Chapter 481 - Last System Error (7)

It was the birth of so-called 'Multidimensional imperialism'. At first, they plundered other worlds just to survive, but at some point, they plundered to satisfy their greed.

"Countries and corporations have taken over an entire planet, and have obtained everything in their hands."

They secured the near-infinite supply and demand of resources, the near-perfect material abundance, and the dream-like future.

"From then on, we just found it boring to bring resources from other worlds."

In other words, they were not satisfied. They achieved material affluence, but they were spiritually poor.

Sungwoo asked, "That's why you started using the game to satisfy your needs?"

Walter said with a nod, "That's right. What we are enjoying is a reality game that can give us a basic pleasure that is completely different from virtual reality."

Since they looted hundreds of times and justified their actions, they didn't feel any sense of guilt at all, and there was no social brake on their runaway greed.

In other words, they not only plundered the resources of another world but also began to play with those living on Earth. This was the 'game' that had been happening until now. The so-called 'nanotechnology', which was advanced to the almost ultimate level, made everything they could imagine possible. It created a perfect fantasy world featuring monsters, magic, and miracles.

"Although the principle of nanosystem is complex, you can think of it as a 'nanomachine' that mixes and controls particles in your body and your world. It takes about six years to disassemble, assemble, and plant it all over Earth. That's what we call the 'installation' process," Walter said.

This was the hell that was born like that.

"You damned bastards!" Hanho shouted with an angry expression, and others around him also looked at the GMs sternly. It looked as if they would charge at the GMs and rip them apart.

"I'm sorry, but you too are destined to face it someday, and there will come a time when you have to choose," Walter said.

Sungwoo raised the crowbar and shouted, "Shut up. If you try to justify your actions once more, I'll smash your skull!"

"..."

Standing up, Sungwoo looked down at Walter and said, "Then why are you exploiting the souls of the people living in the ruined Earth? Are you doing it for fun?'

As Sungwoo said, they didn't just plunder resources and take their lives alone.

The GMs even grabbed the souls of the victims and made them pieces of the game's data and tormented them forever even after they died.

Walter added, "It is purely for economical reasons. Rather than creating an artificial intelligence that requires cumbersome design and huge capacity, isn't it easier to modify human brains to erase their memories and use them as a kind of NPC?"

Bang!

Sungwoo stood up after punching his head with his fist.

"I have nothing more to hear from this guy."

Then he looked at Kyungsoo.

"Have you discovered the main core?"

Sungwoo's allies were searching inside the facility. Since they controlled the facility completely, all they had to do was find and destroy the main core.

At that moment Walter said, "Please let go of me. Then I'll persuade them to exclude Earth from this game and guarantee your freedom! If not, you can never get out of this game!"

"..."

"Are you trusting the insider whistleblowers who are helping you now? They are the same! They have approached you for political purposes!"

"Political purpose?"

"Right! There is politics in our world too! And this game is the biggest sport, game, and broadcast in our world! It's the best industry! There are so many guys trying to use this game to seize power."

Sungwoo looked at him without saying a word, then nodded.

A slight relief spread on Walter's face.

"Hey Walter, I want to ask you one more thing."

"Yeah, go ahead! But please save me!"

Sungwoo pushed the crowbar at the tip of his chin.

He flinched and swallowed.

"Is this power made by nanomachines real, not an illusion?" Sungwoo asked.

"Yeah, it's all real. By combining and disintegrating particles, they create real phenomena."

"Then, if you are thrown out of this island, you might be killed by a monster, right?"

Walter's eyes were filled with anxiety, but he nodded slowly. He was trying to look good to Sungwoo.

"That's right. That's why GMs here don't want to step out of this facility."

After hearing that, Sungwoo turned and shook off Walter, who was holding his trousers.

"Inho, tie up all these bastards, so they won't be able to go back home."

"What? Come on, wait!"

The GMs screamed, but Sungwoo stepped forward, ignoring them.

Kyungsoo approached him and said, "Sungwoo, we've found the main core inside the facility."

It seemed that they finally discovered it.

"And when our guys checked the computer there, they found something called a 'shielding device'?

"Shielding device?"

"It appears to be a nanorobot control unit covering this island."

In other words, that's why the game system didn't work out here.

Sungwoo said with a nod, "If you solve it, the helper will appear again. If that's the case, let's…"

Sungwoo stopped moving and looked at Walter. Walter faced him with a desperate expression. Sungwoo could not believe how this bastard was the chief of this place.

"This time, listen to my proposal and think about it. It might be the only way you can survive."

Walter nodded at his words.

"You're going to be a betrayer of your people here from now on."

"What?"

"What I mean is to leave this wretched place and save your life."

Walter didn't answer. But his expression showed that he had already given up.

"Alright."

Sungwoo approached him and said, "You can bring down the system by hacking, right?"

"Sure, this is the right situation for that."

Nodding at him, Sungwoo placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Then, can you restore the system even for a short time?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"Just answer my question!"

Walter had no choice but to tell him the truth because he felt nothing like an emotional attachment to his race who lost moral sense and got addicted to pleasure.

***

The computer operation of the Zero Earth was not much different from that of modern times. There were a lot of parts not known in the modern world, but someone who knew how to use a computer well mastered them, and quickly turned off the shielding device.

<You have turned off the shielding device.> The helper said. <Alright. You've got about 20 minutes left. After that, many sentinels will return and restore the system. So you have to finish the job by then.>

"Tell me what to do next."

<If you destroy the main core that acts as a server, you will lose your connection to the world of GMs, including me, because I live in the world of GMs.>

As if she did not know that Sungwoo had already questioned Walter, the helper did not use the expression 'Zero Earth' that the GMs used as its official name.

"But there is still the wormhole, right? The GMs come back through it, right?"

"That's right. So after shutting down the system, you have to destroy the wormhole."

"How can I break it?"

<There is an extra-large vertical tunnel that connects to the wormhole in the basement of this facility.>

As a matter of fact, Sungwoo's allies already searched the entire facility and found the area.