Chapter 73: Horror Live Stream (Part 10)
"It's the core of all code. Without it, no program can run. But correspondingly, it can also control all the code. If it truly gains consciousness, its reaction speed and learning ability will absolutely be higher than any of ours. If it wants to do something, we won't be able to stop it."
The bespectacled boy seemed to have thought of something terribly frightening, and his tone carried fear. "Why? We designed it specifically to prevent this situation, that's why we didn't make it an artificial intelligence. What caused it to suddenly undergo such a change?"
"I have completely... lost control of it."
"How could Wenshi develop such a huge problem! It happened just now, and now again! Weren't you fine when your company demonstrated the holographic technology?" The director's expression grew even grimmer. Someone with some first aid knowledge had already gone to rescue the staff member who had collapsed earlier. But the effect seemed minimal—the person performing the rescue was trembling more and more with each passing moment.
The director watched as the other person trembling placed their hand in front of the man's nose.
"Since we launched this technology, we've definitely run countless experiments. All previous experiments were fine. Before the recording, we also meticulously checked every code and program—no abnormalities." The boy's voice grew urgent. "But when the program recording began, the first time I used holographic technology, Wenshi seemed to show a bit of change. But it immediately returned to normal. We checked many times afterward, and there were absolutely no abnormalities, so we just let it go..."
"Until just now, when holographic technology was officially deployed. I discovered it suddenly seemed to have developed its own consciousness. We tried many methods, attempted many times, but we simply couldn't control it."
"That means... what happens next in the program, we have no way of knowing!"
"He... he's dead." The person who had been trying to save him stammered. The moment he finished speaking, the fragile silence that had barely been maintained dissolved entirely, and the crowd instantly erupted in chaos.
"Why did he suddenly die? He was fine just before. How could it happen so suddenly?"
"Don't you all think it's strange? He just happened to die at that precise moment. Right when he was speaking, it was as if... something was preventing him from saying the rest of his words." The speaker was a girl wearing light makeup. Whether it was her natural complexion or because she was frightened, her face had turned deathly pale. "I remember, he was saying the protagonist of the script had changed—from Liang Xuan to..."
"Yes, exactly here. We did input the script designed by the planning department into Wenshi. He said the character profiles hadn't changed much, only the protagonist of the script. But why... why did the protagonist change? And who did it change to?" The moment the girl spoke, someone immediately recalled the scene from that time.
But the last words the man said before collapsing were incomprehensible to most people. The director told everyone to try calling outside, even to pass messages online.
Without exception, every method they could think of failed.
They couldn't contact the outside world at all.
The dead man lay on the ground. The living scrambled to try all sorts of methods. Although they were all staff members of this live broadcast program, when faced with a life-and-death crisis, the program recording was pushed aside.
"Wait! Wenshi is reacting!" The boy who had been focusing on Wenshi since the incident suddenly shouted. "It wants us to help it with something. During this program recording, it hopes to add a few segments. Otherwise, it will... kill us!"
On the computer screen, rows of blood-red text suddenly appeared. A foul, rotting smell drifted through the crowd. Everyone turned to look at the boy, only to see blood dripping in front of his computer.
Drip, drip.
The words appearing on the computer were as if written with thick, concentrated blood—separated by the screen, yet truly dripping onto the floor.
It was like a silent warning.
"Now, we are issuing a task." The broadcast voice suddenly sounded. "In order to help everyone better understand the case and make the program more interesting, we have decided to add two more segments. Every day at sunset, the four groups must gather together to discuss the case. You may speculate based on the clues you've obtained. At the end of each discussion, everyone needs to share their general theory of what happened."
The voice paused for a moment. "At the end of each discussion, the person whose theory is furthest from the truth of the case will receive a punishment."
"Throughout the process, you may intentionally hide or share incorrect clues. However, there is one thing you must remember! The person furthest from the truth will be punished!"
The person responsible for delivering the notice put special emphasis on the last sentence.
Qi An's expression shifted. He squinted his eyes and quickly surveyed his surroundings.
The person delivering the task seemed to want to warn them of something by emphasizing that tone.
Warning them they should take this seriously, not become the last place. Otherwise, the punishment would be severe.
The connection in the earpiece was still dead. Liang Xuan's expression was terrible. Although her shoulder wound had been simply treated under the guidance of netizens, blood kept seeping from her injury. But strangely, she could still walk normally.
This wasn't the reaction a body should have when losing too much blood. It was as if some kind of miraculous force was supporting her movements—and also consuming Liang Xuan's future vitality.
[System, do you sense any strange energy fluctuations?] Qi An's gaze fell on the window outside—that was where the program's backstage was located.
[... No.] The system ran a scan and quickly answered.
[Mm.] Qi An hummed lightly, turning his head to glance at Liang Xuan.
Before the recording, the program team had promised there would be absolutely no danger. But now it had not only added new segments but also was covertly warning them.
Something had gone wrong with the program team.
Yet Qi An couldn't sense any energy fluctuations. The system couldn't detect anything either.
Why?
The black-haired少年 glanced at the window again, lightly furrowing his brows.
"Beyond that, because we are using a live broadcast format this time, we also hope to increase interaction between the guests and the audience, giving viewers a higher sense of immersion."
"We have decided to hold several special activities for the audience. First, we will randomly select one person from the commenting audience, and this lucky viewer will participate in this recording. Second, every day, we will ask the audience a question based on that day's live content."
"Those who answer correctly will receive a reward. Those who answer incorrectly will receive some punishment."
The speaking voice stopped there, and the room returned to silence. Before this, Liang Xuan had been talking, and their live stream room could be considered lively. But at this point, both of them were extremely quiet.
Fortunately, perhaps due to the newly issued task, other team members had already begun looking for the group. After walking in silence for a while, Qi An and Liang Xuan heard footsteps approaching.
"Liang Xuan and... Qi An?" The first to walk in was an ordinary-looking young man. "Hello, I'm Zhi Le."
With her was a very cute girl, petite and delicate, appearing to be only about one meter five tall. Qi An knew this girl was a very famous streamer named Xue Qiuzhen.
"It's almost noon now. Zhen and I just spotted a pot of ingredients earlier—very bountiful, a big pot of bone broth. It should be prepared by the program team. Let's go eat now." Zhi Le said with a smile. Then, he suddenly froze. "Liang Xuan, what happened to your arm?"
"You said you two saw a pot of bones... was it... in the bedroom?" Qi An said, as if afraid.
"Ah, yeah, why?" The interrupted boy seemed somewhat unhappy.
"I just saw a diary, and there were some things in it..."
—To get him, I took out a knife and cut him into pieces... put him in the pot...