Just as Lu Yang's marines had guessed, below lay a pre-war shelter facility.
From the moment one entered the tunnel, the thick stench of blood was overwhelming. All signs indicated that years ago, this place had become a sacrificial altar for the mutants, its walls smeared with chilling patterns in blood and grease.
Yet what Lu Yang and his squad mates had not expected was that, aside from chilling skeletons, they actually discovered a broken hibernation pod and a still-functioning clone incubation unit inside the shelter!
This clone incubation unit contained twenty-four chambers, inside of which underdeveloped embryos could still be seen.
Perhaps because it had been built so early, the biotechnology used in the unit was not very advanced, nor had it ever been upgraded in time.
Even with ample power and raw materials, the machine required at least three months to incubate an infant, and another seven months to accelerate growth to adolescence.
The builders of this shelter facility had likely considered the extreme scenario of post-war depopulation and hoped to supply people to post-war society through cloning technology. They had even equipped the facility with a guide attendant and a cryogenic hibernation pod.
However, the hibernation pod had been broken for many years, and the person inside was long gone without a trace.
The mutants who occupied this place seemed to have regarded the facility as some sort of "divine miracle."
As long as they poured in the "raw materials," pressed a button, and waited ten months, they could harvest a delicious clone.
To these bloodthirsty, primitive savages, such a miraculous phenomenon was indeed indistinguishable from a blessing from the gods.
As for the clones that emerged from the incubation chambers, the males were generally devoured in various culinary ways, while the females were "devoured" in another sense.
Because unstable technology was used, there were many branches of mutants.
The two main branches were: one consisting of eunuch-like beings lacking reproductive organs, incapable of reproducing traditionally, needing human infants and cultivation vats to "manufacture" their kind.
The other branch possessed reproductive organs, but because they had acquired only a mutated Y chromosome, this strain had no females and required human egg cells to reproduce.
If the pairing resulted in XX, the resulting fetus would be human, though the odds of that were slim. But if XY paired together, the fetus would be a mutant pup.
Whenever the latter occurred, the mother would usually die in difficult labor, with few surviving. Even if one did survive, the mutants would quickly eat her, as a human who had lost her reproductive utility was no different from food to them.
Generally speaking, the former branch comprised the earliest mutants, who typically retained a degree of civilization. It was said that long ago, they had even preserved some moral concepts of pre-war society, knowing to control their population to prevent more people from falling victim to "unfinished technology"... though this fragile moral code had not lasted more than a few years.
The latter branch were pure savages, multiplying the fastest and forming the greatest numbers. It was said they were the result of genetic engineering efforts by the ancestors of the former branch, but clearly they had failed to solve the fundamental problem—or rather, they had only solved their own problem.
Regardless of the branch, one thing was certain: these green-skinned beasts were like malignant tumors.
Describing them as the cancer of civilization was by no means an exaggeration.
If they truly ever ruled this planet, humanity's only fate would be reduced to livestock, penned up as food and breeding tools.
"...Twenty-four chambers. On average, they could harvest a fresh human every half month. For a dozen or even dozens of years, the clones born from that device were trapped in a hopeless cycle from birth to death."
The reception room of the outpost.
Having returned from the mutant tribe, Lu Yang spoke with deep emotion as he recounted what he had witnessed to Chu Guang.
Hearing that Captain Lu had blown the place sky-high after taking photos for evidence, Chu Guang couldn't help cursing him in his mind as an extravagant spendthrift.
However, endowed with high emotional intelligence, he politely said out loud,
"Well done."
Lu Yang nodded, gladly accepting the praise.
"Thank you. I believe any human with a conscience would do the same. We cannot allow technology like that to fall into anyone else's hands."
Chu Guang remarked, "Isn't that a bit too absolute? What if that technology fell into the right hands? At least the technology itself is blameless."
