Cards on the Table

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean of Universe Beta, a large deep-sea fishing vessel drifted upon the sea. Several civilian yachts trailed close behind, rising and falling with the surging, turbulent waves. Judging strictly from their exterior, any passerby who caught sight of this flotilla would have assumed they were a tour group out for a deep-sea fishing excursion. Yet the reality was the exact opposite. Inside those tightly shut cabins were no tourists or fishing tackle—only uniformly armed operatives. On the deck outside the cabin, an emaciated man leaned against the railing, smoking a cigarette. The natural curls draping down to his ears looked unkempt and disheveled. His name was Fick, a former CIA agent and the current head of the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team. Ever since the Great Virginia Blackout, although the CIA's reckless actions had drawn harsh criticism from the administration's top leader, the incident had also made the administration fully aware of the threat posed by extraterrestrial civilization, prompting the urgent establishment of the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team. As the only agent who had participated in the investigation of Wasteland OL, Fick was quickly summoned by the top leader and appointed head of the team. Taking charge in the face of an impending extraterrestrial invasion was unquestionably the peak highlight of Fick's life. Big shots he had previously seen only on television eagerly shook his hand at banquets, not only treating him as a guest of honor but revering him as the savior of human civilization—and he had believed it himself. Yet the good times did not last. Once the blackout blew over, the extraterrestrial civilization lurking behind Wasteland OL suddenly pulled back its edge. It even began playing at "paid technology transfers" on forums outside the game. Calling it "paid" did not mean paying the game's operator; rather, various economies put up money to buy in-game currency from players, and then used it to anonymously bid on technological data not found on Earth at auctions. Such a brilliant maneuver instantly roped all the factions that had harbored doubts about the "advanced extraterrestrial civilization" onto the "aliens'" bandwagon. Especially after the Wall Street tycoons discovered the astonishing market value behind Wasteland OL, they dispatched political lobbyists in droves to sway Congress. They guided public opinion to preach theories of benevolent contact and universal grand convergence, ultimately succeeding in pressuring the administration to change its prior contact strategy. Thanks to this, Fick's career took a nosedive. Not only was his budget slashed repeatedly, but his transport was demoted from an aircraft carrier to a destroyer, and now down to a fishing boat. Unless one was truly an irredeemable fool or a vested interest playing dumb, nobody would persist in a completely meaningless endeavor regardless of cost. And right now, the work of the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team was becoming precisely that: completely meaningless. No matter how vividly Fick described the alien threat before Congress or laid out the specious evidence he had scraped together from civilian sources, the only result was lulling the attendees around the conference table to sleep. Wall Street's political lobbyists did not even bother concocting plans to lobby him, deeming it utterly unnecessary. This bunch of short-memoried hypocrites had long forgotten how they had once clasped his hands and hailed him as humanity's final savior; now, they regarded him and his operatives as nothing more than table talk and a running joke. Even more egregious was the man who had ordered the creation of the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team in the first place. That honorable top leader had directly handed him an ultimatum: four more years. Four years! If he still failed to locate the advanced civilization's spaceship, his department would be stripped from the directly affiliated teams and merged into NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It sounded like they were planning to pack him onto a Voyager probe and shoot him into space. In short, that was how matters had unfolded. To avoid being packed onto Voyager-N and launched toward the aliens' homeworld as a greeting gift, he had no choice but to push through the cold stares of congressional heavyweights like a rabid dog, scouring the globe for traces left behind by Wasteland OL and the advanced civilization. Fortunately, hard work paid off. With only the final year of that four-year window remaining, a glimmer of hope finally appeared. Acting on an anonymous tip provided by an informant calling himself "Beta Fission," Fick had circled the Pacific before finally zeroing in on the stretch of sea beneath his feet in the Central Pacific. Supposedly, this was where the advanced civilization's ship had touched down. A fishing