Chapter 369.2: That's Why Human Nature Is Complicated

After leaving Shelter 101, Chu Guang returned to the surface.

He first visited Xia Yan, Xiaoyu, and other students along the way. He toured the construction site in Daybreak City before finally returning to the Second Corps’ camp.

When he crossed the gate, a group of young players was carrying a three-horned wild deer back from the direction of the forest.

They brought their prey to the campfire, ready to cook it for dinner.

Noticing the administrator, the players' eyes lit up. It was like they discovered another SSSR rank character as they looked at Chu Guang.

One player with a strong sense of immersion clapped his hands and got up. He jogged to Chu Guang and spoke respectfully. "Respected Administrator, we just caught a wild deer and were about to roast it!"

"If you don't mind, we have extra space here!"

Chu Guang was also a bit hungry, so he smiled and nodded in response. "Then I won't be polite. Let’s eat!"

The player's face showed surprise, clearly not expecting Chu Guang to agree so readily.

But soon, that surprised expression turned into a full-faced joy, and he nodded in excitement.

"Alright!"

Seeing their companion bring the administrator back, the other players immediately pulled him aside.

"Damn, why did you bring him over here?"

The player who grabbed Chu Guang scratched his head in embarrassment. "Hehe, I was just thinking about boosting our favorability. If we manage to unlock a hidden quest, wouldn't that be great?"

"Shh... But anyway, you make a good point."

"I better do a good job then!"

Listening to the players quietly calculating their favorability, Chu Guang couldn't help but suppress a chuckle. But watching them busily preparing the food, he managed to keep from laughing out loud.

It took more than an hour for them to process the carcass. Naturally, it included skinning and removing excess fat. They even sprinkled the meat with the shelter's special spices.

In order to hang it over the charcoal flame, the young players were running about busily.

When the sun set, Chu Guang finally tasted the deer roasted by the players.

The rich aroma spread between his lips and teeth. It was a pity there was no beer, or it would have been even better.

Holding the deer leg in his hand, Chu Guang couldn't help feeling a bit sentimental.

Rather than saying he couldn't bear to leave his current world, it was more accurate to say he couldn't bear to leave these hardworking and brave little fellows.

"Thank you, it's delicious, feels like it's driven away a whole day's fatigue... If you guys open a barbecue restaurant, it would definitely be a hit in this city," Chu Guang joked.

The player who had previously brought him over stood up again and bowed sincerely.

"No worries!"

"It's our honor to serve you!"

The players gathered around the campfire also looked at Chu Guang with hopeful faces, their eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Their expression was too easy for Chu Guang to interpret.

Increased!

Favorability!

It definitely increased!

...

The night passed peacefully.

The next day, as dawn broke, Chu Guang boarded the train back to Dawn City, ending his visit to Daybreak City and Camp 101.

Besides the 3,500 beta qualifications, something else he gained was that he finally got an answer to his confusion about the origins of the wasteland.

The war that ended the world 200 years ago happened because of a conflict between the Federation and its colonies. And the motives for the war seemed not to be for independence or purely economic interests.

After all, if those were the only goals... There was no point in going so far. Their method of fighting aimed at completely destroying the opponent was like a battle between different species.

There had to be some other circumstances he didn’t understand...

[History is a cycle, but it usually doesn't simply repeat.]

Sitting on the train, Chu Guang ended his journal about his experience with Camp 101 with the final sentence.

...

Shelter 404.

In the warehouse on level B2, Yin Fang stood in front of an exoframe. With the assistance of 2 engineers, they fixed it with Type-3 Aerospace Aluminium Alloy.

The armor's surface had undergone a degree of polishing, making it look brand new, and the shell was also painted with a fresh urban camouflage coat.

Unlike the battle-worn style exoskeleton Spring Water Commander drew, Yin Fang clearly put more effort into restoring the Dragon Cavalry. He wanted to restore it to its most perfect state.

It was also because of how well it was restored that Chu Guang didn’t recognize the armor after seeing it.

"You're back? I was just about to report some good news to you!" Seeing Chu Guang entering, Yin Fang stopped his work and rushed over with a huge beam on his face.

"This exoframe's condition is simply perfect! Not only are the reactor and battery good, but even the tactical helmet's holographic image is complete! How much did you spend to bring it back?"

"If I say I didn't spend any money, you definitely wouldn't believe it," Chu Guang joked.

