243: Chapter 244 "Order Wars" [Clone City]: The Hosts of the Operation and the Mysterious Paper Book

Inside the central control center at the top of the Clone Tower, the light from the scarlet alarm was so dazzling that it was dizzying. One hundred Original Humans gathered in front of the holographic screens, their faces, once arrogant and overbearing, now entirely replaced by panic.

The notification of a total paralysis of the monitoring chip System flashed in the center of all holographic screens. The ultimate shackles that could once detonate a Clone's head at any moment had now turned into a pile of useless scrap metal. No matter how they hammered at the consoles, restarted commands, or invoked highest-level permissions, they could no longer establish a link with the monitoring chip System in the brain of even a single Clone.

What made them experience Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering even more was that beneath Clone City, on the life monitors of the underground waste dump, the life signals of tens of thousands of Clones—which had been stable and stagnant like a pool of dead water due to the forced hibernation of the monitoring chips—were now spreading wildly like a prairie fire. Dense clusters of light points went from dim to bright, from small to large, until they converged into a terrifying sea of light—those dormant Clones they had used as Materials for executing the "top secret archives" had not only all awakened because the forced hibernation command of the monitoring chips had been lifted, but were also moving towards the only exit of the underground waste dump.

"They are moving towards the pipeline gate, the only way to return to the surface from the underground waste dump!" a data clerk among the Original Humans let out a shrill scream, their trembling finger pointing at the 3D map in the corner of the holographic screen.

That isolation gate, reinforced with layers of alloy and double-encrypted with password locks and genetic verification, had originally been the source of their confidence in placing tens of thousands of dormant Clones in the underground waste dump. But at this moment, on the map, the red closed status that originally represented the underground waste dump's isolation gate was violating all program Logic. After a frantic flickering, the isolation gate turned into a green open status.

With no permission verification, no manual operation, and no mechanical failure records, the hundreds of Original Humans in the Clone Tower were so overwhelmed with shock that the central monitoring center at the top of the tower fell silent in an instant.

The reason for this abnormal change in the isolation gate was merely the influence of Passerby Man [Person of Calamity]'s Talent. The [Unlucky Egg] had once again released the "calamity" stored within his body. The "calamity," which no one could observe, was like a butterfly flapping its wings. Because tens of thousands of Clones began to breathe heavily at the same time, the airflow above the entire underground waste dump was instantly disrupted. Several drones collided, and amidst a flurry of electric sparks, the viscous nutrient solution carried by the drones flowed into the motherboards. The massive amount of junk information generated by hundreds of drones was continuously transmitted between them, until one drone crashed into the signal receiver of the isolation gate hidden somewhere in the underground waste dump. Through a series of accidents caused by the "calamity," a massive amount of junk information, like an endless tidal wave, continuously bombarded this indestructible isolation gate, causing it to turn into an open state without any warning.

"Clang—"

Somewhere in the underground waste dump, the heavy alloy gate slowly slid open to both sides. Because it had been closed for a long time and had no maintenance, the mechanical gears of the isolation gate roared due to friction, echoing through the empty underground waste dump.

Tens of thousands of awakened Clones marched with uniform steps, their faces maintaining a programmed smile. Their unified silver-gray work uniforms formed an endless torrent. Following the guidance of the "calamity," they passed through the open isolation gate and, along the pipeline stairs, walked step by step towards the Clone City on the surface.

In the Clone City above the surface, the Clones who had undergone Awakening of self-awareness were advancing towards the Clone Tower in the center of Clone City with the help and guidance of several Hosts.

A Host named [Bomb Queen], possessing an A-level Talent [Person of Explosion], could turn everything she touched into a bomb. At this moment, under the protection of the Dream Spirit [Explosion-Proof Ring]'s explosion-proof field, she was swiftly shuttling through the various streets of Clone City. From large, sci-fi style buildings (which, as contact time increased, would start transforming into bombs from the point of contact) to small mechanical flowers by the roadside, as long as they were touched by her, they would explode violently in the next instant ([Bomb Queen] could set the bombs to be timed-detonation, instant-detonation, or conditional-detonation). Protected by the explosion-proof ring, the Bomb Queen was recklessly turning everything around her into bombs.