boat had witnessed its landing back then. And to silence the witnesses, the aliens aboard the craft had slaughtered everyone on deck. Although the accuracy and source of this intel were highly suspect, he had no other options left and could only come here in the spirit of giving it a shot. A theory of benevolent contact... What a joke. Whoever wanted to believe such nonsense could go right ahead, but he sure as hell wouldn't. At least in Fick's view, even if that so-called advanced civilization displayed a sliver of goodwill and brought so-called benefits to nations across the globe, it was only fattening humanity up for the slaughter. Snuffing out his cigarette butt, he hurled it viciously into the waves splashing against the hull. Just you wait! His divers were searching along the seabed right now. The moment they salvaged even a shred of suspicious wreckage, he would pin every bit of blame square on those aliens' heads! He would prove himself! He would expose the conspiracy of that so-called advanced civilization and become the true savior of human civilization! Just as Fick was indulging in these thoughts, the swells on the ocean's surface suddenly surged with violence. Waves slammed against the steel hull, rocking the deck like a swing. Standing by the railing, Fick lost his footing, and the lighter in his hand clattered onto the deck. "Shit—" Cursing under his breath, he bent down to pick it up, but the pitching vessel lurched again, knocking him flat on his back. Hearing the clatter on deck, an operative standing by the cabin door pushed it open and stepped out. Catching sight of Fick sitting disheveled on the floor, he hurried forward and extended a hand. "Team Leader? What happened?" "Nothing... minor accident." Too embarrassed to admit he had slipped, Fick grabbed the hand with a stiff face and was about to haul himself up, only to freeze dead in his tracks. His gaze was locked straight onto the distant horizon, where an impossibly massive whale was breaching from beneath the surface. No— More than one! There were many of them! Wait, no— That thing wasn't a whale at all! It was an upright, colossal freighter! Layers of waves were thrust aside by its bullet-shaped hull, turning the entire sea into a boiling cauldron of turbulent, rolling currents. Staring dumbfounded at the steel structures rising one after another from the sea, Fick was struck speechless. He wasn't the only one— The operative who had reached out to help him did the same. The moment his gaze followed Fick's toward the sea, his jaw dropped wide into an oval. What on earth was that?! A skyscraper? A vertical aircraft carrier? Atlantis? Or... God? "Is that... an extraterrestrial... spaceship?" Clinging to the cabin door, the operative forced the words out with immense difficulty as he watched the gargantuan steel structures ascend into the sky. The moment he heard those words, Fick's expression instantly shifted from astonishment to ecstatic frenzy. Found it! He had found it!!! "The cameras! Aim the cameras at them! God... did you see that?! That thing!! That's the thing!!! Proof of extraterrestrial civilization—!" He shrieked at the top of his lungs, eyes filled with wild delight, shouting incoherently at the operatives inside the cabin. Everyone thought the man had gone mad. Yet soon they realized they were just as mad as he was. "God... is that really a spaceship from an advanced civilization?!" "Wait, what about our satellites?! And the fleet, and the radars! How did they... land in this sea right under our noses?!" "I want to know what they're trying to do..." Upturned faces mirrored varied, stunned expressions, frozen as they stared at the magnificent behemoth ascending into the sky powered by some unknown propulsion, like ants gazing up at a god. In the end, they had succeeded. They had successfully found the mastermind behind Wasteland OL, the ship of the advanced civilization manipulating everything from the shadows! Yet... What next? Every member of the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team froze in silence, including Fick, who had been dancing with excitement just moments before. They had no doubt that an F-22 would look like nothing more than a housefly before such a thing. The only suspense was whether a nuclear missile could inflict even a scratch on that hull, which looked suspiciously like stainless steel. Perhaps it could. After all, no matter how formidable technology was, it couldn't defy the laws of physics. Even so, no one dared suggest putting it to the test—they didn't even dare entertain the thought... Nevertheless, what needed to be done still had to be done. Without delaying a single second, Fick sprinted into the cabin, dialed the military base closest to this sea zone, identified himself, and swiftly reported the situation. "This is the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team! At coordinates... we have spotted what appears to be an extraterrestrial spaceship! Send a fleet for support immediately!" A response