Just kidding, right? It must be a joke!

How could there be such an incomprehensible and unreasonable thing, it must be that Akihiko Kayaba, a madman, is alarmist and trying to find a way to torture them!

- That's right, it must be so!

Probably because what Akihiko Kayaba said was indeed a little too sensational, some people yelled angrily, desperately denying such a ridiculous magical reality, accusing it of being a conspiracy of Akihiko Kayaba again.

And then someone responded to the peace, and in just a few seconds, a huge wave of condemnation was formed.

"Don't say so much useless, who will believe your nonsense......"

"Do you have the face to say this? Are you really an idiot to us? ”

"Hurry up and get me out! Do you know who I am......"

People are group creatures, and they all have a herd mentality.

And most people have the natural instinct to subconsciously deny the facts when faced with incomprehensible, uncoping, and frightening situations and developments.

So it's no surprise that there will be such a development.

“……”

“……”

The red cloak giant incarnated by Akihiko Kayaba just looked at it coldly, he naturally knew that in such a situation, how to deal with it was the best choice.

Slowly, under the cold gaze that did not know whether it existed or not, the wave of denunciation of Akihiko Ashiba gradually subsided, and the square once again returned to a dead silence like a barren cemetery.

"I know you don't trust me, but those ashes are taking over the second layer and will soon start pounding on the third...... I don't know what they are, if it's a virus or a monster that is actively generated by this virtual world......"

The voice of the red-cloaked giant was low, but it was clearly heard throughout the square.

"By the time I found out, that virus-like thing was almost taking over the entire Sword Art Online world, and you may not understand what that concept is, but even the world's most advanced computers are hard to ......"

"Avoid firewalls and go unnoticed, constantly improve themselves, and even make themselves part of the source code of the system...... Well, at least for now, it's only a part, but it's not far from them becoming a whole system...... I tried to kill them, but I couldn't get rid of them completely. ”

"They've spread completely, and they've infected every one of our data files, and if I want to completely kill them, I'm going to have to delete all of our files, and in this virtual world...... It means death. ”

"If I had enough time, I might be able to find a way to contain them, but we don't have time...... My admin privileges have been disabled a lot before I know it, and in a few days, I'm afraid I'll lose even the right to transfer you and reopen the logout option to you. ”

"So, make your choice, soon time will run out - this is not a joke, as I told you before, this is a game, but it is also a ...... that kills"

“……”

“……”

There was a dead silence.

After half a ring, a voice finally broke the silence.

"And what evidence do you have...... Why do you think there's ...... What is hidden within us? ”

A player stands up and grits his teeth to refute the other party's statement that is simply full of loopholes, even if the final interpretation is in the hands of the other party, they should not be treated as fools like this!

"Doesn't that seem magical? According to you, it's just a virus composed of information code, how can it be done to this extent......"

Everyone held their breath and looked at the red-cloaked giant above, waiting for a reasonable explanation.

However, after being silent for a while, Akihiko Kayaba behind the projection said in a deep voice:

"I don't have any proof, I don't even know if it's a virus or not, and where it came from...... But I don't think this is what human technology can achieve, and there is definitely a problem behind the current situation! ”

"What do you mean by that? Just because you don't understand, that's why you're coming up with such a ridiculous explanation? ”

The player looked shocked and angry, is this a free will? As long as it's something you don't understand, it's definitely a technology that all human beings don't have? What do you think is what the old man thinks, and what is it?

"That's right." Kayaba Akihiko replied without the slightest weakness.

"Who do you think you are, and why are you so arrogant?" There were also others who couldn't stand it anymore and asked angrily.

"I'm Akihiko Kayaba, just because I'm Akihiko Kayaba......" The red cloak giant replied indifferently, rightly arrogant, but it made all the players dumb at once.

Just because he is Akihiko Kayaba, the genius who designed and developed "NERvGear", he created a virtual world like Ayn Grande and set up a game to trick them all in.

Now more than a month has passed, the players can't resist him, and the outside world seems to have no way to solve this dilemma.

This is a veritable genius who may not be able to surpass the entire era, but he has unimaginable dominance and leadership in the "NERvGear" technology that he has promoted and developed.

