Gate of Revelation - Chapter 496

Chapter 496

GOR Chapter 496 Authority!

Zero City .

Part of this world’s… inceptive template .

Those words shocked Chen Xiaolian .

After considering it, he spoke up, “When you put it that way, you are Zero City’s main program? You… … are you alive? A self-aware life form?”

“No, I am just a program,” the voice replied calmly . “I have no self-awareness . I simply follow the command of the highest authority holder and am responsible for calculations, answering questions and operations . ”

Chen Xiaolian smiled wryly . “So… … what is going on right now?”

“In the absence of the highest authority holder, I was operating following the automatic operations routine mode,” Zero City continued answering with its calm voice that was devoid of emotions . “Now that a higher authority holder has been found, the routine mode has been automatically stopped . ”

Chen Xiaolian pondered those words before replying, “Routine mode… … is it the equivalent of a car’s autopilot mode?”

“Yes . ”

“If so, this higher authority holder… you are not by chance talking about me, are you?”

“It is you . ” This reply from Zero City sent a chill down Chen Xiaolian’s spine . “After finding a higher authority holder, I had automatically formed a connection with the template, operating while following the will of the higher authority holder . At the same time, routine mode was put to a stop while awaiting the higher authority holder’s instructions . ”

Routine mode stopped… … Chen Xiaolian carefully assessed those words . Then, he asked loudly, “I was in a room in Zero City . The power supply to the room was suddenly cut off and I was locked inside the room . Even the ventilation was cut off . Are these all…”

“All of them are the results of stopping the routine mode . I had stopped all operations under the routine mode,” Zero City gave a clear reply .

Chen Xiaolian sucked in a breath of cold air .

He could sense that this… … was huge .

He was certain the his room was not the only one suffering from a power outage, rather… …

All of Zero City!

If that were truly the case, this would be huge .

He thought about it and asked gingerly, “So, what is going on now? I am the higher authority holder that you are talking about? Does that mean I can… … give you commands?”

A few seconds later, Zero City gave an answer that drove Chen Xiaolian mad with rage .

“For the first question, at present, I am in a shutdown state . After exiting the routine mode, all operations were stopped and I have entered a dormant state .

“For the second question, you do fit the template criteria for the higher authority holder .

“The third question, the present you still cannot command me . ”

Chen Xiaolian kneaded his forehead . “You… … can you be more specific? The amount of information in those words is quite big and I cannot digest it all at once . What do you mean when you say I fit the template criteria for the higher authority holder and yet cannot command you?”

“Because you are a higher authority holder, but not the highest authority holder . ”

“… … I do not understand!” Chen Xiaolian replied furiously .

“The highest authority rests in the hands of my creators,” Zero City said . “You are not . ”

Chen Xiaolian thought about it . “Creators… … who? The Development Team?”

“According to your memories, the ones indicated by the term Development Team fits the criteria . Yes, the highest authority holder is the Development Team . They are my creators . ”

Chen Xiaolian was silent .

As expected, Zero City… … was also created by the Development Team .

Add this to the information he received from Mr San in their few encounters, he was able to piece together a certain information .

Mr San and his group of Irregularities seized a portion of this world’s main program, gained control over it and used it to create Zero City .

In other words, Zero City used to be part of this world’s main program and was created by the Development Team .

Just like a slice of cake that was pulled out from the main whole .

“So… … what exactly happened? This highest authority and I…”

Zero City continued intoning in that emotionless voice, “The highest authority has been locked out and the port has been cut . Thus, the seat of the highest authority holder has become indefinitely vacant . At present, I can only recognize the second highest authority . You fit the criteria of my second creator’s template . ”

“Second creators… … you mean the founders of Zero City?” Chen Xiaolian’s heart beat rapidly .

He sensed that… … maybe, he had come close to an answer to a certain question .

The creator of the main program was the Development Team .

However, the ones who created Zero City was Mr San’s group .

“The answer to your question is a definite yes . ” Zero City answered the question casually . “The founders of Zero City possessed the same template as you . I have come to recognize this template as the second highest authority . Following your standard of time, the second authority holders has not issued any command to me for a long time . Thus, I followed my inceptive programming and automatically entered the routine operational mode . When I recognized your template, I followed my programming and automatically closed off routine mode and entered a state of dormancy… … that is the general situation . ”

Chen Xiaolian carefully went over those words for a moment . Then, he said, “So, should I be doing something now?”

