This Game Is Too Real

The mysterious disappearance of the Death Lizard Giant shocked everyone present at the scene.

Whether it was the players, NPCs, or Chu Guang.

Yin Fang was the first to react, rushing to the spot where the Death Lizard Giant had fallen, reaching down to touch the ground.

Rubbing his index finger and thumb, his brows furrowed slightly.

The corrosive blood had completely vanished.

However, the corrosive marks still lingered on the synthetic material floor.

Moreover, the human tissue devoured by the Death Lizard Giant also dissipated into the air along with the virtual particles, as if assimilated by some unknown force.

What exactly is that force?

Yin Fang suddenly recalled the incidents from previous experiments.

The researchers at the Seventh Institute tried to use the perforator to transport simple mechanical objects like clocks to the Creator Universe. The direct result was no reaction, but when placed on a monkey, it succeeded.

The perforator created a gap on the universe membrane, seemingly connected to the subjective perception of the transporter. This interpretation may sound idealistic, but the facts they observed indeed objectively existed.

Walking up next to Yin Fang, Chu Guang looked at the corrosive marks left on the ground and said softly.

"What's going on with this thing?"

"Don't know, we have too few clues on hand..." Yin Fang shook his head, then paused before continuing uncertainly, "But, I do have a guess."

Chu Guang looked at him, signaling with his eyes for him to go on.

Yin Fang paused, then proceeded.

"The Pioneer civilization mentioned 'walls' and explained them as the existence between universes, warning us to be cautious and not let them loose."

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said.

"Are you suggesting that this lizard is something from the 'walls'?"

"Accurately speaking, it's a projection of something 'on the wall'. I do not believe it has the ability to crawl through an almost invisible gap. What we're facing is probably an 'image' it presented using some force through the small gap." Yin Fang looked at Chu Guang, who was deep in thought, continuing seriously, "Of course, this is only my logical speculation. If the universe membrane were fragile enough for us, who have just left our home planet, to destroy it at will, this universe wouldn't have lasted until now… unless you believe we are the only civilization in this universe."

This is clearly impossible.

After all, not long ago, they discovered the existence of the Pioneer civilization, and even their understanding of the "void" was inherited from the Pioneer civilization.

"The projection of a void creature, it does sound quite eerie," Chu Guang smiled lightly, "but it seems the other side is wary of us too, so there's nothing to worry about."

Seeing Chu Guang's confident smile, Yin Fang also relaxed, smiled, and joked.

"Of course it would be wary of us, remember what it just said? It has been to many worlds similar to ours."

"I guess, this isn't its first time hitting a roadblock."

...

[Alliance Scientific Expedition Team Seventh Research Institute·Experiment Log]

[ID: TAG.7444154]

[Name: Death Lizard Giant]

[Description: Form is a large lizard with an indeterminate number of eyes on both sides of its mouth.

Its nature is brutal, extremely aggressive, capable of destroying nearly half a meter thick concrete structure with sheer physical force and penetrating isolation facilities with semi-core defense capabilities.

Apart from its extraordinary strength and desire to hunt, this unidentified lifeform possesses near-incredible regeneration ability and damage resistance, able to maintain combat efficiency even when suffering fatal wounds, recovering damage in a short time.]

[Experiment Record: [Ultra Fierce Army] four Stage Five Awakeners launched an "engaged firepower" attack against it, using equipment including bomb guns, incendiary rounds, and single-soldier rocket launchers, eventually, only one person survived.

In subsequent experiments, [Manager] personally attacked, repeatedly destroying its body tissue to conclude that the creature's regeneration ability has a limit; repeated kills can put it to death.

This lifeform disappeared into thin air five minutes after being killed, specifically decomposing into tiny invisible particles after virtualizing, with whereabouts unknown.

Additionally, experiments show this creature has a certain degree of intelligence and language ability, but only shows limited communication desire when facing an unbeatable opponent.

]

[Note 1: The experimental facility on B3 floor of the Seventh Research Institute should consider potential organic lifeform invasion situations and increase physical extermination devices within the isolation facility.]

