Gamers Are Fierce

The Dragon Head Mask obscured Li Ang's wise gaze as he pondered,

Merlin didn't notice Li Ang's anomaly and said to Nicholas, "The power of an individual is always limited,

Many data planar travelers initially set out on this path because of dissatisfaction with the real world.

However, after so many years, we haven't changed anything—the world remains terrible, and injustice occurs every moment, yet we, who possess power, still hide in the shadows.

Only by coming together can we have greater strength and more resources,

even in the real world, the power to walk openly..."

Merlin's last words were quite profound, suggesting that wizards could walk openly in the real world, provided the old order completely collapses.

The wizards around the table had varied expressions, some were fearful and wary, others were enthusiastic.

"..."

Nicholas's smile faded a bit, which those familiar with him knew was a sign of his turning thoughts from cheerful to wary.

However, the Santa Claus did not get angry, he put away the virtual map and said calmly, "I will consider it seriously."

"Alright, but it's best to do so as soon as possible."

Merlin glanced casually at the typewriter behind him, "We don't have much time."

Nicholas nodded, said no more, and walked to the corner of the hall, uninterested.

Merlin turned his head and raised his chin towards Li Ang, "How about you, Sammaster.

Are you interested in joining us?"

"Me?"

Li Ang pondered, "Hmm.... You know, I've never been into banding together, especially when I'm unclear about the purpose of your plan."

"Sorry, there's nothing I can do about that. Only if you agree to join can we tell you the plan's content."

Merlin smiled and said, "But if I were to find a word to describe the prospects, it would be—

boundless opportunities.

Going solo is an outdated idea from the last century, now only by relying on team strength can one achieve anything."

"Rely on parents, and you're a princess.

Rely on a man, and you're a queen.

Rely on yourself, you're Japanese..."

Li Ang mumbled, rubbing his palms, just about to respond when a "clang~" rang out, the clock hanging on the castle hall wall chiming.

Since members of the Coastal Wizard Association come from all over the world, the clock shows Greenwich time.

"Ah, it's time, today is Monday."

Li Ang clapped his hands, "Sorry, Merlin, I think I need more time to consider.

Maybe after I finish a chess game with Thomas?

It seems he's late today."

Thomas is also a member of the Coastal Wizard Association,

One of Brown Murphy's friends in the data world, the two have always played chess on Sunday and Monday afternoons, relying solely on their brains without auxiliary programs to cheat.

Thomas is always punctual, but today he seems to be absent.

"Alright."

Merlin nodded, "But please get back to me soon."

"Okay."

Li Ang nodded, turned, and walked toward his usual chair,

In this script task's data world, he can still exert effects similar to extraordinary powers,

After just observing, every member of the Coastal Wizard Association has energy fluctuations above Lv20, with Nicholas and Merlin's energy waves even stronger than Li Ang's (Swamp God Power, without believers providing the Power of Faith).

Under such circumstances, the even stronger unseen mailer person is worth speculating about.

Joining Merlin and others' plans recklessly might bring trouble to oneself—there's considerable missing memory in Brown Murphy's memories, daily exchanges are fine,

but long-term association,

wizards with strong powers and keen observation will eventually spot discrepancies.

Besides, one unresolved question in Brown Murphy's memory remains—why did he alone infiltrate the Jet Propulsion Laboratory server?

Remember, Brown Murphy is known for caution, even in the data world, acting under the name "Sammaster," he rarely made big moves,

Mostly just leaking Wall Street insider trading scandals or mimicking Nicholas to do minor acts of robbing the rich to help the poor.

Brown Murphy always treated all actions in the data world

as a way to flavor the mundane life of the real world and as material for literary creations,

just for fun.

And the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), a federally funded center for unmanned flight research and development, and NASA's site,

messing with the nerds there doesn't sound fun.

'Murphy inexplicably appeared in the JPL server, missing all the memory before then,

and according to the first-phase objective [Stay alive, use logout nodes to escape], he had set up a logout node in advance (the triangular copper handle), indicating he knew danger was likely.

What was he wary of? Guarding against what?'

These questions lingered in Li Ang's heart, yet the agents from the Social Security Bureau pressed too hard, if only he could stay longer in the real world and see if there were any diaries or such by Brown Murphy, it would be great.

'The second phase's task is [Identify the mailer's true identity], consistent with the Social Security Bureau's requirements,

no task reward, no failure penalty, suggesting there's a third phase task.

The time limit for the task is 3 days, proving there's time left, no need to rush...'

Li Ang sat in the soft chair, just as he was pondering,

A trolley-shaped robot waiter (an automated program generated by the castle, responsible for serving tea and water), brought over a chessboard, using thin mechanical arms on either side of the trolley, took out the chessboard and wine, and placed them on the table.

"Mr. Sammaster." The trolley asked, "Where is he?"

"Don't know. That was yesterday's message, you weren't in the castle then."

As an automated program, the trolley had little initiative for conversation, "The message has been conveyed. Would you like to exchange for a new bottle of red wine?"

"No need."

Li Ang frowned and waved his hand, issuing a command, "Delete Thomas's message and our conversation just now.

Format the data."

The castle's specific construction year and builder, under the Coastal Wizard Association, are no longer traceable,

but every member of the Wizard Association

has the authority to command the automated procedures within the castle, issuing simple instructions, conveying information.

The small cart received the command, thoroughly deleted the previous conversation, and retreated on its own.

Li Ang watched its departing figure, his brows tightly knit, and turned to look at the chessboard.

On the white and brown chessboard, black and white pieces were neatly placed,

Li Ang's fingers lightly brushed the board, and following the cues from his memory, he picked up the white piece, opting for a king's pawn opening.

