ATPnovel Chapter 1 Abnormal Data
Chapter 1 Abnormal Data
When the alarm clock on the spiritual terminal went off in his ear, Chen Yi was dreaming that he was sitting in a void, with nothing around him.
He opened his eyes; the small red light on the ceiling was flashing. It was on 24 hours a day, monitoring the concentration of spiritual energy in the room. He was already used to it.
Reaching out to turn off the alarm clock, the screen of the spiritual terminal flickered, the crack extending from the lower left to the upper right corner making the entire interface look somewhat comical. A notification popped up on the screen:
"Good morning, cleaner Chen Yi. Today's tasks have been assigned, please check them promptly."
He tossed the terminal back onto his pillow, turned over, and stared blankly at the crack in the wall for a while.
It's 6:30. I still have half an hour before I need to leave.
Chen Yi didn't actually have much to do. His daily tasks were the same: go to the data cleaning center to pick up tasks, go to the designated location to clean up abnormal data, come back, and wait for the next day's tasks. This cycle repeated itself, and it hadn't changed since the day he joined the company.
Three years.
He sat up, habitually turned on his spiritual terminal, and ordered a spiritual food on the spiritual network.
The "Spiritual Food Selection" interface popped up. His spiritual screen only kept two merchants: one was "Just Enough to Fill Your Stomach," which mainly sold ordinary spiritual rice for 0.05 spirit stones; the other was "Expired Spiritual Food Discount Zone," which offered discounts after 8 pm every night, selling overnight spiritual food at half price.
It was morning, and he had ordered the "just enough to fill his stomach" set meal: 0.04 spirit stones for leftover spirit porridge and 0.03 spirit stones for hard-shelled spirit cakes. 0.07 spirit stones, enough to last until noon.
Place your order and make payment.
"Order received. Estimated delivery time: 19 minutes."
Chen tossed the terminal aside and started getting dressed. The room was cold, even colder than outside. All the houses in Qing-07 district were like this; the spiritual energy concentration was only 0.1, and living there for a long time made people become somewhat dull.
His apartment was called Qing-07-B-214, a tenement building on the outskirts of the data cleaning center. Each floor had 20 rooms, each 12 square meters. The walls were painted with gray paint reminiscent of the last century, the door was a sheet metal door, and the lock was a level three spirit pattern lock. The lock cylinder had never been changed since the day he started working there.
At 6:50, he walked out of the room.
Several cleaners were already walking out of the corridor, and no one was talking. Everyone was rushing to clock in at this time, and no one had the extra energy to chat.
Chen Yi followed the crowd down the stairs and paused in front of a mirror in the lobby. The person in the mirror was pale, with deep-set eyes, as if he hadn't slept well for a long time. The spirit-patterned terminal on the inside of his left arm glowed faintly; it was used to clock in and out of get off work every day.
He wasn't a cultivator; he hadn't even reached the Qi Refining stage. His Dao Foundation Chip had always been dormant and had never been activated. The system said he lacked talent for cultivation and suggested he engage in manual labor.
So he became a cleaner.
Fifteen minutes later, he lined up for food at a public bedding station.
Spirit Supplement Station No. 1, Data Cleaning Center, B2 floor. The canteen only has two menus: "Standard Supplement A" and "Standard Supplement B". The difference is that A is porridge-like, while B is solid. He bought a monthly pass for 5 spirit stones a month, averaging 0.5 spirit stones per meal.
The company subsidized him 3 spirit stones, and he paid 2 spirit stones out of his own pocket.
The line was long and moved very slowly. The person in front of them finished getting their food and went left; he finished and went right. No one spoke in the cafeteria; only the sound of spoons hitting metal bowls could be heard.
A sign on the wall reads: "Absorb spiritual energy rationally and avoid wasting resources. The Heavenly Dao System reminds you that the path of cultivation begins with every meal."
After getting his food, Chen Yi found a corner to sit down. The porridge was lukewarm and didn't have much flavor. He took a couple of sips, then took out his own insulated pouch and put another dose of "Standard Supplement B" inside.
This is for dinner. I can heat it up if I get hungry during the night shift.
As we were eating, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the cafeteria.
