This Game Is Too Real -
Chapter 368 "Method
Chapter 368: Chapter 368 "Method
"Sell the parts we replace?"
When he heard Old Na’s suggestion on the phone, Fang Chang was completely stunned.
What kind of bizarre behavior was this??
"...That’s right! Anyway, if we don’t sell it, we’ll just end up burying it, such a waste! Think about it, after all, they’re organs of Awakeners, being three times more expensive than those of a normal person isn’t too much, right?"
On the phone, Elena vividly described the business plan she learned from some newbie.
Leaning on the sofa, Fang Chang pressed his index finger against his forehead and pondered for a while before saying,
"But... for organ transplants, don’t we have to consider compatibility?"
Elena giggled and said,
"I know, but it’s not real life, it’s the Game, and they’ve even created bionic organs, so they should be able to resolve rejection issues, right?"
Fang Chang: "..."
Fuck?
Now that you mention it...
That does seem to make some sense?
He had prematurely brought his real-life experiences into consideration.
However, after all, this is the Game world, and the setting is the year 2341.
A future even further away than 2077...
Maybe compatibility really isn’t an issue?
Three days to resurrect once.
Making twenty to thirty thousand silver coins each time.
What kind of business could be so profitable?
The only limitation, perhaps, is that there aren’t enough tycoons in Giant Stone City.
The more Fang Chang thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, so he decided to talk to the black market merchant who sold bionic prosthetics. Right then, he said on the phone,
"I’ll ask around and see."
Elena excitedly said, "Alright! I’ll have them freeze the kidneys first!"
The phone call ended.
Fang Chang got up from the sofa, left the Alliance Office in Giant Stone City without another word, and headed to the residential area on the edge of the industrial district.
The familiar alleys.
Mannequins hidden in the shadows of shop windows, as usual, scared the unlucky ones who accidentally passed by, but Fang Chang was already accustomed to their tricks, and he walked straight into the suspicious clinic without a second glance.
Lifting the curtain, he entered the farthest room and saw the balding middle-aged doctor pacing back and forth, seemingly troubled by something.
When he saw Fang Chang come in, Grey West’s eyes lit up instantly, and he promptly showed a warmth different from before, hurrying over to greet him.
"You’ve come at just the right time, my friend."
Fang Chang looked at him curiously.
"What’s wrong?"
"Nothing much, just saying hello," Grey West said with an embarrassed smile, glancing behind Fang Chang as he asked, "What about that girl, what’s her name? Why didn’t she come with you?"
"It’s work time now, she has her own job to do..." Seeing Grey West clearly had something to say, Fang Chang cut to the chase and asked, "Just tell me what’s going on."
Seeing his thoughts exposed, Grey West no longer beat around the bush and chuckled before speaking.
"I have an inappropriate request to trouble you with."
Anticipating a quest trigger, Fang Chang asked.
"What’s the request?"
"Didn’t the corporate delegation just visit North Suburb? One of my big clients wants a bionic kidney produced by Ideal City, but he has no way to get it."
As he spoke, Grey West’s eyes shone eagerly.
"Do you have a way to get that?"
"Bionic prosthetics from Ideal City... that stuff isn’t cheap," Fang Chang recalled glancing at the price, a kidney would cost 600,000 silver coins.
Just from a cost-benefit perspective, it’s completely not worth it, at least 50% of that price is "brand premium".
But Grey West didn’t care at all, still looking at him with eager eyes.
"I know, but aren’t you a Resident of the refuge? Don’t you guys have an internal discount?"
"How could we have such a thing." Fang Chang rolled his eyes.
An internal discount, as if.
They should count their blessings that the game’s planners don’t charge them extra!
To deal with end-game value inflation and prevent the economic gap between players from becoming too great, the planners were willing to do anything it takes.
But objectively speaking, this wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
After all, if not for these actions, with everyone’s warehouse stacked with tens of millions of units of silver coins, it wouldn’t make the game more fun, it would just render the silver coins completely meaningless.
"Alright... even if it’s not cheap, give me a quote."
"One million silver coins," Fang Chang said without even a change in his expression.
"One million?!" Grey West’s eyes bulged, looking at him in disbelief, "Are you joking?"
Expecting such a reaction, Fang Chang continued.
"Don’t get excited, I’m talking about silver coins, you just need to pay me 500,000 chips."
Grey West calmed down.
Five hundred thousand chips...
Thinking about it, it wasn’t unacceptable.
After all, a bionic liver produced by Giant Stone City would cost up to twenty million chips.
A bionic liver produced by Ideal City...
