Chapter 6: 6

Melancholy Song (6)

Inside the N-Star Building, He Huaizhou was looking at the large laboratory below that covered an area of ​​more than 2,000 square meters through the spotless floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A huge full-body portrait of Saint Theresa was projected and rotating at the center of the laboratory, where the R&D staff were making the final adjustments to her data.

He Qin stood behind him and called out, “Uncle.”

He Huaizhou, who was in deep thought, seemed to be awakened by him. He hurriedly turned around and beckoned him to come over.

“Ah Qin, come here and take a look. What do you think? “

He Qin took a few steps forward, and the tactful assistants behind him all waited two meters away. He glanced at it and suddenly asked, “Uncle, in fact, I’ve been wondering why you proposed to the board of directors to release a horror-themed game on the two-hundred-year anniversary.”

He Huaizhou laughed, and he said softly, “Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free—“

“—A strong man can save himself, a great man can save another.” He Qin smiled and then answered skillfully.

This was the line from the movie “The Shawshank Redemption.” When He Qin was a child, He Huaizhou took him to watch this classic masterpiece over and over again. In the past few hundred years, it has been remade no less than a hundred times, from the oldest videotape form to the most advanced holographic somatosensory form. He Huaizhou has carefully treasured them all.

When he was young, he was a naive CEO with a childlike innocence. Decades later, he became an old man, but his love for games remained unchanged.

In addition to relying on the businessman’s natural keen sense of smell and the instinct to fight on the battlefield of interests, the most important thing that has enabled N-Star to develop into its present stage was the geniuses in the family who were obsessed with games and willing to devote their whole lives to this obsession without changing their hearts.

They had created the trend of the holographic era and were the core decision-makers and initiators of the N-Star Company. Businessmen’s pure enthusiasm for profit will not work in this future world full of fantasy. Only those who were truly perfused with hard work and love could achieve eternal glory, hand down a good reputation to a hundred generations, and be praised by the world with great relish.

“I think our work has been surrounded by flowers, glamor, wealth, and victory for too long.” He Huaizhou said slowly, “It’s true that games should bring happiness to people, but if games can only bring happiness to people, it’s completely contrary to the original intention of the N-Star company…“

He Qin listened quietly. He Huaizhou sighed and said: “N-Star is a giant state that transcends eras. It transcends the government, transcends any centralized country, and even transcends the limitations of time and space. It closely links everyone’s sorrow and joy, forming another world without boundaries and barriers— but that’s why, Ah Qin, the responsibility we carry is extraordinarily heavy. “

“I understand, Uncle.” He Qin replied, “I understand.”

“There is always someone who needs to lead the era.” He Huaizhou said, while gesturing ahead into the void, “You see, even if we were to say, quite irresponsibly, ‘We are going there’ now, the giant wheel of Nova City would immediately turn and take the whole world in that direction. But will it be good or bad for our future to go there? No one knows. “

“So, the research and development of the Uncanny Valley also stemmed from this concern.” He Huaizhou whispered, “You must know, Ah Qin, the greatest treasure of mankind is hope.”

“If you tightly hold onto hope, you will have dreams in your hands and everything. Whether it’s the fear of reality or of fictional ghosts, it’s all a prison for us. You must break it, break it with hope— that’s what I and the developers of the Uncanny Valley expected to see. “

He Qin nodded and said, “So that’s how it is… I understand.”

He Huaizhou laughed and put away the worries about the country and its people. He changed back to being a jovial old man: “Enough about that, I heard you almost didn’t make it in today?“

He Qin smiled helplessly: “No, it was because I lost my nameplate to a bet with someone in the game two days ago.”

He Huaizhou curiously asked, “Who can actually beat you?”

“Actually, it doesn’t count as a win…” He Qin pondered for a while, then confessed, “Well, I didn’t take the bet seriously, because I didn’t expect that kid would come up with such a valuable bargaining chip.”

He Huaizhou’s eyebrows were raised high and his eyes shone brightly at He Qin: “What bargaining chip requires you to mortgage your dog tag?”

He Qin gave a wry smile and said, “Uncle, let me ask you, in Nova City, what are the chances of getting 3S-level item fragments by lucky draw?”

