At three o'clock in the morning, a lucky host who did not want to reveal his name successfully used one experience point to purchase the newly listed mall manager.
At 5:30 in the morning, in the gradually brightening light, the first wave of rioting mechanical insects finally calmed down temporarily.
The entire war zone was in ruins.
Ye Hanfeng half-knelt behind the abandoned lathe, biting one end of the bandage that was wrapped around the wound on his arm that was still bleeding.
Most of the cadets followed him and temporarily hid in this temporarily abandoned factory.
Among them, only Xin Qiang got his own mecha, and that was because he was Ye Hanfeng's observer. In the encounter before the insect swarm riot, most people knew that the mecha was almost snatched away by Ye Hanfeng.
Xin Qiang also has eyes, so of course he can see it.
He felt it was embarrassing that a mecha operator had to rely on a spotter for care. After enduring for a long time, he finally jumped off the mecha responsible for alert and walked towards Ye Hanfeng.
Xin Qiang asked Ye Hanfeng: "Go get your wingman?"
Ye Hanfeng treated the wound and spread out the map: "What should we do? Tell the mechanical bugs."
Xin Qiang was choked by him, his face turned pale and blue, and he couldn't help but choke up: "You—"
Xin Qiang only said half of his words when he glanced at the situation outside, gritted his teeth, and swallowed the remaining half.
They have been partners for quite some time, and every time Ye Hanfeng acted arrogantly, Xin Qiang got annoyed to death.
… But now is not the time to mess with Ye Hanfeng.
The mechanical bugs suddenly rioted for no apparent reason, and who knows if there will be a second riot. They relied on Ye Hanfeng's organization to temporarily escape the disaster and hide in this abandoned factory.
If he went against Ye Hanfeng at this time and left the factory and encountered another insect swarm, he would be courting death even with a mecha.
"Why on earth are the people at the exercise headquarters just sitting there doing nothing when a mechanical bug goes out of control?"
Xin Qiang became more and more annoyed as he thought about it: "Why hasn't there been any response after so long? They left us in such a shabby place... Shouldn't they immediately stop the exercise and take us back?"
Anyone could see that this sudden out-of-control riot of the mechanical insects was definitely not just a problem in their small area.
Even the special forces members who were responsible for stopping them were caught off guard by the sudden swarm of insects. Ye Hanfeng found an opportunity and led his men to seize Xin Qiang's mecha.
Under the original program settings, the mechanical insects are relatively stable and not very aggressive, making them the most commonly used training props in military academies and active troops.
Like ordinary Zerg, they usually tend to appear alone and do not have the habit of living in groups.
However, under some unknown special stimulation, the Zerg will suddenly gather in large numbers, act in unison and migrate collectively, constantly attracting nearby Zerg to expand their scale, which becomes the so-called "Zerg tide".
If the mechanical insects are set up the same as ordinary Zerg in this regard, the current calm is by no means the end of the Zerg riot, but rather a prelude to a more unpredictable scale and more terrifying destructive power.
Many people were also afraid of this incident, and when they heard Xin Qiang complaining, some people couldn't help themselves and started to complain in groups of two or three.
“Why is the safety of the exercise participants not guaranteed?”
"Even if they say real deaths are allowed, it's still an indicator of accidental casualties in a high-intensity confrontation, right? Now that things have gotten so chaotic, the headquarters hasn't said a word?"
"We are here to fight against the Blue Army, why are we suddenly asked to resist the insect tide now?"
"The training and assessment are both arena competitions. Who remembers how to beat the bugs? The mechanical bugs don't stop when they are done. Who will be held responsible if something goes wrong?!"
"When can I go back? Why haven't you informed me yet?"
"Let me give up. I don't want to join any special forces. I just want to go back alive..."
…
The students had just experienced an attack by a swarm of insects, and many of them were injured. With the help of Ye Hanfeng leading the way and good luck, they barely found a hiding place.
The last battle against the Zerg swarm was ten years ago. They were still young at that time, and the fierce fighting was mostly blocked at the edge of the interstellar space by the Alliance forces, so they did not have a deep impression.
The overwhelming, suffocating feeling that there was no escape was completely different from the images in the archives and documentaries.
