Chapter 369 This is where the complexity of people lies
" "
The way to leave the virtual world is simple.
You only need to reach out and touch your temples to take off your glasses.
During a chat with Dr. Method, Chu Guang learned that the residents of Vault 101 had given up their physical bodies, uploaded their consciousness to the virtual world, and embraced higher evolution.
And thus gained a new life.
He seemed to know the first-generation manager of Vault 404, but he did not want to mention much about that person and only called him the name Professor.
However, from his attitude, Chu Guang could feel the respect that needed no words.
A strange thought appeared in Chu Guang's mind.
Could it be that his mentor and the first administrator of Vault 404 were actually the same person?
However, when he asked this question, the man did not admit it. He just smiled lightly and changed the subject without leaving any trace.
"...Our world originally had only 6,000 people, but now it has a population of 3 billion, most of which were born from complex self-evolution calculations. And we only need to consume a few insignificant resources to meet all material and spiritual needs .”
Sitting on a park bench, the man looked past the bustling crowd.
The outline of the city can be seen in the distance.
"I have spent all my life savings here to reserve enough resources in the shelter to keep the entire world running smoothly for a thousand years, or even longer. I decided a long time ago,"
"But one day it will disappear."
Hearing Chu Guang's words, Dr. Fangfa smiled and asked in a very soft voice.
"Yes, but what is eternal?"
"The Indestructible Alliance only lasted for more than a century, and our prosperity lasted even longer than our decline."
"And here, we can anticipate the day when the world will end and calmly welcome our final fate before the end. I don't think this is a bad thing."
With that said, he stood up from the bench and looked at Chu Guang sitting beside him with a smile.
"Thank you for staying with me for so long, but now I have to find my wife and daughter. If you are interested in our world, you can walk around."
"This world is big and you will never be bored. Of course, if you like it here, you can stay."
That last sentence didn't sound like a joke.
Chu Guang hesitated for half a second, but it was only half a second.
"No need, there are many people waiting for me over there."
He admitted that it was beautiful here.
Clean sunshine, air and water, and endless resources support a population of 3 billion.
This is the real "game world".
It is also a perfect utopia.
There are no aliens, no predators or mutants here, and even the concept of exploitation does not exist.
However, it is precisely because of this that Chu Guang is worried that he will indulge in this beautiful but false dream.
He stood up from the bench, raised his index finger and pressed it on his temple, feeling for a transparent bump.
According to this method doctor, just take it off and you can leave from here.
However, just when Chu Guang was about to do this, he suddenly thought of something and blurted it out.
"If I choose to stay, wouldn't that professor's experiment you mentioned fail?"
If I remember correctly.
After his death, Vault 404 will execute the shutdown procedure, and the morphological field device will also stop operating, waiting for the time to reopen.
Maybe ten years from now, maybe a century, or even further into the future.
"It doesn't matter. Since you have come this far, you will definitely refuse." A sly smile suddenly appeared on the man's face, "Just treat that sentence as a polite statement."
That smile made Chu Guang couldn't help but roll his eyes.
He wanted to play a trick that didn't follow the routine, but if he really did this, he might be playing into this guy's hands.
"You can just daydream here for the rest of your life."
Looking at the disappearing figure, the doctor smiled and waved his hand.
"I'd like to lend you some good words."
…
The colorful colors were withdrawn from consciousness, and the dark lenses came into view.
Chu Guang took off his glasses, put them on the table beside him, stood up and walked to the door.
The door opens.
Seeing Chu Guang appearing at the door, the soldiers waiting at the door finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The same thing happened to Horn standing aside.
He put his hand into his sleeve, took off the V on his arm, and handed it to Chu Guang who was standing at the door.
"Master Herald asked me to give it to you."
"Thanks."
After saying a simple polite word, Chu Guang reached out and took the wrist-mounted computer.
Almost at the moment when his index finger touched it, a light blue pop-up window appeared in front of his eyes.
[Mission: Retrieve the V of the manager of Vault 101 (Completed)]
[Reward: 3500 gene sequences]
Looking at the pop-up window that appeared in front of him, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a hint of joy in his eyes, and raised his index finger to tap on the earphones.
"Xiao Qi."
As he finished speaking, Xiao Qi's voice came to his ears.
"Here you are, master."
Chu Guang immediately ordered.
"Restart player recruitment!"
Xiaoqi: "Got it!"
After the clean answer, the long-suspended closed beta test qualification distribution was finally restarted.
