This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 416: Beta 0.4 Update Preview: "Oceanic Trade" System!

Chapter 416: Chapter 416: Beta 0.4 Update Preview: "Oceanic Trade" System!

"Today’s Big News: Controlled Fusion Reactor Successfully Ignited in West State City! The Alliance is about to Enter the Fusion Era!"

"Dawn City Lord, Jiu Li: Residential and Industrial Electricity Free for One Week! After a week, the price will be adjusted to 30% of the original. Everyone is welcome to set up factories in the new Industrial Zone of Dawn City!"

"Dawn City Weapon Shop: Newly stocked with 200 sets of ’Miner I/II Type’ Exoskeletons and 500 G9 ’Black Swan’ Assault Rifles. Enterprise series weapons will remove purchase restrictions, and more high-tech weapons will be available for reservation via VM once stock runs out. Negotiations for power armor imports are underway, so stay tuned!"

"..."

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

The forum today was as lively as ever.

Especially a few freshly released announcements, which completely ignited the enthusiasm of the players, rapidly becoming the focus of heated discussions—

"Damn, controllable nuclear fusion?!"

"Shocked, weren’t you guys just playing with mud last year? How did you move to nuclear fusion already?!"

"From primitive smelting to nuclear fusion in just one year... this is just too freaking magical!"

"Wondering who the big shot behind this great achievement is, I bow to them!"

"Just asking, this is 100% real in the game, right? Can the same method be used in real life to make one?"

"Damn, still in the post-internet era, and some people take the developers’ advertisements seriously? Better get some ’brain gold’ quick!"

"Not scientific, way too unscientific!"

The topic of controllable nuclear fusion ignition had much more heat on the "Wasteland OL" forum than the clamor in the pubs among the Alliance residents.

After all, for residents of the wasteland, nuclear fusion was something they had once possessed, and although nearly forgotten, it seemed there wasn’t much to be excited about.

However—

For the sand sculpture netizens on Earth, the significance was entirely different.

This legendary item, only existing in fantasies, the distance between them and it, wasn’t merely the last step.

Even if it appeared in a movie, it had to be labeled as science fiction.

Not to mention how to use it for generating electricity, whether it would work or fit hadn’t even been conclusively decided.

If it were just an ordinary science fiction-themed game, the inclusion of controllable nuclear fusion wouldn’t be that surprising.

This wasn’t even the darkest of technologies.

However, the selling point of "Wasteland OL" was its realism; so real that just a year ago, the area outside the shelters was still wasteland, and players testing the open beta had to build their own houses and make cement brick by brick to start constructing their Novice Village.

And now, the technology of controllable fusion had been released.

It was quite astonishing!

With no threshold for posting, the chat section of the forum was filled almost every second, and the most frequent posts were either asking for beta access or for pictures.

All languages were present.

Discussions in the beta players’ communication section were plenty, but "electricity price exemption" wasn’t as appealing as "lifting restrictions on enterprise series weapons."

Last year in the Alpha version, the G9 "Black Swan" assault rifles were part of a lottery event prize pool.

Not just the G9 assault rifles now.

Holographic sights, night vision goggles, thermal imaging scopes, and even more sci-fi life-signal detectors and a series of high-tech weapon accessories were now purchasable from NPC shops!

This was definitely going to sell like crazy!

Thus, aside from a few sand sculptures showing off in the chat section and the reserved players, only the players with lifestyle careers were seriously discussing the impact of controllable fusion technology on the Alliance.

Stir-Fried Tomatoes and Eggs: "Just one controllable fusion reactor seems to have enough impact for a new version."

Less Nonsense: "+1, alas, NPCs truly are the primary productive force! T.T"

Kill God: "You can’t say that. Advanced production technology is important, but so are production theories and methods, and these are different dimensions. Controllable nuclear fusion just opened up the bottleneck of energy, the Alliance’s use of energy hasn’t reached its limit yet. There’s still a lot to consider."