[Note 2: Based on the information revealed by "TAG.7444154", multiple parallel universes are suspected to exist. If this information is accurate, the "universe multi-layered nested structure" and "creator" conjecture are suspected to have omissions.]

[…]

...

The official forum of Wasteland OL is as lively as ever today.

And as the players who participated in the "Protect the Seventh Research Institute" mission gradually logged off, a piece of explosive news soon refreshed on the forum that caught everyone's eyes.

Wave after wave: "Big news!!! The researchers at the Seventh Research Institute attracted void creatures using the perforator! Our army sent 4 brothers at level 50 to challenge, and three were instantly killed!"

Enthusiastic Little Firecracker: "I testify! As soon as the alarm sounded, these four rushed up to occupy the elevator, and bang bang fed that big lizard to an eight-tenth full."

Turning bad luck into good luck: "Screw you! We also contributed damage okay! (angry)"

Dangerous turn of events: "Exactly! Without our damage groundwork, could the Manager one-shot the opponent?"

Elena: "If you didn't add that last sentence, I might have believed it. (sneering smile)"

Wave after wave: "Cough, it's not as exaggerated as one-shot, I watched the whole process. That lizard's health wasn't average, Brother Guang's two hits only drained half a bar, died on the 3rd or 4th hit."

Quit smoking: "Whoa?! Endured Brother Guang's three strikes?! So impressive?!"

Night Ten: "Sigh, I told them to take it slow, seems like we've trained a new expansion pack out. (awkward)"

Tail: "!!! New expansion pack coming?! (⊙o⊙)"

Fang Chang: "We'll see if any new surprises arise. (sneering smile)"

Wave after wave: "Speaking of, this monster is quite strange, previously slain monster corpses remained in place, but this one left nothing after dying, as if erased by the server."

Fierce Tiger from the Pond: "+1, I was there too, not only a single fur of the monster was left, but parts of the dead players eaten also disappeared along with it. (°ー°〃)"

Old White: "A brand new game mechanic, sounds interesting. (grinning)"

Elena: "But I want loot more, exploding nothing is too unpleasant. (funny)"

Gnome King Riches: "You want to taste if it's delicious right? (funny)"

Elena: "You found me out. (funny)"

Fang Chang: "Actually what concerns me isn't the disappearance of the monster after death, but the addition of 'parallel world' in the Tag.7444154 entry recently added in the Seventh Research Institute data card on the website."

Wild Wind: "Is there a problem with this setting?"

Fang Chang: "Not exactly, but its content makes me concerned. I've been thinking all along… is it possible that the wasteland of Wasteland OL might actually be parallel worlds? And the content about Tag.7444154 is perhaps some hint from the game designers."

The lively thread was unusually quiet for a while, no one responded for a long time.

In fact, not to mention the bystanders in the thread, even Fang Chang who typed out this line felt it was a bit outrageous, although this thought had been brewing in his mind for a long time.

This game...

Is it really just a game?

As expected, he's not the only one who thinks so.

Just as he updated his guess in a post, people came to their senses and everyone posted their opinions.

And aside from the majority of opposition, quite a few agreed with his guess.

Quit smoking: "Holy shit? Are you saying Brother Guang is actually an alien? (Horrified)"

Fang Chang: "I never said that, but whether or not he's an alien doesn't matter. Even if he's human, he could be an envoy for some alien civilization."

Crow: "This... how could it be! No matter how realistic this game is, there has to be some difference from reality, right?! (°ー°〃)"

Jiujiu loves eating pineapple: "According to this theory... wouldn't those dead people be truly dead, except for people like us. (Guilty)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Sounds a bit creepy, but unexpectedly rational... The NPCs in the game and real people feel almost the same, even if explained by AI, it's too realistic. Uh, a friend told me."

Dinosaur Warrior: "Calling Professor Yang! The delusional symptoms of these internet-addicted patients are worsening! ∑(ﾟДﾟ)"

Wild Wind: "Hmm... I can't refute your point, but I have only one question, how is this sort of thing realized?"

Fang Chang: "That I wouldn't know, considering the current era seems to be in the old times before the Prosperity Epoch, the technological gap is as wide as a South Gate Two."

