Chapter 675: The First Player Clone to Master Power
“You have no idea how difficult it is to pioneer an entirely new game world. It requires a brand new game account, and as a reserve member of the new world pioneers, even though I’m not an official developer, I’m part of an external reserve team. People like us are not qualified to be among the first batch of pioneering players; we can only wait until the vanguard developers secure game qualifications for us before we can enter.”
“This account cannot autonomously respawn. I don’t know why, but it’s just one life. Perhaps the official developers know something, but I don’t.”
“I see.”
I leaned back on the sofa, extracting a lot of information from this player. Regardless of how much of it might be nonsense, the information she revealed is beneficial to me.
The only regret is that the people from the Real Protection Association will no longer have the opportunity to enter the Main World.
Because they won’t open the “game” for public testing until they accomplish “freedom to respawn after d*ath.”
Even this “external reserve member” likely had to pass a strict background check and skill assessment to be approved.
However, I can probably guess a few things, especially since I understand what the players mean by “account.”
It is the Thread of Fortune.
If one wants unlimited respawns, they likely have fully mastered the “fortune resources” of this world or the world script, or perhaps… have they mastered the Child of Fortune?
But the last guess is unlikely. After all, players show no mercy toward the Child of Fortune; they treat it purely as a means to quickly harvest fortune.
“I’ve answered that question; can I ask one now?”
“I will only answer what I want you to know.”
“Right, right, I’m a bit curious. Aren’t you interested in the spatial rift above Horasso Swamp? Why aren’t you developing it? That rift could very well lead to an entirely new world!”
“Why do you ask that?”
“Can I take that as your question for me?”
“You can try.” I threatened.
“Well, I just wanted to gather some info, then report back for some benefits. I have to make something out of this account, right?”
“Don’t play the victim in front of me. As for the reason… it’s because we’re not interested. Since you know the concept of the Extraordinary Witch, do you really think an Extraordinary Witch would be interested in trivial matters?” I spoke directly, without a trace of guilt; surely this guy knows better than to trust witches.
“Uh… is that so?”
“Yes, it’s my turn to ask you now.” I calmly nodded and spoke.
The conversation between us can remain peaceful, at least for now.
But just as I said earlier, lies are still indistinguishable. I can speak so naturally, and the other party can do the same.
This is a mutual probing test; whoever’s logic breaks first falls into a passive position.
Of course, for me, it has another meaning: even if the other party is lying, the fabricated content is still something within their knowledge.
A falsehood might still hold value, just like the information they shared with me about the difficulties of pioneering a new world. Assuming this information is false.
Whether or not they are currently experiencing such troubles, the fact that she could fabricate it suggests that it likely happened, perhaps in history, or maybe it’s a popular literary work?
This does have some effect on my understanding of their world, but it’s not significant.
Moreover, I’m currently controlling her character, merely allowing her some freedom of action, especially with the Mimetic Soul that I’ve established through the Great Knowledge Sharing Technique, which can also help me receive the player’s game perspective.
After all, she really is a “qualified player.”
When actions are restricted, and they cannot skip the plot, they get bored and start browsing through various functions, checking equipment, inspecting other settings, and so on to k*ll time.
I watched the entire process, learning what the relevant perspectives have to offer. However, until now, I still encountered a problem: I cannot read their text.
This person right before me sent many messages to her friends, but I could only guess some of the content…
Thus, language issues are indeed a hassle, but their game accounts are equipped with translation programs, so perhaps… I could try to crack that.
However… if any player were willing to cooperate with me, it might not be so troublesome.
“Now it’s my turn to ask you a question. But I noticed that after asking you so many questions, either you don’t know the answers, or there’s a blind spot in your understanding… I’m really troubled. What do you think your value is right now?”
“Sure enough, once you’ve concluded I’m of no value, you start planning to not let me go.”
“You still have some value. Do you want to know what it is?”
“What is it?”
“The language and writing you know. I’m very interested in the languages and writings of different worlds. Could you please share that information with me?”
