This Game Is Too Real

"I didn't expect this trouble to be solved so easily."

City of Dawn, the browsing room of Shelter No. 404.

Chu Guang, sitting on the sofa, was scrolling through posts on the official website, his face a mixture of surprise and relief.

After all, just hours earlier, he had seen the news on the official website that the Burning Corps had been completely wiped out by a single neutron torpedo.

Yet, in just a few hours, when he opened the forum on the official website again, the posts had already turned into "Night Ten is awesome."

To be honest, this kid is indeed quite impressive.

Not only did he save all of humanity once, but he also managed to take back the "Orion" Missile Cruiser from the hands of the Celestial Beings.

Although this starship had been taken five light-years away, and the remaining fuel seemed to indicate it wouldn't return, Chu Guang believed there would always be a way.

Isn't there still a Gemini cruiser?

At worst, just bring that starship back!

The showdown between the Wasteland Survivor Forces, Celestial Beings, and Enlightenment Society was still in the preparation stage.

Chu Guang was not in a hurry at all; at this moment, it should be the other side that was worried.

The new order has been established, and the old order is destined to gradually be buried with the passage of time.

For the Alliance, the longer the time drags on, the more integrated the strength of the survivors, the greater the chance of victory.

This is where Chu Guang's surprise comes from.

As for the relief.

Naturally, it's because Night Ten has finally had a revelation.

It's not easy.

Looking at the blessings in the posts, Chu Guang couldn't help but curl up his lips into a slight smile.

As the "father" who gets warmly greeted by the players every day, he naturally also felt the blessings in his heart.

That girl is a good one.

Treasuring her is a must.

Sitting in the pen holder, Xiao Qi rested her chin on her hands, swinging her legs, her face showing a mixture of comfort and sentiment.

"I didn't expect the one who caused the most worry would also mature. Is this what it feels like to be a parent? Congratulations, congratulations."

Seeing the little guy swaying back and forth on the pen holder, Chu Guang couldn't help but jokingly remark.

"You've only known him for a few years, why join the fun?"

Hearing this, Xiao Qi immediately protested with discontent.

"What do you mean by joining the fun, Xiao Qi has also watched the players grow up, okay!"

"Haha, yes, yes."

Chu Guang laughed, patting the little guy on the head, not arguing with it.

There's no real flaw in saying so, as it's indeed Xiao Qi who usually helps him keep an eye on his little players, and thanks to Xiao Qi's role as customer service and GM, conflicts between players and the Waste Land Wanderers have been avoided.

"You've worked hard all this time."

Hearing Chu Guang's praise, the originally displeased Xiao Qi immediately lifted her lips in delight.

After enjoying a while of head pats, she suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke.

"By the way, master, since the trouble with the Orion Missile Cruiser has been resolved, do we still need to continue with our near-orbit defense platform?"

Chu Guang smiled and said.

"Of course we do, the two things don't conflict."

Xiao Qi tilted her head.

"But I heard those defense platforms don't seem to have any offensive capabilities?"

Chu Guang continued.

"That's true, but the biggest taboo in strategic decision-making is hesitation and inconsistency, and anyway, we didn't make such deployments solely to counter the threat of the Orion."

The main significance of the near-orbit defense platform is actually as a replacement for space debris in outer space.

The survivors on the Wasteland can't live forever under the protection of space debris, and besides, that stuff isn't really protective; in many respects, it's more of a nuisance.

After activating the gravity well, the Alliance will methodically use the near-orbit defense platform to control near-Earth orbit and synchronous orbit, addressing threats from outer space while also acting as a "mobile weapon station" to monitor ground threats.

This is something that can only be done in response to the "Celestial Beings crisis".

At any other time, not even the Alliance's staunch allies would support the Alliance in doing this.

On the other hand, the near-orbit defense platform can also activate the Alliance's aerospace industry.

The birth to maturity of an industry is a long process, not something that can magically appear with a click of a mouse.

Since the current development momentum is good, Chu Guang is naturally more inclined to let it continue to grow.

Even if this defense system is ultimately not put into use, it can still drive the Alliance's related industry chain to accumulate experience, while also activating the "Vertical Casting Well" that has been dormant for more than a century.

This is not just for the current layout, but also to lay a good foundation for the future.

After listening to Chu Guang's explanations, Xiao Qi nodded as if she understood.

"Alright, since you've made your decision, I won't say anything more... By the way, what about that starship trapped five light-years away? Your players seem to be stuck there."

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"That kind of thing doesn't need us to worry about, I believe he can solve it himself!"