As soon as the white piece landed, the black piece automatically flew up,

Simultaneously, a weary voice rang in Li Ang's ears,

"Sammaster, it's your old friend Thomas. You're in the castle right now, aren't you? If Merlin and Ohm are around, don't react, don't make a sound or look surprised, just pretend you're playing a normal game with my program."

Under the dragon head mask, a glint flashed in Li Ang's eyes, his hands moving steadily and naturally, showing no hesitation.

"This is an automatic message, by the time you hear it, I might already be dead."

Thomas's voice came with a bitter smile: "Damn, this feeling of waiting for death is absolutely dreadful,

Let me catch my breath.

...

Ah, alright.

Hmm... how do I tell you this, honestly, you and I aren't that close, after all, besides occasionally playing chess and pulling some pranks on the Social Security Administration and Intelligence Agency, we don't have much in common.

But I couldn't find anyone else to handle my affairs..."

Thomas's voice carried a trace of heaviness, "Anyway, you should know, I've always been curious about the identity of the Mailman, right?

Unlike us, the Mailman has never shown their face, not even created a virtual shell, whoever wants to communicate with him has to use that slow typing machine,

Every conversation, he spends at least an hour to reply.

At first, we all thought he was just some poor kid with outdated equipment living in a rural slum, unable to afford near-Earth orbit communication channels.

But considering the recent miracles he's performed...

Have you thought of something?"

Thomas paused for a moment, "The Mailman has the following traits:

One, he doesn't have enough time to immerse himself in the data world, can only endure delays to communicate. This proves that in the real world, he might have a formal, demanding job;

Two, his technical skills are quite good, he's a veteran who can fend off probes from everyone in our circle;

Three, he has far greater understanding of official network systems than we do, which is why he can create so many 'miracles', laying the groundwork for recruiting troops.

Have you thought of something?

That's right, the characteristics fit perfectly, he is likely an agent from an intelligence agency.

So I initially suspected he might be an undercover agent placed in the Wizard Association by an intelligence agency."

Li Ang deliberately slowed down his chess moves, picking up the red wine glass on the table, swirling the crimson liquid inside.

He also wondered whether the Mailman was hidden within the official system, using the advantage of an insider, crying thief while being the thief,

After all, some of the traits the Mailman exhibited seemed like those of a civil servant equipped with standard brain-machine interface equipment.

"I understand the motive of the intelligence agency infiltrating us,

even if the Coastal Wizard Association's base was destroyed,

as long as the true names and identities of the wizards weren't exposed, they could always reconstruct the Wizard Association.

However, I didn't speak out to others, after all, in the virtual world, anyone could be an intelligence agency's mole.

Only by finding evidence or figuring out the Mailman's true name and identity, can we control him.

Thus, I conducted a private investigation."

Thomas's message said: "I didn't investigate the Mailman directly, there's too little information about him, making it too difficult — if I control a large-scale processor and dig deep into the official system,

I'd most likely get discovered by the intelligence department before I find him.

Therefore, I started with Ohm — he was the first to collaborate with the Mailman."

Thomas gave a bitter smile: "You know, Ohm's abilities aren't considered advanced in our circle, and his greed is greater than others,

he's more inclined to use wizardry for personal financial gain in the real world — it's all small money, he doesn't dare to spend freely, fearing the attention of the tax bureau.

Overall, he left the most traces.

I spent a month tracking and investigating, finally locking in on his real name, discovering he is a second-hand car salesman in the United States, middle-aged, single, living alone, with little real-world achievement.

But the most crucial point is, three months ago, he booked a one-way ticket to Venezuela."

Venezuela?

Li Ang searched his memory and found that in the storyline world, Venezuela had started experiencing small-to-medium-scale turmoil six months ago,

with long-term severe wealth disparity and accumulated social conflicts,

eventually leading the Venezuelan military to raise a rebellious flag first,

with various armed forces, donning different banners, springing onto the stage.

"Three months ago, the small-scale clashes among armed forces in Venezuela were intense. The United States' embargo on Venezuela hadn't been lifted,

how could Ohm, as an ordinary second-hand car salesman, inexplicably jump into this mess?"

Thomas took a deep breath and replied in an eerie tone, "The upheaval in Venezuela was actually orchestrated by people.

The Mailman and Ohm had been planning it for at least a year,

they subtly modified the local automated decision-making systems,

enacting policies favorable to them, reallocating resources, drawing lines of interest, appointing contacts, establishing a puppet group —

The local armed forces were all receiving foreign funds, always thinking they had the support of the United States intelligence agencies behind them,

but in reality, the one orchestrating behind the scenes was the Mailman.

The reason Ohm went to a tumultuous Venezuela three months ago,

was likely because the Mailman promised to make him the uncrowned king of Venezuela — in the US of the real world, he's just a worthless second-hand car salesman,

even stealing a thousand US Dollars online makes his heart race with fear.

But once in Venezuela, he'd become a legitimate billionaire, owning luxury homes and cars, indulging in lavish pleasures, without worrying about his true name and identity being exposed — the Venezuelan military system had already fallen under his command, he would no longer need to hide himself.

Unfortunately..."

Thomas paused and slowly said, "The military unrest in Venezuela is about to end, but I haven't been able to find any information on Ohm,

and no new billionaires have been born across Venezuela either.

Ohm, in all likelihood, has already fallen into the Mailman's trap and is completely dead,

the Ohm in the castle is merely an empty shell controlled by the Mailman.

The worst part is..."

Thomas's voice sounded utterly bitter, "I, in the real world, live in Venezuela."