Lu Yang smiled faintly. "What is the 'right' purpose? Slaves? Savages? Marauders? A breeding bed for mutants? Or a source of organs? Technically speaking, mature embryonic incubation technology can produce an adult within a month, but that doesn't mean they'll instantly have the mind of an adult. Even if we could actively feed them massive amounts of data, the human brain has limits on how fast it absorbs and processes information. Besides, some things can only be established while the brain is still developing in its formative years.
"I'm no expert in this field, and I can't debate theoretical possibilities with you, but from what I've seen, very few people ever put this kind of thing to good use... Oh, right."
Speaking of which, Lu Yang suddenly remembered something important. He placed a fist-sized metal cylinder on the table beside them.
Just as Chu Guang was about to ask what it was, Lu Yang continued.
"This is a fusion battery I found in that shelter. Don't worry... cold fusion batteries of this type are very safe. As long as a meltdown doesn't occur, you could even rest your head on it like a pillow."
Chu Guang: "That joke is a bit chilly."
Lu Yang chuckled heartily. "Maybe! I'm not very good at telling jokes. This model was quite common in civilian shelters. While it can't be used in a vault's nuclear fusion reactor, I've heard some vaults have emergency power systems compatible with this type of battery. We have no use for it anyway, but I figured you might need it. Still, after being run by those mutants for so many years, only eleven percent of its charge remains. I doubt it'll be of much help."
"Eleven percent is already pretty good," Chu Guang said, a smile breaking across his face as he promptly accepted the battery. "Thank you, this is a huge help!"
...
Although it required specialized equipment to use, having it was far better than nothing.
What if it came in handy one day?
Chu Guang still had a keycard for Vault 117 obtained from Xia Yan. If that vault had run out of power, at least this battery could get things running again for a while.
Leaving the battery behind, Lu Yang took his squad and said their goodbyes. Chu Guang politely saw them off to the gate of the outpost.
It was already late.
According to Captain Lu himself, he would have to write an operational report upon returning tonight, accounting for today's action, where he and his men had spent their ammunition, and explaining the necessity of doing so.
Chu Guang could tell that Captain Lu was a man with a strong sense of justice.
At the very least, he was Chaotic Good, doing what he believed was right, or Lawful Neutral, strictly adhering to protocol.
However, Chu Guang leaned toward the former judgment.
After all, Lu had ultimately been persuaded by him to bend the rule against interfering in local conflicts.
Besides, what about those embryos developing at various stages in the clone facility he had demolished? What about the wretched captives carrying mutant offspring?
Naturally, Chu Guang wouldn't ask, and Lu Yang hadn't mentioned them.
Yet Chu Guang felt that this man before him had likely ended the misery of those poor souls without hesitation, sending them off alongside the unborn lives in the incubation vats that had never even opened their eyes.
Chu Guang could only sigh with relief that the man wasn't some Lawful Good bleeding heart who dumped troubles he couldn't take care of onto Chu Guang.
Otherwise, Chu Guang really wouldn't know how best to handle it...
Seeing those non-communicative NPCs depart, WC Really Has Mosquitoes, who had been drooling over their gear, eagerly stepped up to Chu Guang and asked,
"Respected Administrator, may I ask who those people were...?"
"Guests from afar. They've run into a bit of trouble and will probably stay here for about half a month."
Tossing out that reply, Chu Guang turned and headed back into the outpost, taking the elevator down into the vault.
It was already seven in the evening here in the wasteland, exactly a twelve-hour time difference from the real world.
Many player bros who had day jobs in the real world had already logged off by this hour, heading over to the forum to slack off.
As the game designer, it was time for Chu Guang to get to work as well.
He turned on his computer and logged into the official website.
Unsurprisingly, the website was already buzzing with activity.
Tail: "Shocked! Did you guys see those tin cans?? (*゜Д゜)"
Elven King Fugui: "Saw them! They first showed up at the outpost's north gate, right? Then they headed out through the east gate. Looked like they went east of Wetland Park?"
