Chapter 730: Beta 0.7 Update! The War of Heaven Begins!

Chapter 730 Beta0.7 Update! Heaven’s War Begins!

At the peak of Blood Mountain, the setting sun slanted westward, and a cold wind rustled through branches laden with shattered snow.

A middle-aged man in a white robe stood atop the mountain.

He was gaunt, with a high-bridged nose and a pair of rimless glasses perched beneath his brow. If you removed the white robe that clashed with his demeanor, he might have passed for an ordinary teacher.

But that was merely an impression.

As for a name, he had none.

From the moment he entered the Sanctum and became a Pioneer, he had cast aside both his mortal name and his flesh.

However, if one were to speak of the alias he used in the world, he did have one.

The mutants on Ten-Peak Mountain called him the “Beast King.”

As for humans…

Those discarded by the laws of nature never had the chance to see him.

Expressionless, he watched the peaks of Fu Mountain, unmoved by the roar of gunfire there, the cries of anguish, the bloodstained banners rising in the sunset…

Only when all the commotion had subsided did he murmur thoughtfully to himself.

“A bit sooner than I expected…”

The Stonehorn Clan was the barrier he had set at the gateway to Ten-Peak Mountain. He had thought they could hold off the Alliance for at least a month, but in just one day, Fu Mountain had changed hands.

Though some remnants of mutants and short ones remained, they would hardly form an effective fighting force—at most, they could cause the Alliance a bit of trouble.

At this thought, a trace of regret flickered across the Beast King’s face.

A pity…

That Gresh had been his carefully chosen masterpiece; he had even performed the surgery on its cybernetic body himself—through the hands of a mutant priest.

It seemed the strength was still insufficient, and the cybernetic body’s full power had never been unleashed.

Yet he was not discouraged; instead, the interest on his face grew stronger.

To them, mutants were merely tools. The entire Haiya Province was their breeding ground, and such things could be produced in endless numbers. Given enough time, they could fill the whole wasteland with them.

In comparison, experimental data was far more valuable.

They needed to test the fruits of their laboratory research on the battlefield, refine their designs based on feedback, and then select greater lifeforms, until they finally completed what the people of the Prosperity Era had left unfinished—the “Gestalt Lifeform.”

Only when humanity became a greater species could the paradise they yearned for truly be realized.

And when that time came, he would transplant his consciousness into a new body, and then, with all the time in the world, he would think of a new name for himself.

But speaking of it, these Vault dwellers were quite good at naming things.

“…Goblins? An amusing term.”

Watching a certain short one being thrown off a cliff, a faint smile curled at the corner of the man’s lips.

He could hear the death throes of the chosen ones, and naturally, he could also hear the syllables uttered by the Vault dwellers who had killed them.

The most frequent syllable was likely the name for those short, green-skinned creatures.

He wasn’t very good at naming his creations. After making those short mutants, he had kept them mixed with the big ones, and sometimes the big ones even threw them into the oil pot as seasoning.

He hadn’t expected their enemies to solve this problem for him.

Since the Vault dwellers had given them a name, he would use it.

It sounded quite smooth.

Turning to look at the short, green-skinned creature cowering behind him, the Beast King left a single sentence in a casual tone.

“From now on, ‘Goblin’ is your name… Let your enemies and your comrades remember it.”

An incredulous look appeared in those humble amber pupils, then turned into excitement.

“Yes… yes!”

The short green-skinned creature prostrated itself on the ground, knocking its head vigorously, grateful to the Beast King for bestowing a name upon them.

A name!

It wept with joy.

From now on, they were things with a name!

The Beast King had vanished, as if melted into the swirling snow and wind.

“Gob… lin!”

The short green-skinned priest, who had not yet fully learned to speak, stammered as it tried to force the word out, then spun around to look at the others—its similarly short kin behind it.

It shrieked, howled, waved its arms, and told its kin of the miracle it had witnessed, sharing the name the Beast King had given them.

At first, the gazes were filled with disbelief and timidity, but soon they turned into fervor and fanaticism.

The three-syllable name, like a magical incantation, spread from one green head to another, along with the miracle of the Beast King’s favor.

Thus, a tribe called Goblin was born, amid those fierce cries.

Though they had yet to invent their own script or language, they had learned to call themselves.

This was their first culture.