Levin with Athlete’s Foot: "+1, Our steelmaking technology has only developed to the three-phase electric arc furnace. Even with nuclear fusion, there’s still a long way to go."

Quiet Please, I’m Bron: "Ah, if only we could get a reactor like this in real life!"

Night Ten: "Good grief, if we pulled this off in real life, we’d go straight from version 0.9 to 1.0. (Funny)"

Makabazi: "Ah Guang: If I were that awesome, would I still be making games? Wouldn’t it be nicer to be an academician? (Funny)"

WC, There’s Really a Mosquito: "Haha, be a bit more confident; if it really could be done in real life, why not just give you a special title? (Sneer)"

Wild Wind: "Deuterium-Tritium fusion might still have some hope, but that pure Helium-3 fusion in the game... forget about it. (Sideways glance)"

As controllable fusion technology was beyond everyone’s knowledge scope, the topic on the player communication board quickly shifted from the reactor itself to the "electricity price exemption" event.

Previously, the Alliance’s electrical grid mainly depended on burning wood and coal among other methods of generating electricity, although there were a few using wind and solar energy, but none were cheap.

And they suffered power cuts every now and then.

Now, with the breakthrough in controllable fusion technology, the new and old industrial zones of the Alliance no longer had to worry about energy issues, not only would industrial costs further decrease, but the demand for electrical consumer goods would also rise.

For players with lifestyle careers, this was an epic enhancement!

Just when players were discussing what kind of factories to open, a new announcement popped up on the official website.

This time, not just for lifestyle career players.

The whole forum boiled over...

...

Real World.

In the bedroom of a certain house.

Fang Chang, lying flat on his bed, opened his eyes to the sound of cicadas and the hustle and bustle of traffic from outside the window, but did not get up from the bed right away.

Whenever he saw "Connection Disconnected" floating in a pitch-dark field of vision, a feeling of emptiness, as if being hollowed out, involuntarily surged in his heart.

And this feeling had been particularly intense lately.

Even if it was just logging off normally...

He sat up from the bed.

After taking off the helmet and placing it on the bedside table, Fang Chang picked up his mobile phone to check the time and muttered quietly.

"It’s already this late..."

Actually, there was no need to look; he could figure it out.

There was a twelve-hour difference between the game world and the real world; he had logged off at midnight in the wasteland time, so naturally, it was noon in the real world.

Usually, he would wake up around eight o’clock, go downstairs for breakfast, take a jog in the park, see if he needed to swing by the Niubi Company, or browse the Forum and write a strategy guide, then plan tomorrow’s schedule...

However, recently, his disciplined life had seen a slight change, and he would procrastinate getting up from the game until late.

Like today.

He could directly have lunch upon waking...

Finally dragging himself out of bed, Fang Chang walked to the window and drew back the curtains, letting the scorching sun flood the room.

Squinting his sleepy eyes, he went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and scooped up some cold water to splash on his face, trying to wake himself up.

The cold droplets rolled down his Adam’s apple to his collarbone, seeping into his loose collar. He instinctively reached for his neck, and his index finger hesitated slightly over his throat.

There wasn’t a single trace there.

The intense burning sensation that had lingered there minutes ago felt like an illusion...

A flicker of confusion passed through his eyes.

But it was only a momentary lapse; as he splashed his face with water again, the confusion quickly vanished.

Looking at the slightly gaunt face in the mirror, and the water droplets dripping from his bangs, Fang Chang suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

"Is this what they call an internet addiction?"

Or maybe...

Online love?

But it felt odd to describe it that way.

He knew that world was just a set of codes running on a server.

That’s why he was able to stay awake and rational all the time, thinking of strategies even in dire situations, unlike Old White, who was too impulsive and sentimental, or Night Ten, who couldn’t differentiate between virtual and reality due to indecisiveness.

But now.

It was him who had become the most irrational one...

Just then, his bedroom phone rang.

While brushing his teeth, Fang Chang walked over, picked up the phone, and saw it was Night Ten—or rather, that scoundrel Ye Wei.

