Players Invade Cyberpunk

So cool!

At least Hu Lang thought he looked cool saying those words.

But Lucy fell silent after hearing the other side speak.

Fight for the great cause…

Right…

She and Huang Ban were different.

Huang Ban existed only for the benefit of a select few, sacrificing lives to mine old net data just to rack up more profits for the board.

But the data they excavated here would ultimately be used where it truly belonged, becoming a component of the social collective to serve everyone.

And one is motivated by violent threat while the other by ideals, fundamentally incomparable.

Thinking of this, Lucy's frowning brows finally relaxed. She looked at Hu Lang with a smile and said,

"Then you go ahead."

"Alright, meow."

Just as Hu Lang left, a distant player accidentally hit a virus, immediately exploding and dying.

But Lucy no longer had any qualms about sending players into the old net as cannon fodder. She didn't even consider trying to save them.

"Hmm..."

She looked at the data returned to her by the code, lost in thought.

"If only virtual machine technology could be used..."

Miners and hackers sent into the old net by Huang Ban probably numbered in the thousands worldwide, with many dying on each trip. These hackers varied in skill and talent.

But only Lucy managed to survive round after round of Black Wall travels, not dying from malware or rogue AIs, and even found the opportunity to escape from the shadow of the never-seen-sun Huang Ban Tower amidst fear and despair.

And she was the only one.

The year she escaped, she wasn't even 12 years old.

Her talent was actually much better than she herself imagined.

——————

By the end of November, California was already a bit chilly, and due to ongoing environmental degradation, it was even colder than another world, but the construction site was still bustling with activity.

Even during breaks, players and workers sat together. Some enthusiastic players stood on piles of lumber loudly proclaiming,

"I'm telling you all, believe in me and Jesus more than anything else, joining our Christian community is better than being in any mob."

"Back in the day, our big brother Jesus, with just twelve followers, made a mark in Rome, growing the community to thousands. In Galilee, he fed all his followers with just five fish and two loaves of bread, becoming the head of medieval Europe, even the kings were part of our gang."

"Unlike the gangs you guys are in now, making you commit crimes every day, fight to the death, earning so little that you can barely eat, not to mention in a blink, even their lives might be gone."

"But Jesus never dies, even after getting stabbed dozens of times, he would rise again after three days."

"So everyone, put down the butcher knife and immediately believe in Jesus."

Watching New Dynasty Elegance preach eloquently from the lumber pile, Red Bucket wiped the sweat from his forehead and couldn't help but ask the three Roman warriors sitting nearby,

"What is your brother doing, coming into the game to preach to NPCs, and how come what I hear sounds off, like a medieval version of 'The Birth of a Word Head'?"

"Him?"

Jing Luo Frenzy replied, holding a version of a Mexican taco, eating it with relish, and saying,

"His next-door neighbor is a Christian church, in front of him is a Daoist association, and to the left is a Buddhist association. He's taken to each of these places by his family every now and then to get eggs and oil. If it weren't for eating pork, he'd want to stroll over to the mosque on another street."

Red Bucket: "Isn't he afraid his boss Gabriel will come after him for being a three-faith servant?"

Jing Luo Frenzy waved his hand: "He doesn't believe in anything, just finds it fun, being a Christian on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, a Buddhist on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and going to the Daoist association on weekends to play King of Glory with the young Daoists. He even once live-streamed gifting a rocket for the Daoists."

Red Bucket: "6."

"Hey, by the way, boss."

Jing Luo Fury from the side also chimed in,

"I heard someone on the forum say you can start a company in the game, do you know what's going on?"

"Oh, that."

Red Bucket proudly raised his head to the newcomers,

"You've come to the right person. My [Biped Multi-Purpose Cattle and Horse Construction Co., Ltd.] just opened, but the slots are full. If you want to join, you'll have to wait until we've gathered enough GP points to expand."

"....."

That company name isn't something to be proud of at all!

Suppressing the urge to complain, Jing Luo Fury humbly asked,

"No, we just want to know how to earn GP points, we also want to open a shop or something. And about company shares and dividends, how are they calculated?"

"Oh, that."

Red Bucket didn't hide his intentions from the newcomers as once you've spent enough time in the game, it's easy to figure these things out.

"For newcomers, you can generally earn GP points by completing tasks in the task interface. Anything works, delivery, security, house repairs, pickups, easy tasks but not much money."

Red Bucket took the hard-living orange juice handed by Jing Luo Tears and drank two big gulps.

"Special professions earn more than general players, like mechanics, hackers, and the medical department, but they require a high level of professional skills. However, I suggest you follow those veteran players to raid gang sale points or drug dens, these places have better yields than daily tasks, and with luck, you might even get good implants that the big shots don't need, although it's risky."

"As for company shares, Horizon Corporation owns 80%, and we five players own 20%. Every player who invests shares is based on their GP points and shares distributions."

Jing Luo Fury frowned: "20%? Isn't that a bit too little, that practically amounts to working for free, and all the money is recycled by the planners over there."

Red Bucket shook his head repeatedly, pointing at two transport platforms vibrating concrete floor plates not far away,

"20 points is a lot. See? The BOSS sponsored me 5 door frames and ten transport platforms directly. If we bought them, we couldn't afford them even by bankrupting ourselves, unlike now where we only need to handle maintenance and battery costs."

"Theoretically, in the future as long as you join our company, using GP points and money to expand the company, then everyone will have shares, and everyone will be shareholders."

"Working for yourself, earning money, it's great."