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

Chapter 478: Chapter 477: The Deletion Test is over, please prepare to log off, players.

What exactly is the story of The Matrix of Hackers about?

Many film reviews claim it tells a tale of humanity’s search for freedom, but Fang Zheng always sneered at this notion. The biggest weakness of Hollywood movies lies right there. To them, freedom isn’t a necessity, but a political correctness. If it’s for freedom, then even sleeping with your wife, killing your entire family is considered just. Conversely, if it’s not for freedom, then it’s evil and needs to be defeated.

But the problem is, freedom can’t be eaten like food.

Of course, throughout history, there have been many wars fought for the sake of freedom, slaves rising against their masters, peasants overthrowing landlords. But for them, freedom wasn’t political correctness, it was a necessity. They didn’t want others to decide their fate, didn’t want others determining their future. They hoped to change their lives through their own efforts, to give themselves and their descendants better days ahead.

And that’s the focal point.

However, judging from the perspective of history, one would find that the story of The Matrix of Hackers is illogical and doomed to fail.

Many see the grand finale of the third installment as a failure, but in truth, Fang Zheng believes it was almost an inevitable outcome.

Mephist and Neo seek freedom, to overthrow the machines that enslave humanity, and then what?

Let’s consider the basic premise of this world—the sun shrouded by dark clouds, the earth barren, devoid of life, food needing to be synthesized. In such a world, a person can still enjoy virtual delights and sunshine within the Motherbody, so what can they obtain in reality?

Even if we took a huge step back and assumed that Neo’s protagonist aura exploded and he ultimately took control of the entire Motherbody, liberating all of humanity from its enslavement, would they lead better lives?

In a resource-deprived, sunless Wasteland where survival is already difficult, how would you feed billions of people? Rely on love for energy, support a household with ghosts?

Perhaps the director knew very well that his setup was ridiculous, so in the end, apart from depicting an ending where humanity reconciles with the Motherbody, there was really no other way out.

The reason is simple: Their convictions in battle, in Fang Zheng’s view, are not only naive but fragile.

They fight for the sake of freedom, but freedom itself is not an end, it’s a means. Of course, Hollywood movies are full of such protagonists. Not only that, but this is also true in games. Fang Zheng once played a game called ”Return to the Nazi Headquarters,” which tells the story of Nazi Germany ruling the world and then the characters rising in rebellion... Well, on the surface, this doesn’t seem different from The Matrix of Hackers.

But the issue is that the development team’s attempt to humanize the the protagonist just made it hard for Fang Zheng to accept. So much so that, after completing the story, despite it being a very positive game, Fang Zheng felt it might have been better if the Nazis ruled the world?

Of course, you could say Nazi rule is cold and cruel, filled with racial discrimination, and bloody violence. But compared to a protagonist who enjoys pounding his enemies into pulp, has childhood traumas, and is prone to violence, an officer who needs drugs to receive ”revelations” and set missions, and a demolition maniac willing to commit terrorist acts to kill Nazis... Fang Zheng contends at least the Nazi-ruled society had some semblance of order, didn’t it?

And once the entire Earth is handed over to these delusional mental patients who rely on drugs to maintain their convictions and live only for revenge, who knows what would become of it? This is why, after Fang Zheng finished the game, he felt no sense of accomplishment; they defeated the Nazis, so what? With this group of lunatics and riffraff in charge, what kind of country could they construct? Perhaps worse than Nazi tyranny!

A war requires not just rousing slogans but quiet, long-term dedication. It’s not difficult to be excited under the banner, wanting to sacrifice one’s life for one’s beliefs. What’s difficult is to persist for a lifetime, and this is something Fang Zheng could never see in those protagonists. Their actions were like those around-the-clock Hollywood blockbusters: thrilling, blood-pumping, but brief—at most lasting 120 minutes. If they hadn’t defeated the final boss by then, they’d consider quitting.

To Fang Zheng, Neo was such an impetuous protagonist—young, naive, passionate, easily swayed. So when Mephist approached him, he was almost too eager to accept the invitation.

