Beta 0.5 Version Update!

The celebration drew to a close. Hal, who had drunk far too much, lay sprawled over a table, snoring like thunder. Meanwhile, on the official Wasteland Online website in another world, things were just beginning to liven up as players logged off one after another. Ye Shi: "That damn Fang Chang is showing off his romance again!" Fang Chang: "? I didn't even step out the door." Mole: "So here's the question: what was this guy doing cooped up inside all day with the doors shut? (Funny)" Elaina: "There's definitely a story there! (Funny)" Elven King Fugui: "Mole! I'm counting on you for the doujinshi! (Funny)" Fang Chang: "(Rolls eyes)" Yaya: "You guys are so dirty-minded. They're clearly such a sweet couple!" Tail: "Speaking of which, Tail discovered that there are actually lots of hidden ships among the NPCs too!" Jieyan: "Who?" Tail: "Frost and Eclipse!" Jieyan: "Hahaha, that Brainless and Unhappy duo?" Sisi: "Pfft, that's mean." Aoao Sesame Paste: "Though bionics don't have genders, right?" Tail: "!!! That feels even more exciting!" Sisi: "?" Meat Mountain Steamed Bun: "???" Yaya: "Say, I'm suddenly really curious—how did the manager spend these three days? 0.0" Stop Bullshitting: "Why is Boss Ya paying so much attention to the manager anyway? (Smirk)" Tail: "Indeed, very sus." Ye Shi: "Give it up, Boss Ya! There's no future between humans and NPCs! (Funny)" Kuang Feng: "Fang Chang: 'Thanks, I feel targeted.' (Side-eye)" Yaya: "What the heck?! I'm just curious! Besides, you guys are farming his favorability too! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻" Makabazi: "Hahahaha, she's mad! She's tilted!" Yaya: "(艹皿艹)" Tengteng: "Then again, we really didn't see much of him." Mole: "Ten to one he was working behind closed doors, just like brother Fang Chang. (Smirk)" Fang Chang: "Ahem, seems like Changyue Group needs to expand its gaming business." Mole: "Boss, I was wrong! (Terrified)" Gege Da: "I think I saw him drinking with Hal. Hal even composed a poem on the spot, but he was so sloshed his tongue tripped up and couldn't translate it." Feng Qing: "He disappeared after that, though." Gui Gui: "I saw him! I saw him! He was at a barbecue stall with Boss Xia!" Fawai Kuangtu: "And Xiao Yu was there too!" Elaina: "Felt like a family of three. (Funny)" Elven King Fugui: "Pffft, hahaha!" WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Don't be sad, Boss Ya. They even have a kid now. (Smirk)" Yaya: "(＊·ω·)×╰ひ╯" Elaina: "Shivering in fear. (Funny)" Official Announcement: [Beta 0.5 Version Update Announcement] Galaxy Does Not Enter Dreams: "?" Scavenger: "??" Jieyan: "Holy crap!" ... [Beta 0.5 Version Update!] [Patch Notes: 1. Player Public Affairs: In light of the Celebration Autonomous Committee's responsible performance during the festival, the Alliance manager has decided to encourage residents of Shelter 404 to participate more deeply in Alliance and regional public affairs! Although we lack the black technologies of other shelters, we possess the resolve to end chaos and barbarism, along with our faith in the supremacy of society! Players holding a VM and certain special NPCs may now propose a "Motion" provided it does not violate the Player Handbook, Fundamental Law, or other related regulations. Upon receiving over 10% support, it will advance to a "Bill" stage to be voted on by all VM-holding players. Once passed, it will be submitted to the relevant Alliance departments for open deliberation during the monthly regular meeting, taking effect upon the manager's signature. As the Alliance grows, the manager's energy is limited. Going forward, the server environment of Wasteland Online will be maintained by everyone. We'll copy good homework together; if we make mistakes, we'll correct them together! 2. New Transport Vehicle "Dirigible": Direct flights from Dawn City to Pioneer City are officially open! Currently, flights run once a month via civilian airships! Since the Great Desert only features save points and no respawn points, players are advised to cherish their lives! 3. Full access to the B6 Biological Laboratory is now open. If you discover interesting specimens in the wasteland, please be sure to contact NPC Heya! 4. The Alliance Museum and Alliance Zoo are officially open! Players may apply for museum display booths and exotic creature pens for their commemorative collectibles and strange species discovered in the wasteland! (For creatures inconvenient to breed or raise, photographs may be used instead; e.g., Sandworms.) Recruitment for the Museum Director and Zoo Director is now open! Players may vote for their preferred directors via the VM voting system or the City Hall mailbox commonly used by NPCs! Not only NPCs, but players can also register! (Note: Please register cautiously; anyone who slacks off or receives too many complaints after election will be kicked out by the manager.) 