Chapter 1067: Toward Prosperity

Chapter 1067 Toward Prosperity

[Remaining Sentence: 0 hours.]

“Be a good person.”

Tossing a hasty farewell, the duty guard shut the iron gate of the detention center as if sending off a plague.

Staring at the three silver coins and a slip of paper in her palm, Lord Pride lowered her head and grunted “Mm,” looking as meek as a newbie.

The seven-and-a-half-day sentence had been halved in the end.

Released early, she not only received 10 contribution points but also three silver coins in wages and a handwritten thank-you card from the Refugee Home—

[Thank you for helping us, the homeless. :)

—Pirusen]

Most of the tents ordered by the Refugee Home had been sent to Bogra City, where the civil war had just ended.

These cards were probably made by the Refugee Home’s school while teaching children to read and write.

Though the paper was written in Commonwealth, she had learned a bit in the detention center recently and could now guess some simple everyday phrases.

Feeling the heavy weight, the silent Lord Pride suddenly let out a foolish chuckle.

This crappy game was actually kind of interesting.

“Heh heh heh heh… Now you see the worth of a Vault Dweller, huh? Even when sewing on a machine, my strength is nothing compared to some random small-fry prisoner!”

A cheerful smile hung on her handsome face, but soon it twisted into a ferocious expression due to the “noise” drifting from beside her.

“…Though it wasted some time, it’s not a bad experience for a brat like you—better than suffering out in society.”

Stuffing the three silver coins and the card into his pocket, Professor Yang had already put his VM back on.

His lecturing expression made him look like an elder picking someone up from the detention center.

“…You old bastard still haven’t had enough trouble?”

Lord Pride took an aggressive step forward, her fierce expression instantly tensing Professor Yang’s face.

Though he didn’t want to play along with this fool, there was no way he would bow to a mere kid!

The two LV0 rookies somehow squared off like LV99 champions in a final showdown, even making the ants on the roadside clench their toes.

A battle was about to break out!

Just as they were about to get locked up again, Brother Pig, who had come to pick them up, finally pedaled his bicycle between them.

“Calm down, you two. If you really want to PK, there are plenty of chances. Why cause trouble in a safe zone? And don’t you want to develop first? You don’t want to spawn naked, do you?”

Those words had some effect.

Remembering he still had business to attend to, Professor Yang curled his lip and loosened his clenched fist.

Lord Pride clicked her teeth threateningly, then jerked her raised forehead sharply to the side.

Kicking down the bike stand, Brother Pig watched the two quickly calm down, a relieved smile spreading across his face as he nodded with a sense of accomplishment.

Not bad, not bad.

His hard work hadn’t been in vain. These two live wires still had plenty of spirit, but at least they were much more normal than before.

He felt like he was watching his own pigs grow up.

“Speaking of which, you haven’t accepted the ‘Passing the Torch’ quest yet, have you? Want to consider me?”

“You?” Professor Yang glanced at him and chuckled. “Kid, don’t be too cocky. When I was a pre-order player, you were probably still playing some three-billion-mouse dream.”

Lord Pride had a similar reaction, curling her lip dismissively.

“Tch, no interest. What’s in it for me?”

Brother Pig wasn’t angry, just amused, and smiled at the two live wires.

“Yes, yes, you two are amazing… Don’t laugh, but I only pre-ordered half a year ago. My game knowledge really can’t compare to yours. I might even have to ask you for advice often.”

Lord Pride: “Keh—”

Thunderbolt Professor Yang: “!??”

Seeing the two stunned, he coughed lightly and continued.

“I can’t give you much benefit—at most, I can take you around. By the way, I plan to head to the Wandering Swamp next. There seem to be plenty of quests there, and we might pass through Free State and the Great Rift Valley along the way… Want to come?”

Professor Yang stared at him in disbelief.

“A level 0 can go to a level 20 map?”

Brother Pig smiled.

“Of course. This game isn’t that rigid. The recommended level only affects the insurance payout ratio. You don’t have any gear worth insuring anyway, right? Staying in safe places won’t let you level up fast.”

