We once roamed the starry seas, the seeds of civilization spread to every corner of the galaxy, and all beings worshipped our power...
In an office on Earth,
a group of technicians, rubbing their chins excitedly, watched a trailer for a game called "Civilization Reboot."
The screen displayed countless spaceships dotting the starry sky, from torpedo boats a few hundred meters wide to Titans, colossal ships tens or even hundreds of kilometers wide... all imbued with a futuristic, sci-fi atmosphere.
As the narrator explained, the camera panned to the largest mothership in the fleet. Through the porthole, they saw a portrait of Leon seated on a throne.
He was clad in nano-armor, his eyes radiating majesty. He
was clearly gazing down at the cheering crowd on the planet below, but from the perspective of those present, it was as if his gaze penetrated the screen, right through them in the office.
However, a catastrophic crisis plunged the entire Imperium into chaos. Upon learning of the situation, the enraged Emperor ordered his fleet to crush them. Worse still, just as the Emperor was crushing the Omnics, the Zerg crisis erupted in space.
They were greedy, bloodthirsty, and uncontrollable... In just a few thousand years, they spread across the universe, eventually destroying the Empire under internal and external pressure...
A group of men watched the horrific spectacle of the Zerg devouring living creatures, their heads bowed and their eyes glazed over.
The Grey Wind had no trouble broadcasting the horrific images; even the sight of creatures being torn apart by the Zerg was enough to make even the most ruthless person breathe a sigh of relief.
If this were happening on a planet, the Zerg in the starry sky were even more formidable!
In both the game and the film, the Zerg Scourge's power lay in their terrifying evolutionary abilities and their astonishing numbers.
Zerg spaceships might not be technologically superior to those of the Empire, but their fleet, hundreds of times larger than the Empire's, would surely make anyone shudder.
Had it not been for a massive internal rebellion, the Empire could have easily dealt with the Zerg by destroying their natural enemy, the Scourge. However, the Empire was utterly destroyed by the Scourge's second attack.
The Emperor and the Digital Elf, the Imperial Mastermind, escaped on the mothership before the Imperial capital was breached.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... This Empire is truly unfortunate, facing both the Mechanical Scourge and the Zerg Scourge simultaneously. Who wouldn't be confused!"
The tall and thin young man smacked his lips and chuckled softly.
"Seriously, we're discussing how to apprehend this illegal game publisher, who won't let you watch movies!"
The elder beside him rolled his eyes and glanced at his wayward disciple.
[...Although the Empire was destroyed, the great Emperor did not give up on restoring his country. We have sown the seeds of a new Empire in remote galaxies. Now, hundreds of thousands of years later, the Emperor has awakened from his slumber. He holds high the Torch of Vengeance and vows to reclaim the Empire's glory from the hands of its enemies!]
The final scene freezes in space on Earth, with Leon gazing at the planet!
The promotional video ends, and the promotion for the event chapter immediately appears.
[Game Chapter: Prosperity and Unification]
[The seeds of civilization sown have matured, achieving initial unification on this planet called Earth. The Emperor will appear at the right time to unite them with the new subjects of the Empire, and will awaken the consciousness of the Imperial citizens once contained within the mothership to fight for him, leading our civilization back to the stars.]
The lights
in the office came on, and everyone took a deep breath.
It had to be said that the game's producers truly understood human psychology. Regardless of the quality of the game, they would spend a fortune on promotional CG.
Just for this near-lifelike rendering, the cost could reach hundreds of millions.
"Okay, what do you all think we can do to uncover the company behind this game?"
The tall, thin young man chuckled, his hands clasped behind his head. "What else can we do? Of course, we can just use the old-fashioned direct consciousness link to decipher it from the inside!"
Everyone rolled their eyes at him.
It would be incredible if that were actually possible. The key was that this game company's power couldn't be underestimated.
If they hadn't realized something was wrong and forcibly cut off the two people's VR access, they would have remained imprisoned in the virtual world.
They suspected the other party had mastered even more advanced space-time virtualization technology.
Once someone was inside, the passage of time in VR could be altered through the influence of data on their minds, making one second outside feel like a thousand years. Anyone could go insane.
After all, cyber consciousness burglars weren't uncommon these days. Although
VR may seem peaceful and orderly, it's the result of countless programmers maintaining and risking their lives to break into the system.
This is also why the world is cracking down on these illegal cyber companies.
"I think Monkey is right. Ordinary methods may not be enough to find the mastermind."
"Aozaki, stop talking nonsense!"
reprimanded the elder leading the group.
"Have you forgotten the last virtual consciousness kidnapping case? If I hadn't gone a whole day without food or water to get you out, you would have been human by now!"
After a lengthy discussion, everyone reluctantly decided to enter the system.
There was no other way. This illegal website had to use the connection between mind and data as a bridge, so that staff outside could follow the clues and find the culprit.
So, the two waited all day for the game's countdown, then, under everyone's careful instructions, put on the connectors and entered the game.
In virtual reality, they returned to the original game data portal.
However, when they stepped inside, they found the portal had completely changed.
Lingkungan di sekitarnya bukan lagi ruangan putih terang, melainkan platform teleportasi luas yang membentang sejauh mata memandang.
"Selamat datang di 'Civilization Restart!' Kalian dapat melantunkan mantra dalam hati untuk memasuki permainan, dan setelah hitungan mundur tiga detik, kalian akan berhasil masuk!"
Suara halus Grey wind bergema di benak mereka.
"Astaga, mungkinkah mereka perampok kesadaran sungguhan? Lompatan dalam?"
Tepat saat keduanya hendak masuk untuk menyelidiki, suara yang familiar bergema dari belakang.
Melihat sedikit keterkejutan di wajah keduanya,
pria kekar bernama Aozaki mengerutkan kening.
"Kenapa kalian di sini lagi? Terakhir kali, aku melihat kalian adalah korban dan tidak menghukum kalian. Aku tidak menyangka kalian berani datang ke tempat seperti ini!"
John menggosok tangannya yang berbulu lebat dan tersenyum. "Saudara-saudara, aku hanya mencoba menebus kesalahanku dengan membantu kalian mengungkap dalang di balik semua ini. Ini jelas bukan perburuan rasa ingin tahu." Keduanya terdiam. " Aku
tidak
percaya padamu, bodoh. "
Sebelum mereka sempat berteriak menyuruhnya pergi, sosok John berubah menjadi aliran data, melesat ke angkasa, dan menghilang di hadapan mereka.
"Ck, ck, ck... Anak ini benar-benar harimau. Aku ingin sekali merekrutnya ke dalam tim. Lagipula, tidak banyak orang yang pengecut seperti itu akhir-akhir ini."
Merasakan cahaya dingin di sekelilingnya, pemuda jangkung dan kurus yang memanggil Monyet itu menepuk bahu Aozaki.
"Ya Tuhan, kalian memang pejuang sejati!"