Two players faced each other.
The android frowned, “You are deceiving us.”
Elena floated effortlessly in the tank, her chestnut-colored long curly hair floating in the deep blue liquid, resembling a strange large jellyfish. She smirked, “Yes, I am deceiving you.”
With her words, he became even less certain.
The human quietly advised the android, “Don’t take the risk.”
He forced a smile, “This-”
“Little Ai, you can call me Little Ai,” Elena considerately interjected.
“Ah, Little Ai, as players, we have no intention of harming any NPC in the game. You see, just like you want to live without suffering, so do we. If you tell us the coordinates of Rong Yi, we will give you a body and let you leave, how about that?”
“Furthermore, as an NPC who helps players, you will receive our utmost respect. We will never be your enemies. In future battles, we will also protect you thoroughly. How does that sound?”
Elena closed her eyes for a moment, “Well… what you said makes sense. Our common goal is to protect our own safety. But if I tell you all the information at once and you break your promise, what can I do to you then?”
The android’s face turned cold, “What do you suggest?”
Elena said, “It’s simple, let’s trade in stages.”
“You fulfill one of my requests, and I will tell you one piece of information about Rong Yi. You find a body for me, and I will tell you something about the body. Anyway, I set the price, no losses for me.”
After reaching a preliminary cooperation plan, both players treated her kindly. They fulfilled her requests by letting her bask in the sun on the windowsill and even opened the screen for her to watch a movie.
“There’s an old movie called ‘Love Letter,’ do you have this resource?” Elena asked while looking at the abundant TV program list.
Ando Yukimura’s eyes lit up, “Miss, Little Ai is interested in our country’s old movies and TV shows? I’m honored.”
He took out his treasured version, and Elena watched it with great interest.
As the movie proceeded slowly, Park Seong-su fell asleep in less than half an hour, while Ando Yukimura remained focused, pleased to have someone to enjoy the film with.
While he was distracted, Elena glanced out the window: they were very high up, almost unable to see other buildings, only vast white clouds, like being in the middle of a snow-capped mountain.
Footsteps approached the door, and she quickly shifted her gaze back to the screen.
Jennifer entered, her previously furrowed brow smoothing out as she took in the scene.
Ando Yukimura promptly woke Park Seong-su with a pat, and they both stood up, tense and serious.
Fortunately, Jennifer simply frowned and ushered them out, without reprimanding them for neglecting their duties.
“It seems like you get along well,” she smiled at Elena after the two players left, looking gentle and amiable, completely different from how she was in front of the players.
Elena shifted her gaze away from the screen, “Did you originally think we wouldn’t get along? Then why did you let them watch over me?”
In the tone with a hint of grievance, as if coquettishly familiar with her sister.
Jennifer smiled, “How could that be? They are under my command. Even if they have opinions about you, they wouldn’t dare do anything openly. Besides, your current treatment is under special circumstances. It’s best not to let more players know about it. They are the most suitable to accompany you.”
Elena sneered inwardly. Accompany? Sounds nice. They may not dare to do anything openly, but it’s easy to do something subtly. Jennifer keeps these two unstable elements by her side; isn’t it to watch them bully her, then play the hero to gain further trust?
Unfortunately, even without Rong Yi’s presence creating an opportunity for cooperation, she is naturally immune to such intentions. Perhaps because she is a replica, emotionally detached, she detests those driven by emotions and those who manipulate emotions.
Jennifer sat down on the sofa and watched the movie with Elena, halfway through she leisurely said, “Such a touching love story. Being a replica, can you understand the human obsession with being unable to escape memories?”
Elena glanced at her. Is it starting now? She’s about to reveal her intentions.
She casually said, “Understood. I happen to know such replicas.” The fool who couldn’t let go after glimpsing a hidden historical data.