5. Closed beta account cap increased from 12,000 to 30,000! Daily beta invites increased to 40–50. 6. Minor bug fixes. 7. ...] The long-awaited Beta 0.5 had finally arrived. Although there was no mention of a new expansion, the flurry of information in the announcement was more than enough to turn heads. Especially the fifth note! The closed beta cap had jumped from just over ten thousand straight to thirty thousand! The average daily invite quota had doubled! Ever since the ceasefire agreement took effect and the "Vast Yellow Sands" expansion ended, the distribution of closed beta slots for Wasteland Online had slowed noticeably, dropping to single digits per day. Now, with a sudden fresh batch of helmets arriving, it was sweet rain after a long drought for the prospective players on the forums who had been waiting until their legs were numb. Youthful Frivolity: "Ah Guang, you're my daddy! You know what I mean!" Northern Netizen: "Brothers, where are these helmets being manufactured?! I'll work for free, no pay needed—just give me a helmet!" Cheerful Netizen: "Offering 100 million for a helmet! T.T" Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "I'm a student. Could some kind soul please give me one for free with free shipping? T.T" Proud Grandpa: "Trash game! Even dogs wouldn't play it! Bah! Bullshit!" Thunder King Professor Yang: "Tch, why don't you uncheck your reservation badge before barking? (Rolls eyes)" Even though the odds of winning a helmet remained like hitting the lottery relative to the massive pool of reservations, it still offered a glimmer of hope to the tens of millions waiting eagerly. A one-in-a-thousand chance was still better than one in ten thousand. As for why Wasteland Online had suddenly ramped up closed beta access, discussions on the official forums were rife with theories. Some analyzed it from a real-world perspective, arguing that industrial maturation, increased helmet production, and expanded server capacity were the cause. In other words, open beta wasn't far off! Others viewed it through the lens of supply and demand, believing the game studio was laying the groundwork for the next expansion. After all, with the Alliance's territory having grown so drastically and the players' activity zone expanding exponentially, they needed enough players to populate every "region." Otherwise, what was the point of designing vast maps if no one was there to explore them? Alongside these rational theories, there were wilder conjectures. For instance, Proud Grandpa and his followers firmly believed that the studio was running out of chumps to fleece, that the damn devs were just running a scam, and that everyone on the forums besides himself was an alt account! Some let their imaginations run to human experimentation and conspiracy theories, claiming it was a major plot to overthrow the global economy! A select few never joined the discussions at all, silently taking this as a positive signal of goodwill from an extraterrestrial civilization. They quietly doubled down on acquiring silver coins and discreetly scooped up whatever they needed from auctions, raking in fortunes under the radar. Spending a few hundred million or a billion to purchase a revolutionary, crucial piece of technology that could spawn a market worth tens or hundreds of billions—opportunities like that didn't come around often. If not for the limited scale of the extraterrestrial experiments, they would have bought up far more! As it turned out, any individual or organization was constrained by their own perspective, capable only of making subjective guesses based on the intelligence they gathered. In truth, there weren't so many elaborate reasons. Chu Guang himself was utterly bewildered; the gene sequences he had been yearning for had simply appeared out of nowhere. [Hidden Quest Complete:] [Description: The Broodmother on B6 has been completely devoured by the matriarch of an abnormal life form, triggering the determination for 'flag6.2'. The 'B6 Biological Laboratory Incident' event has ended.] [Remark: This was perhaps an unforeseen outcome.] [Quest Reward: 18,000 gene sequences.] In the browsing room on B4. Staring at the light blue window floating before him, Chu Guang, who had just returned from the celebration, sat on the sofa with a strange expression. Just three days ago, when he returned from the front line, he had stood in the room at the end of B4 complaining to that branch-like computer that there weren't enough closed beta slots. He never imagined that in under seventy-two hours, the issue he had vented about to the shelter would be so completely resolved. And it gave him so many in one go! Eighteen thousand helmets—as long as he controlled