Chapter 980: Endgame Crisis Descends Again?

Chapter 980: Final Crisis Descends Again?

The official website of "Wasteland OL."

Today, as always, it was bustling with activity.

Players who had received their expansion rewards were sharing their experiences on the forums, while complaints about Goblin Technology products unsurprisingly dominated the hot topics.

After all, customers of other brands like "Megalith Military Industries" hadn't even disconnected yet; even if they wanted to complain, they'd have to wait their turn.

African Great Chief: "Holy crap! Mosquito, your stuff is such a scam!"

Nascent Soul Cultivator: "How come the so-called explosion booster just blew up when I pressed the button?! (Dazed)"

Repeat Offender No. 1: "Hahaha, explosion booster, no problem!"

Brave Piggy: "Rip-off! It blew my bro's dick off! (Angry)"

Brave Bull: "Screw you! My name is Bull!"

A Thoughtful Person: "Why are players still cursing? Aren't we supposed to filter players? A-Guang, how did you pick these players!!!"

Blackened T-Rex Warrior: "Give me his helmet!!! (Scream)"

Irena: "First time playing this game? Goblin Tech products are like this. Get used to it. (Ridiculous)"

Elf King Fugui: "You're actually wronging Mosquito. He gave you the best he had. If you can't handle it, I suggest you uncheck the 'Player Product Reward Pool' option. (Ridiculous)"

As early as several versions ago, players were allowed to sell their DIY equipment on the system store, but entering the expansion lottery pool was a recent development.

Of course, considering that players' brainwaves don't always yield positive results, opting into the reward pool was not mandatory, and those who did would receive a weight compensation for their lottery odds.

"Wasteland OL" had always been very humane in this regard.

As for those who couldn't handle the heat...

Well, they just couldn't handle it.

After all, Mosquito's face was as thick as a city wall; this kind of criticism was too weak for him.

Just as a bunch of newbies were denouncing Mosquito, a sensational post suddenly caught everyone's attention.

Ye Shi: "Big news!!! The Hunter-class missile cruiser suspected to be hijacked! One hundred thousand neutron torpedoes on the verge of launch!!!"

Tail: "Giao???"

Quit Smoking: "What the heck?!"

Spring Water Commander: "Ahem... missile cruiser? The South Sea Alliance? What the hell is a hundred thousand neutron torpedoes?"

As soon as the post was made, it stirred up a thousand waves!

Although the forums were never short of clickbaiters, Ye Shi was no ordinary clickbaiter.

Known for leaking insider information, he was even jokingly called A-Guang's son by some, which meant his words carried some credibility—at least to a certain extent.

And so, not only did this eye-catching news divert the attention of the "righteous" players, but even Mosquito, who had been playing dead, jumped out.

WC Really Has Mosquito: "What the hell?! Which blind fool is coming to cause trouble for our alliance now?"

African Great Chief: "Ooh ooh ooh! Smash him! (Angry)"

As usual, Ye Shi first posted to grab a spot, let the thread pile up hundreds of replies, whetting everyone's appetite, and then leisurely recounted the whole story on the forum.

"...We caught a disciple of the Enlightenment Society in Avant City, a resident of Vault 68. Based on clues dug from his memory, their goal in hijacking the Academy's research vessel was to reach the Hunter-class missile cruiser in geosynchronous orbit."

Spring Water Commander: "Two questions: They themselves are at the Lagrange point space station, so why would they need the Academy's research vessel? And second, since the Academy has so many research vessels, why haven't they occupied that 'latrine' in geosynchronous orbit first?"

Fang Chang: "The first is easy to explain. Just because they're at the Lagrange point space station doesn't mean they have the capability to travel between the Lagrange point and Earth's geosynchronous orbit. In fact, maybe they aren't even physical entities, just a piece of information stored on a hard drive or server."

Sisi: "A 'digital ghost'?"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Hiss... so scary. (Scared)"

Spring Water Commander: "And the second?"