He Huaizhou said firmly: “Zero, because this is completely impossible.”

He turned around and walked into an open passage with He Qin. When the lights on both sides were completely dimmed, the walls of the passage seemed to be retreating at a rapid speed. Instead, it was replaced by a boundless and vast universe and the revolving Milky Way.

Pieces of shining objects emerged from among the stars. He Huaizhou looked at them softly, as if they were the seedlings he carefully watered, and he asked, “The child who bet with you, which item fragment did he use?”

“Eternal Time City.” He Qin said.

He Huaizhou’s eyes widened in surprise. He scratched his head, and asked, in doubt, “Are you sure? This is the treasure held by the Time Sage, and the way to obtain it has not yet been given access… However, wait, I suddenly remembered that there is another possibility…“

As He Huaizhou said, he removed a palm-sized, crystal clear hourglass from among the starlight. With a pulling gesture in the air, the hourglass was immediately split into countless small parts, one of which was the fragment that He Qin was familiar with, the one that Wen Zheliu had.

He Huaizhou was about to speak when the light brain on his wrist suddenly rang with a ‘didi’ sound. He hurriedly pressed it open, and his joy overflowed at once: “What, the test is finished?!“

When He Qin heard this, he didn’t care about the fragments anymore, and hurriedly went out with He Huaizhou. In front of them, the huge and beautiful statue of the holy nun slowly opened her arms. Her snow-white and soft gown was spotless, and she smiled at the world: “Welcome to the Uncanny Valley. Do you want to hear the gospel of heaven or the echoes of hell? “

On July 25, 2301, “Uncanny Valley” was officially launched and released worldwide. Once it was launched, it immediately triggered a crazy upsurge. The projections and portraits of Saint Theresa can be seen everywhere. As of the early morning of the 26th, the first volume of the game expansion pack “Exotic Twilight” has reached an astonishing number of 30 billion hits on the internet, but the first batch of admission qualifications were randomly distributed to only 5 million players, which made players indignantly discuss for a while.

In the fast food restaurant, Wen Ziliu stood at the front desk, showing a handsome and bright smile to every customer who came to order food. Although the business model of this fast food restaurant has long entered the mechanical assembly line, they can’t employ emotionless robots at the front desk and as food delivery waiters, so Wen Zheliu was able to find this weekend’s odd job.

“Hello,” he smiled, “what would you like to order?”

“Herb beef burger, large French fries, half-sugar cocoa…” With his fingers flying across the screen, he quickly and skillfully placed the order, “Please wait a moment, the meal will be delivered to you immediately.”

Perhaps because of the Uncanny Valley release, the number of customers in the store has been greatly reduced these days. When regular customers came to the front desk, they could leisurely chat with Wen Zheliu.

“That uncanny valley… It’s really scary. I almost ran out of breath while watching the expansion film! ” The middle-aged bald man sighed at Wen Zheliu, “Hey, it’s more suitable for young people like you to play. “

Wen Zheliu asked curiously, “I heard that there is a defense mechanism for heart disease patients, the elderly, and children, isn’t it?”

The man laughed a few times, saying, “Although that’s what I said… most of us don’t even have the qualifications to access it, so we don’t have to think too much.”

“The second batch will be open on the 10th of next month,” Wen Zheliu comforted him, “You will definitely be able to get the admission qualification.”

A group of young girls were standing at the side, listening to their conversation. After waiting for a long time, they finally found a gap to interject: “Little brother, I want a two-color cone, a spicy chicken wing, a Portuguese egg tart…”

While the girls were chatting, one of them suddenly gathered up her courage and shouted, “And your Starnet ID!”

The girls were silent for a moment, and then burst into laughter. Wen Zheliu’s fingers paused slightly. His face flushed, and he said embarrassedly, “I actually don’t play that well. Don’t need to add me. “

The girl insisted, “You boys should be very good at playing games, add, add, add!”

Then he took out his personal terminal and reported his ID. When the other girls saw this, they also came up to join in the fun, begging for his Starnet ID. Wen Zheliu didn’t know what to do. In the end, it was the store manager who came out to clear the siege and said that if the trouble continued, his wages would be deducted, so they had to give up.

