After hanging up the phone, David looked at the SMS notification showing a deposit of 6,700 yuan. He nodded with satisfaction.
Excellent. Another day of making over ten thousand yuan through his own "hard work."
First, he headed to the computer mall near the university district and bought a Lenovo PC. It cost him five thousand grand, and that was only because David had picked the cheapest machine possible.
Looking at the remaining cash in his pocket, David tapped his head.
I wonder if this is even enough to buy a V-suit.
The technological level of the Three-Body world was slightly higher than his previous reality. After all, the technology for a mass-produced VR device capable of perfectly simulating the Three-Body game environment didn't even mature until around 2017 or 2018 back home.
David pulled out his phone to search. Seeing the "80,000 yuan" price tag on the official website, he looked at the sky in speechless frustration. He immediately turned left into a small eatery called 'Hao Wei Ju' and bought a bowl of mixed rice to go.
Ridiculous. For that kind of money, wouldn't it be better to improve his quality of life?
Back home, after installing the graphics card and setting up the monitor, David sat at his desk. He shoveled the sea intestine rice into his mouth while searching for information related to Three-Body.
As for the make-up exams, those were things he could easily solve with his psionic powers; he didn't give them a second thought.
"You can't play Three-Body without a V-suit... truly a rich man's game."
David looked thoughtfully at the prompt on the game's official website. This requirement alone eliminated the vast majority of ordinary people. In a city where an average worker's monthly salary was around 6,000 to 7,000 yuan, most people wouldn't spend a year's wages on hardware for an obscure, niche game.
But—
I have a cheat! Why would I waste money like that!
As David thought the command of confirmation, a familiar system voice rang in his ear.
"Micro-computer detected... Abominable Intelligence (Fragmented) input beginning. Machine Spirit successfully ignited."
With a surge of electric humming from the PC case, David sensed an unknown transformation occurring within the machine before him.
"High-dimensional monitor detected... Hazard Level Assessment: Low."
A line of small text flashed across the screen and quickly vanished. Clearly, the Abominable Intelligence had detected the existence of the Sophons.
"Can you handle it?" David typed at the keyboard.
"Given the current technological level of this civilization: No solution."
The text flashed and vanished again. The Abominable Intelligence was clearly wary of Sophon surveillance.
The "Iron Men" AI of the Golden Age was definitely more than just a "Blue Tier" technology. After confirming that there was no way to block Sophon monitoring without further technological development, David asked the AI a few more questions. Finally, looking at the scrolling answers, David grew pensive.
He roughly understood where the "Fragmented" nature of this Abominable Intelligence lay. As an AI, it lacked the most precious—and most dangerous—thing.
Emotions.
Perhaps that was a good thing.
Looking at the prompt "Continue self-destruct sequence?" David clicked 'No' and launched the Three-Body game.
Unlike the breathtaking scene Wang Miao saw when he entered the game wearing a full V-suit, David had hacked his way in through the Abominable Intelligence's technology.
While the Trisolarans provided the vast data for the game, the actual designers were the ETO rebels on Earth. The technology used was still within the bounds of human understanding. Thus, the Abominable Intelligence cracked the game easily. David didn't even download the installer; he was playing the web-based version.
In a sense, he was a god-tier player.
The dawn over the wasteland was eerily calm. A burst of blinding white light appeared in David's vision. Stars twinkled in the sky, and two distant red peaks emitted a strange glow. As the dust kicked up by a meteorite settled, a registration interface appeared.
[Please choose a nickname.]
"Neoth," David thought for a moment and chose the ID.
The scene shifted slightly. Two primitive figures walked slowly toward him. A dialogue box at the top flashed a series of texts introducing their IDs and the historical background.
[Chaotic Era, Spring and Autumn Period: King Wu of Zhou, Fu Hao]
Clearly, both were players. As the mouth of King Wu—who held a bronze halberd—moved, small text appeared in the dialogue box above his head.
[Welcome to Three-Body. This is a very interesting world.]
Though the primitive man was dressed in rags, David could sense a refined, scholarly air in his every move. Like most Three-Body players, he likely belonged to the nation's elite.
[Would you like me to introduce you to the gameplay?]
Both players were undoubtedly friendly.
"No need. I want to explore this world on my own first," David typed back.
His entry into the game was partly out of curiosity and partly to use it to earn some money from Shen Yufei. Clearly, there was no better place to solve the Three-Body Problem than within the game itself.
Hearing David's refusal, the two weren't annoyed. Instead, they left David a sundial for observing time changes.
"Time in the Chaotic Era is unpredictable. Carrying this might give you a few more chances of survival."
David accepted it. In the game, the sundial was placed in his inventory.
"What a pity! Truly a pity!" David sighed as he watched their retreating backs.
Aside from the Adventists, most members of the ETO weren't "bad" people in the absolute sense. Unfortunately, advanced Trisolaran technology was too deceptive for a human civilization that had only just stepped off its home planet.
After all, they were an interstellar civilization. This wasn't a "shithole" world like Warhammer 40k. Logically, even if they weren't a communist society, they should have reached a point of extreme material abundance where desires were infinitely satisfied.
Alas! Trisolarans!
Alas! Lighthouse of Civilization!
Alas! Dictatorship of the Princeps!
Alas! Dark Forest!
Alas Alas Alas!
David took out his phone and snapped photos of the materials Shen Yufei had provided.
"Deduce the Three-Body Problem," he commanded the AI.
"Do you require me to advance the game progress during the calculation?" the Abominable Intelligence asked.
What? There's an AFK mode? David's eyes lit up.
He vaguely remembered that once a player reached a certain level of progress in the game, they would be invited to join the real Earth-Trisolaris Organization.
"Advance," David answered.