Chapter 389 "Drifting Bottle on Track"
"There will inevitably be sacrifices on the road to eternity, and you are not the only one who has sacrificed your life for it."
"You are a smart girl, but your curiosity has ruined you. In the face of survival and truth, you chose the most insignificant one."
"Goodbye, don't blame me."
"Everything is natural selection."
"Before the new world comes, sleep peacefully..."
This will be a good dream.
Although the process is a bit painful...
The broken walls covered with cracks are full of crows, and the sunset lengthens the rough and hoarse voice and the shadow of the claws.
It stood in the middle of the street, looking at the dusk falling in the distance, muttering a bunch of words to comfort someone.
The amber child's eye shrank slightly, and the focused sight seemed to pass through the burning cloud and fall somewhere outside the field of vision.
After a long time, it withdrew its sight from a distance with satisfaction.
However, just as it turned around and was about to leave, it met the eyes of a group of people standing at the end of the street.
They were a group of ragged beggars, wearing tattered clothes, holding iron chains in their hands, and carrying a rifle with a bayonet on their backs.
The amber Tong Kong stared at those people, and a sniff came out of his muzzle-like nostrils, and the face of the Death Claw was full of disdain.
This group of ants who don't know how to live or die...
At the same time, the battlefield atmosphere group standing opposite was full of excitement on their faces, and they lowered their voices to shout to their men beside them.
"Do as I say, throw the iron chain on it, whether it hits or not, run to the building next to it immediately..."
"Don't hesitate, hesitation will be in vain."
Looking at the huge body rushing like a tank, the battlefield atmosphere group grabbed the iron chain in their hands and roared with high fighting spirit.
"Oli Gei, brothers--"
"Just do it!"
Although he didn't know what Oli Gei meant, Li Ba still shouted out in fear, cheering himself up even though every cell in his body was trembling.
"Ahhhh!"
...
Just when Zhan Di Lao, who had just become a centurion, was leading his men to fight wits and courage with the Death Claw, the official website forum far away in another world was also bustling.
"Decryption of the information of Shelter No. 79, the manager turned out to be the biggest villain? ! (I paid for it with my life, give a thumbs up before leaving QAQ)"
After going offline, Sisi sorted out all the clues he collected from the "Experimental Log" in this post.
"On December 30, 2169, the 40th year of the Wasteland Era is about to end. Although many things have happened this year, fortunately our experiments are still continuing."
"But on this special day, I don't want to write too much about the experiment. I plan to write some stories about "us" in case I get Alzheimer's one day and forget our past completely."
"...Shelter No. 79 was built in 2120, five years before the outbreak of the Doomsday War. The shelter is numbered T in the Human Alliance's permanent fortification sequence, that is, a research shelter. Its function is not to shelter any residents, but to be a special research facility reserved for extreme situations that may occur after the war."
"Based on the unreliable assumption of human nature, the idea of the post-war reconstruction committee may fail, and our legacy It may not be used to build a new heaven, but become a tool for a few to exploit the majority, or even become an obstacle to the revival of civilization. "
"Suppose our civilization regresses to the feudal era, or even the earlier tribal era, what we need is not a steam engine or a heavy machine gun, but a king who can lead us through the darkness and from the wilderness to the new world."
"He must be strong enough to gather all the great powers in one person, and it is best to have an almost endless life span to accompany his people through the long river of time and make the ideal never fade. He will sacrifice after rebuilding the utopia and return everything to the people who trust him. "
"Although this is just a hypothesis based on assumptions, even if there is only a one in ten thousand possibility, we should try it if conditions permit. "
"Plan No. 79 came into being. "
"As one of the options among tens of thousands of shelter plans, the goal here is to give birth to a "manager" with perfect ability and morality after 120 years of closure, who will lead his people to rebuild our civilization on the surface."
"A total of 100,000 researchers participated in the plan. We entered the shelter in the first year of the war and woke up from the shelter in the tenth winter after the war ended. We worked step by step under the guidance of the manager."
"At first, the plan went smoothly. Without the review and obstruction of the Science and Technology Ethics Committee, we quickly made phased progress. Unfortunately, in the fortieth year of the Wasteland Era, our plan finally encountered an accident."
