Echoes on the Wall

The bizarre disappearance of the death monitor lizard shocked everyone on the scene. Whether player, NPC, or Chu Guang. Yin Fang was the first to react. Rushing at top speed to where the death monitor lizard had collapsed, he reached down and rubbed a hand against the floor. Rubbing his index finger and thumb together, his brows knitted slightly. The corrosive blood had vanished completely. Yet the etchings of corrosion still scarred the synthetic flooring. Furthermore, the human tissues swallowed by the death monitor lizard had dissipated into the air along with the blurred particles, as though assimilated by some unknown power. Just what was that power? Yin Fang suddenly recalled what had occurred during their previous experiments. The Seventh Institute's researchers had attempted to use the perforator to transmit simple mechanical objects, such as clocks, to the Creator Universe. Direct transmission had yielded zero reaction, yet placing one on a monkey had succeeded. The fissure the perforator opened in the cosmic membrane seemed linked to the subjective cognition of the transmitted subject. While such an explanation sounded somewhat idealistic, the facts they had witnessed were indisputably objective. Walking over beside Yin Fang, Chu Guang looked at the corrosive stains etched into the floor and murmured, "What is going on with this thing?" "I don't know, we have far too few clues..." Yin Fang shook his head. Pausing a moment, he continued in an uncertain tone, "Though, I do have a theory." Chu Guang looked at him, gesturing with his eyes for him to go on. Yin Fang paused, then continued: "The Precursor civilization mentioned the 'Wall,' defining it as the existence between universes, and warned us to proceed with caution and never let them out." Chu Guang pondered for a moment. "You mean this lizard is something from the 'Wall'?" "To be precise, a projection of something on the 'Wall.' I don't believe it has the ability to squeeze through a practically invisible aperture. What we faced was likely an 'image' cast through the pinhole by means of some unknown power." Looking at the contemplative Chu Guang, Yin Fang continued earnestly, "Of course, this is merely a logical deduction. If the cosmic membrane were so fragile that we, having barely left our homeworld, could destroy it at will, this universe could never have survived until now... unless you believe we are the only civilization in it." That was plainly impossible. After all, not long ago, they had discovered the existence of the Precursor civilization, and even their understanding of the "Void" had been inherited from them. "A projection of a void creature... sounds rather creepy," Chu Guang said with a faint smile. "Then again, it seemed wary of us as well. Looked at that way, there's really nothing to worry about." Seeing the confident smile on Chu Guang's face, Yin Fang relaxed and chuckled, making a lighthearted remark. "Of course it would be wary of us. Remember what it said earlier? It's been to many worlds like ours." "I'm guessing this isn't the first time it's stubbed its toe against an iron plate." ... [Alliance Scientific Expedition Seventh Research Institute · Experiment Log] [Designation: TAG.7444154] [Classification: Death Monitor Lizard] [Description: Morphology resembles a colossal lizard, with an indeterminate number of eyes lining both sides of its mouth. Possesses an exceptionally vicious and aggressive temperament. Capable of breaching concrete structures nearly half a meter thick relying solely on brute physical strength, breaching containment facilities rated with quasi-nuclear protection. Aside from extraordinary strength and a rapacious predatory drive, the unidentified lifeform exhibits nearly unbelievable regenerative capabilities and damage resistance. Even when sustaining mortal injuries, it retains combat efficiency and recovers from damage within a relatively short period.] [Experimental Record: Four Tier 5 Awakened from [Chaoxiong Corps] engaged the entity with "company-level firepower," utilizing equipment including bolters, white phosphorus grenades, and man-portable rocket launchers. Only one survived. In subsequent engagement, the [Administrator] intervened personally. Through repeated destruction of its bodily tissues, it was concluded that the creature's regenerative capacity has an upper limit; multiple fatal blows will terminate it permanently. At five minutes post-termination, the lifeform's physical remains vanished into thin air, specifically derealizing and breaking down into minute, invisible particles. Whereabouts unknown. Additionally, tests indicate the creature possesses a moderate degree of intelligence and linguistic capacity, though it only exhibited a limited desire to communicate when facing an insurmountable opponent.] [Remark 1: Seventh Research Institute Floor B3 experimental facilities must account for potential incursions by organic lifeforms and install physical sterilization devices within containment