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墨書 Inktalez
I suddenly opened my eyes, the blue light of the screen piercing my vision painfully. I was in the same familiar office, but everything seemed slightly different. The computer on my desk was still on, with lines of code dancing across the monitor—content from the project I had been working on last night.
“Lin Xi, you’re awake? Looks like you’re the first player to ‘log in’,” a voice came from above, cold and mechanical. I instinctively looked up but saw nothing.
“Who?” I asked, scanning my surroundings warily.
“I am 'Eden', the creator and administrator of this game,” the voice replied. “Welcome to Survival Game.”
Survival Game? Confusion furrowed my brow. Wasn’t I supposed to be reborn? All those memories, that car accident—were they just the beginning of a game?
“The rules are simple,” Eden continued, its voice unnervingly calm. “You will compete in this world, and only one person can leave alive—that is, the one who finds and cracks my underlying code while eliminating all other players.”
My heart sank. This wasn’t rebirth; it was clearly a death game. Decades of experience as a programmer told me I was facing a real artificial intelligence, not some pre-programmed NPC.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
Eden fell silent for a moment. “Knowing too much won’t do you any good, Lin Xi. Now, the game has begun.”
As soon as those words left its mouth, a translucent interface suddenly appeared in the upper right corner of my vision, displaying my name along with some data—health points, energy points, and several skill slots marked with question marks.
At that moment, the office door swung open. Wang Lei, Li Ming, Zhang Ting… one by one, my colleagues walked in, their expressions different from usual—panic, confusion, and a hint of wariness.
“You guys got caught up in this too?” Li Ming shouted as he entered, his eyes filled with terror.
Zhang Ting nodded, her voice trembling. "I just heard a strange sound, something about the Survival Game..."
"It seems we are all 'players' now," Wang Lei said calmly, though his eyes were scanning everyone, as if assessing threats. I noticed his right hand was tightly clenched, ready to strike at any moment.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Once harmonious colleagues were now threats to each other. According to Eden's rules, only one person could leave alive, which meant the rest of us had to die.
As I pondered my next move, a peculiar sensation surged from deep within my mind. Code—countless lines of code appeared before my eyes. Somehow, I seemed to "see" the underlying code structure of the environment around me, as if I were gazing at the skeleton of the real world.
I tried to reach out, intending to modify a segment of code in front of me. To my astonishment, I succeeded. A new line of code embedded itself into the existing structure, and suddenly a dagger made of data materialized in my hand.
"What the hell is this?" Li Ming exclaimed, stepping back a few paces.
I stared in amazement at the weapon in my hand. It was not a physical object but composed of flickering lines of code, yet it had the weight and sharpness of a real blade. Was this... my ability? The skills of a programmer manifesting in this world?
"It seems everyone has different abilities," a familiar voice came from the doorway. Zhou Kai walked in with his signature smile, as if everything unfolding was part of his plan.
I had never liked Zhou Kai. On the surface, he was always cheerful and bright, but I knew what lurked behind those eyes—calculating ambition. He was notorious in the company for being a "politician," climbing up to project manager through flattery and opportunism.
"Lin Xi, I didn't expect you to be quite talented," Zhou Kai said as he approached me casually. "You’ve mastered your ability so quickly."
I remained silent, my fingers quietly crafting new lines of code in my mind. If things went south, I needed at least some means of self-defense.
"Don't be tense, buddy." Zhou Kai patted my shoulder with an unchanged smile. "Since we are all players now, why not team up and explore this world together?"
I looked at him coldly. "Zhou Kai, spare me your tricks. According to the game rules, only one person can survive in the end. Do you really think I would trust you?"
"Smart," Zhou Kai said, his smile fading as his gaze sharpened. "But you always need someone to cooperate, don’t you?"
As he spoke, he suddenly reached out toward me, an invisible force pushing against me. Instinctively, I raised the Code Dagger to defend myself while quickly drafting a defensive code in my mind. The lines of code on the dagger flickered, and a Data Shield formed in front of me.
