Dr. Zhong Zhi Ming pushed his glasses up and reached out his hand with a smile towards Rong Yi.
Rong Yi was taken aback. She had some impression of this doctor whom they had briefly cooperated with in a previous level. When everyone proposed teaming up, only he mentioned that he preferred to work alone and politely declined the idea of forming a team.
“Dr. Zhong, who prefers to work alone,” Rong Yi stepped forward, shaking his hand. “Yet, you lead such a massive organization. I didn’t expect that.”
Dr. Zhong Zhi Ming glanced at his military uniform. “All for passing through levels. I was also put in this position against my will,” he pointed to the invisible gate to the rooftop. “It’s cool outside, want to go in for a chat?”
“I’m fine with that,” Rong Yi glanced back at her companions. “But I can’t represent them.”
“That’s fine!” X immediately followed Rong Yi. Behind them, Ji Yin gave his back a stern look and said through gritted teeth, “If we are to negotiate, please lower your weapons first.”
Jennifer: “You are the ones who came knocking at our door. I need all of you to disarm.”
Ji Yin immediately refused, “That’s impossible!”
Jennifer: “Then we also can’t face armed enemies without our weapons.”
“Alright.” Dr. Zhong Zhi Ming, with one foot already inside the door, spoke to the two groups in a standoff on the rooftop, “I’m going to have a meeting with the leader of the Gearge Faction. If you’d like to stay on the rooftop, feel free. When you’ve had enough of the breeze, take Gearge Faction’s friends to the cafeteria to rest.”
After Dr. Zhong Zhi Ming entered with Rong Yi and X, Ando Yukimura and Park Sung-soo followed the leader’s escort team into the fortress.
Jennifer quickly realized why Dr. Zhong Zhi Ming had arrived so promptly; it must have been the information provided by these two. Seeing the situation had changed, they had immediately chosen to betray themselves by reporting Rong Yi’s presence to the higher-ups.
Double-dealing scoundrels!
Jennifer was furious but helpless. Dr. Zhong’s words before entering had essentially acknowledged Gearge Faction’s friendly status, making her stern attitude meaningless. There was no point in resisting now.
Thinking this, she grunted, “Lower your weapons.”
The members of the Fusion Corps put down their laser weapons. Seeing the softened stance here, Ji Yin didn’t want to complicate the negotiations for X. He ordered his subordinates to lower their weapons while staying alert.
Ando and Park, noticing the same shift in attention bestowed upon themselves and realizing they couldn’t rely on Rong Yi to clear the level independently, followed Jennifer into the fortress to rest at the cafeteria. As they passed the command meeting room, they saw the door closed with the sign “Top Secret in Progress.”
The negotiations began without her presence. She wondered if all her efforts would count when the final score was tallied.
“Of course, we players didn’t aim for war,” Dr. Zhong Zhi Ming said with a gentle smile, crossing his hands on the table during the meeting. “Now, some players may stir trouble, but currently, the largest player organization in the instance is under my control. Within my grasp, we aim to achieve the level completion conditions quickly, with low consumption and high efficiency.”
X assumed a confrontational stance towards the resistance leader: “I understand. However, your organization’s previous attacks and harm against our members happened when we had no knowledge of you and posed no threat. Your one-sided strikes created a negative impact within our organization, with many members regarding you on level terms with or even worse than the Human Faction.”
“Are you asking us to explain to Gearge Faction?” Dr. Zhong Zhi Ming directly addressed his intention.
X nodded. “Yes. Gearge Faction doesn’t follow my words alone. If they maintain a hostile attitude towards the Fusion Corps, I can’t force them to cooperate.”
Dr. Zhong Zhi Ming stroked his chin, and Rong Yi guessed he was preparing to find a scapegoat.
What would be the outcome for the scapegoat player? As far as she knew, in the game, death would extend to real life as well. Using a living life as a bargaining chip.
Was there a way to cooperate without sacrificing lives?
“When a humanoid dies, can they be resurrected through consciousness backup?” Rong Yi asked x.
x pondered, “In theory, if the backup is complete, it is possible. However, ethically speaking from the perspective of gear life, we do not advocate such practices. Creating a gear life through backup, which we also call cloning, is not considered resurrection.”
“Gear life, like you, is a unique existence.”
Furrowing his brows, “Do you intend to resurrect the gear life that was killed by them? That’s not possible. Generally, we do not retain consciousness backups as it would be unethical.”
Rong Yi waved her hand, “No, what I mean is—replicating the consciousnesses of several player androids and using their clones to fulfill this ‘obligation’.”
x fell silent for a moment, “…I personally have no objections. This is war; sacrifices are inevitable. Moreover, the sacrificed members are NPCs, following the storyline of the instance, after your players leave, the storyline will reset, and they will resurrect.”
“It is not profitable to use the real lives of players to account for NPCs who can be repeatedly resurrected.”
“I wonder what impact replicating the players’ consciousness will have on them in real life.”
Zhong Zhi Ming pushed his glasses, “Compared to the death of the sole entity, I believe this level of risk is still worthwhile. Moreover, according to the game’s scoring system, the duplicated players should be credited significantly for the successful completion. I think, with such temptation, there won’t be a shortage of volunteers among the players.”
With a preliminary agreement reached on both sides and mediation from Rong Yi, the gear life provided a list of fusion team members they wished to be executed—of course, x did not inform them that the executions were of clones—the fusion team convened generals according to this list and explained the situation.
