Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 468: Chapter 467: Have I Really Become the Villain This Time?

[Assistance Mission: Protect the World]

[This world is under the threat of instability and intrusion. Find the source of the threat and completely eradicate it so that this world can continue to function normally (Objective 1: Eliminate the Savior Neo. Objective 2: Eliminate Mephist. Objective 3: Eliminate Agent Smith. Objective 4: Destroy Zion. Objective 5: Fully terminate the Savior program.)]

”Ring-ring... Ring-ring...”

In the deserted phone booth at the street corner, suddenly, a ringing sound emerged. Moments later, a man wearing a black trench coat, accompanied by a girl in a white dress, stepped out of the booth.

”Hmm... I’ve always wanted to try on this outfit.”

Pleased with the black trench coat on him, Fang Zheng nodded in satisfaction. Then, he stretched out his hand and took a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and put them on. After that, he looked up toward the street in front of him.

What now appeared before Fang Zheng was no longer the apocalyptic ruinous landscape of before. Towering skyscrapers reached into the clouds, cars whizzed by on the streets, and in the distance, one could see surging crowds—no matter how you looked at it, this was a completely normal metropolis.

But Fang Zheng was aware that this was not the real world.

The Matrix of Hackers.

In Fang Zheng’s world, this was a rather famous movie, which told the story of a hacker named Neo who, guided by Mephist, discovered that the everyday world in which he lived was just a false world created by computers. And to break free from that world and gain freedom, Neo started a journey to resist the Motherbody alongside Mephist... Well, to be honest, the movie was quite interesting; it was a hit all over, and the ”bullet time” it created became a trend that many animations, games, and movies imitated afterward.

Neo’s image in the movie, wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses, ignited countless young girls’ hearts. Even many men were interested in that look, but the harsh reality proved that people look handsome because they are naturally good-looking, not because they can enhance their appearance by wearing clothes.

Looking at his reflection in the phone booth glass, Fang Zheng thought that there was indeed a lot of truth to that statement. If he were to audition for the lead role in The Matrix of Hackers looking like this, then there would probably be no job for Keanu Reeves.

However, his mission now was to make this world’s ”Keanu Reeves” exit the stage early.

”The timing should be after the first installment...”

Recalling his prior mission, Fang Zheng murmured to himself. In the first film, the enemies Neo faced were the world’s order-keeping agents, ”Smith”. Their duty was just like antivirus software, moving around every corner of this virtual world, safeguarding the world’s order, and ”cleaning up” those who realized the truth about this world.

They kidnapped Neo’s mentor Mephist and attempted to extract the Zion access codes from him. But in the end, Neo, who had awakened the Savior’s power, took down Smith and rescued Mephist.

But that was not the end. Perhaps because Neo did not fully master his own power at that time, the antivirus program known as ”Agent Smith” underwent a mutation, turning into a self-aware virus that broke away from the Motherbody’s control, began replicating itself massively... Hmm, considering that one of the mission objectives includes eliminating Agent Smith, clearly the first movie’s plot has concluded, and Neo has become the ”Savior.”

”What should we do next, master?”

”Hmm...”

Hearing Nymph’s question, Fang Zheng pondered for a moment and then gave an answer.

”Let’s take it step by step. First, we’ll take out Agent Smith, then... we’ll go find Neo and the others.”

Saying this, Fang Zheng looked toward Nymph.

”Nymph, do you have a way to find that guy?”

”This... is quite difficult for now.”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s question, Nymph pondered for a moment before frowning and shaking her head.

”The data flow here is too massive and complex, and currently, we don’t have the precise data encoding for the program called ’Agent Smith’... I think it might take some time.”

”There’s no need for that.”

Hearing Nymph’s response, Fang Zheng patted her small head.

”First, search and see if you can find any special code programs. Those Saviors must have exploited some kind of vulnerability to enter this world, and they’re likely to leave behind some rather obvious traces. Once we catch onto those clues, we can lure the agents to show up on their own, and then... we will have plenty of ways to deal with them.”

”Yes, Master.”

This time, Nymph didn’t hesitate at all. She opened her eyes, and circles of light emerged within her azure irises. At the same time, the white mechanical device by her ear began to flicker with a faint electronic radiance. NovelFire.Côm-cσ๓

”Scanning program activated... beginning extensive search... found them! There are three unauthorized signals moving southeast.”

”Good, we need to resolve the cheat users quickly to restore a fair gaming environment for the vast majority of players. Get to work, Nymph.”

At this moment, just two streets away from Fang Zheng and the others, three men in suits and sunglasses were cautiously making their way forward, carefully observing their surroundings. They arrived in the depths of an alleyway and the lead suit-man knocked on a door. A slit opened up in the door, and after the person inside scrutinized the outside through the gap, he opened the door to let the three men in.

”You weren’t followed by agents, were you?”

”No.”

In response to the question, the leading man shook his head and then produced a data disk.

”This is the latest information we’ve obtained. It contains the Motherbody’s inner-layer access data; we need to get this to Neo...”

”Don’t mention his name.”

But before the man could finish, he was interrupted by someone in the room. The person looked around nervously, as if paranoid, and then wrapped their coat tightly around themselves as though cold.

”Be careful not to mention that name. The Mother System is always watching us. We must be cautious, even more cautious...”

While speaking, the person reached out to take the data disk from the man’s hand, caressing it tenderly as if it were a lover, then slipped it into his pocket and turned to walk deeper into the tunnel. At the same time, the man picked up a phone and held it to his ear.

”We must leave immediately! Alpha, where is the nearest exit from here?”

”At the public phone booth on Fifth Street!”

”Let’s go!”

Upon receiving the message, the group quickly hastened their pace, heading deeper into the tunnel.

”The public phone booth on Fifth Street?”

Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes and smiled. These ”hackers” were using the Mother System’s vulnerabilities to ”smuggle” themselves in, so they couldn’t log out ”anytime” like official employees. Instead, they had to find another vulnerability and unauthorized port to leave this world. This was also the weakness of these ”hackers.”

But for Fang Zheng, he had no such concerns.

”We’re going to Fifth Street, Nymph, prepare the car.”

”Yes, Master.”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s command, Nymph nodded, then stretched out her hand and pointed forward.

”Swoosh!!”

Like magic, a black sports car appeared instantly before Fang Zheng and Nymph. Seeing this, Fang Zheng could not help but whistle appreciatively.

”Indeed, having administrator privileges is amazing... Get in, time for the old driver to take the wheel!”