Chapter 82.1 Major event
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Lin Zhaohe sheepishly said, “Life’s circumstances, you know. What’s the situation over on Min’an Street?”
Zhuang Lao pondered and said, “The process of major fusion got halted. Some minor fusions remained, but most areas reverted to their previous state, suitable for humans to live.”
Lin Zhaohe felt very happy. He really liked Min’an Street, so having it restored to its original condition was great.
“However, this was just the beginning,” Zhuang Lao said. “I was afraid things would get worse in the future.”
It wasn’t pessimism but a prediction. Looking at the situations across different regions in the past three years, fusions happened more frequently and at a higher level. Their current situation might become normal in a few years, and eventually, the entire Earth would no longer be suitable for human survival.
Faced with such circumstances, it seemed like humanity had no solution at all.
Even if the source material got destroyed, it only briefly halted the fusion process. Countless fictions created by humans kept squeezing the already crowded three-dimensional space. Faced with such a disaster, everyone felt helpless. All they could do seemed to be waiting for death and praying.
But if prayers really worked, the disaster wouldn’t have happened.
“Isn’t there any other way?” Lin Zhaohe asked.
Zhuang Lao stayed silent for a moment, then shook his head. “Not at the moment.”
“Then what should we do…” His expectations for the future turned negative. No matter how much they did now, compared to the bigger picture, it was like a drop in the ocean.
Fusion rolled forward like a massive wheel, while humans were the dust on the ground, attempting to stop it with their meager strength.
This was an inherently unequal struggle of power.
“All we can do now is search for source materials in different places,” Zhuang Lao said. “Try to delay the process as much as possible.”
Lin Zhaohe knew it was futile. Today, they saved Min’an Street, but in less than a month, the same thing would happen again. They were lucky this time, but would their luck always be this good? Lin Zhaohe remained silent, pondering the situation in the fusion core area earlier. Why were all his works inside? It was an unsolvable mystery.
Zhuang Lao’s communicator suddenly rang. After listening for a while, his expression turned serious. He hung up and stood up. “Xiao He, I have something to attend to. I need to go to the company.”
“What happened? Is the situation serious?” Lin Zhaohe asked when he noticed Zhuang Lao’s worried expression.
“Nothing major. Just focus on recovering from your injuries,” Zhuang Lao said. “I need to discuss some things.”
Hearing this, Lin Zhaohe could only agree and comply. So, seeing Zhuang Lao leave again, Lin Zhaohe thought about how unfair the world could be. Finally starting a relationship, he didn’t have time to be affectionate. Instead, he had to think about saving the world every day.
The injury on his back caused severe pain. Lying down was uncomfortable, so he could only lie on his stomach. When Lin Zhaohe grew tired of this position, he decided to put on his pajamas and take a stroll to the neighbor’s house.
Stepping outside, he coincidentally saw A’Yao dragging a few corpses out of his house, all of them his own. A’Yao noticed Lin Zhaohe and said, “Hey, haven’t seen you around lately. Thought you moved away or something.”
“No, couldn’t bear to leave,” Lin Zhaohe said. “Why did you die again?”
A’Yao explained, “Remember the recent major fusion? Well, my luck was bad. A swarm of killer bees invaded my house, attacking me directly at the respawn point. I died and came back to life multiple times, enduring this torment. It finally ended today.” If an ordinary person faced this, they would have probably gone crazy. But A’Yao, being A’Yao, discussed these things with Lin Zhaohe as casually as discussing the weather, with no change in expression, a relaxed tone, and a natural demeanor.
“Now that the fusion has finally stopped, I need to quickly clean up the corpses,” A’Yao said. “Xiao Yun and the others haven’t come for several days. I need to check if something happened to them.”
Lin Zhaohe thought to himself, “You’re a true sea king, always thinking about girls even in such situations.” However, it didn’t matter now. He no longer envied A’Yao because he had a boyfriend too!
A’Yao said, “You have such a radiant expression. Are you in love?”
Lin Zhaohe replied, “Can you tell just by looking at me?”
A’Yao said, “Your lips are swollen from kissing. How can I not tell?”
Lin Zhaohe thought to himself… indeed, yesterday he had spent quite a while kissing Zhuang Lao before reluctantly parting.
“That’s great,” A’Yao sighed. “These days are becoming more and more difficult.” It wasn’t just the residents of the three-dimensional world who were feeling down. Even characters like him, lacking any special skills, felt helpless when it came to fusion. He couldn’t use love to persuade killer bees to spare him.
After bidding farewell to A’Yao, Lin Zhaohe went upstairs and was startled when he opened the door. He saw Gu Xuyu, with stubble covering his face, looking like he hadn’t groomed himself in a long time.
“What happened? Why are you injured again?” Gu Xuyu welcomed Lin Zhaohe inside and caught a whiff of the bloody scent on him, prompting him to ask.
Lin Zhaohe: “It’s because of the recent fusion. I went out on a mission and got injured.”
Gu Xuyu: “Fusion? When did that happen?”
Lin Zhaohe: “Just yesterday… Have you been indoors for a few days?”
Gu Xuyu couldn’t remember. He mentioned discovering a very entertaining online game and had been immersed in it for the past two weeks, unaware of the passing of time.
Lin Zhaohe was amazed by this and asked if there had been no power outages. He wondered what kind of game had such charm.