Some players on the list were androids, while others were human. Through negotiations, the fusion team exchanged reparations, provided ample resources, military equipment, etc., in exchange for the lives of those human players, agreed to strip them of their military ranks for life.
Anyway, after clearing the level, everyone would return to reality; a lifetime without ranks was just for show.
For the overall success of the players, sacrificing oneself or letting the clones die was almost a no-brainer decision. Almost all humanoid players agreed to replicate their consciousness and, in the following time, hid under the meticulous protection of the fusion team, leaving no traces of their continued existence, almost guaranteeing a victory without effort.
Jennifer was also among them.
As she rose from the consciousness replication device, she saw a familiar figure waiting nearby.
It was Rong Yi.
Once, she was her captive. Now, with five fully armed fusion team soldiers by Rong Yi’s side, Jennifer was closely watched to ensure she completed the feigned death step and was kept in the designated secret living area to ensure the plan progressed smoothly.
Looking at the person she had deceived multiple times, Jennifer couldn’t help but lower her head, while Rong Yi took the initiative to speak, “I actually admire you.”
Confused, Jennifer looked up at her.
“From entering the game, I’ve been very fortunate. Having useful skills and powerful teammates,” Rong Yi looked at her delicate white hands. This body she just acquired, after reinforced modifications, was only stronger than the first body, not weaker.
“You all say I’m powerful, but I think it’s just luck. Of course, not all good luck, or else I wouldn’t have ended up in the game.”
“If I, like you all, entered the game due to a strong desire, I couldn’t guarantee being more human than you.”
“Although you have been using me all along, I can see that you’ve tried to maintain your boundaries.”
Jennifer stared at her in bewilderment.
Actually, since Rong Yi regained her memories, she had been worried: Would Rong Yi retaliate? Would she just kill her in the game?
Unexpectedly, it led to the conversation today.
“However, to say that I don’t dislike you at all is impossible,” Rong Yi said frankly, “You hurting me is a fact, just as you have harmed the NPCs here. Whether it’s for clearing the level or any other reason, to the victim, harm is harm.”
Jennifer felt a jolt in her heart.
“So I’m going to take revenge on you,” Rong Yi said, tapping away on the light screen of the consciousness replication device. “I will bind part of your clone’s consciousness to yours. During the execution, no matter where you are, you’ll feel the clone’s pain one hundred percent.”
“And I won’t tell you when the execution will be. The secluded living area you’re in is completely cut off from any outside information.”
This was a form of psychological torture.
Rong Yi wanted her to experience death.
Not just the experience, but also the agonizing wait before death.
Jennifer thought that when Rong Yi was left with only a head, he must have been in immense pain. Unable to control his body, with an uncertain fate, anxious and powerless.
So, she nodded weakly and accepted her punishment.
She had previously thought that with the opportune moment, she could join Rong Yi’s team and cling to him for support in future challenges. Unexpectedly, due to a twist of fate and Rong Yi’s personality, he would never accept someone who had harmed him as a comrade.
Stopping her revenge in this instance was already her best outcome.
“Don’t be afraid,” Rong Yi said with a cheerful smile. “Someone will be experiencing it with you.”
She was referring, of course, to Ando Yukimura and Park Seong-su. They had once inflicted near-death pain on her, and she naturally had to repay them equally.
After handling everything, she returned to the luxurious suite that Zhong Zhiming had arranged for her and X. X was in a video conference on the light screen with Ji Yin and Fan Xingze. Fan Xingze, with sharp eyes, immediately noticed “Elena” behind him.
“Ah!” He exclaimed excitedly. “You’re not dead! You’re really not dead!”
X: “…Didn’t I already tell you she wasn’t dead?”
Fan Xingze: “With how out of it you looked, I thought you were just delusional!”
X: “…”
The meeting was about the cooperation arrangements with the Melting Army. The execution of the war criminals was already roughly scheduled, and the members of the Gear Revolution had basically agreed to begin peaceful cooperation with the Melting Army after the executions.
Fan Xingze enthusiastically called other high-ranking members over to greet Rong Yi. Familiar, friendly faces flashed across the light screen, and Rong Yi greeted each one until an especially familiar face appeared:
The android Rong Rong.
She looked over curiously, “Great! Elena, you’re alive! You don’t know how worried Mr. X has been about you, spending all day in the office!”
“Oh, really?” Rong Yi glanced at him. He pretended to be engrossed in the entertainment videos available in the suite, with a “I have no idea what you’re talking about” expression.
Rong Rong: “When are you coming back? I miss you guys.”
Fan Xingze, still unaware of Elena’s true identity, teased Rong Rong: “Drop the ‘you guys’ and be sincere!”
Rong Rong stamped her foot, her face turning red. “What are you talking about!” She said, running out of the frame.
Hearing this, X immediately tensed up and leaned towards the screen, speaking sternly, “Don’t say things like that, we have a pure revolutionary comradeship.”
Rong Yi lowered her head and started to laugh.
Even Fan Xingze, usually slow to catch on, noticed that the atmosphere between the two was different from before and asked curiously, “…What exactly did you two go through over there…”
He then noticed the luxurious suite and large double bed behind them, drew a sharp breath, and exclaimed:
“You didn’t—”
“That’s right.” Rong Yi proactively said, taking X’s arm and leaning her head on his shoulder, using her body’s appearance to show a seductive smile. “We’re staying together tonight!”
Author’s note: I’m back!