Being delivered across a vast expanse of Wasteland, a 50-times price hike actually seemed cheap by comparison.
Even at one million chips, it’s likely someone would be interested.
With that thought, he no longer hesitated and nodded his head emphatically.
"Deal!"
"But I have a condition, cash on delivery, I want to see the goods before I make the payment!"
The prompt agreement made Fang Chang wonder if the price he had set was too low.
However, having already agreed, it wouldn’t be right for him to go back on his word.
He could always raise the price next time.
"No problem. By the way, I have another proposal, are you interested?" Fang Chang asked.
"What proposal?" Grey West looked at him and asked.
A smile appeared on Fang Chang’s face as he explained the purpose of his visit.
"The bionic prosthetics produced by Ideal City are expensive, not affordable for everyone. I also have a batch of... uh, Awakeners’ organs, would that interest you?"
"Awakeners’ organs?" Grey West was stunned for a moment, watching the man in front of him with an odd expression.
"Exactly, whether it’s eyes, livers, kidneys... or whatever, I have ways to acquire them. They might not compare to bionic prosthetics, but they are absolutely natural."
Grey West sighed, interrupting Fang Chang.
"That stuff won’t fetch a good price."
Fang Chang frowned.
"Why not?"
Grey West replied succinctly.
"While solving the problem of rejection isn’t difficult, people who can afford bionic bodies would never consider using living parts. Humans are a precise machine, yet the parts in this machine do not serve efficiency."
"Moreover, producing living organs is much simpler than creating bionic ones, just create a mentally castrated clone and harvest at will; it’s not troublesome at all."
Grey West commented nonchalantly with a shocking statement.
In fact, this wasn’t really something unusual.
The things forbidden in the Prosperity Epoch could be done in the Wasteland Era. Cloning itself was not a complex technology, and both slave trading and organ dealing had long formed a mature industry chain in Giant Stone City.
Fang Chang stared blankly at the guy.
He suddenly realized.
This Game wasn’t just playing with players.
The NPCs were brutal too.
Seeing that Fang Chang remained silent, Grey West paused before continuing,
"...However, if you can get hands on some kidneys with strong metabolic functions or eyes with exceptional optical abilities, I would be willing to buy them. Might be of interest to some Mercenaries... though the price might disappoint you."
Fang Chang immediately asked.
"How much will you give?"
"For a kidney..."
Grey West indicated with two fingers.
"2000 chips seems reasonable."
"2000?!" Fang Chang exclaimed, looking at him, suddenly cautious, "You’re not trying to con me, are you?"
Grey West laughed.
"Conning? Then go sell to someone else, see if anyone else is willing to buy."
He clearly wasn’t as enthusiastic about the parts of Awakeners as he had been earlier.
Seeing that the guy didn’t seem to be lying, Fang Chang didn’t say much more.
Mainly because he didn’t know anyone else who would buy this stuff.
Forget it.
Even a mosquito’s weight in flesh is still flesh.
chips could be exchanged for 4000 silver coins, and when converted to RMB, at least another zero could be added.
Logging off for two days could earn 4000 silver.
There ought to be some body constitution brothers willing to cooperate.
"I’ll get the bionic liver produced by Ideal City for you, as well as the organs of the Awakeners. Get your chips ready, we’ll have the cash on delivery in a week."
"No problem, by the way, how many parts of Awakeners do you have?" Grey West asked crisply.
Fang Chang smiled faintly.
"As many as you want, this will be an ongoing business."
Grey West was stunned, staring blankly at the man in front of him, his eyes filled with indescribable weirdness.
He had expected just one or two, so hadn’t taken it seriously, but he didn’t expect this guy to offer as many as needed.
And he planned on a long-term cooperation?
Were Awakeners some kind of leeks growing in fields?
Where on earth could he find so many Awakeners?!
"Then prepare 20 kidneys for me first," Grey West joked.
He thought the man before him would have a hard time with the request, but to his surprise, the man agreed without hesitation.
"No problem."
"Just twenty, that’ll be easy!"
...
"Isn’t this a bit too much?"
Browsing through the forum via VM, Chu Guang’s face revealed a bemused expression.
Well done.
These people had already started to solicit "parts" on the forums.
Of course, it was the parts in the Game.
Transactions that violate the laws and regulations of users’ localities are also forbidden from being discussed on the forums.
"Master, should we remove the post? (°⌓°)" A small window popped up at the top of the VM screen, the message was from Xiao Qi.
Chu Guang pondered for a moment and replied.
"No need."
Selling one’s own parts was within the rules, anyway, death penalties were borne by the players themselves.
