Fate Trading System – Chapter 276

Plan A

Divine Vestige 2

Lang Xuanxuan was a loyal player of 《Divine Vestige》. Although she didn’t understand much about data and code, she had watched 《Divine Vestige》 come into being and knew how much her brother and her brother’s good friends and colleagues had invested in this game.

Initially, she participated as a test player, offering suggestions for her brother to continue improving it.

On the day 《Divine Vestige》 fell, Lang Xuanxuan was studying at school and wasn’t at home playing the game, which was how she escaped the disaster.

The country didn’t exactly grind to a halt, but at that time, most of its talented individuals were in the game, including the children of some important figures.

The nation could still rely on intelligent robots to maintain basic operations, but with its talents trapped in a comatose state, the country could no longer progress.

The soldiers stationed at the borders were also deeply worried about their families, their minds unsettled.

A rescue operation was imperative. Some game helmets had already been recalled and destroyed to prevent more people from accidentally entering.

Everyone knew what was needed for the rescue, so a vanguard force, including the game’s designers, went in first, but none of them came out.

Those on the outside were extremely anxious, unable to learn about the situation within.

The leaders were also contemplating whether to continue the rescue efforts. Only outstanding individuals could achieve the goal by going in, but the first batch of exceptional people hadn’t returned, and it was feared they too had perished.

This was because cases of brain death had already occurred.

Panic spread among the people.

The time ratio in 《Divine Vestige》 was 365:1; one day on the outside was equivalent to one year inside the game¹.

Besides facing brain death, some who were still holding on were also at high risk of dying due to the condition of their physical bodies in the outside world.

A person can go without food for two or three days at most. If their consciousness was still struggling in the game while their physical body starved to death, it was also equivalent to death.

Almost everyone had an intelligent butler. The designers had adjusted the programming of all intelligent butlers via the main control network, instructing them to administer nutrient injections to their owners at fixed intervals. A lack of nutrient solution was to be reported to the central command, and any deaths were also to be reported. This brought the situation under control, preventing those still alive from starving to death.

However, the reports of deaths increased day by day, leaving people feeling helpless.

Only those killed within the game would die completely; the lost ones² would not.

In other words, if one could survive long-term in the game and their physical body remained in good condition, then there wouldn’t be a problem.

Su Xin sighed, sat up in bed, and rubbed her face.

Lang Xuanxuan’s lingering obsession was to save her brother, Lang Ning³. He was the most important person to her.

Lang Ning hadn’t suffered brain death yet, which meant he was still holding on.

Su Xin was confident that her consciousness wouldn’t be devoured. She definitely wouldn’t lose herself if she entered the game—after all, Fourteen was there. However, deicide would require a very long time.

From the background story settings Lang Xuanxuan knew, to kill the main BOSS, the Creator God, one had to gather the power of the Seven Great Archgods⁴ and have them attack together.

But a problem arose: if 《Divine Vestige》 had become its own world, why would those Archgods want to kill their own Father God?

There was only one way: obtain the godheads⁵ of the Seven Great Archgods, gather their powers, and then confront the Creator God.

The Seven Great Archgods also had their respective weaknesses, which Su Xin knew clearly from Lang Xuanxuan’s memories.

【Host, in this world, I can provide you with significant assistance.】

Fourteen couldn’t interfere in the real world, but the online world was no problem for a super-intelligent AI.

As long as data flowed, Fourteen could reach it.

Good.

The feeling of having a golden finger⁶ truly brought tears to one’s eyes.

Su Xin checked on her brother as usual and breathed a sigh of relief upon confirming he was still breathing.

Su Xin felt this mission should be manageable, but the situation after its completion might not be too good.

If Lang Ning managed to return successfully and the world could revert to its original state, Lang Ning and the others involved in its creation would face severe punishment.

Although Lang Ning and his team hadn’t intended for this to happen, and they didn’t know why a bug caused the data to mutate, the game had indeed brought disaster so far.

Those who had died could not be brought back to life, and their surviving relatives would surely harbor deep resentment.

In such a scenario, Lang Ning himself should be the one most heartbroken.

“Lord Fourteen, give me Lang Ning’s information.”

【Okay.】

After reading it, Su Xin sighed. It was just as she had thought.

Lang Ning had made a promise to the leaders: he would do his utmost to salvage the situation. If he failed, he would be a sinner condemned through the ages. If he succeeded, after everything was over, he would commit suicide in front of the entire nation to atone for his actions.

Lang Ning hadn’t forced those people to play the game, but since the game malfunctioned, it was their responsibility, and they had to pay the price.

Su Xin could even foresee the decline of holographic online games after this incident.

With something like this happening, who would dare to play such games again? What if the disaster recurred?

From the perspective of an ordinary person, Su Xin might have condemned Lang Ning.

But now that she had become Lang Xuanxuan, she could only strive to help her brother salvage everything. There would be no blame, only heartache and helplessness.