the daily distribution rate between forty and fifty, it would last for the entire upcoming year! Should he... Go make another wish there? The thought lingered in Chu Guang's mind for less than a second before he dismissed it. Based on his previous deductions, the manager's work logs, the distribution rate of gene sequences, and various trigger conditions were likely preset. Even if he burned incense to the first-generation manager, it probably wouldn't accomplish anything. What caught Chu Guang's attention was the "flag6.2" mentioned in the description. If he remembered correctly, unlocking B6 had originally triggered the "flag6" check. In other words, besides the possibility he had triggered, were there other branches like "flag6.1," or even 6.3, 6.4... 6.x? "Does that correspond to another possibility...?" Looking at the text on the light blue screen, Chu Guang fell into thought. While he was curious about what outcomes those other options would have led to, the event had officially ended according to the quest description. Unfortunately, he lacked the ability to save and reload, so the ending of that other path would have to be seen by another version of himself in a parallel world. Still, he believed the path ahead was bright. This was a choice made collectively by him and the players. He believed that even if the road was fraught with rough patches, neither Luo Yu, Yu, nor he himself would regret it. After all, they had chosen this path. With a gentle flick of his index finger in the air, he dismissed the pale blue holographic window. Just as Chu Guang was about to return to his room to rest, a communication request from Heya came through. "There's a new development with Yu—" "Has she fully awakened?" "You already know? I almost forgot you can access surveillance. Yes, she's awake, and it looks like she wants to talk to you." Seeing Heya's excited expression on the screen, Chu Guang nodded. "I'll be right there." After ending the call, Chu Guang immediately headed down to B6. When he reached the biological laboratory, Heya was already waiting for him at the entrance of the buffer bay. "Hurry, come on." She waved to him upon seeing him, then eagerly walked toward the server room. Chu Guang followed behind her, and before long, he saw Yu, fully awakened. Like a crowned empress, she sat at the center of the room. The ocean-like expanse of pale red mycelial mat served as her gown, and her abstract facial features were looking increasingly human. Ten slightly smaller humanoid fruiting bodies stood quietly before her, their lower bodies joined to the pale red mat like her offspring. In a sense, she had indeed absorbed elements of human culture and the intellectual facets of human nature. For example, her current empress-like appearance was a manifestation based on her own cognitive development and acquired aesthetic sense; even the once-menacing, terrifying tentacles had evolved to be comparatively rounded and cute. Another example was when she learned from the laboratory researchers that the "iron lumps" in the server room were crucial to the lab: rather than aggressively occupying them like a beast, she had politely yielded the space around those servers. She was also delighted by the humans' help in implanting earpieces into her fruiting bodies and installing microphones in her chamber, picking up everything with remarkable speed. Chu Guang could sense that when he stood at the doorway and looked toward her, her emotions fluctuated noticeably. Within that long, dolphin-like "ee-oo" call, a vivid cheerfulness and intimacy resonated. "She seems to regard you as a father or mother figure," Heya teased. "Should I say congratulations?" Chu Guang rolled his eyes at her, walked into the server room alone, and stood beside the railing, calling out with a smile. "How are you feeling?" His resonant voice echoed through the room, blending into that sea of pale red. Chu Guang expected another "ee-oo" in response, but to his surprise, she had actually learned to speak, uttering broken words. "...I, feel, very good. Thank, you." She spoke in Chinese. Since Luo Yu had always communicated with her in the players' language, she had naturally picked up the players' tongue. In time, Chu Guang would have researchers teach her the Human Alliance language commonly used in this world, making it easier for her to converse with more people without translation tools. "You can speak?" In a raspy yet calm voice, Yu spoke word by word. "Learned... but, language, is not efficient. Still, to communicate, I can learn." Chu Guang tried to interpret her meaning from a linguistic standpoint. For any language, lower uncertainty meant lower information entropy, which in turn meant less information carried. In short, to describe the same thing, a language with lower information