BXBX NOVEL Chapter 143: Data Erosion
[Note: Host is currently subjected to data erosion. Please vacate the data erosion zone promptly.]
The alert from the Eye of Omniscience caused Jeremy to feel slightly panicked.
Jeremy did not perceive that he was being subjected to Data Erosion, yet he knew that the Eye of Omniscience had never been wrong before.
This meant that Data Erosion was something Jeremy could neither detect nor defend against.
With this realization, Jeremy whispered to the three people behind him.
"From now on, I will increase my pace." Jeremy declared, his tone carrying an air of urgency. "You must keep up. If your speed is too slow and you fall behind, I might not come back to rescue you."
With those words hanging in the air, Jeremy promptly quickened his steps.
Although the buildings in Mechanical Town were well-preserved, the roads were extremely difficult to navigate. Various broken pieces of equipment often blocked the way.
Jeremy deftly maneuvered around the obstacles, making his way toward the towering structure at the center of Mechanical Town with the utmost speed.
The three individuals trailing behind him appeared quite disheveled in their attempt to keep up.
Bonnie had encountered a similar situation before in Nocturne City. Back then, Jeremy's pace was so rapid that neither she nor the others could keep up with him.
Claire and Emma were even less adept than Bonnie, and having never encountered a similar situation before, their condition was considerably worse.
"Why are we moving at such a breakneck pace? Have you detected some kind of danger?"
Claire, unable to keep up, couldn't help but shout towards Jeremy.
However, Claire's sentence was cut short, as she suddenly noticed a significant change in her voice.
Her voice now sounded slightly hoarse, as if her vocal cords had been replaced with metal.
"How is this possible? Why does my voice sound like this?"
Claire was utterly shocked. She pondered for a long time, unable to understand why her voice had changed.
Ultimately, Claire decided to seek help from the others.
She turned her gaze towards Emma, who was beside her, intending to voice her concerns. But then she noticed that Emma's left eye had become transparent.
At this moment, Emma's left eye was no longer human, it had been replaced with a camera.
"Look at your eye!"
Claire shouted towards Emma in a voice laden with terror.
Upon uttering those words, Claire was horrified to realize that her voice had become even more hoarse than before. If previously her voice had retained some semblance to that of a human, it now closely resembled the harsh, grating sound of metal scraping against metal.
Jeremy, leading the group, was forced to stop.
He had realized from the first moment he heard Claire's voice that the others were also experiencing Data Erosion. However, he knew there was no way to solve the problem at that moment.
So Jeremy's initial plan was to reach the center of Mechanical Town as quickly as possible. He believed that defeating the instance boss of The Iron Lair would completely resolve the Data Erosion issue.
Jeremy hadn't anticipated that the Data Erosion would progress so rapidly.
Claire's condition not only made Jeremy turn back but also puzzled Emma and Bonnie who were beside her.
Although Emma noticed the problem in Claire's voice, she assumed it was just because Claire was extremely nervous.
However, when Emma glanced at Claire, she suddenly noticed a layer of silvery-white metal covering Claire's neck.
"What is that on your neck? Is it some gear you picked up? Or has your body already started turning into part machine?"
Prompted by Emma's remark, Claire suddenly realized that her neck was covered by a dense layer of metal.
"Your eye, your left eye has turned into a camera!" Claire quickly alerted Emma.
Emma reached for her eye, and in that instant, she froze in shock. Indeed, she didn't feel her eye, instead, she felt a camera.
Throughout the exchange between Emma and Claire, Bonnie maintained a calm demeanor. Although she had noticed that both their bodies appeared to be transitioning towards a more mechanical state, Bonnie chose not to openly voice her observations.
She believed the situation was somewhat complicated, and until they fully understood what was happening, it was best not to take any hasty actions.
"You both appear to have succumbed to Data Erosion." Jeremy stated as he suddenly appeared before the trio, delivering this unsettling revelation.
"What is Data Erosion? Does it mean being transformed into machines?"
Emma and Claire asked in unison, their voices tinged with a mix of confusion and urgency.
Jeremy shook his head. "I don't fully understand the essence of Data Erosion. All I know is that the longer we stay in The Iron Lair instance, the more we become mechanical.
If we can't clear The Iron Lair instance quickly, we'll all turn into machines. And when we become machines, isn't that basically the same as being dead?"
Jeremy's words did nothing to calm Claire and Emma, on the contrary, they only heightened their anxiety.
Faced with this pressing situation, Jeremy had an inspired idea: he intended to use the High-dimensional Data in his possession to try to suppress the Data Erosion that Claire and Emma were experiencing.
Although his plan was far from guaranteed to succeed, it offered a glimmer of hope and, at the very least, might help to calm Claire and Emma.
"You don't need to panic too much right now! While I don't have a perfect solution for Data Erosion, I can try using High-dimensional data."
Jeremy took out the data core and used his [The Mechanical Puppet Technique] skill to extract a portion of the High-dimensional data from it.
The high-dimensional data transformed into an energy form and began to surround Emma and Claire.
As the High-dimensional data permeated their bodies, the mechanical parts on Emma and Claire started to disappear.
"It actually worked! My vision has been restored!" exclaimed Emma, her voice brimming with relief and astonishment.
"Yes, and my vocal cords are back to normal too! That dense ring of metal around my neck has vanished." Claire added, her tone filled with elation.
Both Emma and Claire were overjoyed, feeling a renewed sense of hope. They believed that Jeremy had finally discovered an effective method to combat Data Erosion.
However, Bonnie, who was watching from the side, could tell that Jeremy's expression wasn't as cheerful.
"Since your Data Erosion has been temporarily suppressed, let's move on quickly. We must defeat the boss of The Iron Lair instance as soon as possible."
Jeremy hurriedly led the group to continue their journey at the fastest possible pace.
As they traveled, Jeremy took the lead, followed closely by Bonnie, while Emma and Claire trailed behind.
"Why do you still look so worried? Haven't you found a way to suppress Data Erosion?"
Bonnie, having caught up to Jeremy, inquired directly.
Jeremy offered a faint, bitter smile. "Do you truly believe I've succeeded? Haven't you noticed that you are also gradually transforming into a machine?
In reality, I am also slowly turning into a machine. The only reason our transformation isn't as rapid is due to our greater strength.
As time progresses, we too will inevitably be converted into machines. The High-dimensional data merely suppresses Data Erosion temporarily. To completely resolve Data Erosion, we must exit The Iron Lair instance.
Alternatively, we could destroy the towering structure at the heart of Mechanical Town.
After all, all the High-dimensional data and regular data are emitted from that tower. If we destroy the tower, we can eliminate the Data Erosion issue."
The reason Jeremy spoke at such length with Bonnie was that he had a certain level of understanding and respect for her capabilities.
Though Emma and Claire deeply cared for Jeremy, he refrained from discussing these matters with them. Jeremy was fully aware that they would not be able to offer him substantial assistance in this regard.
"Even if we manage to infiltrate the tower, what method do you have to dismantle it? I suspect the tower might be even more formidable than The Iron Lair instance boss."
Bonnie voiced her speculation directly.
Since entering The Iron Lair instance, Bonnie had consistently sensed an inexplicable energy. She had her own theories about this mysterious presence.
Bonnie believed that the mastermind behind the enemies they encountered in The Iron Lair, if not the "Sun." must be a being very close in power to the "Sun."
Jeremy certainly concurred with Bonnie's assessment.
However, he didn't want Bonnie to think he was out of options.
"Once we defeat The Iron Lair instance boss, we should be able to discover a means to destroy the tower. You know very well that no instance is without a solution. As long as we find this solution, we can successfully clear The Iron Lair instance."