Cheng Shuang subtly moved closer to Du Jun and Sun Han, holding the teddy bear and having summoned back Dragon Flame, whose skill time had expired.

The little girl quietly clutched the 'Mr. Pea' card in one hand while secretly communicating with Luo An. Upon receiving the message from him, her eyes flashed slightly, and she quickly issued her decree.

Du Jun and Sun Han each held a card, their brows furrowed as they glanced at the approaching crowd. When they saw Han Meimei and Li Lei supporting each other and walking towards them with worried expressions, Du Jun subtly shook his head to stop them.

Putting aside Han Meimei, even Li Lei, who is the protector, is acting very strangely. In the game, he is in his early twenties, but in reality, he looks like he is in his thirties.

Even if he survives, the price he pays will likely be enormous.

Sun Han silently uttered three words: "Go outside."

The couple immediately stopped. Li Lei patted Han Meimei's hand reassuringly. Instead of helping, they were just causing trouble when they approached.

The people, their faces contorted in pain, had turned the tools they used to pound on the nutrient tanks into weapons, and staggered toward the three of them.

The encirclement gradually tightened.

Cheng Shuang did not feel that it was unfair to defeat these people who intended to do evil. If they really intended to hurt someone, she would never show any mercy.

What the little girl didn't expect was that in this land of death, her enemies were not the treacherous wanderers, but the very humans they had just saved.

Human nature is indeed the most unpredictable factor.

Knowing full well that they have fallen into the sweet trap of the game, they are still willing to deceive themselves, and even transfer this feeling of despair to innocent people.

Looking at the faces filled with resentment and rage, the little girl felt a sense of absurdity and sorrow. Even though saving them was more of a matter of going with the flow and forcing the hidden game system into disarray, she still felt a sense of absurdity and sorrow.

However, the tense atmosphere was broken by a cold laugh, "Have you all been driven mad by this? Savior? What savior! No new lives are born in the game, emotions slowly deteriorate, and even close friends and family are less friendly than strangers! What kind of savior is this! This is clearly escaping reality!"

Cheng Shuang, who was communicating with Luo An remotely, suddenly looked up. It was Grandma Xu's voice!

The little girl looked out in surprise on tiptoe, and saw a dozen or so elderly people walking over, supporting each other.

"The Eternal Project was originally launched as humanity's last hope. One hundred people of different ages, aged six to sixty-six, were selected from each city to enter the game as a reserve force for humanity. Why, why are more and more people entering after the game restarted?"

"Our first batch of testers totaled 2,000 people, and in just two years, only a dozen or so of us remain. Have you ever wondered why? Take a good look at your physical condition! Games are eroding our spirit and our lives!"

"How did the apocalypse happen? Shouldn't that be enough to warn everyone? Smog, sandstorms, soil erosion, the greenhouse effect—if it were just a small asteroid impact, it would only damage a part of the planet. Natural disasters, natural disasters, but before natural disasters, there are still human sufferings!"

"What are you doing now? This planet has nurtured all life, and while it suffers from calamity and disease, you have all hidden away in your comfort zones! Even if it were truly a comfort zone, so be it! In just two short years! Look, look! The population here is less than half of what you came in! Your loved ones have mysteriously disappeared. Don't you feel any pain? If humanity had used this time to work together and diligently repair the Earth, in just two short years, it wouldn't have become so desolate!"

"We abandoned the planet that nurtured us, so it abandoned us too!"

Grandma Xu was heartbroken, her cloudy eyes were red. Among the elderly people around her, some were still dazed and had a little energy left, but most of them were already blank and dazed, only knowing to follow familiar people to move or stop, like ignorant and unconscious wooden puppets.

Her gaze swept over the crowd, then fell upon the few plants and animals in the nutrient tank, and tears finally streamed down her face.

Although they live here, the possibility of further cultivation has been cut off. Like humans, they live like puppets and specimens, losing their original purpose.

"But what can we do if we go out?" Some people were already moved. They were not afraid of hardship. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, they would slowly pass on the torch.

Many people thought of their wives, children, parents, and friends, realizing that they had lost them without even noticing.

The cold heart, upon returning to the body, suddenly revived...

Why did I come in? Was it the deteriorating climate outside the window, the brainwashing propaganda of video games, or simply hedonism?

They foolishly sacrificed themselves like that.

"Find water, find resources. If there's no oxygen, we can make oxygen; if there are no conditions, we can create them!" the old man who had previously identified Bai Sha shouted hoarsely. "How could you possibly understand the situation outside if you're hiding here! If it's truly unsuitable for survival..." He scoffed and retorted, "Then this place shouldn't exist!"

The sound was a thud, the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

"I...I remember now!" A very young boy suddenly dropped his 'weapon'. His eyes widened, and his thin cheeks were flushed with intense red. His words were incoherent. "I was in the last batch to come in. Back then, 'Eternal New World' was all the rage in every country. The trend was unstoppable! I just wanted to occasionally reminisce about the good old days. I...I didn't want to set up camp in the game!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shuang and the other two, along with Han Meimei and Li Lei who had already awakened, quietly passed through the remaining consciousnesses and arrived at the deepest part of the entire space.

The automatic door opened and closed, revealing the old man, Lianrong, and Luo An sitting on the old man's shoulders.

Luo An held a thin metal card between his fingers, and his double smile revealed a puppet-like expression.

Several tall machines filled the space. The little girl asked in surprise, "Is this Bai Xiuzhi's true form?"

No wonder the mechanical voice didn't speak when the old people pointed out the cruel facts and stopped those people from acting impulsively; it turned out that Bai Xiuzhi had been dismantled.

That was a brilliant move, cutting off their supply lines at the root!

Luo An, pleased with the praise, handed the card to Cheng Shuang and the other two.

"It's not just these machines that built that vast game world, but more importantly, this so-called cutting-edge intelligence," the old man said, smiling as he pointed to the metal card held in Luo An's hand.

The patterns on the card were twisted and complex, and occasionally a glint of light flashed through them, making it seem unlike an inanimate object.

Cheng Shuang took the observation and became even more astonished, her voice trembling slightly, "The Wanderer? The Wanderer is a cutting-edge AI? Isn't it in the form of a ghost?"

"No!" It was Li Lei who spoke. He was more rational and elite than in the game, and less silly and cute, but he was still the same as before when it came to Han Meimei. Holding his girlfriend's hand, he said, "Wanderers have no form. The so-called form is just a product of the human mind."