This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 614: An Unexpected Gain

Chapter 614: Chapter 614: An Unexpected Gain

In a space of pure white, twelve shadowy figures sat around the head of a circular conference table.

Their bodies were cloaked in pristine white robes, bathed in a milky light that emanated a sacred aura.

Looking closely, one would see there were actually thirteen chairs before the table, with one left empty.

This was the sacred hall of the Torch Church.

Simply put, it was the place where the Pioneers of the Holy Land convened.

In the center of that circular conference table stood an old man in a gray robe.

His face was covered in wrinkles, his eyes cloudy. Both his dull skin and robe seemed out of place in this sanctified meeting room.

His name was Alzu, and he had just returned from Brocade River City.

Facing the Pioneers seated at the conference table, his expression was devout and his tone solemn, as if he were delivering the news in prayer.

"Brocade River City’s parish has fallen, and we have lost contact with the old parts of Singular Point City."

"In resistance, they fought valiantly to the end, but our enemies did not spare them; they beheaded them, burned them to ash, and their corpses filled the underground transit network of Brocade River City..."

His voice took on a note of deep sorrow as he finished speaking.

As his words ended, even the expressionless Pioneers seated around the table couldn’t help but show a hint of disturbance.

The attendees exchanged glances, whispering to each other, their eyes and facial expressions conveying a shared sense of surprise and unease.

"How barbaric!"

"...Not a single one spared."

It elicited a sigh of lament that such a place, which had once sheltered thousands of survivors, met its end in such a way.

Those residents were once "Forerunners" who embraced evolution. Although they chose a different path than the current Pioneers, they were brave progressives taking the first step.

Yet, those ignorant Barbarians razed it all to the ground!

A Pioneer with a commanding presence slowly clenched his fist, speaking with serious intonation.

"We will carry on with their memories, and those who impede us will ultimately pay the price!"

The other Pioneers nodded slowly.

"The Academy and corporations, those degenerates..."

"And the Alliance."

"It’s not just them."

Watching the Pioneers expressing their anger, Alzu slowly began to speak, directing his accusation toward Luo Gan—the turncoat Pioneer.

"Our threat doesn’t only come from the outside, but also from within ourselves. That man named Luo Gan, his complacency and hesitation cost us the opportunity for victory, resulting in the loss of many excellent Apostles and Executioners, a tragic price to pay."

"This is our most devastating failure in twenty years, and an unprecedented betrayal! If not for that traitor, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad!"

The Pioneers sitting at the conference table watched him without expression, including the man seated at the head.

Alzu did not stop, continuing to voice his long-held conviction.

"There are many flaws in the current system. The Pioneers can ensure that the Apostles’ faith remains steadfast, but no one can guarantee that the Pioneers’ faith won’t be the first to falter—"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted by another Pioneer.

"Nonsense! Our faith could never waver!"

Another set Pioneer followed seriously.

"Our minds have merged with the Holy Land, our thoughts surpass all else. You should be aware of how the Holy Land operates."

Alzu looked at him expressionlessly.

"Then how do you explain Luo Gan’s case?"

The expression on the face of the accusing Pioneer faltered slightly.

A Pioneer seated beside him pondered for a moment before starting to explain.

"The case of Luo Gan indeed puzzles us... but it’s not incomprehensible. He was already too old before he entered the Holy Land, and once people age, they struggle to accept new things. We advised him to live out his years in peace, but he wouldn’t accept his decline, choosing instead to upload his mind to the Holy Land."

"I understand his aging, but his betrayal is unacceptable."

Alzu gave a faint smile and continued.

"I believe this is not a matter of age. The very mode of operation of this technology has inherent unreliability. By dispersing our thoughts among each individual, our enemies cannot destroy us, but conversely, the foundation of our edifice has been broken into countless pieces. If they undermine our foundation, they can easily shake us."

He had witnessed the entire collapse of Heaven, knowing full well how that ’unkillable’ being met his end.

