Chapter 368.2: Dr. Method

Transactions that violated the laws and regulations of their world were forbidden to be discussed on the forum.

"Master, should I remove the post?" A small window popped up at the top of the VM screen. It was actually a message sent by Little Seven.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and replied, "There's no need."

Selling their own organs is indeed within the rules, and the death penalty is borne by the players.

Of course, this operation is only allowed for players who can be resurrected, and ordinary residents are prohibited from doing so.

The shelter has long since had no shortage of Active Matter, 10 Crunchers could provide a unit of Active Matter, and after the player reached LV10, all they needed was double the Active Matter to respawn.

Although Chu Guang rarely interfered with players' game progress and chose to focus more on setting the rules, he still spent time keeping an eye on what the players were doing.

It was partly to satisfy his curiosity, but it was also to see if there were any loopholes so he could patch up those exploits.

He might not know what the NPCs are up to, but he could say that he knew what all the players were doing like the back of his hand.

Even without going through their VMs, he could track related clues from the official website's posts.

Although not every player visited the forum, the more noticeable players couldn’t resist showing off there.

Shutting off the screen, Chu Guang looked up as they arrived at their destination.

The gate of Shelter 101 was just ahead, it was a gear-shaped giant gate identical to that of Shelter 404.

At this moment, walking beside Chu Guang were 10 soldiers from the Guards Corps.

There was also the mayor of Hope Town, Horn.

However, Horn didn't take him to the gate, but led him to a tent not far from it and handed him a pair of glasses.

The glasses looked a bit like a pair of alternate reality glasses, but the dark lenses didn’t let through a single ray of light.

Chu Guang examined the glasses for a moment, then looked at the old man and asked, "Do I just need to wear these glasses?"

Horn nodded respectfully. "Yes, respected administrator."

Chu Guang looked at Lu Bei, who wouldn’t leave his side. "Wait for me at the door."

Lu Bei hesitated slightly, his expression somewhat reluctant. "But, Sir..."

Sitting down on the chair next to him, Chu Guang wasn't about to explain. "This is an order."

Lu Bei was silent for a while, but eventually saluted and walked out of the tent.

Following him out, Horn glanced at the young man and said softly, "Don't worry, it's just VR, we won’t do anything that might threaten your safety."

Lu Bei didn't speak. He also felt that these people were unlikely to do anything detrimental to the administrator.

He just couldn't trust that person he had never seen... The administrator of Shelter 101.

The other soldier standing next to him felt the same.

The man's face was taut as he said in a stiff tone, "It had better be so."

If anything happened to the administrator, he swore he would level this place.

A shelter, so what? Can’t blow the door open? We’ll blow up the entire tunnel and seal this place with concrete!

The door closed behind them.

Chu Guang fiddled with the glasses for a while before placing them on his nose.

Surprisingly, no image appeared on the dark lenses.

Instead, when he closed his eyes for a moment, colorful ripples spread from his forehead around him, pulling his senses and transmitting a vast amount of information.

It was only a moment of disorientation, and when Chu Guang opened his eyes again, he was already standing in a completely different world.

Birds chirped and trees provided shade to the area where people walked on brick-laden roads. Everyone was chatting and laughing.

In the distance, a statue stood, but since it had its back to Chu Guang, he couldn’t see its face.

He seemed to be standing in a park.

Chu Guang looked around dreamily at everything in front of him, murmuring to himself, "... This is..."

At that moment, a voice came from behind him. "Welcome to Shelter 101."

Upon hearing this, Chu Guang immediately turned around, only to see a stranger standing there.

He was neither tall nor short, slightly thin, with a face that wouldn’t stand out in a crowd, but his smile had a unique warmth. Most striking were his eyes, deep as the ocean, as if they could see through everything.

He was holding a girl's hand, presumably his daughter. However, she had inherited only the color of his eyes, not his shiny black hair.

Chu Guang felt vaguely that the girl looked familiar, but just slightly.

"Daddy?" the girl looked up at the man next to her and asked softly, "Is he your friend?"

"Sort of." The man gently patted the girl's hand and spoke in a soft voice, "Go to your mother, tell her I'll be there in a moment."

The girl nodded and let go of her father’s hand. She ran into the crowd.

Chu Guang watched her disappear into the crowd and frowned. "Is it okay to let her walk alone?"

As if he had heard something amusing, the man chuckled, "Don’t worry, there’s no crime here."

Chu Guang's face bore a thoughtful expression, and he suddenly stamped his right foot.

The tingling sensation from his foot and the immovable brick told him everything was as real as it could be.