entropy required more characters or syllables—accurate, but verbose. Conversely, a language with higher information entropy needed fewer characters and syllables—concise, but ambiguous. Language allowed humans to communicate more precisely and conveniently, but for a hive organism like Yu, information was typically a one-way transmission from the broodmother to the fruiting bodies. Language was actually an inefficient method of communication; a single call of varying frequency could replace thousands of words, directing the fruiting bodies on what to do next. Of course, this was merely Chu Guang's conjecture, and conclusions drawn in three seconds were likely incomplete. "I'm glad you think so," Chu Guang said with a gentle smile. "Your language is a bit too abstract; it really is too difficult for most of us." Yu took some time to process this. Perhaps it was a benefit of evolution, but Chu Guang could distinctly sense that having transformed into a broodmother, her eyes held a glimmer of wisdom that hadn't been there before. Even if only a little. "Respected... human matriarch. I can feel their trust in you. So you are their matriarch, and they are your fruiting bodies... May I understand it this way?" After hearing the words Yu had spent a long time assembling, Chu Guang shook his head. "It's completely different. I wouldn't recommend looking at it that way." "Then what... are they?" "Simply people who trust me. They are distinct individuals, each with their own thoughts and behavioral logic." "Then... how should I speak to you all?" A trace of bewilderment and confusion colored Yu's voice. Chu Guang understood her unease. A similar situation had occurred when the Alliance's diplomats first arrived at Ideal City. The Supreme Council didn't actually have a single manager. Words meant for a single individual had to be rephrased and delivered to a collective instead. Fortunately, Shuyu possessed sharp adaptability, and the Enterprise's council wasn't encountering wasteland survivor factions for the first time either, allowing their communication to proceed smoothly. Yu's confusion, however, stemmed from the fact that humans lacked a single, united hive mind. "Do you trust me?" Chu Guang asked, looking at her. "Of course, without a doubt." The wave-like mycelial mat rippled, and deep emotion surged through Yu's voice. "You... were the first person I saw upon waking. You generously gave the immature me a chance to grow, like a gentle father and mother." At this point, Yu's voice dipped slightly. "However, I occasionally worry... neither you nor Luo Yu may be able to accompany me for long. Certain memories may one day become things that only I remember." "There's no need to worry about such things. Leave the future to the future; we need only discuss the present," Chu Guang said, gazing at Yu seated in the middle of the room. "All I need to know is that you trust me." "Is that... enough?" "Yes." Chu Guang nodded. "You and the rest of us already share common ground on at least one matter. Since you all trust me, none of the things you're worried about are real problems. If anything comes up, you can communicate directly with me... Just call my name using the microphone we set up for you." Yu settled down somewhat, lowering her eyes slightly. "Thank you..." Chu Guang smiled warmly. "You're welcome. We are already walking a path never before conceived. Communication is the best way to resolve differences." "If you ever have any doubts in the future, be sure to tell me!" ... On the day after the celebration concluded, everything in the southern part of River Valley Province seemed to return to its regular orbit. Apart from a handful of envoys who lingered in Dawn City, mesmerized by its prosperity and the Alliance's glory, most representatives carried the Alliance's return gifts back toward their homelands on the final day. The Alliance's gifts to the other factions consisted of a pack of twelve Champion-brand injectors and a pack of twelve induced expression serums. The former granted a temporary 4% to 20% boost across all attributes, while receiving four full doses of the latter offered nearly a 45% chance of awakening. Both were black-box products. While not particularly precious to the Alliance, for most small-to-medium survivor factions, they were gifts beyond reproach in both value and prestige. Naturally, for key allies and factions that had offered exceptionally valuable gifts, Chu Guang threw in an extra Deathclaw cub. As the envoy of the Brugola Free State and a salesman for the Flint Group, Xavier departed promptly with the Alliance's return gifts. Although the two sides had experienced considerable friction over the Bone Chewer tribe, tariffs, arms deals, and various other matters, their differences had not deteriorated to a point