Chapter 471: Chapter 459: Link Start
The fervor in Golden Stone City was merely a microcosm of the entire Aiselan Kingdom.
The day after the press conference, the price for a hibernation pod reservation on the black market had skyrocketed from five Silver Naels to a terrifying sum that could bankrupt an ordinary family—5 Gold Ducats.
But this did nothing to stop the frenzy.
As night fell, the entire Golden Stone City sank into an eerie, deathly silence.
The streets were deserted.
Taverns were closed, blacksmith forges were extinguished, and even the Royal Capital’s most prosperous red-light district had its doors tightly shut.
Patrolling military police clutched their halberds, watching the faint, eerie blue light seeping from the windows of the houses on both sides of the street.
That was the glow of the holographic hibernation pods in operation.
At this moment, there were ten minutes left until the launch of *Sword Art Online*.
「Royal Capital, Lower District.」
With his wife’s support, the retired veteran Cole painstakingly moved into the hibernation pod.
He had lost both legs; only two ugly stumps remained on his lower body.
He struggled to lie flat, his hands still gripping the edges of the hibernation pod tightly.
"Cole, don’t be nervous." His wife placed his hands inside the pod, her eyes red-rimmed.
Cole didn’t speak, simply watching as the hibernation pod’s hatch slowly closed.
「Royal Alchemy University, in the deepest laboratory.」
Old Professor Karl adjusted his monocle and locked a draft paper covered in formulas into a safe.
He turned to look at the unique hibernation pod, his eyes glinting with a fanatical thirst for knowledge.
’A nearly perfectly simulated physics engine... The flow of time is altered... If I can build a laboratory inside, my research progress will triple!’ Carl hesitated no longer and lay down in the pod.
「The Northern Territory, inside a lavish castle.」
A Hereditary Duke dismissed all his servants and lay down in the hibernation pod alone.
To him, things like a "second life" or "conquering the Floating City" were unimportant.
What was important were the two words: "Eternal Body."
And, the fact that his lifespan would effectively be doubled.
’Power can only be held securely if one lives long enough.’
Nobles, commoners, soldiers, scholars, merchants, children...
At this moment, one million souls scattered across the Aiselan Kingdom, regardless of their status or wealth, were all doing the exact same thing.
They lay down in silver-white cradles, closed their eyes, and waited for the countdown to reach zero.
[10, 9, 8...]
A gentle female voice resounded simultaneously in everyone’s mind.
[3, 2, 1!]
[Welcome... to Aincrad.]
After a moment of darkness, there was endless light.
One million consciousnesses found themselves standing in a magnificent, pure-white temple.
The temple’s dome was a flowing river of brilliant stars.
"Please complete your ’rebirth’."
A huge mirror of light materialized in front of everyone.
Character creation, body adjustments, race selection... Countless people gasped in amazement.
Cole didn’t hesitate for long. He kept his original appearance, only changing his hair to a neater, short black style, and chose the basic "Human Race."
The old veteran stared at the pair of perfectly intact, powerful legs in the mirror. He was silent as tears streamed down his face without a sound.
When all the settings were complete, the final step appeared.
A User Agreement, dozens of pages long, popped up.
Cole didn’t even look at it, scrolling directly to the bottom and clicking "Agree."
Almost 99% of the people made the same choice.
Only old Professor Karl, with his scholarly rigor, began to read it word by word.
Most of the agreement was boilerplate regarding virtual property and codes of conduct, but at the very end, he found an extremely inconspicuous additional clause.
"...To ensure the stable operation and continuous optimization of the ’Second World,’ the user agrees that Weisren Heavy Industry and its affiliates have the right, when necessary, to perform deep readings of, temporarily take custody of, and requisition the computing power of the user’s consciousness..."
Professor Karl frowned.
’What an overbearing clause... But, it’s probably to prevent people from exploiting loopholes, or for some kind of security maintenance.’