“You have acquired some authority . However, you are unable to give me commands that are too critical . ”

“For example?”

“For example, asking me to enter certain working state or operational mode . For now, you do not have the authority over these . However… … you do have some authority . ”

Chen Xiaolian’s heart skipped a beat . “For example?”

“For example, what you are thinking right now . ” The moment Zero City had spoken those words…

Chen Xiaolian suddenly felt his body plummet down from his position in the universe .

The speed at which he was falling turned the image before his eyes into a white screen of light . Then, he fell onto the surface of a planet .

Looking around, he saw that he was surrounded by mountains and rivers and fog enveloped the distance .

He found himself standing within a traditional pavilion on a flat hilltop . Before him were a square table and a soft couch .

Chen Xiaolian was taken aback . He subconsciously moved over and looked at the Chinese chessboard and the steaming cup of tea on the table . Beside the table was a small stove . Above the stove was a red clay pot and steam wafted out from the clay pot .

Chen Xiaolian was dumbfounded . “This is…”

“This is a scene I obtained from your memories . Something you drew out and imprinted into your memories,” replied Zero City . “Following your thoughts, I saw that you liked this scene . This could be considered a preferred scene . Thus, I helped you copy it out . ”

Chen Xiaolian revealed a look of shock . He slowly lowered his head and found that the clothes he wore had changed . It had become a white coloured Chinese robes . The sleeves billowed in the air as he reached out to feel his head . As expected, he found a hair knot on his head .

Chinese robes the colour of white snow, a remote hilltop, a solitary pavilion, Chinese chessboard, tea…

This scenery was a fantasy formed within Chen Xiaolian’s mind as a result of reading wuxia novels since young .

“It seems, all that is missing is a guqin… mm? [1]”

As Chen Xiaolian was mumbling to himself, he found that there was now a guqin on the surface of the table before him .

He was stunned by this . Next, he moved over and sat down, both his hands pressing down on the strings on the guqin .

As his fingers gently plucked the strings, a deep and sonorous tune rang out, sending waves of shock into Chen Xiaolian’s heart .

Naturally, he was not knowledgeable in guqin . At present however, whenever his fingers casually plucked the strings on the guqin, a melodious tone rang out from it…

“This is?”

Chen Xiaolian pulled back his hand .

“It is automatically generated based on your consciousness,” Zero City replied .

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian abruptly stood up . “Enough, put this aside . You have surprised me enough . ”

With a swooshing sound, the scene before him disappeared completely .

The traditional pavilion, the square table, the tea trays, the Chinese chessboard, the guqin… … all of them disappeared .

Chen Xiaolian found himself standing on nothingness . Nothingness spread out all around him .

Next, he found his feet upon a white ground . The ground was flat, without any gaps and was as smooth as a mirror .

“This is the minimalist mode . ” Zero City’s voice rang out again . “It meets the criteria within your mind . ”

“Enough . ” Chen Xiaolian sighed . “Can you stop reading my mind?”

“This request cannot be achieved . ” Zero City’s reply came as a shock for Chen Xiaolian . “From the moment you entered, your mind has become integrated . Thus, as of now, it would be appropriate for me to say that I can now understand everything that you are thinking about . There is no longer a wall separating us . ”

“That… … is not fair . ” Chen Xiaolian smiled wryly . “I cannot read your mind . ”

“That is a protective mechanism meant for your sake,” Zero City replied . “There are too many computing nodes in my mind . You mind would be unable to endure the large amount of information within my mind . The moment a connection of that type is made, your mind would burst and you would lose all self-awareness . ”

“… … well, forget it then . ” Chen Xiaolia raised his brows . “Now, can I ask you a question? For example, what should I do now?”

“What needs to be done would depend on your objective . Your actions would depend on what your objectives and motivations are,” Zero City slowly replied . “From what I have read from your mind, what you urgently want to do right now is to find the answer to the question in your mind . ”

“… … so, there is no need for me to say anything and you already know what I want to ask, right?”