Fang Chang: "There are many possible explanations. I'm more inclined to think the Academy tried but failed due to insufficient conditions, so they shelved the matter. But honestly, no matter how you interpret it, it's just reverse-engineering from the result. It's meaningless."

Mole Rat Escaping the Canyon: "I think it's meaningless too. Just tell us what to do."

Fang Chang: "How would I know what to do? I'm not the administrator. Anyway, the next expansion might be space-related. Probably... that's it. (Squint)"

Quit Smoking: "Damn! Your analysis is too sloppy!"

Debt-Big Eyes: "The planner was about to copy it, but then cursed and put the pen down. (Ridiculous)"

Construction Youth and Bricks: "A-Guang: Bro, you're making this hard for me. (Ridiculous)"

Professor Yang of Thunder Law: "Sigh, watching you guys turn 'Wasteland OL' into 'Space OL' breaks my heart."

Blackened T-Rex Warrior: "Ahhh, let the server explode already!"

Ye Shi: "'Starfield OL,' start! (Ridiculous)"

Tail: "Ooh! Meat Meat, start!"

Meat Meat: "Our ship can only sail in the sea! (Crying with laughter)"

Sisi: "Looks like Coral City's housing prices are going up, if the deep sea can block neutron torpedoes."

Ao Ao Sesame Paste: "I think since they're called torpedoes... it's a bit iffy. (Helpless)"

"..."

The thread quickly derailed.

And it never showed any sign of getting back on track.

Sitting in his shelter, Chu Guang opened a few game groups to check, and found that the veteran players had indeed shifted their battlefield, but none of them had any good ideas.

Come to think of it.

That was a hundred thousand "neutron bombs"—a level of power that exceeded the limits of any survivor faction in the wasteland.

Staring at the lines of messages flickering on the holographic screen, Chu Guang frowned and twirled the pen in his hand.

"This is tough..."

...

Meanwhile.

In the sewers of Avant City.

The light of a flashlight flickered on the moss-covered brick walls, startling the rats hiding under piles of trash.

Walking along the passage, Feng Qing and Gui Gui were chatting idly as they followed the path marked on their VM map toward their target.

"Emmm... so, at this very moment, a hundred thousand neutron bombs are aimed at our heads?"

"That's what the forum says."

"Eeeya... feels like trouble."

"Trouble indeed."

After escorting the "prisoner" from the Burning Legion to the guard station with their comrades, the two had simply checked their injuries, changed into new gear, and plunged back into the sewers to continue the task that had been interrupted by the unexpected incident.

Though both were fairly injured, it wasn't severe enough to immobilize them.

But the thought of all those massive things hanging overhead made Guigui feel a wave of discouragement.

It was like the world was ending, and she was still clocking in at work.

"...Damn! Then why are we even doing this crappy mission?" As she spoke, Guigui kicked a pebble on the ground, watching it clang against the metal grate of the sewer.

Fengqing gave her a strange look.

"Why, you ask... Of course, it's for the 1000 silver coins. That's 1000 silver coins, you know."

Looking at this girl who seemed utterly unfazed even at the end of the world, Guigui laughed helplessly.

"But... what use are silver coins if the world's about to end?"

Fengqing: "To put it crudely, at least we can exchange them for money?"

"Uh, I guess that's true." Guigui scratched her head, momentarily unable to argue.

At least the "Silver Exchange" hadn't seen any major fluctuations; a few mysterious buyers were still quietly stocking up.

And if anything, they seemed to be buying even more?

Fengqing smiled and patted Guigui on the shoulder.

"Relax, relax. If the sky falls, there'll be tall folks to hold it up. Worrying here won't do us any good."

"You're way too optimistic," Guigui sighed, then suddenly had a wild thought. "Hey, you think maybe the dog of a game designer can't handle it, and wants to... reboot the server this way? Then open beta?"

"Hard to say." Fengqing pondered for a moment before speaking. "But I think... when that time comes, I might give my helmet to someone who needs it."

Guigui stared at her in shock, as if her words had startled her.

"Damn, I just said you were optimistic, and now you're going AFK?"

