Chapter 642: Beta 0.6 Version! Sub-Entity Cultivation System!

Chapter 642: Beta0.6 Version! Sub-Entity Cultivation System!

The long night had finally passed.

As a hazy pale light rose in the distant sky and the first rays of morning sun fell upon the smoke-laden street, Bit, seated behind the sandbag wall, at last set down the heavy burden in his heart and relaxed his shoulders, which had been taut through the entire night.

Two hours earlier, a few stray nibblers had still been drifting toward their position. Now, the entire front was utterly silent—not even a single gunshot could be heard.

From the machine-gun nest not far away came thunderous snoring. Some soldiers, unable to withstand the fatigue, had fallen asleep with their eyes still open.

This was their first time on the battlefield.

Bit looked at his own right hand in disbelief, then glanced around at the blood-soaked, mangled position. His heart was filled with words he could not utter.

They…

Had actually survived!

It was unbelievable.

Just then, the crunch of boots on cement came from behind.

Still dazed, Bit was startled into sudden alertness. He grabbed a pebble from the ground and tossed it at a nearby comrade, trying to wake the man.

Those regular army soldiers already looked down on them—the convicts. If the disciplinary squad caught them sleeping on the battlefield, who knew what would happen?

Even if they were shot on the spot, no one would pity them.

The pebble struck the sleeping brother squarely on the head, but the man was so deeply asleep that he didn't stir—in fact, his snoring grew even louder.

Just as Bit was anxiously about to do something, a hoarse voice came from behind.

"Let him sleep a while."

Seeing the disciplinary officer standing beside the firing trench, Bit's Adam's apple bobbed. He dared not speak, but expressed his thanks with his eyes.

The disciplinary officer didn't mind. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his coat, shook out two, put one between his lips, and offered the other to Bit.

"Smoke?"

Staring at the offered cigarette, Bit was stunned for a moment, but instinctively reached out and took it.

"Th… thanks."

"You're welcome."

The officer grinned slightly, took out a match, lit the cigarette in his mouth, and then handed the matchbox to Bit.

Watching the man whose fingers trembled for a long time before he could strike the match, the officer turned his gaze to the mountain of corpses and sea of bones before the position.

Exhaling a plume of smoke, he smoothed the furrows between his brows and spoke slowly.

"This year's wave is over."

"We've won this war—a complete victory. There won't be any more… waves, or any other damn nonsense."

Bloodthirsty monsters, savage mutants, cannibalistic raiders, and gangs gathered at the foot of the Great Wall, doing illicit deeds…

They had driven all the evils born from the wasteland out of Clearwater City. Today's dawn marked an unprecedented new beginning.

Bit smoked in silence, watching the drifting smoke, his mind a tangled mess.

For the past three months, he had either been working in the mines or preparing for this war. He never had time to think about the future.

Now that the war was over, he had to seriously consider this question—what to do next.

It was then that he suddenly realized he seemed to know nothing. Having never lived a single day in normal society, he lacked any skill to make a living in it.

And besides…

This year's wave had ended so quickly. Would the Alliance really keep its promises?

At the thought, fear crept into his heart, and his fingers holding the cigarette trembled.

As if reading his mind, the disciplinary officer grinned and opened up.

"Cheer up. When the wave came, you didn't run. You fought bravely for the people behind you. You've proven the part of you that is human. Compared to raiders, you're worth saving, and we're willing to lend you a hand."

He paused and continued.

"The higher-ups told me to pass on two things about your future."

Hearing this, Bit quickly said, "I'll go call everyone!"

The officer reached out and stopped him. "No need for that. I'll tell you, and you can discuss it with them later. Think it over before you decide."

"Alright… then please, go ahead."

Bit nodded, swallowed nervously, and listened intently.

The officer continued.

"Your last task: clear the streets of the piled-up corpses. Move them to the designated spot before they rot. This will take about a week. After that, you can leave the penal battalion."

"As for where you go after leaving the penal battalion, my superior gave you two options. One: disband on the spot, return your weapons to the organization, and go wherever you want—whether leaving the Alliance or reporting to the Refugee House. The other: join the newly formed Southern Construction Corps, go to Jinchuan Province to reclaim wasteland, and build your own home."

The first option sounded easier.

Though you wouldn't have Alliance citizenship, the Alliance wasn't as xenophobic as early Boulder City. You could report to the Refugee House, learn a trade as a "supervised person," then find a stable job in the industrial zone, get a tax ID, and become an Alliance citizen before long.

But that was only if he had a skill to make a living.

If he had a skill, he could even skip the Refugee House step—as long as some factory was willing to pay him a wage that met the tax threshold.

But if no factory wanted him…

At that thought, Bit's heart tightened. If that happened, he felt he might take risks again and fall back into his old ways.

No—

That was almost certain.

As if he had already seen his future, Bit silently finished his cigarette, steadied himself, and looked at the officer.