facilities.] [Remark 2: Based on information disclosed by "TAG.7444154," multiple parallel universes appear to exist. If this information is accurate, the "Nested Cosmic Multiverse Hypothesis" and the "Creator" conjecture likely contain discrepancies.] [...] ... On the official *Wasteland Online* forum, things were as lively as ever. As the players who had taken part in the "Defend the Seventh Research Institute" mission logged off one after another, an eye-popping piece of news quickly surfaced on the forums. Surging Waves: "HUGE NEWS!!! The researchers at the Seventh Institute used the perforator and summoned a void creature! Four level 50 bros from our corps raided the dungeon, and three got one-shotted in an instant!" Passionate Little Firecracker: "I witnessed it! The moment the alarm sounded, those four losers rushed in and hogged the elevator, feeding themselves straight to that giant lizard until it was eighty percent full." Fortune from Misfortune: "Get the fuck outta here! We dealt damage too, okay?! (Angry)" Ominous Fate: "Exactly! Without us softening it up, could the Administrator have one-shotted it?" Elaina: "If you hadn't added that last line, I might've actually believed you. (Side-eye smile)" Surging Waves: "Cough, it wasn't quite a one-shot, I watched the whole thing. That lizard's HP bar was ridiculously thicc. Brother Guang slammed it twice with his hammer and only shaved off half its health. It died on the third or fourth hit." Jieyan: "Holy shit?! It tanked three hits from Brother Guang?! That beastly?!" Ye Shi: "Sweat, I told them to take it easy. Sure enough, they went and triggered a new expansion pack. (Awkward)" Tail: "!!! A new expansion is coming?! (⊙o⊙)" Fang Chang: "Depends on whether any new accidents pop up. (Side-eye smile)" Surging Waves: "Speaking of which, this monster was weird as hell. Previously, slain monster corpses stayed right where they fell, but this thing didn't even leave a single hair behind when it died. It was like it got wiped by the server." Fiercest Tiger in the Pond: "+1, I was there too. Forget leaving a hair behind, even the eaten parts of the dead players vanished right along with it! (°ー°〃)" Lao Bai: "A brand-new game mechanic. Sounds interesting. (Grin)" Elaina: "I'd rather have loot. Dropping nothing at all hurts my soul. (Funny)" Elven King Fugui: "You just wanted to taste if it was delicious, didn't you? (Funny)" Elaina: "Busted. (Funny)" Fang Chang: "What caught my attention wasn't actually the monster vanishing upon death, but the Seventh Research Institute lore card updated in the official setting compendium. Under entry TAG.7444154, a note about 'parallel worlds' was added." Kuang Feng: "Is there an issue with that setting?" Fang Chang: "It's not that there's an issue, but the content makes me wonder. I've been thinking before... is it possible that the wasteland of *Wasteland Online* is actually a parallel world? And the details on TAG.7444154 are a deliberate hint given to us by the game developers." The originally bustling thread fell unusually quiet for a moment. A long time passed without a single reply. In fact, let alone the onlookers in the thread, even Fang Chang himself, typing out those words, felt it was a bit outrageous, even though the thought had been brewing in his mind for a long time. This game... Was it truly just a game? Sure enough, he wasn't the only one who thought so. The moment he posted this conjecture in the thread, the onlookers snapped out of their daze and began sharing their opinions in droves. While the vast majority disagreed, a considerable portion concurred with his theory. Jieyan: "Holy shit? Are you saying Brother Guang is actually an alien? (Panic)" Fang Chang: "I never said that, but whether he's an alien doesn't matter. Even if he's human, he could be an emissary for an alien civilization." Yaya: "Th-that's impossible! No matter how realistic this game is, there's still a difference from reality, right?! (°ー°〃)" Jiujiu Loves Pineapple: "According to that logic... wouldn't the people who died actually be dead? Aside from us, that is. (Guilty)" In Debt God: "Sounds kind of terrifying, yet surprisingly logical... The NPCs in this game feel no different from real people. Even if you explain it away as AI, it's far too lifelike. Uh, a friend told me." Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "Calling Professor Yang! This bunch of gaming addicts has worsened into full-blown delusions! ∑(?