"The Ice Age is coming to an end and is expected to end in ten years. , which was half a century earlier than the result of computer calculation. It also coincided with the death of the first generation of managers and the transition from the old to the new. Not only did the new generation of residents doubt the correctness of the "plan", but even we, the researchers who first entered the shelter, had a debate on whether to continue this plan. "
"According to the plan, we selected the second manager from the new generation of residents and gave him the power to choose the future. However, surprisingly, as an opponent of Plan 79, this courageous young leader changed his previous attitude just a few months after obtaining the authority of the shelter and became a staunch supporter of Plan 79. "
"Not only that, he adopted a more radical experimental strategy, requiring us to no longer stick to the form of life and the means of experiment. A large number of clones were put into the experiment. For efficiency, we even improved the genes of the clones, which produced completely different sub-races. "
"I vaguely feel that this is not right, but it seems too late to say it now…"
"On June 11, 2178, it seemed to be clear outside, and the damn snow finally stopped!"
"On June 29, 2178, he must be crazy…"
"On July 8, 2178, many people died for that crazy plan. I will probably die soon, but there is no sadness in my heart. Even if those things didn't happen, my life was almost exhausted. Before the last moment came, we had done everything we could, even if we didn't do everything perfectly. "
"Maybe as he said, everything is a natural choice."
"I hope that the next time I wake up, our world will be brand new, and I will be lucky enough to see the new heaven after being reborn…"
"The above is just the perspective of an ordinary researcher. "
"The logs displayed in the VM are machine translations. I roughly sorted them out. The key information should be in the logs from June to July 2178. I will move the original texts to the forum one after another. If there are any missing clues, please help me find them."
The post was sent out in less than three minutes.
The comments area was instantly covered with hundreds of replies. Whether it was players or cloud players, they all started to discuss.
However, there were only a few nutritious replies.
Roushan Damomo: "We thought you were lost and walked around in that building for a long time."
Aoao Zhimahu: "…This is too scary."
Tail: "Woo woo woo, my Sisi died miserably! Damn…this bastard! I'm going to set fire to his shelter! (;｀O′)o"
Mole in the Canyon: "It's useless. The administrator has absolute authority in the shelter. Even if you successfully bring the tools for setting the fire in… I don't believe there is even a fire extinguisher there. (Slanting eyes)"
Tail: "!!!"
Sisi: "Well, I thought so too. There is no point in exposing myself now. It's better to pretend nothing happened and give it a surprise in the end."
The most unreal thing about this game is probably the "off-field" feature.
Although the NPCs are playing their roles very carefully, it's a pity that they don't know that there is such a thing as a "game forum" in another world.
That Yong would never have thought that the secret he had kept at the cost of silencing people has been leaked completely…
Edge paddling: "The currently known clues are that the ultimate goal of Shelter No. 79 is to cultivate a king with perfect morality and eternal life? But in the end, due to various reasons, the experiment went astray? "
Ya Ya: "Lifespan is easy to say…how can morality be considered perfect? _(:з」∠)"
Yin Lena: "The 'philosopher king' in Plato's works? (funny)"
Bianbian Pashui: "So the experiment failed."
Fang Chang: "It may not be a failure, remember what year it is now. (squinting)"
Bianbian Pashui: "2341."
Bianbian Pashui: "Hush, wait! If that Yong is the second manager mentioned in the experiment log, doesn't it mean that the experiment has been successful? !"
Fang Chang: "This possibility is very high. Compared with the unknown function of the serum, I suggest you find the manager of Shelter No. 79."
Aoao Zhimahu: "But the manager's authority in the shelter is absolute. Even if we find him…we can't do anything to him, right?"
Fang Chang: "That 'Yong' may not be in the shelter. Otherwise, why didn't he go get the serum himself, but pinned his hopes on a group of outsiders full of uncertainties? "
Aoao Zhimahu: "That's right... The administrator has absolute control over the shelter. He must have a reason why he can't return to the shelter, so he needs the help of outsiders."
Tail: "Oh oh oh! That's it! !!!∑(?Д?ノ)ノ"
Sisi: "Emmm... Although I think so, I still suggest that you take advantage of the situation and get the serum first."
Fang Chang: "Well, this is certainly an option, but you must be careful not to let that person take the serum away... It's the only bargaining chip in your hand."
