Beta 0.4 Preview: The "Transoceanic Trade" System!

[Breaking News: Xizhou City's Controlled Fusion Reactor Successfully Ignited! The Alliance Is About to Enter the Fusion Era!] [Daybreak City Lord Jiu Li: Residential and industrial electricity free for a limited time of one week! After one week, the price will be adjusted to 70% off original rates. Everyone is welcome to set up factories in Daybreak City's new industrial zone!] [Dawn City Weapons Shop: Newly stocked with 200 sets of "Miner Type I/II" exoskeletons and 500 G9 "Black Swan" assault rifles. Enterprise weapon purchase restrictions have been lifted. Once high-tech weapon inventories are depleted, reservations can be placed via VM! Power armor imports are currently under negotiation, so stay tuned!] [...] On the Wasteland OL official website, the forum was as bustling as ever. In particular, several freshly posted announcements had completely ignited the discussion enthusiasm of spectator players, swiftly becoming the center of heated debate. "Holy crap, controlled nuclear fusion?!" "Mind blown! Weren't you guys still playing in the mud last year? How are you already using nuclear fusion?!" "From backyard steelmaking to nuclear fusion in just one year... this is too damn surreal!" "I wonder which almighty figure pulled off such a feat. Accept this humble one's bow!" "Quick question: isn't this game supposed to be a hundred percent realistic? Using the same method, could we build one in real life?" "Holy hell, it's the post-internet era and someone actually takes the developer's marketing slogans seriously?! Go chug some Brain Gold and fix your head!" "Unscientific! This is way too damn unscientific!" Regarding the news of the controlled nuclear fusion's successful ignition, the fervor on the Wasteland OL official forum was far more intense than the clamor of the Alliance residents in the taverns. After all, to wasteland residents, controlled nuclear fusion was something humanity had once possessed. Even if they had largely forgotten the details, it didn't seem particularly extraordinary. However— To the netizen clowns back on Earth, the significance was entirely different. That was a legendary achievement existing only in fantasy. The distance separating them from it wasn't just a single missing step at the goal line. Even when appearing in movies, it had to be slapped with a sci-fi label. Never mind using it to generate electricity—the questions of whether it was possible and whether it was practical hadn't even been settled yet. If this were just an ordinary sci-fi game, the presence of controlled nuclear fusion wouldn't be anything to write home about. It certainly wasn't the pinnacle of black technology either. Yet Wasteland OL's selling point was realism—so realistic that a year ago, the outside of the shelter was an utter wasteland, where closed-beta players pioneering the frontier had to bake their own cement, build their own huts, and construct their starter village from scratch, brick by brick. Now, they had unlocked the tech tree for controlled fusion. It was hard not to be shocked! In the casual chat section, which had no posting threshold, new threads flooded the screen almost by the second. The most frequently repeated lines were either begging for closed-beta slots or pleading for screenshots. Every language was represented. While there was plenty of discussion in the closed-beta player section as well, "temporary free electricity" was ultimately far less appealing than "Enterprise weapon purchase limits lifted." One had to remember that back in the Alpha version last year, the G9 "Black Swan" assault rifle had been a prize tucked away in the lottery pool. Now, it wasn't just the G9 assault rifle. A whole lineup of high-tech weapon accessories—holographic sights, night-vision devices, thermal scopes, and even more futuristic life sign detectors—could be bought directly from the NPC shop! How could they not buy them like crazy?! Consequently, aside from a few clowns showing off to pre-registered players in the casual section, only life-profession players were earnestly discussing the impact controlled fusion would bring to the Alliance. Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: "Feels like a controlled fusion reactor alone has enough impact to fill an entire new patch." Stop Bullshitting: "+1. Sigh, NPCs really are the primary productive force after all! T.T" Sha Shen: "You can't really look at it that way. Advanced production technology is important, but production theory and production methods are just as important, and these things exist on different dimensions. Controlled nuclear fusion only opens up the energy bottleneck, whereas the Alliance's actual energy consumption is nowhere near hitting a bottleneck yet. There are still many factors to consider." Whose Athlete's Foot Levin: "+1. Our steelmaking process has only advanced to three-phase electric arc furnaces. Even with nuclear fusion, there's still a long way to go." Keep It Down I'm Braum: "Sigh, if only we could get a reactor like that in real life!" Ye Shi: "Damn, if you brought one of those into reality, wouldn't our world update straight from version 0.9 to version 1.0? (funny)" Makabazi: "Ah Guang: If I were that godlike, why would I even make games? Wouldn't being an academician taste sweeter? (funny)" WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Haha, be more confident! If you could genuinely build one in real life, what's stopping them from inventing a whole new title just for you? (smirk)" Kuang Feng: "Deuterium-tritium fusion might still have a glimmer of hope. That pure helium-3 fusion in the game... forget about it. (side-eye)" Because controlled fusion technology had already exceeded everyone's realm of knowledge, the topic in the player forum soon shifted from the reactor itself to the "free electricity promotion." Previously, the Alliance's power grid relied mainly on thermal power plants fueled by firewood and coal. Though there was a small amount of wind and solar utilization, the costs weren't low. On top of that, blackouts hit every few days. Now that controlled fusion had made a breakthrough, the Alliance's old and new industrial zones would never have to worry about energy shortages again. Not only would industrial costs drop further, but the demand for electrical consumer goods would also surge. For life-profession players, this was an epic buff! Just as players were enthusiastically debating what new factories to open, another announcement popped up on the official website. This time, it wasn't just life-profession players. The entire forum erupted into an uproar... *** In the real world. A bedroom in a residential apartment. Lying flat on his bed, Fang Chang opened his eyes to the sound of cicadas and flowing traffic outside the window, yet he didn't get up right away. Whenever the words "Connection Terminated" surfaced in his pitch-black field of view, an involuntary hollow sensation would rise in his chest, as if his entire body had been drained empty. Lately, this feeling had been exceptionally strong. Even after a completely normal log-off... Sitting up from the bed, he took off the helmet, set it on the nightstand beside him, and picked up his phone to check the time. He murmured quietly under his breath, "It's already this late..." He didn't actually need to look; he could do the math. The time difference between the game world and the real world was exactly twelve hours. He had logged off at midnight wasteland time, so naturally, it was noon when he woke up. Normally, he would wake up around eight, head downstairs for breakfast, go for a run in the park, and depending on the situation, drop by the Cow and Horse Company, browse the forum to write a strategy guide, or plan out tomorrow's schedule... Recently, however, this disciplined lifestyle had shifted slightly. Every day, he found himself dragging things out and logging off late before rolling out of bed. Take today, for instance. He had woken up straight in time for lunch... Finally dragging himself out of bed, Fang Chang walked to the window and pulled open the curtains, letting the scorching sunlight flood the room. Squinting his sleepy eyes, he stepped into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, scooped up a handful of cold water, and splashed it onto his face in an attempt to wake himself up. Chilly droplets trickled down his Adam's apple to his collarbone, slipping into his loose collar. Subconsciously reaching up to touch his neck, his index finger paused slightly as it grazed the skin. There was not the slightest trace there. The burning, fiery sensation that had lingered there dozens of minutes ago seemed entirely like an illusion... A hint of confusion flashed through his eyes. Yet in mere moments, as he scooped up another handful of water and splashed it on his face, that trace of confusion vanished. Looking at the somewhat thin face in the mirror and the water droplets continually falling from his bangs, Fang Chang suddenly let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "Does this count as internet addiction?" Or perhaps... An online romance? Using that term felt rather strange too. He was acutely aware that the other world was just lines of code running on a server. It was precisely because of this that he could remain clear-headed and rational at all times. Even when backed into a corner, he could calmly formulate a countermeasure, unlike Lao Bai who was