He shook his head and also chose to agree.
’After all, compared to an entirely new world, what did this tiny, hidden risk matter?’
When the last "Agree" was clicked.
A voice resounded in the ears of one million people at the same time.
"Link Start!"
Initiating connection!
BOOM!
「Cybertron, the master control room in its deepest core.」
Allen stood on his throne, silently observing the massive, three-dimensional Star Map before him that covered the entire Aiselan Kingdom.
In that very second, upon the Star Map, one million dim points of light suddenly blazed to life!
Like one million torches ignited simultaneously in the dead of night!
The next moment, streams of data-light, invisible to the ordinary person, shot up from every corner of the kingdom, transforming into one million torrents of light that pierced through heaven and earth!
Guided by the Allen Network, these streams of light converged at an altitude of ten thousand meters, forming something unprecedented and so magnificent it defied description—a river of consciousness!
It surged more violently than the most turbulent river and was more magnificent than the most brilliant nebula. It was a wondrous sight that even Allen would never forget.
Each point of light represented a living soul, carrying all their memories, emotions, and aspirations.
At this moment, this river formed from the consciousness of a million living beings was roaring and surging, brazenly pouring into the steel behemoth at the center of the continent—Cybertron!
The first large-scale shallow-link experiment of the "Consciousness Upload" project had officially begun!
"Jarvis." Allen’s voice, amidst the roaring tide of data, was calm, without a single ripple.
[Here, Commander.]
"Report status."
[First batch, a total of 999,441 users. Shallow consciousness links have all been established.]
[Sensory information stripping success rate: 99.998%.]
[Global network load: 73.4%. Redundant computing cluster number three has been activated.]
[The ’Monitoring’ protocol is operating normally. Massive samples of human nature are being collected!]
Allen’s gaze pierced through the endless stream of data, descending upon the newly born virtual world.
「Sword Art Online, Town of Origin.」
The players who had just "spawned" were still in a state of brief confusion.
The next second, a rising and falling tide of gasps and shouts completely detonated the tranquil plaza.
"My hands! I can move my hands!"
A man whose arms had both been severed was looking at his own perfectly intact hands, wailing loudly.
"Light... I can see! I can see!"
In a corner of the plaza, the retired veteran who had lost his legs stood motionless, dazed.
He lowered his head, staring intently at his own agile, powerful, and perfectly intact legs.
He tentatively took a step forward.
Then another.
His pace grew faster and faster, from a walk to a run, from a run to an all-out sprint!
He charged out of the plaza and onto the boundless plains outside the town. Facing the wind, he let out a roar that had been suppressed for half a lifetime—a cry mixed with ecstasy and sorrow!
He ran, he leaped, he rolled on the grass like a child, letting his tears soak his clothes.
[Emotional fluctuation samples captured: ’Redemption,’ ’Rebirth,’ ’Ecstasy’... Data value assessment: S-Class.]
Allen then saw a young girl, who in reality suffered from a terminal illness and had skin as pale as paper, walking into a valley filled with blooming flowers.
She reached out her hand, feeling the "warmth" of the virtual sunlight, feeling the "sensation" of the breeze brushing against her cheek.
She smiled, a brilliant smile, as if she owned the entire world.
[Emotional fluctuation samples captured: ’Hope,’ ’Warmth,’ ’Happiness’... Data value assessment: S-Class.]
The blind could see again, the deaf could hear birdsong, and souls once imprisoned in sickbeds now soared freely across a vast world.
The joys and sorrows of a million people, the extreme emotions of a million people, were all ignited at this moment. They transformed into the purest, most valuable nutrients, flooding madly into Cybertron.
In the center of the master control room, the Rune neural network that represented the "artificial soul" was blinking, growing brighter and dimmer at a visible rate. Like a gestating heart, it began to have a faint yet powerful beat.
This was a fair trade.
He had brought them salvation, and they, in turn, would pave his path to eternal life.
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