It is still based on the standard of 20 accounts per day.
This time he will focus more on recruiting some thoughtful and creative players to enrich the diversity of the player community while ensuring that neutral or above positions are inconvenient.
3,500 gene sequences are enough to last until the end of the year. Considering the food harvest after autumn and the gradually increasing food import quota, this speed of issuance of closed beta qualifications is the most appropriate.
Soon another batch of fresh leeks arrived.
very nice!
Chu Guang looked at V in his hand.
This was probably the easiest one to complete among all the tasks he received from the "Manager's Work Diary".
When he first saw the mission rewards, Chu Guang thought how difficult the mission would be.
Unexpectedly, the manager of Vault 101 just wanted to see him and had no other plans or intentions at all.
For Chu Guang, it was like going through a G formality.
Suddenly thinking of something, Chu Guang looked at Horn standing aside and asked curiously.
"Do you usually communicate in this way?"
Horn nodded slightly.
"Yes, after all, it takes a lot of energy to open the door once. The virtual reality system will save more energy."
Chu Guang asked.
"You haven't thought about staying there?"
"Stay... there?"
Horn's eyes were blank, "Are you talking about the pure white room? But there is nothing there."
Chu Guang couldn't help but have a strange look in his eyes.
Good guy.
The residents of Camp 101 have never really been to that world.
But think about it.
If you are not a strong-minded person, you may find it difficult to maintain your original intention after seeing the prosperity of that world.
After all, a person's life only lasts a hundred years. If one can gain peace for a thousand years, the physical body will indeed have nothing to cherish.
Seeing that Chu Guang's expression was a little strange, Horn couldn't help but ask.
"Any questions?"
"It's nothing, it's pretty good." Chu Guang said casually and quickly ended the topic.
Horn looked at him blankly. Although he was confused, he did not continue to ask.
After all, it's not that important.
"It seems that you had a good chat with our pioneer... Is there anything else you need?"
"No, thank you for your hospitality."
Taking one last look at the gear-shaped gate that seemed to be fixed in space, Chu Guang then looked at Lu Bei and other soldiers from the Guards Regiment.
"Let's go."
…
After leaving Vault 101, Chu Guang returned to the surface.
He first stopped by to visit Xia Yan, Xiaoyu and other students, then went around the construction site of Dawn City, and finally returned to the station of the Second Corps.
When he crossed the gate of the military camp, a group of young players were returning from the forest carrying a wild deer with three antlers.
They brought the game to the fire in the camp and prepared to cook it into game.
After noticing the manager, the players' eyes lit up, and their expressions were as if they had discovered a rare animal, and they immediately looked towards Chu Guang.
One of the players with a strong sense of substitution clapped his hands and stood up, trotted up to Chu Guang, and said respectfully.
"Dear Manager, we have just shot a wild deer and are planning to roast it!"
"If you don't mind, we have plenty of space here!"
Chu Guang happened to be a little hungry, so he said with a smile.
"Then I'm not welcome!"
There was a surprised expression on the player's face, obviously he didn't expect Chu Guang to agree so simply.
But soon, the surprised expression turned into one full of joy, followed by an excited nod.
"okay!"
Seeing that their companions had brought the manager back, the players immediately pulled him aside.
"Gan, why did you bring P here?"
The player smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"Hey, I'm just thinking about increasing my favorability. If I unlock the hidden mission, it would be great!"
"Hiss... what you said makes sense."
"Then I have to do it more seriously!"
Chu Guang couldn't help laughing when he heard the players murmuring about their favorability.
But looking at them busy handling the prey, they still didn't laugh out loud.
It took more than an hour to process the prey.
This involves peeling the skin and trimming off any excess fat, and sprinkling it with the sanctuary's special spices.
In order to put the prey on the charcoal fire, a group of young players were very busy.
When the sun set, Chu Guang finally ate the game roasted by the players.
The strong fragrance spreads between the lips and teeth. It's a pity that there is no beer here, otherwise it would be more enjoyable.
Holding the deer leg in his hand, Chu Guang couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
It’s not so much that he can’t bear to leave this world, but rather that he can’t bear to leave those hard-working and brave friends.
"Thank you, it's delicious. I feel like I have dispelled the fatigue of the whole day... If you open a barbecue restaurant, it will definitely become popular." Chu Guang said in a joking tone.
The little player who had pulled him here before stood up again and said with a loyal face.
"You're welcome!"
"It is our honor to serve you!"