overly impulsive and emotional, or Ye Shi who was indecisive and blurred virtuality with reality. Yet now... He had become the least rational one of them all. Just then, the phone rang from the bedroom. Brushing his teeth, Fang Chang walked back over and picked up the phone. Seeing the caller ID, he found it was Ye Shi—or rather, that brat Ye Wei. They had been game friends for a long time. Even though they had never met in real life, he had always kept phone numbers for Lao Bai and the others saved on his device. Pressing accept, he brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?" "Damn, you're finally awake! It's so hard to reach you... Wait, what are you mumbling with your mouth full?" "A toothbrush," Fang Chang rolled his eyes, continuing in a muffled voice, "Spit it out if you've got business. Keep wasting time and I'm hanging up." "Alright, alright, no more jokes. Have you checked the official site?" "The official site?" Fang Chang paused slightly, recalling for a moment before saying, "You mean the news about the new equipment?" He had seen that announcement on his VM, but Enterprise equipment didn't hold much appeal for a top-tier player like him, so he hadn't paid it much attention. When bedtime came, he had taken off his wrist computer and hadn't tracked subsequent notifications. Had there been another announcement? At that thought, his expression grew somewhat peculiar. Since when had Ah Guang been this diligent? Ye Shi's grumbling promptly confirmed his suspicion. "That was hours ago! Another announcement dropped on the site just now! They even made the East Coast map!" The East Coast map?! Fang Chang immediately replied, "Oh, I'll take a look in a bit." "Don't just 'oh' me! Hurry it up, we're waiting for your guide!" "Stop rushing me, I'm updating it right away." Hanging up at lightning speed, Fang Chang hurried back to the bathroom to spit out the mouthwash, tossed aside his toothbrush and cup, and dashed straight into the study. Sitting before his desk, he hit the computer power button. Logging onto the official site, he indeed spotted the freshly published announcement. [Beta 0.4 Preview: The "Transoceanic Trade" System!] Ah Guang: "Hello everyone, I'm your dearest developer Ah Guang! After sacrificing over two thousand programmers, we have finally welcomed the long-awaited Beta 0.4 version. In the new update, more factions will join the wasteland stage. For the nascent Alliance, this represents both an opportunity and a challenge! "To provide everyone with a better gaming experience and to squash more bugs, we are launching a limited-time event—Send a Heartfelt Gift to Our Distant Friends! "For further details, please refer to the event page. In addition, we will draw two lucky winners from the registered players to receive flight tickets to Ideal City and participate in testing the new map! "Wishing everyone a pleasant game!" [Limited-Time Event Open: Prepare a Heartfelt Gift for Our East Coast Allies!] [Event Details: 1. Gift Requirements: Both life-profession and combat-profession players may participate. The gift can be a specialty of the New Alliance, or you can unleash your imagination to adapt best-selling products from the real world. Gifts must be polite and decent, simple yet refined, and ideally showcase the rich and colorful spiritual culture of Alliance residents! 2. Event Rewards: The gift that receives the highest popularity among Ideal City residents will earn a massive amount of expansion pack points, alongside a million-tier entrepreneurial assistance fund provided by the Alliance Bank! 3. Furthermore: We are recruiting two skilled bodyguards-cum-salespersons (testers) to escort the Alliance's envoy to Ideal City by plane. Requirement: Contribution Level of High Citizen or above! ] In the comment section below the event announcement: Tail: "Two updates in one day!!! Aww yeah!" Jieyan: "Is it time to fleece the system again?! (excited)" Construction Site Youth and Brick: "Black stockings! Oh wait, works of art! We should send our old friends more works of art! (funny)" Indebted Big Eye: "I suggest slipping black stockings onto Yaya and shipping her over to do pyramid schemes—oh wait, missionary work. (funny)" Yaya: "Piss off!!" Makabazi: "Piss off?! What's that?! Sounds spicy. (nosebleed)" Yaya: "(#`ω´)×╰ひ╯" Elaina: "(funny-scared-limited-edition.jpg)" Reading the thread from top to bottom, Fang Chang's face filled with visible astonishment. The East Coast map was already finished?! This development speed was ridiculously impressive. "...Yunjian Province is probably three thousand kilometers away from River Valley Province, right?" Wasteland OL's map was represented at virtually a one-to-one scale. Did that mean all the