soon came from the other end of the line. Yet to Fick's fury, he could hear the sound of someone cracking sunflower seeds on the other end. Evidently, his call had not reached the right person, but had instead been dumped on an office clerk or a gate security guard. "Right, Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team... So you've discovered an unidentified shipwreck near the seabed? About how large a salvage vessel do you need?" Fick roared into the receiver, "It's a spaceship! How many times do I have to repeat myself? It's in the sky, and it'll probably breach the atmosphere before long!" The line went silent for a moment before an unmistakable snicker broke out. Fick's face flushed crimson, and he bellowed in fury, "I'm telling the truth! I have video recordings! And with a target that massive, can't you just ping it with radar—" "Alright, Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team, our radar shouldn't be malfunctioning. There's only your vessel out in that sector... well, maybe a few seagulls too, but we certainly don't see any alien spaceship." Fick bellowed with all the strength in his lungs, "Then scramble an AWACS! What the hell do you expect that piece-of-junk radar to see from over a thousand kilometers away?!" The line went dead. The other party probably thought he was making a scene out of boredom. Still, Fick knew they would all regret it—regret not believing him... because the entire world was about to be frightened out of its wits by that iron monstrosity. Even if radar couldn't detect it, a spacecraft that enormous could never be hidden. Currently, discussions about extraterrestrial civilization ranked second only to Wasteland OL in internet popularity. Amateur astronomers across the globe were pointing their telescopes at the sky around the clock. Slamming the radio receiver back onto the console, Fick cursed in a mix of excitement and terror. "Damn it! It's actually the real deal..." As for what to do next, he would need some time to figure that out... ... Though a whole year had been squandered circling the Pacific, Fick and his men had ultimately achieved the dream they had chased so bitterly. Not even twenty-four hours later! Later that very day, after the group returned to port, that colossal spacecraft dominated headlines across global media at an incredible speed! Its streamlined shell and gargantuan hull surpassed any rocket humanity had ever launched in history. Not only that! The principles behind its launch similarly shocked everyone's senses! It didn't appear to be propelled by the combustion of chemical propellants, but rather drifted into the sky like a hot-air balloon beneath the thrust of plasma plumes. Gravity seemed to have lost its grip on it entirely! Had the footage not been provided by the officially affiliated Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team, people would have suspected it was game CG or computer-generated imagery! The aerospace sector wasn't the only one rocked; even the physics community, recently exhilarated by breakthroughs in controlled nuclear fusion, was stunned by the unfathomable spectacle! [SHOCKING! Colossal UFO Passes Over the Indian Ocean!] [Suspected Showdown! Mastermind Behind Mysterious MMORPG Wasteland OL Revealed!] [War or Peace?! UFO Suddenly Appears Inside Atmosphere!] [On the Brink! Multinational Carrier Strike Groups Head to Central Pacific for Joint Reconnaissance!] [International Space Station Releases Observation Data: Six-Segment UFO Assembling in Geostationary Orbit!] [Former CIA Agent and Head of the Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team Fick Speaks in Press Interview, Claiming Crucial Evidence of Extraterrestrial Invasion of Earth Discovered!] [US Authorities Issue Urgent Statement of Clarification, Claiming Extraterrestrial Civilization Countermeasures Team Is a Civilian Organization and Statements Do Not Represent Official Stance!] [Destination Mars?! Advanced Civilization Starship Suspected to Have Left Earth-Moon System, En Route to Mars!] [Salvage Teams from Multiple Nations Converge on Central Pacific; Further Details Still Under Investigation...] [...] For three full days, the mysterious ship flooded the internet of Earth. Aside from Wasteland OL's official website, which calmly continued posting announcements regarding the game and open beta, clicking on almost any other website brought up that colossal starship and the latest news surrounding it. Yet while the official website remained calm on the surface, the players on the forum couldn't stay calm at all. Even if the unidentified ship didn't look any more extravagant than the Alliance's Low-Earth Orbit Defense Platform, and was vastly smaller than the Orion missile cruiser, the fact that it had manifested in reality gave everyone the distinct sensation of the game bleeding into real life. Tail: "Holy crap... Is Ah Guang really an alien?! (Stunned)" Meat Mountain Steamed Bun: "Wait, if Wasteland OL is really a game run by aliens, then what are we to them? (Terrified)" Sisi: "Test subjects? Or diplomats? Hmmm... I feel like it's not that simple." Tail: "Ooh! Tail thinks so too!" Sesame Paste: "Mmm... Regardless of where that ship came from, I don't feel like it's shown any malice?" Commander Spring: "Mm, that's precisely the most worrisome part. We know nothing about them, but they know everything about us." Ye Shi: "Uh, do you guys think there's a possibility... they're actually us from the future?" Sisi: "Oh? Did you see something through psionics?" Ye Shi: "Well, no, just my gut feeling..." Tail: "The intuition of a Perception-type master! Maybe that's really it! (☆。