Jennifer became interested in delving into the topic further, “Oh? So, replicas’ emotions can also be so close to humans. By the way, I heard that the leader of your organization, who caused a sensation before, had exceptionally high empathy among replicas. Is he really different from other replicas and robots in your eyes?”
Was her purpose to gather information about X?
“Indeed,” Elena said in Jennifer’s expectant gaze, “We all think he’s quite foolish.”
Jennifer: “…”
Jennifer: “According to the regulations here, I also checked your memories. I apologize for not informing you promptly.”
Elena’s heart tightened suddenly.
Before her crash with the plane, she had damaged her storage unit casing, and upon awakening, she was surprised to find her historical data intact. However, water damage to components is a probable event. It was fortunate that Jiyin had encrypted each of their storage systems before they arrived, making it impossible to access them without individual initial passwords. She was unsure of the extent of Jennifer’s technical capabilities in decrypting Jiyin’s encryption measures.
“Understood,” she remained composed, “It can’t be helped, after all, you have the upper hand, and I am at your mercy.”
“No, no, I didn’t mean to pry into your memories,” Jennifer quickly denied, “It’s all part of the normal process with prisoners of war. I couldn’t stop the situation at that time.”
“Forcibly reading memories can cause irreversible damage to storage components. Your system encryption is impressive; they only obtained a small amount of useless information. I intervened at the last moment to prevent them from forcefully accessing your actions, but ultimately couldn’t stop their attempt to extract information through torture,” Jennifer expressed genuine remorse in her tone.
“Thanks to your strong will and the excellent system encryption, no information was leaked. If they had extracted all your information, you would have been rendered useless. That would have been the most dangerous.”
Elena looked at her, “Thank you for doing this for me. You did your best.”
Jennifer smiled at her, mentioning casually, “By the way, I saw in your memories a replica called Rong Rong. I know her; we’ve been through instances together. She seems not to have realized she’s a player yet, and being a secretary within your organization suits her well.”
Ah, the real purpose lies here.
Elena understood in her heart.
Both she and the other two players were there for Rong Yi.
She silently apologized to Anteng and Park Sung-su, but she couldn’t blame her. Rong Yi’s situation wasn’t something she had voluntarily told Jennifer; Jennifer had figured it out on her own.
That’s why she made a quick turnaround.
However, the fact that the unforgettable Rong Rong was such a powerful player was beyond her expectations. She also had some competitive thoughts in her mind.
Is that person so powerful? More powerful than me?
If X knew about Rong Rong’s brilliant achievements, he would be even more fascinated. That guy is just like that; unlike most human males who prefer soft, gentle, and cute, his preferences lean towards admiring strength, liking her bold and strategic nature.
In that hidden storage, X was mesmerized by such Rong Rong. It’s also why Elena felt that the replica Rong Rong and the one in X’s hidden data were not quite the same, more aligned with the common male preferences for women, obedient, gentle, and cute.
Here is the translation of the text you provided:
It’s as if someone intentionally tried to replicate a duplicate of Rong Rong, but the appearance was similar yet not divine, or the abilities were lacking, only able to wrap a layer of Rong Rong’s shell on the outside of an ordinary lover’s personality.
She looked surprised, saying, “Rong Rong? Just a regular android. Is it a player? I really can’t tell.”
Jennifer laughed, “If they didn’t look the same, I wouldn’t have recognized her. Originally, she didn’t have this personality.”
“How was she originally?” “Very calm, efficient, and always able to pass through in a unique way. She was a very reliable teammate,” she reminisced.
Elena remembered the descriptions of Rong Yi by Ando and Park Sung-soo, which were quite similar.
Either Jennifer was part of Rong Yi’s team, or she saw Rong Yi in that livestream of Professor Lei’s and falsely claimed to know her to extract more information.
Nonchalantly, she said, “Oh: Since you know her, why ask now?”
“Things were chaotic before, and I didn’t get a chance,” Jennifer said casually. “How was she treated in your organization? Did anyone bully her?”