mountains, rivers, and survivor settlements along those three thousand kilometers had been created?! Excitement surged in Fang Chang's chest, and he clicked into the event page immediately. Yet just as he was about to sign up, the index finger resting on the mouse froze slightly, and his pounding heart gradually slowed its beat. Three thousand kilometers... There was no telling how long this trip would take. *** In the wasteland world. Shelter 404. Sitting in the browsing room, Chu Guang stared at the computer screen, a satisfied smile playing across his lips. Earlier in the day, he had successfully persuaded Yi Chuan to let the return flight carry the Alliance's gifts back to Ideal City. At the time, however, he hadn't actually figured out what specific items to send. Until an hour ago, he was still racking his brains over the problem. Yet when he opened his computer and prepared to browse the forum for inspiration, he suddenly noticed the players heatedly discussing how to maximize the value of controlled nuclear fusion technology. Chu Guang slapped his forehead on the spot. Why was he wasting so much effort thinking about it himself? Didn't he have ready-made free labor waiting to be exploited right here! As a devious designer, making games was secondary; setting up the Steam Workshop was the real deal. Clever little players wouldn't just help fix bugs and balance numbers—they would also update mods for free. Whenever he ran out of new ideas, he could just copy player mods, and wouldn't the next DLC be ready? Having wasted an hour of his life for nothing, the enlightened Chu Guang hesitated no longer. Opening a document, he immediately posted another announcement right beneath the previous limited-time event. Want to experience the new map ahead of time? Want to visit the legendary Ideal City? Whoever had the most wacky ideas! The flight ticket was theirs! Watching Chu Guang's smile grow increasingly exaggerated, Xiao Qi, sitting on the desk, asked with some worry, "Master, is it really fine to leave such an important matter to the players?" Realizing his expression was slightly over the top, Chu Guang coughed lightly and recovered his refined, affable smile. "I'll handle the final review." Gently brushing his index finger against the puppet's fine hair, he said in an assured tone, "Don't worry, there definitely won't be any problem!" *** The night passed. The commercial street north of Dawn City greeted the morning sun of the next day. Treading on the morning dew, two bionics clad in silver cloaks came to a halt in front of Teng Teng's Cottage. One of the bionics looked up at the sign above the door and spoke abruptly. "Eclipse, found it!" Eclipse said nothing. Her expressionless face made it impossible to tell whether she was simply blank or genuinely lost. "Guests, may I help you with anything?" Noticing the commotion at the entrance, Hua Hua yawned as she delivered the standard greeting, stepping out through the doorway. Yet the moment her gaze landed on their faces, she froze in her tracks. Bionics? "Your clothes!" Frost looked at her earnestly, speaking without hesitation, "To save a declining civilization, please surrender the clothes on your body to us." Hua Hua's face flushed crimson instantly. She stood there at a complete loss, not knowing what to say. Just then, a lazy voice drifted from behind the open shop door. "What's wrong, Hua Hua?" Hearing her boss's voice, Hua Hua finally regained her senses. Blushing, she turned toward the interior of the shop and stammered, "...T-Two strange guests arrived at the entrance. They... they..." Teng Teng: "Strange guests?" Hua Hua whispered, "They want me to give them my clothes." "...?" Having listened without understanding in the slightest what her clerk meant, Teng Teng set down the tools in her hands and stepped out of the shop. When her eyes fell upon the two bionics by the entrance, she recognized their identities at a glance. Weren't these the two sent by the Enterprise? Their names seemed to be... Frost and Eclipse? Looking at Hua Hua beside her, then at the bionic staring unblinkingly at her clothes, realization dawned in Teng Teng's eyes, and she tapped her right fist against her left palm. "...I see." The patch's definitive answer was actually maid outfits! What an unexpected turn of events. "Do you two want maid outfits?" Eclipse made no movement, but Frost beside her nodded without hesitation. "Affirmative!" Hua Hua's face grew even redder in an instant. So that was what she meant? Her phrasing had been way too bizarre... "Ohoho... then you two have come to the right place." A delighted smile spread across Teng Teng's face, and she stepped aside to clear the entrance. "Come inside and let's talk." *** While Teng