It wasn't until a week later that David received a call from Shi Qiang.
During this time, David used the Abominable Intelligence to modify his loan records, marking them as fully repaid.
Simultaneously, by using the Abominable Intelligence to calculate Sophon's behavior, he verified his earlier theory: Sophon's surveillance resources were allocated differently based on a human's "threat level."
"My current level is E—the lowest. Under normal circumstances, the Sophons don't care at all whether I live or die."
"As my threat level rises—for instance, if I get into graduate school, or win an international physics award—the Sophons will undoubtedly focus more attention on me."
"So, in the future, I need to stay low-profile and avoid attracting their notice... but if I do that, how will I earn Warp salvage attempts?"
"I have to balance the two: trigger human emotions as much as possible without raising my threat level in the eyes of the Sophons."
Watching a news report on TV titled "Handong University Student Bravely Subdues Thug and Saves Hostage," David ate his instant noodles while silently opening his panel.
[Name: David | Race: Human]
[Class: Psyker]
[Psionic Level: Manifest Grade 1]
[Skills: Psionic Precognition]
[Equipment: Abominable Intelligence]
[Remaining Warp Salvage Attempts: 3]
Despite the rise of smartphones—don't ask why there are smartphones in 2005; the existence of full-fledged VR technology in this era is already unbelievable enough; one can only say the Three-Body timeline's technology is about ten years ahead of reality—David checked his bank balance.
33,650 yuan.
After buying a train ticket to Beijing for the next day, only 33,412 yuan remained.
The reward for his heroic act, after taxes, was about 80,000 yuan. Following the Abominable Intelligence's advice, he had spent nearly half of it on server components to DIY a hardware setup.
But it was worth it.
"Dark Crusade! Launch!"
Looking at the game icon on his computer's desktop, David took a deep breath.
The Abominable Intelligence's programming skills were beyond reproach. In just a few minutes, it had created a high-quality mini-game according to David's specifications. After dragging the mouse to control a spaceship through its daily exploration and collection tasks, David nodded with satisfaction.
"Upload for review."
"Estimated increase in the probability of detection by Sophon after upload: 5.9%. Current detection probability: 3.7%."
"Continue with the upload."
"As you command."
Although the Abominable Intelligence had no perfect way to block Sophon's surveillance with current human technology, estimating Sophon's computing power and calculating risk levels was trivial for it.
And most importantly...
David looked at his three remaining salvage attempts. Even if the Abominable Intelligence were discovered, it wouldn't be a huge loss. It could self-destruct and cut its ties instantly. As long as David's own threat level didn't rise, the chance of him being exposed remained extremely low.
Furthermore, David didn't think a pay-to-win mini-game would be seen as a threat by the Sophons.
"The train leaves at nine tomorrow morning. Set an alarm; don't be late."
David turned off the desk lamp. He closed his eyes and began to actively absorb the Warp energy that grew denser as time passed.
Rain pitter-pattered against the window.
Yang Zhen sat in his office and opened his workstation as usual.
"Forget it, I'll just order takeout later," Yang Zhen muttered, seeing the rain getting heavier.
Though the company cafeteria was in the building next door, he had no intention of running through the rain. A worker's body was fragile; if he got sick to save a few yuan on delivery, he'd miss days of work. The loss of his perfect attendance bonus alone was enough to pay for dozens of takeout meals.
"Eh... Dark Crusade? Available on both mobile and PC? Which major studio released this?"
Scrolling down the page of newly submitted Android apps awaiting review, he saw a black hexagram icon. Curious, Yang Zhen clicked on it.
"Terra Studios? Registered three days ago... it's an individual developer?"
At this, Yang Zhen's excitement cooled. He didn't have high expectations. While many games were uploaded to the Android store every day, most were low-quality shovelware. Usually, only the big names produced something worth playing.
But then again, this was his job.
Yang Zhen shook his head and clicked download, preparing himself for a bad experience. The installation package was small—only about 200MB—and finished in seconds.
During the download, he hadn't even finished reading the game's description:
[In this game, players take on the role of a rebel leader. Under the leadership of the second Warmaster, Abaddon, and in the name of the Four Gods, you will launch a final strike against the decaying, tyrannical, and ignorant Empire, liberating humanity from the hands of the False Emperor...]
"Oh? A galaxy-spanning setting... that's rare."
This piqued his interest slightly. Before finishing the description, he launched the game through an Android emulator on his desktop.
The next second, the screen went black.
"Holy crap! Holy crap!"
Looking at the exquisite dynamic overhead view of the galaxy, Yang Zhen, who had just taken a sip of milk tea, couldn't help but swear.
The stars shifted. As the camera zoomed in, every planet floating in the void looked lifelike. Thousands of warships clashed in space, firing lasers and cannons alongside weapons Yang Zhen couldn't recognize. Every detail on the ships' hulls was intricate; he could see tiny craters in the armor and the ripples of shells hitting energy shields.
"This CG quality! It's incredible!"
At some point, several colleagues who had just picked up their takeout stood behind him. Seeing the stunning space battle scenes on his monitor, they marveled in unison.
"Wait, when did you guys get your food?"
"Doesn't matter. Fast forward, fast forward... I can't wait to see this."
"Yeah! Start the game, Old Yang! Which big studio made this?"
The people standing behind him were all young graduates the company had recruited from nearby universities this year. Like Yang Zhen, they were all hardcore gamers.
"It's not a big studio. It's a newly registered individual developer I've never heard of," Yang Zhen replied, his eyes glued to the start screen as the CG ended.
He had a premonition: that beautiful CG was definitely not the peak of this game.