56: Chapter 56 The Virtual World

The night in Los Santos always carried a thick, inseparable viscosity. Neon lights shattered across the sea's surface, swept up by the ocean breeze and tossed against the breakwater of Victor's Pier. The resulting glimmers fell upon the hood of the black modified sports car Lin Fan leaned against, their dizzying shimmer enough to make one's head spin.

On the ground beside the car, AKai was crouched in front of a silver-gray portable hacking terminal. His fingers moved across the virtual keyboard with such speed they left afterimages. Green code flickered on the terminal screen like a tangled nest of snakes, punctuated by occasional red error prompts and the buzzing sound of electrical currents. Lin Fan held an unlit cigarette between his lips, his fingertips tracing its length as his gaze swept across the cordoned-off area at the end of the pier. Three days ago, this had been a secret data relay station for the Snake Fang Gang. After he and Kate had teamed up to take it down, nothing remained but scorched electronic components and a pungent smell of burning. The terminal AKai had salvaged from the ruins was their only breakthrough in recent days.

Ever since Victor launched the "Digital Legion" project, the virtual space of Los Santos had begun to experience widespread collapse. A week ago, Michael and Franklin had volunteered to dive into the virtual space to scout Victor's core stronghold. However, they lost all contact after entering, leaving behind only a flickering, encrypted signal that drifted through the network like a message in a bottle sunk deep into the ocean.

"Brother Fan, this son-of-a-bitch encryption algorithm is insane! That old bastard Victor definitely rigged this; it's harder to crack than the FBI's top-secret files!" AKai's voice carried a hint of irritability. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes, the dark circles beneath them so heavy it looked like he'd been punched. He slammed his finger onto the terminal's Enter key. "I've pulled nearly three all-nighters. If we don't crack this soon, I suspect Michael and Franklin are going to be left whistling in the wind in that virtual world!"

Lin Fan exhaled a breath of stale air, threw his cigarette to the ground, and crushed it with the sole of his shoe. "Rushing won't help. Victor is the administrator of this broken world; he's bound to have set up layers of barriers at the entrance to the virtual space. The fact that Michael and Franklin can send a signal means they're still alive—they're just being restricted."

He leaned down toward the terminal screen, his eyes locking onto the flickering code. The prompt from the "Los Santos Survival Guide" system echoed in his mind: [Unknown encrypted signal detected. Resonance frequency matches the 'code fragment' held by the host. Initiate resonance analysis?]

Lin Fan's heart stirred. He immediately pulled a palm-sized transparent chip from his pocket—a code fragment he'd scavenged from one of Victor's men during his last mission to steal a tank from the military base. Countless starlights seemed to flow within the chip; it was the raw code of the virtual world and the only thing currently capable of countering Victor. He pressed the chip against the terminal's sensor area. Instantly, the chip emitted a soft blue light that intertwined with the green code on the screen. The chaotic code suddenly began to arrange itself in an orderly fashion, like soldiers under command, and the red error prompts gradually vanished.

AKai's eyes went wide, his mouth hanging open far enough to fit an egg. "Holy crap! Brother Fan, is this thing a cheat code? It's only been a few seconds, and this damn encryption is falling apart like wet paper!"

A smirk played on the corner of Lin Fan's mouth. This was the Code Resonance ability unlocked after the system upgrade, and one of his greatest trump cards against Victor. He patted AKai on the shoulder. "Cut the crap. Hurry up and see what's in the signal."

AKai snapped back to his senses, his fingers flying across the keyboard. The code on the terminal screen faded, replaced by a blurry video feed. The background was a hazy, gray space where the air itself seemed distorted, like a shattered mirror. Michael and Franklin were leaning against a broken metal pillar. Their clothes were riddled with holes, and their faces were caked in dust, making them look utterly disheveled.

"Brother Fan! It's Michael and Franklin!" AKai shouted excitedly.

Lin Fan's gaze was locked onto the screen. In the footage, Michael was shouting into something that looked like a walkie-talkie, his voice intermittent and heavily distorted by electrical interference: "Lin Fan... can you hear me? We're in... New Eden... it's collapsing here... Victor's Digital Legion... has us surrounded..."

Just as he finished, the screen shook violently. Franklin's face suddenly appeared before the lens, his hair a mess and a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He looked furious as he cursed at the camera: "Lin Fan, you son of a bitch! Figure out a way to get over here and save me! This godforsaken place doesn't even have burgers! I'm starving to death! And the gravity in this hellhole is all skewed; walking feels like stepping on cotton, damn it!"