If the data hadn’t mutated, everything would have been fine.

After Su Xin finished washing up, the robot had already prepared breakfast.

Lang Ning’s wealth was undeniable, so his intelligent robot was also a top-of-the-line humanoid model.

The intelligent robot had twin ponytails and looked like a beautiful girl who had stepped right out of a 2D world.

“Master, please dine.”

Su Xin stared at Xiao Ling⁷ for a moment before starting her breakfast. These robots are all so good-looking, much better looking than ordinary people. Won’t people stop liking normal humans after seeing them too much?

There were indeed such reports in the news. Perverts exist in every era. The designers of humanoid robots had considered this, so all robots were made without s#xual organs. Robots also didn’t have facial expressions, lest humans sometimes genuinely treat them as people and invest emotions in them.

However, humanoid robots weren’t widespread because their price was extremely high; only wealthy families could afford them.

“Today’s temperature is 13°C. It’s overcast and windy. Master, please keep warm. The room temperature has been adjusted to a comfortable range.”

“Mm, got it.”

After Su Xin finished eating, Xiao Ling cleared things away.

Su Xin returned to her brother’s room. She had moved into this room after Lang Ning’s incident.

In the corner of the room, there was still a helmet—Lang Xuanxuan’s.

Su Xin glanced at it, changed out of her pajamas into regular clothes, and walked out.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw two armed soldiers guarding it. Lang Ning was, after all, one of the root causes of this whole situation. Moreover, he had already entered the game and might bring some progress. The leaders had long since stationed soldiers at the homes of these main creators. Some soldiers had even moved into the houses, both to ensure they could get firsthand information and to prevent the families from fleeing.

“I want to talk to that person.”

Lang Xuanxuan’s personal terminal⁸ didn’t have the contact information for the leader, so Su Xin could only ask the soldiers outside.

“I’ll help you make contact.”

“Thank you.”

Su Xin closed the door and waited for her communicator to ring.

“At the very, very slowest, it will be no more than a year. This is my guarantee. I am certain I can do it.”

One year in the real world was three hundred and sixty-five years in the game—a sufficiently long time.

Before putting on the game helmet, Su Xin gave Xiao Ling an order. Xiao Ling had already received commands from the central control; now, it was just a matter of adding one more person for injections.

Xiao Ling was just a robot. It only knew how to execute commands and wouldn’t raise objections or ask for reasons.

The order Su Xin gave her was: until she woke up and rescinded this command, Xiao Ling must protect their safety. No matter who came, no one was allowed to touch their two bodies.

Xiao Ling was not just a simple household robot but an advanced robot integrating domestic and military functions, possessing very powerful protective capabilities.

“Yes.”

Su Xin put on the game helmet, lay down on the recliner, and entered the game.

Because the game program had already changed, the intelligent guidance system was gone when she entered.

Usually, there would be a management panel telling you your current level, what achievements you’d reached, your combat power value, and other physical stats, including the ability to survey NPCs and learn their backstories.

NPCs usually had a specially colored marker above their heads; clicking on it allowed you to talk to them and undertake quests.

Players, on the other hand, had their game names above their heads, but guild names were not displayed. 《Divine Vestige》 had factions and guilds, such as the Mage Guild, the Warrior’s League, Mercenary Squads, The Holy See⁹, and the Dark Organization.

The supreme leaders of The Holy See, the Mage Guild, and so on were all NPCs. Players could replace these NPCs and gain achievements by completing high-difficulty quests. However, once an achievement was gained, the instance¹⁰ would change again. If players wanted to attempt the challenge once more, they would have to use a new method. This setting could be described as extremely perverse.

But for those who achieved it, their status could be equivalent to the instance NPC whose achievement they had claimed.

For example, if someone overthrew the Pope NPC and gained the achievement, the Pope NPC would still be there, but the player would gain the Pope’s authority and a small portion of their power, meaning they would gain experience, level up, and learn new skills.

Mercenary Squads were formed by players themselves, who could team up to take on adventure quests.

When Su Xin entered, she felt a gust of wind and sand hit her face. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil, so she didn’t get a mouthful of sand.

This was the location where Lang Xuanxuan had logged off last time, so naturally, she reappeared here upon logging back in.

Everything on the player interface had completely vanished, whether it was the backpack or the map.

It was as if she were truly just here, not inside a game.

Not far ahead was a small tavern. Su Xin walked over, lifted the curtain flap, and a wave of warm air washed over her.

Singing, boasting, finger-guessing games¹¹, drinking—waiters in distinctive uniforms moved back and forth through the crowd carrying trays. It looked extremely lively.

Su Xin sat in the tavern, considering her advantages.

Lang Xuanxuan was a veteran player and had achieved some very special accomplishments: she had overthrown the Saintess NPC and the Elf King NPC.

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