“Yes . ”

“If so… … answer it . ”

“Yes . ” Zero City’s monotonous and emotionless voice paused for a moment before speaking again .

“From your perspective, at a certain point in time, something happened . I was cut out from the main world and became a separate program . After that, someone cut and utterly damaged the port that connected me to the main program . Doing so was the equivalent of sealing the highest authority holder’s ability to exert control over me . In a sense, the highest authority holder became non-existent from my perspective . The reasoning behind that is because, according to my calculations, I concluded that the possibility of reconnecting the port to be infinitesimally small . Thus, the existence of the highest authority holder became meaningless to me .

“As for the ones who cut me out, they acquired the authority to issue commands to me . They could control and operate me . I named them the second highest authority holders .

“Following the question in your mind: How did they cut me out and gain the second highest authority? The second highest authority holders had deleted the answer to that question . Thus, I am unable to answer that question . ”

Chen Xiaolian rolled his eyes .

Mr San and his group… … they…

“The second highest authority holders then transformed me into a separate program . I mimicked a major number of the main program’s functions, creating Zero City . The second highest authority holders called it ‘refuge’ . That was my earliest name .

“After the refuge was established, there were a total of seven second highest authority holders .

“According to your memories, the one known as ‘Mr San’ or ‘Umbrella’ fits one of the second highest authority holders . ”

Chen Xiaolian felt his spirit rousing .

Mr San was indeed one of Zero City’s founders .

“Additionally, the information on the other six second highest authority holders could not be released because their information had been deleted . ”

“Deleted? Who deleted it?” Chen Xiaolian stared .

“The last person to delete it was Mr San . ”

Damn it… … Chen Xiaolian rolled his eyes again .

“Why delete it?”

“There is no stored answer to this question . ”

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian smiled bitterly . “Forget I asked . Just continue . ”

“At another point in time, the second highest authority holder grew silent… … what I meant by that is that they no longer issued any instructions to me for a long time .

“The last one to issue me instructions was Mr San . After deleting some information, he switched me to automatic routine mode .

“Ever since then, the second highest authority holders all entered a state of silence . That is, until you appeared . ”

Chen Xiaolian was silent… … a few seconds later, before Zero City could say anything else, he blurted impatiently, “Finished?”

“Finished . ”

“That… is it?” Chen Xiaolian was unable to stop himself from going furious . “Those things you said, I had mostly guessed it on my own! Don’t you have a more valuable information or clue?”

“… … there is . In the end, Mr San did leave behind a voice message . The label given to it indicated that only the second highest authority holder may access it . ”

“… access it!” Chen Xiaolian did not hesitate . After saying that however, he grew concerned and said, “I… … I can access it, right?”

“You cannot . ” Zero City’s answer made Chen Xiaolian feel like slashing out with his sword .

“… … you!” Chen Xiaolian held back the desire to curse out .

Zero City maintained its impartial tone . “According to your mind, there is this analogy that you like to use: Assuming I am a house, Mr San and his group are the owners . As for you, due to the similarity in your template, you could be considered a relative with the same blood . As such, you are allowed to enter this house .

“You may rest in the house, open up the refrigerator and eat whatever is inside, control some simple household appliances…

“However, you are just a ‘relative’, or should I say, a ‘guest’ .

“Just because you are allowed to open the refrigerator does not mean you are allowed to open the owner’s safe .

“This analogy fits your preferences . I hope you can understand it . ”

“I understand,” Chen Xiaolian answered feebly . “This analogy of yours really does fit my preference . ”

Pausing for a moment, Chen Xiaolian then asked, “If so, I believe there must be a way for me to obtain the second highest authority, right? Since my template is similar and you have chosen to recognize me, that means there is something I need to do to acquire this authority, right?”

“Yes, you need to go through a screening process to obtain the second highest authority . ”

“And then I would be able to access the recording that Mr San left behind?”

“Not only that, you would also obtain the same authority that Mr San and his group possess . Meaning, whatever it is Mr San can ask me to do, you who have obtained the authority could do the same . ”

“Then what are you waiting for? Come on! What do I need to do?”

Chen Xiaolian’s heart grew excited .

This is… … the highest authority in Zero City!

…

1 Guqin is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument .