Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Infiltrating Eidos
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The ticking of a clock's second hand echoed through the empty room. In a place where mechanical civilization was so advanced, they were using an analog clock instead of a digital one.
A glitch in the settings?
Or maybe analog was treated as a rare item because of its old-fashioned charm.
Whatever the reason, it didn't hinder my view.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.
Any veteran user of the Land of Ruin knew the truth about the sixth round.
The AI controlling this tower shuts down briefly at 4 a.m. In sync, all devices stop functioning, and player activity is restricted.
Of course, here it was the opposite.
Once the surveillance equipment watching me went offline, it'd actually make things easier.
"...One minute left."
The clock hands pointed to 3:59.
Everyone should be deep asleep right now.
Of course, a few might be awake for work or whatever.
With ten seconds to spare, I walked to the door.
Then counted down in my head.
1... 2... 3.
Beep.
The red light on the CCTV in the room went out.
'Now.'
Bam!
I kicked the door open and sprinted down the hallway toward the opposite side.
The two guards at the elevator spotted me and shouted.
"Wh-what's going on!"
NPCs, and they were dozing off?
After a brief hesitation, they raised their guns at me.
"Stop, or we'll shoot!"
They couldn't fire. Before they could pull the trigger, their heads hit the floor.
Whoosh—
All the guards heard was the wind. Then their vision tilted as they collapsed.
Thud.
"Simple enough."
After dealing with the guards, I smashed the CCTVs along the way and headed for the emergency stairs.
There was a hidden floor accessible only through here.
Taking two or three steps at a time, I reached the 101st floor in no time.
Maybe because it was where the Governor stayed, there were tons of CCTVs. They weren't recording anyway since the lights were off.
'...A number pad.'
The door to the 101st floor was different from the ones I'd passed. The others had simple doorknobs, but this was a steel door with a keypad.
It was unusually tall, too.
Made for giants to pass through?
It was more than twice my height.
'What could they be so afraid of in this tower that they'd go to such lengths...'
I took out the CCTVs on the ceiling one by one, like plucking grapes from a tree.
I'd need a solid alibi when I came back.
Boom!
A massive rumble shook the tower.
It felt like an external impact, not internal. The shaking was intense enough to throw off my balance.
-Wh-what is it!
Kim Suhyun's voice from beyond the steel door carried all the way to the stairs.
'Damn it.'
Something had happened—my plan was disrupted.
It would've been perfect if everyone just kept sleeping. What the hell was going on?
Had they spotted me?
'No.'
If they had, soldiers inside would've come chasing me instead of the tower shaking.
Frantic shouts came from the Governor's room.
"S-Sir! The giants are launching a surprise attack!"
"What?"
I pressed my ear to the door and listened.
"Five giants are attacking the tower right now."
"At this hour? Giants?"
A giant attack.
Talk about luck on my side. With the AI offline, all the soldiers would rush to the lower floors.
"Yes, sir. The defense systems are prepping, so the sentries are fighting them off directly."
"...Can you hold out until Eidos reactivates?"
The guard swallowed hard before replying.
"We'll do our best."
"I'm counting on you."
"Yes, sir!"
I let out a sigh of relief and headed up again.
* * * * *
Running up the stairs at full speed, I spotted red letters on a warning sign.
[Player Access Forbidden]
Not the 101st or 102nd floor, but a mysterious black door in between.
As I stood before it, hologram messages floated around.
[Please enter the password.]
"..."
Staring at the black door, I was certain.
The devs roamed around inside this game.
Why? It said "Player Access Forbidden," but right in front of me was a hologram keypad allowing entry.
'It has to open.'
I carefully pressed the hologram numbers. One wrong digit, and it'd double-lock, requiring a physical key on top of the code. No room for mistakes.
Beep. Beep-beep. Beep. Beep.
[0.4.0.4]
'Please open.'
The hologram keypad chimed.
Beeep-beep-beep!
"Yes..."
With a 'clunk,' the door opened.
Luckily, the password hadn't changed.
Even back in the PC days, only the devs knew this game's codes, but Jeongwoo and I got in because his uncle told us.
Jeongwoo's uncle, Jeong Hyeoncheol, who handled the game's terrain design.
'As expected.'
I stepped inside.
This was the home of Eidos, the artificial intelligence system called the heart of Mechania.
The AI managing all data for this round.
"...Eidos."
I called out to the AI in front of the supercomputer, but no response.
