Chapter 21: The Conspiracy Begins to Emerge (Part 1)

As for bringing things back from the other world where the Decepticons reside to reality, Sun Cheng had indeed speculated about this possibility before.

After all, during his last traversal, he had muddled through and brought his iPhone 5 into that world.

Sun Cheng had also considered the possibility of a reverse operation; after discovering he could store his iPhone 5 inside the body of 'Frenzy', he had kept the phone inside the body ever since.

What he didn't expect was that this time, Sun Cheng didn't bring his iPhone 5 back, but instead brought back that Level 2 【Core】 which he had also kept inside the body.

"I actually brought it back?"

After realizing what he had brought back from the other world, Sun Cheng felt a joy in his heart that he couldn't even explain, but there was more anxiety and unease.

Although he hadn't been in contact with mechanical lifeforms like the Decepticons for long, in those few short days, the evil and power of this mechanical life had left a deep impression on Sun Cheng.

Just imagine, even 'Frenzy', whom he had possessed, was only equipped with the lowest-level 【Core】, yet it could invade the entire world's internet in a very short time. If a Level 2 Decepticon with decent combat capabilities were to come instead, a bad outcome could be a disaster.

Although having a 【Core】 didn't mean he could immediately cultivate a Decepticon, it had almost completed the most important step; all that remained was to construct a body for it and then activate the 【Core】.

"This thing is too dangerous!"

Anxious, Sun Cheng hurriedly put it back into his pocket, and in the end, still uneasy, he took it out again and put it into the inner pocket of his clothes.

Even so, he still felt somewhat neurotically that even just staying outside was starting to make his heart crawl.

So, after quickly pulling the USB drive out of the computer tower in front of him, Sun Cheng couldn't stay in the office any longer; he immediately got up, ready to return to his dormitory.

He locked the door and left the office with quick steps.

Walking through the spacious campus, the youthful atmosphere and laughter of the students passing by, along with the warmth of the sun hanging high in the sky, somewhat eased the restlessness in his heart.

It made Sun Cheng gradually realize that this was no longer that oppressive and dangerous other world, and he was merely an ordinary college student, not a spy, let alone some robot.

Passing by the cafeteria, he rubbed his stomach, which was growling incessantly, and took a five-yuan note from the few bills he had on him to buy himself a boxed meal.

His meager savings undoubtedly reawakened certain debt crises he had forgotten, and also made Sun Cheng clearly realize that in the real world, which he regarded as a paradise, he was not as comfortable and warm as he had missed while in the other world.

"Snap!"

Pushing open the door, he finally returned to his dormitory. Sun Cheng placed the boxed meal on the table and turned on his laptop. He first went to the washroom across from the dormitory to wash his hands, and when he came back in, he didn't forget to pull the door shut behind him. Only then did he pour a glass of water and sit down at his computer desk.

After he discovered the Trojan horse and cleaned it, his laptop had returned to normal, and there were no more inexplicable, sudden crashes.

After taking a sip of water, Sun Cheng began to think seriously.

A debt of nearly one hundred thousand yuan was not a small number for most college students, and Sun Cheng was no exception.

Before, he must have been blinded by the excitement of starting a business, which led him to make the choice of taking on debt repeatedly. Thinking about it, if it weren't for his trip to the other world a while ago, he might not have been able to calm down and summarize things seriously even now.

But at this moment, although Sun Cheng was eating while thinking, his mind was clearer than ever.

Let's start with the business venture; it was a farce from start to finish.

The idea was acceptable, but the plan was too crude. As the main initiator, Sun Cheng was clearly incompetent.

Not only did he fail to clearly understand the risks at the beginning, but he didn't even sign an agreement defining the respective responsibilities and liabilities of the startup team.

Later on, Sun Cheng was actually squeezed out of the technical team by the other partners, either openly or secretly. Not only did he fail to share in the only dividend brought by this failed venture—technical improvement—but he also took on the most difficult and bitter task of raising money himself.

