Or is it your exceptional talent that allows you to create weapons that even experts cannot forge? What special skills do you have that allow you to compete with them?

Du Xuerui felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction as she unleashed a barrage of machine-gun-like words!

You're a good-for-nothing ingrate who eats everything but thinks he's so great. If it weren't for the generous bonus the company gives you, I wouldn't even bother looking at you!

Instead of wasting time bickering and arguing, reading a couple of books could improve one's cultural literacy and is much better than wasting time here.

"I...I..." Si Anrui was furious and felt he had lost all face, but he couldn't say anything to refute it.

He always thought making weapons was pretty simple.

Even a woman as stupid as Si Suduan could assemble simple mechanical equipment after working in a repair shop for a while. She has been obsessed with "Perfect World" for so many years and can figure out a thing or two from a promotional poster. As long as she has enough time to immerse herself in the game, she can definitely accomplish something earth-shattering!

He dreamed of roaming the game world, easily solving the ten unsolved mysteries, being admired by everyone, becoming the king and ruler of the game world, and never having to see the dirty garbage of reality and those brainwashed idiots who were like walking corpses again!

But the dream he had been fantasizing about for many years was suddenly shattered. Damn OGN and Yao Yao stole all the limelight, and Si Anrui was filled with hatred and anger with nowhere to vent his frustration.

They enjoy applause and flowers in the game, but they are relegated to the slums and can only earn 300 yuan a day as a guide. Why?

Everyone is rejecting me. Why are they so sure I'm no good?

No! I'm going to show everyone that once I've saved up enough money to buy a helmet and enter "Perfect World," those who laughed at me before will be proven wrong.

There's still a chance... They've only found one key. If they can save enough money quickly, they still have a chance to get all the keys first. The one who starts fast may not win; only the one who laughs last is the victor!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Showdown

While everyone was envious of the players who cleared Treasure Island and received huge rewards and endless glory, Jiang Chen and Lin Ruochu's secret conversation finally ended.

There was no time limit in the cozy little room after clearing the level, and the two of them didn't push the door open until they had discussed all the details.

"Wow!" Lin Ruochu was stunned by the sight before her. She thought she would have to go back the way she came, but when she opened the door, she saw a sea of ​​clouds with golden edges.

The exit after clearing customs is on the clouds above Treasure Island. Standing in the soft and realistic sea of ​​clouds, golden sunlight shines above; below is the entire island shaped like a five-petaled flower.

A gentle breeze swept across the expansive view, instantly easing my complicated feelings.

"You can see Hero's Canyon right from here." Jiang Chen stood beside her and pointed downwards. "No one can ever see it from the no-fly zone. Doesn't the canyon look like a key?"

A thought suddenly occurred to her, "Could it be related to the second riddle?"

Wanting to look down but also a little scared, Lin Ruochu subconsciously grabbed Jiang Chen's warm hand before daring to lean out. Then she realized what was happening and exclaimed, "How are we going to get down?"

The game "Perfect World" is 100% realistic. Except for certain special locations, jumping from a height without special bonuses will result in death.

After clearing the level, I stood directly on a cloud. In order to save weight, I didn't prepare any parachutes or similar items except for guns and ammunition. I couldn't just jump down and fall to my death, could I?

"The doctor's level design won't let players die innocently. Since we didn't bring any other equipment, why don't we jump down and try?" Jiang Chen joked while receiving the first-person perspective of the Lin family from the Soul Artifact. "At worst, we'll just jump down and die. Anyway, we can revive quickly."

After seeing the doctor in the form of an angel, Lin Ruochu felt a surge of mission, her long-suppressed emotions intensified. She felt she needed some excitement, knowing she would face a tough battle with the investigation by G Technology Company. She took a deep breath, took the other person's hand, and smiled, "Then let's jump together?"

"This is way more thrilling than roller coasters or drop towers. Jumping down will definitely be a great stress reliever." He took two steps forward and made a tilting motion. "Let's jump together and see if the professor has prepared any surprises."

The two held hands and jumped off the clouds.

There was no unpleasant feeling of weightlessness as I had imagined, nor was I blown around by the wind like I was skydiving and unable to make a sound. The two of us held hands and were lifted up by the air currents, floating and spinning in the air, our clothes fluttering in the wind.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a string of huge bubbles emerged from the clouds, shimmering and sparkling in the sunlight.

The rising bubbles slowed their flight, and then more bubbles appeared, while some bubbles that were carried away by the wind burst open, creating a sky full of fireworks.

"So beautiful!" Lin Ruochu bumped into the soft bubbles and was bounced up, her descent slowing down. She held Jiang Chen's hand with one hand and used the other to pop the bubbles, letting the brilliant fireworks explode around them.

A shower of bubbles and fireworks fell from the sky above Treasure Island.