Fengqing laughed.

"It's not really AFK, though it might seem the same in the end..."

After a moment's thought, she suddenly spoke in a rare serious tone.

"I just think... if all the familiar people disappear, and the rebooted world has no trace of them, no continuation... why not let them and everything about this world live on in my memory? Anyway, for me, this story is over. That's the feeling, I guess?"

She wasn't the protagonist, but this adventure held no regrets for her.

The world after the reboot wouldn't end just because she was missing—a single gear removed wouldn't stop the machine; in fact, it might run even smoother than before.

She had a strong premonition.

Those who took the torch from them would run faster and go farther!

And among those vibrant newcomers, there might be a girl named "Fengqing"—completely different from her, yet no less strong and brave.

She would carry on her ID and climb the peaks she once could only look up to.

Watching Fengqing's faint smile, Guigui sighed deeply and scratched the back of her head.

"I can understand what you're saying, even if my thoughts are totally different... For me, making new friends and redoing everything all over again is just too much trouble."

She paused for a few seconds, then turned to Fengqing and said seriously,

"If that day really comes, I'll probably do the same as you."

Fengqing smiled and patted her friend's shoulder.

"Aren't we talking about this too early? Let's earn that 1000 silver coins first."

"Yeah!"

Guigui nodded firmly, her previously listless face reignited with eager determination.

Even if tomorrow were the end of the world, she'd clear every quest on her list!

Otherwise, if the servers really shut down, wouldn't the alien nest in the sewers of Avent City become her lifelong regret?

Guided by the VM map, the two squeezed through a narrow corridor, dismantled a barred gate, descended a well, crossed a flooded area, and climbed a metal ladder to a high platform.

That terrified little mouse had indeed run far—kudos to it for trekking all the way under 17th Street to gnaw and squeak.

Were the pipes there sweeter or something?

They then crawled into a winding tunnel, and suddenly the view opened up.

This was a space completely different from before.

There was no stench of the sewer; instead, the air was unexpectedly dry and fresh.

The walls on both sides weren't brick or stone, but a polymer material the two had never seen.

Soon, a structure like an escalator appeared before them. Judging by the scattered trash on the ground and the tightly shut rolling doors on both sides, this might be an underground shopping street?

Or something similar.

"Could this be... a relic from before the war?" Guigui's voice grew excited. She hadn't expected to hit a jackpot before the world ended.

Fengqing was clearly stunned by the discovery, too busy shining her flashlight around and gaping for a long time without a word.

Guigui walked up to one of the rolling doors and tried to lift it, but found it rusted shut, so she gave up.

Stepping back to survey the layout, she muttered, "So the Vlandians built a sewer on top of the ruins?"

Fengqing thought for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "Maybe it wasn't built by the Vlandians... This settlement didn't originally belong to them, did it?"

Guigui blinked.

"Guess so."

Fengqing walked to the dusty escalator and peered down into the pitch-black circular hall below, continuing, "Two centuries ago, the earliest survivors founded a settlement called Avent City on the ruins. They recycled everything they could and sealed off the underground facilities they couldn't recycle with grates to keep mutants from nesting there."

"About half a century later, maybe more... this settlement was taken over by the Vlandians. Most survivors born in Avent City were born in the Wasteland Era; they'd forgotten about this area sealed off by their fathers and the memories tied to it."

"The Vlandians inherited Avent City's legacy, but not the things even the locals had forgotten. They improved on the original facilities and kept expanding. What was once the new district became the old district, and this place faded into history."

Listening to Fengqing's analysis, Guigui rubbed her chin. "That explanation sounds pretty reasonable."

Fengqing smiled sheepishly and said modestly, "Just my guess—not guaranteed to be true."

"True or not, it's definitely a relic from the Age of Prosperity!"

Excited, Guigui pulled out a reconnaissance drone from her backpack and plugged a thumb-sized hard drive into her helmet.

Sync complete!

The tactical visor of her helmet now displayed the drone's camera feed!

"Let's see what the old-timers from the Age of Prosperity left behind here!"