As Zhang Dong made his way through the office building filled with these peculiar puppets, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease. The ambient noise of typing and clicking continued, and the relentless repetition of tasks by these automatons felt eerie. He wondered who or what had created this bizarre world and for what purpose.
Following the sound of typing and clicking, he eventually arrived at a room where the noise was the most pronounced. When he pushed open the door, he was met with an astonishing sight. The room was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was filled with rows upon rows of computer workstations, each occupied by a puppet-like figure typing away at keyboards. Each workstation was divided, all of these puppets were working within their own cubicle.
The room was bathed in an eerie, cold light, and the air felt strangely sterile. Numerous entrances and corridors led out of this expansive space, seemingly extending into infinity. He wasn't certain about the nature of this place, but fortunately, everything appeared to be numbered. The puppet he had disabled bore an identification number, likely corresponding to one of the cubicles in this complex; he just needed to locate it. To avoid standing out, he continued to follow one of the designated pathways along the sides. These artificial human beings were simply going about their business, oblivious to anything unusual, and he needed to ensure it stayed that way.
Zhang Dong carefully weaved his way through the rows of cubicles, each one identical to the last. The repetition was mind-numbing, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was some sort of purgatory for lost souls or a bizarre experiment by some advanced civilization. The puppet-like figures continued to type away, completely absorbed in their tasks, as if they had no awareness of the world beyond their computer screens.
Eventually, he located the cubicle that corresponded to the identification number from the subdued puppet. It was situated in the far reaches of the room, nestled within the maze of workstations. For a moment, he observed the other puppets mechanically going through their motions, their posture somewhat hunched, and their multiple screens casting reflections on their glasses. Occasionally, they would take a sip from a self-replenishing drink, whether it was tea or juice, powered by some peculiar technique that exuded energy.
Upon entering the cubicle, he discovered that a spatial technique was in use, expanding the apparent size of the area. It was a peculiar sight, as from the outside, it had appeared far more confined. Only upon stepping inside did the full workstation reveal itself, featuring even more monitor screens than he had previously observed.
'Let me see…'
His first task was to power up the personal computer. It resembled a typical office computer, devoid of most labels. After pressing the button, the fans inside the case whirred to life, and the drive lights blinked. It was a recreation of old technology, which he assumed the creator of this world was familiar with. The operating system that appeared was also something he recognized, as it was the same one in use back on Earth, the world he had come from.
'It's all in basic English…'
To his surprise, the language being used here was from his original world. Typically, other worlds had developed their own language systems with unique writing and phonetics. The system also had a built-in translation tool, but he didn't need to use it in this case, as everything was easily understandable. This further affirmed his earlier assumption that the individual who had created this system was somehow connected to the 'real' world he came from.
'Did this person create all of this or did they just take it over?'
Zhang Dong considered a few initial possibilities. Either the creator of all this came from the same world and then designed this peculiar system, or his world was being used as the host world for system holders. There were variations of these possibilities, but it wasn't the time to dwell on them. Instead, he needed to concentrate on these monitors and uncover what the puppet-like businessmen were engaged in at this location.
Shortly after the computer powered on, he was presented with a desktop featuring only a few icons. It reminded him of his old gaming setup from before he was transported to become a cultivator. However, there were no games on this computer. Instead, there was a peculiar program with an icon that resembled the infinity symbol. After a moment of preparation, he finally clicked on the icon, causing a window to pop up.
'These are… other worlds and their stats?'
As Zhang Dong studied the window that had appeared on the screen, he realized that he was looking at a vast array of information about different worlds. Each world was represented by a small icon, and beside it, there were statistics that seemed to describe various aspects of those worlds. Some of the statistics included the world's population, technological advancement, cultural development, and even a strange indicator labeled 'System Power.'
The list seemed endless, and he couldn't help but be awed by the sheer diversity of these other worlds. Some appeared to be futuristic, with advanced technology, while others seemed to be medieval or even ancient in nature. It was as if he was peering into a multiverse of countless parallel realities.
