There was nothing quite like a sudden, dead silence.
Watching the increasingly subtle expressions on Ye Shi's and Lao Bai's faces, Chu Guang cleared his throat lightly.
"Say something, anything. Otherwise, this is getting pretty awkward."
*You bastard, you actually know what awkward feels like?!*
Ye Shi roared internally, his toes curling so hard inside his shoes he could have dug out a four-bedroom apartment.
This guy was the very first NPC to appear since the launch of the closed beta server.
He was also the person in the entire game who felt most like an NPC.
Previously, they had wondered why the game operator upgraded the intelligence of all the NPCs, yet left this very first NPC untouched... but they had never imagined that this guy had been a real, living person from the very start.
Of course, the video released later by Dr. Yuan Li proved that the other NPCs were real people as well.
Ye Shi gave a light cough, breaking the silence among the three of them. Putting on an unbothered expression, he laughed and said, "It's fine, it's fine... I'm not the most embarrassed one anyway. At worst, I just spouted some wild, flirty nonsense."
Some players had treated this guy like an emotional hollow tree, venting things from their real lives to him.
After all, setting-wise, he was the only one who could understand players' speech, and as the Administrator of the Alliance, he was far removed from anyone's daily life, as if existing in a completely different world.
Besides, after grinding his affection so high without being able to romance him, he had to be useful for something, right?
There had certainly been "pragmatists" who, thinking along those lines, used him as a personal diary.
In short, those people were probably so mortified right now that they wanted to die.
If not for the fact that they couldn't beat this monster, they probably would have silenced him already.
Looking at Ye Shi forcing out hollow laughter, Chu Guang understood what kind of embarrassment he was talking about.
In fact, that was precisely why he hadn't shown his face on the "closed beta server" over the past few days.
Umm... how should he put it?
It really was a bit hard to face.
Better to give his adorable little players some time to exercise their toe muscles.
"So... you're Ah Guang? The Ah Guang from the group chat?"
Lao Bai's reaction was relatively normal. He simply struck up a conversation like an ordinary young man feeling slightly reserved at an MMO guild's first offline meetup.
"Yes," Chu Guang smiled faintly and made a joke to liven up the mood. "No need to be so stiff. We've known each other for years, and we used to play battle royales together. By the way, since we have the chance, want to party up?"
"Fine by me." As Lao Bai spoke, he had already sent over a party invite.
All three joined the party and switched their voice chat to the party channel, audible only to teammates.
He had thought Chu Guang wanted to whisper something private to them, but saw that the latter wore an eager, excited expression, looking as though he genuinely just wanted to enjoy playing a game.
However, Lao Bai was only surprised for a moment before quickly understanding.
Keeping it secret from everyone he knew, shouldering that colossal mission all by himself, and gradually coming to understand everything along the way...
What Ye Shi saw was only superficial embarrassment, but what Lao Bai saw was the ash-like exhaustion left behind after a candle had burned out.
And this heavy burden weighed equally with the glory carried on his shoulders.
Perhaps he was truly exhausted.
Lao Bai's Adam's apple bobbed, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"How about the Level 5 Leech Cave? I heard it's pretty good for beginners... By the way, what level are you?"
Chu Guang laughed heartily. "Me? Haha, I just finished the tutorial, so naturally, I'm Level 3 just like you... Looks like Ye Shi will have to carry the two of us."
Ye Shi couldn't resist retorting, "Dammit! You're the trash dev! Whatever level you want is just a snap of your fingers away."
Chu Guang smiled faintly and shook his head. "That's different. While bumping myself straight to max level isn't impossible, the game would lose the meaning of being a game."
Ye Shi chimed in again, "What meaning could there even be?"
"How could there not be?" Chu Guang smiled, speaking playfully. "For instance... did you and Xiao Jiang end up together because of psionics, or because of everything you experienced together during your adventures?"
Embarrassed, Ye Shi looked away. Perhaps recalling something, his face suddenly flushed, rendering him speechless.
Lao Bai thought seriously for a moment and looked thoughtfully at Chu Guang. "So... is that also why you selectively withheld the truth about Project 404?"
