Chapter 335.2: The Utopia Hidden In the Tunnels

- ...The technological level at Camp 101 is quite advanced. They are depicted as wasteland people educated by a shelter. They possess characteristics of both blue coats and wastelanders. I even suspect they might be hybrids of both.

- According to their claims, residents of Shelter 101 only send a few individuals out from the gate when necessary. Sometimes it's to collect resources, sometimes to gather samples from the wasteland, or collect data, but they usually don't stay for too long.

- They have no currency, not even the concept of property. Instead, various points and contributions based on professions and positions determine a person's standard of living.

- For example, regular employees can access standard unit living provisions. Employees in technical fields can enjoy additional consumer goods on top of the standard provisions. Additionally, there are regular KPI assessments determining the percentage of extra provisions...

- Of course, these are all inferences I made from plot dialogues, not necessarily accurate. Compared to Hope Town, it's more like a paradise comprised of a few lucky ones.

- There are several remarkable technologies there. They can make drones very small and can convert carbon dioxide into food. Currently, it's unclear how they achieve this, but one thing is certain. Due to the absence of currency, Camp 101 probably can't engage in free trade like Boulder Town.

- But that doesn't mean they don't have trade needs. For instance, energy, food, and freshwater are highly valuable in their local context. Although we also need these things, we can offer surplus amounts in exchange.

- I speculate that trading with Camp 101 might take a more formalized form. For instance, players specializing in Lifestyle Professions who manage factories can employ highly educated engineers from Camp 101 to mass-produce products that the New Alliance didn't have previously. Or perhaps, they might open a new NPC shop here and exchange high-tech products for resources with us.

Escaping Mole: So, does that mean Camp 101 isn't a map meant for players?

Ample Time: You could say that. This map doesn't even have a shop.

Night Ten: Old Brother Ample Time seems quite disappointed; there's not even a bar where clothes decrease as you dance more. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Ample Time: Scram, when did I ever go to that kind of bar?

Makka Pakka: Hahaha! You've been exposed, bro!

Teng Teng: You guys are too perverted. |･ω･`)

Escaping Mole: What about missions? Don't digress! What missions are there in the new map?

Ample Time: I didn't see any; the VM signal here is very poor... And generally, newly unlocked maps don't trigger missions, right?

Gale: But I'll tell you, the cultural level here is extraordinary. They even have their own school; I was curious and took a peek; they're actually teaching advanced mathematics.

Garbage: What? They even have universities?

Night Ten: Pfft, aren't you too bored?

Gale: No, just curious... And what surprised me even more is that the students in the class are quite young. Normally, unless they are special talents, we don't recommend exposing them to highly specialized content at such a young age.

Yaya: Young... how young? 0.0

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Gale: Around 12 years old.

Night Ten: What?!?

Lightning Professor: Impressive!

Old White: Twelve years old... I can't even remember if I was in junior high or elementary school back then. (Crying)

Irene: Studying advanced math at 12, then what at 16? Are they going to build rockets? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Elf Wang: If I do their advanced math homework, does that count as mooching off the developers' brainpower? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Night Ten: You're so petty. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Bathroom Goer: That's awesome! @Athlete Foot Hahaha, the dissertation is coming together!

Seeing this comment, Engineering and science student players all started to quote him, calling him the Cheat Master.

Even Cloud Gamers who studied mathematics in real life suggested that there was no need for middlemen to make a profit; instead, they could post their assignments on the forum, pricing each question at 1 silver coin. It would be a fair price to pay.

Once they accumulated enough silver coins, they planned to upload their thesis topics into the game and have the NPC write them.

Chu Guang scrolled through the posts and couldn't help but marvel at his players' talents, especially thinking of letting NPCs help with homework and papers.

Look at you... You can even think of stupid shit like this, why not go bigger?

In a game that's this amazing, why write papers when you can just copy the solid hydrogen technology?