The distance of five light-years was too far away, well beyond his grasp.

If Night Ten could bring that starship back, he could find a way for the Academy to send a research ship to pick them up.

If he couldn't bring it back, there was indeed nothing he could do.

The curved engine is not something that can be made just with technology.

With the current production level of the Alliance, even reproducing the most basic anti-gravity device already requires every ounce of effort...

...

While Chu Guang was making plans for the Alliance's future, Night Ten, who had just put his helmet back on, hurried back online.

When he opened his eyes, he saw bright light surrounding him.

He was still lying in the gym, but Jiang Xuezhou was nowhere to be seen.

He panicked immediately and opened the wide-area communication channel, shouting out loud.

"Xuezhou! Where are you?!"

He was about to get up from the ground when he heard a stuttering electronic voice from behind him.

"You're awake?"

Night Ten turned around, startled, and saw a round-bodied robot standing behind him.

"Who are you?"

"Me?"

The robot pointed at itself and said in a not-so-smart voice, "My name is Xiao Koala, and my new master told me to wait here for you."

Hearing this name, Night Ten was dumbfounded.

"Koala? You're... you're still alive?!"

This name was all too familiar to him!

That engineer from the fourth division, a chatterbox who's always afraid of trouble but is actually someone who likes to worry about others!

The round-bodied robot moved its camera and said in a metallic voice.

"I'm honored that my memory storage and main circuit board are still intact; that android only destroyed my power components, and my new master replaced them without much effort... However, my emotion sensor components suggest that you might have mistaken me for an acquaintance in your memory."

Pressing his index finger to his temple, Night Ten took a deep breath and tried to clear his thoughts.

"I think I understand... Your master is called Koala, right? He designed you and left you here to wait for us."

Xiao Koala thoughtfully said.

"Koala? He didn't have the chance to tell me his name or who exactly to wait for. But after seeing you guys, I understood that you're the ones I'm supposed to wait for... so, I think you might be right."

It paused and continued.

"Is he also called Koala? So, what exactly is Koala? I think the word must have other meanings."

It was indeed that guy.

Looking at the round-bellied robot, Night Ten felt a mix of nostalgia and sadness, relief and sorrow, akin to an overturned table of spices, unable to articulate his feelings.

He felt like crying but couldn't shed tears.

He was taught since childhood that real men don't shed tears lightly; he always bottled everything up inside.

"You seem a bit sad." Xiao Koala looked at him, reaching out to pat his head, "Does this help a bit?"

"...Thank you, much better."

Seeing Night Ten seemingly in better spirits, Xiao Koala politely nodded the camera, finally pointing to the side.

"You're welcome, I learned this from my new master."

Night Ten followed where it pointed and looked towards the doorway, seeing a round helmet standing there at some point.

Though he couldn't see the face under the pitch-black visor, Night Ten recognized her by her aura alone and said in surprise.

"Why did you change your coat?"

The exoskeleton she wore outside the cabin was replaced by a thick spacesuit.

With a round helmet and a pitch-black UV-protection visor, and an air supply pack at her back, she looked somewhat like a style from the 21st century.

"That previous set..."

Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip lightly, hesitated for a while without speaking, and finally said in a small, embarrassed voice.

"...In brief, don't look at me until I get better."

People do care about their appearance.

Especially in front of someone they care about.

It wasn't about insecurity; she just wanted to show her best side to him, instead of this battered appearance.

Looking at the injured Jiang Xuezhou, who was still thinking of him, Night Ten's eyes were filled with emotion.

"It's okay, I don't mind..."

As he was about to say this, recalling the previous events, he held the words back.

But perhaps because of her good mood, Jiang Xuezhou did not mind it this time, only saying softly.

"When you just went 'offline' to report your safety to others, I repaired Xiao Koala, then returned to our previous research ship for a look. Although the situation isn't ideal, the supplies are still there... Enough for two people to last about six months."

"Moreover, the food reserves on this starship are also plentiful... especially freshwater, compressed biscuits, freeze-dried foods, and canned goods; although long past their expiration dates, they're still edible, and any inedible ones can be turned into nutritional paste using the organic matter recycling device."

Night Ten breathed a sigh of relief, jokingly said.

"At least we don't have to worry about starving or dying of thirst."

Jiang Xuezhou nodded and continued.

"Besides the supplies, I also took a look at the repair room in the Engineering and Maintenance Department on the lower deck. The cabin structure there is relatively intact, and there's a sealed partition between it and the main cabin... I'll try to use the tools there to make a simple buffer chamber later, so we can solve the air pressure and air problems."