Edge Water: "Haha, don't worry about this! We have more than a hundred awakened people stationed here, it will definitely not be stolen! (grin)"
Sisi: "I'm scared of your flag. (squinting)"
Debt Big Eyes: "But who will that Yongshi be? "
Makabazi: "Listening to your discussion, I feel that all the residents of Xiangling Town are suspects... Was the radio found in the library?"
Just as the players were discussing, Trash, who had been silent, suddenly appeared in the comment area.
"Actually, I was just thinking, is there a possibility..."
"That guy, is he not actually a human? "
…
The night is deep.
In the wilderness 70 kilometers away from Qingquan City, 25 fully armed soldiers are advancing along a deserted road.
This used to be a small town, but now it has been abandoned. The concrete road, which has been broken into several sections, is full of collapsed houses and construction waste.
The nearest survivor settlement is Garbage City, with a population of about hundreds of thousands, but this has nothing to do with the purpose of their trip today.
The abandoned research institute hidden in the town is their goal today.
Stopped.
Old White looked at the research institute in front from a distance, compared it with the photo on the VM screen and said jokingly.
"It really doesn't look like it at all compared to two centuries ago. "
Wooden fences covered with blood and minced meat formed a circle outside the walls of the institute. Mutant flies as big as fists flew around the sharp points of the wooden stakes, making a buzzing sound. Rats hiding in the corners gnawed on the leftovers and looked up at the wall from time to time.
Even predators would never make their nests so dirty and allow themselves to be surrounded by plague and stench.
The creatures living here are obviously not humans, but something else...
"Mutants. "
Kuangfeng closed his eyes tightly and suddenly said three words.
The four-rotor drone controlled by his neural access device has already flown over the institute and synchronized the aerial footage to the VM of every team member nearby.
On the roof of the institute, two mutants as strong as calves and with dark green skin were standing next to the guardrail.
Next to them was a flaming iron bucket, holding the leg meat of an unknown animal in their hands, eating it with relish while using a rough Talking in a heavy voice.
The way they eat raw meat and drink blood is just like the green-skinned orcs in Warhammer.
Everything here is exactly the same as the mutant tribes that players have encountered in the early versions.
The difference is that the mutants are still the mutants, and the players standing here are no longer the newbies of the past.
"Mutants, there is nothing to say," Ye Shi loaded the sniper rifle in his hand, pushed in an anti-material armor-piercing incendiary bomb, and said with a smile, "Just start fighting."
If it is a survivor settlement, you still have to identify the other party's identity and determine whether to adopt a negotiation or expulsion strategy.
But for mutants, there are no such problems.
Sending these beasts to hell is what they should do.
Lao Bai looked at Kuangfeng with a serious expression.
"Number of people, direction."
"Two on the roof, one in the corner of the west wall, two in the garage on the north side, one standing next to the oil drum, and three next to the window on the second floor... These are all I can see. Kuangfeng, whose consciousness was integrated with the drone, calmly reported the location and marked the target on the VM map with red dots.
After confirming the enemy intelligence, Lao Bai made a neat gesture.
After receiving the order, the players following him immediately divided into three teams.
One team led by Ye Shi moved to the high slope on the west side of the institute, one team moved to the left side of the institute's main entrance, and the rest were led by him personally and rushed towards the institute's main entrance.
The mutants had good eyesight, and the instinct of beasts allowed them to quickly discover the abnormality in the dark.
However, when they realized that a disaster was imminent, everything was too late.
"Fire!"
With Lao Bai's order, a series of "bang bang bang" explosions came from the west side of the institute.
Six "heavy cavalry guns" spewed out flames at the same time, and six thick tracers shot towards the top floor of the institute like lightning, completely tearing open the silence of the night.
In front of the 37mm armor-piercing incendiary bomb, the mutant's sturdy body was like a piece of paper, either being pierced through on the spot or the bullet was embedded in the flesh.
The hot magnesium-aluminum alloy sprayed sparks, roasting the flesh and blood into charcoal. The mutants rolling on the ground screamed and screamed, and their dark green faces twisted into a ball because of pain.
Without any mercy or mercy, Lao Bai led his team to rush into the institute quickly, and the assault rifle in his hand spewed out flames, shooting the mutants who tried to rush up and fight with them into sieves.