They had been friends in the game for a long time, though they had never met in the real world. He had always kept Old White and the others’ contacts in his phone.

Pressing the answer button, he held the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Damn, you finally woke up! It’s been so hard trying to reach you... What’s in your mouth?"

"Toothbrush," Fang Chang rolled his eyes, his words muffled, "Hurry up with whatever it is, I’m hanging up if it’s more nonsense."

"All right, all right, no kidding, did you check the official website?"

"Official website?" Fang Chang paused slightly, then recalled, "That new equipment update?"

He had seen the announcement on VM, but company equipment wasn’t very appealing to a T0 ladder player like him, so he hadn’t paid much attention.

By the time he went to sleep, he had taken off his wrist computer, and hadn’t kept up with any messages. Was there a new announcement?

Thinking this, his expression turned a bit odd.

Ah Guang getting diligent?

Night Ten’s complaint confirmed his guess.

"That was hours ago! There’s a new announcement on the official website! The East Coast map has been created!"

The East Coast map?!

Fang Chang immediately responded.

"Oh, I’ll check it out in a bit."

"Don’t just ’oh’ me, hurry up, waiting for your guide!"

"Stop rushing me, I’m on it."

He hung up in haste.

Fang Chang returned to the bathroom, spat out the mouthwash, tossed down his toothbrush and cup, and quickly headed to his study. Sitting at his desk, he pressed the power button on the computer case.

Logged onto the official website.

Indeed, he saw the freshly posted announcement.

[Beta0.4 Version Forefront: "Overseas Trading" System!]

Ah Guang: "Hello everyone, I’m your beloved planner Ah Guang. After sacrificing over two thousand programmers, we finally welcomed the heavenly Beta0.4 version. In this new version, more forces will join the stage of the Wasteland, posing both opportunities and challenges for the newborn Alliance!"

"To bring everyone a better gaming experience and to fix more bugs, we are launching a limited-time event—sending a sincere gift to our distant friends!"

"For more information, please see the event details page. In addition, we will select two lucky players from those who sign up to provide plane tickets to Ideal City to participate in testing the new map!"

"Have fun playing!"

[Limited-time Event Launch: Prepare a sincere gift for our East Coast allies!]

[Event Details:

1. Gift Requirements: Both life professional players and combat professional players can participate. The gift can feature specialties of the New Alliance, or you can unleash your creativity and base it on best-selling real-world products, making sure it’s polite, simple yet not sloppy, and ideally showcasing the rich spiritual and cultural heritage of the Alliance residents!

2. Event Rewards: The most popular gift among the residents of Ideal City will not only earn a massive expansion-pack score but also a million-level entrepreneurial support from the Alliance Bank!

3. Additionally: Seeking two skilled bodyguards/sales representatives (testers) to escort the Alliance’s Messenger on a plane trip to Ideal City, required contribution level of higher citizen rank!]

Below the event announcement, in the comments section.

Tail: "Two updates a day!! Giao!"

Quit smoking: "Another chance to score some goodies? (Excited)"

Construction Youth and Bricks: "Black silk! Oh, no, artworks! We should send more artworks to our old friends! (Amused)"

Debt Giant Eye: "How about putting Crow in black silk and sending her over to preach—oh, I mean to spread the word. (Amused)"

Crow: "Roll away!!"

Makabazi: "Roll away?! What’s that?! Sounds thrilling. (Nosebleed)"

Crow:

Elena: "(Funny fear limited edition.jpg)"

After scrolling through the entire thread, a look of surprise appeared on Fang Chang’s face.

Has the East Coast map been finished already?!

This development speed is quite impressive.

"...Province of Yúnjiánxíng, it should be about 3000 kilometers away from River Valley Province, right?"

The map of "Wasteland OL" was almost presented on a 1:1 scale in the game world, which meant all the mountains, rivers, and survivor settlements within these 3000 kilometers were all created?!

Fang Chang felt a wave of excitement and immediately opened the event page.

However, as he was about to sign up, his index finger hovering over the mouse hesitated slightly, and his pounding heart slowly eased its rhythm.

kilometers...