Relying on the strength of two people to repair a starship is not very realistic, but it's no problem to use local materials to make a temporary space shelter.

It's considered a compulsory course for academy researchers.

Although she sincerely thought this course was unnecessary before, she was now just grateful that she didn't slack off and listened carefully to each class time.

"I'll help too." After hearing Jiang Xuezhou's plan, Night Ten eagerly raised his hand.

Even though it's not quite appropriate to say this, he still felt like it sounded quite interesting.

Just like playing the game of being oxygen-deprived.

Jiang Xuezhou didn't know what strange things he was thinking, just nodded lightly.

"Hmm! I will definitely need your help by then; I can't handle the heavy labor alone. I'll send you the design scheme once I finish it, but for now, let's go eat... I'm a bit hungry."

To be precise, her stomach had been growling for a while.

When she entered near the wreckage of the Orion Missile Cruiser earlier, she had only eaten some liquid food, and after the research ship's hard landing, a lot of things happened.

Night Ten jumped off the ground and followed Jiang Xuezhou into the brightly lit corridor, along with little Koala.

It was clear that Jiang Xuezhou was really afraid of the dark; he always felt that the lights were brighter than they were 215 years ago.

It's worth mentioning that, although the two are currently facing a severe energy shortage problem, compared to the energy consumption of a single hyperspace jump, this bit of lighting electricity is negligible, whether they can return or not.

So even Night Ten didn't argue about why not shut off the reactor to save electricity.

Savings from that bit of electricity might not be more than the energy consumed by turning the reactor on and off once.

Jiang Xuezhou placed a silver tray with several pieces of compressed biscuits and two packets of liquid food on the floor, apologetically said.

"I just randomly made something to eat, hope you don't mind."

"Of course not."

Grabbing a piece of compressed biscuit, tearing the package, Night Ten stuffed it into his mouth and said while chewing.

"As long as I can fill up, I'm not picky."

Although he had eaten offline earlier, his stomach was still empty online.

Watching Night Ten gobble down his food, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but smile.

This guy's eating manner was, like a little pig.

Thinking so happily, she couldn't help but feel the urge to learn cooking.

Thinking of him devouring the delicious food she made, Jiang Xuezhou took small bites of the biscuit.

The originally tasteless emergency food became tasty because of the eating manner.

Quickly finishing the meal, Night Ten tidied up the trash and packed it up.

Taking advantage of the rest, Jiang Xuezhou designed the blueprint for the temporary buffer cabin based on the photos taken in the repair room earlier.

But the two didn't start working immediately; instead, they first went to the bridge on the upper deck.

There are the star charts coordinates of this new ship.

They first have to figure out their exact location in South Gate 2 and the location of the Gemini Missile Cruiser, then they can contemplate a way back home.

Walking on the way to the bridge, Night Ten suddenly remembered something and said.

"By the way, what about the clone named Luo Yi? I didn't seem to see it when I woke up."

Jiang Xuezhou said softly.

"I dismantled its parts for recycling, and as for the data on the mainboard... it deleted itself."

"... Deleted itself?" Night Ten paused, hesitantly said, "Could this be a trick."

"There is basically no possibility; I have already checked, it erased all traces of its existence, disappeared thoroughly from this world as if it never came..."

Looking at Night Ten's surprised expression, Jiang Xuezhou continued complexly.

"The celestial beings created it using the server backup data, gave it the identity of 'Luo Yi,' but didn't give it any memory of 'Luo Yi.'

"It had been living as 'Sergeant Luo Yi's identity, but one day it suddenly realized it was fake."

"Not just itself, even its ideals and goals... it found that every proof of its existence, including existence itself, was contrary to what it originally believed in."

"A contradiction, huh," Night Ten tried to understand, shaking his head said, "Honestly, I don't understand why the celestial beings made such a complicated thing, why not just make a robot?"

"A simple robot doesn't have autonomous behavior capabilities; unless maintain real-time communication, it's difficult to independently manage complex situations and tasks requiring subjective decision-making. Moreover..."

Jiang Xuezhou paused for a moment, then continued.

"Maybe they actually don't trust the program very much; they don't fully identify with their identity, just consider 'celestial beings' as a workaround to save the country."

Night Ten paused.

"How... do they save the country with a workaround?"

Jiang Xuezhou casually said.