Anxiety and panic spread rapidly in the abandoned factory. Some people reacted strongly and even pressed the distress button, which meant giving up.
But no matter how they complained or how they tried to contact for help, the headquarters' communication channel never gave a signal to terminate the exercise.
They were trapped in this abandoned factory by fear.
Shi Ji guided the Dolphin to a stable anchor, circled once, and slowly lowered the wingman.
He had just dealt with the swarm of mechanical insects he had encountered head-on, and after circling around, he finally returned to the lake.
Ground firepower is deployed here, which will be automatically triggered when an aerial target is detected. Now it has become the safest place in the entire war zone.
Shi Ji jumped off the wingman and reported to Yu Tang in his sea of consciousness: "Mr. Yu."
Yu Tang was still in the mecha model. When he heard his voice, he casually pushed open a laptop that was almost as big as himself.
Shi Ji said: "The mechanical insects we just encountered should be imitating the habits of nocturnal insects."
This nocturnal insect species usually hibernates and rests during the day, but becomes very active at night, especially toward light and heat. The slightest obvious heat may attract them.
Shi Ji just used this feature and used the heat from his wingman and the Dolphin to lure away a considerable number of mechanical insects, disrupting their flight paths.
Many mechanical insects collided with each other during flight, causing the explosions to spread outward, covering an increasingly wide range.
The place where the students gathered happened to be on the flight path of the mechanical insects. If they had not been restrained, the insect swarm would probably have occupied the abandoned factory.
Yu Tang had just checked the relevant information and nodded: "Don't worry, I have analyzed the data of the mechanical insects."
The person in charge of the mall who was bought back was very skilled in his business. While mixing out the ingredients and making breakfast, he also caught a downed mechanical insect from outside and teleported it back to his sea of consciousness.
Yu Tang closed his laptop, holding a hot sandwich in his mouth, and jumped off the huge steel body of the mechanical insect: "It is indeed a program set in advance. Don't worry, your captain is safe."
Zhuang Yu had already planned to let the mechanical insects get out of control.
However, according to the original plan of the new leader of the special operations team, this out-of-control incident should have occurred when most of the trainees had been eliminated and the basic personnel screening had been completed.
Utilizing the existing war zone, the out-of-control mechanical insect swarm was regarded as the last test link that needed to be passed, and the trainees who passed the selection could successfully become a member of the special forces.
—But after the exercise began, something very urgent arose, causing Zhuang Yu to decide to temporarily change the plan.
Shi Ji was a little worried: "What's the matter? Can I help the captain?"
"Yes." Zhan Chen came over and put down the hot milk at just the right temperature. "Not just getting first place in the selection."
Zhan Chen said: "Don't hold back and fight to the best of your ability."
Shi Ji was slightly stunned.
He hadn't received a similar request in a long time. When he heard this, his first reaction was still the reflexive tension accumulated from countless pains in his subconscious.
Before this, every time he had this thought, he would be given the most severe warning and punishment.
Shi Ji was used to resisting. He was not afraid of the pain, but was worried that it would affect his sea of consciousness. He subconsciously looked at Yu Tang: "Mr. Yu—"
Shi Ji's voice suddenly stopped.
He realized belatedly that this time he actually didn't feel a headache at all.
Every time the anti-OOC program was triggered before, when Yu Tang manually helped him block the program, he still had to briefly endure half a second of severe pain that tried to crush his entire brain area, but this time there was no pain at all.
Tiny dots of light were quietly falling, repairing his long-damaged nerves. His brain was protected in the warm, pale light, like taking a most comfortable hot bath.
On the light screen connected to the sea of consciousness, massive amounts of data are constantly changing.
The protection net that Yu Tang had spent countless sleepless nights to revise had already been deployed in a timely manner to firmly block all warning and punishment instructions.
In the sea of consciousness, the mecha model was thrown aside at random and was patiently put into place by Zhan Chen.
A small ball of light floated comfortably in the bowl of milk, bubbling.
"Captain Zhuang chose to launch the insect tide ahead of time because the special forces' strength has seriously declined."
Zhan Chen had just been sold to the host. He sat down at the table, accurately found Xiao Guangtuan's temple, and massaged it carefully, not too lightly or too heavily: "You should have already judged that the scale of the Zerg invasion this time will be far greater than before."