"Your spiritual food has arrived. The spiritual energy content is normal. Please sign for it promptly. If you find that more than 5% of the spiritual energy has evaporated, please refuse to accept it and report it to the system!"
It was the voice of the Spirit Rider.
Chen Yi looked up. The spirit rider was riding a modified electric tricycle, its body covered with a membrane to prevent the evaporation of spirit energy, which could keep hot food warm for two hours. This vehicle had been running in this area for three years, and Chen Yi recognized the rider.
The rider saw him too and nodded at him.
Chen Yi ignored him and continued to drink her porridge.
At 7:20 a.m., he finished his breakfast and walked out of the stupa station.
It's about 800 meters from the cafeteria to the main building of the data cleaning center, and you have to walk through a narrow alley with sparse spiritual energy. On both sides of the alley are abandoned spiritual fields, long neglected, with only some withered spiritual grass struggling on the ground.
Chen Yi walked slowly, looking at the stone path beneath his feet. He didn't actually have to come out so early, but he didn't like staying at the spirit station. There were too many people there, the air was too stuffy, and there were always people complaining.
At 7:40, he arrived at the task hall on the first floor of the data cleaning center.
The mission lobby was large and fairly well-decorated. In the center of the lobby was a huge holographic projection displaying various mission information. Surrounding it were counters, behind which sat uniformed staff.
Chen Yi walked to an empty counter and swiped his spirit rune terminal.
"Chen Yi, the cleaner, welcome back," the system voice announced. "You have one task to claim."
The holographic screen above the counter displays the task details:
Task ID: QL-3000-0315-0087
Mission Location: Abandoned Spirit Vein B-274
Task Type: Residual Spiritual Energy Cleansing
Danger Level: F (Very Low)
"Estimated profit: 0.5 spirit stones"
Chen Yi looked at the number and did some mental calculations.
His monthly salary is 5 spirit stones, and the reward for an F-level mission is 0.5 spirit stones. In other words, he would need to complete 10 F-level missions to earn the equivalent of his monthly salary.
He didn't say anything, but clicked "Confirm Claim".
"Task accepted. Please complete the task and submit a report before 18:00 today."
The mission details popped up on the spiritual terminal, along with a map of the spiritual vein. The abandoned spiritual vein, B-274, is located southeast of Lin Yuan City, approximately 30 li (about 15 kilometers) from the city center. The journey there by public flying sword takes about 40 minutes one way.
Chen saved the mission details and turned to walk towards the door.
As he passed the mission hall, he saw several cleaners gathered around a holographic screen, discussing something. He didn't go over; he just kept his head down and continued walking out.
The sunlight outside was a bit dazzling. Mornings in Lin Yuan City were always misty, with low spiritual energy concentration, but not so high that it was impossible to breathe. Chen Yi stood at the door for a while, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the light, before walking towards Lingqiao Station.
The public flying sword station is located on the east side of Qing-07 area, about a 12-minute walk from the data cleaning center. Chen Yi walks this route every day for three years; he can walk it with his eyes closed.
Lingqiao Station is a small transportation hub, with several public flying swords parked on the platform. The flying swords have grayish-white outer shells and are somewhat old, but still functional. Every time Chen Yi gets on a flying sword, he can feel a slight vibration from the seat; that's the sound of the spiritual energy engine running.
He found a seat by the window and sat down.
The carriage wasn't crowded; most of the passengers were cleaners like him, dressed in gray overalls with blank expressions. A few were scanning their spiritual terminals, a few were lost in thought, and no one spoke.
At 8 o'clock sharp, the flying sword was activated.
Chen Yi leaned back in his chair, watching the scenery outside the window slowly recede. The old town of Lin Yuan City was dilapidated, with houses packed tightly together and streets so narrow that only one flying sword could pass at a time. Further out, the scenery gradually opened up, revealing abandoned spirit fields and derelict buildings.
He visits the abandoned spiritual vein B-274 several times a year. The place has been abandoned for a long time; the spiritual energy concentration is pitifully low, and there's nothing of value there. The tasks the system assigns him mostly involve clearing away residual spiritual energy fluctuations there, which isn't particularly difficult.
This time will probably be the same.
At 8:40, the flying sword stopped at the entrance of the spiritual vein.