Thinking about it now, he really was stupid enough.

Most of the debts were borrowed in his personal name, and later, even more foolishly, he took out a significant amount of Campus Loan under the coaxing of his roommates.

As a result, after the business failed, everyone else could just walk away, but he, the main initiator, couldn't run. Not only did he bear all the debt, but the subsequent negative impacts also required him to bear them.

If Sun Cheng's head had been clear, he probably would have died before touching those predatory Campus Loans.

There have been too many such news stories exposed online in recent years. The country's lack of regulation in this area has led to a large amount of gray social capital and private usury running rampant under the guise of Campus Loans, harming many people.

Like the few loans he took out in his personal name for the Campus Loan, the lowest monthly interest rate was 1.5%, and the loan borrowed in the name of the startup team had an annual interest rate as high as 25%. It is estimated that only he, with his head muddled at that time, would have been fooled into signing the contract, leaving himself with quite a lot of trouble.

A debt of nearly one hundred thousand is not a small number. With Sun Cheng's current financial resources, he clearly cannot pay it off, unless his family helps him wipe it clean.

However, this thought only surfaced in his mind for a moment before he immediately dismissed it.

Sun Cheng didn't want his family to know about this, not because they couldn't afford the money, but because of his special status—an adopted child.

That's right, Sun Cheng was just an adopted child.

It is said that his biological parents both passed away in a car accident when he was young, and neither side's relatives were willing to raise him, which is why Sun Cheng was adopted by his current family.

Although his adoptive parents treated him quite well and never hid his background from him, Sun Cheng still didn't want to add any more trouble to them; he decided to carry this burden himself.

"Trouble, so the next thing to consider is how to get this money as soon as possible."

After quickly finishing his boxed meal, Sun Cheng, feeling that his stomach was still not satisfied, frowned, got up, threw away the lunch box, and returned to the computer to consider ways to make money again.

Time always passes especially quickly when one is not paying attention.

In the blink of an eye, the horizon turned red; it was already evening.

After fiddling with the computer all afternoon, Sun Cheng stretched his arms and yawned, the distress on his face replaced by a faint smile.

"What a wonderful experience, is this the influence brought by the traversal?"

Watching the brand-new operating interface on the computer screen in front of him, Sun Cheng's smile blossomed.

When he returned to the real world last time, he unexpectedly noticed that his computer skills had suddenly increased sharply, which left him truly confused at the time.

Just now, while thinking about how to raise money to pay off his debts as soon as possible, Sun Cheng recalled this matter again and couldn't help but try it out.

As a result, his guess was finally confirmed.

It was likely due to the influence of possessing 'Frenzy' and absorbing its Memory Data that his Computer Science skills were now skyrocketing.

What he used to practice on was the XP operating system on his computer. Sun Cheng only spent one afternoon not only completing a full Chinese localization but also referring to Win10 to beautify its operating interface to a certain extent.

Besides that, while retaining most of its functions, he also performed a brutal code simplification on the XP system. Not only did he replace some Microsoft default software, including the anti-human design of the IE browser, with better software, but he also deleted all the Windows components that the vast majority of users would never use in their lifetime.

After such simplification, the finished improved version of the XP system not only had a more exquisite operating interface, but the space occupied by the system was also compressed by him from the original 2.4G to just 1G.

"Not bad, this is definitely better to use than those simplified XP systems on the market!"

Giving a thumbs up to his first work with satisfaction, Sun Cheng quickly made it into an installation package.

Just as he finished saving it, he heard a knock on the dormitory door, and then a familiar young male voice sounded: "A-Cheng, are you there?"

Instantly, the smile on Sun Cheng's face froze.

PS:

1. The reality plot will last for a few chapters; it won't be too long, but it is necessary for the story.

2. This book has been signed; please feel free to click, recommend, and add to your favorites. If there are any wealthy patrons who are not short on money and like this book, I beg on my knees for your support.