I've already reached the maximum level, and you guys are just starting out?

Chapter 24 Alpha

Let's turn back time slightly.

Last night, after the man in military uniform delivered three more helmets to dormitory 615.

Yu Jin left early.

Old Cui excitedly described the reality of the "Wasteland" game to Yufei and Gang Ge.

Simultaneously.

He also explained to the two how to use the helmet and what to pay attention to after logging into the game.

Yufei originally didn't want to play; he planned to spend some more time watching online classes.

but……

Old Cui's description was simply too tempting.

He wanted to take the postgraduate entrance exam, but in essence, he was just a 21-year-old college student with a deep-seated curiosity about new things.

then.

With Lao Cui's help, Yufei put on the helmet.

……

[Would you like to log into the Wasteland world and start from scratch to survive the apocalypse?]

Looking at the words in front of him, Wu Yufei selected "Yes".

After a while.

The scene before his eyes transformed from darkness into reality.

Just like when Gang Ge first logged into the game, Yu Fei was still quite shocked, even though he had prepared himself mentally after hearing Lao Cui's description.

He crouched down and grabbed a handful of sand from the ground.

The sensation of sand slipping through your fingers travels to every cell in your body.

"An unbelievable level of production quality!"

Wu Yufei sighed.

Although he was aiming for a master's degree in 'finance', he also had some knowledge of the technology field.

To achieve such a 'realistic experience,' the technological requirements are unimaginably high.

For an instant.

Wu Yufei even doubted whether Blue Star could really make such a game.

Without giving it much thought, he began to observe his surroundings.

He found himself standing beneath a city wall that was a full ten meters high.

"Refuge city?"

Wu Yufei was pleasantly surprised when he recalled Lao Cui's introduction.

He didn't expect to be able to refresh at the entrance of the refuge city right at the start of the game.

In contrast.

Old Cui has complained about his refresh point more than once.

Old Cui also respawned in the refuge city, but... his identity is that of a refugee who was driven out of the refuge city.

Wu Yufei put aside his thoughts and walked towards the city gate not far away.

At the city gate, there were many ragged figures queuing up to enter the refuge city.

From these people, Wu Yufei learned that the name of this refuge city was 'Alpha'.

Alpha City?

"It's a bit of a mouthful, maybe it's to cater to Western players?"

With these thoughts in mind, Wu Yufei joined the end of the line to enter the city.

however.

While he was queuing, he was drawn to the voice of an old man.

It was an old man with white hair and a thin frame, sitting at the foot of the city gate.

"How could someone survive this long in the wasteland?"

Wu Yufei was taken aback when he saw the old man's appearance.

This old man was at least seventy or eighty years old, or even over a hundred.

"alpha!"

Don't forget Alpha!

"We mustn't forget Alpha!"

The old man called out again and again.

The soldiers standing at the city gate seemed to have long been accustomed to it.

"alpha?"

Wu Yufei was somewhat puzzled.

This refuge city is called 'Alpha', so how can there be talk of 'forgetting Alpha'?

Wu Yufei didn't pay any attention, assuming the old man was mentally unstable and talking nonsense.

but……

next second.

"Outsiders!"

The old man suddenly shouted.

Wu Yufei's body stiffened.

outsider?
In this wasteland game, aren't I just an outsider with the identity of a player?

He subconsciously turned his head and looked at the old man again.

The shocking discovery was made—

The old man was staring intently at him, his eyes shining.

"Outsiders!"

The old man called out again.

Followed by.

Somehow, a burst of strength erupted from his emaciated body. The old man suddenly stood up, rushed into the line, and then, without saying a word, pulled Wu Yufei out of the line.

Wu Yufei was completely dumbfounded.

He was a twenty-year-old young man, even though he was now a malnourished homeless person, but...

Despite using all his strength, he couldn't break free from the old man's grip.

"Could it be a game NPC?"

"Guide me to start the quest?"

Although Lao Cui had said that the game was highly open and had no quest system, Wu Yufei still subconsciously thought in that direction.

soon.

The old man pulled him to a corner, a secluded spot where no one was around.

"Outsiders."

The old man stared intently at Wu Yufei, his eyes gleaming.

