Guo Dai's face ed in frustration as he angrily threw his hands up, as seen from the holographic s. From his expression, it was clear he... didn't like the idea of a Private Server I gave him? His brows knitted, and his lips curled into a sneer when he smmed his hand on the desk, the thud eg through the speakers afterward.

  "I know you always have wild ideas. But, e on!" Guo Dai shook his head, pointing a fi his temple afterward. "Use your brain! Logic!"

  It seemed he thought my idea was crazy? Too crazy, eve, rather than feeling disced, his skepticism only strengthened my belief. There was something deeply satisfying about pushing past the limits of what he believed was impossible.

  It made me let out a smirk.

  "Yeah, we have been so set into this regime that their doe is too deep-rooted, leaving you unaware reality is even more absurd than the fial world."

  "Tsk." He scratched his head shly that his hair looked disheveled. "What do you mean by that? Another spiracy theory?! The hell!"

  'Alright. Imagining possibilities isn't his style.'

  "Whatever you want to call it. Every system has fws; even Helios was designed by people, and people... well, they make mistakes. To uand these, we o think about the basipos of ital infrastructure."

  While expining, I brought up my left hand, which had Helios attached to it.

  But, uhh, expining iail didn't seem necessary, as everyone knows already that this metal bracelet was the bae of everything: personal unication, transport systems, health ma, financial dealings, educational ptforms, and ws.

  I emphasized again... everything.

  Helios funed as a tral hub through which all data passed, guaranteeing that information circuted through this system and a more advanced level of popution trol. This tralized system was mandated by ime... Re , who used Helios not only to implement ws aions. But also oversee their application with the local Gover.

  That was why something or someone g a link to this device was absurd; if something was unusual, a bracelet on our hand could detect behavior patterns to verify something unusual. Theorem would follow up on that.

  Those who refused Helios' service were stigmatized with suspi as a threat to social stability. Because Helios wasn't merely a teological devibsp;

  It was a symbol of legalese.

  ime, too, established a legal framework that mahe use of Helios. This framework included strict privacy ws that dictated how data collected by the bracelets could be used. Prevention against potential abuse was outlined in terms of penalties for unauthorized data breaches.

  In essence, without Helios, you and anyone... or anything near you wouldn't have rights.

  "See?!" Guo Dai stood up and leaned his face to the point that filled the s. "Easy to haything since all data is collected here, thru this Helios. But, bruh, the sequences are easily detected! I even have to employ multiple yers of digital obfuscation. bine distributed peer-to-peer works with dynamic IP masking. Rotate encryption teiques tinuously..."

  Up he goes rambling on about the method he used. Oh, well, rather than cut him off, I just nodded. And me bringing up such a radical idea must have been shog. I know his skepticism was born from a deep uanding of the past and the possible sequences of such as.

  Thus, I let him be.

  "...avoid pattern reition. HAH!!" His breath was raspy; it arent how tired he was of babbling on and on without stopping. He then threw himself onto his puter chair and spun himself around. "You are just a crazy theoretical guy."

  "But you do it, right?"

  He stopped. Turned back to the s and seemed to raise his eyebrow. "This is TOTALLY different from creating a separate server, moron! No. Even if there are hackers better tha is still impossible. The only one who create private servers IS the person who created the Helios server itself. Aorem , making a private server, seriously?! Brain 404 not found, beep, boop."

  Now, he started mog me...

  Whatever.

  "Not my point. I emphasize my first one: every system has its fws. Helios, too, has loopholes; your ability to hack it alone proves its security isn't that infallible. And there is one way to escape its system without causing a se."

  Guo Dai gave a chuckle; I could tell he was trying to undermine what I wao say. "Huh. Escape? By making Helios malfun?"

  "No. It was the worst method as it provoked a professional team to deal with damaged Helios and do a check-up on us. The way is..."

  I deliberately paused, which piqued Guo Dai's curiosity. He leaned closer to his s as if trying te our physical distance.

  This made me smirk, and thus tinued, "...by being astray."

  Helios would read and analyze the patterns within its systems; people's activity, the pany's flow system, anything. But it wasn't always there and accessible because, as I mentioned, our reality was even more absurd than fi, in such a way that a massive storm in the poles would interrupt Helios' signal, causing a dise. They would be ected agaihe storm died down.

  But let's make a parable. What about Helios buried deep within a remote, abandoned underground facility, shielded by toughened metal and rock yers?

  The result would be the same as Helios, whose signal was blocked due to the "natural elements."

  Listening to my expnation, Guo Dai looked surprised, or rather, amazed. He let out a long gasp. Mouth kept an O-shape. Eyes sparkled. But that theed away with a frown on his face like eating a sour fruit.

  "So, you said, this private server operates outside Helios' dete capabilities, allowing it to exist? Still doesn't make seo me. The problem is, 't Re detect the st known location of the server? Or ask NeoGehey hide their server?! That makes more sense!"

  This made me smile. "They 't, as NeoGe know where it is either."