Chen got out of the car and headed towards the spirit vein. The abandoned spirit vein B-274 was behind a small hill. It took about 5 minutes to walk there along a dirt road.
The entrance was a half-collapsed stone door, inscribed with the numbers "B-274". On either side of the door were system-installed spiritual energy sensors that automatically recorded the information of those entering. As Chen Yi walked over, the spiritual rune terminal beeped:
"We have entered abandoned ley line B-274. Cleanup crew, please be careful and evacuate immediately in case of emergency."
He entered the spiritual vein.
It was dark inside, with only a few dim spirit lamps hanging on the walls. The spiritual vein passage wasn't very wide, with exposed rock walls on both sides. There were strange patterns on the rock walls, which were traces left by the flow of spiritual energy.
Chen Yi turned on the lighting function of his spiritual terminal and walked inside.
The passage was long and winding, and it got colder the further in he went. He put his hands in his pockets, and his breath turned into white mist. The temperature here was about three degrees lower than outside, and staying here for too long would make one feel uncomfortable.
After walking for about 10 minutes, he arrived at the first cleanup point.
According to the mission details, there were some residual spiritual energy fluctuations in this area that needed to be cleared. Chen Yi took out a clearing device from his toolbox; it was a palm-sized disc, entirely silver-white, with intricate spiritual runes engraved on it.
This is a standard spiritual energy cleaner, and each cleaner has one. Place this disc in the area of spiritual energy fluctuations, and it will automatically absorb and neutralize the residual spiritual energy.
Chen placed the disc on the ground and activated the device.
The disc lit up briefly and began to work.
He stood there waiting, his gaze drifting aimlessly across the surroundings. The place was indeed dilapidated; there were rubble fragments on the ground, dating back to some unknown era, and cracks in the walls in places. There was a strange smell in the air, something he couldn't quite place, but after smelling it for a while, his nose started to itch.
The mission details stated it was an F-level mission, meaning it was very easy to complete. But Chen Yi had a vague feeling that something was amiss.
He opened his spiritual terminal and checked the surrounding spiritual energy concentration data.
The data showed that the spiritual energy concentration in this area was 0.2. This number itself was not a problem, but he noticed that deep within the spiritual vein, where he was about to go, the spiritual energy concentration was 0.7.
0.7.
It is three times higher than the surface area.
This number is incorrect. Under normal circumstances, the spiritual energy concentration in abandoned spiritual veins should be evenly distributed; there shouldn't be such a large difference. Unless…
Unless there's something deep within the spiritual vein.
Chen Yi stared at the number for a while, then put away the terminal and walked deeper into the spiritual vein.
The passageway narrowed, requiring one to turn sideways in some places. The temperature dropped, and he could feel his fingers stiffening. The strange smell in the air grew stronger, faintly carrying a rotten sweetness.
He continued walking inside.
After walking for about 5 minutes, he saw something glowing ahead.
It was a fist-sized stone, suspended in the center of the passage, emitting a faint white light. Chen Yi had never seen anything like it before. He cautiously walked over, squatted down, and examined it closely.
The stone looked like a spirit stone, but its color was much lighter than that of ordinary spirit stones, and it had some strange patterns on its surface. He tried to reach out and touch it.
It's cold.
The stone was unbelievably cold, as if it had just been pulled out of ice water.
He pressed his fingers on the stone.
In an instant, he felt a strange power surge from the stone, flowing into his body through his fingers. The power was cold, so cold that it made him shiver.
At the same time, his left arm suddenly began to feel hot.
Chen Yi looked down and saw that the spirit pattern terminal on the inside of his left arm was flashing wildly, and a series of prompts he had never seen before popped up on the screen:
"Warning: Unknown data conflict detected."
"Duoji chip anomaly."
"Rebooting..."
Before he could even read the prompts, everything suddenly went black.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself still standing in the same spot, the stone still in his hand. But everything around him had changed.
The passage is still the same passage, and the lamps are still the same lamps.
But he saw something else.
Twisted gray mist filled the walls, the cracks in the stones, and the floor. The mist seemed alive, slowly writhing, occasionally coalescing into blurry human face outlines before dissipating again.
Chen Yi stared at the mist, his pupils suddenly contracting.
There are people in the fog.
More than one. There are many.
They were all watching him.