That being had divided himself into countless parts, giving a piece of himself to numerous others, making each person part of his eyes, part of his cells.

The Alliance indeed lacked the ability to kill him who was not on the ground, but they could affect "each of him."

When every cell in his body began to shake, the grand structure, seemingly exquisite, underwent a systematic collapse.

In the end, let alone deceiving others—

Even he began to doubt the righteousness of Heaven.

And that was the most fatal blow!

The Holy Land could influence every believer, but in turn, believers could also influence the Holy Land, after all, the Heavenly Land that did not exist on earth was originally constituted by them.

It was for this reason that Alzu increasingly believed in his own viewpoint—the Holy Land was an unreliable entity.

The Heaven envisioned by humans must be achieved by humans, rather than relying on the Holy Land that doesn’t exist on earth, or the beings in heaven.

The current Pioneer model employed by the Church had serious flaws; if this hole wasn’t plugged, they would face failure again.

"How could they shake our foundation, that bunch of Barbarians?" a Pioneer scorned his words.

Alzu looked at him expressionlessly and said.

"They took advantage of the ignorance and shortsightedness of the masses, as well as their lack of knowledge of greater benefits and the roots of suffering."

The Pioneer stared back at him, unable to refute.

For the Pioneer model itself was a denial of the wisdom of ordinary people, recognizing the unreliability of humans, they sought to completely eradicate human attributes and become divine.

Alzu did not disagree with the first part of that perspective, simply dissenting the latter.

"To defeat them in the wars on Earth, we must turn the abstract Pioneers into specific beings that exist on Earth."

He knew his viewpoint was heretical.

As expected, the entire hall erupted into an uproar.

The Pioneers seated at the conference table almost immediately refuted him.

"Then what would differentiate us from the Apostles?"

"We started on this path precisely to forsake human desires and all selfish intentions. And now you suggest we go back?"

"You’re creating weaknesses for us! What exactly are you plotting?"

Facing those pairs of doubtful and angry eyes, Alzu continued to speak calmly.

"I did not say that, but I suggest that we could establish another Sanctuary and promote a group of Pioneers who do not need to relinquish their physical bodies to embrace the Holy Land and can still gain sufficient authority. They would manage all the earthly affairs of The Church’s districts. In this way, even if the Alliance bewitches our followers and even uses a mental virus to destroy our Holy Land, it will not lead to a repeat of the failure of Brocade River City."

As soon as he finished speaking, a Pioneer rebuked him.

"Nonsense! How can you ensure the purity of Sanctuary No.2?"

Alzu looked at him and continued to speak.

"Sanctuary No.2 does not need to be as pure as Sanctuary No.1, it only needs to be capable of leading the followers on the ground to defeat our adversaries."

At this moment, the person sitting at the head of the conference table suddenly spoke up.

"Let me say a few words."

When he spoke, the entire Sanctuary fell silent.

His name was Wang Yi.

He was the Saint Heir elected by the Torch.

He was also the unanimous choice of everyone present.

His faith was the purest and the most resolute among all.

"...This problem does not exist in Haiya Province, Heaven has reached the irreversible fourth stage, our Mind Interference Devices can ensure the unity of the followers as one heart and mind, the existence of Sanctuary No.2 is redundant."

Alzu did not speak.

Because this statement was indeed irrefutable.

Unless their enemies could destroy all Mind Interference Devices on the land at once, crack their brainwashing frequency while replacing it with their own, theoretically, it was impossible to make those brainwashed followers doubt the righteousness of Heaven through simple means.

When the original consciousness is erased, the Holy Land becomes their only consciousness, and evolving into a higher form of life becomes their only ideal.

However, in those barbaric lands not yet included in The Church’s districts, or those still under proselytization, the situation is different.

The Utopia they believe in must compete with the mud of the earth, but those ignorant fools value short-term gains more.

Therefore, they must cleverly disguise themselves.

Just like Nago.

Before releasing spores, first attract prey with the sweet nectar, paralyze the prey, and eventually make them immersed in it unable to extricate themselves, becoming the nourishment for Heaven.

