I am most afraid of the sudden silence of the air.

Looking at Ye Shi and Lao Bai, whose expressions were becoming more and more subtle, Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"Say whatever you want, or I'll be embarrassed."

You know embarrassment!!

Ye Shi roared in his heart, and his toes had already been cut out of his shoes.

This guy is the first NPC to appear since the opening of the closed beta server.

At the same time, he is also the most NPC-like person in the entire game.

Previously, they also wondered why the operator had upgraded the intelligence of all NPCs, but not the intelligence of the original NPC...... never thought that this guy was a real person from the beginning.

Of course, the video released by Dr. Principle later proves that the other NPCs are also real people.

Ye Shi coughed lightly, breaking the silence between the three of them, making an indifferent expression, and said with a smile.

"It's okay...... I'm not the most embarrassed, at most I just say a few things. ”

Some players will treat this guy as a tree hole and talk about something real-life.

After all, this guy is the only one who can understand the player's speech from the setting, and he is the manager of the alliance, so he is far away from anyone's daily life, like someone from another world entirely.

Again, you can't soak in such a high favorability, you have to be useful, right?

There are also "pragmatists" who think of him as a diary with such thoughts.

Anyway, these guys are probably already embarrassed to kill themselves now.

If it weren't for the fact that they couldn't defeat this monster, they would have already done it, right?

Looking at Ye Shi who was smiling and laughing, Chu Guang understood what the embarrassment he was talking about.

In fact, this is also the reason why he hasn't shown his face in the "closed test suit" in the past few days.

emmm……

What do you say?

It's really not easy to face.

It's better to give his cute little players a little time to work on their toe muscles.

"So...... Are you Ah Guang? The Ah Guang in the group? ”

Lao Bai's reaction was relatively normal, just talking to him very ordinarily, just like an ordinary young man who couldn't let go of the large online game guild when he first went offline.

"Yes." Chu Guang smiled faintly, and looked at him to make a joke with an active atmosphere, "Don't be so restrained, we have known each other for so many years, and we used to play chicken together." By the way, it's a rare opportunity, do you want to form a team together? ”

"I'm okay with that." While speaking, Lao Bai had already sent the invitation to form a team.

All three of them entered the team and switched their voices to a team channel that only their teammates could hear.

He thought that Chu Guang was going to whisper something to them, but when he saw the latter's eager expression, it was as if he really just wanted to play a game.

However, Lao Bai was only surprised for a while, and soon he was relieved.

Hide from all the people you know, carry that huge mission alone, and gradually understand everything in the process......

What Night Ten saw was only the embarrassment floating in the skin, but what he saw was the ash exhaustion left after the candle flame had burned out.

And this heavy weight is equal to the glory on its shoulders.

He may have been really tired.

The old diphtheria moved, and a smile appeared on his face.

"How about the LV5 leech hole? I've heard it's more suitable for beginners...... By the way, how many levels are you? ”

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"Me? Haha, I just finished the beginner tutorial, of course, it's LV3 like you...... Looks like the night ten belt is taking the two of us. ”

Ye Shi couldn't help but complain.

"Gan! You're a dog planner, and it's not a matter of moving your fingers how many levels you want. ”

Chu Guang smiled faintly, shook his head and said.

"That's different, although it is not impossible for me to directly upgrade to the full level, the game loses the meaning of the game."

Ye Shi couldn't help but complain.

"What's the point of that?"

"How could it not be?" Chu Guang smiled and said in a mocking tone, "For example...... Did you get together with Xiao Jiang because of your psionic abilities, or because of the things you experienced together during your adventures? ”

Ye Shi looked to the side embarrassedly, not knowing if he thought of something, and suddenly blushed and couldn't speak.

Lao Bai thought seriously for a while, looked at Chu Guang thoughtfully and said.

"So...... That's why you selectively kept the truth about Project 404? ”

"Yes," Chu Guang nodded, simply admitting this, "I not only selectively reserved many things for you, but also selectively reserved a lot for myself. ”

Night Ten wondered.

