Chapter 130

Chapter 130

Fangzhou had some expectations about the direction of their discussion. There were many titles with her name, mostly related to the current event.

To quickly gather information without wasting time, she extracted keywords related to the Prime Minister and clicked into these posts one by one.

[Topic: OMG? Is the Prime Minister going to drop a nuclear bomb on Dangang to kill Fangzhou?]

Main Post: What is going on here? Why do I feel like the direction of this game is getting weirder and weirder as we play along!

1st Comment: I had to pause midway to catch my breath. There's radiation in the missiles! Although Fangzhou's character wasn't likable at first, watching her progress to this point and elevate the entire plot's entertainment value, I really don't want to see her bite the dust.

2nd Comment: Me too, sobbing. I can't accept it. Even when I'm playing the Central Route now, I can't help but steal glances at Sister from the perspectives of other characters.

3rd Comment: I thought it would be a confrontation between Central and Fangzhou after her identity was exposed: [Central and Fangzhou plotting against each other, back and forth, chase and escape.]

In the eyes of the game's screenwriters: [Can't catch Fangzhou, so the Prime Minister launches a nuclear bomb for a large-scale strafing.]

4th Comment: If Fangzhou dies, I can't even imagine where this game's plot will go...

5th Comment: Joker is about to wake up from hibernation, and Sister is in dire straits... Does it have to be this way?

6th Comment: Just when we don't get Fangzhou's perspective at a time like this, is she dead or alive? Just give us a definite answer. I can't focus on the plot anymore!

7th Comment: Sigh, she just wants to stay alive. It's so difficult, why is it so hard?

8th Comment: During the closed beta, I couldn't imagine it, but now I'm crying because Fangzhou might bite the dust. Right now, my favorite character is her.

9th Comment: Stay calm, Fangzhou may not be dead. They've built up this character, and if she really dies, it won't be brushed over so easily.

10th Comment: +1, but I really can't imagine how she could survive...

……

Many comments before were expressing their inability to accept her death. From their discussions, Fangzhou could see that the player's perspective only goes up to the explosion, right up to her return to Night's End. So, to them, her death is still an unknown status. She scrolled down and found other analyses mixed in with these comments.

33rd Comment: This is insane! To kill one person, he's willing to sacrifice an entire city... Does he even value human lives?

35th Comment: My sister!! No, this can't be!!

36th Comment: After all, it's just game lore... I mainly think this behavior lacks intelligence. As a higher-up, doesn't he realize the potential chain reactions this could cause?

37th Comment: The problem lies here. My current feelings are hard to describe. If the Prime Minister's only goal is to "kill Fangzhou," then this behavior can be seen as the quickest and most convenient method, not giving the enemy any chance to resist or struggle.

38th Comment: Is this what they call "the villain no longer bothering with words"?

39L: The Regent character hasn't really made an appearance so far, has he? He hasn't had a direct encounter with Ark either. Even if her abilities are feared by the Central, it doesn't justify such hatred.

55L: I think it's understandable. The alien abilities possessed by Sister Zhou are too comprehensive and hard to capture. She has escaped from the Central's grasp many times.

56L: Her old human physique is a definite weakness, but I still think there are better solutions…

54L: It breaks my heart. Honestly, after two days when the plot gets here, I've lost interest in the conflicts among these characters in the Central storyline. I just want to see a new thread! One that overturns them all!

55L: Me too. The education I received from childhood makes me utterly reject such leaders!

56L: Hasn't Joker been rescued already? Can his storyline be restarted?

57L: Was Port Dang completely annihilated?

58L: No, Ark made a move. The black hole swallowed half of the bombs, but the affected area is still quite large.

85L: It's just a game, aren’t you guys too invested? Ark is just a supporting character, her current strength and role are already over the top. And now you want to elevate her to a main perspective? That’s absurd.

86L: I support this. If it wasn't for Ark, the Regent wouldn't have targeted Port Dang with missiles.

89L: ? Have the people above lost their minds?

90L: What kind of monsters and demons have infiltrated here, blaming Ark instead of the Regent who doesn't care about civilian lives and initiates attacks? What kind of logic is this?

91L: Sometimes being online feels quite helpless (lighting a cigarette.jpg).

……

It's a fully anonymous forum discussion, with all sorts mingling. Considering the storyline direction of the beta test, there are still players who don't like Ark. Not everyone will side with her, and conflicts of opposite opinions are inevitable in a large group.

The following floors are filled with arguments. Ark briefly looked over them and then left the post, clicking into another topic of more interest to her.

[Topic: After the sudden change, has the Regent's character also undergone a major transformation?]

Main Post: First off, I’ve participated in three game betas. The beta only had a storyline demo, corresponding to about half of the current plot progress. The public test saw major changes after Joker and Ark left the shelter, hardly resembling the beta at all.

1L: Grabbing a front-row seat with a small bench.

2L: Front row.

3L: What, the Regent was in the beta test? Was he this crazy back then?

4L: So, is he the final boss or not? If he is, we currently have too little information about him.

10L (Original Poster) replying to 4L: Yes, information is scarce. The official sources haven't provided detailed character information, but the Regent's presence in the beta storyline wasn't as prominent. However, that doesn't mean he was a good person in the beta.

