Chapter 6

"Zero?"

"It's me." The black hole spoke.

"Why did you make us like this?" Wu Chen was very dissatisfied with his current form.

"The story is long, but the reason is simple." Zero smiled and said, "If I made it realistic, the impressionists wouldn't like it; if I made it magical, the sci-fi fans wouldn't agree; if I made it ancient, the modernists would jump out before the futurists even had a chance to speak... So, I decided to leave it like this. You can decide what you want it to be."

"Decide for ourselves?" What a great degree of freedom.

"The meaning of the sanctuary lies in this." Zero explained, "Each player can build their own independent space according to their wishes."

"This independent space is called a sanctuary." Wu Chen began to understand.

"More accurately, it's called a 'personal sanctuary.' A personal sanctuary can be an ancient castle, a spaceship, a car, a storage cabinet. As long as it can transform into a star, it will be recognized by the sanctuary world."

Looking at the stars, Wu Chen suddenly realized, "Each of these stars is another player's sanctuary?"

"That's right." Zero confirmed Wu Chen's judgment.

"Is it necessary to have a sanctuary to contact these people?"

"Exactly. The sanctuary is the collection of all rules. Only players with a sanctuary can obtain permanent residency."

"What if they don't get one?"

"Then I will send them back to their original world and erase all memories of the sanctuary." Zero's answer was straightforward.

"How can I get a personal sanctuary?"

"First, you need to enter a movie world, work hard to obtain the 'residence' you want, and then bring it into the sanctuary world, transforming it into a star." Zero explained patiently.

"Getting the residence shouldn't be a problem. But bringing it into the sanctuary world clearly requires time and space travel, and teleporting individuals is charged... So, it must be very expensive, right?" Wu Chen had wanted to ask this for a while.

"It's not cheap." Zero smiled.

"Is there a time limit for building my own sanctuary?" Wu Chen asked again.

"No." Zero added, "However, if you can't communicate with other players, your 'resource points' will quickly run out, and I will determine that you have 'lost your ability to survive' and remove you from the sanctuary world."

"Resource points, understood." Wu Chen remembered this well.

"Any other questions?"

"Yes, but let's save them for next time." Wu Chen was already eager. Come on, turning himself into a ball of gas and still being able to move around—this was clearly very advanced technology!

"Alright, Player 20150326-Y, please collect your starter kit." Zero finally got to the point.

"What should I do?" Wu Chen wanted to shrug but just twisted his round body.

"Just nod."

"Okay." Wu Chen nodded.

The central black hole's suction suddenly increased, and Wu Chen was sucked in without any resistance.

"Remember, don't be too black-hearted." From beginning to end, his easygoing mentor only said this one sentence.

It felt like being flushed down a toilet. When Wu Chen's consciousness returned, he found himself standing at a bustling street corner.

Looking up at the dazzling glass facades of the surrounding skyscrapers, Wu Chen felt a strong sense of unfamiliarity. This was not the city he remembered.

"Move! Move!" A thick Northern California accent sounded from behind. Instinctively, he stepped aside, and a figure rushed past.

"Quick, follow!" Almost immediately, several men and women with different outfits sped past Wu Chen.

Just as they reached the other side of the street, an explosion sounded overhead. Huge chunks of concrete and glass rained down, and the crowd screamed and fled. Wu Chen instinctively looked up, and a chill ran down his spine as he suddenly understood!

"Transformers!" The plot flooded his mind, and Wu Chen finally found his sense of existence!

"This is the plot of Transformers 1, where the protagonist runs with the AllSpark and falls at a corner, and the energy released by the AllSpark activates all nearby electronic and mechanical objects!" Wu Chen looked around and quickly identified his targets: "The Mercedes sports car driven by the girl, the Xbox 360, and a Mountain Dew vending machine!"

As Wu Chen focused on the vending machine, he suddenly noticed that the several men and women with different outfits were nervously lined up in front of the vending machine, frantically pulling out various electronic products!

"Huh?" In a flash, Wu Chen realized, "They are also players! They are using the movie's scene to obtain their own Transformers! (In the movie, the robots created by the AllSpark's energy are called AllSpark Mutations, which are Cybertronian creatures with independent thinking and consciousness but without personality data.)"

With this realization, Wu Chen sprinted toward the vending machine.

Boulders and cannonballs chased him, exploding and sending debris flying, but Wu Chen felt as if he had divine assistance, managing to fight his way through and dive into the crowd.

"Damn! Who's this guy, get off me!" Wu Chen was kicked and pushed to the side, barely managing to find a corner, but almost losing his balance.

"Quick, he's coming!" Seeing the protagonist, Sam, who was carrying the AllSpark, rush over, someone couldn't help but shout excitedly.

Wu Chen felt around and only found a phone on his body.

"Damn, a Nokia? N9? MeeGo?" When Wu Chen pulled out his phone, the group burst into laughter.

"Bro, who still uses Nokia! Besides, your MeeGo system can't even send WeChat messages!"

"Didn't you read the beginner's guide? Didn't your mentor tell you?" Seeing Wu Chen's puzzled face, the person who had kicked him earlier sneered, "Aren't there stores on the street? Go and rob them!"

"Are all these things stolen?" Wu Chen was surprised.

"Of course! It's a beginner's task, and it's protected!"

Seeing Sam, who was carrying the AllSpark, fall heavily to the ground, Wu Chen touched his nose, "My cheap mentor only said one thing."

"What did he say?"

"Don't be too black-hearted."

As he spoke, the AllSpark rolled and fell to the ground, and its energy shot out!

"Wow—" Even though they were prepared, everyone couldn't help but scream in surprise.

The N9 in Wu Chen's hand glowed intensely, becoming scorching hot! Unable to bear it, he quickly let go.

After letting go, the N9 strangely floated in mid-air, allowing the pure energy from the AllSpark to form lines and cut through it!

The squares formed by the intersecting lines were further divided into smaller squares, layer by layer, becoming finer and smaller, until they were no longer visible to the naked eye!

The entire phone seemed to be covered in a layer of mosaic, showing only a rough outline!

As the division became more precise, the mosaic changed. From thick to thin, from thin to ultra-thin! Ultra-thin to no-mosaic, no-mosaic to high-definition, high-definition to ultra-high-definition!

The blurry outline gradually became clear, and the molecular-level mosaic turned into a layer of light film, enveloping the streamlined body of the N9!

The metal particles that made up the body embraced each other, leaving no gaps!

Finally, as the rippling light film was gradually absorbed by the metal body, a palm-sized robot beauty floated in the air!

Unlike the metallic skeleton of the Transformers, this metal beauty looked like a human body covered in mercury, completely lifelike and aesthetically pleasing!

(End of page)