"Why? Wouldn't it be better for everyone to face it together after confessing? Including open and honest cooperation—"

"That's the ideal situation, the reality is 1/776 of a failure...... It's not that I haven't tried the methods you envisioned, but they didn't produce the desired results. As for why, there are many reasons. ”

Looking at this naïve young man, Chu Guang used the most relaxed tone to understate those imperfect endings.

After seeing 776 BEs, he had the most emotion, that is, never produce "as long as ...... will ......".

Every year in the Wasteland Era, the survivors living in the wasteland face unprecedented conditions.

Lao Bai said thoughtfully.

"'If I tell you what's going on, nothing will happen,' right?"

"That's right." Chu Guang nodded with a smile, and a glint of appreciation appeared in his eyes.

"I'm a little curious about what the future holds, but it's good to think about it now...... I was suddenly less curious. Lao Bai grinned freely, looked at Chu Guang and said, "But I really didn't expect that you were actually Ah Guang...... So your name in reality is also Chu Guang? ”

Chu Guang thought for a while.

"How so? Strictly speaking, I only know you in the β universe,"

Ye Shi swallowed his saliva, suddenly remembered something, and then said.

"By the way, can you connect to the world's network in that world?"

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"Of course you can, that kind of thing is not too easy, I can even open a small line to find you face-to-face. How, would you like to invite me to dinner? ”

Faced with this shocking news, Ye Shi felt that his brain was a little confused for a while, and his hand unconsciously rested on the back of his head.

"I'll think about it...... Wait, it...... What do you mean...... People from the wasteland can come here too? ”

"And you can come and play "Reality OL" as a 'player', are you scared?"

Looking at Lao Bai and Ye Shi, who were completely stunned, Chu Guang smiled and said softly.

"So you'd better not tell anyone else, so as not to cause unnecessary panic."

He wasn't interested in raising an undead army in the β universe and then conquering the world with wasteland technology or anything...... If he did, Dr. Principle would think he was crazy.

Because there's no point in doing so.

For people in the era of the Human Union, the concept of "human civilization" has been born in their consciousness.

Especially for those who lived through the catastrophe at the end of the Age of Prosperity, they have a deeper understanding of this concept...... After all, the Holocaust destroyed everything they once had.

These special experiences doomed them to the unlikely possibility of burying the future of human civilization in order to become secular kings.

Chu Guang is the same.

However β universe is still in the course of its own history, and it is impossible to expect the contemporary nations to relax their vigilance against the "form-forming field".

It will take a little time for those who live in this universe to understand him, and to understand the similar and different human civilization behind the Void about the α universe.

The Wasteland Online open beta server is a good medium.

Until then, it's better not to make a big deal about the fact that people from α universe can descend to β universe as "immortal bodies".

As for speculation, that kind of thing never matters, it's up to each individual to come up with their own conjectures.

Anyway, there are always people who guess more than the truth.

"Doesn't this mean that you can bring the objects on the wasteland to reality......" Ye Shi muttered quietly, looking at Chu Guang's gaze gradually fiery, just like a son meeting his father-in-law.

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"Of course it is allowed, as long as a non-disclosure agreement is signed...... And that's what I've left you with for clearing the game. ”

Night Ten: "I'll sign!" I'll sign all the selling agreements! Ahem, wait, if I jump between two worlds repeatedly, doesn't that mean I can live forever?! ”

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said in a non-joking tone.

"Yes, you can, but you'd better think about it. It's another matter to borrow clones for the time being, as for the complete crossing...... I can't guarantee that after you die in this world, you will still be you in the other world. ”

The soul is an abstract thing, and it is not something that can be seen and touched.

Even if the psychic energy is awakened, it will not be able to truly capture its entity, and can only come into contact with the echoes it leaves in a specific place.

Not to mention repeated horizontal jumps.

Even if you only jump once, it is a weight that life cannot bear.

And this is the reason why many residents of Vault 404-β are hesitant to go back -

It is likely that they did not travel back, but died in this world and then reborn themselves in another universe.

