Chapter 294.3: Cloud Players, You Get To Participate Too!

After rearranging his thoughts, Fick took a deep breath and looked around at the colleagues in the room.

"The idea of hacking into a server is wrong... I don't doubt that we have the ability to break into their server, but we don't need to take that risk."

"The technical strength displayed by the other party is obviously not owned by organizations or institutions known to our intelligence network, otherwise those people would have used it long ago."

"It's also clear that we don't actually have a direct conflict of interest... Maybe a softer approach will show them our sincerity."

Although everyone had weird expressions on their faces, no one refuted him.

"Glad we reached an agreement." Fick heaved a sigh of relief, nodded, and continued in a calm tone. "My expression just now may be more euphemistic, what I mean is..."

"How about we fill out the test application form first?"

...

The same thing was happening elsewhere.

Somewhere across the ocean.

In a bright spacious room, the desks were full of documents, and the trash cans next were full of cigarette butts; there were even a few falling on the ground.

A dozen or so people were busy doing something quietly. Judging from the dark circles on their faces, they had probably been working overtime for several days.

Well... They should be able to get some time off the next few days...

There was only 1 computer left that didn't crash. Even the machines couldn’t stand their days of hard work.

And this was also what everyone in the room was thinking.

In fact, rather than the non-existent website, they wanted to know how those helmets that shouldn't exist appeared in the hands of players.

That was much more serious than economic issues.

"Can you track down that person?"

"I can find him, but I also can't find him either."

The old policeman frowned. "What do you mean?"

The young policeman sighed, "All the information about that person before April last year disappeared without any traces. There is no trace of deletion, as if that person never existed. He is like a ghost that appeared out of thin air. Our only clues are his instant messaging account and a few chat records up to April last year. He didn't hide it, or it should be said that he doesn't bother to hide at all."

Another colleague frowned. "He must have his own social connections. What about the contacts in his account? What about the registered mobile phone number?"

Compared to ‘Xiao Qi’ who didn't even have a social account, the developer who named himself Light was probably their only breakthrough.

The young man was silent for a while. "That’s what’s strange."

"We know a lot about him, but we can't find the place where he worked, nor his parents. We searched the archives of Jiangcheng University and the local talent market, but we couldn't find any files about him. Most of the information we found is faked, or has been tampered with... He disappeared, or I should say that he never even appeared in front of our eyes, as if a UFO had appeared and sucked him away along with the traces of his existence."

However, what was opposite to this strange phenomenon was that It was easy to lock down the identities of those players.

The information on the website was blacked out, but monitoring group chat could always find some clues.

Their team had high-level clearance, and the cases they were in charge of were all extremely special.

Generally, low-level personnel would need to go through many formalities to check these sensitive items, but they could get to them directly.

"In addition to the chat history, there is also bank transfer information. Although the information on the website cannot be traced, all transfers of the same amount at the same time can be identified and then screened. Buying game items is not illegal, but we can ask them to cooperate with our investigation... Do I need to contact them?"

The old man who was quiet earlier suddenly spoke, "What if something happened to the banking system?"

The young man froze slightly, and stuttered, "Bank... Banking system? No way..."

The old man thought for a moment and continued, "It's just a speculation. But our work may add unnecessary trouble to the comrades in the banking system."

The man with the square face who had been silent for a while suddenly spoke, "Actually, it's not necessary to go through banks." Seeing everyone looking over, he continued slowly, "First of all, we have to admit that the other party's knowledge in the field of information technology is superior to ours."

Sitting in front of the computer, a middle-aged man wearing glasses had a look of shame on his face. "I'm sorry......"

The man with the square face shook his head. "It's not your fault. They have a technology that we have never heard of. They can even interfere with dreams, so I believe that this is nothing but a child's play to them."

"I even suspect that this is the work of aliens, and that they may be using this game to understand our civilization level, and then decide whether to..."

As he spoke, the man with the square face made a throat-slitting gesture.

Everyone in the office looked at each other with a solemn expression, but soon they realized that he was joking.

The old man coughed dryly and said calmly, "No way this is the work of aliens. Otherwise, it would be..."

Too ridiculous.

Even if this was likely to be the closest guess to the truth.

"It's just a hypothesis. Just now, my colleague informed me that there was a large-scale power outage in Virginia... It wasn’t just a district either, but the entire state. The power grid there was interrupted for a full hour. Their explanation to the outside world is that the aging circuit caused the failure of the power company’s system, and it has returned to normal after emergency repairs, but they are not the only ones who know if it was the real cause.”