"Yes," Chu Guang nodded, admitting it frankly. "I didn't just selectively withhold many things from you; I selectively withheld many things from myself as well."
Ye Shi asked in confusion, "Why? Wouldn't it have been better to come clean and face everything together? Including open and honest cooperation—"
"That's the ideal scenario; reality was the 1-in-776 failure... It's not that I never tried the methods you're thinking of, but they never produced the anticipated results. As for why, there are many reasons."
Looking at this naive young man, Chu Guang glossed over those imperfect endings in as light a tone as possible.
After witnessing 776 Bad Endings, his greatest takeaway was to never fall into the mindset of 'as long as... then...'.
Every year of the Wasteland Era, the survivors living on the wasteland faced unprecedented conditions.
Lao Bai said thoughtfully, "'If I tell you what happens, it won't happen,' right?"
"Exactly." Chu Guang nodded with a smile, a gleam of appreciation in his eyes.
"Though I'm curious what kind of future that would have been, thinking about how things are now, it's pretty good... Suddenly, I'm not so curious anymore." Lao Bai grinned easily and looked at Chu Guang. "Still, I really didn't expect you to be Ah Guang... So is your real name Chu Guang as well?"
Chu Guang pondered for a moment. "How should I put it? Strictly speaking, the only people I know in Universe Beta are you guys."
Ye Shi swallowed hard. Suddenly remembering something, he followed up, "By the way, can you connect to this world's internet from that world?"
Chu Guang said with a grin, "Of course. Doing that is ridiculously easy. I could even make an alt account and meet up with you offline. What do you think? Want to treat me to a meal?"
Faced with this astonishing revelation, Ye Shi felt his brain scramble. His hand subconsciously went to the back of his head. "I'll think about it... Wait, holy shit... You mean... people from the wasteland can come over here too?"
"And they can come over as 'players' to play a round of *Reality OL*. Shocked?"
Looking at Lao Bai and Ye Shi, who were completely stunned, Chu Guang smiled and said softly, "So you'd better not tell anyone else, lest you cause unnecessary panic."
He had no interest in building an immortal army in Universe Beta and conquering the world with wasteland tech... If he actually did that, Dr. Yuan Li would probably think he had gone mad too.
Because doing so was utterly pointless.
To the people of the Human Alliance era, the concept of "human civilization" had already taken root in their consciousness.
Especially for those who had lived through the catastrophe at the end of the Era of Prosperity, their understanding of this concept was even deeper... After all, that catastrophe had destroyed everything they once held.
These unique experiences destined that they were unlikely to sacrifice the future of human civilization just to become worldly kings.
Chu Guang was no different.
However, Universe Beta was still in the midst of its own historical development; expecting the contemporary nations to lower their guard regarding the "morphogenetic field" was impossible.
The people living in this universe still needed some time to understand him, as well as the similar yet distinct human civilization of Universe Alpha beyond the void.
The open beta server of *Wasteland OL* served as a decent medium.
Until then, it was best not to advertise far and wide that people from Universe Alpha could descend into Universe Beta with "immortal bodies."
As for speculation, such things never mattered. Anyone could propose their own theories.
In any case, there would always be people whose guesses were wilder than the truth.
"Doesn't that mean I could bring a significant other from the wasteland into reality..." Ye Shi muttered under his breath, his gaze toward Chu Guang growing progressively heated, like a son looking at his foster father.
Chu Guang said with a smile, "It's permitted, of course, provided a non-disclosure agreement is signed... And that is also the completion reward I've left for you."
Ye Shi: "I'll sign it! I'd even sign an indenture contract! Cough, wait, if I repeatedly jump back and forth between the two worlds, doesn't that mean I could achieve immortality?!"
Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then said in a serious tone, "Technically, yes, but you'd better consider it carefully. Temporarily borrowing a clone is one thing, but as for a complete crossover... I cannot guarantee that once you die in this world, the 'you' reborn in the other world is still truly you."
The soul was an abstract thing; it was neither visible nor tangible.