It's like a droid who uploads his mind to a circuit board.

If it is to save civilization, of course they are willing to pay this high price...... After all, they all volunteered to follow the professor in Project 404.

But if it's just to get home......

It seems that there is no need to "commit suicide" either.

After all, there has been no home for them there for a long time, and at most they can only find the descendants of their descendants, or spiritual continuation.

It's not so much that they want to go back to the α universe and live a good life, but they just want to see the world that they have saved, and see the lives of the younger generations in the new era.

Strictly speaking, the β fission who inherited the identity of "Professor" did not solve the problem, but simply left the problem to the residents of Vault 404-β to think for themselves.

This is indeed something that they should think about for themselves.

However, in line with the principle of not leaving anyone with regrets, the benevolent and kind Chu Guang still came up with a compromise plan and handed it over to Dr. Principle to do.

The program was codenamed "Homecoming".

Researchers stranded in the β Universe don't have to die again, but instead lie in a special life support pod and travel to the α Universe through the form-forming field like the players.

And to go back as a player.

To be honest, Chu Guang sometimes admires himself.

Although he doesn't understand the complex technical principles, he can use his wonderful brain to play with these complex things.

In fact, in the middle of the year, he also tried to get researchers from the β Universe to jump to the α Universe, and then use similar techniques to jump back, so as to get stuck in the Void bug.

It's just a pity that the operation of this card bug was not successful, and the consciousness body seems to be able to jump only once, and it can't be infinitely fissioned in the same universe like a chain reaction.

This may also be the reason why the professor launched the β fission into multiple β universes.

Looking at Ye Shi, who fell into silence, Chu Guang continued with a smile.

"If you just want to live longer, you don't need to be so troublesome, just lie down in the culture cabin in this world and suspend the metabolism of the body in reality."

Night Ten was surprised.

"Can this be done?"

Chu Guang nodded with a smile.

"Of course you can, but it's too early for you...... After you send your relatives away, lie down in a coffin when you are old. ”

Lao Bai looked at him and continued.

"Let's not talk about us...... Do you have any plans for the future? ”

Chu Guang smiled and thought for a while.

"Me...... Maybe continue to be my game planner? I don't know, I haven't thought about things that are too far away, maybe I'll have to take some time to think about it. In short, the affairs of the Union have been gradually handed over to the citizens of the Union themselves. ”

"For now, I just want to play a game quietly"

……

"Wasteland Online" open beta server, the gate of Boulder City.

Punk-like mercenaries and wastelanders come and go in the ruin-style bazaar.

Traders dressed in the shape of dogs stood under the raunchy tin sheds and shouted, scribbled tables stocked with weapons, armor, parts, medicines, crafting materials, and all sorts of daily necessities or supplies, and iron cages on the sides held different things depending on the server.

Sometimes it's people, sometimes it's a mosaic.

In general, the modeling here is relatively reductive, whether it is the militia standing in front of the sentry post yawning, or the distant wind hotel that "comes out of the mud without staining", it is carved out of a mold like the real situation of the α world.

The only changes are the size of the Bazaar and the Slums, and the currency that is traded is no longer chips but server-wide circulating Y Coins.

Ideal City's generative AI and AI tuners have added a huge number of level 10 to 30 missions to the outer city of Boulder City.

Unbeknownst to this, they also referred to a series of works such as "Pol the Awakened" and so on, and connected these massive branch lines on a main axis called "The Great Stone Revolution", weaving a set of epic main plots and huge quest trees that spread out like wasteland.

Players can take the side of the changemakers and earn Order Points by completing a series of missions to unlock a series of landmarks including the "Daily Survivor Newspaper" and "Ruins of the Inner City", transforming the map and the spirit and appearance of the NPCs while driving change in Boulder City.

In addition to this, the player can also take the position of the inner city and stop the progress of the expansion by completing a series of missions to suppress the growth of the order score.

Or put yourself in the shoes of the wastelanders.