“Little girls these days are quite energetic.” The middle-aged man sighed.

Wen Zheliu lowered his head and said nothing. Others only thought he was shy, but only he knew that he was thinking of something else.

From the day he was forced offline by Liu Tianxiong and made a scene at Liu’s house, he never logged into Nova City again. Of course, he also thought of taking a bus to N-Star Company to find He Qin, but he hesitated when he got to the station.

Who is He Qin? A major shareholder of N-Star Corporation, the future owner of Nova City. Their identities were separated by nearly ten Mariana Trench. In the past, the most remarkable person Wen Zheliu had ever met was Liu Jianzhang’s superior, a department head of a small N-Star subdivision company—as for He Qin, even the president of that small company had no right to contact him.

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And what about him, Wen Zheliu? An orphan who was dependent on others, even having enough food and clothing was a problem. In order to pay off the debts he has owed to Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian for more than ten years, he can only steal some time every week to pick up tasks in Nova City to make money. In the future, if he can get back what his parents left for him, that’s good enough. If the Liu family hides a little bit in the east and a little bit in the west, leaving him with only a house in the old urban area, he will have to make other plans.

One is the pride of heaven, standing at the top of the world, and the other one is a poor child who needs to run around and struggle for a living. Why force a closer distance because of a joking bet? He still has one last trump card in his hand; he wasn’t completely hopeless. If he can’t hold on any longer, there will definitely be someone willing to pay a sky-high price for that fragment.

Looking at the clean and transparent glass windows of the fast food restaurant, he secretly made a decision. He would send the dog tag back to He Qin after work and then say thank you to him.

When all was said and done, after so many years of being bullied, beaten and scolded by Liu Tianxiong and the Liu family, he really wanted to have a brother.

In the evening, the setting sun was shining brightly, and the clouds were illuminated with a rosy glow at the end of the horizon. Wen Zheliu had just taken off his apron and was walking out of the store when he received a message on his personal terminal.

“[Star Mail Communication] Your courier has been deposited in the home mailbox of Building 6B, Huaxing District. Please pick it up as soon as possible. “

He was confused, not knowing who had sent him the courier. Now he didn’t care about sending the dog tag back anymore, and hurried to his home. Fortunately, the Liu family hadn’t gotten off work, and Liu Tianxiong also went to the after-school tutoring class, so there was no one at home. He picked up the small encrypted package from under the mailbox, looked at it curiously, and saw “Recipient: Wen Di” was written on it, and then his heart thumped.

Who sent this to him?

Is it a teacher, a friend, or a player he met in the game?

He opened the door with his fingerprint, unlocked the package with his dog tag, and tossed it into the trash can. Inside, there was a small box that required an iris authentication code to open.

This mechanism was too familiar. Wen Zheliu stopped, and an incredible idea gradually emerged in his mind.

Could it be He Qin who sent it to him?

He opened the box in a flurry and saw a delicate silver-white chip lying quietly on the black velvet, like a tiny jewel condensed from a dewdrop, reflecting a mesmerizing light.

What exactly is this…

There was also a letter inside, like an instruction manual. He took out the paper, covered the box, and walked upstairs, reading it as he walked.

“Why don’t you come to me? Are you busy wandering around the world with my dog tag? “

The handwriting on the letter was like dragons and snakes1Good penmanship., flowing like clouds and water. The first sentence at the beginning made Wen Zheliu blush. Alright, there’s no need to guess; it certainly is He Qin.

Why did he send him this thing?

Wen Zheliu continued to look at the paper.

“I know you went to N-Star’s official website and logged into my account ……” he read softly, his eyes filled with suppressed laughter, “Then I got your IP address, but after waiting for you for days, I didn’t see you come over…”

The person in the official photo on the website was gradually moving away from him, and the one who returned to Wen Zheliu’s side was Chin who he was familiar with.

“…So, I’ll give you this chip. You open the chip slot on the dog tag and replace the original one…“

Wen Zheliu curiously took out his dog tag. On the edge, there was a slot filled with a chip. The chip was a pass to ensure the connection between the player and Nova City. This chip needs to be scanned every time he enters the game cabin. Why did He Qin ask him to replace it?