Even if one awakened psionics, one could not truly capture its physical form, only touch the echoes it left behind in specific places.
Never mind jumping back and forth repeatedly.
Even jumping just once was an unbearable weight of life.
And that was precisely why many residents of Shelter 404-Beta hesitated over whether to return—
They likely wouldn't just cross back over; rather, they would die in this world, and another version of themselves would then be generated anew in the other universe.
Like androids uploading their minds onto a circuit board.
If it was to save civilization, they were certainly willing to pay this steep price... After all, they had voluntarily followed the Professor into Project 404.
But if it was merely to return home...
There really didn't seem to be any need to "commit suicide."
After all, their homes had long ceased to exist over there. At most, they could only find the descendants of their descendants, or spiritual continuations.
Rather than wanting to return to Universe Alpha to live their lives, it was more that they simply wanted to see the world they had saved and witness how future generations lived in the new era.
Strictly speaking, the Beta Fission Entity who inherited the "Professor's" identity hadn't resolved this dilemma, merely tossing the question back to the residents of Shelter 404-Beta to ponder for themselves.
And indeed, it was something they ought to ponder on their own.
However, adhering to the principle of leaving no one with regrets, the benevolent and kind Chu Guang had devised a compromise, which he had already handed over to Dr. Yuan Li to implement.
The project was codenamed "Homecoming."
The researchers stranded in Universe Beta would not need to die once more. Instead, they could lie inside specialized life-support pods and travel to Universe Alpha via the morphogenetic field, just like players.
And return as players.
Honestly, Chu Guang sometimes rather admired himself.
Though he didn't grasp the intricate technical principles, his bizarre imagination could play with these complex mechanics in endlessly creative ways.
In fact, in the middle of the year, he had even attempted to have researchers from Universe Beta jump to Universe Alpha, and then use similar technology to jump back, exploiting a void glitch.
Unfortunately, this glitch-exploiting maneuver had failed. Conscious entities seemed only able to jump once; they couldn't infinitely divide within the same universe like a chain reaction.
This might also be why the Professor had launched the Beta Fission Entities into multiple Universe Betas.
Looking at Ye Shi, who had fallen silent, Chu Guang chuckled and continued, "If you just want to live longer, you don't need to go through all that trouble. You could just lie in an incubation pod in this world and suspend your physical body's metabolism here in reality."
Ye Shi asked in surprise, "Something like that can be done too?"
Chu Guang nodded with a smile. "Of course it can, but it's way too early for you... Wait until you've seen off your loved ones and are at an advanced age with one foot in the grave before talking about that."
Lao Bai looked at him and continued, "Leaving our business aside... what are your plans for the future?"
Chu Guang smiled and thought for a moment. "Me? Perhaps keep being a game dev? I don't know. Things too far in the future haven't crossed my mind yet; maybe I need some time to think it over slowly. In any case, I've already gradually handed over Alliance affairs to the Alliance's citizens themselves."
"As for right now, I just want to play a game in peace."
...
*Wasteland OL* open beta server, Boulder City gate.
Punk-styled mercenaries and wastelanders came and went through the ruins-themed bazaar.
Peddlers dressed sharply barked their wares beneath scruffy tin sheds. Makeshift tables were laid out with weapons, armor, parts, medicine, crafting materials, and all sorts of daily necessities or supplies. Iron cages on the side held different contents depending on the server.
Sometimes people, sometimes mosaics of pixels.
All in all, the modeling here was fairly faithful to the original. Whether it was the militiamen yawning in front of the checkpoints or the "untainted by mud" Far Wind Hotel, everything seemed carved from the same mold as the reality of World Alpha.
The only changes were the scale of the bazaar and slums, and the currency used for transactions was no longer chips, but server-wide Y-coins.
Ideal City's generative AI and AI prompt engineers had added an immense volume of Level 10 to 30 quests to Boulder City's outer city.
Not only that, they had drawn reference from works like *Awakened Boer*, stringing these countless side quests along a central axis called the "Boulder City Revolution," weaving an epic main storyline and a vast quest tree branching outward like the wasteland itself.
