Pass

Night fell faster than expected.

The joy that should have been felt at the conclusion of the Divine Light deal had turned somber. If technological development was restricted, even with the support of the Divine Light and the contract, the territory would struggle to develop to the point where it could easily cope with disasters.

What's more... Ye Miaomiao looked up at the sky worriedly. She had never encountered anything like this in the Civilization computer game before. The constant stream of bugs and technological blockades... It was as if someone was deliberately targeting the "wood," the key to the next impending disaster. Could it be some hacker or crawler?

Ye Miaomiao was thinking wildly for a moment, then she stood up and went back to her room.

There is no point in thinking too much. We can only wait for the update tomorrow morning and take it one step at a time!

At nine o'clock in the evening, the sky and the earth trembled slightly, as if an invisible hand had split the whole world apart.

In the very center of the Central District, a jigsaw puzzle piece slowly fell into the void, replacing the original forest with a chaotic mess of code. The surrounding land also trembled as if unstable. A terrifying and earth-shattering transformation was slowly underway...

The confused residents felt the ground shaking in horror, but fortunately the shaking stopped after a while, as if it was a harmless joke. They patted each other on the shoulders and went back to sleep.

But some people were lying quietly on the bed with their brows furrowed, unable to fall asleep no matter what they did.

The violent vibration brought him back to the distant memory, and it began, everything was exactly the same as it was then... This time he arrived near her house in advance, originally just wanting to send his neighbor to a reliable territory, but he happened to see her again.

A familiar arrow, yet a little strange compared to the arrow shot by the bounty hunter he knew.

He stood quietly in the distance, not acknowledging them. A life for a life, his own to be guarded silently in the shadows. Watching his territory grow day by day brought him immense satisfaction and peace.

But...what is going to happen will happen.

Recalling her gradually stagnant breathing and gradually cooling body under the blue-purple aurora, the sudden feeling of suffocation came back to him. No, it couldn't be. This time, he would never let it happen again!

To change, to change her destiny!

......

On the ninth day of the disaster, it was sunny.

Ye Miaomiao set the alarm to wake up on time at six o'clock and immediately turned on the screen.

【Version update completed! 】

Welcome to the all-new Tech Tree system, featuring a new "pass" mechanism. Complete missions to earn a pass, allowing you to legally research and develop technology! Check it out!

Ye Miaomiao sorted out the meaning of this new version - the technology that could be unlocked before only required research by researchers now had an additional pass in front, which meant there was an additional procedure.

She opened the technology tree system with a feeling of "I see," and looked at the various passes that were so dazzling.

I couldn't help but feel relieved: Isn't this a good thing? Some of the more niche technologies, like "aromatherapy", require special "quest items". If you're unlucky, you've never encountered them. Even if you enter the interstellar era, you may not be able to unlock them.

Now the new system puts all the Iron Age technologies in front of you, and you can unlock them as long as you get the pass!

Ye Miaomiao: “!” Although it was troublesome to do an extra task, as a hoarder, she saw the pass to the “barn” in it...

It’s not impossible!

Ye Miaomiao happily found the "Pass: Coal" and clicked on it to see——

[Buried Treasure: Please check the coal mine map through the computer to obtain this pass]

Ye Miaomiao: “?”

She read the sentence again, puzzled, her eyes still clear! Computer? Was a computer something people of her generation should have?

"Oh..." Ye Miaomiao understood, "The network is stuck and an error message is loading."

Ye Miaomiao immediately exited "Pass: Coal" and clicked on "Pass: Barn".

[Safe Reserve: Please exchange your rice cooker for this pass.]

Ye Miaomiao: “…”

Numbly, she turned off the screen and then on again—exactly the same.

There were also various other passes, all of which were a mess of things like kettles, televisions...

Ye Miaomiao murmured: "You must be kidding."

So...this pass is not a good thing at all. It is clearly a "no access lock" and it is not intended to allow people to conduct scientific research legally at all!

Ye Miaomiao: “?” She thought viciously, then I can only do something illegal.

Unexpectedly, as soon as this thought came to her mind, the system seemed to be under surveillance, and a notification immediately popped up on the screen -

Conducting illegal research will result in you receiving the penalty "Destruction".

Ye Miaomiao: “!” What...rubbish game!

She threw the screen aside, furious but also feeling a little uneasy. She thought about the sudden changes from last night to today.

First, the use of wood was doubled, then technology was blocked, cutting off all resources that could replace wood... All of this was done in an orderly manner, and it didn't seem like a random bug at all...

When Civilization was first released, Ye Miaomiao still remembers a comment from the developers: "The original intention of this game was to make everyone think about how to properly develop civilization." Upon entering the game, the system also reminded players to "develop your own civilization, light up the technology tree, and save your planet."

Although she cursed the game every day, Ye Miaomiao knew it gave players a way to survive. Now, the sudden change in "style" and the refusal to allow players to progress made Ye Miaomiao feel a strong sense of disharmony.

This isn't... the style of this game!

She frowned for a moment, not knowing what she was thinking, and quickly posted a notice on the task board.

.

Before 6:30 in the morning, people felt the ground shaking.

