CH 3

Chen Jiu realized then that he had made a mistake. This game was different from others - there was no standard task chain. Other games were about going somewhere, doing something, and the choices in dialogue might affect the NPC's favorability or even the side plot, but it was rare that choosing the wrong line would directly break the main plot. But evidently, this was the true ecology of the so-called wasteland now.

Everyone was suspicious of each other, and killing someone was not a difficult choice to make in order to survive.

Just as the two men with weapons in their hands were walking up, Chen Jiu hurriedly shouted, "I know how to restore the power of the divine furnace! Give me some time, and you won't suffer any losses!"

However, nobody listened to him.

For the villagers who had been trapped in the same place for years, the outsiders were already dangerous enough, let alone this outsider who claimed to know about the village's sacred object.

Yes, they do know that the relic has problems, but that doesn't mean that they would feel safe handing the issue to a stranger. So, even the most gentle villagers just shouted, "Let him tell us how to do it first before killing him." However, the old man wouldn't wait. He was scared. He was scared of what Chen Jiu might say that could destroy the faith that the village had held for so long, not for his own so-called "rule,", but for the experience of truly surviving on the bare ground and for the consideration of the survival of the whole village.

On the red land, what does one live on?

The most important thing is not food or fuel but huddling together for warmth.

He could not hesitate.

In the blink of an eye, Chen Jiu had already been knocked to the ground. He tried to resist, but just as he tried to break free, a sharp knife pierced through his abdomen and out the back.

In the moment before he lost consciousness, Chen Jiu had a thought in his head:

This thing is indeed a game, and it doesn't hurt at all...

......

After endless darkness, Chen Jiu opened his eyes again. This time, he was back in reality. The black and white web page was still in front of him, but the text on it had changed.

"You failed to retrieve the relic of Xiahe Village; mission failed."

"If you want to try again, please enter the Red Land again."

"This mission's reward: none."

"Note: You can only get one resurrection chance within 24 hours. If you fail again, you will enter the particle reconstruction system cool down period."

Particle reconstruction system? What is this? It sounds quite sci-fi, but in a world where radar antennas are worshipped as gods, it is obvious that the functions of these high-tech products have been distorted.

Alternatively, after the end of the world, the re-developed civilization completely distorted the technology tree...

Chen Jiu looked at the time; an hour and a half had passed in reality, which was the same as in the game.

However, it was already two o'clock in the middle of the night here, while it was still day over there.

Time difference?

After a moment of contemplation, he clicked the "Enter the Red Land" button again.

Anyway, it was the weekend tomorrow, so he could just sleep the whole day.

Darkness descended again, and when Chen Jiu opened his eyes, he was still on the snowfield, but this time he did not choose to go to Xiahe Village.

It was clear that this was not a time-limited mission, and there was nothing to do even if he went now. So why rush?

First, open the map!

It was obvious that he had to go to the Three-Foot Research Institute first to figure out the connection between the Institute and the antenna in Xiahe Village, or else the mission could not go on.

So, he rushed towards the research institute following the directions on the UI, and it was extremely difficult to move forward in the snow-covered ground. It took him five hours before he finally arrived at the entrance of the research institute.

Or, more precisely, it was a very narrow crack in the mountain.

After passing through the crack, he underwent multiple identity verifications before finally entering the hall of the research institute.

At the center of the hall was a huge door-like device, and there was a faint blue arc of light flickering inside the frame.

This was the so-called particle reconstruction device?

Chen Jiu subconsciously wanted to touch the faint blue light, but suddenly, a cold female voice sounded beside him.

"Experimenter Chen Jiu, please do not touch the particle reconfiguration turbulence; that would injure your body in this world."

"Holy cow, is someone here?"

Chen Jiu shouted in surprise.

"Yes, I am the AI of this laboratory; it is I who brought you to this world."

"Where are you?"

Chen Jiu looked around, and after a few seconds, a holographic projection appeared in front of him.

It was a figure extending its hand to Chen Jiu as if it wanted to shake hands. When Chen Jiu's hand touched the projection, he was amazed to find that he could actually feel it!

"My name is Chidi, this is my virtual image. You are the first human to appear in this laboratory in nine hundred years," it said.

"Is this a game?" Chen Jiu asked eagerly.

"This isn't a game, this is the real world, I just pulled you in through a particle reconfiguration system, and I need your help."

Wait a minute, from start to finish, there was never any indication that this was a game world? I just assumed it was a game from the buttons on the web page, and the UI I saw when I first spawned! No wonder the missions were so unreasonable...

Why do you need to retrieve that radar antenna, is it important for the research institute? Of course, it is the key ultra-space communication radar, and without retrieving it, I won’t be able to locate enough candidates in the era you belong to. There are 12 of these radars in total, and all of them have lost contact now; all the physical cables connected to the research institute have been cut off, and all I can rely on now is the backup antenna inside the research institute with very limited communication channel width. As you can see, the only candidate I have successfully reconstructed so far is you, and actually, even with particle anchors for locating, it can only accommodate four at the same time.

Chen nodded with understanding and proceeded to ask, "The candidates you pinpointed... are they specified?"

Chidi shook his head in a humanistic manner and replied, "It's random. I'm not sure if designation can be done after the radar is powered up; after all, this is the first experiment with the system."

"Got it."

Chen Jiu pondered for a moment, then continued to ask: "What you said on the webpage, bringing the achievements of this world back to the real world, is that what you plan to pay the candidates as compensation?"

"That's right."

Chidi nodded calmly, as if it was all natural.

However, Chen Jiu immediately shook his head.

"That's wrong, very wrong!"

"You are indeed a robot; you have enough logic, but you don't understand human nature at all!"