"I choose the latter."

As if he had expected that choice.

The officer smiled, finished his cigarette, dropped it on the ground, and crushed it with his boot. He reached out and patted the young man on the shoulder.

"Whatever you choose, cherish this hard-won freedom. You earned it with your lives. Don't lose it again."

"Next time, you won't be so lucky."

…

The cost of victory was heavy.

The penal battalion had lost forty percent of its men. When they went to the front, there were over five thousand; after one night, only three thousand remained alive.

Not just the penal battalion.

The First Corps and the Militia had also suffered considerable casualties, though not as severe as those used as cannon fodder.

And the players? That went without saying.

As the vanguard of the Alliance, they were always found in the most perilous places, charging ahead no matter the hour.

Nearly twenty thousand players took part in the brutal battle on the field, yet fewer than half survived in the end.

For every survivor in Clearspring City, this was destined to be a sleepless night.

Yet, weighed against the grievous sacrifices, the victory they achieved was infinitely glorious.

After two centuries of decline, the survivors who had united finally overcame the tide once deemed invincible!

This was a trial that neither the Post-War Reconstruction Committee nor even the ancient Human Union had ever truly conquered!

They wrought this impossible miracle with their own hands!

Upon hearing the triumphant news from the front, excitement was etched on every face—whether residents of Boulder City, Dawnlight City, or even Fallen Leaf City and Daybreak City.

People fired shots into the sky, raised their glasses in cheer, or embraced in celebration, venting the joy of victory in shouts and cries.

The moment dawn dispelled the gloom, nearly everyone roared for that hard-won triumph!

And not just humans!

Even the spore clouds drifting over the ruins carried a lightness never felt before.

Less than five kilometers from the Great Wall, at a half-collapsed hospital on the edge of the Second Ring Road, a thousand-strong detachment of the Boulder City Militia was stationed.

At that moment, the hospital’s underground parking lot was filled with crimson slime mold.

It was the incubation chamber for mass-producing spores and fruiting bodies.

Hordes of Devourers and Crawlers set out from here, surging like waves against the defenses of human civilization.

In normal times, to end this annual tide, these mutated incubation chambers had to be utterly destroyed.

But this year was different.

The central hive in the city had long been taken by Xiaoyu, and the DNA linked to aggression had ceased transcription; no new Devourers or Crawlers would emerge from the incubation chambers.

This, beyond the drop in spore concentration, was the clearest proof of the tide’s end.

Gazing at the rolling, pale-red sea, the adjutant in heavy exoskeleton couldn’t help but click his tongue.

“This stuff gives me the creeps.”

For decades, charging at incubation chambers had always been the work of mercenaries.

Though he’d been in the militia for years, this was his first time seeing a living incubation chamber outside of photos or holograms.

He wasn’t alone.

The other militia officers felt the same; unease was written on nearly every face.

“Is it really okay to leave this thing here?”

“What if it starts hatching those Devourers again someday?”

“I feel like it wants to eat me!”

They exchanged glances, whispering among themselves.

Hearing his officers’ murmurs, Militia Commander Joey coughed loudly, cutting off the increasingly absurd rumors.

Once the crowd fell silent, he paused and spoke.

“The Administrator says he plans to designate an ‘Ecological Reserve’ near Vault 401, moving the incubation chambers and fruiting bodies from the city there. The eastern district of Clearspring City has few survivors, mostly dangerous mutants—it’s perfect as a pilot project.”

Never having heard such a strange term, the adjutant blinked and asked.

“An Ecological Reserve… what’s that?”

Two hundred years ago, the word wouldn’t have been rare, but on the wasteland, it was a concept ahead of its time.

“Probably… a settlement where slime mold and humans coexist peacefully?”

Joey wasn’t entirely sure himself, so he tried to understand and explain to his bewildered comrades.

“Like people living in mushrooms.”

Clearly, his simplistic explanation didn’t clear up their confusion; instead, it backfired.

One officer stood dumbfounded for a long moment, then came to his senses and shook his head with a wry smile.

“That’s just too weird.”

Another officer, similarly, swallowed hard at the crimson sea in the distance and nodded in agreement.

“…I’d never stay with that thing—don’t even think about it.”

Joey shrugged.

“What are you talking about? The Ecological Reserve is only open to Vault residents for now; you’d need to apply just to take a look… I think it’s fine, as long as they don’t plant mushrooms on the Great Wall. Curbing the annual tide is already a big improvement—unless you have a better idea.”

The officer coughed awkwardly.

“Of course, I unconditionally support the Administrator’s decision…”

“Same here.”

Joey nodded, his gaze fixed on the slowly fading crimson fungal mass, and continued slowly.

“We’ve tried everything we could—fire, chemical agents… Even if their plan seems bizarre, we have to give it a shot now.”

His outlook was actually quite optimistic.

Not because of blind faith in the Administrator himself, but because biotechnology was truly the Alliance’s strength; that lord would surely consult experts in the field when making decisions.

