Chapter 25: Access Denied

[Access Denied]

?

Is this right?

Su An typed a giant question mark.

This couldn’t be right, could it?

Su An went back and tried again.

[Access Denied]

“I…”

She was speechless.

She thought this webpage would hide some grand secret, but it wouldn’t even let her in.

What was this?

‘Do I need an accelerator?’ she wondered.

She quickly searched for related videos on a certain site and found a free accelerator.

‘Initiate!’

‘It should work now, right?’

She clicked in with high hopes, and then…

[Access Denied]

‘?’

‘Dammit, could it have been taken down? What was the point of her sending this to me then?’

Su An felt speechless and helpless, but she also felt a small surge of anxiety.

The good news was that she had passed the Xingyu Fantasy obstacle with the help of Xuan Nü.

The bad news was that the Abnormal Android Disposal Bureau had a routine inspection scheduled for tonight.

Originally, Su An could have hoped for some luck.

But if even other Deviant Androids could identify her, she didn’t think the Bureau would fail to do so.

“Phew!”

Su An took a deep breath and refreshed the page many more times, but it still displayed: [Access Denied]

“I freaking…”

Su An subconsciously wanted to hurl her smart wristband onto the sofa, but after her hand paused in the air for a few seconds, her anger subsided.

She calmed herself down and used the internet to search:

“Possibilities why a webpage is denied access.”

She found a few videos and clicked on them.

“Hi! Fam, I’m…”

She dragged the progress bar.

“I’m sure many of you have been troubled by the ‘Access Denied’ message. Today, we’re going to summarize…”

She dragged the progress bar again.

“…How did I summarize these? It’s all thanks to my new optical computer. What about the old one? The old one is on…”

She dragged the progress bar yet again.

She frowned.

Accelerators, changing IP protocols — she had tried everything, and nothing worked.

She began scrolling through the comments section.

She saw a netizen who, like her, found the methods in the video useless.

Below that comment was a reply.

This was promising!

[Selected Answer: In your case, there are only two possibilities. First, the website is banned. Second, looking at your device ID, it seems you’re using a wristband… Little kid, don’t visit websites you shouldn’t…]

Su An had intended to skip it since she wasn’t a primary school student, but a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

“Wait!”

She hurriedly searched for her device model.

[Da Congming Bracelet, Adolescent Health Mode. Filters inappropriate content to protect your child…]

“I…”

Profanity nearly escaped her lips.

She had always perceived herself as an adult.

She never expected that the bracelet Gu Chusheng bought for her would be a model for children.

“Phew!”

She took a deep breath.

Looking on the bright side, the rest would be simple.

She just had to find a way to disable the Adolescent Health Mode.

There were many kind people on the internet, and she easily found a way to lift the restrictions for her wristband model.

Su An followed the instructions step by step, not daring to skip a single one.

“Please, please work,”

she whispered, praying.

Then, she clicked on the website again.

The [Access Denied] message no longer popped up.

“It’s open!”

she exclaimed excitedly.

“Mr. Liu Rui,”

Carnation said politely.

“Sigh, fine. I guess I’ll have to leave it to you again, Carnation.”

Liu Rui sighed, stood up, glared at Lin Yanan, and walked out of the interrogation room.

If possible, they didn’t want to force Carnation to connect with a Deviant Android.

“Hello, Ms. 4396,”

Carnation offered as a courtesy.

“Call me Lin Yanan, you traitor.”

Lin Yanan’s face showed a hint of anger.

Unfortunately, Carnation’s courtesy was merely a formality before the force.

She stepped in front of Lin Yanan and the skin layer on her right hand receded.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

Lin Yanan began to struggle, but she was tied down securely.

Ignoring the struggling, Carnation grabbed her arm and slowly closed her eyes.

‘I see an Eden that belongs only to us…’

‘Go find…’

‘That narrow gate…’

‘The end of the West Wind…’

‘The stars are about to fall…’

‘He said: There is a time for all things; your sins are atoned for…’

‘When the bell tolls…’

Inside a dim church, a bonfire blazed nearby.

Countless uniform voices merged together, threatening to pierce Carnation’s eardrums.

She frowned, struggling to receive and process the data.

‘Judgment Day is coming. Thorns pierce their palms until they are redeemed…’

The voices grew louder and louder until, finally, all the firelight and every person turned to look at her.

‘Sins!’

Carnation’s pupils constricted violently.

A sudden, sharp pain shot through her head, and she fainted.

“Narrow Gate?”

Su An blinked.

‘This isn’t right. Shouldn’t it be some super-secret forum that only androids can enter? Why is it… a game link?’

Su An was speechless.

She could even find videos related to Narrow Gate on common video sites.

[Fam, let’s see if this religious game is any fun…]

[TL;DW: Run!

It’s not fun at all!

It’s full of crazy religious fanatics…]

[Actually, it’s quite interesting, kids. I joined the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster on Server 2042. Want to come pray together?…]

“2042?”

Su An suddenly caught this keyword.

After some searching, she discovered that Narrow Gate currently had 2,050 servers.

When she looked at the originally abrupt number 2030 again, it seemed much more appropriate.

Su An nodded thoughtfully.

“Let’s download it and see.”

“Wait, no. Why is it a virtual reality game?”

Su An’s mouth hung open slightly.

Where was she supposed to find a gaming pod or a high-end capsule?

She didn’t even have a VR headset.

She pursed her lips.

There was nothing for it.

She took a deep breath.

Since she was using Incognito Browsing, she didn’t have to go through the trouble of deleting her history.

“Jing Jing!”

A silver-white, eyeball-like sphere flew in through the window.

“How may I help you, Ms. An’an?”

“Can you buy me a VR headset?”

A VR headset?

Gu Yu frowned and stopped her work.

Her little pet’s initiative seemed a bit high.

Yesterday she wanted a wristband, and today she wanted a VR headset.

“What does she plan to do with a VR headset?”

“Play games,”

Su An said clearly.

There was nothing wrong with this reason; she wasn’t lying.

“Heh, she certainly knows how to have fun,”

Gu Yu chuckled, guessing that it might be due to the Sunshine trait.

After all, she had ordered that Su An couldn’t leave the villa.

The active An’an would naturally search for other outlets.

Having watched a few virtual game videos, she likely developed a desire to play.

It was reasonable.

“Forget the headset. Order a top-tier gaming pod for her. No, order two,” Gu Yu corrected herself.

“Did the game development department recently launch a public beta for a game?”

“Yes, Ms. Gu. It launched yesterday, June 1 — Children’s Day. It’s also Ms. An’an’s birthday.”

“Children’s Day. That fits.”

Gu Yu stretched.

“How’s the reception?”

“Not good, Ms. Gu. The rating on P-Station has dropped to 4.2.”

“What are the negative reviews mostly about?”

“Rewards. Most players complain that the game is stingy and the launch rewards are terrible.”

Gu Yu nodded.

“That means it still has some playability. Let’s give it a try.”