This trip, who knows how long it would take.

...

Waste World.

Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, sitting in the browsing room and staring at the computer screen, had a satisfied smile on his face.

Earlier in the day, he had successfully persuaded Yi Chuan to have the return flight bring a gift from the Alliance to Ideal City.

However, he hadn’t really decided what to send at that time.

Until an hour ago, he was still racking his brain over this issue.

But as he turned on the computer and prepared to gather some ideas from the forum, he suddenly saw players enthusiastically discussing how to maximize the value of controllable nuclear fusion technology.

At that moment, Chu Guang slapped his forehead.

Why bother thinking about this when there’s ready labor to exploit?

As a game planner, making games was secondary, creating a creative workshop was the real work.

Smart players not only help fix bugs and adjust values but also update mods for free.

When there’s no new content, just copy a player’s mod, and there’s your next DLC!

Realizing he had wasted an hour of his life, Chu Guang no longer hesitated and immediately opened a document, posting another announcement right after the last limited-time event.

Want to experience the new map ahead of time?

Want to take a look at the legendary Ideal City?

Whoever has the worst ideas gets the ticket!

Seeing the increasingly exaggerated smile on Chu Guang’s face, Xiao Qi, sitting at the desk, asked with some concern,

"Master, is it really okay to let the players decide such an important matter?"

Realizing his facial expression was overly extravagant, Chu Guang coughed lightly and regained his genteel and amiable smile.

"I’ll make sure to do the final checks."

Gently stroking the doll’s hair with his index finger, he said with a confident tone,

"Don’t worry, it definitely won’t be a problem!"

...

Overnight.

In the business district north of Dawn City, the second day’s sunrise greeted the area.

Stepping through the morning dew, two bionic humans wearing silver cloaks stopped in front of Vine Cottage.

One of the bionic humans looked up at the sign on the door and suddenly said,

"Sunset, found it!"

Sunset did not speak; her face devoid of expressive changes was either just emotionless or clueless.

"Excuse me, do you need any help?"

Noticing the activity at the door, Hua Hua, who was yawning, greeted the visitors while stepping out of the shop.

However, the moment her eyes fell on the faces of the two, she froze.

Bionics?

"Your clothes!"

Frost looked at her intently and said without hesitation, "For a civilization that is indeed dwindling, please hand over the clothes you are wearing to us."

Hua Hua’s face turned red and she stood there, baffled and unsure of what to say.

Just then, a lazy voice floated from behind the open door.

"What’s wrong, Hua Hua?"

Hearing her boss’s voice, Hua Hua finally snapped back to reality, turned her blushing face towards the inside of the door, and stammered,

"...At the door, there are two strange visitors, they... they..."

Teng Teng: "Strange visitors?"

Hua Hua whispered, "They want me to give them my clothes."

"...?"

After listening for a while and still not understanding what her employee was trying to convey, Teng Teng put down the tools in her hands and walked out of the shop.

Her gaze fell on the two bionic humans at the door, recognizing them immediately.

Aren’t these the two sent by the Enterprise faction?

Their names seemed to be... Frost and Sunset?

Glancing at Hua Hua standing beside her, then at the bionic humans staring intently at her clothes, a realization flashed in Teng Teng’s eyes, and her right fist fell into the palm of her left hand.

"...So that’s it."

The version solution turned out to be maid outfits!

This really was a surprise.

"Are the two of you looking for a maid outfit?"

Eclipse remained motionless, while Frost immediately nodded without hesitation.

"That’s right!"

Hua Hua’s face turned even redder in an instant.

Was that what they meant?

But such a way of expression was really odd...

"Ohoho... then you’ve come to the right place."

Teng Teng’s face was lit with a joyful smile as he stepped aside to open the shop door.

"Come in and let’s talk."

...

While Teng Teng was showing off the artworks in his shop to the two guests from the East Coast, at the northern part of Dawn City, Wu Mu from Chang Ge Group had finally encountered the Claw of Death he had been dreaming of.

