[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-player-reboot":3,"chapter-player-reboot-player-reboot-chapter-104":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Player Reboot",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2272069,4438,"Chapter 104: Deceiving Heaven, Altering Fate (Complete)","player-reboot-chapter-104",104,"\u003Cp>Lightning, classified by location, can be divided into cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground. The former is the discharge process between charged centers within a cloud and oppositely charged centers in the surrounding atmosphere—the multiple lightning bolts flickering through clouds during thunderstorms, high in frequency but low in intensity, and muffled by cloud cover, their thunder fading rapidly or vanishing entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The latter is the discharge between cloud and ground—the lightning striking the earth. In this process, the narrow lightning channel releases immense electrical energy, generating a powerful shockwave that produces a deep, rumbling thunder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the aid of the 3D lightning localization system, not only can the latitude and longitude coordinates of cloud-to-ground strikes be pinpointed, but their three-dimensional development trajectory can also be precisely tracked, enabling the mapping of sound wave propagation patterns in three-dimensional space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to the advantageous terrain of Wudun Town, Li Cheng pulled out two cellphones—one to call Cervantes, the other to contact Yuan Zhixia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Special Affairs Bureau monitored the call in real time, using local meteorological sensors and a supercomputer system to calculate Cervantes’s approximate location based on the intensity, delay, and echo frequency of several cloud-to-ground thunderclaps. Accuracy: within a one-kilometer radius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For added assurance, Li Cheng fired shots in that direction and activated his title skill “Dead Gambler,” draining his over 200 Sanity points down to just 30 to increase the probability of hitting Cervantes with a bullet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The mountain villa was too far for bullets to reach—but under the subtle influence of the title’s mystical effect, the bullet trajectories shifted slightly, veering toward Cervantes’s position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Combined with the Special Affairs Bureau’s localization, the target range was narrowed again—to a 150-meter radius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this distance, the Special Affairs Bureau had sufficient grounds to activate a barrier and locate Cervantes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Cheng put away both phones, shoved his hands in his pockets, and turned back toward the bamboo grove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the guesthouse in Wudun Town, a group of burly men in black suits kicked open the suite’s security door, guns trained on Cervantes at the computer desk.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Put down your phone!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Raise your hands!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t move!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These men in black suits belonged to the Special Affairs Bureau’s Mobile Task Force, composed of both Chosen and regular soldiers. Their firearms were custom-made by the Bureau’s R&D and logistics division—disguised as briefcases, they unfolded into rugged, heavy weapons at the press of a button.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Loaded with anti-magic armor-piercing rounds, these bullets could ignore most energy shields, magical barriers, and armored shells, inflicting considerable damage even on mid-tier players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, the sound of spinning rotor blades echoed outside the window—several medium-sized multi-rotor drones, equipped with anti-psionic field devices, hovered in midair, blocking all attempts to send friend requests, log into the Arena, or teleport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you Cervantes of the Laughing Troupe?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lead black-suited officer stepped inside, sneering: “Name: Du*Zhi, male, born December 8, 1999, residence: ** Hao, Cuntan Street, JB District, Chongqing, ID number: 500105.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fuck, shit!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cervantes’s expression twisted into utter shock, losing all the calm amusement he’d shown moments earlier as he manipulated others’ fates—he raised his hands obediently. “Look, I’m a core member of the Laughing Troupe. I’ve got valuable intel. And I notified my guildmates before coming to Wudun Town—if I vanish without explanation, they’ll react. They won’t just sit back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Click.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Mobile Task Force agents, without hesitation, cuffed Cervantes and yanked him to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cervantes didn’t even consider resisting. Beyond the guns aimed at him and the anti-psionic drones outside, he felt a cold, merciless gaze—watching him from beyond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least Level 35. No—Level 38, possibly even Level 40. A transcendent was observing everything in this room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Escape was impossible. Resistance meant death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Laughing Troupe, huh? Looking for fun, huh? Take him away!” The black-suited officer waved his hand. Cervantes was dragged downstairs, hooded in a sack, and shoved into an armored vehicle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same moment, in the Arena, Filthy Alley. Inside a shabby factory, the Laughing Troupe held their gathering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike other guild meetings, which were serious and formal, the Laughing Troupe’s flat, non-hierarchical structure made their gatherings casual and mundane.