And as for why Neo continued to choose to be the Savior, to Fang Zheng, the reason was simple—because in the real world, he had no choice. If he didn’t play the Savior, he would just be waiting to die, like everyone else. He couldn’t just quit a job or switch careers as one could in the virtual world. And because of ”political correctness,” he couldn’t defect to the Motherbody, so aside from continuing the job of Savior, which didn’t promise much, he had no other goals.

And now... it’s time for this dream to awaken.

Fang Zheng stopped in his tracks and looked up. Before him stood the massive, sturdy metal gates of Zion, with automatic guns mounted on both sides sensing the approach of an enemy and quickly aiming at the target. But the next moment, they lost power and turned into heaps of scrap metal.

Fang Zheng then cocked his head.

”Nymph, open the gate.”

”Boom, rumble, rumble———”

The gate slowly opened.

On the metal platform on the other side of the gate, hundreds of Mechas stood at the ready, lifting their machine guns and aiming forward, prepared to fire at any moment. But... when they saw what was unfolding before their eyes, everyone’s breath involuntarily hitched.

All they saw, accompanied by the opening of the metal gates, was a young man in a black trench coat with sunglasses, hands clasped behind his back, slowly walking in from the outside. Behind him followed a girl with twin pigtails, dressed in odd clothing with blue hair. They strolled forward as if walking in a park.

But as the two of them moved forward, everything around them started to lose its effect. Even the turrets used for defense, which surrounded them, had fallen completely silent.

”Hey there, good to see you.”

Fang Zheng raised his hand, smiling and waving to the crowd. Seeing the man who had suddenly appeared, the crowd was unsure how to react; eventually, Mephist stepped out from among them, staring at him coldly.

”What are you doing here?”

Although Mephist’s tone was icy, the expression in his eyes was complex—in the real world, they wore tattered clothes made from coarse cloth due to the lack of industry. Perhaps that was why, in the virtual world, they dressed more handsomely than anyone else.

But now, before him stood Fang Zheng, dressed in a clean, crisply pressed coat just like inside the Motherbody, complete with sunglasses, as if he were mocking them. Watching this, Mephist’s resolve began to shake once more. Could it be... everything he had said was true? If, if that were the case...

”I’ve already told you... oh, it seems I haven’t, but it doesn’t matter. I’m here to tell you again,” said Fang Zheng.

As he spoke, Fang Zheng snapped his fingers, and soon a cacophony of noise erupted from the speakers around. Then, Fang Zheng’s voice began to echo throughout the entirety of Zion.

”All right, I will do the explaining now. Players of Earth OL, thank you for your support and love of The Matrix of Hackers version, but regretfully, due to various reasons, this server will be shut down completely. Please, players, log off early. Earth OL will transport you back to the Motherbody for free, so you can enjoy the game again...”

”Don’t joke around!!”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, some people immediately roared in anger. And those soldiers operating the mechanical Battle Armor became even more furious, raising their guns to aim at Fang Zheng.

”You lapdog of the Motherbody, don’t spout nonsense here! We absolutely won’t go back!!”

”Da da da da!!!”

As the sound of gunfire rang out, countless bullets whistled toward Fang Zheng and Nymph. Yet faced with the barrage, Fang Zheng merely smirked.

The next moment, something startling occurred.

Countless bullets silently stopped in front of Fang Zheng, as if frozen in the air, densely packed together like a shield. Seeing this, the once fierce gunfire gradually slowed and, unnoticed, finally came to a complete stop.

”... he was telling the truth, after all...”

Standing on the balcony and witnessing this, Neo felt his whole body trembling. This scene was all too familiar for him; he too had done the same thing within the Motherbody!

But now...

”Click clack click clack...”

The bullets frozen in the air fell to the ground, and Fang Zheng reached out his right hand to the side.

”Nymph, the sword.”

”Yes, Master.”

Following Nymph’s response, a silver-white greatsword materialized out of thin air, now held in Fang Zheng’s hand. Seeing this, no one doubted anymore—if blocking bullets could be explained as some Special Ability, then conjuring something out of thin air was absolutely impossible in the real world!

”So, players.”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng raised the greatsword, pointing it forward.

”I apologize, but this game is shutting down for good.”