Given by the enemies who slaughtered them and the god they worshipped…

【Wasteland OL Closed Beta Beta0.7 Update Announcement!】

【Major Updates:

1. Closed beta quota increased from 50,000 to 100,000!

2. Mycelium Research Community established!

Beyond reaching a consensus on the agenda of “jointly solving the mutant mycelium problem,” the contracting parties have also agreed on a series of specific cooperation methods.

Electronic Pass System: This system is jointly designed by research units including the Academy, Vault 101, Endpoint Group, and Triumph City Digital Research Institute. Alliance players can apply via VM. Players holding an electronic pass can enter areas under the actual control of Mycelium Community contracting parties (limited to public places and infected zones, excluding sensitive facilities) for production, operations, exploration, and investigation. Contracting parties pledge to ensure the personal safety and basic legal rights of entrants (see details) and to review each pass they issue.

Overseas Information Service: Mycelium Community contracting parties will cooperate on information exchange, setting up signal repeaters and wired cables as alternatives to hindered satellite communications. Meanwhile, all parties pledge not to intercept the wired or wireless signals of contracting parties. Simply put, VMs can now connect to the internet outside the Alliance! (Provided there is a connected signal base station nearby.)

Electronic Account: Tied to the Electronic Pass System, players can withdraw and exchange currency using electronic money in their VM at major banks of any Mycelium Community contracting party, with the Alliance Bank guaranteeing the transaction. The no-application exchange limit is 1,000 silver coins per day; amounts exceeding this require declaration on the forum website! Meanwhile, when players operate in areas under the actual control of contracting parties, they can receive local currency as payment via VM (currently open for Dinar, Cr, and non-Council-member-specific G points), and the Alliance Bank will convert it into silver coins at the day’s exchange rate and deposit it into the player’s account.

3. Heaven’s War!

All members of the Mycelium Community formally declare war on the Torch Church! Players can choose to join the Northern or Southern front based on their situation, or engage in production work in the rear to contribute to the front lines!

Northern Front: The main offensive direction of the allied forces! The current front line is around Ten-Peak Mountain in southern Jinchuan Province. The primary enemy units are mutants and derivative species synthesized by the Torch Church through biotechnology. Forces from Enterprise, Academy, Legion, Bragar Free State, and many other factions will arrive on the battlefield—riding our trains or using their own methods.

Southern Front: The Alliance’s second battlefield in the south! Our allies are contending with the Northern Federation for control of the southern seas. The Torch Church has already intervened in the regional situation, and we cannot let our allies fight alone. Control this area, and the Southern Sea Alliance’s warships will provide cover! Let our tanks land on their beaches!

4. New maps: Golden Gallon Port, Fries Port, Southern Sea Alliance Islands, Vault 70, Guard Mansion Wasteland, Guard Mansion Military Base, Ten-Peak Mountain, Ice Sea City, Cloudfall City Settlement, etc.

5. Fixed minor bugs.

……】

The update announcement appeared suddenly, without the slightest warning.

One moment the forum was buzzing about the bloody battle on Ten-Peak Mountain, and the next, the new version topic shot up to the hot list!

Tail: "Giao! ∑(?Д?ノ)ノ"

QuitSmoking: "Holy crap! Beta 0.7!"

ThunderFistMasterYang: "One hundred thousand closed beta slots! Open beta is just around the corner! Exciting!"

NightTen: "Good grief! Sacrificing one trash lord directly summoned the new version!"

TrashPickLv99: "Damn! Are you polite?! (Angry)"

MacaBazi: "Hahahaha!"

Sisi: "Hmm... I feel like it's because I submitted the 70th Shelter Manager's Log for recycling? Whatever, small matter, doesn't seem that important."

Tail: "Oh! Maybe the reason for the closed beta slot explosion is exactly the 70th Shelter! (/ω?*)"

MeatMountainBigBun: "Just a coincidence. (Crying with laughter)"

Currently, the number of closed beta players in the server is just over forty thousand.

Relative to the ever-expanding game world and the Alliance's growing sphere of influence, this number is indeed a bit small.

Especially since the last Beta 0.6 update expanded the game map to five light-years away! Yet the entire server had only forty to fifty thousand people.

Although the surge in game slots won't immediately translate into online player count, according to past patterns, every increase in the closed beta cap raises the daily number of slots distributed.

And that's the key.

It's also what countless players on the waiting list eagerly hope for.