The man with the square face thought for a while and added "They know where we are, and even showed us what they are capable of. Leaving aside the dream system built with the help of thinking cognition, their achievements in the field of information technology may be at least half a century ahead of us... Maybe even more."

"I'm still reserving the speculation that the game's developers are aliens, or extraterrestrial civilizations. It's not technology from Earth, and that's not just my opinion."

It was impossible for any technology to be produced out of thin air without the basis of theory, but the existence of that website was beyond their cognition.

The common man may not be able to see the difference between it and an ordinary website, but in the eyes of those who really understand it, the official Wasteland Online website was like an isolated singularity.

They were not in the same dimension, and that was the root of the problem.

The old policeman coughed lightly, "Looks like we need to invite a comrade from the space department."

The person next to him made a joke to ease the atmosphere, "Does that mean the budget for the South Heaven Gate project will be increased?"

The middle-aged man wearing glasses sitting in front of the computer was still a little reluctant to give up. "This technology could change the world. If we could..."

The man with the square face sighed before clearing his throat, "Back to the topic just now, I think active intervention is the most unwise choice. Someone has already shown us what would happen if we provoked them, so let's not let it happen to us."

The old man frowned. "But are we just going to give up?"

"We don't know their motives for operating this game, and the technology behind it. We don't even know if they are Earthlings?"

"However, they obviously know about us. Just a few months after the developer disappeared, the MMORPG Wasteland Online was launched."

"He explained to other netizens in the group chat that he simply changed to a different job."

"We assume that they come from outside the solar system, so this will be our first contact with extraterrestrial civilizations. We represent more than our own civilization. Compared with the possible consequences caused by our pride, I am more inclined to the most cautious approach."

"Why not observe them for a while longer?"

"The other party has shown us the sincerity of their civilization. We should be vigilant while showing the sincerity our civilization should have."

"No matter what their purpose is, the game has just begun their Beta test. Maybe those beings from the distant world are trying to use games, a cultural form that we can understand, to convey some kind of information to us."

"At least for now, they haven't shown any hostility. And if it means aid, we could benefit greatly from that."

The old man pondered for a long time, then nodded. "It's really rude to interrupt someone in the middle of what they're saying, at least we need to let them finish first."

The person next to him nodded. "I think so too."

The next moment, a young man raised his hand. "I object. I am worried that external forces will go after those players. At least we should protect them.”

The man with the square face didn't speak, but the old man smiled and shook his head. "Our opponents aren't fools."

Destroy it if they couldn't get it?

That would only be the plot of a third-rate romance drama.

If their opponents were really that stupid, they would have already won.

As for controlling the players...

There was no need for that.

The number of applications had exceeded one million, and it was still increasing. Existing technical means could only find out who forwarded the link, and could not determine when and who visited the website. In addition, there was no way to know who would get the helmet next.

That place was a black hole that absorbed information, more mysterious than the world outside the solar system.

The other party could choose them, but they could also choose someone else.

The young man sighed, "If only I could get a helmet."

The man with the square face grinned at the side. "Oh, that thing. It's useless even if you get it. I have someone study it already, and the structure inside is so simple that it makes people even more confused. We haven't even grasped the most basic principles, so in terms of reverse engineering... There's no way we will be able to do it now."

The old man looked at him in surprise. "Where did you get the helmet?"

The man with the square face smiled with embarrassment, "It was a coincidence. Maybe because I discovered it earlier than most people, so... It was a very normal form. It only has a list of questions including age, occupation, things you are good at, games you have played, and some multiple-choice questions that young people may be more interested in. Then the ‘YES’ button."

To be honest, the games he had played before weren't that many, and most of them were some well-known online games from the early days. He never thought that he would really be selected.

The other party didn't seem to care at all, and directly delivered the helmet to his house.

In fact, he'd been playing the game for a while now.

That was also why his superior transferred him to the group anyway.

The old man froze for a moment. "Did you fill out that form?"

"Does it make any difference whether to fill out that form or not? Unless my file is completely deleted from the system, otherwise it will be no different from graffiti on the wall for them."

After a pause, the man with a square face looked at the computer with a flickering screen and said, "I even have a feeling that even though we had a secret meeting here today... There are many people who will soon learn about this...”