Teng was pitching the shop's works of art to the two guests from the East Coast, Wu Mu of the Changge Group finally laid eyes on the Deathclaw he had been longing to see in the northern part of Dawn City. Looking at Neko tethered beside the shed by a single rope, Wu Mu, clad in power armor, clenched his fists with excitement and turned eagerly to Chu Guang standing nearby. "Is this the one from the video... I mean, the Deathclaw you rode that day?!" It seemed the video Xiao Qi had edited for him had become quite a hit in Ideal City, leaving such a profound impression on this fellow. Chu Guang smiled and nodded. "Yes." Wu Mu asked excitedly, "What's her name?!" "Neko, a big girl," Chu Guang gave a faint smile and continued, "My subordinates found her in a research facility overrun by marauders. At first, we only kept her as research material. Over time, feelings developed, so we kept her here." Wu Mu marveled, "Incredible... So Deathclaws really can be tamed!" Chu Guang glanced at him, asking out of curiosity, "Have you guys never tried?" "Deathclaws aren't very common on the East Coast. We see them occasionally, but none are very large. Our main threat over there is mutants... They move along the coastline, plundering everywhere, burning down villages, and they reproduce at an absurd rate." Seeming reluctant to dwell on the subject of mutants, Wu Mu quickly wrapped up the topic and asked excitedly while looking at Neko, "Enough about that. How much does a creature this big eat in a day?" Rather than pressing further about the mutants, Chu Guang smiled and followed his lead. "Half a ton of nutrient paste, or two adult Crawlers. She has a huge appetite, but thankfully she's not a picky eater. She can even head out and hunt for herself." Wu Mu asked eagerly, "May I ride her?" "Of course." Chu Guang made an inviting gesture. Having obtained permission, Wu Mu let out an embarrassed chuckle, turned on his helmet's recording function, and lumbered forward with heavy steps. "Good girl, little one, let me ri—" As Wu Mu approached and reached out his hand, before his words could finish, a thick, long tail whipped across the ground with a whoosh, tripping him flat on his face. Wrinkled eyelids lifted, revealing half of an amber pupil. Neko snorted through her nostrils with a scoff, her expression clearly mocking him. Yet that cocky look didn't last long before a sharp glare bore down from nearby, making every scale on her body quiver. "Wuu-ruuu..." Glared at by Chu Guang, Neko let out an aggrieved purr, her mischievous tail curling into a tight ring on the grass. Seeing her act pitiful, Chu Guang shook his head and refrained from forcing her further. Stepping forward, he pulled up Wu Mu from the ground. "Apologies, my friend... This girl has a bit of a temper." "No problem, no problem, it's just that I couldn't handle her..." Dusting the grime off his armor, the young man stood up, rubbed the back of his helmet sheepishly, and looked at Chu Guang with even deeper admiration. To tame such a terrifying beast and make it lie obediently on the ground, purring like a kitten... Was this what a man standing at the top of the food chain looked like? As expected of the Alliance's Administrator—he truly was extraordinary, just as the rumors claimed! Paying no heed to Wu Mu's worshipping gaze, Chu Guang cast a slightly peculiar glance at the fellow's power armor. The exterior looked quite cool. Why did its actual performance seem so lackluster? Seemingly reading his gaze, Wu Mu showed a slightly awkward expression and explained, "There's no helping it. Portable reactors are too rare; we don't have many on hand either. Power armors are prioritized for frontline troops. Someone in sales like me doesn't need to go to the frontline anyway, so I made do with a metallic hydrogen battery. While it can move, there's still quite a difference compared to fully functioning power armor..." Damn. No wonder Neko hadn't flinched at all. Turns out it was a stripped-down model... Chu Guang's heart stirred. Come to think of it, he happened to have a black box capable of producing portable reactors sitting right in the warehouse of Vault 79. Because of its massive size, it hadn't been moved over here. If he could secure a batch of stripped-down frames lacking reactors from the Enterprise, he might just be able to assemble a batch of fully functional power armor suits! However, Chu Guang was in no rush to let the cat out of the bag. He merely offered a faint smile and concluded the topic. "We have plenty of Deathclaws around here, of various breeds—some with horns, some without. If you're interested, I can gift you a slightly smaller one." Hearing that, Wu Mu instantly perked up. "Really?! Thank you so much!"