“Our boss took good care of her,” Elena shifted her gaze back to the screen. “Didn’t you see in my memories? She never had to do heavy work, just organizing files and arranging meetings.”
Jennifer responded, “Your encrypted storage made it hard for me to read everything; I only saw bits and pieces. I’d like to know more about her situation. I miss her.”
Elena glanced at her, “What aspect of her situation do you want to know about? To be honest, she had a very low presence in the organization, and her role was minimal, unremarkable.”
Concerned, Jennifer furrowed her brows, “If she can’t remember she’s a player, she’ll fail to progress. What if she gets stuck in this dungeon?”
“Are you trying to help her remember she’s a player?” Elena followed up. “How could we help with that?”
“You tell me where she usually stays, and I can discreetly help trigger her memories!” Jennifer’s excited face was close to Elena’s. “Don’t worry, I won’t inquire about your organization, just the place she usually stays. Deal?”
“Consider it a favor. A kind soul concerned about missing her friend.”
“I’m touched,” Elena floated up and down in the glass tank. “But our boss likes her a lot, so she is kept in a very secure place. Without someone from our organization leading the way, even if you knew the coordinates, you wouldn’t be able to get in.”
“I see…”
Elena inquired, “By the way, how’s my body?”
“You’re making progress; it will take a little more time to assemble. Just be patient for a few more days,” Jennifer reassured.
Elena smiled gratefully, “Thank you, you’re so kind.”
Compared to the straightforward deals between Ando, Park Sung-soo, and the tit-for-tat trades, Jennifer seemed to want a free ride from her without offering anything in return. Elena coldly thought to herself that someone who had deceived her once, no matter how appealing their words, was not worth trusting again.
However, Jennifer indirectly confirmed one thing: Rong Yi was indeed a crucial figure for players. The chips in her possession were very valuable.
The next day, Ando and Park Sung-soo brought her parts of a body—a neck, a chest, and two slender arms with damaged outer skin.
These two arms were obviously not hers. They seemed delicate on the outside but could generate enough force to repel a motorbike.
Examining the damaged outer skin easily gave away their fragile internal structure.
“First, give us the information,” Park Sung-soo stood by the tank with the body parts.
Without hesitation, Elena said, “Rong Yi is currently in Metropolis. She can freely go online. If you’re lucky, you might trace her through IP profiles.”
Of course, that was impossible. With X guarding her, even turning the entire online network upside down wouldn’t reveal a trace of Rong Yi.
Moreover, in Metropolis, comprising humans, appliances, robots, and androids, the number of network terminals was in the millions. Rong Yi even disguised her IP as human, making her even harder to find.
However, it seemed that Park Sung-soo and Ando were unaware of the specifics of Metropolis or the fact that the Falsification of Human Identity by GEAR’s synthetic beings was not clear. Elena’s information appeared very concrete and sincere. The two exchanged glances, Ando nodded, and Park Sung-soo tossed the body parts into the tank.
Elena seemed to guess their intention, feeling indignant but not surprised, “Is that all? Are you just leaving it like that?”
Park Sung-soo shrugged, “You wanted the body, and we did our best to get it. Want it installed? Tell us a more concrete way to find Rong Yi, such as her ID or address—it’s a new deal.”
Elena sneered, “I sincerely want to trade with you, and this is the interesting word game you play? I am truly disappointed. So players are just this kind of species, deceitful and cunning, with chicken intestines.”
“Say whatever you want.” Park Sung-soo smirked, while Ando, standing by, made no attempt to stop him, “In any case, the choice is in your hands. How does it feel to have the body right next to you but out of reach? Uncomfortable? Take a day to consider.”
Ando bowed slightly, “Well then, Miss Elena, please rest well.”
As night fell, they turned off the lights, closed the screen, locked the room door, leaving Elena and her half-body in complete darkness.