of mutual destruction. After reporting his observations from the celebration and banquet to the president of the Flint Group, Xavier cautiously offered his own assessment. "...The Alliance's manager is remarkably ambitious. I could clearly sense that he won't be satisfied with merely ruling the southern sliver of River Valley Province. It's difficult to gauge the full extent of his abilities from just a few words, but his speech possesses a spellbinding magic—drastically different from when I first met him in Xizhou City!" "Furthermore, I kept an eye on the other envoys. Even those from distant realms serving feudal monarchs found themselves inexorably drawn to his rhetoric of equality and unity. There are even survivor factions planning to rebrand themselves as Alliances." With his boots propped up on his desk, Sigma, clad in a sharp suit, toyed with the glass tumbler in his hand and offered a careless reply. "Nothing strange about that. It'd be stranger if he were satisfied with just that little southern corner of River Valley Province... Hasn't Pioneer City already extended a foot into the Great Desert?" "...The Free State leadership believes that might just be a feint to divert the Legion's attention," Xavier said softly. "What the animals in the pigpen think doesn't matter." Hearing his boss's nonchalant mockery, Xavier gave a dry smile, consoling himself that he was merely the Free State's envoy and a corporate salesman, not part of the Free State leadership—the barb wasn't aimed at him. Then again, his boss wasn't wrong. He occasionally felt the same way: every time the Great Rift Valley intervened in the Free State's affairs, it seemed to make those already-dim leaders even more brainless. Meanwhile, the Flint Group's prestige and grip over the Free State only grew stronger with every reshuffle orchestrated by the Great Rift Valley. Clearing his throat, Xavier continued. "...There is one more thing. At the banquet, the manager gave the cold shoulder only to Boulder City's representative. From what I observed afterward, I have a very strong hunch." "Boulder City is probably finished." It sounded like an absurd fantasy. Boulder City was, after all, the former hegemon of southern River Valley Province, an heir to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee's legacy. Xavier had therefore hesitated when voicing his conclusion. Yet to his surprise, Sigma, sitting behind the desk, merely let out an offhand scoff. "Hardly a surprise." Xavier blinked, startled. He didn't doubt his boss's judgment. After all, he was just an envoy and a salesman; there was bound to be information behind the scenes that he wasn't privy to. After a moment of silence, Xavier spoke with an uncertain tone. "Still, I have one question... Doesn't the Alliance claim non-interference in external affairs? Wouldn't making a move against Boulder City so soon—especially when Boulder City invested in them—be moving too fast?" "Non-interference? Ha, that doesn't mean they're running a charity. Genuine bluecoats are practically extinct these days; they've simply learned to be a bit more flexible." Sigma gave a faint, mocking chuckle and continued. "Take Sunset Province, for example. Even if the Golden Lizard Kingdom belongs to the Academy and the Falcon Kingdom remains under the Legion's thumb, who could doubt that the Alliance is the true master there?" Rumor had it the Golden Lizard Kingdom had melted down gold from dinars to erect a statue of the manager. While gold held little value in the wasteland, the gesture was deeply telling. Presenting it at the celebration meant even the Academy couldn't say a word. Once that war concluded, who in all of Sunset Province wasn't making eyes at the Alliance? To bolster their silver foreign reserves, the various kingdoms had slashed their grain prices to the bone! "The Alliance doesn't keep a direct stranglehold on the dikes simply because indirect control maximizes profit far better than violent plunder." "By comparison, the Legion isn't quite as clever. They brutally occupied the Honey Badger Kingdom and went to the trouble of concocting that ridiculous excuse about the 'Spirit of the Sand Sea predicting grand desert unity.' And what came of it? Even their own allies didn't buy that nonsense. The Honey Badger Kingdom became more united than ever, waging guerrilla warfare in the mountains, sniping from city shadows, and burning their own fields. It took the Legion a seven-day blitz to conquer it, but the Alliance took it back in just three." Had the Alliance chosen to outright occupy Sunset Province—even under the banner of equality, forcing the king to abdicate—an endless stream of people would have resisted them. No matter how flawed a royal house might be, they were still kings blessed by the Spirit of the Sand Sea. Thus, in