"you are?"

Wu Yufei was puzzled, but decided to go along with what the other person was saying.

But I never thought.

The old man's second sentence completely shut down Wu Yufei's brain.

"This is your first time logging into Wasteland, right?"

"Yes, that must be it!" "Only a newcomer who has just landed in Wasteland would be as ignorant and foolish as you."

The old man asked and answered his own question.

"The NPCs in the game actually know about Wasteland. Is this an Easter egg left by the developers?"

Wu Yufei snapped out of his initial daze.

"I come from Alpha Planet!"

The old man held Yufei's hand and spoke excitedly.

"Oh."

Yufei responded.

Alpha Star!

The old man repeated.

"Okay, Alpha."

Yufei continued speaking.

The old man realized what was happening.

He stopped talking and stared at Wu Yufei up and down for a long time.

After a while.

He spoke again:
"You think I'm a game NPC, right?"

Without waiting for Yufei's reply, he continued:

"You still think I know that Wasteland is just an Easter egg left by the game developers, right?"

These two sentences left Wu Yufei somewhat bewildered once again.

"No, kid."

The old man stared at Wu Yufei, his tone extremely serious.

"It's not what you think."

"I'm not an NPC, and this isn't an Easter egg."

"Everything is real, absolutely real!"

As he spoke, the old man became agitated again.

He took Wu Yufei's hand and pointed to the refuge city.

"This is Alpha City!"

"The refuge city of the Alpha aliens!"

"But everyone has forgotten, forgotten where we came from..."

"Alpha Star, we must not forget Alpha Star!"

Wu Yufei frowned.

The old man's words sounded more and more like the ravings of a madman.

"Where do you come from, child?"

The old man suddenly spoke.

Wu Yufei thought for a moment and replied, "Great Xia."

"Great Xia?" the old man asked, puzzled.

Wu Yufei immediately chuckled.

So even though the game developers designed such a dramatic Easter egg, they didn't even include any information about 'Daxia'.

"Blue Star, Great Xia".

Wu Yufei added a sentence.

"Blue Star?" The old man's expression remained blank.

Wu Yufei was getting impatient.

"The planet located in the third ring of the solar system, within the Virgo Supercluster-Local Cluster-Milky Way-Orion Arm-Blue Star!"

Yufei finished speaking in one breath, then ignored the old man and prepared to queue at the city gate to enter the city.

But the old man reached out and pulled him back forcefully.

Wu Yufei tried his best, but could not break free.

"Listen to me, kid."

The old man spoke very quickly.

"I'm not familiar with your civilization's naming conventions for star systems, but I must tell you—"

"I used to think, just like you do now, that all of this was just a game."

"Seventy years ago, I was just a young man like you, a young man from Alpha Planet!"

"That year, a game called 'Wasteland' appeared out of nowhere on Alpha Planet. It was incredibly realistic, far exceeding the technological level of Alpha Planet at the time..."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yufei was stunned.

This description…

How come it's exactly the same as the situation that's happening on Earth now?

When he first logged in, he was marveling at the game's level of realism, wondering if Earth could really achieve something like that.

result……

The old man suddenly said this as he turned his head.

"child."

The old man, pulling Yufei along, said in a hoarse voice:
"Since you are here, it means that your planet and your civilization have also been chosen."

"You will all eventually come here!"

"and--"

"As time goes by, five years, ten years, fifty years..."

"The pollution and erosion of the wasteland will make you forget everything about Earth, just like my countless Alpha compatriots!"

"They come from Alpha, but they don't remember that they came from Alpha. They might even forget how they got here. They might think that they originally belonged here!"

Hearing this, Wu Yufei couldn't help but speak up, interrupting the old man:

"Then why do you remember?"

Wu Yufei astutely noticed the loophole in the old man's words.

Upon hearing this, the old man fell silent.

a long time.

Even Wu Yufei lost his patience.

The old man spoke again.

"child."

"Remember, remember Alpha Star."

He said that, then his head lolled to the side, and he died right in front of Yufei!

And at the same time.

Suddenly, a line of semi-transparent text popped up in front of Yufei's eyes—