Given the Alliance’s current unity, its experts had no reason to deceive him; they’d likely offer genuinely sound advice with a clear conscience.

Since so many people from their own professional perspectives thought it was fine, Joey felt the Ecological Reserve was worth looking forward to.

After all, they had nothing left to lose.

The worst outcome would be letting the two-century-long tide continue.

But if it succeeded, they’d blaze an unprecedented path—one that might become the key to ending the entire wasteland…

Just then, a soldier approached from afar, stopped before Joey, and saluted.

“Report! A group of traders is approaching our checkpoint. Their chosen representative wishes to meet with you to discuss the disposal of slime mold fruiting body remains.”

During the tide, traders usually came to the front to buy corpses in bulk—a long-standing tradition in the Clearspring area.

Though slime mold fruiting bodies weren’t edible, they were still organic matter, recoverable for some nutrients.

Whether processed into fertilizer or nutrient paste, they made excellent raw materials.

If left unattended—neither eaten by Devourers nor reclaimed by incubation chambers—these corpses would quickly become breeding grounds for bacteria, potentially sparking a massive plague.

Thus, Boulder City typically packaged these corpses for traders, collecting some chips as a fee.

But this year was different.

Before the tide began, the Boulder City Militia had received instructions from the Vault: henceforth, slime mold fruiting bodies seized by the Alliance would no longer be franchised to private parties but would be reclaimed and processed uniformly by Alliance authorities.

As expected, the remains of those fruiting bodies would be sent to the newly established Ecological Reserve for decomposition and used as construction materials.

Looking at the messenger, Joey gave a concise order.

“Tell those traders that the fruiting body remains in this area have been taken over by the Alliance authorities; the Alliance has better uses for them. If they’re interested in hauling work, they can contact the logistics department. But if they’re after those fruiting bodies and evolved forms, they’d better give up now.”

The soldier rendered a military salute, then turned and returned to the checkpoint at the entrance of the encampment, repeating the commander’s exact words to the merchants gathered at the gate.

After hearing the soldier’s words, the faces of the merchants were etched with bewilderment; they exchanged glances, looking at one another in confusion.

A better use?

Aside from turning it into nutrient paste and fertilizer, what other use could that thing possibly have?

Almost everyone was left utterly baffled.

…

The merchants from the wasteland scratched their heads in vain, unable to fathom what the esteemed Administrator intended to do.

Just as they were lost in confusion, the official website of *Wasteland OL* in another world suddenly updated with an announcement.

[Wasteland OL Closed Beta v0.6 Update Announcement!]

[Major Updates:

1. Closed beta slots increased from 30,000 to 50,000!

2. The Second Ring Road area of Clearspring City has been unsealed, adding numerous unrecovered, explored ruins; related tasks can be obtained from the Scientific Expedition Corps.

3. Added the “Proxima Centauri” star system and the Gaia world to the game world! (Note: Although the map is complete, the passage to this map is still under development. Players may also explore their own routes. More content to come, stay tuned!)

4. Added the “Sub-Entity Cultivation” system!

5. Shelter B7 level to be opened soon.

6. Fixed minor bugs.

…

[“Sub-Entity Cultivation” System Overview:

The hive in the center of Clearspring City has been captured, and all incubation rooms across the city are now under our control!

However, what troubles Xiaoyu is that it has never managed so many sub-entities before, and these entities, designed for slaughter, can easily show raw hostility toward other organisms like wild beasts if not carefully handled.

To avoid wasting resources, and for the sake of our Xiaoyu, Shelter 404 is now recruiting volunteers!

Requirement: Intelligence attribute of 10 or higher, or a bionic chip implanted to enhance brain computing power!

Eligible players can apply for the “Control-Type” biological cybernetic modification surgery via the VM terminal in-game. Approval of the application means successful registration! The shelter will arrange the biological cybernetic implant surgery after the player logs off.

After a successful surgery, players can establish a conscious connection with specific sub-entities through the “Control-Type” biological cybernetic implant, commanding their actions just like piloting a drone through a neural link device.

The adoption fee for standard sub-entities ranges from 100 to 10,000 silver coins, with types including Gnawers, Crawlers, Butchers, Tyrants, and more.

Beyond standard sub-entities, players can also apply to adopt more powerful evolved forms, such as the “Decayed Knight,” by preparing synthesis materials themselves and paying additional fees!

Or even DIY according to personal preferences, as long as the gene pool allows it!

The shelter system will calculate the custom cost based on multiple factors, including the evolved form’s functions, the organic matter required for production, and incubation time.

Please note that the number of sub-entities a player can control simultaneously is related to their Intelligence attribute; refer to the researchers’ recommendations and act within your limits.

If a sub-entity goes out of control, the adopter will bear all losses and consequences!

]

Less than half a minute after the announcement was posted—

The entire forum instantly erupted!