Players could stand on the side of the reformers, earning Order Points by completing a series of quests to unlock landmarks including the *Survivor Daily* newspaper office and the Inner City Ruins, altering the map as well as the NPCs' mental and physical appearances while pushing forward Boulder City's revolution.
Additionally, players could side with the inner city, curbing the growth of Order Points through specific quests to halt the expansion's progression.
Or they could adopt the stance of wastelanders and remain neutral.
Having paid the carry group's fee, Fang Chang headed straight for Boulder City's main gate.
Perhaps Ideal City's programmers couldn't fathom why entering a city required a fee, or perhaps it was to cater to player experience: the classic one-chip entry tax had been removed, and the gates no longer closed after sunset. The repeatedly yawning Level 50 militiaman didn't spare him a glance.
Without lingering, Fang Chang headed straight for the Queen of the Night Bar—the largest intelligence hub in Boulder City's outer city during the Black Card era, and also where he had first met Dolly back when she was an intelligence dealer.
It was eight o'clock in the evening, and the bar was packed with scantily clad dancing girls and pleasure-seeking patrons.
Craning his neck to scan the area in front of the bar counter, Fang Chang searched through the crowd for a long time, yet failed to spot that familiar figure.
Just as he was feeling puzzled, a waiter approached him and asked with a smile, "Sir, what can I get you?"
"I'm looking for a lady named Dolly."
"Dolly? We have no one by that name here."
"I know. She isn't an employee of yours; she's an intelligence dealer here."
The moment Fang Chang finished speaking, the warmth on the NPC's face chilled at a visible speed.
"Ah... a mercenary, are you? Tsk, this city is crawling with your kind. A word of sincere advice: if you're not ordering a drink, don't get in the way."
Watching the waiter turn and walk away, Fang Chang stood dumbfounded for a long while before scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.
"The NPCs in this game are surprisingly realistic..."
Perhaps he had been too impatient. He had subconsciously treated the NPCs in this game like ordinary NPCs, rushing straight to the objective to achieve his goal. As a result, he had completely abandoned the habits he had developed during the closed beta, only to achieve the opposite effect.
Come to think of it, what bar would look kindly upon a busybody lurking on their premises, snooping on people's privacy? They were like cockroaches in the kitchen.
Considering that even shadows had their own ecological balance, staff usually turned a blind eye. But walking up with an unfamiliar face and asking right off the bat was practically slapping them in the face.
He should have at least bought a drink to ask the bartender, or bought a drink for one of the dancing girls...
Fang Chang took a deep breath, calming his restless mind, and sat down at the bar.
"One... no, two lemonades..."
The bartender glanced at him, deducting 20 Y-coins from his account with a glance, then conjured two glasses of lemonade onto the counter as if by magic.
Fang Chang picked up one of them and took a sip.
At the very moment he set the glass down, an emerald-green figure flitted past the corner of his vision, her swaying, fluffy ponytail resembling a midsummer succulent.
"Looking for me?"
Her alluring gaze was catlike. Having sat down at the counter at some point, her fair cheek rested against the back of her metallic hand and arm.
The instant he saw that face, Fang Chang's vision blurred, feeling as though he had traveled back to years ago.
"Dolly..."
Overcome with emotion, he subconsciously reached out his right hand, wanting to touch hers.
Yet an invisible barrier blocked them. His index finger remained perpetually separated by a centimeter, unable to touch her no matter what.
The sudden movement startled Dolly. Her nonchalant expression instantly turned to shock, and like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she leaped down from the bar stool.
"Hey, hey, hey... what are you doing? I'm an intelligence dealer; I don't do that kind of business."
Behind the counter, the bartender continued wiping a glass, paying no heed to the disturbance.
The surrounding NPCs were the same.
Evidently, acting as background set pieces, they had not triggered dialogue and were not involved in the scene.
"Dolly... I... I see. Her memories haven't been implemented, so she's really just a cloned mirror image." Fang Chang's expression shifted constantly—at times heartache, at times relief, murmuring strange words under his breath.