Many people already have actual businesses running in the game, and some have even invested in their own industries, yet they're still stuck in the queue outside—a truly frustrating situation.

Compared to the closed beta slots that cloud players care about, veteran players are more concerned with the game update content.

The newly established Slime Research Community has more than doubled the area for player activities. Now, even on corporate and academy territories, there are Alliance save points and communication stations, and transactions, mission handovers, and reward collections can be done via VM. Add in the "Heaven's War," and this update is quite generous.

But those "new" maps are a bit unfair.

FallingFeather: "Wait, Golden Gallon Port, Fries Port, Southern Sea Alliance Islands, Weifu Military Base, Ice Sea City, Cloud City Settlement... Damn! Aren't these maps already opened?!"

GreenLanternOldWine: "And a few were made by us!"

Irene: "Congratulations, you've discovered the essence of sandbox games. (Ridiculous)"

ElfKingFugui: "The dog-like planner is confirmed lazy. (Ridiculous)"

FangChang: "Can't say that. Ice Sea City's access rights and Cloud City's settlement were results of the Slime Council meeting... But Fries Port and Golden Gallon Port were indeed developed by us, and the Southern Sea Alliance allies were also won over by us. (Squinting smile)"

HunBaTurtle: "Bosses, forget the new maps for now. Which front should a newbie join? First time participating in a group, never seen the world, a bit nervous. QAQ"

FangChang: "It's up to you. If you've joined a legion, follow your commander's orders. If not, choose based on preference. Currently, the northern front might have more missions. The southern front is still fighting for island control, and both sides are playing it safe. Plus, it's mostly beyond-visual-range combat at sea—once locked, it's a few torpedoes or missiles. If you can't fly planes or drive ships, wait until after the landing."

MidnightKillChicken: "Yeah, without sea control, there's no air control. If we could build an aircraft carrier using the production facilities on Coral City and Peace Island, that'd be great. But those are submarine factories. The Federation's largest shipyard is in Charas's hands. In two months, they might launch another destroyer."

WcReallyHasMosquitoes: "What about a submarine carrier? (Ridiculous)"

MidnightKillChicken: "What's that? (Dazed)"

StarNotInDream: "A submarine aircraft carrier, an old relic from WWI. It was discussed after the Iraq War in the '90s, but the technical difficulty is too high. Jet planes and piston planes are completely different concepts, with entirely different deck requirements... I doubt it."

SpringWaterCommander: "Well, rationally analyzing, it might not be impossible. After all, the game isn't reality; rigid copying isn't advisable. Looking at the Dolphin's cargo space, I think it's not much different from an aircraft carrier. In reality, building a non-submersible version of the same thing would be tough."

"If the cargo area could be redesigned as an upward-sloping runway or catapult track, and the top deck turned into a runway, maybe the blueprints wouldn't need many changes. Even if it's just a mobile sea airport that can dive to avoid missiles, allowing planes to rearm and recharge, that'd be great... If I remember correctly, that submarine uses nuclear fusion power, right?"

StarNotInDream: "Damn, awesome..."

FangChang: "Hmm, sounds interesting... I'll go consult some professionals in the game. (Squinting smile)"

...

"Such talent... These guys are getting more and more creative!"

In Shelter 404, Chu Guang, who had just uploaded the update announcement, sighed with emotion and couldn't help but like every reply below.

To be honest, his little players had sharp instincts, almost guessing the truth several times.

Yes, the distribution of closed beta slots for "Wasteland OL" is indeed tied to unlocked shelters.

But there's nothing to hide about it.

After all, even if it's a bit odd, it can be part of the game's setting—only by unlocking more "newbie villages" can more new players enter the game.

For veteran players, if they don't want to spend all day with the same few familiar faces, exploring more shelters is beneficial.

Since unlocking the processing center on B7, the shelter system has effectively handed over many permissions to him.

Even including cultivation pods and hibernation pods—previously produced via black boxes or obtained through missions—now they can be produced on B7, and some low-tech structural components can even be outsourced to factories in Dawn City to save B7's precious "high-quality capacity."

Except for triggering emergency missions under specific conditions, it no longer guides him like a nanny on how to be a good manager, nor does it send daily tasks like chopping trees, hauling bricks, or farming.

Recycling manager logs unlocks varying numbers of gene sequences.

Apart from completing sudden missions, this is almost the only way to obtain gene sequences, which from the players' perspective, naturally translates to closed beta slots.