Of course, this operation was limited to players who could respawn; ordinary residents were prohibited from such actions.
The shelter’s active materials were no longer in such short supply. Just ten Eaters could provide a unit of active material, and after level 10, it just doubled.
However, even though Chu Guang rarely interfered directly with the players’ game progress, preferring to focus on rule-making, he still spent some time keeping an eye on what players were doing.
On the one hand, it satisfied his own curiosity.
On the other hand, he wanted to see if there were any loopholes in the rules so he could promptly fix any exploits.
He might not always know what the NPCs were up to, but as far as the players’ activities were concerned, he could say he knew them like the back of his hand.
Even without using the "backdoors" in the vm and many peripherals, he could trace relevant clues from posts on the official website.
Although not every player visited the forum, those with a strong presence could hardly resist the temptation to show off there.
Chu Guang shut off the screen and turned his gaze forward; they had arrived at their destination.
The gates of Shelter No. 101 were just ahead, the gear-like giant doors identical to those of Shelter No. 404.
At that moment, following beside Chu Guang were ten soldiers from the Guards Corps.
And there was Hoene, the mayor of Camp 101.
However, Hoene did not lead him to the giant doors but took him to a tent not far away and handed him a pair of glasses.
These glasses looked a bit like AR glasses, but the dark lenses were completely opaque to light.
Chu Guang took the glasses and examined them before looking at the old man called Hoene.
"Can I just put these glasses on?"
Hoene nodded respectfully.
"Yes, esteemed Manager, sir."
Chu Guang then turned to Lu Bei, who was standing steadfastly by his side.
"You wait for me at the door."
Lu Bei was momentarily taken aback and hesitated slightly.
"But sir..."
Sitting down on a chair nearby, Chu Guang was not inclined to explain.
"That’s an order."
Lu Bei fell silent for a while and ultimately saluted military-style before turning and leaving the tent.
As he also left the room, Hoene glanced at the young man and said softly,
"Don’t worry, it’s just a VR headset, we would never do anything to threaten the security of you Managers."
Lu Bei said nothing.
He too believed it unlikely that these people would do anything harmful to the Manager.
He simply couldn’t trust this unseen person—the Manager of Shelter No. 101.
The soldier standing next to him felt the same.
His face was stiff as he spoke in a rigid tone,
"It had better be."
If anything were to happen to the Manager, he swore he would level this place.
So what if it was a shelter?
Can’t blow the door open?
Then blow up the entire tunnel and seal this place with concrete!
...
After the door closed,
Chu Guang fiddled with the glasses for a while and then placed them on his nose bridge.
Surprisingly, no images appeared on the dark lenses.
Instead, the moment he closed his eyes, colorful ripples spread from his brow across his surroundings, pulling his senses and a vast amount of information into unity.
After only a moment of disorientation, when Chu Guang opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a completely different world.
Birds were chirping amongst fragrant flowers, trees provided ample shade, and people walked and laughed along a path paved with red bricks.
There stood a statue in the distance, but since it was back-facing him, he couldn’t see its face.
This place seemed to be a park.
Chu Guang stared blankly at everything before him, murmuring to himself as if in a dream,
"...What is this?"
Just then, a voice came from behind him.
"Welcome to Shelter No. 101."
Hearing this, Chu Guang immediately turned around, only to see a stranger standing there.
The man was of average height and subtly thin, with a face that would blend unnoticed into a crowd, yet his smile possessed a unique warmth.
Most distinctive were his eyes, deep as the ocean, seemingly with the power to see through everything.
He was holding a girl’s hand who appeared to be his daughter.
However, she only inherited his eye color, not the jet-black lustre of his hair.
Chu Guang suddenly felt the girl looked somewhat familiar, but only slightly so.
"Daddy?" the girl looked up at the man beside her and said in a crisp voice, "Is he your friend?"
"In a manner of speaking."
The man lightly patted the girl’s hand and spoke in a gentle voice.
"Go to your mother and tell her I’ll be there soon."
The girl nodded, sensibly let go of her father’s hand, and ran towards the crowd.
As Chu Guang watched her figure vanish into the crowd, he frowned subconsciously.
"Is it alright to let a child walk alone like that?"
The man seemed to hear something amusing and chuckled.
"There’s no need to worry; there are no crimes here."
A contemplative expression crossed Chu Guang’s face as he suddenly stamped his right foot.
The tingling sensation from the sole of his foot, along with the unmoving red brick, everything felt as real as it could be.
Nevertheless, he could still sense a slight discordance.
Because if this had been reality, with his strength, the floor tile under his foot would have already shattered.