After breaking through the first line of defense, the players waiting on the left side of the door followed closely and rushed into the institute, circling the side and heading straight to the back of the institute, sweeping every inch of the corner between the wall and the main building of the institute.
From time to time, gunshots like cannons came from the west, and large-caliber armor-piercing incendiary bombs were used to tear the mutants who tried to fight back near the window into pieces.
The battle was not suspenseful at all, and soon turned into a one-sided massacre.
Although they have strong bodies and decent iron rifles and axes, these mutants are obviously no match for these battle-hardened "veterans".
In less than 20 minutes, the elites of the Burning Legion cleared all the mutants in the entire institute and rescued more than a dozen captives who were imprisoned in the basement and had not yet been "eaten".
These people are both men and women, the oldest is more than 30 years old, and the youngest is probably only 10 years old.
Judging from their clothes, some of them look like traveling merchants, and some look like villagers from nearby settlements. ?
When they were first rescued, they curled up in the corner of the room, with no light in their lifeless eyes. Although they were still alive, they were no different from dead.
It was not until the shackles were removed that a trace of life was restored in those lifeless eyes.
"...It's okay. We have cleared out the mutants here. You are safe now."
"Thank you... Thank you!"
A survivor just got up from the ground and tried to kneel down again, but was held up by Old White.
"No need to thank us. We are soldiers of the Alliance. If you have nowhere to go, you might as well keep going east. When you reach the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, the people there will take you in."
Although his human language is not very good.
But he has memorized this line a long time ago.
"Alliance..." The survivor had a blank expression on his face, but he kept chewing the word in his mouth, as if he wanted to remember it.
"That's right," Old White gave the man an encouraging smile and continued, "We are trying to build a society there that is different from other places. If you are tired of living in the wasteland, you can go there and try it."
After sending the group of survivors out, he returned to the institute.
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes looked at him and laughed and teased.
"Okay, the first ambassador of the alliance."
Lao Bai said with a smile.
"You don't understand, this is called accumulating good luck."
The manager always keeps an eye on each of his residents. Loyal behavior can increase the probability of equipment explosion and triggering hidden tasks.
Although there is no solid evidence to prove this rumor, it doesn't hurt to believe it.
Many residents of the alliance have received their favors, and those people regard them as heroes.
The NPCs in this game are quite different from other open world games. Even if you don't save the world, but just do a small good thing, the NPC will remember it for a long time.
Those people will really thank you.
Quitting asked curiously: "By the way, how much are you short of 100,000 contribution points?"
Lao Bai: "After this task is completed, it should be almost there."
"Awesome!" Ye Shi gave a thumbs up and said with emotion, "Everyone is doing the same task, why are your contribution points rising so fast."
Lao Bai smiled embarrassedly.
"Maybe a little bit adds up to a lot."
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: "Good brother, let me touch the power armor after you change it, hehe."
"Sure, do you want me to take it off for you to touch, or do you want me to wear it for you to touch."
Quit Smoking looked at Lao Bai in surprise, his expression was like he had discovered a new world.
"Fuck, when did you become as coquettish as Ye Shi!"
"I was shot even when I was lying down," Ye Shi rolled his eyes and urged, "Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and do the task."
They parachuted all the way here, not to travel.
The group split up.
One group went to the laser launch unit of the institute and physically opened the rusty launch bay door.
Another group went to the control room on the third floor of the institute.
Fortunately, the backup generator here still had some power left, so they didn't have to prepare a generator to charge the capacitor of the laser launch unit.
Lao Bai walked to the console, turned on the VM screen, and confirmed the current task.
[Mission: Orbital Drift Bottle]
[Introduction: Our war with the Legion is at a stalemate. Although we have successfully fooled them into thinking they are fighting the Enterprise, it is hard to say how long this deception can last. We need support from the East Coast, and first we have to let them know that their old friend is in trouble. In an emergency, we have to dismantle a satellite. ]
[Requirement: Activate the laser launch unit of the Institute, contact the scientific research satellite in the synchronous orbit directly above, and complete the data transmission. ]
The method to activate the laser launch unit has been listed below the task bar.
They only need to plug the data interface into the console and then place the communication balloon.