From the dialogues of the NPCs at that time, it can be pieced together that many human and alien experiments were orchestrated by him. This also includes some exploration missions outside the safe zones. From these subtle details, I concluded that "he is fond of testing 'limits'", whether it's human limits, power limits, alien limits, or the limits of this world.

The original poster shared some game screenshots from the beta, all showing character dialogues. Among them were several faces familiar to Ark.

There was Liwayi, Miele, and a European female face unknown to Ark. Her name, "Agatha", appeared in the dialogue box. She managed the exploration outside the safe zones, and was also involved in the capture of wall rats.

15L: ...Feels so cruel. A natural antisocial personality?

16L: Looking at it this way, it seems normal for him to resort to missiles to kill Ark. Is this also a form of testing?

17L (Original Poster): I don’t think it’s a test… He genuinely wants to kill Ark. The large-scale explosion with a strong radiation source indicates absolute lethal intent. He left no loopholes for Ark to escape. Currently, Ark's fate is unknown, and I think the chances of her surviving are slim.

18L: Such a heavy topic...

25L: Why does the original poster think the Regent's character has undergone major changes? Honestly, with so little information about him, it’s hard to tell if any changes were made.

26L (Original Poster): The previous comment makes sense. But the Regent's recent actions are too extreme, not quite aligning with his beta version's goal of always testing "limits". His recent decisions are unilateral, and even the ruling families at the core of the Central are opposed to them.

27L: Based on the current developments, it feels like there will be infighting within the Central soon…

28L: Now that you say that, I'm actually looking forward to it. I really want to see these villains fight among themselves.

……

This original poster seems to be a bit of a clickbaiter. Ark didn't find any additional information about the Regent after clicking on it.

She briefly browsed through the post and then left it, scrolling through a few more on the homepage. With a mindset of not missing any information, she flipped through several pages, reaching discussions from an earlier day.

Seeing one of the titles, her heart skipped a beat and she clicked on it without hesitation.

[Topic: “Old Capital Wasteland” official holographic devices to be launched soon. Has anyone signed up?]

Main Post: They claim it's an upgraded version surpassing all current holographic devices on the market. The holographic mode allows experiencing the third storyline with player-created characters. The first batch of tests offers free devices, which will be delivered to those selected. The requirement is participation in the first three beta tests.

1L: Where is it? I’m rushing to sign up right now!

2L: This requirement is too tricky. Hardly anyone knew about the first beta test, and now they demand participation in all three?

3L: +1 to the comment above. It's a draw anyway, why not relax the entry conditions a bit?

4L: Really? I don't believe it.

5L: Can this obscure little company pull off something this big? A third storyline with great freedom and an upgraded device surpassing all current holographic technologies? Do they even bother to draft their lies?

6L: ...Indeed, probably just exaggerated claims. But since it's free to participate, there’s no harm in trying.

10L: Not too interested. The current holographic games on the market feel quite mediocre to me. The technology is still immature, expensive, and difficult to enjoy. I don’t think this so-called upgraded version will be much better. However, I do qualify for the sign-up, and free stuff is always worth a shot. Who knows, if I get it, I might even sell it for a profit.

11L: The person above really has their calculations down. Just hope they don't end up getting it.

12L: Ah, this topic was discussed before, huh? Upgrading directly to holographic? Well, it’s not impossible to achieve…

25L: No! Haven't you realized the gravity of the situation? If it’s really a third storyline with custom characters in holographic form, doesn’t it mean we can see the characters up close?

26L：！

27L：！！

28L：！！！

29L: Ark, Sister Ark, here I come! I want to be right up front!

30L: Be careful above, if someone with a dubious identity gets too close to Sister Ark, they might get shot.

31L: ...Dang.

32L: Well, it is a wasteland world after all. Since we can adjust the pain sensation and reload saves, I’m not scared.

33L: I’m going to give Sister Ark spoilers and turn this game into a thrilling script!

34L: You might not even get chosen, why are you so eager already?

43L: Will it really offer such high freedom? Our actions won’t be limited, and we can do whatever we want? And will the characters truly react based on our actions?

44L: Many holographic games use AI technology to make NPCs react within the scope of their character, and most of these reactions are quite realistic. The person above might want to search for some holographic game recordings to see for themselves.

45L: If someone gets selected for the trial, can they choose to enter the game from any point in the storyline?

46L: I checked, and the official announcement doesn't specify this.

50L: Don’t get your hopes up too high... The person in the tenth comment is actually quite right. The holographic technology used in games nowadays is really subpar, which is why so many people still play console games.

51L: No, I play console games simply because I can't afford holographic devices.

52L: Same here.

53L：+1

54L: Stop, you're making me envious.

60L: How many lottery slots are there in total?

61L: I looked it up, there are a thousand slots. The results will be out tomorrow. Anyone eligible should hurry and register on the official game website.

……

Ark scrolled back to the beginning of the post. The time stamp read June 26, 2062, 00:23, meaning the 'tomorrow' mentioned was actually today.

Ark left the post and checked the time of the latest reply, which showed June 26, 2062, 12:34.

At this point, the forum session limit was reached, and Ark was forcibly logged out of the game forum. She could feel her temples throbbing due to the intensity of the discussion.