"For The Church’s districts in Haiya Province, we need to strengthen the communication among Pioneers to ensure our faith is unwavering to prevent similar incidents from occurring. There’s no need for a second Sanctuary. However—"

He paused for a moment, then the Saint Heir continued to speak, as Alzu had anticipated, he said that sentence.

"...For the untamed barbaric lands and the districts still being developed, the existence of Sanctuary No.2 is necessary."

"Even if not considering the Wasteland Wanderers who indulge in debauchery being unsuitable for our advanced concepts, we must still consider the limit of the existence of the Black Box."

"The Black Box that produces bionic chips has been operating for over twenty years, and, after all, it is an emergency manufacturing device, not an omnipotent wishing machine."

Hearing this, trepidation and unease floated in the eyes of everyone seated at the table, and their gazes became evasive.

This was indeed an issue that could not be ignored.

Their biotechnology was strong, but the bionic chips produced by the Black Box were irreplaceable, for they were the foundation of the Holy Land.

People will always grow old continuously.

The chips produced by the Black Box will one day run out, and before completing the ultimate plan, their time was in fact not infinite.

Though he knew no one liked to hear it, the Saint Heir still spoke that sentence in the end.

"Its limit is approaching."

...

Anything that is known to function but not known for the reason behind it is unsustainable.

The Black Box is probably the most typical example.

The Guards Corps found a batch of defunct Black Boxes in the warehouse of the old site of Singular Point City.

These Black Boxes were mainly used to produce some medicines, high-yield crop seeds, and critical components for certain devices.

Before they were scrapped, the residents of Singular Point City had drained their last value and then abandoned them in the warehouse.

These defunct Black Boxes have been sent to Shelter No. 404, where Yin Fang, who is in charge of the research team, is responsible for research.

The Steel Heart’s medical room.

After learning about the progress of Singular Point City’s reconstruction from Frost, Chu Guang visited the little girl named Yinyin again.

Perhaps out of guilt for Singular Point City, or perhaps out of sympathy for her, the council specially approved the treatment costs to be borne by the corporate side and promised to provide her with a bionic body that would allow her to walk freely.

She could customize her appearance, or choose to look exactly the same as before.

After sharing this news with Yinyin, Chu Guang paused for a moment before asking about her future plans.

"Our strategic objectives in the area of Brocade River City have been achieved, the Torch has been cleared from this land, and there will no longer be Mutants and Nago here. The focus of the work will now shift to the reconstruction of Singular Point City."

Yinyin, sitting in the corner of the pure white room, looked up at him blankly.

"Singular Point City is..."

"It was once the dwelling place on this land," Chu Guang stated succinctly, "although it includes some undesirable past, to forget history is to betray it, so we plan to use this name."

Yinyin nodded as if she understood.

Chu Guang took it as her understanding and continued.

"The Iron Heart will soon return to River Valley Province, you can choose to stay here, or you can choose to go back with us."

Yinyin fell silent for a while before asking.

"Is my home still here?"

Chu Guang replied.

"The residents of Pinecone Wood Farm hope for your return, aside from the mansion and the basement, that estate still belongs to you."

Yinyin wore a troubled expression on her face before she finally asked for advice.

"Can you give me some advice?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot offer you advice, as I do not know you well. Perhaps you should discuss it with your fam... friends," Chu Guang suddenly remembered her parents had passed away, so he corrected himself.

At that moment, he also thought of the request from Frost, thus he continued.

"Of course, the corporate representatives hope you’ll stay to help calm the emotions of those surviving residents... You should have met that one before, its name is Frost."

Yinyin looked at him somewhat helplessly.

"But I’ve become like this... I’m afraid I won’t be of much help."

Chu Guang shook his head.

"You don’t need to do anything, just being there is enough."

Yinyin stared blankly at him.

"That’s enough right there," Chu Guang thought for a while, and patiently explained in the simplest way she could.