Sigma's eyes, the Alliance had done something very clever: to a certain extent, they had taken a page from the Academy's book. "When it comes to handling regional affairs, the Academy is far smarter than the Legion. They provide patents and technology, and the wastelander folk manufacture for them. Even if they take the lion's share, the wastelanders have no room to complain. Meanwhile, those Wilante conquered vast swathes of land only to bloat themselves into a feeble giant. The moment they look away, the slaves start slacking off or outright rebelling." "So the Enterprise's assessment of the Legion isn't without merit. Aside from indulging in coloring games on maps for their own amusement, they've resolved almost none of the wasteland's actual problems." Yet despite holding the Academy's methods in high regard, Sigma had no love for them. One simply couldn't do business with those people; opening a branch of the Flint Group in the swamplands was practically impossible, blocked in the most literal, physical sense. By contrast, the Legion was much easier to deal with. As long as one had the dinars, they were willing to turn a blind eye even to trade involving mutants. Even if the grand marshal wouldn't touch it, the officers below certainly would. That was why Sigma looked down on the Free State leadership's analytical reports regarding the Alliance. In his eyes, only utter fools who understood nothing would define a collective's will with binary notions of good and evil. How could any organization entrust its future to something as hollow as morality? Even the Enterprise had its share of indelible dirty work a century and a half ago, and their idea of an "apology" was merely hunting down mutants across Cloud Province along the coastline. "I don't understand... What the Alliance is doing—can't Boulder City's castellan see it?" Xavier frowned, looking at his boss in bewilderment. Leaning back in his chair, Sigma spoke lazily. "Of course you don't, because you have no idea what kind of creature their castellan really is... If you ask me, those fellows in the Enlightenment Society actually got one thing right: the Post-War Reconstruction Committee is the most wicked, useless organization on this wasteland. They thought building settlements would preserve the sparks of civilization, but take a closer look and you'll see they're just pigpens, turning people into swine." The Brugola Free State was a prime example. That old relic couldn't accept the Post-War Reconstruction Committee's failure, yet he hypocritically insisted on honoring the pledge not to interfere in wasteland affairs. So he set up a "new pigpen" right on his doorstep and slapped the name Brugola Free State on it. They naively expected that with their "guidance," this free pigpen would develop in a balanced fashion and eventually supplant the splintered Production, Defense, and Technology Divisions. What a joke. Fortunately, the survivors of the Free State had minds of their own. Most refused to live as pigs in a pen, reshuffled and dictated to by a bunch of hard-of-hearing old fogies. Through the efforts of generation after generation, they carved out another rule atop the framework the Great Rift Valley had laid down for them— Namely: using the "Flint Group" to hollow out the "Free State"! The latter served as a facade to placate the sovereign state by ruling the day, while the former ruled the night as the uncrowned king of the underworld! To achieve their aims, they applied blackmail, extortion, bribery, kidnapping, and whatever else was needed, coercing the Free State's officials into becoming their own puppets. That way, no matter how many times the Great Rift Valley attempted to intervene, the Free State would remain that utterly "free" sanctuary. A cold, unabashed smirk curled on Sigma's face. He knew his own nature perfectly. He was a traveling merchant, a businessman. He viewed the Enterprise as his role model, but he would never play the sanctimonious hypocrite like those folks on the east coast. He was simply himself—a thoroughly self-serving scoundrel. After all, they had donned the cloak of "legality" precisely so they could act with impunity beneath the established rules. If they still had to bow to the constraints others forced upon them, wouldn't they be failing the painstakingly laid schemes of the Flint Group's past generations of presidents? This was the wasteland! Lowering his legs from the desk, he looked toward Xavier—the trusted aide who had served him for years and specialized in southern affairs. "Have our assets planted around Boulder City keep their eyes peeled." "Since the Alliance wants to slaughter this hog early for the new year, we'll help speed things up—but we're carving out a cut of the meat for ourselves!" Xavier nodded solemnly. "Understood!"