Unfortunately, citing data updates, Treasure Island was closed to the public, leaving the entire island deserted. Apart from a few monsters glancing up, only the two of them enjoyed the romantic and beautiful aerial flight.

"Oh right, I haven't summoned my pet back yet. The data update will teleport my teammates to a nearby city." Jiang Chen bounced on the bubble, thinking that the little white cat would definitely like this kind of game, so he clicked to recall his pet and summoned it back.

A snow-white fluffy ball immediately appeared beside him, followed by a childish and frightened meow, "Meow~ What is Host doing?!"

Just then, a large bubble rose from the clouds, and the little white cat steadily flew upwards for a while, its trembling heart gradually calming down. Soon, it discovered something fun.

Popping the bubble, it spread its four paws out in the air, its fluffy feathers fluttering in the wind. A dazzling firework exploded beside it, and it shouted excitedly, "This is so much fun! Host, is this a reward for clearing the level, meow? I want to go in with you next time!"

Lin Ruochu thought about her pet's mouth and only called Jixiang back to stay in the pet pen without calling out again.

The journey from the sky ended quickly, and the two landed steadily on the ground, their hands never letting go.

"Data update. We'll be randomly teleported to a nearby city in thirty seconds. Stay safe and keep in touch!" Jiang Chen said, watching the teleportation progress bar begin. "Try to keep things stable at G Technology Company first. I'll bring people to rescue you by tomorrow at the latest."

Lin Ruochu didn't know if she was afraid, excited, or some other complex emotion. Her heart was pounding as she nodded and whispered before the teleportation device transformed into twinkling stars and disappeared: "Wait for my message. Don't act rashly. G Technology Company is determined to win, and they will definitely have many covert operations. Safety is the most important thing!"

A flash of light appeared before her eyes, and Lin Ruochu found herself at a respawn point in a bustling town.

The teleportation was random. She noticed that Jiang Chen wasn't around, so she sent him a message, ignoring the company's confidential information, and directly chose to exit the game.

"Sis!" Lin Xiaoyun, who was sitting opposite her in a daze, saw her sister take off her helmet and lower her voice, "Our family is being watched, what should we do?"

Lin Ruochu was already mentally prepared. She quickly made a shushing gesture, stood up, walked to the window, glanced outside, and whispered, "I found the Doctor's remaining consciousness at the end of the Treasure Island checkpoint. Now we need to fool G Technology Company. I'll tell you the details later. Right now, to avoid arousing their suspicion, I need to make a call quickly."

Lin Xiaoyun nodded and sat obediently to the side, listening quietly.

"Beep beep..." The phone was answered after only two rings. She took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Chairman, after I infiltrated M Technology Company on my undercover mission, you provided this phone number so I could contact you at any time."

I felt it wasn't safe to discuss these things in the game, so I called you immediately after exiting the game to explain the whole process in more detail.

Ji Linyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When he heard that Lin Ruochu had disappeared without a trace since entering that door, he was really worried that something might have happened to her, or that the treatment offered by M Technology Company was too good and she was tempted to betray them.

Fortunately, he soon received a report from her, which reassured Ji Linyan that he had everything under control at the Lin residence, so he sat back and waited to hear what was happening.

"I didn't record the game when I finished it. You know, sometimes network latency can cause mission failures, and I didn't want them to suspect me. Besides, it turns out that even if I had recorded it, it wouldn't have mattered—after entering that door, an angel appears in the cozy scene and says that there are only six keys in the first level."

M Technology Company means they want it all, but will give me a certain amount of money as compensation.

So after reaching the end of the level, I wasted some time, mainly negotiating with people from M Technology Company. They wanted to get their hands on the remaining four, and the Awakening of Insects was indispensable.

Furthermore, to find the second level, one must solve the riddle given by the angel, and to enter the level, one must have a key to the first level. Based on the clues obtained so far, it's speculated that the ten unsolved mysteries will definitely become increasingly difficult, and M Technology Company wants to retain me, the weapons-making master, in their core team.

I made this my condition, requesting that I keep a key to ensure I could enter the second level.

After discussions, M Technology agreed to my request, but they also set a condition—I must move into a residence provided by M Technology for protection to ensure there will be no disturbances.

The news that came through was full of twists and turns, and Ji Linyan couldn't help but frown.

Years ago, he personally heard the design concept from Ye Zhaoqiu, which was about emphasizing relatively fair competition so that ordinary players would also have the opportunity to receive rewards. He mistakenly thought that there was no limit to the number of keys, and that it was a first-come, first-served, and last-come-last-served system.

Who knew there were only six!

If it were him, he would also demand that all keys be handed over to the company. When it comes to core secrets, no amount of caution is too much, even if it means directly banning the account and taking Jingzhe for himself...