“I have a generator at home,” Gu Xuyu said. “I also made some modifications to the network, so even if the world is destroyed, my internet connection is still intact.”
Lin Zhaohe thought to himself that this must be the pinnacle of being a shut-in. No need to worry about food or internet disruptions. One could stay at home for ten or twenty years without ever realizing that humanity had been wiped out.
However, an online game? Most games nowadays are strictly banned, leaving only simple ones like Block Crush. Where did this online game come from?
Sensing something was off, Lin Zhaohe quickly asked about it.
Gu Xuyu pointed to the screen and said it was released about half a month ago, a wildly popular game that everyone was playing.
Lin Zhaohe couldn’t believe it. How could the government allow such a game to exist? If fusion happened, it would lead to another disaster.
Gu Xuyu admitted that he didn’t know either.
Lin Zhaohe quickly went online using his phone to search for this game. To his surprise, the results were alarming.
The game had been online for half a month, indicating that it appeared on the internet during the initial stages of the fusion incident in Min’an Street.
The game had a setting in the Eastern Continent, with impressive graphics that showed the dedication of its creators.
Even before fusion, such a game would have attracted a large number of players, let alone in the current era where there was a severe lack of engaging content.
Since the fusion, the creation of almost all content, except for some urban themes, has been strictly prohibited. There were no cultivation novels, no thrillers, no fantasies, and no futuristic stories.
People seemed to live in a cultural desert, with only the thought of how to survive remaining in their minds. Nothing else mattered at all.
In such circumstances, a network game emerged out of nowhere, with a theme that was not based on reality. It instantly caught everyone’s attention. The pent-up individuals rejoiced and no longer cared about concerns like fusion. They wholeheartedly indulged in the enjoyable moments of playing the game. If tomorrow would bring strange and unexpected accidents leading to death, then they would cherish today and savor every minute.
Of course, there were also opponents among the joyful ones.
The opponents argued that the world was already in such a terrible state, so they shouldn’t burden everyone else for their momentary pleasure. Who knew how many innocent people would die if the game integrated into reality?
However, in the face of the skyrocketing popularity of the online game, the opponents’ voices did not create much of a stir. Even if this game fused into reality, it didn’t seem like it would make things worse. After all, there were so many works available. One game wouldn’t make a significant difference.
Various comments and thoughts surged online as people eagerly discussed. It seemed like this game had thrown a heavy stone into the stagnant water, creating huge ripples.
Lin Zhaohe frowned as he read through the discussions. “Can’t believe no one is regulating it?”
Gu Xuyu’s gaze never left the computer screen as he controlled a character and battled through a dungeon. Without lifting his head, he responded to Lin Zhaohe’s question, “Who would regulate it?”
Lin Zhaohe: “Of course, it’s the people in charge.”
The previous ban on 2D creations was still in effect, so technically, this game should never have been able to go live. Moreover, with everyone living in constant fear, who would exert such great effort to create an online game that couldn’t be released? Lin Zhaohe found this whole situation simply bizarre.
“No one regulates it,” shrugged Gu Xuyu.
Lin Zhaohe: “Is it fun?”
Gu Xuyu: “Of course, it’s fun.” He pointed to another computer nearby, signaling Lin Zhaohe to give it a try as well.
Lin Zhaohe rolled up his sleeves and clicked on the game icon.
It was a very traditional fantasy game set in the Eastern Continent. There were not many professions, only five. Lin Zhaohe randomly created a character and, after entering the game, briefly studied the interface. He discovered that the game didn’t support online purchases or have any advertisements. In other words, this game surprisingly had no microtransactions… Gu Xuyu didn’t notice anything amiss since it was his first experience with a large-scale online game. However, as someone who had been exposed to countless games, Lin Zhaohe immediately sensed something strange.
What was even more terrifying was that this game had only one server, and it was a global server. This meant that all people on Earth were using the same server. The capacity of this server was clearly beyond what the three-dimensional world could create. Lin Zhaohe couldn’t help but fall into contemplation.
A large-scale online game approved by the government, accessible to everyone, and completely non-profit… What was the purpose of its existence?
The more Lin Zhaohe pondered, the chillier his spine felt.
Gu Xuyu had reached level seventy-three by now. He mentioned that the maximum level was two hundred, but currently, no one had achieved it. At level sixty, players could tackle basic dungeons, while those in their seventies could venture into mainstream ones. No one had entered an eightieth level dungeon yet, as the highest level on the server was only seventy-six. Considering the current leveling speed, without any other activities, it would take at least another six months to reach level 200.
Lin Zhaohe: “This game is truly terrifying.”
Gu Xuyu: “What’s so terrifying about it?” The game had a bright and vibrant art style, with even the monsters being various cute little creatures. Compared to the street they had fused with before, it felt like a utopia inside. Gu Xuyu casually added, “Players in the game joke that if they had to choose a place to live, they would prefer to stay inside the game.”
Lin Zhaohe pondered, considering the situation in Min’an Street a few days ago, and realized that there was some truth to that statement.
Gu Xuyu: “Are you going to play?”
Lin Zhaohe thought for a moment and replied, “Not now. I need to go to the company first. By the way, where’s Gu Jueyu?”
Gu Xuyu: “He said the fusion disappeared today. He wanted to go and buy groceries to celebrate.”
Lin Zhaohe: “……” You two really know how to live.
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