He thought for a while, then walked to the table and sat down. For the time being, he turned on the cleaning device that Liu Tianxiong had thrown away and created a simple, dust-free environment. He carefully took out the black chip that were as thin as cicada wings and put them in the box. Next, he gently twisted the silver-white chip and pushed it tightly into the dog tag.

“…After the replacement, go to the player’s official website, log into your personal account, and scan to activate the portal…”

He followed the steps to open the personal terminal, and he tentatively raised the dog tag in front of the scanning laser, only to hear a crisp click. The light screen displayed the words “Activation Successful,” followed by a small line of text slowly floating.

“Congratulations to the player [Wen Di] for becoming the 4,697,800th resident to log into Uncanny Valley. Don’t walk at night, don’t enter isolated buildings. I wish you a happy game! “

Wen Zheliu was suddenly dumbfounded.

He hurriedly opened the letter, looked down, and saw that He Qin continued to write: “…Then log into Nova City and come to find me in the Uncanny Valley. If you dare to hide again, your brother will beat your ass.

Also, about how you got that 3S fragment, we’ll talk about it online.“

Without any signature, this letter is over.

The corners of Wen Zheliu’s mouth twitched, and he raised his dog tag.

He never imagined that what He Qin gave him was the admission qualification for the Uncanny Valley!

There was a faint sound from downstairs. It should be the Liu family. Wen Zheliu thought about it, closed the box with the original chip, put the dog tag aside, and searched for Chin ID on the social platform to send a friend request.

“I’m Wen Di.”

Suddenly there was a knock on the door of the attic. Wen Qian probed in and awkwardly called out, “Zhe Liu, will you go down to eat?”

Wen Zheliu pushed the box onto the table, switched off the buzzing cleaning device, and turned to face her.

“Okay.”

The closer he got to his adulthood, the more low-profile Liu Jianzhang and Wen Qian were towards him, as if they were trying to avoid disputes, because they knew that when Wen Zheliu was eighteen years old, the Protection Agency for Vulnerable Groups would come as promised to claim back what belonged to Wen Zheliu.

He counted the money in his account and went downstairs. At the dinner table, Liu Tianxiong was about to spit into his bowl, but Wen Qian stopped him with her eyes.

After eating, he saw that Wen Qian still had something to say to him, but Wen Zheliu didn’t want to entangle with her. He consciously cleaned up the dining table and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Fortunately, the new automatic dishwasher that Liu’s family bought was very good. The sound of water drowned out the surrounding sounds, and it also allowed him to empty his mind while leaning in front of the cooking counter.

When the dishwasher stopped, Wen Zheliu arranged the tableware and chopsticks one by one. Without even looking at Wen Qian, he went straight upstairs.

The door of the attic was half-closed, and there was a rustling sound from inside. When Zheliu had some doubts and suddenly had a bad premonition.

He pushed open the door and said sternly, “What are you doing in my room?!“

Liu Tianxiong shuddered with fright, and the dog tag in his hand slammed on the table. He turned his head and said sternly, “What’s the matter? This is my house. I can do whatever I want! Can’t I enter your little broken room? What’s so precious about it? “

Wen Zheliu gritted his teeth and said, “This is the house that your family bought with my parents’ money. Put my things down, and get out! “

Liu Tianxiong sneered: “Look at you being all sneaky. What’s your game ID, Wen Di? Who sent you that Uncanny Valley admission? You are quite powerful, ah. “

Wen Zheliu took a deep breath and knew that he was careless and shouldn’t have put the delivery carton in the trash can in the living room, “I said, this has nothing to do with you. Hurry up and get lost.”

“You didn’t activate the chip, right?” Liu Tianxiong turned a deaf ear, took Wen Zheliu’s dog tag, and used his fingernail to dig the slot next to it, saying, “Give it to me, I want to play.”

Wen Zheliu couldn’t help but curse, and finally rushed up to punch him in the face: “I told you to put it down and get lost! Are you fucking deaf?!“

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