Chapter 341.2: Is This Game Really Made By Aliens?!

In 3 days, they only understood half of that data.

And the remaining half might take 3 months, or even 3 years, to fully comprehend.

The progress of academia was not just about accumulating results but also improving tools and methods while obtaining results.

He wanted to have a good chat with the person who outsmarted them.

In academia, as long as one had the skill, they would be respected as teachers. He believed that meeting them would be immensely beneficial.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. "Old Liu... if it were something else, I might help, but I'm afraid I can't help you with this."

Professor Liu hesitated and said seriously, "Can you give me a reason?"

The person on the other end of the phone sighed, "... After looking through that information, what do you feel?"

Professor Liu responded straightforwardly, "It’s unbelievable."

The old person asked further, "Unbelievable to what extent?"

Liu fell silent for a moment and then cleared his throat before saying, "... Please don't laugh at me when I say this."

The old person chuckled and said, "Go ahead, your perspective is crucial to us too."

After hesitating for a moment, Professor Liu eventually expressed his true thoughts, albeit in a joking tone. "... It's like something made by extraterrestrials."

There was silence on the phone for a moment and Professor Liu started to feel awkward.

Just as he was about to say something, a gentle sigh came from the other end of the phone. "... It's hard to explain over the phone. It so happens I was planning to come over; please wait for me for a while."

After saying this, the phone went dead.

Holding the phone, Professor Liu was startled. His expression gradually became peculiar.

Is it really aliens? That can't be real, can it...

"Seems like it's not just us who think so! Professor Liu also feels that these technologies don't seem to be developed by research teams on Earth."

"Speaking of which, didn't Professor Gao we consulted previously also mention something like this?"

"It seems our initial speculation was correct."

"I never expected the third kind of contact to unfold in this manner. It's truly unbelievable!"

In an office somewhere on Earth, discussions were fervent.

The leader of the task force who had just received a call from Professor Liu had already gone to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. According to the old team leader, reverse engineering of that material had been progressing quite smoothly, and the cost was within an acceptable range. It wouldn't be long before they saw the product.

Upon hearing this news, the members of the task force were thrilled; it indicated that their work was yielding results.

"Oh, did we have any updates on Professor Gao's side?" a man suddenly asked.

Another person sitting nearby responded, "Professor Gao? Are you referring to the expert in the mining field we consulted before?"

"Yes, didn't Old Li give him the website? I wonder if he checked it out."

"I didn't ask. It might not be appropriate to inquire about that."

At this point, a staff member spoke up, "I think our strategy is still too conservative. We should propose to the higher-ups to control the players."

Indeed, that was one option. However, his proposal didn't garner much support.

Soon someone said, "I disagree. What about the risks? Have you considered them?"

"If the work is done properly, what risks could there be?" the person argued. "And don't you think this would be more efficient?"

"I don't think so at all. Your idea of efficiency is merely your own perspective. Moreover, the people trust the party, and the party trusts its people. What are you trying to imply by controlling them? Do you distrust the party or the people? This kind of thinking is deeply problematic!"

It was not just problematic; it was downright reactionary!

However, considering that his comrade also meant well and just spoke hastily, the colleague with the opposing view didn't express their thoughts so harshly.

Seeing the office about to engage in the same old debate, the man with a stern face coughed lightly, interrupting the argument between the two. "... Alright, let's not discuss things that have already been said before. The higher-ups have advised caution and to maintain the status quo. Both the team leader and I agree with this idea."

"Rashly intervening in the gaming process not only commits the mistake of laymen guiding experts and interventionism but also can lead to uncontrollable outcomes."

"Since the current rules favor us, what we should do now is not change the rules or upset the apple cart, but maintain the rules and retain our advantage."

After giving a glance around at the colleagues present, the man with a stern face continued. "Let's talk about something practical. This technology introduction has actually exposed our lack of preparation."

"The platform for currency exchange has been open for a long time. The other party actually gave us a long preparation time, but at that time, no one took it seriously enough, so we ended up rushing to make purchases on the last day, which led to the embarrassing situation of not being able to buy in. Instead, it allowed early speculators to take advantage and make a profit."

Originally, this transaction should have been completed by a state-owned enterprise, so that after introducing the technology, they could immediately begin its transformation. However, time was too short.

In such a short time, they couldn't find a suitable and relevant enterprise.

They could only make a stopgap decision and buy the technology first, then decide how to use it, specifying which enterprise and who would be in charge.

There were too many implications behind the technology and their actions.

The bespectacled man nodded. "Indeed... We can't always scramble at the last moment. Especially after this precedent, if there's news again, the active speculators on the trading platform will surely drive the prices up."