Fang Chang: "And... doesn't the Morphogenesis Field theory seem familiar? Transmitting information through resonance, this sounds just like a game helmet..."

...

The discussion on the forum continues.

And it has shifted from discussions about the new expansion pack and game mechanics to debates about the nature of the game itself.

Honestly, Chu Guang knew this day would come sooner or later, that the players of Wasteland OL would soon realize the world beneath their feet is not virtual but truly exists in a parallel universe.

Now it seems that day is drawing closer...

Now it seems that day is drawing closer...

Alliance Building.

Manager's Office.

Looking at the holographic screen with the heated forum discussions, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile.

"...There are still plenty of smart people, it seems I need to expand the 'planning team's' roster."

Seated on the table, Xiao Qi tilted its head.

"Are Ah Guang and Xiao Qi not enough?"

"Of course not enough," Chu Guang said with a smile as he gently petted its little head with a gentle tone, "the Wasteland Era is over, we need to design a new game for them to keep playing through the new epoch."

The war of the Free State is winding down, and the variants in the River Valley Province are almost being protected rather than hunted. With the situation of "more humans than monsters" intensifying, this is starting to spread to other provinces.

In the span of one or two years short, or two or three years long, the wild variants on this planet outside Baiyue Province are bound to be hunted to extinction.

After all, a Claw of death takes five to six years from hatching to adulthood, but players only need three days to get back up, and they can fully retain their death experience.

With the Alliance's snowball growing larger and larger, the order on this planet is gradually returning to normal. This, of course, is a good thing for the survivors living on this planet, but not necessarily for the players who joined later.

There are two choices now.

Either reduce or even pause the distribution of closed beta qualifications to control the speed of new players joining, compressing the ratio of combat professional players.

Or open a new map to distribute combat professional players to a new planet similar to Gaia!

Chu Guang certainly prefers the latter option, as it is not his style to discard a donkey after it has ground the mill.

Now the Alliance has established itself on the wasteland, it's time to extend a hand to the compatriots of another world.

Through the connection of the Morphogenesis Field, the two worlds can actually seek mutual prosperity!

Aside from that, the experimental record of "TAG.7444154" regarding the new map issue gave him an excellent idea for solving the problem—

That is to find a habitable or relatively habitable planet, to move the seed of the Tree of Life from the Seventh Research Institute, and some resurrection points of combat professional players there!

Then use the perforator to continuously create new "void species" for players to hunt as wild creatures!

Although this sounds somewhat suicidal, looking at it from another angle, it's a win-win solution.

In this way, it solves the problem of players having no monsters to hunt, improves the gameplay experience, and allows the Alliance researchers to carry out more unrestricted experiments, which helps enhance human civilization's understanding of the void.

Is there a more perfect idea than this?

Maybe there is.

But for now, he couldn't think of anything better!

Just as Chu Guang was secretly delighted, a corner of the office suddenly emitted muttered whispers.

"...Incredible, a young civilization that has just left its home planet can actually comprehend the mysteries of the void."

That rustling noise was like the friction of leaves outside the window, and without careful attention, it would be hard to hear, or even if heard, it would be easy to mistake it as an auditory hallucination.

However—

That faint sound didn't escape Chu Guang's ears, his sharp gaze soon shot towards a certain corner of the room.

"Who's there?"

Seeing Chu Guang's sudden movement, Xiao Qi sitting on the desk was startled and quickly turned to look behind but saw nothing except the bookshelf.

"...Master? Is there something there?" Xiao Qi nervously asked with a touch of worry on its face.

The sound wave detector indicates a good connection, it can be certain nothing was heard just now.

Not even a decibel of vibration.

Yet Chu Guang didn't move his gaze, staring directly at the direction of the bookshelf.

The voice was silent for a while, and after a long time, it leisurely came.

"...Me? You can see me?"

The voice carried a slight obvious surprise, as if seeing something incredible.

Honestly, Chu Guang couldn't see the muttering fellow.

But he indeed sensed a pair of eyes watching him from some direction.

Those eyes didn't carry any goodwill or malice, it seemed they could only watch.

Chu Guang's eyebrows slightly raised, suddenly realizing the identity of the fellow.

"Are you the one who stole my pen?"