Yin Fang smiled. "How could I? It’s exactly what I expect of you!”

What the hell?

Am I the type to freeload and take free things from other people?

Chu Guang rolled his eyes, too lazy to explain.

"Right, I met your ancestor." Chu Guang said suddenly.

"What?" Yin Fang was stunned by the sudden comment.

Chu Guang continued. "I met Dr. Method."

"Method... Dr. Method?!" Yin Fang came back to his senses, looking at Chu Guang strangely, unsure of what expression to make. "Wait... You met Dr. Method? Where? Like before, was it a hologram? Or..."

"At Shelter 101," Chu Guang cut off his rambling, "he's their administrator."

Silence fell in the room.

Yin Fang took a deep breath, calming himself down. He straightened out his messy thoughts, then pinched the bridge of his nose and asked after a moment, "What kind of person is he?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment before he replied, "To be honest, not a very likable guy, but that's just from my perspective, maybe you guys from the Academy have a different opinion."

Yin Fang's expression was a bit complex. Eventually, he spoke again. "The Academy's archives have records about him, describing him as a pessimistic realist. Incredible... He's actually in Shelter 101, I always thought he was buried in the Wandering Marsh."

However... He changed the topic suddenly. "Why didn't you bring him out? His presence in the Academy, although not as significant as the other founders, is still pretty huge. He still has a number of followers. If he tried to rally some people, he might be able to lure quite a few researchers from the Academy to join you."

Shooting Yin Fang a strange gaze, Chu Guang shrugged helplessly.

It wasn’t as though he didn’t think about it. He even considered luring a few engineers out from their virtual world to help with his work.

After all, the students they taught were impressive enough. They had to be extremely capable.

However...

"He and the residents of Shelter 101... They chose to live in another form, uploading their consciousness to a virtual world. It's not likely they'll come out."

Yin Fang paused, then lowered his head to think for a moment. After a while, he muttered, "Hmm... That does sound like his style, but it's not completely like the books."

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Chu Guang raised an eyebrow curiously. "In what way?"

Yin Fang's eyes glazed over and he seemed to think of something. "The book, Origins of the Academy, describes him as someone who often says discouraging things at inappropriate times, bluntly advising students without qualifications to change their careers. He's like an iceblock and he doesn’t actively do anything for others... However, it seems like he really did a lot of unnecessary things, right?”

"It’s like Camp 101. If he decided to spend the rest of his life in another form, he really didn't need to go through the trouble of teaching those wastelanders math and literacy, let alone protect them."

That was indeed an interesting perspective.

Before abandoning his flesh, that man most probably tried various approaches. When he finally decided to draw a line at the end of his road, it was when he had no further attachment to the real world.

From such a standpoint, the creation of Camp 101 was indeed an unnecessary act.

Looking at Yin Fang lost in thought, Chu Guang thought for a while before mumbling, “Maybe that’s how complex people are...”

...

In the west of Clearspring City on the fifth ring...

Walking on the broken streets, with a large box on his back, Peepo was also feeling strange.

Initially, when Ample Time mentioned a way for him to make money, his first reaction was excitement, He was even willing to offer his heart to bolster the New Alliance’s foreign exchange reserves.

However, when the cold box was on his back, his mood suddenly became heavy. "I swear... There’s something strange about this.”

Too bad for him, he could only blame the game for being too realistic. If it were just a bunch of drawings or a string of numbers in the backpack, he bet he wouldn't think it was weird.

Ample Time glanced at him and easily guessed what he was thinking.

"You could think of it from another angle. If it weren't for us, those stripped of parts would be defenseless survivors, the poor in the slums, scavengers lost in the wasteland."

"Not everyone can afford bionic organs worth thousands or even tens of thousands of chips. To survive, they would resort to any means, so we're actually sacrificing ourselves for the benefit of others."

Peepo was dumbfounded. Of course, he knew it was flawed logic, but he couldn't come up with a rebuttal for a moment.

Right.

The parts are taken from clones, and they didn't deceive those who couldn’t be revived.

If they were to really think about who had lost out for the transaction, it was actually the shelter.

After all, it was stated that creating a clone would require a lot of electricity. However, the shelter only took Active Matter as payment for reviving them.

Walking beside him, Old White teased, "You’re getting better and better at bullshitting.”