The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 205 - 145 [42]_2

Chapter 205: Chapter 145 [42]_2

"Without the mistress’s order, they can’t go in."

The large man in a suit on the left glared at Zhou Yuan and the others coldly and fiercely, "What’s more, Miss Weiwei, you are simple-minded and easily deceived. These people don’t look like good people to me at all. I highly doubt their ability to cure the cybernetic plague."

"I saw it with my own eyes. Do you doubt me?" Weiwei said coldly, "If the treatment is delayed, I will never forgive you."

The large man in a suit remained silent, his artificial eye flickering, seemingly communicating with someone.

A moment later, he looked at Zhou Yuan and the others and said, "The mistress has spoken. She can meet you, but you must pass three trials first.

And the first trial..."

Suddenly, the flow of time slowed down.

In the near-frozen bullet time, the two large men in suits moved, trailing afterimages behind them. In an instant, they appeared in front of Zhou Yuan and the others, a mocking and contemptuous grin on their faces, as they threw out their metal-glossed iron fists.

Their cybernetic bodies were military-grade. The power contained in that punch could flip a truck weighing tens of tons!

These frail bodies with no cybernetic enhancements couldn’t end up any way other than being shattered to pieces!

But then, in bullet time, four fists were easily caught by Huo Yan Luo and Bai Lang.

"Is that it?" Huo Yan Luo’s palm ignited with flames, instantly melting the iron fists into molten metal. The brilliant flames continued to spread along the arm, burning the entire body of the large man in a suit.

In just two breaths, the man turned into a pile of burning debris.

Bai Lang used both hands and fingers to grip tightly. The steel emitted a strained wail as the iron fists made of super-strong alloy were crushed into scrap metal.

"What?!" The large bodyguard in the suit couldn’t believe it. Deforming a metallic cybernetic body with bare flesh? What kind of monster is this?

Bai Lang exhaled, spewing out low-temperature frost. The large bodyguard in the suit immediately froze over, covered in a thick layer of ice.

Then Bai Lang punched, shattering the bodyguard into pieces along with the ice, scattering fragments all over the ground.

Although their level was over fifty, their health was not as terrifying. Obviously, some monsters still could have inflated combat abilities.

Zhou Yuan refrained from acting to hide her identity, since the "Wang Zhen" persona was not a Cross-Training Master. She shouldn’t have been able to react to that situation just now.

"Damn, they’re so fast; do they have the Starnfestan installed?" Jiang Wuming was shocked.

"You even know about Starnfestan?" Weiwei was astonished.

She wasn’t even that surprised by the death of the two bodyguards; to be precise, she didn’t care at all.

"I’ve told you, I’m more resourceful than you think." Jiang Wuming put on a mystifying look.

"So, have we passed the first trial?" Zhou Yuan looked towards the villa’s main entrance.

A few seconds later, the door automatically opened.

A cold female voice sounded, "Please come in."

"Yi, they are here to save you. I saw with my own eyes how they cured the symptoms of cybernetic infections." Weiwei quickly said.

"I don’t trust them."

The voice named Yi was cold and emotionless like a machine, "But for your sake, I’m willing to give them a chance. Two trials remain.

Come in, you’ll see the content of the second trial in the villa’s hall."

Weiwei sighed and with an apologetic face said to the group, "I’m sorry, because I’ve been deceived before, Yi is very wary... however, don’t worry. The remaining two trials shouldn’t be too difficult. As long as you cure her, you will get everything you want, even becoming legends of Night City."

"Legends of Night City? That’s not a good thing." Jiang Wuming quipped, "Legends of Night City are all gathered in the cemeteries."

"I’m just giving an example."

Soon, Zhou Yuan and the others entered the villa’s hall.

Upon entering, they saw a piece of paper on the table, filled with various obscure formulas.

"The second trial is to solve this formula within thirty minutes." Yi’s cold voice resounded in the villa.

"This thing is a formula?" Jiang Wuming was dumbfounded.

The paper was crammed with complex and incomprehensible symbols, almost filling the entire page. Now you’re telling me this is a formula?

"Yi, you’re making it too hard for them."

Weiwei’s face darkened. She turned to the others and explained, "This formula was proposed by a genius scientist fifteen years ago. It’s said that solving this formula would give you the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything.

For the past fifteen years, countless people have tried to crack this formula, but no one has succeeded."

"The answer is 42."

In the silence, Zhou Yuan calmly said, "The answer to this formula is the number [42]."

"..."

Yi was silent for a long time before speaking again, "Congratulations, you got it right."

Weiwei was utterly stunned, her mouth wide open in shock, the ultimate formula was solved so easily?

"How did you know?"

Jiang Wuming was dumbfounded. Could it be that Wang Zhen was a hidden super genius?

Of course, I used the Eyes of Identification... Zhou Yuan mumbled internally.

But this answer was a bit too iconic.

"42" came from Douglas Adams’s novel "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy."

In the story, a highly intelligent, multidimensional species created a supercomputer named "Deep Thought" to calculate the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything.

"Deep Thought" spent 7.5 million years calculating and verifying.

The final answer was [42].

Due to the wide spread of this work, "42" became a well-known joke, often appearing in various literary works.

Whether in "Child of Stardust" or "World Hunter," the games had the Easter egg of "42."

This formula was likely an Easter egg in "World Hunter," a tribute to "42."

"Then next, the third trial."

As Yi finished speaking, the floor tiles in the living room suddenly opened, and five pedestals rose slowly, each accompanied by a chair and a wristwatch.

She announced in an indifferent tone:

"The third trial—Truth or Dare."

"What?"

This left Zhou Yuan dumbfounded. This wasn’t right.

How did the tone suddenly shift?

"Are you kidding? It turned into a TV entertainment show?" Jiang Wuming quipped, finding it bizarre.

"That’s correct, it is a TV entertainment show. And the upcoming footage will be broadcast live throughout Night City."

Yi said coldly, "Everyone gets ten questions. If anyone lies, you fail the third trial."

"Yi, what are you doing?" Weiwei couldn’t hold back. A live broadcast throughout Night City? There should be a limit to this!

She pressed her lips together, finding Yi’s behavior unusually strange. This wasn’t like anything Yi would do!

"Weiwei, do you trust me?" Yi’s tone seemed to soften a bit.

"I... I trust you, but..."

"Then don’t say anything more. Just watch. As long as they cooperate, I won’t harm them."

Yi said seriously, "Please trust me."

"..."

After a brief silence, Weiwei nodded and sat down on a nearby sofa.

"First was strength, then intelligence. What does this last trial represent?" Huo Yan Luo asked, rubbing her chin while looking around.

Yi did not respond.

"Is it sincerity and character?" Jiang Wuming guessed.

"Don’t waste time. Please take your seats. The live broadcast is about to start." Yi urged.

"Fine, but I have no shame, don’t get the broadcast room banned." Jiang Wuming said nonchalantly.

Zhou Yuan and the others frowned. You might not care about shame, but we do!