As soon as Franklin's rant ended, a piercing sound of metal grinding against metal echoed in the video, followed by a startled cry from Michael. The screen instantly went black, leaving only one final, blurred sentence: "The entrance is at... the Ferris wheel... code fragment... the key..."

The signal cut out, and the terminal screen jumped back to the code interface. AKai froze for a moment before he couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Hahaha! That guy Franklin is at death's door and he's still thinking about burgers? Los Santos' number one foodie, confirmed!"

Lin Fan couldn't help but smirk as well, but the weight in his heart lifted slightly. At least Michael and Franklin were still alive, and they had provided key information: New Eden, the Ferris wheel, and the code fragment being the key. These three pieces of information were like guiding stars, pointing the way through the fog.

"New Eden?" Lin Fan whispered the name. The system's prompt immediately rang in his head: [New Eden: A sub-space constructed by Victor using virtual code, located in the core region of the Los Santos virtual world. It is currently experiencing severe data collapse, and the spatial structure is highly unstable.]

He looked up toward downtown Los Santos, and the image of an abandoned amusement park immediately surfaced in his mind—Star Dream Amusement Park. Located in the eastern suburbs of Los Santos, it had been abandoned over a decade ago following an accidental fire. Now, only dilapidated buildings and a solitary Ferris wheel remained, standing amidst the overgrown weeds. It had become a haunted hotspot for Los Santos locals, and its remote location made it the perfect place for Victor to hide the entrance to the virtual space.

"AKai, locate the Ferris wheel at Star Dream Amusement Park. Get ready to move." Lin Fan straightened up, pulled open the car door, and sat in the driver's seat. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Notify Kate. Have her bring people to provide backup around the perimeter of the amusement park. Victor is bound to have set an ambush there."

"Roger that!" AKai quickly packed up the terminal and hopped into the passenger seat, his fingers moving rapidly over a tablet. "But Brother Fan, I just got word that Elizabeth is heading toward the eastern suburbs with a squad of Mechanical Soldiers. Based on her direction, she's likely going to Star Dream Amusement Park too."

Elizabeth, Victor's right-hand woman and the direct commander of the Digital Legion. She was a woman with long blonde hair and cold eyes. Her body had been modified by Victor—half human, half machine. She possessed immense combat prowess and a meticulous mind, making her one of the few opponents Lin Fan truly respected and feared.

"As expected." Lin Fan started the car. The sports car's engine let out a low growl, like a crouching beast. "Victor surely knows we'd receive Michael's distress signal. Elizabeth's Mechanical Soldiers are just the appetizer he's prepared for us."

The sports car shot out like an arrow from a bow, leaving Victor's Pier and racing east along the coastal highway. The night-shrouded Los Santos was gradually left behind. The lights on both sides of the road grew sparser until only the headlights illuminated the path ahead, with the occasional stray cat darting through the roadside weeds.

Over half an hour later, Star Dream Amusement Park came into view.

This amusement park, once filled with laughter and joy, was now a place of dead silence. The tall iron fences were covered in rust, still adorned with amusement park posters from over a decade ago. The cartoon characters on the posters had faded, their smiles appearing eerily unsettling in the night. The main gate was secured by a massive iron chain and lock, both thick with rust. Lin Fan slammed his foot on the gas, and the front of the sports car crashed violently into the gate. The chain snapped with a loud clang, and the gate was forced open, leaving a massive gap.

The sports car entered the amusement park, its wheels crunching over the gravel and weeds that littered the ground. Most of the buildings within the park had collapsed. The horses of the carousel lay on the ground—some missing heads, others missing legs. The doors to the haunted house stood wide open, its dark interior resembling a maw waiting to devour anyone who entered. In the very center of the park, the massive Ferris wheel stood tall against the night. Its lights had long since gone out, leaving only a bare metal frame that glinted coldly under the moonlight like a giant black gear.

"Brother Fan, it's right there." AKai pointed at the Ferris wheel. The positioning on his tablet showed that the source of Michael's signal was right at the core of the Ferris wheel.

Lin Fan parked the car and stepped out with AKai. After only a few steps, the sound of rhythmic footsteps echoed from all around the park, accompanied by the whirring of mechanical parts. Several red laser aiming lines settled on them, surrounding them completely.

Lin Fan and AKai stood back-to-back, their gazes sweeping the surroundings. Dozens of Mechanical Soldiers, each over two meters tall, emerged from the ruins. These soldiers were encased in silver alloy armor, with a single red electronic eye in their heads. They held energy rifles that pulsed with a cold light. At the front of the mechanical squad, Elizabeth stood atop a collapsed castle structure. Her long blonde hair fluttered in the night wind. One of her arms was a metallic prosthetic that shimmered with a cold luster. She stared down at Lin Fan, a mocking smirk curling on her lips.

