This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 97 Morphogenesis Field

Chapter 97: Chapter 97 Morphogenesis Field

The answer was obviously hidden right in the room before their eyes.

Without hesitation, Chu Guang unlocked the door with his authority.

Unlike the other rooms in Zone B, this one hadn’t been cleaned up. Personal items were left on an unfolded collapsible table, and the bed next to it was unmade.

What was noteworthy was an article of clothing laid out on the room’s floor—a blue jacket and a pair of pants positioned with the sleeves and legs spread out, resembling a prone person.

And at the position of the right sleeve, there was an old-fashioned-looking revolver.

It was as if...

they were reconstructing the scene of a crime?

However, probably due to considerations of harmony or other factors, the most crucial element—the corpse—was missing, which made the scene seem somewhat comical.

"...Is this also one of the First Generation Manager’s sick jokes?"

Chu Guang subconsciously looked toward the wall on the left side of the room, yet he did not see any bullet holes there.

He then walked over to pick up the revolver and, feeling around, opened the cylinder to find only five bullets.

"No bloodstains, no bullet holes, and no casings... Just the weapon and the clothing left behind."

Approaching the open collapsible table, Chu Guang noticed a diary and a pen as thick as an index finger placed on it.

There was a button on the pen.

Out of curiosity, Chu Guang pressed it and, to his surprise, the pen emitted a sound.

"...(Loud static noise)..."

"Do you have anything else to confess?"

"Nothing left."

Was this thing a recording pen?

Judging from the content of the recording, it seemed to be an interrogation.

Curious, Chu Guang continued to listen.

The voice of the person conducting the interrogation sounded somewhat young, while the one being interrogated seemed a bit dejected or rather, weary.

He didn’t seem particularly concerned about his own end, only wishing for all of this to be over soon.

Guard: "...Then what do you plan to do? How will you punish me for dereliction of duty?"

Interrogator: "Don’t plan to do anything."

Guard: "...What do you mean by not planning to do anything?"

Interrogator: "When I reported to the Professor, the Professor just said he knew, then he didn’t inquire further. I asked him how you should be dealt with, and he said there was no need for that, you merely did what anyone in that situation would have done."

Guard (emotionally agitated): "I’m not begging for your forgiveness! Listen, I’ve made a serious mistake; I... I shouldn’t have arrogantly thought that I could be a savior. My conceit and idiocy hurt everyone. If I had done nothing from the start... maybe things wouldn’t have turned out so bad."

The man’s voice first became hysterical madness, then turned into a muffled confession, and finally choked up into sobs.

However, the voice of the interrogator, from beginning to end, did not have much fluctuation, maintaining that calm tone throughout.

Interrogator: "That’s an interesting hypothesis. But since the Professor says you’re innocent, then I think you really don’t need to blame yourself so much. If that doesn’t convince you, then think about this now: Do you think you are smarter than the Professor?"

Guard: "...How could I dare compare myself to him?"

Interrogator: "It seems you’re quite clear-headed. So, I’ll ask you another question: If you so clearly think that you cannot compare to the Professor’s intelligence, then why would you naively believe that you could deceive his discerning eyes?"

Guard: "... What do you mean?"

Interrogator: "What is the subject of our research?"

Guard: "... Morphogenesis Field? I don’t quite understand. Wait, are you saying that the Professor knew from the start that I was using that radio to contact the outside? The survivors from the tire factory, including that Li Xiu—"

Interrogator: "When we study the motion laws of macroscopic objects within the framework of classical mechanics, we selectively ignore the discussion of the basic particles constituting the objects. This is not because we are unaware that matter is composed of smaller particles, but because there is no need to consider it in that context."

Interrogator: "Similarly, it is impossible to predict the different choices a person will make at different stages of life. However, the collective composed of individuals and the developmental laws of macroscopic events are traceable. If you’re interested, you might ponder this issue. After all, from now on, you have plenty of time to waste."

Guard: "Is this part of the interrogation?"

Interrogator: "You could say that, but the main purpose is to provide you with psychological counseling. The Professor told you not to be too hard on yourself. What’s happened here is just one link in tens of thousands of experiments, and we will achieve the final victory. By the way, the person who has been in contact with you is probably dead. We have received another message from the same terminal, but it is clearly not from him."