After paying the Golden Regiment's payment, Fang Chang went straight to the gate of Boulder City.

Maybe the programmers in Ideal City couldn't imagine why they had to pay money to enter the city, or maybe it was to take care of the players' gaming experience, the classic one-chip city entry tax was canceled, and the door was no longer closed after the sun went down, and the level 50 militia who yawned repeatedly didn't even look at him.

Without stopping for long, Fang Chang made a beeline for the Night Queen's Bar, the largest intelligence hub in the outer city of Boulder during Blackcard's reign, and where he and Dolly were still intelligence traffickers first met.

It's 8 p.m. and the bar is packed with scantily clad dancers and fungivers.

Stretching his neck to look at the bar for a while, Fang Chang's eyes followed the crowd for a long time, but he didn't see his familiar figure.

Just as he was confused, a waiter walked up to him and asked with a smile on his face.

"What do you want, sir?"

"I'll find another lady named Dolly."

"Dolly? We don't have this person here. ”

"I know, she's not your employee, she's an intelligence dealer here."

As soon as Fang Chang's words fell, the enthusiasm on his NPC's face cooled down at a speed that was visible to the naked eye.

"Ah...... Mercenaries are they? Tsk, this city is full of this kind of stuff, and I would like to remind you from the bottom of my heart, don't get in the way if you don't order alcohol. ”

Looking at the waiter who turned to leave, Fang Chang was stunned for a long time, and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment after coming back to his senses.

"The NPCs of this game are still blamed on real ......"

Maybe he was too anxious, he subconsciously regarded the NPCs in this game as real NPCs, and went straight to the point to achieve the goal, so that all the game habits he had developed in the closed beta server were left behind, but the result was counterproductive.

Think about it too.

What bar would have a good look at the "bag inquiry" who hides in his own store and snoops around on his privacy?

It's like a cockroach in the back kitchen.

Considering that there is also an ecological balance in the shadows, the staff usually just turn a blind eye, and ask directly with a fresh face, which is simply a jump.

Order a glass of wine and ask the bartender, or treat the dancers to a drink......

Fang Chang took a deep breath to calm down his impetuous brain, and walked to the bar and sat down.

"A glass...... No, two cups of lemon water......"

The bartender took one look at him, deducted 20Y coins from his account with his eyes, and then conjured two glasses of lemonade as if by magic and placed them on the bar.

Fang Chang picked up one of the cups and took a sip with his head up.

And at the same time as his cup was lowered, an emerald green shadow flickered from the corner of his eye, and the shaky fluffy ends of his hair were like fleshy in midsummer.

"You're looking for me?"

Her charming eyes were like cats, and she sat at the bar at some point, her fair cheeks leaning against the back of her metallic hands and arms.

The moment he saw that face, Fang Chang felt his gaze go into a trance, as if he had returned to many years ago.

"Dolly ......"

Excited and uncontrollable, he subconsciously stretched out his right hand, wanting to touch her hand.

However, an invisible wall of air stood between the two, and his index finger was forever separated by a centimeter, and he couldn't touch it.

The sudden movement startled Dolly, and the look on her face instantly turned into astonishment, and she jumped off the bar stool like a cat with its tail stepped on.

"Hey, hey, hey...... What are you doing here? I'm an intelligence monger, I don't do that kind of thing. ”

The bartender behind the bar still repeats the action of wiping his glasses, oblivious to the commotion in front of the bar.

The same goes for the other NPCs around.

It seems that they didn't trigger the dialogue and didn't participate in the story.

"Dolly...... I...... I see, the memories are not implemented, so they are really just a mirror image of the clones. The expression on Fang Chang's face kept changing, one moment his heart ached, the next he seemed to be relieved, or he muttered something strange.

Startled by this sick appearance, Dolly shivered and took a few steps back.

"Hey...... Do you understand human speech? I am interested in the smell of engine oil. State? Thank you for not hating my mechanical arm, but it's better to order a lady if you're in heat. ”

Fang Chang shook his head, looking at the familiar and unfamiliar face affectionately, revealing a smile that he thought was handsome enough to get goosebumps.