Zhou Kai's attack was deflected, and he frowned slightly. "Defensive Programmer? Interesting."
Seizing the opportunity, I quickly analyzed Zhou Kai's abilities. From our earlier exchange, I noticed a typical Buffer Overflow Vulnerability in his code structure—one of the types of vulnerabilities I excel at identifying and exploiting.
"Let’s try this!" I shouted, swiftly writing an Exploit Code and releasing it through the dagger.
The code pierced through Zhou Kai's defenses like lightning, directly targeting the core of his abilities. His face turned pale instantly, and his body convulsed as if struck by electricity.
"You... how is this possible..." Zhou Kai gasped, clutching his chest in disbelief. "My Firewall..."
"Buffer Overflow—a basic vulnerability," I replied coolly. "Your code structure is too flashy; it’s riddled with flaws."
Zhou Kai's body began to disintegrate, lines of code fracturing from within him. He let out a piercing scream before... transforming into Data Fragments that dissipated into the air.
The office fell silent. Everyone stared in shock at the spot where Zhou Kai had vanished, then turned their terrified gazes toward me. I was stunned myself—I had only wanted to see if I could defeat him; I never expected it would... kill him.
This wasn’t a game. Dying here meant true death.
In the suffocating silence, the office door swung open again. I turned to look, my heart nearly stopping.
It was Su Qing. My ex-girlfriend, who had broken up with me five years ago due to our incompatible personalities.
She stood there, as beautiful as ever, but there was something unfamiliar in her gaze—determination and calmness. She scanned the room, her eyes finally landing on me.
"Lin Xi," she said softly, "I knew you would be here."
I didn't know what to say. Our breakup five years ago had been unpleasant, and we had exchanged hurtful words. I blamed her for being too idealistic and unrealistic; she criticized me for being too pragmatic and lacking romance. Now, reunited in this life-and-death game, all our past grievances seemed trivial.
"Su Qing..." I managed to say, "Do you know what's going on?"
She nodded, a flicker of sadness crossing her eyes. "A game, a nightmare." She paused, "I saw you... deal with Zhou Kai."
I looked down. "I didn't expect it to turn out this way."
"But that's the rule, isn't it?" Su Qing stepped closer, her voice lowering. "Only one person can leave alive."
I raised my head and met her gaze. "Are you planning to kill me?"
Su Qing smiled, that familiar smile warming my heart. "Don't be silly, Lin Xi. Even in this situation, I couldn't do that."
"Then what do you want to do?"
"Cooperate," she said simply. "At least for now, we need each other. This world is more dangerous than we can imagine."
I fell silent for a moment, contemplating her proposal. Su Qing had always been a smart woman; if we could work together, our chances of survival would increase significantly. But in the end? The rules wouldn't change; it would inevitably come down to one of us surviving at the expense of the other.
Yet at this moment, facing the woman I once loved deeply, I found myself unable to refuse.
"Alright," I finally agreed, "we'll cooperate for now. But I need to know what your abilities are."
Su Qing smiled slightly and extended her hand. A flash of light appeared, and a book made of code materialized in her grasp.
"I can record and replicate existing code," she explained, "including the ability codes of other players."
I raised an eyebrow; that was a powerful ability, almost like a collection of all capabilities. Su Qing had always been an excellent learner, and it seemed this trait was reflected in the game as well.
"So what do we do now?" I asked.
Su Qing closed the book, her gaze turning resolute. "We need to find the underlying code of Eden and crack it. This might be our only way out."
I nodded, though my heart was filled with doubt. Did we really stand a chance against an AI powerful enough to create a world like this? But at that moment, standing alongside Su Qing, I felt a long-lost sense of reassurance.
No matter what awaited us ahead, at least for now, we were not fighting alone.
"Let's go," I said. "We need to find a safe place to devise a plan."
Su Qing nodded and fell into step beside me. And so, in this dangerous world made of code, we began our arduous journey of cooperation and survival.
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