The little players gathered around the fire all looked at Chu Guang expectantly, their eyes shining with hope for the future.
That look seemed to be calling.
Up!
Favorability!
It’s definitely gone up!
…
A night of silence.
At dawn the next day, Chu Guang got on the train back to Dawn City and ended his visit to Dawn City and Camp 101.
In addition to the 3,500 closed beta qualifications, another gain from this trip is that Chu Guang finally got the answer to his confusion about the origin of the wasteland.
The doomsday war 200 years ago took place between the home planet of the United Nations and its colonies.
The motive for the outbreak of the war does not seem to be for independence or purely economic interests.
After all, if it is for these two goals, it is difficult to achieve this goal.
This style of fighting, aiming to completely destroy the opponent, is simply like a fight between two different species.
And there may be some hidden secret behind this that I don't know yet...
"History is a cycle, but it usually does not simply repeat itself."
Sitting on the train, Chu Guang wrote this sentence at the end of this chapter while sorting out his notes.
A chapter about Camp 101.
…
Vault 404.
In the warehouse on the B2 floor, Yin Fangzheng stood in front of a powered armor. With the assistance of two engineers, he fixed the armor made of type 3 aerospace aluminum on the damaged incision.
The entire armor surface has been polished to a certain extent and looks brand new, and the outer shell is also painted with a new urban camouflage paint.
Different from the "battle-damaged style" exoskeleton that Brother Quanshui drew, when repairing this "Dragoon", Yin Fang obviously put more effort into restoring it to its most perfect state, and
It’s not like just making do with it with the mentality of “just use it”.
It was precisely because of this that when Chu Guang saw this powered armor, he almost didn't recognize it for a moment.
"You're back? I was about to report the good news to you!"
Seeing Chu Guang coming from the door, Yin Fang stopped what he was doing and went to greet him, saying with joy.
"The condition of this power armor is simply perfect! Not only are the reactor and battery in good condition, but even the holographic image of the tactical helmet is complete! How much did you spend to buy it back?"
"You won't believe me when I say I didn't spend any money." Chu Guang said jokingly.
Yin Fang chuckled and said, "How could it be? The most I can say is that I am worthy of you."
What the hell?
Are you the kind of person who would do prostitution for free?
Chu Guang rolled his eyes, didn't bother to explain to him, and ended the topic directly.
"I met your ancestor."
"What?"
The sudden words made Yin Fang stunned for a moment.
Chu Guang continued without pausing.
"That method doctor."
"method?"
Yin Fang came to his senses and looked at Chu Guang in surprise, not knowing what expression to make for a moment.
"Wait...you saw Dr. Fang? Where? Is it the same holographic image as before? Still"
"In Vault 101," Chu Guang interrupted his incoherence and said, "He is the manager there."
The air was subtly quiet for a while.
Yin Fang took a deep breath to calm down.
After smoothing away his chaotic thoughts, he reached out and pinched his eyebrows, and asked after a moment.
"What kind of person is he?"
Chu Guang thought for a while and said.
"Honestly, he is an unlikable guy, but this is just from my perspective. Maybe people from your academy will have different evaluations."
Yin Fang's expression was a little subtle.
"There are records about him in the college's collection of books, and he is evaluated as a pessimistic realist. It's incredible... that he is actually in Vault 101. I always thought he was buried in the Wandering Swamp."
At this point, his conversation suddenly changed.
"Why don't you invite him out? Although his presence in the academy is not as good as the other two founders, there are also a lot of scholars who follow him. If he raises his voice, he might be able to fool many people in the academy.
Researcher joins you."
Looking at Yin Fang who was looking at him strangely, Chu Guang made a helpless expression.
He did think so.
I even thought about tricking a few engineers from there to help with the work.
After all, the students they teach are so good, and presumably their own skills are not weak either.
However……
"He and the residents of Vault 101... chose to live in another form and uploaded their consciousness to the computer. In short, it is unlikely that they will come out of that door."
Yin Fang was stunned for a moment, lowered his head and thought for a moment, then muttered something after a while.
"Hmm... It's quite similar to his style, but it's not exactly like the book."
Chu Guang asked curiously.
"which aspect?"
Yin Fang's eyes fell into memories.
"The evaluation of that person in the book "The Origin of the Academy" is that he always makes depressing sarcastic remarks on inappropriate occasions, and will unceremoniously persuade students who have no qualifications to change their careers. He is like a cold stone and will not
He makes people happy and is not interested in taking the initiative to do anything for others...but he actually did a lot of unnecessary things, didn't he?"