☆)" Fang Chang: "Mm... that possibility really can't be ruled out, though it sounds a bit wild." Jieyan: "But what would be their reason for doing that? I don't get it. Changing the future by altering the past? Can something like that really be done? (Dumbfounded)" Fang Chang: "Hard to say. Maybe just like you said, by exerting influence on us, they avoid the arrival of the Wasteland Era." Ye Shi: "Good grief... don't jinx it. I really don't want to go to the wasteland in the flesh." Fang Chang: "Why would that be a jinx? Maybe they've already found a way to prevent the Wasteland Era, and the plan has already succeeded. If that's the case, who knows, maybe the Wasteland Era no longer exists on our timeline. (Smirking)" Thinking that way might have been overly optimistic, but different circumstances across different worlds clearly couldn't be generalized. Brother Edge: "Through a game, though...? Doesn't that feel a bit careless? Wasn't there a better way?" Fang Chang: "Maybe better methods were already tried, and maybe this was the best possible outcome after countless attempts." Fang Chang: "As for the better, less careless method you mentioned, maybe it exists. But the possibilities beyond time are known only to those beyond time." "..." ... The heated debate on the official forum continued, and speculation about the operator behind Wasteland OL became the hottest topic around. Chu Guang had never expected that while he was planning to make a big splash on the day of the open beta, "Beta Fission" would beat him to the punch with a massive headline of his own. Should he say that Beta Fission truly lived up to being his other self? The things he had thought of, his "other self" far away in Universe Beta had not only anticipated, but carried out on his behalf. On the B5 level of Shelter 404. Seated in his office chair, Chu Guang finally met Dr. Yuan Li of Universe Beta face-to-face via the room's large screen. Strictly speaking, this was the first direct conversation between the two. And the "Yuan Li" standing behind the screen appeared far younger than the man Chu Guang had seen in holographic recordings. "A pleasure to meet you." Though he had countless questions, Chu Guang didn't press them immediately, opting instead for a polite greeting. Dr. Yuan Li on the screen nodded slightly, speaking with a touch of deference. "The pleasure is mine, respected... Administrator." "No need to be so formal. Please, take a seat," Chu Guang said warmly. Yuan Li nodded and naturally settled into the chair behind him. His current location was presumably Shelter 404-Beta—the undersea shelter situated in the trench west of the Pacific. "Before our conversation begins, I'd like to apologize to you... That ship was a deployment decided upon by the Professor before Project 404 concluded. Regarding the public uproar it caused and the impact on your work, we are deeply sorry." Looking at Dr. Yuan Li's earnest apology, Chu Guang offered a gentle smile. "There's no need to blame yourself. That was his decision, and it has nothing to do with the rest of you. Truth be told, while his action came as a bit of a surprise and felt sudden, as early as half a year ago I was already planning to lay my cards on the table with the people of Universe Beta during the open beta... Right now, it's just half a year ahead of schedule. We both arrived at the same idea—I can only say he truly lived up to being 'another me.'" In truth, with a moment's thought, it wasn't hard for him to guess Beta Fission's true intentions. Although that man had inherited all of the Professor's memories and the mission to save human civilization in Universe Alpha, the vessel he used was, after all, a body native to Universe Beta. Precisely because of that, he still harbored feelings for Universe Beta. Perhaps, just like Chu Guang, he had already realized that he was not truly the "Professor" in the literal sense, but rather a new beginning. Operating on that underlying logic, though he would exploit Universe Beta's resources without hesitation, he could never bring himself to discard the people of Universe Beta once they had served their purpose. Therefore, before departing Earth, he performed one final act for the people living on that planet— He brought the existence of the advanced civilization out into the open, turning an unwritten rule beneath the table into an explicit reality