Yet he still sensed something off. Because if it were reality, with his strength, that brick under his foot should have shattered.

"Is this a virtual world?"

The man's face showed a hint of appreciation. "You’re worthy of your title indeed. I was just wondering how many seconds you would take to find out."

Hearing the seemingly cryptic remark, Chu Guang raised his eyebrows. "You seem to know me?"

The man nodded, speaking cheerfully, "Yes... Though only for a few seconds, I'm very glad to meet you."

Chu Guang didn't see what was so good about it.

And the man obviously didn't explain what he meant. He simply continued, "Let me introduce myself, you can call me Method, which is the most common signature I use in my papers, and how my friends call me."

Method?

Chu Guang furrowed his brows, suddenly realizing something.

Wait...

Could he be Method from the Academy?

He remembered Yin Fang had once mentioned to him a long time ago about the 3 founders of the Academy, Principle, Method, and Conclusion.

He had already met Dr. Principle in that abandoned virtual image. According to his memory, that man was an optimistic idealist who later went to the northern part of the River Valley Province to help establish the Post-War Reconstruction Committee...

Good grief.

He hadn’t yet visited the Wandering Marshes but had already met 2 of the Academy's founders.

However, what Chu Guang couldn't understand the most was...

"Why would a founder of the Academy be here?"

"The Academy... That's a nostalgic name." Those deep blue eyes seemed to drift into memories of the past but quickly returned to a gentle smile.

"But I'm not that great. I didn't establish the Academy; it existed in the distant Prosperity Era. I just devoted a bit of time to help my friends rebuild it in the new world."

"As for why I'm here..." Dr. Method paused for a moment, seemingly pondering how to answer.

"It's a bit strange to ask, but I can sense what you’re really asking. Simply put, not all shelters were activated during the war; some began operation after the war ended."

Chu Guang mused. "So you mean... after founding the Academy, you came here?"

"Sort of, but that was a long time ago. I almost forgot about it until you mentioned it." With that, the man's tone became cheerful. "I appreciate you taking the time from your busy schedule to satisfy the curiosity of someone as insignificant as me. My puzzle was solved the moment I saw you."

"My VM has already been given to Horn, he will hand it over to you later."

Chu Guang silently watched him, then suddenly spoke, "Contrary to you, my confusion has only deepened after seeing you."

Dr. Method smiled warmly and politely replied, "It would be my honor to clarify any doubts you have, you can ask me anything."

Chu Guang smiled. "Is that so? Then I have many questions to ask, like... Who is our enemy?"

He had been pondering this question for over a year, ever since he first woke up on the wasteland.

"An enemy..." Dr. Method thought for a while, "2 centuries ago, we did have some conflicts with our compatriots from South Gate II, but I don't consider them our enemies."

Indeed.

A look of understanding appeared in Chu Guang's eyes.

The books collected from Shelter 117 mentioned a method of transferring spacecraft between massive celestial bodies, clearly indicating that the people of the Prosperity Era had mastered FTL engine technology.

The mind-interference technology preserved in Shelter 117 also came from exchanges with the colonies.

All signs pointed to the fact that, long before the Prosperity Era, humanity had stepped beyond the solar system and at least established a colony out there.

Dr. Method's statement confirmed some of his speculations.

What he hadn't expected was that this war would erupt between the mother planet and a colony...

He had thought it would involve extraterrestrial civilizations, like an over-expansion triggering the Fallen Empire's alert.

However, what surprised Chu Guang the most wasn't those events, but the man's reaction before him.

Allowing a war to destroy an era.

Chu Guang always felt he seemed too calm.

"... Even though your world has become like this?" Chu Guang frowned.

Dr. Method nodded, speaking in an ordinary tone, "Yes, the war was merely the final showdown, but the seeds of conflict and divergence were planted long ago, whether they germinated today or tomorrow makes no difference. This includes many complicated reasons that can’t be explained in a few words."

"We did try to prevent it, including my respected mentor, many people made great efforts in their lifetimes."

"Yet in the face of the wheels of time, the power of an individual or two is truly minuscule."

"Realizing that everything was irreversible, the only thing we could do was to save as many sparks as possible when all was beyond salvation, to leave a bit of hope for future generations."

"... Or rather, to leave a bit of possibility for our future."

The voice was soft, though right in front of him, it seemed to drift from afar.

Feeling Dr. Method’s passive attitude, Chu Guang couldn't help but speak again. "Haven't you ever thought of making a change?"

As if expecting Chu Guang to say something like that, Dr. Method smiled. "How do you know I haven't done anything?"