Uninformed people climbed out of their tents and looked toward the epicenter of the earthquake, only to be surprised to discover a dramatic change! Where there had originally been only one two-story house with a stone foundation, there were now six houses.

Three houses formed a small courtyard, two facing each other and one facing the entrance. A small flower bed was specially built in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by several stone tables. A row of clotheslines lined the roof of each house, and a few apricot trees were planted along the courtyard's fence.

The appearance of the residential houses has also changed. The original stone base of the house now reveals the steel inside. The three-story house blocks half of the sky, and the criss-crossing water pipes are exposed on the side of the house, giving it a very industrial feel.

Ye Miaomiao is placing the materials for the last house.

Fortunately, the territory had been upgraded to a village, and the number of buildings that could be placed in each territory had increased to 16. She had previously moved the gathering hut and the logging hut to the Shenmu Forest Sea, otherwise six residential buildings would not have been enough.

After the residential houses were successfully placed, there was another slight earthquake. The "notice" posted by Ye Miaomiao on the task board was also discovered by the first person, who exclaimed and called others to go and see.

"Has it started yet?"

While Ye Miaomiao was waiting for the crowd to gather, Fang Yan walked up to her and looked at her quietly.

"This game is trash!" Ye Miaomiao complained to this former player speechlessly: "Resource usage has doubled, technology is blocked, and now I have to find another way!"

Fang Yan nodded, seemingly not surprised at all: "You have already thought about how to deal with it."

He looked at Ye Miaomiao, who was complaining but also extremely excited, and sighed.

"Actually..." He weighed his tone, "You can listen to my advice on the subsequent snatch."

Ye Miaomiao was surprised. She hadn't said anything, but Fang Yan had guessed what she was going to do? That's right... she seemed to have mentioned it before. As expected of a veteran player who had been assigned the "Bounty Hunter" class right after entering the game! So perceptive!

She immediately perked up: "What's your opinion!"

Fang Yan said seriously: "This matter is not simple."

"First, show no mercy to your men. Don't sympathize with them. Second, grab the most useful ones. Don't waste resources on useless ones. Third, my military strength is very high. If you need me, I am willing to fight for the territory..."

Fang Yan closed his eyes and said seriously, "Pay with my life."

Ye Miaomiao: “!” Very moved.

She patted Fang Yan's shoulder lovingly. "What a good resident!" Then she slowly took out the golden SSR card in the system - "New Year's Goods Purchase".

She was struggling over whether she should rush to grab the rice cooker or quickly rush to the computer city to look up the "coal mine" map. Fang Yan's words made her suddenly enlightened.

First, she'll take it all! Second, the all-important task of finding the coal mine map will be left to her alone. And Fang Yan...

Ye Miaomiao looked at him deeply and said, "Then help me grab the hardest one."

Thinking about it, she had already taken out the pickaxe: "This is quick for breaking glass!" She handed the pickaxe to Fang Yan, who didn't understand the situation at the moment -

"Remember, you need both gold and silver watches! A pocket watch is best, especially an electronic one! You must get a digital one!"

Fang Yan: “?”

Then, full of questions, he saw a group of people. Almost most of the people in the territory rushed out of the territory gate with an expression of luck.

Some people who didn't know the situation also got up and rushed over.

"Joining the territory now does give you a 20% discount, but... there's something I'm not sure if it's dangerous, but it's extremely important and requires everyone's collaboration!"

When the crowd had almost gathered, Ye Miaomiao stood on a stone and showed the "New Year's Goods Shopping" coupons in her arms to everyone.

"We are currently blocked from technology. To unlock it, we need some electronic products. For example... TVs, kettles, air conditioners, refrigerators... After exchanging them with the system, we can unlock it."

"Then..." someone exclaimed, "How could we have that now!"

"Yeah! We're on this grassland, where are the electronic gadgets?"

"Doesn't that mean the technology can't be unlocked?"

Ye Miaomiao nodded solemnly: "So..." She raised the voucher in her hand and read it word by word: "New Year's shopping, all official residents in the territory will be teleported to the supermarket before the end of the world for 3 minutes, and can buy goods for 'zero yuan'."

"I want everyone to help me grab all the electronic products, no! Buy them back for free!" Ye Miaomiao sighed as she spoke. The system still had the art of speaking: "There are currently more than 100 official resident positions. The 20% discount points are my way of thanking everyone for helping me grab them, no, buy them for free!"

"All residents willing to join the zero-dollar shopping program only need to pay 80 points to join the territory! You can queue up here now!"

Who wouldn't agree to this?!

The people below whispered to each other, and in just a moment, they made a decision, and the team formed into a long line. Some people who didn't have enough points also made a quick decision and asked for money!

Only Fang Yan was holding the pickaxe in a daze, he was so shocked and confused that he didn't know where to go... So... after talking for a long time, he also expressed his loyalty, but the two of them... were not talking about the same thing at all?

"Don't worry!" Ye Miaomiao turned her head and looked at him with a smile: "The territory will not forget your efforts."

Fang Yan took a breath and felt a little warmer in his heart.

"You still get a 20% discount!" Ye Miaomiao said loudly, "I'll transfer 20 points to you in a moment!"

Fang Yan's heart froze.