"Many people grow older, but that doesn’t mean they’re truly mature. Compared to fully capable adults, they are more like children without the ability to act. They need someone to make decisions for them, to bear the responsibilities and risks that come with their own choices, so they can enjoy a period of tranquility."

Nago? Who cares if it’s good or not, the master says it’s good stuff, so just plant it. Mutants eat people without spitting out the bones? What a joke, if the lavishly-fed master isn’t afraid, what are you scared of? All they do is prey on Waste Land Wanderers.

The problems of Singular Point City differ completely from those of Giant Stone City, it’s not the mistake of one person, but many factors coming together, just like this Wasteland.

Perhaps feeling the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, Yinyin’s expression still seemed a bit uneasy.

"But I’m not capable..."

Chu Guang consoled her, saying,

"You don’t need to be, you just need to stay where they can see you. Leave the rest to Frost. It has been observing us for a long time, and I believe it must possess some abilities that I don’t understand."

"...I understand," Yinyin pondered deeply, nodded firmly, and looked at him earnestly as she said, "I... have decided to stay!"

Seeing the serious look on this child’s face, Chu Guang was a bit surprised.

"Have you thought this through?"

"Yes, I have thought it through. It was my father who turned them into that, right? Whether it’s the Little Lamb or everyone in the manor... If it’s really as you said, before they are willing to step out, I will take up the responsibility and watch over them for a while."

Yinyin smiled a touch forlornly.

"And... my time has stopped anyway, this is the only thing left that I can do that has some meaning."

"...I will tell your decision to Frost. It should be pleased with your choice." Chu Guang looked at her, nodded silently, and then turned to leave the pure white space.

...

After leaving the medical room and returning to the corridor, Chu Guang was about to head back to the captain’s room when Xiao Qi’s pleasant voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Master, there is a message from Yin Fang for you."

It must be the results from the research on the Black Box.

With that thought, Chu Guang stopped next to a porthole in the hallway.

"Connect me."

"Alrighty!"

No sooner had Xiao Qi finished speaking than a pale blue holographic window appeared in front of him.

Yin Fang was grinning from ear to ear as he said to the unscathed Chu Guang,

"Those Black Boxes you gave me are fascinating! Though completely broken, I’ve dug up some unrecorded history about Singular Point City from those antiques!"

"During the early Wasteland Era, they must have used ’synthetic nutrients’ to solve the food shortage. That’s probably the forerunner of the nutrient paste, but perhaps due to the local climate recovering quicker, the nutrient paste synthesis technology didn’t flourish there, instead passing it eight hundred kilometers away to Giant Stone City."

"Later, Singular Point City switched to algae cultivation plates that had higher production efficiency and lower energy demands, and then to insects... These foods all have one thing in common, they’re not so easily accepted by people. Especially algae and insects; although they have higher yields than glucose and protein synthesis, the products often require secondary transformation and processing before they can be served on people’s tables."

"I think that might be one of the motivations for their pursuit of mutant technology. A stomach that can digest anything does indeed help increase the survival chances on the Wasteland, but unfortunately, the other problems stemming from it overwhelmed them."

More than the spoils from the Steel Heart, he was interested in the history of Singular Point City, even though he had not unearthed the coffee machine he was most curious about.

Chu Guang, on the other hand, was interested in something else.

"Can those Black Boxes be repaired?"

The excited expression faded instantly as Yin Fang shook his head with difficulty.

"Almost impossible... The difficulty of manufacturing a Black Box is not technical, but lies in industrial conditions. It’s not something that can be fixed with a wrench and a screwdriver; it belongs solely to that era two hundred years ago."

Chu Guang nodded.

He had anticipated this, so he wasn’t very disappointed.

"Just send it to the museum then."

"Um..."

Maybe because she felt bad for not being of any help, Yin Fang added another sentence.

"Although the Black Box can’t be fixed, the nutrition substance synthesis technology and algae cultivation technology once used by Singular Point City are quite interesting. I’ll try to recover what can be recovered from them... If you plan on building a space station in heaven one day, these technologies will definitely come in handy."