“Oooh, killing monsters above your level? Sounds interesting,” Lord Pride finally showed interest. “Decided, newbie—you’ll take me to check it out!”

“No problem! Leave it to me!” Brother Pig smiled and looked at Professor Yang. “What about you? Want to come?”

“The north, huh… Good eye. It’s indeed a place full of opportunities,” Professor Yang rubbed his nose bridge with his index finger and looked up at the sky. “Fine, we’re going the same way anyway… Newbie, accept that ‘Passing the Torch’ quest.”

Brother Pig smiled and made an OK gesture.

“Roger!”

…

β Universe, Summer 2026, Earth.

Half a year had passed since Vault 404-β completed its historic mission.

In these six months, not only had the “game world” of Wasteland OL entered a new era, but the “real world” had also seen the sprout of a new epoch.

The landmark event was undoubtedly the ignition of the “Pangu” controlled fusion reactor.

Though the first-generation fusion technology using deuterium-tritium fuel was already an antique fit for a museum in the wasteland, for the β Universe still in the “Classical Era,” this outdated technology could still be described as trendy.

Under the influence of the “Pangu” reactor, the changes across East Asia, even Southeast Asia and South Asia, could only be described as earth-shattering!

Supported by energy rivaling that of a star, China, the first to achieve controlled fusion ignition, saw a series of visionary, forward-looking deployments in new energy, information, and other fields undergo a stunning chemical reaction, directly creating markets worth tens of trillions out of thin air!

In the face of such strong economic growth, all debts incurred during development were effortlessly resolved.

Not only that.

The power grid extending from Daya Bay not only radiated across the industrial belt of the two river basins but also crossed oceans via submarine cables, seeping westward into the Bay of Bengal and southward into the Solomon Sea.

What flowed outward along the grid was not just endless, cheap electricity, but also supporting infrastructure and low-end manufacturing factories with high energy consumption and high labor density.

Those were mostly jobs that Chinese residents were increasingly unwilling to do.

Over the past five years, the wealth created by technological innovation had been stored in the National Development Fund. Workers who lost their jobs due to technological upgrades lost only their labor, not the “right to survival” that had been tightly bound to labor in the old era.

With five years of continuous development, the social development dividends distributed by the National Development Fund had gradually surpassed the income from manual labor.

Without worrying about survival, marriage, childbirth, medical care, or retirement, uneducated people mostly tended to use subsidies to study or learn a skill, while educated people leaned toward more creative work.

Whether it was creativity about exploring the heavens and the seas, or creativity about short videos.

Though no work is inherently noble or base, one must admit that some jobs are indeed more equal and more dignified than others.

No one is born to deliver packages or haul bricks, nor could they truly do it for a lifetime—besides, their backs wouldn’t hold out.

If given a choice, nearly everyone would opt to live a bit more easily, and no one would mind spending more time consuming social welfare, leaving the troublesome manual labor to laborers from developing economies.

Though the downside is a glut of lazy good-for-nothings, leading to an ever-growing flood of stale memes online, the blessing in disguise is that everyone has become happier, with more time to spend with their families.

Things that aren’t good enough will gradually improve.

Those who find happiness in reality tend to be kinder and more tolerant toward others.

And as society’s overall strength rises, a consumer market far vaster than any previous era is also ascending.

Perhaps before long, this rising radiance will bless the entire azure planet and shine upon the other barren soils of the solar system…

And when even the underdeveloped regions contributing low-end labor, along with jobs that ravage body and spirit, are all replaced over time by new things, the era of prosperity for this planet will truly have arrived.

……

On a scenic resort island in the South Seas, the golden beach bustles with people.

Beyond the well-known emerging economies, even this island—whose name most cannot pronounce—has recently been connected via submarine cable to the controllable nuclear fusion grid from Huaxia.

Thanks to this, RMB’s influence locally has surpassed USD, and it has become as warmly welcomed by the locals as the generous Chinese tourists.