“Language and writing…” At this moment, the player’s expression immediately turned serious, suppressing her earlier lax demeanor.
“Are you scared? Why? Afraid that we witches will invade your world and take over?” I also sat up, as if I had uncovered something interesting. “Just like… in our world.”
“You…”
“You’re scared. You must know something, right?” I continued to ask.
These players have been flaunting their arrival methods everywhere. Their fear of the Extraordinary Witches stems from the worry of being found.
But the key is “found.” Do they think Extraordinary Witches can find them—could that be possible?
It’s possible, considering the Extraordinary Witches can use luck as bait to guide these players into the Main World; that’s sufficient.
The question is, why didn’t they retreat after learning about the Extraordinary Witches this time?
In the previous Small World, they fled at the slightest hint of my “reserve witch” reputation. Why have they certified the existence of Extraordinary Witches in this world without running away?
Is the Main World that enticing?
No… they must have run at some point, especially during that mass player d*ath incident… perhaps that’s when they received this information.
Yet, it’s clear the players didn’t flee entirely.
Combined with the “intelligence conjecture” that other Extraordinary Academies are backing the players, is that possible?
Those Extraordinary Wizards, Extraordinary Elves, and Extraordinary Holy Angels are no different from the nature of Extraordinary Witches.
The first to occupy the Main World would be these races, right?
I still can’t figure out how those players and those Extraordinary races got together. It doesn’t make sense!
And wasn’t it said that the Extraordinary levels wouldn’t interfere in this incident?
I’ve never doubted the Witch Contract, nor could it possibly be violated…
The Witch Contract is one of the most important topics for the Witch Race. Although I haven’t specifically understood it, just hearing the rumors is enough to understand the terrifying constraints of the Witch Contract, enough to reverse the public perception of the Witch Race.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot agree to this matter.”
“Then let me ask a different question: why don’t you agree?”
“I cannot bear the consequences of doing so. My intuition tells me that I can’t engage in actions whose consequences I cannot foresee. Generally, I cannot bear such consequences.”
“Very cautious.” I chuckled and shook my head, realizing that this person’s value is probably limited.
So I gently raised my hand, and the order of the field instantly controlled her body. After a moment of panic, she relaxed, as she knew what her consequences were.
“How ruthless, Catastrophe Witch…”
“In these final seconds, take a good look at the scenery of this world. You are about to say goodbye to it forever.”
At this moment, the female player looked at the figure before her, feeling her body being controlled by an irresistible force. Even as she attempted to invoke a self-destruct method within the perspective, she felt emptiness before her.
Yes, emptiness—not total darkness. She lost her sense and control over this character.
At that moment, in another world.
“Hehe… No wonder you’re the Catastrophe Witch… such a troublesome character. Even the scenes after d*ath are different. I need to actively log out myself; is this what pulling the plug means?”
The girl opened her eyes in her world, and what greeted her was a small piece of ceiling.
She took off the game device still on her head—a sort of helmet-like contraption with messy connection wires in the back.
How could someone living in the low-income housing of the Ninth City District like her afford a fully immersive gaming pod?
Right now, the game device she held was provided as a subsidy when she became an external reserve member of the official developers, plus she got it through a trade-in promotion.
Thus, the newness of this device seemed a bit out of place compared to her living conditions.
After resting for a while, she rose from the bed, turned sideways to the door, not to go out, but to retrieve a box from a pickup slot on the door.
No need to doubt; this was her food for the day.
Inheriting the military district’s legacy, the discounted monthly meal plan she ordered closely resembled this kind of meager rations.
After opening it, she took out an energy bar that she had grown tired of, swiftly swallowing it. She was fed up with the high heat and sugar of synthetic sweetness; even letting it linger in her mouth for another second felt nauseating.
As for whether this meal was breakfast or lunch… that no longer mattered; food only needed to maintain her physiological norm. Real life… still exists within the game.