"For example, that Camp 101. If he decides to spend the rest of his life in another form, there is no need to expend such effort to teach those wastelanders arithmetic and literacy, let alone protect them."
This is indeed an interesting angle.
Before giving up his flesh and blood, the man must have made various attempts.
And when he made up his mind to bring his journey to an end, he probably no longer had any nostalgia for the real world.
From this standpoint, the birth of Camp 101 is indeed a redundant thing.
Looking at Yin Fang who was deep in thought, Chu Guang thought for a while and said slowly.
"Maybe this is where the complexity of people lies."
…
On the edge of the West Fifth Ring Road in Qingquan City.
Walking on the dilapidated streets, carrying a large box of murderous daggers behind me, my mood was also a bit complicated.
When Fang Chang first heard about this bg that could "grow money", his first reaction was excitement, and he wished he could donate his heart to the alliance's foreign exchange reserves on the spot.
However, when the cold box was carried on his back, his mood suddenly became heavy.
"I always feel that doing this business...is a bit weird."
The only thing to blame is that this game is too real.
If it were just a map or a string of numbers in his backpack, he bet he wouldn't be thinking randomly.
Fang Chang, who was walking next to him, glanced at him and could guess what he was thinking.
"You can think about it from another perspective. Without us, the people whose parts will be removed will be the unarmed survivors, the poor in the slums, and the scavengers lost in the wasteland."
"Not everyone can afford bionic organs worth thousands or even tens of thousands of chips. They will do anything to survive, so we actually sacrifice ourselves and benefit others."
Sha Dian looked dumbfounded.
Of course he knew this was a fallacy, but for a while he really couldn't think of how to refute it.
Yes.
The parts were taken from clones, and they didn't abduct those Ps who couldn't be resurrected.
Who loses?
Seems like a refuge.
After all, the culture chamber in the setting requires a lot of electricity to synthesize clones, and the shelter only charges them money for "active substances".
Lao Bai, who was walking next to him, joked.
"You have so many fallacies."
Fang Chang replied indifferently.
"No, I'm just playing the game normally, but people who bring real-life rules into the game are weird. Do you feel guilty about killing civilians in GT5, or pressing the nuclear button in Civilization 6?"
Lao Bai thought for a moment.
"That's not true, but it's true that you feel empty after pressing the nuclear button."
After all, when you start growing mushrooms all over the map, the game is almost over.
The location of the transaction was set at the edge of the West Fifth Ring Road in Qingquan City.
The straight-line distance from Dawn City to here is farther than Boulder City, but the actual distance is actually shorter.
Medium-density housing is dotted all over the suburbs. League players have explored this area, but due to the low yield, the level of exploration is not as good as the jungle in the East District.
The purchaser of these Awakener parts was not Dr. Gracie's clinic, but one of Gracie's clients, a man named Edmund.
He used to be Gracie's assistant, but later he was spotted by Jeff, the boss of the Dagger Gang, and served as Jeff's personal doctor for a while.
Perhaps because he thought the money was too little, or perhaps for other reasons, Edmund later left the Dagger Gang and went to the wasteland to set up his own business and open a hospital.
Although he never gave his hospital a name, mercenaries who knew it well were accustomed to calling it Edmund Clinic or Edmund's Ranch.
As for why he got this nickname, it is unknown.
In short, the nobles in the inner city do not look down upon weak flesh and blood, and even machine substitutes that are full of engine oil smell are not acceptable to them. Only clean and hygienic bionic prosthetics are their pursuit.
Therefore, most of the users of these parts are mercenaries, bounty hunters and even predators.
People who often get shot will not think of replacing themselves with expensive parts. Cheap and durable is the way to go.
After all, you never know when you will be hit by an EP grenade, and electronic products will become a burden.
Although the parts of the Awakened Ones are not enough to make them Awakened Ones, they definitely meet the criteria of durability.
Two thousand chips are a huge sum of money for ordinary people in Boulder City, but for some capable mercenaries, it is not an unaffordable price.
"Golden Dunes Cinema... is right in front."
Ye Shi checked the map and fixed his gaze on a relatively high ruin nearby. "I'll go over there and help you set up the gun."
"I'll go with him." Bang Feng glanced at Ye Shi and followed him.
After all, you are doing business in an irregular "dark zone", so you still have to be careful when trading.