Earlier, the staff member who proposed controlling the players sighed and said, "If it were only about higher prices, it would be fine. Any problem that can be solved by money is not a big one. I only fear situations like the temporary halt last time, where even with money, we still couldn't make purchases."

The trader who was responsible for making the trade before also nodded and said, "Exactly. Especially with that kind of high-profile buying, even a blind person could see who the buyers were. If I were a speculator, I definitely wouldn't be able to resist joining in."

If it were a slow increase in holdings, it would be impossible to figure out who was buying. However, with the kind of display they had put on yesterday, they didn't even need to do the math; they could easily figure out how many cards the other side had.

"... Our current silver coin reserve is only 2 million. This reserve is too low. My suggestion is to establish a Technology Introduction Fund and transfer several professional traders from the financial system to engage in long-term stable buying."

"Are you talking about establishing foreign exchange reserves?" joked a colleague sitting at the adjacent desk.

The trader chuckled and said, "Why not? Although we don't know what they need, they have the technology we want. If you consider players as labor exports, then we should also pay those workers."

The man with a stern face brightened up. "Makes sense. This suggestion is good; I'll include it in the report to the higher-ups!"

Seeing his opinion valued, the trader continued to express his thoughts. "... Furthermore, it's not just about establishing a regular foreign exchange purchase mechanism; we also need to specify the method of purchasing. For example, the money for technology introductions can't always come from the national budget. We need to encourage those enterprises that benefit from the technology to allocate a portion of their profits to buy technology. This is the only way to create a virtuous cycle."

While it appeared that the money they used to purchase silver coins was given to players, it was actually a subsidy for enterprises acquiring technology.

This could work once or twice, but it would definitely cause problems if continued in the long term.

Frequent micromanagement would not only lead to objections from higher-ups but also generate dissent among those below.

With everyone brainstorming ideas, the man with a stern face diligently took notes. In no time, the notes already filled several pages.

The specific details of the Extraterrestrial Civilization Technology Introduction Fund would need detailed discussions with other departments before they made any decisions, but the general direction had been determined.

Looking at the notebook full of notes, the man with a stern face felt a sense of strong emotion and suddenly had a strange thought.

I wonder if Light's daily work is also like this? Monitoring forums, taking notes, and then playing games.

If that's the case, the planning for Wasteland Online indeed isn't easy...

Meanwhile, while various countries' relevant departments were discussing countermeasures, the official website forum for Wasteland Online was buzzing.

- Sob, sob, sob

, Light, when will your Silver Exchange open again?

-

Damn it! It's been locked for 3 days; network fluctuations can't last this long, right?

-

Crying, if it doesn't open for trading soon, I’ll go broke! QAQ

-

Haha, I almost believed that!

When the expansion pack ended the other day, any player who had silver coins in their pockets, except for those being too greedy and not selling, or those foolishly trying to exploit the market for profit, basically made a killing in that wave.

Go broke? That was nonexistent.

Even the newbies who had just entered the game and had only a few hundred silver coins in their pockets also earned tens of thousands due to the price hike.

Although this meant that they would have to work hard again in the game, everything was worth it!

With the war over and various industries waiting to flourish, it was time for hard work, production, consolidating the fruits of victory. How can one spend money on leisure at such a time?

For the New Alliance, they had to work hard!

Browsing the official website forum, Chu Guang was pleased to see his players coming back from the frontlines and heading straight to construction sites, eager to share their experiences of working on the forum.

It was indeed something to be proud of.

Previously, the qualifications for the closed test were not valuable, but now, a helmet was worth at least a million, if not more.

Of course, going to the construction site was just a figurative expression.

There were still many ways to make money in Wasteland Online.

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Although many strength type players were working on construction sites, more players were taking loot to nearby survivor gathering places like Red River Town for trading, hoping to sell them at higher prices.

In order to keep his players engaged, Chu Guang went against the opinions of logistics officers like Charlie and Luca and approved a construction plan budgeted at 200 million silver coins!

This plan included the New Alliance's railways and the development of Daybreak City. Relevant resources would be primarily allocated to businesses run by players, followed by those managed by NPCs.

He believed that the players would definitely appreciate his generosity!

As for the silver coins trading platform being halted due to network fluctuations, Chu Guang didn't rush to reopen it.

On one hand, players didn't have extra money at the moment, and only speculators were participating in trading.

On the other hand, the big players in reality were still studying the next phase of strategies, and new funds entering the market would need some time.

Opening the platform now would only allow those speculators to profit, which made no sense.

Both cloud gamers and players needed time.

Moreover, Chu Guang was also waiting for an opportunity. He was waiting for the technology in the game to manifest in reality, for the seeds he had sown to sprout.

It shouldn't take long.

After all, it was technology he had personally selected based on real-world needs.

Not to mention, the collaborators he was working with and those excellent players came from the same place.