There Must Be Something Wrong With This Game!

Hyena’s problem was unsolvable.

He had raised a question that touched upon the very essence of humanity. Duan Fei felt this was a matter for a psychologist or a philosopher, not a goofy video game enthusiast like himself.

Although he couldn’t solve it, Duan Fei was quite skilled at replacing the original problem with a different one.

He patted Hyena’s shoulder and said, "Don’t worry, I think I get what’s confusing you. You’re trying to figure out if you’re you, or if Zero is you, right?"

Hyena nodded blankly.

"Well, that makes it easy to solve. Option one: you put a bullet in your own head. I’ll take care of putting you in a grave, then I’ll storm back to Chang’an City and destroy all your backups. I guarantee you’ll vanish without a trace. How does that sound?"

"Aren’t you being a little extreme!" Hyena exclaimed in surprise. "How can you say something so horrible so casually?"

"Then here’s the other option: we storm Sky City and eliminate Zero. As long as the other you is dead, then you’ll be the one and only you."

Hyena started to object, but Duan Fei cut him off. "I understand your confusion. You’ve suddenly realized you’re not unique, that there are many guys like you in this world, and you’re not special. This feeling is even stronger now that you know you’re a backup. So, how about it? Want to come with me to storm Sky City and seize the throne of that Level 9 Citizen?"

Hyena felt like he was being talked in circles.

Forcing himself to get back on track, he clutched his head and said, "I’m not that smart, but I feel like you’re plotting something."

’What could I be plotting?’ Duan Fei thought to himself.

’It’s just that the danger Zero is facing is likely the source of the contamination. Combining that with the fact that cyber-psychosis is a form of contamination, I highly suspect that Zero, the very controller of the entire moral code, has already been contaminated.’

’Bringing a backup to storm Sky City, restoring Zero, and thereby expelling the source of contamination... no matter how you look at it, it’s the righteous path.’

Besides, after organizing his thoughts with his Talent, Duan Fei created a new mission titled "Cleanse the Contamination Source." He then dragged Hyena’s name into it and watched the success rate begin to shoot up.

After that, he just needed to continuously refine the mission, and this whole "dungeon" would be complete.

Seeing that Hyena was still hesitating, Duan Fei didn’t press him. Instead, he sent a message to Lone Ranger on FlyChat: "Ranger, how are things on your end?"

"How do you think it’s going!" Lone Ranger replied impatiently. "My matchup against this mechanical centipede is terrible. It can’t do anything to me, and I can’t do anything to it."

Lone Ranger’s skills were focused on Shadow Energy. While effective against people, it was only mediocre against massive machines.

He could also use Shadow Energy to corrode the machinery, but the centipede was constantly moving at high speed, and the Shadow Energy spread too slowly. The result was a stalemate.

"It’s fine. Just lead it up toward the 300th floor. Our mission is almost complete, so we’re about to pull out. As the guild leader of the Salted Fish Inn, I’m just showing a little concern—will you be able to retreat when the time comes?"

"...Yes."

"Then remember to do it with a little grace. Don’t embarrass us."

"Shut up! Sooner or later, I’m going to kill you at least once."

Closing FlyChat, Duan Fei looked at the others and said, "Do any of you know a reporter? Preferably from another city. Someone with a grudge against Luminous Heavy Industry would be best."

"My sphere of activity is basically just Chang’an City," Anna said apologetically.

"Mine’s casinos and bars," Lear said with a shrug.

The Bartender thought for a moment. "I do know a guy. He used to be alright, but he hasn’t been doing so well since he came down with cyber-psychosis."

"What are the specific symptoms?"

"He talks an excessive amount of trash."

"Then he’ll definitely get along with my pet."

Yan Yuan, who was preening its feathers, glared at Duan Fei. "Master, what’s that supposed to mean!"

"It means nothing. Contact him. Have him write a report."

"A smear piece on Luminous Heavy Industry?"

"No need. Just have him report the situation here factually."

The Bartender glanced around. The floor had been pierced through, alarms were blaring, and the bisected corpse of the mechanical centipede lay nearby. It looked as if the Glazed Tower had suffered a fatal blow.

Recalling Duan Fei’s earlier move to short Luminous Heavy Industry’s stock, the Bartender nodded in appreciation. ’This guy really is a genius at causing destruction,’ he thought.

While Duan Fei’s plan was being executed in an orderly fashion, Luminous Heavy Industry was suffering a nightmarish blow.

Luminous Heavy Industry’s external barriers were so strong that they had arrogantly believed no one could breach them. This ultimately allowed Duan Fei and his team to infiltrate and carry out a grand act of sabotage.

Lured by Lone Ranger, the giant mechanical centipede charged upward, broke through the outer wall of the 300th floor, and began weaving its way across the exterior of the building.

Illuminated by the city lights, the sight of the Glazed Tower being ravaged by the mechanical centipede was visible to the entire city.

Although the Glazed Tower wasn’t about to collapse from this, this wasn’t just any building—it was the Glazed Tower!

It was the headquarters of Luminous Heavy Industry, the center of Wing City.

The common people saw it as an object of faith; its every brick and tile was considered sacred. But now, it had been sabotaged from within, revealing its fragile side.

At that moment, the stock price, which had stabilized during the day after repelling the mercenaries, began to plummet.

What worried them even more was the sudden appearance of numerous online articles targeting Luminous Heavy Industry.

These reports were rich with images and text, their content exhaustive. They detailed everything, from how a group of mercenaries found a vulnerability to infiltrate Luminous Heavy Industry to the corporation’s current situation.

They had already sent people to contact the publisher and demand the articles be taken down, but the other party flatly refused. They also mentioned that their citizen Level was "a bit high" and that they were looking forward to Luminous Heavy Industry trying to get rough.

Capital is skittish.

The sudden crisis was a swift blow to Luminous Heavy Industry’s reputation. Discussions about the corporation’s competence heated up, and Luminous Heavy Industry was completely unable to contain the fallout.

Stock prices plummeted and orders began to dry up. The company president racked his brain but couldn’t figure out what was happening, so he had no choice but to invite Nemo, the representative of the Level 9 Citizen, to come over.

"Mr. Nemo, this is the current situation at Luminous Heavy Industry. Please, could you possibly..."

Facing the company president, who was burning with anxiety but still wore a fawning smile, Nemo nodded and said, "I can. I will contact the Level 9 Citizen and have him speak on your behalf."

"Really? Thank you so much."

"But I have one condition."

"Energy? We will prepare it as soon as possible."

"And?"

"The latest weapon models, the mercenary Legion at headquarters... you can command all of them. In addition to that, we will provide all sorts of resources."

"Very good, thank you."

"No, thank *you*."

After seeing the president out, Nemo toyed with the doll in his hand.

He might have lost the first round, but as long as his greatest backer, the Level 9 Citizen, was around, he hadn’t truly lost. Even if Duan Someone could win a battle, Nemo had the resources of the entire world at his disposal.

’You can keep winning,’ he thought, ’but you’d better not lose. Lose just once, and I’ll make Duan Fei understand what true cruelty is.’

"The advantage is mine, Duan Someone," Nemo murmured, smiling softly as he squeezed the doll.