Shi Ji was stunned for a moment, then nodded slightly.
He had indeed guessed these two things, but the mission and the battle left him no time to think too much about it. He only had time to report to Yu Tang and apply for a special effect card to restore the captain's physical condition.
"The captain has more pressure." Shi Ji heard Zhan Chen's words and figured out what was going on. "In order to restore the special operations team to its former combat power, the first thing he did was to reorganize the special operations team."
Zhan Chen nodded: "To re-establish the special operations team, we need a benchmark."
Ten years ago, the benchmark was Zhuang Yu and his spearhead team.
In the memory that Yu Tang recovered, the military leader who lost control and denounced at the meeting at the alliance headquarters was the captain of Zhuang Yu.
He personally gave this order to Zhuang Yu, and Zhuang Yu did not disappoint him and became the best special forces captain, but he also became the target of those ambitious people.
… So this time, Zhuang Yu only asked Shi Ji to pass the selection.
He hoped that Shi Ji could become a benchmark, but he didn't dare to let Shi Ji become a benchmark again.
He protected his men.
If Shi Ji cannot become the most eye-catching and shocking "hope" in this exercise, Zhuang Yu will reorganize the combat team himself and once again stand in the sharpest and most vulnerable position.
…
Shi Ji sat next to the mecha and didn't speak for a long time.
After several modifications, the Dolphin has become very comprehensive in its functions.
Yu Tang couldn't help himself and added an automatic meal preparation program, and Zhan Chen cooperated by adding a food delivery port.
The self-driving mecha does not need to reserve survival supplies for the operator, as it is equipped with storable food and meal packs.
Without disturbing the observer who was concentrating on thinking, the Dolphin's AI system quietly operated, prepared steaming millet porridge, accompanied by ready-to-eat pickled vegetable buns, and sent it out from the food outlet.
Shi Ji was lightly touched by the blade wing of the mecha and came back to his senses.
The silver streamlined mecha stopped quietly in the morning breeze.
Shi Ji touched the Dolphin and said thank you softly.
He brought the porridge from the serving tray, drank it slowly mouthful by mouthful, took off his training jacket, and got into the cockpit of the mecha.
In the same area, only one type of insect tide will appear in a cycle. Once the bionic type of the mechanical insect is determined, it can be judged accordingly that the safety factor during the day is more than 90%.
Shi Ji covered himself with his training uniform, lay down with his arms as a pillow, curled up on his side and closed his eyes.
The Dolphin detected his movements, automatically entered alert mode, and started comprehensive detection and monitoring of the surrounding environment.
On the battlefield, you must make use of every opportunity to rest and seize the time to replenish your energy to the maximum extent possible without wasting any time.
Half an hour later, Shi Ji's breathing had become even and slow.
Yu Tang temporarily turned off the light screen.
Zhan Chen asked him, "Are you worried?"
"Don't worry." Yu Tang said.
…but not completely reassured.
Shi Ji was not the type of person who liked to show off. In the past, in the spearhead team, Zhuang Yu was the observer and he was the deputy observer. He had become accustomed to fighting with the captain and obeying his orders.
The truly scary thing about the anti-ooc program is not the program itself.
It is denying, disintegrating and punishing those thoughts that cross the line again and again. Every time the line is crossed, it is met with pain and trembling deep in the consciousness, and the emptiness and nothingness after being erased.
As the number of punishments continues to accumulate, people's subconscious minds instinctively stop at that line.
This has nothing to do with how firm your will is or how strong your character is.
No one could help with this hurdle, and they could only wait for Shi Ji to break through the barriers built in his subconscious mind.
"The radical method has been used to this extent and cannot be used anymore."
Yu Tang smiled and said, "Let's see what surprises little S7 can give us... At least you have to agree to lead a team, right?"
He had soaked in the milk bath for a while, then took a shower under the shower and shook off the water droplets.
Yu Tang did not rush back to the mecha. He stopped in front of the light screen with a bath towel wrapped around him and imported back all the data that had been refreshed before.
That protection program is still only a preliminary version and needs more running records to be perfected and improved.
He wanted to import this data directly into the electronic storm, but just as he was about to operate, his vision was gently covered by a hand.
