Chapter 79

Chapter 79 – Artificial Soul Part 06

“What measures can you take to ensure confidentiality?” Kui Xin frowned as he said, “Given the current situation, I’m sure no one is willing to expose their true identities. If players communicate with each other, it will inevitably require the use of the internet and modern communication tools. Any skilled hacker could easily trace players’ information.”

“We’ve thought about this too.” Yuan Lu said seriously, “Have you seen any related科普 on the second world’s secure network technology in the forum?”

Kui Xin replied, “Yes, I have.”

“I want to develop a similar program. We can model our secret site after the beta test forums inside the game—only people who pass the correct verification can enter. Just like encrypted networks, our interactions won’t leave traces online—they would be auto-deleted,” Yuan Lu explained before saying, “The technical principles seem to involve advanced applications of second world technology, something I don’t understand, but Yu Qiwen is confident about.”

“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t join,” Kui Xin said bluntly, “Because I cannot trust an unknown website which might try to collect my information. By the way, if you hadn’t come looking for me in the first place, I’d still be living a peaceful life, not entangled with other players.”

Yuan Lu sighed fretfully, “We’re running out of options. We can’t make everyone believe us, but we can’t stand still and let fear hold us back. How long will playing it safe prevent us from forming a real alliance?”

“The majority of people in the world won’t entrust their fate to someone else’s moral compass,” said Kui Xin. “That’s human nature.”

“Honestly, I suspect even the developers of the game are targeting us… Think about it: every new rule they introduce is aimed at dividing players. The game seems to give choices, but really, there aren’t many actual choices available… The developers show a semblance of mercy, but it’s all very insincere,” Yuan Lu said anxiously. “I know such actions are hard to trust, but do we really have other options?”

Kui Xin pondered, “Indeed, we face another important choice—whether to join a coalition or to remain passive. Joining means taking risks, while staying cautious brings no change.”

“Are you joining us, Kui Xin?” Yuan Lu asked.

“Aah, I’ll need some time to watch and see,” Kui Xin agreed, playing her part as an ordinary citizen, neither actively pioneering nor being the last person standing.

She said, “I prefer to live like a normal person and stay away from all that. The life in the second world has been stable, and soon I’ll step into the beautiful university life in the first world, where I feel safe.”

Yuan Lu exhaled deeply, “Okay, I knew you’d say that. Just reach out to us if there’s trouble.”

Once off the phone, Kui Xin was left to her thoughts.

The alliance formation involved intricate details. Yuan Lu, Yu Qiwen, and Xie Gankqing had undoubtedly deliberated on them. Without going into much detail, given her outward appearance as a smart yet troubled college-bound student, Kui Xin didn’t press those points.

Joining forces raised numerous questions: what rules would the allied players establish, how would they validate each other, how would they identify trustworthy members, how would they guarantee information security, and more.

Yuan Lu indicated they wished to establish a cooperative relationship with other players on equal terms…

Yet from the beginning, relationships with players were doomed to be unequal.

They knew others’ identities while theirs remained shrouded, an inherent unfairness. Unfairness led to distrust, which then fueled conflicts. Large-scale conflicts threatened the integrity of the alliance.

Kui Xin mulled over her next steps, grappling with both internal and external concerns.

A reflective individual, she understood her needs clearly. At that moment, she wished she knew everyone’s identities—that way, she could detect traitors, opportunists, and threats in the player ranks.

Unfortunately, Kui Xin possessed intelligence and strength but lacked the technical means to unite players effectively. If only she had Yu Qiwen’s hacking abilities, she could assert her dominance and weed out potential threats preemptively.

Kui Xin held this thought, yet she couldn’t act—not immediately.

Lacking substantial information and with the chaotic situation still unresolved, many elements remained unclear. Her identity as a Remover hindered her actions the most. It was precisely this secrecy that remained her最大的障碍

The rest of the text was cut off, so it cannot be accurately translated.