"Is this the virtual world?"
A look of admiration appeared on the man’s face.
"It’s just like you, I was just wondering how many seconds it would take for you to realize."
Hearing this seemingly meaningful statement, Chu Guang couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows slightly.
"You seem to know me?"
The man nodded, saying cheerfully.
"Hmm... although I’ve only known you for a few seconds, it’s really good to see you."
Chu Guang didn’t understand what was so good about it.
And that man obviously didn’t explain the meaning of his words, but continued to say on his own.
"Let me introduce myself, you can call me... Method, this is the signature I most commonly use in my papers, and it’s how my friends always refer to me."
Method?
Chu Guang frowned slightly, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.
Wait...
Could it be the "Method" from the Academy?
He remembered that a long time ago, Yin Fang had told him about the three founders of the Academy: Principle, Method, and Conclusion.
Previously, in that abandoned virtual image, he had met Doctor Principle. In his memory, the man was an optimistic idealist who later went to the River Valley Province Northern Part and participated in the formation of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee...
Quite something.
He hadn’t yet visited the Wandering Swamp, but he had already met two of the founders of the Academy.
However, what Chu Guang couldn’t figure out was...
"Why would the founder of the Academy be here?"
"The Academy... such a nostalgic name."
Those azure pupils seemed to fall into a reminiscence of the past, but soon, it was submerged in a light smile.
"However, I’m not that great. The Academy wasn’t founded by me; it already existed in the distant Prosperity Epoch, I just devoted a little bit of time to help my friends rebuild it in the new world."
"As for why I’m here..."
Doctor Method paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating how to answer.
"The question is a bit strange, but I can feel what you want to ask. Simply put, not all shelters were activated during the three-year war; some began operating after the war ended."
Chu Guang thoughtfully said.
"So, you mean to say... you came here after founding the Academy?"
"Sort of, but that was all a very long time ago, I almost forgot about it until you mentioned it."
With that, the man switched to a cheerful tone.
"I’m very grateful that you took the time out of your busy schedule to satisfy the curiosity of an insignificant person like me. My confusion was answered the moment I saw you."
"My VM has already been given to Hoene, he will hand it over to you later."
Chu Guang watched him silently, then suddenly spoke.
"On the contrary to you, my confusion has only increased since I met you."
Doctor Method smiled gently and replied courteously.
"It would be my honor to clarify your doubts. You may ask me anything that’s puzzling you."
Chu Guang smiled.
"Really? Then I have a lot of things I’d like to ask, such as... who is our enemy?"
This was a question he had pondered for over a year, ever since he first woke up.
"Enemy..." Doctor Method thought for a while about this question, "Two centuries ago, we did have some disagreements with our kin from South Gate Two, but I don’t see them as our enemies."
As expected.
A look of realization flashed in Chu Guang’s eyes.
The books gathered from Shelter No. 117 had mentioned methods of "spacecraft jumping between massive celestial bodies," clearly indicating that the people of the Prosperity Epoch had mastered the technology related to FTL engines.
The Mind Interference Technology preserved in Shelter No. 117 also came from exchanges with the colonies.
Various signs pointed to the fact that long before the Prosperity Epoch, the United Human had already stepped beyond the Solar System and had at least established one colony.
Doctor Method’s statement corroborated some of his speculation.
But what he hadn’t expected was that the war would break out between the homeworld and a colony?
He had thought it would involve extraterrestrial civilizations, like how over-expansion might have alerted the "Degenerate Empire."
However, what surprised Chu Guang the most wasn’t these events, but the reaction of the man before him.
Letting war obliterate an era.
Chu Guang always felt that he seemed a bit too calm.
"... even though your world has become like this?"
Doctor Method nodded, speaking in a casual tone.
"Yes, the war was merely the final reckoning. The seeds of conflict and dissent had been sown long ago and it made no difference whether they sprouted today or tomorrow. There are many complex reasons involved, none of which can be explained in just a few words."
"We tried to prevent it, including my respected mentor, many people made great efforts during their lives."
"But in the face of history’s course, the power of one or two individuals seems far too insignificant."
"Upon realizing that everything was irreparable, the only thing we could do was to preserve as many seeds as possible for future generations, leaving behind a glimmer of hope in the midst of the irreparable."
"... or rather, leaving behind a possibility for the future."
The voice was soft, as if drifting from a faraway place yet right before him.
Observing his "passive" attitude, Chu Guang couldn’t help but say.
"Haven’t you ever thought about making a change?"
As if anticipating Chu Guang’s words, Doctor Method smiled again.
"How do you know I haven’t done anything?"
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