As they left, Elena faintly heard phrases like “this is how it is to trade with an NPC, saving time” and “you can’t always follow this clue-giving NPC, you’ll end up in a trap.”
To humans, androids are not considered human.
To players, NPCs are not considered human.
Elena blew a bubble. She laughed in anger.
Realizing that she, too, was a second-class citizen. Yes, she was indeed too naive to want fair trade with players.
Players are not to be trusted, one must rely on oneself.
Outside the window, the moon shone brightly. Elena sank to the bottom of the tank, carefully examining the limb also submerged at the bottom.
Just as she initially judged, this was a limb of a powerless female android, from the chest down, with broken skin, exposed electronic components, cooling fluid pipes.
It’s usable. She concluded.
She spat out the preservative fluid, gently adjusting the limb to keep the neck part upwards. Carefully, she expelled the preservative fluid downwards, allowing the head to float, then slowly adjusting the position, ensuring the neck’s gap faced downward, resting gently on the limb’s neck.
The arm – couldn’t move.
That was natural, with dense nerve lines and sensing clusters in the neck, the probability of connecting the nerve lines between the head and the arm was too low for such casual contact.
But she only had this method.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Identifying the position of the arm nerve on the limb, she lifted herself repeatedly, then descended.
As the moon rose to its peak and then slowly set in the west, the light outside the window changed gradually, revealing the splendid morning light.
Elena had lost count of her attempts. Finally, in the dim light of dawn, she felt her right arm move ever so slightly.
It was the right spot!
She clenched her mouth shut, afraid that even a slight movement would disrupt this rare connection.
Her right hand fingers curled slightly, followed by the forearm, and finally the upper arm. The powerless right hand carefully slid its thin fingers through the crack in the neck. Because of the inherent lack of strength in the body, she had an advantage in such delicate operations, without fear of breaking the connection with a large movement.
Her fingers gently twisted the nerve lines on the neck and head several times, ensuring a firm connection.
Then, the spinal nerves, left arm nerves, sensory nerves, temperature sensing clusters…
As the daylight broke, her hands smoothed out the slightly colored skin on the neck, and with a forceful effort, her arms emerged from the viscous preservative fluid!
She could move!
Elena powered up the examination device of the nearby android, inserted a few detection lines behind her own brain, and disabled the communication restrictions they had placed on her.
Afraid of sending too many messages that could be easily traced by enemies, she only sent her current three-dimensional coordinates. Then she cut off the communication, climbed out of the tank, and dripped onto the thick carpet.
Outside the door, hurried footsteps sounded, and Jennifer’s anxious voice rang out, “How did you guard her? Why is there a transmission signal coming from the room?”
“We didn’t give her anything!” Park Sung-soo defended, then somewhat nervously added, “Just that limb, what can she do with just a head…”
Jennifer, not catching his words, impatiently shouted outside the door, “Why aren’t you opening the door?!”
The door opened, and besides the daylight coming through the window, it was dim inside.
Ando turned on the light, seeing only the blue preservative fluid by the bed, with nothing in it.
Park Sung-soo went pale with shock, “She was in the room yesterday when we locked the door! She must still be in the room!”
Jennifer picked up the detection lines from the tank, looked down at the blue preservative fluid on the table.
The preservative fluid dripped to the ground, forming a large water stain on the carpet.
“… What did you give her?” Her face darkened, her tone cold, “This is not the size of a head’s water stain.”
The two looked at each other, and Ando said softly, “… In exchange for more information, we gave her a useless limb.”
Jennifer’s tone seemed to contain a storm, “…… You guys, what did you give her?”
Ando hurriedly explained, “Just a little limb, from the female bionic that we caught earlier, with nothing to tie it to! And we only threw the limbs into the tank, we didn’t even connect them to her – she only has one head, there’s no way she could have accomplished such a complicated connection!”
“Look!” Jennifer followed the water stains on the carpet all the way to the closet with the door half closed.