"Lin Fan, you really did come." Elizabeth's voice came through a loudspeaker, cold and mechanical. "Lord Victor already anticipated you would come for your brothers. This place shall be your grave."

"Elizabeth, you half-human, half-machine freak—you sure are good at running errands for that old man Victor." Lin Fan's lips curled into a disdainful smile as his fingers toyed with the code fragment in his pocket. "You think you can stop me with these pieces of scrap metal?"

"Whether they're scrap metal or not, you'll find out soon enough." Elizabeth's mechanical arm swept forward. "Attack! Kill them!"

At her command, dozens of Mechanical Soldiers immediately pulled their triggers. Beams of energy light shot toward Lin Fan and AKai at a speed that left almost no time to react.

"Run!" Lin Fan barked. He grabbed AKai and turned to bolt. Energy beams struck the spot where they had just been standing, instantly blasting large craters into the ground and sending debris flying.

The two of them ran deeper into the amusement park with the Mechanical Soldiers in hot pursuit. Energy beams continued to explode around them. Lin Fan's gaze darted around, landing on the carousel not far away. A bold idea instantly took shape in his mind.

"AKai, head for the carousel!" Lin Fan shouted, pulling AKai to change direction and sprint toward the ride.

AKai was utterly bewildered. "Brother Fan, are you crazy? Can that piece of junk block energy beams?"

"It can't block them, but it can mess with them!" Lin Fan said with a grin. He rushed to the side of the carousel and quickly located the power switch—something he had noticed when driving in. Although the park had been abandoned for over a decade, the carousel's circuitry hadn't completely failed.

He slammed the switch down. With a buzz of electrical current, the carousel actually began to turn slowly. The fallen wooden horses were pulled along, beginning a sluggish rotation. Though the lights didn't turn on and the horses were broken and incomplete, the sight was exceptionally eerie in the darkness of the night.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

Lin Fan pulled AKai and jumped onto one of the still-intact wooden horses, grabbing the handles with both hands.

The carousel spun faster and faster.

The Mechanical Soldiers' energy beams shot toward them, but because of the spinning carousel, they couldn't lock onto the target at all.

Instead, they occasionally hit the spinning wooden horses.

The horses were struck by the energy beams and exploded instantly, wood chips flying everywhere, but they couldn't harm Lin Fan and AKai in the slightest.

"Holy crap! Brother Fan, that move is too slick!" AKai couldn't help but shout.

Watching the Mechanical Soldiers scrambling behind them, he laughed until he was doubled over.

"These tin cans are brainless, they can't even handle a carousel!"

Lin Fan laughed too, but his gaze didn't relax.

He knew this was only temporary; Elizabeth certainly wouldn't just watch them toy with the Mechanical Soldiers.

Sure enough, not long after, Elizabeth's cold voice came again: "A bunch of trash, use the rocket launchers!"

Lin Fan was startled. He looked up and saw two Mechanical Soldiers carrying rocket launchers walking out from the ranks, their barrels aimed at the carousel.

"Oh no, run!" Lin Fan immediately pulled AKai and jumped off the carousel, rushing toward the nearby haunted house.

Just as they charged into the haunted house, two huge explosions came from behind.

The carousel was instantly blown to pieces, with wood chips and metal fragments flying everywhere.

The haunted house was pitch black, unable to see one's own hand.

There were only occasional water droplets dripping from overhead, making a ticking sound, and the terrifying props on the walls looked exceptionally realistic in the faint light.

Lin Fan and AKai leaned against the wall, holding their breath, listening to the Mechanical Soldiers' footsteps getting closer outside.

"Brother Fan, what do we do now? There are Mechanical Soldiers everywhere outside, we can't break out at all."

AKai's voice carried a hint of nervousness, his palms full of sweat.

Lin Fan took a flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on.

The faint light illuminated the path ahead.

He scanned the surroundings of the haunted house, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "Don't worry, this haunted house is a great place. Since Elizabeth wants to play, we'll play along with her properly."

He pulled AKai deeper into the haunted house.

The paths inside were winding like a maze, and there were hidden traps and props everywhere.

This was the amusement park Lin Fan played in as a child.

Although over a decade had passed, he still remembered the layout vividly.

The Mechanical Soldiers quickly rushed into the haunted house.

Their red electronic eyes flickered in the darkness like ghost fires.

They lined up and slowly advanced toward the depths of the haunted house, their energy rifle muzzles remaining in an aiming state.

Lin Fan and AKai hid in the shadows of a corner, watching the Mechanical Soldiers approach step by step.