"Both of you should take a break." Zhan Chen said, "Your sea of consciousness fatigue rating is level 3... You need at least 20 hours of discontinuous sleep."
Zhan Chen put him back into the pillow pile and patted him gently: "There's no rush, Xiao Guangtuan, we—"
"Urgent." Yu Tang said, "Very urgent."
Zhan Chen was slightly stunned.
Yu Tang leaned against his palm and spoke after a while: "I often think how good it would be if I had swallowed up that laboratory earlier."
Swallow that laboratory sooner, complete the evolution in the eye of the storm sooner, and learn to remove these harmful programs sooner.
Time does not flow in the eye of the storm. He clearly has enough time to go in and out.
Yu Tang stretched himself and exhaled softly: "Senior Zhan, are you still being controlled by the program?"
Zhan Chen did not give an answer immediately.
He sat on the floor next to the sofa, his palms felt a little itchy from being rubbed, and a faint warmth came through.
"You're just better at taking advantage of loopholes than Shi Ji."
Yu Tang said, "I've been wondering, you're not good at programming, and at most you can only use templates to make a system to chew bubble gum with me, so why can you give such accurate instructions for Shi Ji's program?"
Yu Tang himself gave the answer: "Later I thought it was because you knew too well how to deal with it."
When he was still a ball of light, Zhan Chen would often resist the program, unable to move due to the pain, quietly breaking out in cold sweats, and looking like he had been fished out of the water.
It was during those extremely long years after they separated that Zhan Chen slowly mastered the skills to bypass the program and learned to deal with the old and rigid AI rules.
"The program leaves a signature code of the maker, which I usually call a 'backdoor'."
"Through this backdoor, the creator can detect changes in part of the program and make secondary adjustments at a later stage, making corresponding additions and deletions."
Yu Tang: "Similarly, as long as we can find this backdoor, we can trace back and catch the hidden creator."
Zhan Chen smiled helplessly: "Is this how you caught me?"
Yu Tang was a little proud, and his palm flashed.
The extremely brief childishness that belonged only to Zhan Chen passed by in a flash, and Yu Tang's sea of consciousness suddenly began to flow, with countless points of light quickly converging.
Zhan Chen raised his head and identified the huge amount of data represented by the light flows.
During the time when he couldn't help but take advantage of the program's gaps and replaced the system to take care of Yu Tang, Yu Tang ooc'd once and dragged him to ooc once. Together they tested the bottom line of the rules, and he sold the goods he owned in the mall to Yu Tang.
The data flow fluctuations caused by these operations were recorded by Yu Tang without any error.
Yu Tang made these data into a string of wind chimes.
Even the slightest abnormal fluctuation in data can set off an alarm in this string of wind chimes, thereby finding the location of the backdoor and tracing back to the real culprit.
“Let’s set a small goal first.”
Yu Tang: "Occupy the Book-Traveling Bureau and convert all the points in the Bureau into experience points."
Zhan Chen: “…”
Yu Tang was not very satisfied: "It's a bit uncomfortable."
Zhan Chen helped him spread the thin blanket in, carefully folded it into several layers, and placed it softly underneath.
Xiao Guangtuan set his goal, wrapped himself in the blanket contentedly, turned over, and fell into a deep sleep.
…
Three hours later, Shi Ji opened his eyes.
He still lay there quietly, and after a few seconds, he tried to report in his mind: "Senior Zhan."
Zhan Chen: “Yes.”
"I've thought about it." Shi Ji said, "I have a small goal."
Zhan Chen: “…”
Yu Tang and Zhuang Yu also have a small goal for Shi Ji.
They hoped that Shi Ji could demonstrate some leadership talent in this exercise, at least leading a small team to rescue people amidst the insect swarm.
Zhan Chen felt that the plot was not that simple: "What's the goal?"
"I want to take them with me to destroy this mechanical insect tide."
Shi Ji said: "Then, I need an interstellar fleet."
Zhan Chen: “…”
Shi Ji had already thought about the entire process, but there were too many steps. Mr. Yu had said that he should be as concise as possible when reporting.
Shi Ji was very serious. He sat up and tried to be concise: "I want to capture the Zerg's home planet and then exchange it for experience points."
Shi Ji: "This way, I can save enough money to support the captain's health."