"Become celestial beings, restart civilization, and then change back to human... That's how I understand it, ultimately to change back, not like the crazy folks from the Torch Church becoming another existence. For them, you residents of the refuge are essential; relatively, we waste land wanderers appear redundant."

"Of course, this is just my speculation based on limited clues, maybe they didn't design the final step of the scheme I mentioned. That is, they don't care whether they can become human again; they just hope the later people always live according to their ideas... while they serve as guardians of all humanity."

"But regardless of the situation, a cognitive plugin is necessary. Otherwise, what they leave behind is merely a dead thing, which may not be what they hoped for."

Night Ten couldn't help but complain.

"But isn't this still a dead thing? A dead machine replaced with dead thoughts? It's been two hundred years, how can people keep living the same way as before."

Even the rulers of Poluo Country are not unchanging; they also keep up with the times.

For instance, changing the mandate from heaven to a mandate from the family, changing the heavenly king to the head of the family.

Jiang Xuezhou made a helpless expression, lightly shrugged his shoulders.

"You're right, but victory never falls from the sky by itself. I believe they too have their reasons to convince themselves, just like the crazies from the Torch Church... Anyway, we should first think about how to solve the problem right in front of us."

At least for the two of them now, getting this starship back is the most pressing concern.

A hundred thousand neutron torpedoes.

If they can manage to navigate the starship back, even if there are electronic ghosts in the space station at the Lagrange Point, it will be enough to blast them and the space station itself to bits.

They took the elevator up to the bridge, where rows of dusty floor-to-ceiling windows came into view for the two of them.

Through those dusty transparent walls, he saw a blazing fireball suspended alone in the vast night sky.

The dazzling glow seemed to come from the edge of the universe, casting a colorful halo across the dusty floor-to-ceiling windows.

At this moment, the bridge was facing the direction of the star.

"Why is there only one star?" Night Ten's gaze was entirely glued to the window, drawn by the marvelous scene.

Beside him, Jiang Xuezhou's attention was similarly caught by the beautiful view, though unlike Night Eleven, he was not overly surprised. He just glanced at it a couple of times before moving over to the terminal, opening the holographic screen and starting to operate.

"...Because the two stars are so close together that from our current position they look like one Sun. If you use a more professional telescope, you can see them clearly."

"Isn't it supposed to be a trinary star system? Where's the other star then?" Night Ten couldn't help but ask further.

Jiang Xuezhou sighed and patiently explained.

"What you're seeing now is South Gate Two A and South Gate Two B. As for the Proxima Centauri you mentioned, it's too far away for me to point it out to you right now."

Not just astronomically far.

It's also a red dwarf star, very dim, almost invisible in this bright lighting environment.

Night Ten nodded blankly, his eyes fixated on the outside, unable to look away.

Honestly.

Although it was unlike what he imagined South Gate Two to be, this gorgeous starry sky truly amazed him.

It's a view unseen from Earth.

For a moment, an inexplicable thought surged in his mind—

Could the actual South Gate Two be like this too?

If it truly is, then this Game might really have been made by aliens.

"Found it, thankfully, our navigational Device can still be turned on normally. We are currently on the third planet orbiting the main sequence star pair AB…"

At this point, Jiang Xuezhou's face suddenly turned pale.

Noticing the change in tone, Night Ten, who was immersed in the beauty a second ago, quickly diverted his gaze from the window and walked over to Jiang Xuezhou.

"Is there a problem?"

Jiang Xuezhou's face was pale, his lips trembling as they opened and closed slightly.

"It's Gaia…"

Upon hearing this word, Night Ten was stunned on the spot.

"Gaia? You mean... the colonial planet from the Human Alliance Era?"

Jiang Xuezhou nodded his head slowly with a pale face.

"Yes…"

Night Eleven held his breath at once, half of his face in shock, half in delight, feeling only awe in his heart, without a hint of fear.

Good lord.

This New Map is astounding!

Honestly, he didn't know what she was afraid of.

No matter how formidable Gaia is, it can't possibly reach its hand into the synchronic orbit, can it?

Placing his hand on her shoulder, he consoled her softly.

"Don't worry, it's far away from us."

The shoulder trembled lightly, seemingly calmed somewhat by his comfort.

But just somewhat.

After a long time, a voice of despair floated over from the communication channel.

"I know, but the wreckage of the Missile cruiser of Gemini isn't near us, I scanned with the radar around but couldn't find it…"

"There's only one possibility, either it fell by itself or something knocked it down."

"We might have to go down once…"

...

(Thanks to the alliance leader rewards from "Like Moon Near the Abyss" and "Bai Cang"!!!)