Curiosity drove him to click on one of the world icons, and as he did, a new window opened up, displaying detailed information about that particular world. It was like a database of parallel universes. He learned about the inhabitants, their history, and the unique characteristics of each world. Some of them had magical systems, while others had advanced scientific principles governing their reality. There were worlds with mythical creatures, and supernatural abilities, and even some resembled his own.
Upon selecting one of the worlds, he was presented with a planet that had two moons orbiting it. There were various options he could explore. Population density and size were among them. He could even view the types of factions that governed this world and the different kingdoms. When he clicked on one of the continents, the entire map began to zoom in, providing him with even more statistics and data.
'This arrow here? Does it represent the system holder?'
As Zhang Dong delved deeper into the information on the screen, he discovered an arrow icon that seemed to represent the system holder for each world. It was like a marker, designated for individuals just like himself. Within a few clicks, he was able to bring up a status window to represent this particular system holder. It included quite a lot of information and he probably had his own page somewhere.
Original Name:
Johan Schneider
Current Name:
Ivaran Eldermoon
Race:
Dark Elf
System Type:
Leveling Type
System Advantage:
Superior Experience Gain
There was an abundance of information to sift through. It appeared that each person had their own version of the system, and not everyone's was like his. Some systems were more limited, such as this leveling type that transformed the world into an RPG-like game. The individual named Ivaran had been granted a cheat that enabled him to earn experience points at a much faster rate than the inhabitants of this world. This, coupled with the longevity of the elven race, likely constituted their main advantage as a system holder.
The more he delved into this information window, the more it sent a shiver down his spine. It contained everything, from the man's accomplishments to his relationships. A complex web of relationships was displayed, detailing the people with whom he had interacted and their approval ratings. Every action and interaction of this person in that world was meticulously recorded and presented here.
'My system was hacked after a few months so they shouldn't have the information… but what is this star for?'
Upon further investigation, he found that each system holder had a star rating assigned to them. They began at one and went up further, but after searching, he couldn't find anyone with a rating higher than three stars. Normally, these types of systems would go up to five, but he couldn't be certain. One thing was clear, though: all of these people had some kind of rating assigned to them, and some of them were evidently more significant to the system than others.
As he went through the worlds, he only confirmed what he had already suspected - everything had been falsified. What he needed was a way to free himself from this situation or at least figure out the fate of those who completed their scenarios. He began clicking through various options in search of something important, like a list of previous system holders. He decided to use his own name in the search function. From the system's perspective, he was a deceased system holder replaced by Wang Long.
"Hmm... nothing. Wang Long's name also doesn't work," he muttered in frustration.
He then attempted to input the names of the people he had interacted with in the other world, but still, he couldn't discover any useful information. After contemplating the issue, he arrived at a conclusion: this PC was limited to a certain number of worlds. The puppets likely only monitored a restricted number of system holders, and the one that had his world was at a different cubicle.
'I probably won't be able to find the right workstation in this huge space.'
Zhang Dong realized that searching for the specific cubicle and puppet within it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. The workspace extended into infinity, and he couldn't afford to get lost or waste too much time in this strange environment. The only way for him to find the right one would be either through hacking or finding a part with higher privileges. If he saw these puppets as moderators then perhaps there was an administrator inside of this building.
He continued to go through this computer to see if it had some other information than keeping track of the system holders. All of this didn't really help him with his pursuit of truth. He needed to find out about what happened to the other system holders. While clicking through he also discovered a section with the emails, one of which he had received during his transfer.
'They even have an extensive list of new potential system holders, some have higher stars than others. I guess they want to keep the ball rolling…'
Some of the questions had been answered but he still needed more. His best bet would be to find the administrative room where he could probably access the entire database. However, to do that he needed to leave this cubicle and start roaming this strange office building some more.