However, it was clear that various governments hadn't publicly revealed the true identity of the Wasteland Online company, intentionally hiding related clues.

After all, announcing such an incredible thing as an extraterrestrial civilization would only cause unnecessary panic, with no benefits and possibly provoking an unknown entity.

However, the cautious stance of government agencies worldwide actually helped Chu Guang quite a bit.

Even though some people on the forum kept spinning scary stories, such as Wasteland Online being a real world, everyone just laughed it off without taking it seriously.

Stuff like the double-slit interference experiment, measuring the gravitational constant, these were experiments anyone could do, far too elementary; slightly more complex experiments were a bit more obscure.

Moreover, Wasteland Online stated in their promotion that the game was based on the dream system, constructed by players' subconsciousness and cognition.

Everything players saw in the game was what they subconsciously believed they could see.

From a logical perspective, the people in the box could imagine the world outside the box at will, but they would not be able to use the rules inside the box to prove the existence of the world outside.

The only way to prove the existence outside the box was to open it.

Of course, Chu Guang wouldn't do that.

Knowing too much wasn't a good thing.

But when the circumstances allowed, he would try to open up the secondhand truth, using a relatively gentle approach to help his players gain more benefits in reality.

It wasn't just about money and honor.

It could even be about status.

After scrolling through the posts, Chu Guang made a judgment after some thought.

"Ample Time's suggestion makes sense. The social situation at Camp 101 is more like a micro-utopia, so communication should take a more official form."

"But it's not just about introducing technical expertise; we need to bring in as much educational talent as possible."

Based on Lu Bei and Ample Time's investigative reports, the New Alliance had a comprehensive understanding of Camp 101.

The only thing that puzzled Chu Guang was how the small yet splendid utopian society existed in the wasteland.

But that wasn't the focus. The focus was on the many valuable technologies there, precisely what the New Alliance needed.

His finger moved over the VM screen, and Chu Guang spoke. "Little Seven, compile the clues from the memo for me and update the information about Camp 101 in the official website database."

"Sure thing, Master!" came Little Seven's enthusiastic reply.

Chu Guang nodded, glancing at the time. Realising that it was almost 8:00 at night, he continued. "By the way, what about the settlement of the expansion pack? Have you finished that?"

"Um..." That enthusiastic voice suddenly became somewhat awkward. "Little Seven has finished... But, master, are you sure this is okay?"

Chu Guang was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean..."

Little Seven didn't answer but silently sent over the settlement form.

Seeing the prominent numbers on the form, Chu Guang almost choked on his own saliva. "WHAT?! 100 million?! Are you sure you didn't add an extra zero by mistake?!"

Little Seven said with a hint of distress, "How would I... And master, in the previous settlements, the rewards also included scores. This war lasted so long, and the average player score has nearly reached 40,000 points"

Chu Guang started to feel anxious. "That's still..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly stopped.

This battle had indeed been going on for two months, and there had been new players joining every day. The number of players on the server was no longer 1600, and was now close to 3,000.

Moreover, it wasn't just frontline players who earned scores; players working in production roles in the rear also earned War Score.

A line appeared on the screen.

[QAQ]

Chu Guang: "..."

Little Seven murmured softly, "Hmm... Should we dilute the reward pool a bit?"

As per usual, the value of each point of score corresponded to 0.05 silver coins.

For 100 points, a reward was drawn; some could get exoskeletons worth 2,000 silver coins, while others could only get discount vouchers or lollipops.

If the total points reached 100 million, to ensure the drop rate, the total cost of the reward pool had to be 5 million silver coins.

Below this number, the drop rate would dilute.

Initially, Chu Guang had expected the total points distributed at the end of this expansion to be around 20 million, and the cost of the reward pool could be controlled at 100,000 silver coins.

He didn't expect it to increase by 5 times.

"It was my negligence... This battle was too costly," Chu Guang said, somewhat wryly, opening the system interface and checking the points he had saved.