Previously, the Pioneer City managed to recover some abandoned shelters in the Great Desert, yielding about twenty thousand gene sequences from manager logs.

The 70th Shelter also rewarded over twenty thousand, totaling around fifty thousand.

Considering the Alliance's expanding territory and the ongoing "Heaven's War," Chu Guang decided to release all closed beta slots and triple the daily distribution rate.

This way, over three months, the server should gain thirty thousand new players, and the ongoing war can absorb this "sudden influx."

Whether they choose to work in the rear or fight on the front lines, there are enough "positions" for them to find a suitable playstyle.

And with veteran players guiding them, there's no worry about the newcomers causing trouble. Once they follow the game flow and get their VMs, they'll assimilate into the community.

Also, the Alliance's second front in the south—the southern front—developing submarine aircraft carriers is indeed a good idea.

He had discussed this with Captain Chen Jianhong before—the Dolphin's cargo space is ridiculously large, could it be converted into a runway?

Influenced by the inertial experience from the parallel world, Chu Guang felt that not only his players but even he had a particular fondness for developing aviation equipment.

And practice proved that aircraft are indeed useful.

Especially when operated by the Alliance's ace pilots, they can precisely drop bombs on enemy heads or even turn themselves into bombs for a 72-hour CD precision strike.

Unfortunately, Chen Jianhong only gave a vague answer. He was just a captain, not a shipbuilding expert, and couldn't easily judge something he hadn't seen. The experts at Camp 101 had no experience in shipbuilding, so the matter was dropped.

The Southern Sea Alliance's submarine experts are all on Peace Island. Now that Commander Li Minghui has agreed to form a new joint government with the 70th Shelter members, borrowing some equipment and talent shouldn't be a problem.

Chu Guang has confidence in the players he trained himself, believing they've mastered the art of "not annoying" communication.

"...It seems I don't need to worry too much about the southern front. Before the Southern Sea Alliance gains control of the southern waters, we can focus more on the northern front. By the way, Xiao Qi, where are those Varant people? How far have they gotten?"

Seeing Chu Guang look at her, Xiao Qi, who had been sitting on the edge of the pen holder swinging her legs, immediately sat up straight and reported crisply.

"Report, Master. The Legion's troops arrived at Bister Town yesterday! According to the town mayor's report, a glorious army of 50,000 clones is lining up to board the trains we prepared for them, heading directly to Jinchuan Province."

Pausing, Xiao Qi continued.

"Also, the Falcon City Citizens' Self-Government Committee reported that the 31st Ten-Thousand-Man Brigade directly under the Eastern Legion has set off on the 'Loyalty' airship. Besides tanks and self-propelled artillery, they brought a 'Bison' all-terrain armored walker. They're expected to arrive at the front within three days!"

Chu Guang's heart stirred and he asked, "Is it the same one we saw in Falcon City?"

Xiao Qi nodded solemnly.

"I've heard that might be the case."

Of course, Chu Guang had an impression of that "Bison."

He had seen it once outside Falcon City; according to the Institute's assessment, it was a freak hybrid of diesel and fusion power, but to him it looked more like a quadrupedal railway gun.

A 200mm cannon with an automatic loader, capable of unleashing the firepower of an entire artillery battalion in a short time, plus a deflector shield and steel armor...

It was clear that the Marshal of Triumph City placed great importance on the Torch.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of hauling so much heavy equipment from the West Coast, over ten thousand kilometers away, despite the immense logistical strain.

Watching Chu Guang lost in thought, Xiao Qi paused and continued.

"Also, the Corporation and Institute forces are almost here. According to Yi Chuan's report, the 100th Mechanized Mountain Division and the 7th Air Wing are moving from Leaping Horse Province into Jinchuan Province, totaling over ten thousand men. From the Institute's side, the Science Committee's 'Alpha' Mobile Task Force will arrive the day after tomorrow at the airbase north of Dawn City; judging by the number of pass applications, it's about a thousand people."

"Besides that, survivor factions like the Bogra Free State, the Lion Kingdom, the Honey Badger Kingdom, the Falcon Kingdom, the Xilan Empire, Garbage City, and others have also sent troops to the front lines, expected to arrive within half a month."

Hearing this, a faint smile crept onto Chu Guang's contemplative face.

The stage was set.

The actors were taking their places one by one.

"Looks like there's going to be a good show this time."