beyond debate! It was, in truth, an open gambit. Once this deed was done, whether the "Alpha Replica" inheriting Shelter 404—namely himself—continued framing the game's operator as a godlike advanced civilization, or openly disclosed the existence of morphogenetic fields and the Universe Alpha-Beta theory, he would have to engage with the people of Universe Beta in an open manner. Or rather, from a stance of at least neutrality, reciprocate the goodwill they had already extended— That is, if he still wished to continue Project 404 and draw upon the strength of the conscious entities from the other universe. To think that fellow had even set up a safeguard against him before leaving; Chu Guang engaged in some serious self-reflection. Perhaps the impression he had long given Beta Fission was far too shrewd and calculating, leaving the other with little confidence in him, which was why he had made such a move out of an abundance of caution. In truth, that hadn't been necessary at all. From the very beginning, Chu Guang had planned on doing just that—even if Project 404 concluded, the Alliance he represented would maintain friendly contact with the people of Universe Beta, and even face future crises together. As both Administrator and game planner, he saw clearer than anyone that the players of Wasteland OL and the "NPCs" had always influenced one another; it had never been a one-way street. The former's destinies were quietly shifting as well! Though the people living in the two different universes could not physically touch one another, under the effect of the resonance field, the destinies of both worlds had long been bound together. If that fellow could foresee that, how could Chu Guang fail to? Looking at the earnest Dr. Yuan Li, Chu Guang paused for a moment before continuing. "The main reason I wanted to speak with you involves two matters. The first concerns the open beta of Wasteland OL... I intend to set up a local server in Universe Beta to accommodate the open beta players." "A local server?" Dr. Yuan Li blinked, momentarily unable to grasp Chu Guang's meaning. "That's right. Not based on morphogenetic field theory, but a traditional online game in the conventional sense..." Chu Guang nodded, laying out the plan he had devised half a year ago to Dr. Yuan Li. "I intend to write our story into code, presenting it in a format closer to the ninth art. Since connection via morphogenetic field technology won't be necessary, producing and deploying the related hardware will be far simpler—we can even outsource manufacturing directly to other industrial enterprises." "That will not only solve the shortage of production capacity, but also make up for the new players' regret over missing out on earlier expansions." Dr. Yuan Li asked in surprise, "...What about the closed beta players?" Chu Guang smiled faintly. "They'll remain as they were, including closed beta access and helmet distribution. After all, the live server's updates will still depend on them... You can think of it as a test server." Dr. Yuan Li said, "I see... Running a parallel Plan B built on the foundation of Project 404? I believe I understand your meaning." "It's good that you understand. I'll have Xiao Qi sync the further details of the plan with you." Seeing the light brightening in Yuan Li's eyes, Chu Guang smiled and continued in a gentle tone, "Now for the second matter. I want to ask about your future plans—do you intend to return, or stay there... Have you made up your mind?" Without hesitating long, Dr. Yuan Li fell silent for a few moments before speaking with certainty. "I wish to remain here." Not at all surprised by his final choice, Chu Guang nodded decisively. "Is that so? Approved." Dr. Yuan Li glanced at him in mild surprise. "You won't ask for my reasons?" Chu Guang chuckled and shook his head. "No need to ask, and nothing to ask about anyway. I can pretty much guess." Whether to merge into one, or to become each other's past and continuation... He was not the only one who had faced that choice. Rather, from the moment this man appeared on the other side of the screen, Chu Guang had already known his answer. They had both made the same choice. Relaxing his tense shoulders, Dr. Yuan Li murmured as if shedding a great weight, "Is that so? Then again, it makes sense... It is you, after all." In his memory, there was nothing this respected gentleman could not accomplish. "I think you shouldn't view me as completely omnipotent. I did fail 776 times, after all." After making the self-deprecating quip, Chu Guang wiped the smile from his face, looking at Yuan Li on the screen with solemn gravity. "Starting today, you are the Administrator of Shelter 404-Beta. You will act as the 'Ambassador of Universe Alpha to Universe Beta,' taking over the work of the 'Professor,' serving as the bridge between both universes, and reporting directly to me!" "I will provide you with the data for the open beta version of Wasteland OL. Operation and maintenance will be left in your hands!"