"Those survivors from the tire factory hoped we would take them in, but it’s clear that at least three out of every four sentences they say are lies. We will continue to track and record the surrounding radio signals and the changes in the shielding field strength, but we will no longer respond. Now this work is carried out by the AI, and we will enter a true silence. You can rest assured that there will be no more mistakes."

Then came the sound of a door closing.

A long wait ensued.

Just as Chu Guang was pondering whether it was over, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the recorder, startling him as he listened intently.

"Darn it! That’s not playing fair!"

"... By the way, what exactly is a ’Morphogenesis Field’?"

Chu Guang vaguely remembered hearing the term before—not in this world, but before he traveled to this Wasteland.

Back in the 1980s, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake of the Royal Society in England proposed a controversial ’Resonance’ theory.

According to Dr. Rupert Sheldrake’s theory, not only do the basic particles that make up matter resonate, but abstract events can also produce a resonant effect.

Based on this hypothesis, he referred to places where similar events continuously occur as "Morphogenesis Fields" and referred to similar events as "formative resonance."

However, guesses based on conjectures are predictably unreliable.

Like many speculations about multiple universes and aliens, you have no reliable means to prove or disprove them.

Even if it seems "obviously" true.

"... Could it be that this recording implies that the technology used to project the consciousness of Parallel World players into this world is related to some speculation proposed by the Morphogenesis Field theory?"

"For example, via some unknown field, crossing spatial dimensions, triggering resonance between consciousness entities."

"Hiss... my head hurts."

Why bother with these things?

If it works, isn’t that enough?

Investing time and effort in something without results is pointless; the truth will naturally unfold when more clues are available.

The information Chu Guang could glean from this recording was that the research into the Morphogenesis Field was a major topic at Shelter No. 404.

Piecing together the information he received when he first arrived here, this project was likely completed over a century ago.

But then again, was the First Generation Manager referred to as the Professor?

That guy seems even craftier than me.

Setting aside the terrifying details in the recording, Chu Guang could now confirm the identity of this guard—he was the Sufferer mentioned in the "Blood Hand Diary."

And the Utopia that the original "leader" of the Blood Hand Clan sought until the end was indeed Shelter No. 404 beneath his feet.

Chu Guang picked up the anonymous diary on the table.

The timeline in the diary basically matched the one he had seen before in the "Blood Hand Diary."

It had always been this guy who remotely guided, via radio, the first leader of the Blood Hand Clan, offering strategies and helping those survivors abandoned in the Wasteland.

Unfortunately, his good intentions seemed to have backfired.

And the mess left behind tormented the survivors in the "North Suburb" area for over a hundred years, until it was finally ended nearly two centuries later.

It was unexpected that Shelter No. 404 and the Blood Hand Clan actually shared such origins, and that it was all due to a broadcast.

"...Such a misdeed."

With a couple of clicks of his tongue, Chu Guang shook his head and decided to archive this diary along with the one with the Blood Handprint.

Besides a silver revolver, Chu Guang found quite a few nice things here, like a box of 10mm caliber revolver ammunition.

There were more than 30 bullets in the ammo box, each as long as a forefinger and with no signs of oxidation, looking brand new.

The bullets seemed pretty large, like they contain even more propellant than a rifle round, but it was unknown whether a single shot could kill a Crawler.

For the Eaters, though, one shot each was definitely no problem.

Chu Guang noticed that the packaging of the ammo box was imprinted with a silver python, and the brown handle of the silver revolver bore the same design.

Examining the revolver in his hands, Chu Guang pondered for a moment and then said to himself,

"I’ll call you ’Silver Snake.’"

Besides the "Silver Snake" revolver, Chu Guang also found a police baton under the folding table, and then underneath the bunk bed storage, he discovered another surprise.

"A red dot sight?"

The width of the buckle was adjustable, fitting perfectly onto the raised rail on the "Silver Snake’s" barrel, and to Chu Guang’s delight, the little gadget still had power!

"2X magnification, fine-tuning of the dot... Nice item."