"I'm only interested in you. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Chief Fang, and I'm your husband—"

[Warning: Continuous non-ceremonial sexual contact, NPC "Dolly"'s current opinion -100, friendship level: disgust]

[Warning: If the friendship level is lower than neutral (-10~10), the quest cannot be triggered.] 】

When Fang Chang came back to his senses, the glass of lemonade he had ordered earlier had already been spilled on his face.

Blinking in confusion, Fang Chang looked ahead in a daze, the familiar figure had disappeared.

Let's go......

“…… Is this what it's like to fall out of love, although there is also psychological preparation, but it is still a little heart-wrenching. ”

Turning his wet bangs into his back, Fang Chang let out a long sigh of sadness, sat down on the bar stool next to him, and said to the bartender behind the bar.

"A glass of the strongest wine."

The bartender nodded silently, and after a stroke of bells and whistles, he magically slapped a crystal cup on the table, and at the same time lit the high-strength wine with a slashed match.

A light blue fox fire swaying on the crystal clear highly distilled spirit, and a spherical ice cube at the bottom of the glass resembles a work of art.

And the light blue holographic pop-up window that was convenient for the game experience of open beta players also appeared in front of Fang Chang at the same time.

[Consumption: 150Y coins]

【Obtain: Fountain of Flames】

[Description: The flames that fell from the sky conquered the burning steel, to the true warriors!] (Commemorating the Burning Corps' conquest of the Iron Heart)]

[Effect: -50% for all attributes, duration 10 minutes.] 】

[Note: Don't try it in reality.] 】

Anyway, at this point in time, the Iron Heart is still floating in Luoxia Province, right?

But that's fine.

Fang Chang smiled wistfully, inserted the iron straw in the tray into the burning flame, and drank the scorching flame and clear spirits in one gulp.

It was an amazing feeling.

It was as if he had drunk not hot liquor, but a warm fire.

“…… It's obviously a virtual reality online game, but even the feeling of drunkenness is simulated? ”

"It's the same dull feeling as the closed beta, but it always feels like something is missing."

Just as Fang Chang was carefully savoring the wonderful feeling, a familiar voice suddenly appeared in front of him.

This person is none other than others.

It is the trumpet of the big eye of debt - the small eye of the rich man.

"Fang Chief?"

Fang Chang raised his head and glanced at him in surprise.

"Why are you here?"

Hearing this question, the "big eyes" suddenly showed an embarrassed expression on his face, and he smiled.

"What do you mean I'm here, aren't you knowingly asking...... When it comes to nostalgic clothes, normal people think of the Queen of the Night Bar in Boulder City, right? ”

Since the collapse of the inner city, the bar has disappeared along with the brightly lit streets outside.

Looking at the big eyes with a "you know" expression, Fang Chang pressed his eyebrows with a little headache.

"No...... Normal people don't have such details, I think it's better for you to apologize to normal people. ”

"Okay, okay, don't talk nonsense, I know you're high," Debt Big Eye put his arm on his shoulder, leaned closer to his face and squeezed his eyebrows, "I said, aren't you curious about which is more realistic, the open beta or the closed beta?" ”

“…… Is this still curious? ”

"Normal people would be curious!"

"Hurry up and apologize to normal people!"

Seeing that this guy had obviously drunk too much, he sighed with big eyes and crossed his arms, shook his head and said.

"Don't talk about calves, you can drink here, Lao Tzu is going on an adventure."

"Go, go, go," Fang Chang made a driving motion, and suddenly looked up as if he thought of something, and called out to Big Eye, who was about to walk to the second floor, "By the way, have you turned on the accelerator?" ”

Big eyes were stunned.

"Accelerators? What is that? Isn't it possible to wear a helmet and play? ”

Fang Chang's eyes suddenly changed from disgust to love, and even his tone softened a lot.

"It's nothing, it's okay."

Debt-oriented eyes: "......? ”