So, if there is a sudden change in "Sword Art Online" that even Akihiko Aoba can't grasp and can't predict.

Then the biggest possibility is definitely not what the outside world officials and rescue organizations have taken -

Looking at the performance of those ash invasions and direct killing of players, it is also impossible to come in the form of rescue.

- And most likely, there is indeed some unimaginable force of human beings, uncontrollable accidents, etc., that will lead to the emergence of this phenomenon?

Although I don't want to admit this cruel truth, who of the players who have survived until now is a pure fool?

Therefore, under the other party's answer, everyone was silent and speechless.

It's just that compared to the incomprehensible words that Akihiko Kayaba said, they are still more inclined to believe that this kidnapper is deceiving everyone again.

"And most importantly, when I was fighting against the virus, I couldn't tell what it felt, but I just felt that it was too intelligent, as if it was alive......"

The red-cloaked giant continued, explaining his thoughts.

"If AI is not able to truly think for itself, there must be something behind it, but in either case, the meaning is the same......

At this, the red-cloaked giant seemed to bow his head slightly, looking at the crowd in the square below.

Because the crowd was looking up from below, it was supposed to be possible to see the face in the hat that had been pulled very low - but there was no face in that area, and the whole thing was hollow, and even the stitching on the inside and edges of the hat could be clearly seen.

And inside the long drooping hem, there is also only a slight darkness.

There was an indescribable sense of unease beneath the crimson cloak.

"So I have every reason to suspect that this thing is so intelligent, whether it's human or not, it's very likely to do something even more unbelievable, such as blending into the player community and entering the real world......"

The red-capped giant projected by Akihiko Kayaba continued.

"I can't filter all of you's profiles, and most of my admin privileges have been hacked, and if it directly falsifies player profiles, I can't tell the ...... right now"

So at this point, it's time to take the most clumsy but also the most practical way to get people to identify each other.

After all, no one lives in a vacuum, even if it's a game world. Even if it's a lone ranger, it's impossible that you haven't been in contact with people from beginning to end.

Upgrade equipment, resell items, buy and sell information...... These things are always unavoidable, and they always have to come into contact with other players, right?

The virus is extremely intelligent, and it may be possible to forge a data file for himself that no one can find out about the problem when most of the administrator privileges of Akihiko Kayaba are hacked, but it is absolutely impossible to fake the exact interpersonal relationship, right?

This is what Akihiko Kayaba thinks, and it has to be said that this genius does have extraordinary insight and is able to make the most correct response at critical moments.

And whether the players believe it or not, or whether they have any objections, or even suspect that he is trying to persecute the player in a different way, the result is already doomed, and they have no choice.

After all, no matter what the truth is, no matter how vigilant they are, no matter how much they warn themselves, they can't resist the conditions thrown by Akihiko Kayaba - to get out of this death game and return to the real world.

What else? I can only pinch my nose and say "it's really fragrant".

“…… In that case, there should be no objection, right? ”

The red-cloaked giant raised his hand, and with a violent tremor of the ground, everyone retreated, and saw a platform rise from the square.

“…… So - who came first? ”

“……”

“……”

Everyone looked at each other, no one spoke up, and no one wanted to be the first to go up.

They all want to say that it is really fragrant, but they don't want to be the first to go up and take risks, what if this is really a trap for Kayaba Akihiko? Let's take a look at the situation first!

"Excuse me, please let ......" At this time, a hearty laugh suddenly broke the silence and resounded in the crowd.

The crowd moved out of the way, and then watched as a strange guy squeezed out of the crowd and jumped onto the stage with agility.

It seems to be more of an NPC than the player - wearing a black coat and sleek long black hair...... Strange man.

Even though this is a game world, for some reason, everyone has regained their true appearance, and it is not possible to continue to maintain the set image of the game.

So...... It's really weird.

"Are you ready to be the first to prove yourself?" The red-cloaked giant in the sky said in a deep voice.

The man stood on the stage, looked at the sky, and said quite cheerfully—

"It's not...... It's just that I suddenly found out that you're really hard to deal with, so I'm just going to change my strategy, Akihiko Kayaba. ”