Of course, Chu Guang didn’t plan to use it on the revolver, as putting a sight on a short-barreled, close-combat weapon would be a waste.

He had just fixed up an assault rifle that would make good use of this little gadget, and with the red dot sight, it would be nearly fully equipped.

...

After leaving the room, Chu Guang crossed the circular corridor of Zone B, which connected to Zone A.

This was the second underground level’s functional area, equipped with separate toilets for men and women, and a communal dining hall that could accommodate 100 people eating simultaneously.

It was evident that living space here was tight, with not only staggered bathroom and shower times but also queued dining.

But to be fair, the quality of life here wasn’t bad.

The shower was one of those 360° surround panoramic mist-spray self-cleaning systems, and you didn’t even need to move while showering. The toilets were the same, just pull and it’s done—water wash combined with ultrasonic agitation cleaned up to the nanoscale dirt, saving the need for paper.

No more worrying about the newbies catching strange stuff in the forest.

Chu Guang tried the faucet here and was surprised to find it had running water, and you could even switch to hot water.

"I thought this shelter was just a shell..."

It seemed that only Level B1 was empty.

Xiao Qi chimed in from the side, "How could it just be a shell? You saw it yourself just now, didn’t you? This place really was inhabited, right?"

Chu Guang: "Then where are those people?"

Xiao Qi: "Hmm, not sure."

An expected answer.

But Chu Guang didn’t mind; eventually, he would unravel all the secrets of this shelter.

After inspecting the facility, Chu Guang pondered that it might be a good idea to move all 100 cultivation chambers on Level B1 to Level B2.

After all, the cultivation chambers were equipped with wireless power sources and could be connected anywhere within the shelter.

There were 200 rooms available for use in Zone B of Level B2. Although narrower in size, transitioning from four-person rooms to private standard rooms would likely please the players,

After all, to them, this was just a save point.

The extra beds and bedding squeezed out could then be stored in the empty rooms of Level B1 for future use.

And there was no need to worry about commuting.

The shelter had only one elevator accessing the surface externally, but internally, it boasted eight elevators.

This included two for transporting goods and six for passenger use, more than enough for the players’ commuting between floors within the shelter.

And that external lift to the surface could be modified later.

If necessary, the sanatorium could be demolished, a bigger pit dug, and, while at it, the players could be asked to build a more spacious house for him.

No big deal.

While toggling the faucet, Chu Guang suddenly asked,

"Is there a usage limit on the water here?"

Chu Guang had had enough of filtering lake water and rainwater through activated carbon, which always tasted a bit off no matter how you filtered it.

Xiao Qi tilted its camera head,

"I don’t think so? According to the records, the shelter’s water seems to be replenished by rainwater, and theoretically, as long as there’s power, it will always be supplied, but it’s better not to transfer water out. It’s fine to use water normally within the shelter, as domestic wastewater goes into the shelter’s internal recycling system, getting fully filtered and then reused. A bit of loss is okay, but a large transfer of water out could potentially burden the shelter’s water recycling system."

Chu Guang nodded.

"Where does the filtered-out waste go?"

Xiao Qi: "It’s probably sent to the fermentation room for processing? And the resulting fertilizer might be sent to a planting greenhouse on some level? Or maybe vaporized and expelled through the vents? Anyway, as long as there is power, this shelter can continue to operate forever. I’m also looking forward to learning about the other levels."

Chu Guang: "..."

That answer was as good as none.

Damn!

After inspecting Zone A’s sanitation facilities and the dining hall, Chu Guang followed Xiao Qi’s wheels through the longitudinal corridor, quickly reaching the depths of Zone A.

It seemed to be a warehouse.

The space was quite large, about the size of two basketball courts.

More than thirty plastic bins were piled up in the corner of the warehouse, labeled medical supplies.

Chu Guang walked up, opened one of the bins, and found that it didn’t contain any medicine, but rather a bunch of wristwatches with displays.

At a rough estimate, there were at least a thousand piled here.

Slightly taken aback, Chu Guang hesitated,

"What are these..."

Xiao Qi, who had followed at his heels, came forward at the right moment to provide an answer,

"They are VMs."