The [Hacker] who had invaded the Clone City urban monitoring System couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth as he watched the [Bomb Queen] on the holographic screen, who was advancing towards the Clone Tower while constantly turning everything around her into bombs. "I didn't expect that the famous [Bomb Queen] from the [Real World] would also become a Host of the [Dream System]. This female bomb maniac's Talent seems to be of the explosion type as well. I'd better stay away from her. She really is a 'terrifying' terrorist~" The [Hacker] yawned boredly and looked at the Hosts in the other screens.

A Host with a lightning-manipulation Talent was holding a giant sword flickering with blue-white thunder, hacking apart the guard robots in front of him that were aiming laser guns at him; a Host with a blinking-displacement Talent was moving across buildings, dodging the pursuit of aerial guard robots while continuously blinking towards the Clone Tower; a Host with a magnetic-manipulation Talent was using magnetism to continuously attract all the surrounding metal, forming a huge metal sphere in front of him, and rolling it towards the Clone Tower.

The 1,900 Clones who had undergone Awakening of self-awareness smashed surveillance cameras throughout Clone City on their way to the Clone Tower. Meanwhile, the guard robots in Clone City, originally disguised as building walls, automatically activated due to the chaos in Clone City. These guard robots, executing "purge" commands, turned into piles of scrap metal in front of the Hosts, each possessing powerful or special Talents.

The increasingly deafening alarms of the Clone Tower and the increasingly chaotic Clone City constantly stimulated the fragile nerves of the Original Humans, until the leader of the Original Humans took out an extremely rare paper book. The remaining 99 Original Humans stopped their hysterical wailing and screaming. Some were pale with fear, some were flushed with excitement, and some were gloomy with thought. Everyone's gaze was fixed on this held-up paper book. On the blood-red cover, which resembled cracked human skin, mysterious characters were outlined in purple-black liquid.

In stark contrast to the upheaval in the outside Clone City, the retro bar in the west district of Clone City still maintained its unique laziness and tranquility.

Gemini reclined on the leather sofa, his left-black and right-white hair trembling gently with the airflow in the bar. His black and white attire was particularly striking under the dim light. The sunset-colored special drink of the day in front of him had already been half-consumed. Fine bubbles were still slowly rising from the bottom of the glass, and the sweet, fresh fruity aroma lingered at the tip of his nose.

He did not get up or take any action; he only slightly turned his head and, through the bar's one-way viewing glass window, looked towards the intersection across the street.

Standing there was a particularly striking figure in purple clothes.

[Carnival Clown] was dressed in an exaggerated purple suit, his face painted with eerie, pale clown makeup. Hanging from his waist was a small toy box—that was his Dream Spirit [strange]. At this moment, he was continuously pulling small toys like colorful balloons, rubber bouncy balls, and maracas from the toy box and handing them to the passing Clones.

Every Clone who took the toy gained a hint of the vivid emotion that only true humans possess—desire.

Gemini watched this absurd scene, a smile involuntarily appearing at the corner of his mouth, a glimmer of helpless yet playful light flashing across the depths of his narrow eyes.

"I didn't expect that I would choose the same world as this madman, [Carnival Clown]."

Gemini picked up his glass, took a light sip of the sweet wine, and muttered in a low voice.

"The self-awareness that these Clones suddenly underwent Awakening with must be the work of [Carnival Clown]... As expected of [The Disorderly One], a natural troublemaker, wherever he goes, he destroys the rules of that place into pieces."

As if sensing Gemini's gaze, the Carnival Clown on the street suddenly stopped the action of handing out toys. He slowly turned around and faced the direction of the bar, even though it was just a bare silver wall.

The next second, the Carnival Clown bowed slightly, wearing a standard clown smile, and bowed elegantly towards the empty wall. He offered his most sincere greetings to the Gambler hiding in the shadows.