Lin Fan picked up an iron rod from the ground and lightly tapped a nearby skeleton prop.

The skeleton prop immediately fell to the ground with a clanging sound.

The Mechanical Soldiers immediately became alert and fired toward the direction the sound came from.

Energy beams struck the walls, blasting out large craters, while Lin Fan took the opportunity to pull AKai and circle around from another corner.

Just like that, Lin Fan used the terrain and props of the haunted house to constantly create sounds, leading the Mechanical Soldiers in circles within the house.

Although those Mechanical Soldiers had strong combat power, their intelligence was worrying.

They were spun around by Lin Fan and would occasionally fire at their own companions due to misjudgment, causing a bout of chaos.

"Hahahaha, these tin cans are too stupid!" AKai hid in the shadows, watching the Mechanical Soldiers kill each other, laughing until his stomach hurt.

"Brother Fan, this move is brilliant, you're practically treating them like monkeys!"

Lin Fan's mouth curled slightly, but his gaze fell on the door at the end of the haunted house—that door led to the central plaza of the amusement park, which was the direction of the Ferris wheel.

He glanced at his watch; ten minutes had passed.

Kate should have already set up an ambush with her people on the outskirts of the amusement park.

Now, it was time to rush out.

"Let's go, while they're in chaos, rush to the Ferris wheel!" Lin Fan whispered sharply, picking up an abandoned fire axe from the ground and gripping it in his hand.

He had found it in a corner of the haunted house earlier; although it was rusty, it could at least serve as a weapon.

The two rushed out from the shadows and ran toward the door at the end of the haunted house.

At this moment, the Mechanical Soldiers were still in a mess trying to find them and didn't notice their movements at all.

Lin Fan kicked the door open and pulled AKai into the central plaza.

The central plaza was empty, with only that huge Ferris wheel standing in the very center.

At the base of the Ferris wheel, there was a circular platform with a black vortex on it, and blue electric light flickered around the vortex.

That was the entrance to the virtual space; Michael and Franklin had entered from here.

And beside the vortex, Elizabeth was standing there, coldly staring at them.

Beside her, there were less than ten Mechanical Soldiers left; the others had been tricked by Lin Fan into killing each other in the haunted house.

"Lin Fan, do you think you can escape like this?"

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Elizabeth's eyes.

She waved her mechanical arm violently, and the remaining ten Mechanical Soldiers immediately rushed toward them.

"AKai, you go activate the entrance, I'll stop them!" Lin Fan shouted, throwing the code fragment in his hand to AKai.

"Stick the code fragment onto the vortex, and you can open the entrance!"

AKai caught the code fragment, nodded, and rushed toward the base of the Ferris wheel.

Lin Fan gripped the fire axe in his hand and charged toward the Mechanical Soldiers.

A Mechanical Soldier fired an energy beam at him first.

Lin Fan swerved his body violently, dodging the energy beam, and at the same time, the fire axe in his hand smashed fiercely onto that Mechanical Soldier's electronic eye.

With a crack, the electronic eye shattered instantly.

The Mechanical Soldier's body paused for a moment, then collapsed with a crash.

Immediately after, the second Mechanical Soldier rushed up.

Lin Fan dodged his fist sideways, and the fire axe swung down onto his alloy armor.

Although it couldn't cut through the armor, the tremendous force still made the Mechanical Soldier take a few steps back.

Lin Fan took the opportunity to kick him in the chest.

The Mechanical Soldier staggered and fell to the ground.

Lin Fan raised the fire axe and hacked fiercely at his neck—that was the weak point of the alloy armor.

With a crack, the Mechanical Soldier's head fell off and rolled onto the ground.

In just a few minutes, Lin Fan had taken care of three Mechanical Soldiers.

His body was splattered with metal fragments and machine oil, looking a bit disheveled, but his eyes were becoming increasingly sharp, like a drawn blade.

Watching Lin Fan take care of her subordinates, a hint of surprise flashed in Elizabeth's eyes.

She hadn't expected Lin Fan's combat power to be so strong.

She snorted coldly and charged toward Lin Fan herself, her mechanical arm flickering with a cold light, reaching for Lin Fan's head.

Lin Fan didn't dare to be careless; Elizabeth's combat power was far beyond those ordinary Mechanical Soldiers.

He immediately stepped back a few paces, dodging her mechanical arm, and swung the fire axe toward her mechanical arm.

With a clang, sparks flew everywhere, the fire axe was knocked away, and a numb pain shot through Lin Fan's arm.

"With only this much skill, you dare to fight me?" Elizabeth sneered.

Her mechanical arm reached for Lin Fan again.