Though this has brought some inconvenience to the work of “Shelter 404-β,” it has conversely saved the former a great deal of trouble.

First, flights to and from the island have increased, allowing the shadow operatives of Shelter 404-β to travel more efficiently; second, the electricity problem has been solved.

Especially the latter.

Previously, they had to secretly build ocean current generators under the sea; now they only need to put up a few data centers for show, or claim they’re mining digital currency.

Buying electricity with money is far more convenient than running a power station themselves. “Shelter 404-β” may have faced issues with high-end production capacity, but it has never lacked funds.

For a reborn person who has seen the script in advance—or even written the future script themselves—it’s all too easy to legitimately and legally acquire a few “external possessions.”

Long before “Shelter 404-β” was operational, the “Professor” had already solved the most basic problems of operating funds.

As for future problems…

Those are the children’s own affairs.

“It’s about time for me to leave.”

On an unremarkable fisherman’s wharf, the Professor, carrying a suitcase, bid farewell one by one to his colleagues, then stopped before Dr. Principle.

Looking at that face full of reluctance, he smiled gently and patted the shoulder of his prized student.

“You are the accident in my plan… To be honest, I thought you might go to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee to find me, so I specifically instructed ‘Conclusion’ not to reveal my whereabouts. But I didn’t expect you to discover me and chase me all the way here.”

“I am honored to be an accident in your plan,” Principle nodded slightly, then raised his head, looking at him with sincere eyes. “If you don’t mind, please let me continue to follow in your footsteps. I am willing to journey with you to the edge of the galaxy!”

That was not just his thought.

It was the thought of many present.

Not everyone had started a family locally, embracing the idea of a new life after great success; some still lived in that bygone era even today.

After all, they themselves were people of that time.

Though some among them were ready to return the way they came, others felt that even if they went back, they would find no place for themselves in the new era.

They had devoted their entire lives to Project 404.

Understanding their thoughts well, the Professor was silent for a moment, then looked into those eyes and spoke.

“You don’t have to follow me… and of course, you don’t have to return to the α universe. If you truly miss the past, then just keep moving forward along this timeline. You will eventually return to that prosperous era, and perhaps even help the people here overcome the problems we once faced in that age of prosperity.”

Dr. Principle lowered his gaze and said in a hoarse voice.

“Perhaps… According to our model’s evolution, it’s only a matter of time before the people of this world enter the prosperous era. But on this timeline without you, no matter how far we go, we will never meet our ‘Professor’ again.”

He didn’t know what others thought.

But for him, at least, what he missed was never the prosperous era itself, but his mentor—the one who stood at the pinnacle of human intellect and led him to that era.

That was precisely why he had followed him all the way from Clear Spring City in the α universe to this place.

Seeing the reluctance written on his student’s face, the Professor laughed freely and patted his shoulder firmly.

“Isn’t that a good thing? Before, there was only one me; from now on, you will all be me.”

“My mission is over; it’s time to leave some time for myself… This is for your own good as well.”

With that, he withdrew his hand from Dr. Principle’s shoulder, picked up the suitcase resting on the dock, and boarded the submersible surfacing from the sea.

The spacecraft components deployed in the center of the Pacific had entered their final launch preparation phase, ready at any moment to break free from gravity’s grip and head for outer space orbit.

He had been preparing this since last winter, when the “Pangu” fusion reactor was first ignited.

Now, it was finally complete.

Time to give the “real world” a shock from a “higher civilization”!

Watching the hatch slowly close, the Professor shouted cheerfully to the reluctant Dr. Principle.

“This is far enough to see me off!”

“Oh, and the manager of Shelter 404—that is, ‘the other me’—wants to have a chat with you.”

“As for the notion of ‘a timeline without me,’ it’s not quite accurate. I have always been here, both I and my continuation, and I have never truly left—whether in the α universe or the β universe!”

“From the very moment our plan was set in motion, the fates of both universes have been intertwined!”