Chapter 444 - Su Deben, the Mystery of the Wasteland!
Chapter 444: Su Deben, the Mystery of the Wasteland!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Every technological advancement of humankind was accompanied by a rapid leap forward in their rate of productivity.
After the discovery of fire, humans could cook food, mold pottery, and smelt iron.
After humans discovered how to use steam power, they harnessed this magical energy and used it to power machines and vehicles that could carry tens of thousands of tons.
After the discovery of nuclear fission, humans could produce and extract energy more easily and efficiently, leading it to be used as an excellent source of energy.
Before Su Mo was transported over to the wasteland, it was predicted that humankind would have to be able to successfully develop a method to contain and control nuclear fusion if they wanted to completely resolve the global problem of energy shortage. Controlled nuclear fusion could be used to
expand the rate of productivity and push human civilization forward.
As Su Mo walked inside, he made a bold guess about this mysterious base, which he suppressed within his heart.
After entering the room and seeing the facilities inside, he was relieved.
‘The Expeditionary Army had not been able to develop controlled nuclear fusion.
Although they had developed material science to new heights, they were still no different from the humans on Earth of Su Mo’s generation in terms of methods used to generate energy.
According to Little Ai, the size of the main room was about one million three hundred thousand square feet.
The height of the ceiling was about 25 meters.
Which meant that this room occupied over two thousand acres of this space, which was comparable to the size of a university campus.
This room was considered extraordinarily huge. One could not see how far it stretched into the distance.
As soon as Su Mo entered, even before he turned his head, he saw the main objective of this trip
Arocket!
In the center of the base, there was a blue-colored pillar of light that was about thirty meters in length, and it was so tall that it reached the ceiling.
“Mr. Su Mo, this is the main energy room of our base. This one pillar of light can support my operation for… Two hundred and thirty-five million years!”
“How does it work?”
“Um, I can only tell Mr. Su Mo about that after you obtain the requisite authority!”
Once Su Mo stepped inside the chamber, a yellow pointer appeared on the floor, guiding Su Mo all the way inside.
This was not some sort of novel technology or anything. A drone-like device was broadcasting the light down from up above.
With each step, a few of the lights in the base would light up, almost as if welcoming Su Mo’s arrival.
And when he walked all the way to the innermost area and sat in front of a computer that occupied a large amount of space, the lights inside the whole base lit up the room as bright as day!
“Mr. Su Mo, please follow Little Ai’s instructions to authenticate your authority~”
“Mr. Su Mo, you need to put on this helmet. Little Ai will present the final test set by Chief Su Deben. As long as you pass the test, you will obtain the highest level of authority over this base!”
It was a bright silver pilot’s helmet with a full oxygen mask and computerized interface.
Dozens of wires snaked all the way from the helmet to the rear of the computer, connected to some kind of huge power supply.
If one excluded the wires, this apparatus would look just like those virtual reality helmets described in online novels and comics.
However, with the addition of those wires, anyone who put it on would look like a patient with a terminal brain disease who was undergoing his final treatment!
Su Mo did not immediately follow Little Ai’s instructions and put it on. He summoned the system, focused on the helmet, and started to scan its properties.
Although he currently did not have access to this base, the base was ownerless as everyone was dead. Su Mo could inspect the properties of anything inside.
[Image Transmission Analysis Helmet (Degree of completion: 34%)]
(Description: This is a simulation helmet made with good materials but with crude technology. After connecting the helmet to the power supply and activating it, the helmet can simulate bioelectric signals through the computer connected to it. The signals will be transcoded and sent to the wearer’s brain,
so as to simulate the corresponding image in the wearer’s mind. However, as the technology has not been fully developed successfully, there are drawbacks and limitations that have resulted in the low level of realism of the images simulated. A large amount of energy is also required to power its
calculations.]
[Safety level: Good (Thanks to the quality of the materials, the side effects of using the helmet can be ignored, and the only function of the helmet is to transmit the images)]
(Number of times used]:61 times
{Comment: It looks great, but it’s all fake! The epitome of trying to break through the existing technical barriers, but having gone at it in completely the wrong way!]
“Hmm? So this helmet can only simulate 34% of the images?”
Rubbing his chin, Su Mo’s eyes took on a hint of curiosity.
Since the system was updated, the data returned by the system’s analysis had also changed to a certain extent.
The only thing that hasn’t changed, however, were the system’s caustic comments.
“Technical barriers”, “gone the wrong way”… This comment was in line with what Su Mo had noticed, which was that everything in the base seemed a little strange.
However, when he thought about the level of civilization in his own world before he had been transported here, Su Mo could not help but smile.
For the system, this helmet was nothing special.
However, for the current group of humans from Huaxia and the other countries on Earth, this was undoubtedly a treasure.
Even if it could not guide them toward the correct path, it could greatly accelerate the pace of their development!
“Mr. Su Mo, please put on the helmet, otherwise Little Ai can not connect to the screen and activate the authority authentication process for you!”
‘As Su Mo was deep in thought, Little Ai’s voice rang out again.
This time, Su Mo did not hesitate. He immediately sat down, adjusted the helmet a little, and silently put it on his head.
Su Mo knew that this helmet was absolutely not something ordinary when he put it on. From the outside metal, to the inside lining, especially when it came to the innermost layer, in a certain aspect, it felt more comfortable than even the magic carpet.