That kind of thing would be a long way off.

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"I’m counting on you."

Yin Fang smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"No problem... By the way, what’s that noise on your end? Why is it so noisy?"

Chu Guang glanced toward the medical ward and saw several familiar faces, so he casually replied.

"Your juniors are quite lively."

Yin Fang was taken aback, not catching on immediately.

"My juniors?"

Chu Guang continued.

"The Class D researcher from the Academy who was sent to help us, she’s a young girl."

Previously, Night Ten had been paralyzed from trying to save the falling Viper transport plane, and his good buddy had planned to pull the plug on his ICU power, but that girl had guarded and hadn’t given him a chance to do it.

Later, the girl requested to use the surgery table in the medical ward and the recovered equipment from the research institute. She even got some bionic prosthetics from the research ship, seemingly planning to nurse Night Ten back to health.

Chu Guang found it amusing, so he readily agreed.

Now it seemed the surgery was done?

Yin Fang raised an eyebrow after hearing this.

"Wait a minute, why am I suddenly the senior? I’m also Class D, and I’m not old!"

At this, Chu Guang chuckled and just at the right time saw a pop-up appear in the bottom right corner of the holographic screen, then said with a smile.

"I’ve got a call coming in, we’ll talk later."

"See you later, go ahead with your work."

Yin Fang originally wanted to argue about this senior thing but worried about holding up his business, so he ended the communication.

As Chu Guang pressed the answer button again, a head of fiery red hair appeared on the other end of the holographic image.

Those spirited eyebrows were moving up and down uneasily. Seeing the video window suddenly connect, Xia Yan hastily stopped fiddling with her bangs and coughed before speaking.

"Are you... busy over there?"

Seeing Xia Yan’s tense face, Chu Guang couldn’t help but grin.

"Just finished up, what’s up?"

The guy called her occasionally, and her behavior was usually pretty normal, but this time, for some reason, she seemed extra nervous.

Hearing that he wasn’t busy, Xia Yan let out a sigh of relief and cleared her throat.

"...Last time you said it would be great if I could help you make a power armor, right? I don’t remember the exact words, but that was the gist of it! You definitely said it! So I tinkered with it in my spare time and... well, I tried making one."

At that moment, Chu Guang was completely stunned upon hearing this.

Holy shit?

For real?!

Seeing Chu Guang’s dumbfounded expression, Xia Yan thought he didn’t believe her and quickly explained.

"It wasn’t really anything secretive, the most technical part was the miniaturized cold fusion reactor... the Black Box of Shelter No. 79 can produce those, right? I used the ’Hippo-1’ portable reactor as the power core and modeled my design after the T-10 Champion Armor’s power system and armor layout from the Continental Army... some experts from Camp 101 also lent a hand."

"No, but after all, it was made in my spare time, so its performance definitely can’t compare to pre-war gear, but it should be usable enough. Take a look when you’re free to see if it’s of any use. If not, it’s no big deal to just store it in the warehouse. I didn’t spend that much time on it—"

Chu Guang, who had just come back to his senses, immediately interrupted her, joyfully saying,

"That’s awesome! Thank you! This is the best news I’ve heard today!"

Startled by his sudden reaction, Xia Yan paused, then whispered, somewhat uncertain,

"Really?"

Chu Guang, with a pleased smile on his face, nodded.

"Do I have any reason to lie to you? But I am indeed surprised; I didn’t expect you to be capable of this!"

Flattered and a bit embarrassed, Xia Yan blushed, her smile shy as she scratched the back of her head with the hand holding the welding gun.

"...What are you talking about? I’m pretty skilled, you know. Don’t forget, I’ve always been fixing my own gear."

Chu Guang said with a chuckle,

"I know that, and you’ve fixed a lot for us too. To this day, Shelter 404’s warehouse still has a stash of bullets you hand-made."

"Hehe." Xia Yan’s expression became even more bashful, her smile stretching exaggeratedly until it looked awkward.

"Because they couldn’t be shot, so we just kept them."