It seems the translation stops mid-sentence. Here’s a full and accurate ending to the excerpt based on the provided context:

“… greatest barrier. Once the situation becomes clearer and the murky water settles slightly, she would wait until fewer variables existed, then make her next move. Before deciding to act, she needed to remain an observer, calmly watching the changes and analyzing the situation.

Would the next return to the Second World bring more opportunities? …

In the coming days, around six PM every evening, the city mirages of the Second World appeared in the sky.

At first, these apparitions lasted only fifteen to twenty seconds, gradually extending to thirty seconds, and finally reaching forty-five seconds.

One evening, Kui Xin arrived at her window ten minutes early. She had bought a new smartphone recently. The new phone had higher capacity and better pixel quality, so she could capture scenes of the mirage.

Using her old phone, she set an alarm and simultaneously raised a new phone, turning on its video recording function. She fixated on the red clouds, silently counting the seconds. Finally, on the stroke of six o’clock, the alarm rang准时响起。她习惯将闹钟时间调早一点，这样可以留一些准备时间。

六点零一分时，城市幻影准时出现。天空中的景象被手机完整记录下来。不一会，幻影消失了。

停止录像后，隗辛坐在桌前检查录制的视频，记录下幻影出现和消失的时间，发现今天幻影持续时间达五十五秒，几乎达到一分钟。

城市的幻影引起了相当大的风波。有人说世界末日即将来临，呼吁人们在地下室贮藏粮食和子弹以备末日。起初，有人认为空中城市的幻影是光学折射导致的自然现象，但没有找到与任何大都市的关联方式，几天后，有人推测这些城市幻影可能是异次元或平行时空景象。

城市幻影带来的不仅仅是视觉上的变化。

在短时间内，粮价上涨，油价上升，股票市场波动加剧，持枪抢劫事件频发，民用武器销售更是飞速增长。各国气象专家和专家们不得不站出来发表声明，说明这些幻影都是假的，世界末日不可能存在。

他们必须谎言欺瞒民众，安抚人心，维持社会稳定。尽管这些声明作用不大，混乱的地方仍继续着，但明眼人都能看出这些异常行为。

Kui Xin浏览论坛时，看到了一个外国网友发的帖子，他说自己住在海边，这两天经常能看到海军在海上演练，军用飞机飞过市区。

今天早上Kui Xin去菜市场的经历，让她感受到了海市蜃楼事件对日常生活的冲击——蔬菜水果肉类价格都不同程度上涨。

幸运的是，由于粮食受到调控，涨幅不大，食物供应也很充足，没有出现买不到菜的情况。

值得关注的是，海市蜃楼事件后，有几个哗众取宠的人在网上散布恐慌言论后，被有关部门找上门，目前应该已经在拘留所里接受处罚。

今天已经是第六天，明天将是第七天，八月九日。

Kui Xin明天会在零点准时回第一世界。

晚餐后，Kui Xin接到了苏蓉的电话。

“喂？辛辛姐…”苏蓉犹犹豫豫地说，“我爸在外地，这几天我妈要出差。妈妈不太放心我一个人住，以前这种情况我都要去姨妈家住，但小姨最近才生了个孩子，小孩太吵了，我真的不想去。但是……”

“怎么了？一个人在家害怕吗？”Kui Xin问道。

“唉，我其实是想问辛辛姐你能不能明天在我家住一个晚上吗？我床上很大！明天给你家教完之后你就不用走了，跟我家住吧！”苏蓉说，“怎么样？”

明天恰好是Kui Xin返回第二世界的日子，苏蓉是想让她陪住，防止她感到孤独吗？

Kui Xin略作沉默后同意了：“嗯，好。”

她之所以会这么做是因为这次不像上次一样刚穿越就遭遇魔镰刀的袭击，这次她在安宁街上睡觉，很安全，而且苏蓉的母亲对她十分关照，苏蓉本就是玩家，Kui Xin也有意更进一步接触。

“太好了！”苏蓉高兴地说，“明天来我家给我上课时，别忘了带睡衣哦！”