“If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken that job. Directly running into the Catastrophe Witch herself… I should report this situation. I hope they don’t send me redundant information; it might be better to go outside and collect some trash for money.”
…
At Sister Bai’s home.
“Xiao Han, have you sent her away?”
At this moment, Sister Bai looked at the stillness and curiously asked.
She had actually been quite engaged in watching; although Xiao Han hadn’t spoken much with her, she is an Extraordinary Witch who can sense the Real Time. Even though she didn’t understand what Xiao Han was doing, she knew Xiao Han was busy with something throughout.
“Sort of, Sister Bai.” I replied, but didn’t continue, as I was busy. After all, this was my first official “possession of a player,” and many operations were still unfamiliar to me.
However, fortunately, I have rich practical experience with independent clones.
What I’m really trying to resolve now is still about taking over the player’s perspective, connecting the player’s account, and linking it with the clone’s consciousness.
As for the language barrier… operating the account doesn’t necessarily require knowledge of the written language; it’s sufficient to understand what each operation means.
Then cross-checking with “operational information” and feedback, I could know what the corresponding text means, and through the player’s perspective’s “input method,” I could constantly crack the text translation issue in this simple way.
Of course, I wouldn’t want to use such a complicated method to decode if it weren’t absolutely necessary; even if I let my clone do it, it would still take a lot of time.
If possible, I would prefer to decipher the instant translation function through information for language learning. After all, recognizing characters isn’t enough; one still needs to know how to speak and communicate.
At that moment, the player who should have “logged out” opened her eyes once again!
However, her demeanor and the aura around her were completely different from before.
“Xiao Han, what’s going on with you…” Sister Bai attempted to inquire, but her words faltered.
She is body cultivating and has heart sense; the previous player felt like a living corpse, yet now the player gives her the sensation as if… a clone of Xiao Han!
But she couldn’t assume anything rashly, jeopardizing Xiao Han’s endeavor.
“I’ve forcibly logged that player out; this player character has now become an alternative clone of mine.”
With this explanation, surprise flickered in Sister Bai’s eyes, as that sentence was spoken by the female player!
“Yes, I’m studying how to seize control of the player’s account. From the looks of it, I should consider it a success. Even if it’s not completely successful, she has become one of my clones. It’s actually not a loss,” I stated in response to Sister Bai’s curious gaze.
“Really? Then… the power that player possesses…” Sister Bai asked in surprise.
“It should be possible too.” I tried operating the player’s combat panel, and soon a weapon appeared before me, which the player instinctively grabbed.
“Interesting. The feeling of this mode is completely different from directly mastering Extraordinary Power; this setup feels even more isolated than the players I created in the Expanding Realm.” I marveled.
After all, in the Expanding Realm, I taught some basic meditation methods. Those players could still operate earth energy easily by relying on their affinity, and regarding skill trees, I planned to open a free combination mode for them to develop skills independently, but that really depends on talent.
Yet this game’s players… are true players. Although their sensations are kind of synchronized with their character, there’s an undeniable sense of helplessness, as if separated by a screen.
This thoroughly cuts off the ordinary player’s potential pathways to Extraordinary Power.
However, this is troubling for players, but for me… haha, this player is a treasure!
They have gathered the Power Network and Information Network onto the player. While this is an incredibly daunting suppression for ordinary people or typical extraordinary beings, for those of us who have experienced Extraordinary Knowledge education, it’s like that world has sent a group of robots with exposed wires to the battlefield; we can simply reach out and pull their cords.
No wonder the Extraordinary Witches have little interest in these players, leaving it for the students to play with.
But for me, having control over such a player clone means two direct benefits: one is that I have my first sample, facilitating my research into their unique techniques for using fortune; perhaps I could gain something useful through that? The other is to study the characteristics of the Extraordinary Power expressed in their Extraordinary Knowledge, allowing for better targeting of those techniques the players have mastered.
Indeed, those from the player world are still too inexperienced.