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside bare concrete walls sat several tables where people played mahjong, battled “Landlord,” and gambled at Texas Hold’em—some smoked, others drank; one guy had a hair curler behind him, and he didn’t stop curling his hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five or six burly men squeezed onto a broken sofa, engrossed in watching “Tom and Jerry” on TV.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby, a group of young men and women in psychiatric hospital gowns studied and shared books like “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” “Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics,” and “White Night, Go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the corner, two childlike figures with an air of Daoist transcendence played a card game they’d invented themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My turn. Activate Fusion Magic: fuse the Changshang ’s Hawkeye Clint Barton and Black Widow Natasha Romanoff to summon the Avengers’ Hulk—Level 7, Attack 2700, Defense 1800. Hehe, your life is a candle in the wind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe, my turn. Activate Ritual Magic: use Wu Jing of the Seven Stars of Destruction as material to ritually summon Commander Wu Jing of China, then equip him with the Spell Card ‘Navigator International Space Station,’ transforming him into Liu Peiqiang of the Wandering Earth version—Attack over 3500, utterly crushing your Hulk. The one who loses is you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scene was chaotic, a carnival of demons. If this were the real world, the landlord would’ve shown up with a spotlight to inspect the property damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The only consistent thing? Everyone wore masks—the Laughing Troupe considered themselves unique, their members branding themselves as great scientists, great musicians, great dancers, great playwrights, great engineers, celebrities, great writers, rebel leaders, great directors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their masks included, but were not limited to: Einstein, Beethoven, Mahatma Gandhi, Lu Xun, Tolstoy, Napoleon, and more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Incidentally, though the Laughing Troupe adored dark humor, loved causing chaos, and treated human lives as worthless, their standards for what counted as “fun” were extremely strict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Randomly killing someone on the street? Neither dark nor funny—similar plots happen daily in real-world chaos zones. Too tasteless. Not fun enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Find a middle-aged office drone. Get him fired from his company. Have his elderly parents admitted to the ICU needing a huge sum. Let his wife sink into a pyramid scheme and secretly mortgage their home. Let his children get addicted to online gambling, owing hundreds of thousands, with harassing calls never stopping.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he’s plunged into despair, he discovers his lottery ticket won millions. As joy surges, a sudden gust of wind blows the ticket away—he chases it desperately through high-speed traffic, risking his life. Now that’s fun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Laughing Troupe’s creed: You can have no morals, but you must have taste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss, bad news!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A player wearing a Kennedy mask (with a chunk missing from the top-left) rushed in and shouted to the guild leader, who wore a black-and-white clown mask: “Cervantes was captured by the Special Affairs Bureau!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leader, still seated at his computer playing Minesweeper, turned his head 180 degrees to look at his subordinate. “Didn’t I tell him to go to Yin City to track down clues about that hidden chamber?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He went—but he diverted to run his side hustle, fabricating human tragedies for fun. Got caught by the Special Affairs Bureau.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Kennedy-masked player scratched his head. “Boss, what do we do? His inventory has ‘that thing.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do we do? Tough luck!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leader rolled his eyes. “He knows too many secrets—he’s still valuable. The Special Affairs Bureau won’t harm him anytime soon. If worse comes to worst, after we resolve the Yin City matter, we’ll kidnap one of their key members and trade for him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, we just hope he can withstand their interrogation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The leader clasped his hands together, praying for Cervantes. Others in the room followed suit, palms pressed, chanting: “Hope he’s alright.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1313,"2026-06-19T22:31:22.154Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","2bfbd3585486aaa6ba673313e5265e6e0a10457912027991161a75ab6687d8e9","player-reboot-chapter-105","player-reboot-chapter-103",612,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fplayer-reboot-cover.jpg"]