It felt like he was soaking in a warm bathtub. Before the process even started, Su Mo already relaxed into the chair comfortably.
Crackle.
The sound of electricity crackling could be heard, and with it came a wave of tingling sensations. Su Mo fell into a trance momentarily, after which the world in front of him began to blur.
He was slowly deprived of his vision of the outside world, and then white pixel dots began to quickly appear within his line of sight.
This particular feeling was completely different from activating the system’s training ground function, yet it gave Su Mo a wonderful feeling. He felt like human civilization was slowly moving forward.
The speed of bioelectric signal transmission was not fast.
Su Mo directly closed his eyes and began to enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by water.
It was only when he was starting to feel sleepy did the signal finally finish transmitting, and Little Ai’s voice rang out again.
“Mr. Su Mo, how do you feel at the moment? Do you want to get used to it for a while longer before activating the authority authentication process?”
“No, I feel fine. Just turn it on!”
‘Once you opened your eyes
In the distance you could see fragrant green grass and an endless prairie.
In front of you, there was a flowing stream and dense shrubbery.
A few small birds flew through the air, chirping noisily.
Fat swimming fish jumped up from below the water and swam around happily!
Although the system had nothing good to say about the technology behind the helmet, the technology was surprisingly great according to what Su Mo was seeing in front of him.
When he saw the images, it felt like he was actually there. He could not walk, but the images were so realistic that he felt relaxed.
“Okay. Authority Handover Mode has been activated. Please wait patiently.”
After those words, the world turned silent again.
Su Mo did not try to walk. He just sat on the grass, quietly looking into the distance.
By the time he reacted, a person was already sitting beside him.
“Hello Su Mo, I’m Su Deben. It’s nice to meet you in this environment.”
Su Deben’s facial details were extremely blurry, almost like a faceless person.
Seeing him extend his hand, Su Mo also followed suit.
In the emptiness of the simulated space, their palms clasped together, transmitting the feeling of body temperature that seemed to vaguely exist.
“Nice to meet you, chief!”
At first, Su Mo thought that the test left behind was a hurdle.
However, he now had another change of heart.
His interest in chief Su Deben had visibly increased.
“Before we start the handover, you can ask me a question.”
“Oh, by the way, my virtual image that you are seeing now is not an artificial intelligence as you understand it. This is me using… Umm, a certain item from the game to leave my real memories behind. In other words, you can completely think of me as a living person!”
Su Deben scratched his head. After he said these words, the blurry facade on Su Deben’s face dissipated, and gradually his facial features could be seen.
Thick eyebrows, big eyes, thick lips. The standard appearance of an honest man.
“A question?”
Su Deben nodded. “Yes, any question.”
Su Mo said, “If I may, I would like to know what exactly was the objective of the expeditionary army? Was it to overthrow the rule of the game?”
This question had been troubling Su Mo for a long time.
Through Magoo’s diary, he had seen some hints, but there was no more evidence to corroborate his judgment.
At this moment, Su Deben opened his mouth. Su Mo did not try to hide anything, and immediately asked this question.
“Objective.
Su Deben slowly sighed, and he looked somewhat wistful.
“What was our objective…. Huh, it’s strange, this question is obviously very simple, but why does it feel like it’s evoking many strange emotions?”
Su Deben rambled on. As he continued to reminisce, more and more details became visible on his face, until the scars on his face began to appear as well.
“On February 5, ’99, the Nasa Defense Squad violated protocol by responding to an extraterrestrial civilization’s broadcasted message, revealing the coordinates of our planet Earth, which was in the 626th Universe.”
“At 11.58 pm on the same night, the fleet of the extraterrestrial civilization arrived at the edge of the solar system and, within thirty-five seconds, managed to lock on to Earth’s coordinates.”
“At 1.09 am the following day, the aliens, who claimed to be the Gilead Clan from the Hongsheng Nebula, descended into Earth’s orbital altitude and announced their intention to start a planetary war.”
“According to the rules of the universe, after proposing a planetary war against equal dimensional-class beings, the initiator has to give the other party a year to prepare, or they will be attacked by living beings from a higher dimension.”
“Therefore, we only had until February 6, 2000! This period of time would be our last moments on Earth!”
Su Deben spoke in an organized and clear manner.
He omitted as many garbled interjections as possible and expressed the information in the most straightforward language, describing the situation vividly.
“Within a week, we formed a defense corps as well as an expeditionary army corps from scratch.”
“The defense corps was responsible for defending against the Gilead Clan in Earth’s orbital altitude.”
“While the expeditionary army corps was in charge of…”
“Invasion!”
After uttering that word, Su Deben’s face, which was already clearly visible, displayed a hint of helplessness.
But in the end, that helplessness turned into regret as well as indignance.
“Invasion?”
“You came to the wasteland to invade? What is the relationship between this game and all of you? By what means did you arrive at the wasteland?”
A barrage of questions spilled out one after another. After hearing Su Deben’s words, Su Mo’s heart was flooded with waves of horror.
A terrifying thought popped out in his mind.
However, in the face of his continuous questioning, Su Deben just smiled and wiggled his index finger.
‘The meaning was self-explanatory.
“Let’s start? I will tell you everything I know when you pass the test and obtain authority over the base!”
“Sure!”
“Come on!”