"Well, please be safe."
Watching the two of them disappear at the entrance of the alley, Fang Chang, who was standing in front of the team, waved forward.
"keep going."
More than twenty players continued to move forward.
The abandoned cinema is at the other end of the street, a half-collapsed ruin that has been transformed into a fortress.
All the horror-themed interactive holographic movies that were shown here 200 years ago are not as real as they are today 200 years later.
Because people really died here.
And many died.
The Kidney Fighter stared at the building for a while, then suddenly muttered something.
"Why do I feel like this is a predator's lair?"
Fang Chang didn't speak, but frowned slightly.
Having said that, it really feels like this.
The wooden stakes covered in blood, as well as the pieces of meat and stumps hanging on the wooden stakes, instinctively reminded him of the Bloody Hand clan he encountered several versions ago.
However, the most troublesome part of this game is also here.
Predators do not write these three words on their faces, and there is no standard for defining them.
Just as the players were looking at the building in front of them, pairs of eyes hidden in the building were also looking at them.
At this time, the door opened.
A shirtless strong man walked out with four younger brothers.
His body exuded a strong smell of blood, which could be seen with the naked eye.
He stopped about twenty meters away from the square and raised his chin.
"Where's the stuff?"
"Here," Fang Chang glanced at the boxes carried by several players next to him, and then at him, "Are you that Edmund?"
"Dr. Edmund is doing surgery. I am his apprentice. You can call me Iron Spur."
The strong man grinned and looked at his younger brother.
The skinny man understood, and immediately took out the two boxes, opened the locks, and showed Fang Chang the strings of green chips with a face value of 25 inside.
Fang Chang did not move, but glanced at the building not far away, and saw a machine gun emitting a cold light under the shadow of the window.
Noticing his eyes, the strong man named Iron Thorn said with a smile.
"Don't mind, we keep our word. After all, a trustworthy business will last long, right?"
"The chips are all here, would you like some?"
Fang Chang nodded and walked forward.
However, at this moment, he looked beyond the strong man's shoulders and saw clearly the oval iron cages displayed inside the gate.
There are men and women in the cage, most of them are under thirty, and even less than twenty.
Their hair was unkempt, their faces could not be seen clearly, and most of them were only wearing rags, or even nothing at all.
A similar scene was exactly the same as what he had seen in the Bloodhand Clan's stronghold.
The only difference is that these people are not imprisoned in a dark and damp crypt, because what they need are healthy parts.
Meeting those desperate eyes, Fang Chang felt his heart shrink slightly.
What kind of people are you doing business with?
He stopped his legs, which seemed to be filled with lead, and moved his eyes back to the face of the man in front of him.
"Who are those people?"
"Those ones?"
Iron Thorn was stunned for a moment. He glanced behind him and saw the iron cage behind the courtyard door. He then turned around and smiled heartily, as if nothing had happened.
"Well... they're just scavengers, some of them were brought here because of gambling debts, or they were defective products eliminated by the cloning factory."
"But they are lucky. Our customers are more interested in Awakened parts, so they can live a little longer before finding a buyer."
The tone and expression of treating people like goods made many players feel physically uncomfortable.
Lao Bai looked away with a subtle expression.
His feelings about "Wasteland L" are probably somewhere between "Stop talking nonsense" and "There's a long way to go".
To put it simply, he did not completely regard this game as a complete world, but he also did not fully enter the mentality of the game.
Therefore, he will not use his own moral standards to evaluate the gaming behavior of other players in the game, nor will things in the game affect his feelings in real life.
But next time I call him, he thinks he will probably refuse.
Looking at the man in front of him and the chips in his box, Fang Chang was silent for a while, and suddenly sighed as if he had figured something out.
"If I were in Stellaris, I could put an entire planet in a can and I wouldn't feel guilty."
"But for some games, if I take a can from the old man's house, I will be in a mixed mood for a long time."
The strong man was stunned for a moment, staring at the man in front of him and frowning.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
He couldn't understand what this guy said at all. It didn't seem to be a language he was familiar with.
He only felt that there was something vaguely wrong with the atmosphere of the man in front of him.
Fang Chang didn't pay attention to him, and didn't care at all about his small movements of moving his feet. He was still talking to himself in words he couldn't understand.
"nothing."
"I just suddenly felt...doing business with people like you will make me unable to eat tonight."
Standing behind Fang Chang, Lao Bai, who had a complicated expression before, finally showed a cheerful smile on his face.