Since the last Tide event, apart from occasionally drawing a basic or intermediate blind box, most of the points remained unused, accumulating to around 1,500.

15 advanced blind boxes...

He originally planned to save enough for 20 before opening them together, but now it seemed impossible to save up that much.

Hopefully, something good would come out of it.

Otherwise, he would have to figure out how to fool his players again...

...

At the same time, in the management center of Camp 101, the air purifier emitted a faint whirring sound.

An elderly man with white hair sat in a chair, eyes almost closed, lost in thought, almost as if he had fallen asleep.

His name was Horn, the leader and Town Mayor of Camp 101, responsible for the camp's internal and external affairs and appointing various officials.

Half an hour ago, representatives from the New Alliance invited them to visit their settlement.

Camp 101 didn't have a specific official handling external affairs; the most significant force they encountered before was the Bonechewer Clan.

And communities of survivors like the Good Weather Cooperative and Happy Home, with dozens or hundreds of people, didn't really need to establish contact.

The tradition at Camp 101 was to let experts handle specific issues. However, what troubled Horn was that he couldn't find anyone to consult about this matter, so he had to call all the officials together.

He slowly opened his eyes, surveying the numerous officials present. "What do you all think?"

Seeing the Town Mayor looking at him, the education affairs official hesitated for a moment before answering in a hesitant tone. "He's a very polite kid."

This statement received agreement from quite a few.

Although those four bodyguards were curious and even accidentally entered their classroom, the representative, Lu Bei, was indeed very polite.

That was the most confusing part. Those who looked most like shelter residents behaved beyond their understanding.

Horn sighed softly. "I wasn't asking for your assessment of that kid. I wanted to know your opinion of the New Alliance."

The security affairs official pondered and said, "They are powerful; they ended this war in just two months."

During the fighting outside, Camp 101 wasn't entirely unaware; they had been discreetly observing.

This included using cameras installed on the surface and deploying short-range drones.

The New Alliance's weapons weren't particularly technologically advanced, but they were abundant in quantity.

Overwhelming firepower and a constant stream of aerial attacks helped them win this war.

If he were to evaluate the New Alliance, there was only 1 thing he had to say.

The survivor force was powerful!

The production affairs official said in a low voice, "But they use child labor. That kid should be a soldier, right?”

The education affairs official added, "Most of the survivor settlements outside do the same; after all, their average life expectancy is only 35 years. We can't expect them to be like us and take up key positions after they're 40."

Tris, who was standing nearby, suddenly spoke up, "Perhaps they just sent a young person as a gesture of goodwill."

Although he wasn't an official, as the gatekeeper, his status in Camp 101 wasn't low.

His first impression of Lu Bei was good.

Generally, ability users in the wasteland were eager to show off, but that young boy was unusually polite.

The fact that the other side didn't send an aggressive representative to display dominance at least indicated they had a friendly intent.

This statement gained agreement from many present.

"I think we should go to their settlement, not just to that Daybreak City but also to their capital... To that place called Dawn City."

"Indeed, it's best to meet their administrator. Every shelter is different..."

Horn contemplated for a while before speaking. "I think the same. We cannot isolate ourselves forever, especially now that they have expanded their territory to our doorstep."

The people present started to whisper among themselves.

At this point, the education affairs official spoke up. "But the problem is... Who do we send?"

Horn pondered for a moment and slowly said, "They sent a child over, so let's send a child as well."

The security affairs official hesitated, "Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

"For something like this, of course, we can't just send one person. There's too much we don't know with too much that needs investigating," Horn explained.

The production affairs official nodded, "My suggestion is the same; at least, we should send 2 or 3 experts."

The security affairs official frowned, "But what about safety? There are dangers outside other than marauders... Don't forget the price we paid to collect samples from the nearby forest before."

Not enough manpower...

Pressing his forehead lightly with his index finger, Horn sat back in his chair, contemplating for a long while before making a decision. "I'll request our lord to assign a bodyguard to accompany them."