Free Black Sun (Phantom Server: Book #3) by Andrei Livadny

it might seem at first.
    “Just let him keep to the point,” Jurgen fumed. “Did he gather us here to whine? He doesn’t believe it! What a drama queen!”
    “I’ve spent my entire life in the real world!” Arbido snapped. “Trust me: the biggest gaming corporation on Earth couldn’t have just gone bankrupt overnight! It’s bullshit! Whatever Zander saw there — all those deserted cities and such — I doubt! They could have shown him whatever they wanted!”
    Arbido pointed a gnarly finger at Charon. “So you think he’s a ‘Sentient Xenomorph’ ? And who am I, then?”
    “Nothing human, by the looks of it,” Ralph chuckled.
    “Exactly! They made me whatever they wanted me to be! So what makes you think that Charon is an alien? What’s the difference between him and myself? And what have the Founders technologies got to do with it?”
    “Good question,” Foggs suddenly agreed. “Listen, guys, he might be right. All those who logged in via the Second Colonial Fleet, their in-modes seem to be fine. They’re perfectly healthy. Their Physical Energy is in the green. How do you explain this? What if the admins are indeed applying pressure to you? What if they’re busy creating the world’s history and testing new technologies? Liori’s avatar is made of nanites. Arbido is stuck within this fantasy char...”
    “So how do the dying children fit into this picture?” Jurgen turned pale with fury. “It’s all theory! And we need solutions!”
    “That’s exactly what I’m about to offer,” Arbido scowled. “For those who don’t know, I used to have a gaming business. I spent my entire life building it. I used to rush chars. I had my employees planted in all sorts of worlds. I supplied some very special artifacts. I had a whole shedful of top programmers working for me. Just to give you the idea, I could supply firearms to fantasy worlds, provided the price was right,” he cast me an evil eye. “Let Zander be my witness. He knows.”
    “So how did you end up here?” Foggs asked.
    Arbido frowned. “I was caught where I shouldn’t have been.”
    “Which was where?” Jurgen demanded.
    “I take it, you’ve all been to the Crystal Sphere? Apart from Charon, of course,” Arbido added sarcastically. “This was,” he sounded businesslike again, “a young world with great potential. I had some very interesting goings-on developing there. I did it my usual way: I collected intel before going big. I bought some insider information from players, I studied hidden locations and their potential access routes. I looked into unique plot lines. The moment I’d found out that the Corporation was about to make neuroimplants obligatory for all players, I had one installed too.”
    “So how did you get burned?” Ralph asked.
    “Curiosity killed the cat, so they say. I decided to check out Phantom Server. I was wondering why players kept going missing. The corporate bosses didn’t like it, apparently,” he shuddered. The memories of endlessly going through the Gehenna respawn purgatory must have still been vivid.
    “Are you going to get to the point?” Jurgen asked, losing patience.
    “”Are you going to “
    “That’s what I’m talking about!” Arbido fidgeted, stooping — he didn’t feel comfortable being the center of attention. He wasn’t used to it. “When I collected the intel on the Crystal Sphere, I was tipped off about one very interesting location. Apparently, there was a secret path that started in the newb zone. No one knew where it would take you. I sent my man to investigate — and it turned out that the path came out directly at the Corporation testing grounds!”
    “Into the real world, you mean?” Jurgen sounded puzzled.
    “Exactly. Only I never used it. I don’t shit on my own doorstep.”
    “So!” Foggs grinned. “That gets interesting!”
    “How can we access these service locations?” Liori asked.
    “The access is at the low-level starting zone,” Arbido