Seeing Nikki tied with a rope next to the shack, Wu Mu, clad in power armor, excitedly clenched his fists and looked towards Chu Guang with enthusiasm.

"Is this the Claw of Death from that video... I mean, the one you were riding that day?!"

It seemed that the video Xiao Qi had edited for him had become popular in Ideal City, leaving a deep impression on this guy.

Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"Yes."

Wu Mu continued excitedly.

"What’s its name?!"

"Nikki, she’s a big girl," Chu Guang replied with a light smile, "My subordinates found her in a research facility occupied by Looters. Initially, we just treated her as a research subject, but over time, feelings grew, and we kept her here."

Wu Mu exclaimed in wonder.

"Incredible... So the Claw of Death can really be tamed!"

Chu Guang glanced at him curiously and asked.

"Have you never tried?"

"Claw of Death isn’t very common on the East Coast, though there are occasional sightings, but they are not very big. Our main threat there are Mutants... they move along the coastline, looting and burning villages, and they reproduce incredibly fast."

It seemed that he didn’t want to talk much about the Mutants, so Wu Mu quickly changed the subject and asked with excitement while looking at Nikki.

"Never mind that, with a big creature like this, how much food does it eat in a day?"

Not continuing the topic of Mutants, Chu Guang smiled and followed his cue.

"Half a ton of nutrient paste, or two adult Crawlers. It eats a lot, but thankfully it’s not picky and can even hunt on its own."

Wu Mu asked excitedly.

"Can I ride it?"

"Of course."

Chu Guang made a welcoming gesture.

Once given permission, Wu Mu chuckled sheepishly, activated his helmet camera, and moved forward with heavy steps.

"There you go, little guy, let me ride—"

As Wu Mu was about to reach out, a thick tail swooshed from the ground and tripped him, causing him to fall flat on his face.

The wrinkled eyelids lifted, revealing half an amber pupil, and Nikki snorted through her nose, seemingly chuckling.

However, that arrogant expression didn’t last long as a sharp glance came her way, making her scales involuntarily shiver.

"Wurr..."

Nikki, stared down by Chu Guang, made a pitiful purring sound, curling her mischievous tail into a circle on the grass.

Seeing her act so pitiful, Chu Guang shook his head but didn’t force her anymore. He walked over and helped the fallen Wu Mu up.

"Sorry, my friend... this one’s a bit temperamental."

"No worries, no worries, it’s just that I couldn’t handle this one..."

Dusting off his armor, the young man who got up from the ground rubbed the back of his helmet sheepishly, but his admiration for Chu Guang grew.

To tame such a frightening creature and make it lie on the ground, purring like a cat...

Is this what a man at the top of the food chain looks like?

Indeed, a Manager of the Alliance, as extraordinary as the rumors say!

Chu Guang, seemingly unaware of Wu Mu’s admiring gaze, glanced oddly at the brother’s power armor.

This thing looks pretty cool.

But why do I feel like its functionality is a bit shoddy?

Seemingly reading his gaze, Wu Mu looked a bit embarrassed and explained.

"No way around it, portable reactors are too rare, and we don’t have many. Power armors are prioritized for front-line troops, and since I’m just in sales and not on the front lines, I had to settle for a metallic hydrogen battery. Although it works, it’s still different from a fully functional power armor..."

My goodness.

No wonder Nikki didn’t hold back at all.

Turns out it’s a neutered version...

Chu Guang’s mind raced.

Speaking of which, he had a Black Box capable of producing portable reactors, just lying in the storage of Shelter No. 79.

Due to its large size, it hadn’t been moved here.

If he could get a batch of those neutered versions from the Enterprise, maybe he could assemble a few complete ones!

However, Chu Guang didn’t rush to divulge this plan but simply smiled lightly and ended the topic.

"We have plenty of Claws of Death around here, and they come in a variety of types; some with horns, some without. If you’re interested, I can give you a slightly smaller one."

Hearing this, Wu Mu’s spirits lifted.

"Really?! Thank you so much!"