Chapter 416.1: Beta 0.4 Version: Overseas Trade!

[Today's Headlines:

Controlled Fusion Reactor Ignition Success in West Continent Municipality! The New Alliance is Entering the Era of Fusion!

]

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

[Daybreak City's city lord, Jiu Li:

Free electricity for residents and industrial use for one week! After a week, prices will be reduced to 30% of the original price, and everyone is welcome to set up factories in the new industrial zone of Daybreak City!

]

[Dawn City Weapon Shop:

Newly stocked 200 sets of Miner Type 1 and 2 exoskeletons. 500 G9 Black Swan assault rifles. Enterprise series weapons will no longer be limited in purchase, and more high-tech weapons will be available for reservation purchase once stock runs out! Negotiations for the import of exoframes are underway, stay tuned!

]

The forum on the official website was as busy as ever.

Especially with a few freshly released announcements that have ignited the passion for discussion among cloud players, quickly becoming the hot topic of debate.

- Wow, controlled nuclear fusion?!

- OMG, weren't you guys still playing in the mud last year? How have you all started using nuclear fusion now?!

- From primitive steel-making to nuclear fusion in just one year... This is just too magical!

- Ignorance is bliss, is this really a 100% realistic game? Can we build one in real life using the same method?

- Oh man, even in the Internet Era, some still take the developer's promotions seriously?! Time to get some brain supplements!

- Unscientific, this is too damn unscientific!

The topic of controlled nuclear fusion ignition was much hotter on the official forum of Wasteland Online than the noise in the taverns among the residents of the New Alliance.

After all, for the residents of the wasteland, controlled nuclear fusion was something they once possessed. Though almost forgotten, it wasn’t that extraordinary.

The significance for those on Earth was completely different. Controlled nuclear fusion existed only in theory. Moreover, they weren’t even close to achieving it.

Even if they could portray it in movies, they were all considered science fiction.

Ignoring how it would be used to generate power, whether or not it was feasible to develop hadn’t even been conclusively determined.

If it were just a regular sci-fi themed game, the inclusion of controlled nuclear fusion wouldn't be so surprising.

After all, it wouldn’t be considered unrealistic at all!

However, that was where Wasteland Online was different. It was supposed to be a 100% realistic game, so real that a year ago, the area outside the shelter was still barren land. The players who tested the game had to build their own houses and make cement, constructing their newbie villages from scratch.

Now, the technology of controlled nuclear fusion has been introduced. It was hard not to be amazed!

In the forum, posts were updated almost every second, with the most frequent comments being requests for Beta testing accounts and images.

The discussion in the Beta testers' exchange section was also considerable, but the electricity price exemption wasn’t as appealing as the removal of weapon restrictions from the Enterprise.

After all, the game was just too realistic! In the Alpha version Remember, this game is too realistic. Last year in the Alpha version, the G9 Black Swan assault rifle was a prize in the lottery pool.

Now, it wasn’t just G9 assault rifles.

Including holographic sights, night vision goggles, thermal imaging goggles, and even more sci-fi life signal detectors and other high-tech weapon accessories were available for purchase!

Sales were going to go through the roof!

Thus, aside from a few trolls in the chat section and those bragging about making reservations for newer weapons, only Lifestyle Profession players were seriously discussing the impact of controlled fusion on the New Alliance.

Tomato Eggs: Just the impact of a controlled fusion reactor is enough for a new version's content.

Quit Bullshit: +1, alas, NPCs really are the primary productive force! T.T

Killing Gods: You can't say that. Advanced production technology is important, as are production theory and methods, and these are all different dimensions. Controlled nuclear fusion just opens the bottleneck of energy, the alliance's use of energy is far from reaching its limits. There are still many issues to consider.

Athlete Foot: +1, our steelmaking technology has just advanced to three-phase electric arc furnaces. Even with nuclear fusion, there's a long road ahead.

Be Quiet: Ah, if only we could build a reactor in real life!

Night Ten: Good lord, if you brought this thing to reality, we will jump directly from version 0.9 to 1.0. (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

Makka Pakka: Light: If I were that awesome, why would I still make games? Wouldn't it be sweet to be an academician? (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

Mosquito: Haha, be confident, if it could really be done in reality, why not give you a special title? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Gale: Deuterium-Tritium fusion might be possible, but that pure Helium-3 fusion in the game... forget it. :(

As controlled nuclear fusion technology has surpassed everyone's knowledge, the discussion in the Beta players section quickly shifted from the reactor itself to the electricity price exemption event.