Frightened by this yandere-like display, Dolly took several trembling steps backward.
"Hey... do you understand human speech? A pervert who gets off on the smell of machine oil? Thanks for not minding my mechanical arm, but if you're in heat, you'd better order a hostess."
Fang Chang shook his head. Looking with deep affection at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, he flashed a smile that he believed was charming enough to cause goosebumps.
"I'm only interested in you. Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Fang Chang, and I am your husband—"
[Warning: Repeated discourteous contact. NPC "Dolly's" current affection rating -100. Affection level: Repulsion]
[Warning: Affection level below Neutral (-10 to 10). Unable to trigger quest.]
By the time Fang Chang snapped out of it, the lemonade he had previously ordered had already been splashed across his face.
Blinking in utter bewilderment, Fang Chang stared blankly ahead. That familiar figure was already gone.
She had left...
"...Is this what heartbreak feels like? Even though I was mentally prepared, it still stings a bit."
Slicking back his wet bangs, Fang Chang sighed mournfully and slumped onto a nearby bar stool. He called out to the bartender behind the counter, "Your strongest drink."
The bartender nodded silently. After a flashy display of bartending flair, he set a crystal glass onto the table like a magic trick and struck a match, setting the high-proof liquor ablaze.
A pale blue kitsunebi flame flickered over the crystal-clear distilled spirit, resting over a spherical ice cube at the bottom like a work of art.
At the same time, a pale blue holographic pop-up designed for the open beta players' convenience materialized before Fang Chang:
[Spent: 150 Y-coins]
[Acquired: Burning Spring]
[Description: Flames falling from the sky conquered burning steel. A toast to true warriors! (Commemorating the Burning Corps' conquest of the Heart of Steel)]
[Effect: All attributes -50%, duration 10 minutes.]
[Note: Do not attempt this in reality.]
Come to think of it, at this point in the timeline, shouldn't the *Heart of Steel* still be drifting over Sunset Province?
Well, whatever.
Fang Chang smiled nostalgically. Inserting the metal straw from the tray into the flickering flame, he drank down the fiery blaze and clear liquor in one gulp.
It was a marvelous sensation.
It felt as if what he drank wasn't burning alcohol, but a warm hearth fire.
"...Even though it's a VR MMO, it actually simulated the sensation of being drunk?"
"This sluggish feeling is just like in the closed beta, but somehow it feels like something's missing."
Just as Fang Chang was savoring that peculiar sensation, a familiar voice suddenly spoke in front of him.
The speaker was none other than In Debt God's alt account—Little Wealthy Eye.
"Fang Chang?"
Fang Chang looked up and gave him an astonished glance. "Why are you here too?"
Hearing the question, "Dayan" immediately wore an embarrassed look and chuckled. "What do you mean 'why am I here too'? You're asking when you already know... When it comes to a legacy server, any normal person would think of Boulder City's Queen of the Night Bar, right?"
Ever since the inner city collapsed, this bar had vanished along with the neon-lit street outside.
Seeing Dayan's "you know what I mean" face, Fang Chang rubbed his brow with a slight headache. "No... no normal person remembers things in that much detail. I think you'd better apologize to normal people."
"All right, all right, drop the nonsense. We all know you're high and mighty," In Debt God draped an arm around his shoulder, leaning in with a wink. "I say, aren't you curious whether the open beta or closed beta is more realistic?"
"...Does that even need curiosity?"
"Any normal person would be curious!"
"Hurry up and apologize to normal people!"
Seeing that this guy was clearly drunk, In Debt God crossed his arms and let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "Forget it, no more messing around. You stay here and drink; I'm heading out to explore."
"Go, go," Fang Chang shooed him away. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he looked up and called out to Dayan, who was heading toward the second floor, "By the way, are you running a game booster?"
Dayan was taken aback. "A booster? What's that? Don't you just put on the helmet and play?"
Fang Chang's gaze instantly shifted from disdain to deep concern, and his tone softened considerably. "Nothing. Never mind."
In Debt God: "...?"
Chapter 1072