Yaya: "I-I-I saw them too! Right before they left, they even bought a bowl of mushroom soup from me, but paid with paper... I didn't dare say a word. They stared at me for a bit, picked up the pot, and walked off. Xiaoyu said that paper couldn't be deposited, and that it meant 100 CR? Totally confused! Does anyone know how to use paper that says 100 CR? QAQ"
Edge Slacker: "Yeah! East of Wetland Park! They were just with us! Clashing with those mutants!"
Construction Boy and Bricks: "Holy crap? Power armor against mutants? Spill, who won?"
Edge Slacker: "Isn't that obvious? It was a total slaughter! Sigh, Daddy Designer probably realized the mutants were way too overtuned, so he spawned a squad of max-level badasses for a cutscene kill."
Yaya: "Does nobody know?! QAQ"
Elaina: "No clue. How about I trade you one silver coin for it? (funny)"
Yaya: "Do you take me for an idiot?! (#｀Д′)丿"
Tail: "To be honest, Tail wants one! Is it too late to start saving up now? (o°▽°)o"
Sisi: "Wake up, Ah Wei. You have no money."
Tail: "!!! ∑(°Д°ノ)ノ"
WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Right? I knew those mutants' stats were totally absurd! A huge rocket hit them square on and didn't even kill them! Does that make any sense?"
Midnight Chicken Slaughter: "Weakling!"
WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "%¥#@!"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Time for some rational analysis. This in-game update was probably meant to flesh out the sci-fi lore of the game's setting while balancing mutant difficulty. After all, throwing a bunch of noobs averaging under level 5 against green-skinned beefcakes level 20 and up makes zero sense no matter how you look at it! Not enough room here, so I'll make a separate post to break it down later. Don't panic, boys, just let me finish fixing this damned PPT for my dog of a boss first."
Reading the excitedly discussing posts and the analysis threads written by veteran gamers on the forum, Chu Guang, who was brainstorming how to write the Alpha 0.7 update announcement, couldn't help a smile spreading across his face.
He had been fretting over how to spin the story.
And here it was handed to him on a silver platter!
How wonderful.
...
Official Website:
[Wasteland OL Closed Beta Server Alpha 0.7 Update Announcement]
[Major Updates:
1. Closed beta player cap increased to 400!
2. Expansion: "Land Voyager"!
]
[Optimizations:
1. Added numerous high-tech weapon models to balance overtuned mutants and hostile factions.
2. Added weapon slot socketing. Pay the weapon shop proprietress to punch a socket into a designated slot on equipment, reducing equipment durability by 1.
3. Enhanced weather system: a more intense blizzard is expected to strike soon.
4. Richer interior details for the vault.
5. Minor bug fixes.
6. ...
]
[Current Pre-registrations: 3,777]
["Land Voyager" Expansion Lore: A land fortress named the Pioneer has broken down ten kilometers due north of the vault. They hail from the distant East Coast, heading west in search of hope. Though we have chosen different paths, we both once swore solemn oaths beneath the banner of the Human Alliance.]
[Expansion Overview: For the duration of the expansion, a brand-new quest system and event gameplay will be unlocked. The land fortress "Pioneer" will spawn north of the outpost, and an NPC named "Quartermaster of the First Pioneer Corps" will be added to the outpost.
Sign up with the Quartermaster NPC to head out to the camp ten kilometers away to support our allies and unlock exclusive expansion quests during the event. Each reinforcement dispatch is capped at a maximum of 200 players, rotating every three days.
In addition to generous rewards for completing quests, event points can also be earned. After the expansion concludes, event points can not only be used in a lucky draw and redeemed for prizes, but top ten ranking players will also have a chance to unlock limited titles and mysterious gifts from our allies! What could they be? Your game designer Ah Guang is eagerly looking forward to it as well!]
[Expansion CG: (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)]
[Expansion Promo PV—"Power Armor": Click to Play]
Chapter 137