The rest can be left to the remote operation of the NPC in the shelter.
Looking at Lao Bai plugging the data interface into the console, Ye Shi, who was standing next to him, asked curiously.
"Is this using the satellite as a drift bottle?"
This is too extravagant.
Kuangfeng stared at the screen of the console for a while, and suddenly said: "Actually, I am more curious about how to get in touch with the satellite in synchronous orbit through laser here."
This technology is a bit too dark.
But compared with controlled nuclear fusion, it seems acceptable?
Lao Bai didn't think too much, and said with a laugh.
"Who cares? Who knows what will happen more than 100 years later? You can't expect Brother Guang to make one for you in reality."
Kuangfeng's expression became a little subtle.
99.99...% real virtual reality game and laser communication technology across 36,000 kilometers, it's really hard to say which one is more difficult to achieve.
The reading bar on the console screen is completed.
The launch device in the center of the institute suddenly shot out a beam of light as thick as an arm.
It's hard to tell what color the light is. Its color is as erratic as its existence itself, with faint red and pale purple outlines flickering.
The beam of light pierced through the clouds and pierced into the boundless deep space.
Move to the roof of the research institute.
Kuangfeng looked up at the faint light in the sky and muttered.
"...If I were a member of the Legion, I would definitely fire a shot here."
Lao Bai smiled and said, "What are you thinking about? This place is more than 200 kilometers away from the airship. What kind of shells can reach such a distance?"
200 kilometers.
Then you have to use tactical missiles.
I heard that the goblin technology is actually researching short-range missiles, and I don't know how the progress is.
Mosquito never says a reliable word. No matter how many times you ask, it's almost there.
Although there is a component of necessity, to be honest, the technology tree of the new alliance is really crooked.
"...That's true."
Kuangfeng nodded thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the beam of light, but his mind was thinking about other things.
Under the influence of the Tyndall effect, the beam of light can be seen from a long distance.
Was it the same 200 years ago?
Or is it because the equipment has been out of repair for a long time and the output power is unstable, which leads to such obvious scattering and clutter.
However, only people 200 years ago know what happened 200 years ago...
"Signal transmission completed... Confirm that the satellite is leaving the channel." After confirming the progress of the mission through the VM, Lao Bai reached out and pressed on the headset, switching to the team members to repeat the order.
Ye Shi asked curiously.
"Will you see the meteor later?"
"Maybe you can see it on the east coast, but it's probably hard for us here..." Lao Bai smiled, reached out and picked up the rifle leaning against the side, and patted his teammate on the shoulder, "Mission completed, we should withdraw."
I heard that the scientific expedition team retrieved a lot of interesting things from the data they recovered.
Let's ask about it when we go back.
...
At the same time, on the Iron Heart.
General McLen standing in the bridge was listening to his subordinates' report.
The prey that he had been thinking about was still hiding in the urban area of Ruigu City.
But it was gratifying that his dull men finally made a little progress.
With the help of an experienced local hunter, they successfully hung two chains on the body of the Death Claw.
This was certainly not enough to hurt the Death Claw, but it was enough to cause it a lot of trouble.
According to the hunter, the chains would be like spears inserted into the body of a whale. The claws of the beast were too long and there was no way to get it off by itself.
As long as enough garbage was wrapped around it to restrict its movements, it would not be able to catch prey and run around. Sooner or later, it would fall to the ground exhausted and let them slaughter it.
Through continuous offensives, weaken the opponent who is far stronger than oneself, and finally concentrate strength to kill with one blow.
This theory seems to work not only in hunting, but also on the battlefield.
General McLen suddenly became a little curious about the native hunter.
At this moment, a faint red light suddenly appeared on the French window in front of him.
General McClane narrowed his eyes after catching a hint of abnormality.
However, when he looked carefully, it was pitch black outside the window and he could not see anything.
"Did you see that beam of light?"
Upon hearing General McClane's voice, the adjutant standing next to him was slightly stunned, with confusion written on his face.
"Light...?"
Glancing at the confused expression on the adjutant's face, General McClane retracted his gaze.
"...Nothing."
Maybe it was an illusion.
For some reason, he always had a bad premonition in his heart.
It was as if some conspiracy was brewing beyond his sight...