Previously, the New Alliance's power grid relied mainly on burning wood and coal, and although there were some uses of wind and solar power, the costs were not low.

Power outages were frequent.

Now that their electrical technology has broken through, the New Alliance's new and old industrial zones no longer need to worry about energy issues. Not only would industrial costs further decrease, the demand for electric consumer goods would also rise.

For Lifestyle Profession players, it was an epic enhancement!

As players were chattering about what kind of factories to open, another new announcement popped up on the official website.

This time, Lifestyle Profession players weren’t the only ones who were excited.

The entire forum was boiling...

...

Back on Earth, in a bedroom.

Ample Time, who was lying on his bed and listening to the chirping cicadas and the traffic outside, opened his eyes but didn't get up immediately. Whenever he disconnected, a sense of emptiness filled him.

The feeling has been particularly strong recently.

Even if he was just logging off normally...

When he finally got up, he took off his helmet and placed it on the bedside table. He picked up his phone, checked the time, and muttered quietly, "It's already so late..."

Actually, there was no need to look; he could calculate it.

The time difference between the game world and the real world was exactly twelve hours; he logged off at midnight in the wasteland, and it was noon when he woke up. Normally, he would wake up around 8:00 in the morning, head down for breakfast, go for a quick run, before checking if he needed to swing by the Bull and Horst Club’s office. He would then browse the forums and write a strategy, then plan the next day's schedule...

But recently, his regular lifestyle had changed slightly, as he would delay logging off and getting out of bed until much later.

Like today... He could head out for lunch after he woke up.

Finally dragging himself out of bed, Ample Time walked to the window and pulled open the curtains, letting the scorching sunlight flood his room.

Squinting slightly, he headed to the bathroom, turned on the tap, scooped up a cup of cold water before splashing it on his face to wake himself up.

The icy droplets rolled down his throat to his collarbone and slipped into his loose collar, causing him to subconsciously reach for his neck. His index finger paused slightly as it brushed across his skin.

There wasn't a trace to be seen.

The searing heat that lingered there just minutes before felt as if it never existed.

A hint of confusion flashed in his eyes.

But it was just a momentary lapse, and as he scooped up another cup of water to splash on his face, the confusion quickly vanished from his face.

Looking at his somewhat gaunt face in the mirror, and the water droplets dripping from his bangs, Ample Time suddenly let out a bitter laugh.

"Is this what they call an internet addiction?"

Or rather... Was it an online romance?

But using that term felt odd.

He was well aware that the world he was immersed in was just a segment of code running on a server.

It was for that reason that he could always remain clear-headed and rational, able to think calmly about strategies even in dire situations, not getting overly impulsive and emotional like Old White, nor indecisive like Night Ten, blurring the lines between virtual and reality.

But now... He had become the least rational among them...

His phone started ringing the next moment.

Ample Time, still brushing his teeth, walked over and picked up the phone. He saw Night Ten... Or rather, that little shit, Ye Wei, on the display.

They had been friends in the game for a long time. Though they had never met in real life, he already saved their numbers.

Picking up, he brought the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Damn, you finally woke up! It's been hard to reach you! Huh? What’s in your mouth? Are you sucking something?”

"Toothbrush," Ample Time rolled his eyes, his voice muffled. "What's up? Speak up, or I'm hanging up."

"Alright, alright, no jokes. Have you checked the official website?"

"The official website?" Ample Time paused briefly, then recalled, "Are you talking about that new equipment thing?"

He had seen that announcement on his smartwatch, but Enterprise equipment didn't attract much attention from a T0 player like him, so he hadn't paid much attention.

By the time he went to sleep, he had taken off his watch, and hadn't kept up with any messages.

Is there a new announcement?

His expression turned slightly strange...

When did Light become so diligent?

Night Ten's complaints soon confirmed his guess. "That was hours ago! There's a new announcement on the official website just now! They've also finished the East Coast map!"

The East Coast map?!

Ample Time immediately responded. "Oh, I'll check it out later."

"Don't just say that! Hurry up, we're waiting for your guide!"

"Don't rush me, I'll update soon." After speaking, he hung up the phone swiftly.

Ample Time returned to the bathroom, spit out his mouthwash, dropped his toothbrush and cup before rushing to his study. He sat at his computer desk and logged onto the official website.

Sure enough, he saw the freshly released announcement.