She stood up, her muscles tense, and drew the laser gun at her waist, and the two men behind her, sensing the tension, drew their own guns and aimed them at the door.
Jennifer yanked the door open – there was some bedding piled up, and a windbreaker of some kind hanging inside.
She stirs up the bedding with her foot, but there’s nothing inside.
Park breathed a sigh of relief, and his eyes drifted to the doorway of the room, where he suddenly saw an electric wire flashing by.
“There she is!” he shouted. He shouted, and rushed out of the room first!
He saw Elena dragging her chest and upper limbs, which were one degree whiter than her own head, crawling on the floor and fleeing towards the corridor, a very strange scene!
In the heat of the moment, Park fired a gun, and the laser burned a big hole in Elena’s chest! But it doesn’t stop her from moving on, like a giant, tattered, white spider.
“Avoid the head!” Jennifer shouted, “Don’t damage the message!”
They threw in the towel, and Elena became even more reckless, fleeing quickly down the corridor, letting a beam of lasers pummel the ground around her.
When she was confronted by a group of soldiers on patrol, Elena made a sharp U-turn and dove into a fire escape.
This body is too weak, but only afraid of a hundred or so meters, but it is already so hard.
Elena looked at the fire escape, whether up or down seemingly endless stairs, resolutely chose to go down.
Down is more laborious, can escape further!
Jennifer led the soldiers into the fire escape, signaling the people behind her to be quiet, listening to the sounds of the empty hallway, and pointing down the stairs.
Ando and Hakushin led the team down the stairs at a rapid pace. It seems that in order to make up for their mistakes, both of them worked extra hard and rushed to the front.
Even if they keep going down, they still need to consume energy. Elena felt that her arms were already numb with pain, and her exposed skin was already broken, revealing the fragile nerves and metal bones inside.
The staircase was still spiraling downward with no end in sight, and she didn’t know when it was going to end.
The footsteps behind her were getting closer and closer, and Elena decided to give it a try. Relying on her small size, she grabbed the railing of the staircase and drilled into the hollow area surrounded by the turn of the staircase, let go of her hand in the right direction, and dropped her body freely, and at the next level, she grabbed the next level at the right time and climbed onto the railing.
One second, one floor.
She took a deep breath and repeated the process, and after three floors, her arms began to tremble slightly.
Even with her current “lightweight” body, it was a tremendous amount of work for these weak arms.
But the sound of the enemy’s footsteps was relentless, and she was only able to rest for a few seconds before she saw Ando running down the upper floors at high speed!
“Miss Ai! You won’t get away!” He yelled at her as he ran, “Come back, you’re in danger! Chief Jennifer has promised not to hurt you or hold you responsible for running away!”
Elena responded by letting go and going down another level.
This time, however, her already overloaded arms failed to grab the railing, only slightly altering the direction of her descent, allowing her to fall three floors in a row before the back of her head smacked hard against the handrail, and she landed hard on the staircase like a broken mannequin.
She didn’t even have time to turn off her pain sensation, she only felt a sharp pain in the back of her head, as if she had shocked something into the components-
Memories poured in: she was activated on a rainy night, escorted to a bar, sent to the Warehouse by Jennifer, watching a movie on a snow-covered mountain, talking to X under the stars, coming to the organization, fighting, meeting Rong Rong, seeing less and less of X, climbing into a fighter jet, crashing into …….
After that, the memories get jumbled. She works at WBD, not in this world, but in another …… She’s been in a long online relationship, and everything’s perfect, except for Ben …… In search of someone named Ai, she’s caught up in a strange game. …… Ai isn’t her, she’s her online boyfriend. …… Then who is she?
She is ……
She is ……
KAM. She’s worked hard to climb up to the WBD management level, with the ambition of going behind enemy lines and taking players down with her…
Now that she remembers, is she the rumored powerful player called Rong Yi who can lead other players through the game?
“Game, you damn jackass!”