This time, Lin Fan couldn't dodge in time and was grabbed by the shoulder by her mechanical arm.

The alloy fingers embedded deeply into Lin Fan's flesh, sending a piercing pain.

"Lin Fan!" AKai, not far away, saw this scene and shouted, wanting to rush over to help, but was intercepted by a Mechanical Soldier.

Looking at Lin Fan's painful expression, a mocking smile curled at the corner of Elizabeth's mouth: "Give up, you are no match for me at all. Lord Victor will let you die a bit more painlessly."

Lin Fan gritted his teeth, beads of sweat seeping from his forehead.

His gaze fell on the connection point between Elizabeth's mechanical arm and her body—that was her fatal weakness, and also the only flaw left behind when Victor modified her.

Enduring the pain in his shoulder, he quietly reached into his pocket with his right hand and took out a high-explosive grenade he had prepared long ago—this was something he had taken from the car trunk, originally intended to deal with Victor's Digital Legion.

Now, it would be used perfectly on Elizabeth.

He pulled the pin of the grenade and jammed it fiercely into the connection point between Elizabeth's mechanical arm and her body, sneering: "Is that so? Then why don't you see who dies more painlessly."

Elizabeth's expression changed drastically.

She wanted to take the grenade out, but it was already too late.

"Boom!" A huge explosion rang out, flames shooting into the sky.

Elizabeth's mechanical arm was instantly blown off, fragments scattering everywhere.

Her body was thrown away by the shockwave of the explosion, slamming heavily onto the ground.

She spat out a mouthful of blood, her golden hair dyed red by the blood, looking disheveled.

Having taken care of Elizabeth, Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief.

The pain in his shoulder made him almost unable to stand steady.

He staggered to the base of the Ferris wheel.

At this moment, AKai had already stuck the code fragment onto the black vortex.

The code fragment emitted a dazzling blue light, intertwining with the electric light around the vortex.

The vortex spun faster and faster, emitting a humming sound.

The entrance to the virtual space was finally opened.

"Brother Fan, the entrance is open!" AKai shouted excitedly.

Lin Fan nodded, his gaze fixed on the vortex.

Inside was a gray, hazy space, exactly the same as the scene in the video Michael had sent.

That was New Eden, and Michael and Franklin were inside.

He looked back at the entrance of the amusement park.

Kate's figure had already appeared there.

She was leading a team of FBI Agents rushing in, running toward them, evidently having seen the light of the explosion.

"Kate, I'll leave this to you. Handle Elizabeth, I'm going in to save Michael and Franklin." Lin Fan shouted to Kate.

Kate nodded and shouted loudly: "Be careful, Lin Fan! The virtual space is unstable and could collapse at any time!"

"Don't worry!" Lin Fan smiled and turned to walk toward the black vortex.

AKai wanted to follow, but was stopped by Lin Fan.

"You stay here and rendezvous with Kate. It's too dangerous inside."

After speaking, Lin Fan didn't hesitate anymore.

He leaped and jumped into the black vortex.

The blue light instantly swallowed his figure.

The vortex returned to its original state, only the rotation speed was a bit slower.

AKai looked at the vortex and clenched his fists: "Brother Fan, you must come back safely!"

Kate walked to AKai's side, her gaze falling on the vortex, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

She took out her walkie-talkie and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, pay attention. Monitor the entrance closely. If there's any anomaly, report it immediately!"

At this time, Lin Fan had already entered the virtual space, New Eden.

As soon as he landed, he felt a wave of intense dizziness.

The surrounding space was twisting, and the ground under his feet was undulating like waves.

In the distance, there were rumbling sounds, as if something was collapsing.

The air was filled with a rich scent of code.

The surrounding buildings were all made of virtual code, some of which had already begun to collapse, turning into patches of flickering light points and dissipating into the air.

Lin Fan steadied himself and scanned his surroundings.

In his mind, Franklin's cursing and Michael's shouting echoed.

The sounds were just nearby.

He took a deep breath and ran in the direction the sounds were coming from.

His steps were staggering, but he was incredibly determined.

The virtual world of Los Santos, New Eden, had begun to collapse, and his journey of rescue had just begun.

He knew that not only were Michael and Franklin waiting for him inside, but also Victor's Digital Legion and countless dangers.

But he had no other choice—Michael and Franklin were his brothers, his most precious bonds in this strange game world.

He would never let them die here.

The path ahead was filled with uncertainty, and the space was still collapsing, but Lin Fan's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Although he had no weapon in his hand, he had something more powerful than a weapon in his heart—courage, and the determination to fight side-by-side with his brothers.

The code storm of New Eden had already swept in, and Lin Fan was charging forward, head-on into the storm.