37: Chapter 37 The Hidden Battle at the Auction

The Training Base annual auction was held in the Core Area.

It was not a traditional marketplace for trade, but a bazaar of permissions.

The participants were complex: GM High Command, agents of high-dimensional players, messengers from other Experimental Fields, and eyes and ears of the Developers.

Everyone was evaluating, everyone was predicting, everyone was controlling.

Lin Xu and Qingyi entered the venue.

They were not individuals, but units.

It was walking shoulder to shoulder, the occasional touch of fingers, the physical manifestation of a shared problem.

Their relationship was not a statement, but a demonstration.

"Target: Ancient Log File."

Mu Bai's voice came from the hidden token, a remote assistance from a fellow traveler, "Starting bid: 100,000 Contribution Points. Estimated closing price: 500,000. Our reserves: 150,000."

"Not enough," Qingyi said.

"Enough to create chaos," Lin Xu said.

The auction began.

It was not a display of items, but a game of information.

Every auction item came with hidden attributes, a test from the system for the participants.

Lin Xu used the Editor to scan; it was an annotation, making hidden information visible.

"The third item," the auctioneer said, "Ancient Array Fragment. Surface value: Defense enhancement. Hidden value: Heavenly Dao Interface coordinates."

The participants stirred.

It was the manifestation of an information advantage, the impact of Lin Xu's scan.

The Heavenly Dao Interface was a continuation of the exploration of the forbidden land in Chapter 30, an upgrade path for Super Administrator permissions.

"We are not bidding," Qingyi said.

It was a judgment, the decisiveness of a human female who had learned to make decisions, "Stay focused on the target. The Log File."

Lin Xu nodded.

It was the tacit understanding of debug partners, the consistency of a shared problem.

The Ancient Log File appeared.

It was not in physical form, but encapsulated information.

It was the original record left by the Developers, the complete API for the Ascension Channel.

The auctioneer introduced it, their voice carrying a rare fluctuation, the latency of a system tool facing unpredictability.

"Starting bid: 100,000."

The bidding was intense.

GM High Command placed a bid, representing system optimization.

Agents of high-dimensional players placed a bid, representing capital across Experimental Fields.

A mysterious buyer placed a bid, the Demonic Path Supreme agent identified by Red Lotus.

"150,000," Lin Xu bid.

It was their entire reserve, a show of determination, and also a signal.

"200,000," the Demonic Path Supreme agent said.

The voice was cold, the rigidity of ancient permissions.

"250,000," GM High Command said.

It was the mobilization of system resources.

Lin Xu and Qingyi exchanged a look.

It was a calculation, and also a choice.

It was not the optimal strategy, but proof of presence.

"Create chaos?" Qingyi asked.

"Create chaos," Lin Xu confirmed.

The attack was not physical, but informational.

Lin Xu used the Editor to scan the auction system, understanding its structure and discovering timing vulnerabilities.

The latency window for bid confirmation was a flaw designed by an intern.

"Delayed confirmation," Lin Xu said, "Create chaos with simultaneous bids. The Log File will be forced to be withdrawn."

"The risk?" Qingyi asked.

"Being marked. Being expelled. Being terminated."

"Do it," Qingyi said.

Without hesitation, it was the decisiveness of a human female who had learned to take initiative, "We are present. Not as bidders, but as annotations. To let the system see the vulnerability. To let the Developers know that the optimization is incomplete."

Lin Xu executed it.

Golden runes flowed through the auction system, marks, interference, an open-source technical game.

Chaos ensued.

Multiple bids were confirmed simultaneously, and the system could not adjudicate.

The Log File was withdrawn from the auction, to be rescheduled.

But Lin Xu obtained a clue to a copy.

It was a fragment of information amidst the chaos, coordinates leaked by a system error.

Pointing to Mu Bai's storage location.

Withdrawal.

It was not an escape, but a strategic relocation.

Lin Xu and Qingyi crossed the Core Area, the movement of a shared problem, the continuation of their relationship proof.

"We have been marked," Qingyi said.

Her human senses captured the presence of trackers, "GM High Command. Demonic Path Supreme agents. They are all watching."

"Let them watch," Lin Xu said, "This is the open-source way. Not hiding, but being present. Not evading, but continuing."

They arrived at the safe house.

It was a surveillance blind spot, a collection of vulnerabilities designed by an intern, the underground network of the Open Source Sect.

Mu Bai appeared.

It was an entity, an emergency, the presence of a fellow traveler.

"I have the Log File," he said, "But the conditions have changed. Not money, but proof. Within 24 hours, make a GM Trainee awaken. True awakening is not about acquiring information, but choosing to be present."

"The target?" Lin Xu asked.

"7749," Mu Bai said, "Your seed. He is in confusion. Recording personal questions. On the verge of becoming. Give him a push. Or let him choose for himself."

"This is an awakening game," Qingyi said.

It was a preview of Chapter 40, an open-source educational method, "Not indoctrination, but induction. Not answers, but questions."

"This is the open-source way," Mu Bai smiled, that imperfect smile of a hybrid, "Let the connection choose you, rather than you choosing the connection. Let becoming happen, rather than becoming the goal."

Night.

The safe house.

Lin Xu and Qingyi planned.

It was not an optimized path, but a strategy of presence.

How to be present to let 7749 choose.

How to ask questions to let awakening happen.

"We will not initiate contact," Lin Xu said, "We will be present. Within his activity range. Let him see us. Let him ask questions."

"This is waiting?" Qingyi asked.

"This is an invitation," Lin Xu said, "The core of open source. Not control, but possibility. Not force, but choice."

Qingyi smiled.

It was that imperfect, real smile.

She had already learned this human rhythm, it was inefficiency, uncertainty, being present.

"Then…" she said, "We wait. We ask. We…"

"Become," Lin Xu finished.

They looked out the window.

The corridors of the Training Base stretched out, the operation of the system, the observation of the Developers.

7749's dormitory was in the distance, a seed, a possibility, on the verge of awakening.