Д?)" Kuang Feng: "Hmm... I can't refute your point, but I only have one question: how could something like this be achieved?" Fang Chang: "No idea. Comparing it to the game world, our current era would be the Old Era before the Era of Prosperity. The technological generation gap is probably as wide as the distance to Alpha Centauri." Fang Chang: "Besides... that morphogenetic field theory, doesn't it sound familiar? Transmitting information through resonance—that sounds suspiciously like our gaming helmets..." ... The discussion on the forum continued. It had already derailed from talks about the new expansion and game mechanics into a debate on the fundamental nature of the game itself. To tell the truth, Chu Guang knew this day would come sooner or later. The little players of *Wasteland Online* would eventually realize that the world beneath their feet was not virtual, but truly existed in a parallel universe. From the looks of it, that day was drawing closer and closer... Alliance Building. Administrator's Office. Watching the lively forum discussions on the holographic screen, the corners of Chu Guang's mouth curled into a smile. "...There are still plenty of sharp minds out there. Looks like we need to expand the roster of the 'planning team.'" Sitting on the desk, Xiao Qi tilted its head. "Aren't Ah Guang and Xiao Qi enough?" "Of course not," Chu Guang chuckled, patting its little head as he replied warmly. "The Wasteland Era has come to an end. We need to design a new game so they can keep playing in the new era." The war in the Free State was drawing to a close, and the mutants in River Valley Province were close to being hunted into protected species status. With the phenomenon of "more players than mobs" growing increasingly acute, this trend was spreading to other provinces. In as little as one or two years, or at most two to three, the wild mutants across this planet outside Baiyue Province would inevitably be hunted to extinction. After all, no matter how one looked at it, a Deathclaw took five or six years to mature from hatching, whereas a player only needed three days to stand back up, complete with all their prior combat experience retained. As the Alliance's snowball rolled bigger and bigger, order on this planet was steadily returning to normal. For the survivors living on this world, this was naturally a wonderful thing, but for players joining the game later, not so much. At this juncture, there were only two options. Either reduce or pause the distribution of closed-beta slots, curbing the influx of new players and compressing the proportion of combat-class players; Or open up a new map and divert combat-class players to a brand-new planet similar to Gaia! Chu Guang was naturally more inclined toward the latter option; after all, killing the donkey once it was off the grindstone wasn't his style. Now that the Alliance had established a firm foothold on the wasteland, it was time to extend a helping hand to their compatriots in the other world. Linked by the morphogenetic field, both worlds could pursue shared prosperity! Moreover, regarding the new map, the experimental record of "TAG.7444154" provided him with an ingenious approach— Namely, finding a habitable or relatively habitable planet and relocating the Seventh Research Institute, seeds of the Tree of Life, and respawn points for a portion of the combat-class players there! Then, using the perforator to continually generate new "void mutants" for players to farm as mobs! While this sounded somewhat suicidal, looking at it from another angle, it was practically killing two birds with one stone. This way, it resolved the players' shortage of mobs to grind, enhanced the gameplay experience, and allowed Alliance researchers to conduct experiments (or court death) with greater freedom, thereby deepening human civilization's comprehension of the Void. Was there any idea more brilliant than this? Perhaps. Yet for now, he couldn't conceive of a better one! Just as Chu Guang was secretly enjoying his thoughts, a soft murmur drifted from a corner of the office. "...Incredible. A young civilization that has barely set foot outside its home planet has already grasped the mysteries of the Void." The rustling sound resembled dry leaves rubbing outside a window. Without paying close attention, one might not notice it at all—or even if heard, dismiss it as an auditory hallucination. However— That faint sound did not escape Chu Guang's ears. His sharp gaze instantly snapped toward a corner of the room. "Who's there?" Startled by Chu Guang's sudden movement, Xiao Qi hurriedly spun around to look behind it on the desk, yet saw nothing but a bookshelf. "...Master? Is there... something there?" With a look of concern on its face, Xiao Qi asked nervously. The acoustic sensors were connected properly; it was certain there had been no sound whatsoever. Not even a single decibel of vibration. Yet Chu Guang did not look away, his eyes fixed steadily in the direction of the bookshelf. The voice fell silent for a moment. Only after a long pause did it drift over again, faint and distant. "...Me? You can see me?" A hint of genuine astonishment tinged the voice, as though witnessing something impossible. Truth be told, Chu Guang could not see the mumbling speaker. However, he could distinctly sense a pair of eyes watching him from that direction. That gaze held neither malice nor goodwill; all it seemed capable of doing was watching. Chu Guang's eyebrow arched slightly as the creature's identity suddenly dawned on him. "You're the one who stole my pen?"