  "Wait, wait, wait. You say self... they don't even know where their own server is? How? How is it possible? Just how?"

  "Because the medium keeps moving on its own."

  Right! I imagihe device carrying this server wasn't static like a typical data ter. Instead, it was desigo be highly mobile—maybe hidden inside a particur vehicle that keeps moving to stay hidden.

  This vehicle could use powerful signal boosters and switch betweeworks to stay ected, even ie pces. This would make it challenging for Re to find or block the server. This was doo ehe server was secure from being promised even when NeoGen was at risk.

  We also discussed one of the more advaeologies than other panies! More radical ideas might make it possible to create objects that move ued and unobserved for them.

  "OOOHHHH!!!!" Guo Dai stood up until the stomp of his backflip chair was heard clearly, pointing at me—or better said, at the s—with his hand. With that self-righteous serious face, he shook his head repeatedly, spping his hand again and again, ting again and again, "Genius. Such a genius."

  'What is this behavior?'

  Earlier, he called me brainless, now a genius? What a quick mood swing!

  "Man. Always surprising. Just from I found a dead end, you already thought this far!" Guo Dai's words made me refocus on him; his smile and eyes told me he was sincere. "Simply scary!"

  "Yeah, scary or not..." I lean against my chair. "The real terror lies in, well, you know, implications. If there is a server out there beyond reach, sider what that represents. Freedom? Rebellion? Or maybe, a trap?"

  'This might be why NeoGen didn't produce VR:Sers anymore...'

  Re sure would address the matter as they deemed the server an act of rebellion (interpreting the ability of o create an unmonitored system as a direct threat to their regime). Si was beyond their reach that symbolized a bea of resistance—of freedom—space away from this 's grasp. That was why their produ was cut off.

  Seizing plete data on how the NeuroVerse System works might be impossible, as it was stored on that private server, and nobody would have remembered its specifitent or had a copy.

  They might have thought about extrag data from the existing VR:Sers. But it wasn't as simple as it seemed. The helmets were likely packed with encryption and advanced security, making direct extra difficult. Thee their attempts, the critical data and blueprints weren't on these devices.

  But at the said private server.

  At the same time, Re couldn't take all the circuted helmets to be a "fiscated property," as people had bee depe on using them for healing and medical treatments. Even NeoGen gave 25,000 copies to hospitals (around the world) as therapy media. Besides already being supported by the public, the most pusible thing this game still existed was that the Re used VR:Ser themselves.

  Yes, as a pyer.

  Willing or not, both parties pretended nothing happened in front of the publid proceeded as usual. But behind the ses, Re poiheir gun while, together, NeoGen raised a ko their own throat... with a smile on their face.

  Oh, well, the theory I thought of was indeed crazy and provided more questions than answers.

  Guo Dai tidied his chair and sat ba it. "More so... if I find out about this private server, even by act, it means whoever set it up wants, at least someoo know about its existence. But who?"

  "Dunno. Wao be found by you, maybe."

  "Found by me? Please," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I am ly the chosen one here; the reason I know this is because of you!"

  Still leaning in my chair, hands interlocked over my stomach, I allowed myself a moment of rexation. "I could be a mere intermediary, right? Everyone is chosen for something; the aspect of whether it is big or not is what makes the difference."

  "An intermediary, huh?" Guo Dai seemed to like the idea. He started rubbing his with a smiling expression of self-amusement. Well, I knew what he was thinking, so to support him, I smiled along. "Is this my debut? Finally my skills will be noticed?!"

  "Isn't that good news?"

  "Hell yeah, Dude! I know I am better than anyone else! Right? Right?!"

  "Absolutely." I nodded, dispying the same level of enthusiasm. "Your skills are exceptional. And maybe they need someoh your talents!"

  "Then not going to sit back. Dive deeper, push harder!! You see, I am gonna show 'em who is the boss!" Aarted pung the air.

  His behavior was childish—Oh, wait, that was how a teenager should act. Anyway, Guo Dai should be able to focus more on what I asked now. Not just out of curiosity. But also being involved, though, actually, he wasn't.

  'I better emphasize it now.'

  "So, satisfied with your more exg stuff? When will my task be done?"

  He looked fused. "Huh?"

  "You got distracted to hack their game server. While I asked for information about my VR:Ser, Guo Dai."

  "Eh? Um, n-no! You got it wrong!!"

  "What else do you want tue about? From the beginning, I suspected your behavior, so I brought up the matter of hag the server, and it turns out you were INDEED distracted by it. If you answer: Why suddenly ask about hag the server? You didn't ask for that! Perhaps I will accept your nonsense."

  "But this exg stuff is also part of your task!"

  I clicked my tongue. "Not what I asked."

  "Okay, okay, I went a little too far. It was like winning the lottery when I discovered this anomaly, you know! But I get it. Your task first." Winking one eye, Guo Dai gave a two-finger salute. "Adios, my friend."

  The s went bck as the e ended, leaving the room quieter.

  'Alright, this is done, now... of course, sleep.'

  I was already too tired with today's event, you know.

  D.N.A.