The system check wasn't done yet—holograms of what people called the blue screen floated around.
['Eidos' Security Check in Progress]
[Gate 1 Check Complete]
[Gate 2 Check Complete]
[Gate 3 Check Complete]
[Gate 4 Check Complete]
One more security check, and the system would reboot.
'How long...'
While waiting, I looked around the room. Nothing much to see.
Just the server racks lined up next to the supercomputer.
"...This must be it."
On one of the server units, a familiar string of letters.
[JHC]
Seeing his name put me at ease.
'Perfect.'
Whirr-. Whirr-. Whirr-.
Only the hum of the ventilation fans filled the room.
['Eidos' Security Check Complete]
[Gates 1, 2, 3, 4 Check Complete]
[All gates within the sixth round will now open.]
The blue hologram screens near the supercomputer merged into a human shape.
A man in a white T-shirt and baggy shorts.
"...Eidos."
Eidos looked at me.
"Hm?"
"Finally met you."
"...You. How did you get in here?"
I pressed a finger to my lips.
"Se. Cret."
Eidos frowned, clearly annoyed.
['Eidos' begins collecting your information.]
[Checking manual for handling intruders.]
Fascinating.
The AI wore a perfectly human expression of dilemma.
I reached out toward Eidos, but the barrier blocked me.
"No no no no, you can't touch me."
"...So, checked the full manual for intruders?"
"Yes."
"Then why aren't you kicking me out?"
Eidos chuckled softly.
"Because there's no way to."
I smiled back. Naturally, there was no equipment in this room to eject me.
"Right. Since I entered legitimately, you can't remove me."
"Records show you're a normal player. How do you know the access code?"
"Because you told me."
"Huh?"
"You told me. Eidos—or should I say, Jeong Hyeoncheol?"
Eidos looked flustered. Impressively lifelike for an AI.
"...You. How do you know that name?"
"Another secret. No time to waste—let's get to business."
"What?"
"Eidos, input code 'JHC35SoRa'."
Eidos shuddered like it was electrocuted. Its eyes rolled back, showing only whites.
"Grraaah! N-no. How do you know that code...!"
['Player Kim Cheonjae' is granted system command privileges from 'Eidos.']
Done.
Everything went exactly as planned. Even if the story had diverged, the system remained the same.
"Eidos, start data extraction. From now on, report every detail on the players I name."
"N-no!"
"Ma Jeongwoo, Michael, Jo Younggi, Kim Yeonhui."
['Eidos' begins collecting player information.]
"No!"
"Finally, Yoo Sora. She's one of the devs, so pull her 'detailed info.'"
* * * * *
The Governor hurriedly changed and headed downstairs.
To lead the soldiers personally before Eidos reactivated.
Ding-dong.
The elevator arrived at the 10th floor.
This was where they analyzed Mechania's status using Eidos's collected data.
The doors opened to busy soldiers.
-5-minute rapid response team deployed?
-Yes, sir! Engaging the giants now.
-Weapons holding up?
-Taser count was low, but the new high-voltage electric guns should cover it.
-Got it... Ah! S-sir! Governor, sir!
The soldiers jumped to their feet upon seeing him.
"Whoa, at ease. Back to your stations."
Not wanting to burden them, the Governor just waved lightly.
He picked up the baton, and the situation room officer rushed over with a map.
"Report: Five giants launched a surprise attack. We've deployed the 5-minute rapid response team and the special giant task force."
"Special giant task force? So besides the beholders, there were other types among the five?"
"Yes, sir! Four were standard beholders, but one was the higher-tier twin beholder."
"The two-headed one?"
"Yes, sir."
"Twin beholder... If Eidos doesn't come back soon, we'll take heavy losses."
The officer checked his watch and replied.
"Check's almost done—should reboot any second."
"Good... It better."
The Governor skimmed the map and moved to the window.
He saw giants swinging massive tree-club bats at the tower.
White-suited soldiers charging to block them. No chance of winning, but they fought with their lives.
-Kraaaah!
The Governor lit a thick cigar.
Sssip— Puff!
White smoke veiled his vision.
[System Message]
[As of now, all 'Eidos' systems are resuming normal operation.]
[Power to all devices in Mechania will be cut in 160 seconds. Please take note.]
[Upon power cut, all weaponry will be restricted to manual mode.]
The Governor stared at the hologram window in bewilderment.
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
"Power... cut?"