Seeing her so full of herself, Chu Guang couldn’t resist teasing her a bit, and her reaction was even bigger than he anticipated.

"!! Couldn’t be shot?! How could that be possible? Where are those bullets?"

"Just kidding, don’t get worked up," Chu Guang said lightly, coughing as he saw Xia Yan’s face turn anxiously red. He cleared his laughter and spoke seriously, "On behalf of Shelter No. 404, I thank you for your research! I will arrange for a crew to assist you with the testing right away."

"...Don’t be like that, it’s making me nervous. Besides, it’s just an experimental unit and hasn’t been tested on the battlefield yet." Xia Yan mumbled softly, her forefinger rubbing the welding torch she held, suddenly regretting telling him so soon.

What’s that saying?

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Although she had learned some knowledge from the Prosperity Epoch at Shelter 101, she had been enrolled less than a year.

Even if the virtual reality learning device had extended her actual study time, even if she had some experience in mechanics, it still didn’t change the fact that she was still only half-trained.

But Chu Guang didn’t mind.

Half a bottle of water is still water, and there were plenty of haphazardly made gears in the Alliance, and the players didn’t mind an extra one.

Even if it can’t compare to "Champions" and "Dragon Cavalry," it was still nuclear-powered individual armor; using it as a mobile battery pack would be excellent.

"The experimental unit is good enough! Going from 0 to 1 is harder than from 1 to 10, and it just so happens I’ve got some nuclear fuel. We can verify your design right away – any issues, we just tweak it. We can wait!"

Seeing the surprised Xia Yan, Chu Guang continued with a smile,

"You know, even more surprising than the power armor itself, I’m amazed at how much you’ve changed."

Xia Yan asked a bit anxiously,

"Have I changed a lot?"

Chu Guang sighed sentimentally,

"Drastically! You used to need coaxing for just a little bit of work."

Probably reminded of past incidents, Xia Yan’s face flushed red momentarily, then defiantly bared her teeth,

"Do you call that coaxing? Throwing me out if I didn’t work... Does that sound like something a person would say?"

Chu Guang just laughed it off, unconcerned,

"Pot calling the kettle black, weren’t you the one fantasizing that I carried you back to the shelter to have babies with you?"

"Ah ah ah!!!"

Xia Yan’s face instantly turned as red as a lantern, her ears seemingly emitting steam. She let out a strange yell and reached out to turn off the holographic screen.

Simply recalling the embarrassment of their first meeting made her feel mortified. Hands clasping her head, fingers entwined in her hair, she wished she could find a rift in time on the table cluttered with tools, parts, and blueprints to crawl into and do it all over again.

"This guy..."

That was so long ago!

What’s the point of dwelling on it?!

But...

If he really was that kind of person.

Her fingers, buried in her hair, began to twist involuntarily, her fiery blush not fading at all, her embarrassment turning into a discomfiting tingle.

The feeling was...

Kind of strange.

"Back to work..."

Realizing something was off, Xia Yan hastily shook her head, resolving to stop that weird train of thought and not to pursue it any further.

Meanwhile, Chu Guang, watching the holographic screen shut off with a snap, was scratching his cheek with his index finger, his expression subtly conflicted.

"Maybe that joke was a bit too much?"

He reflected for a moment; bringing up the past like that really wasn’t very nice.

Plus, the poor guy had just lost a leg and got dragged back by a bunch of strangers, Waste Land Wanderers. Being scared made sense.

Xiao Qi’s voice drifted over from the side,

"Xiao Qi thinks that the problem might not be the joke, you know..."

Chu Guang exhaled with resignation,

"You could be right."

Just as he was about to put the matter aside, a heartrending howl came from the direction of the infirmary.

"Gaia!!!"

Gaia?

Chu Guang paused, not understanding the wolf-like wailing of the brother, only realizing it was a player’s cry.

But soon after, the voices from there quickly clarified his confusion.

"You ungrateful wretch... I went through so much trouble to save your life! Is this how you thank me???"

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