"Do you feel uncomfortable after reading this parchment?" Yang Jia asked Li Bai.
She said she wasn't sure what exactly was causing this discomfort, and it didn't seem like it would cause any actual harm, but it made her feel creepy and she subconsciously became wary.
Li Bai looked at Yang Jia worriedly. Seeing her frown, he reached out to touch her face, only to find a thin layer of sweat on it. It wasn't visible on the surface, but it felt damp to the touch of his fingers.
"It's probably because of this ballad." Li Bai took the parchment from Yang Jia. "It's a record, and also a prophecy. You just sensed danger from it."
Yang Jia suddenly realized, "Yes, it's like a wild beast is lurking in the dark, waiting for the right moment to devour someone." Yang Jia has experienced many battles and her perception is very sharp. Now she feels like she is being stared at by a wild beast. She is in danger anytime and anywhere and dare not be negligent.
This uneasiness and vigilance came inexplicably, but Yang Jia still hid many secrets that even she herself didn't know. In this world, "intuition" is sometimes more accurate than rational judgment, so it should not be taken lightly.
Li Bai returned his gaze to the scroll and recited softly, "Heroes expanded territory, conquered the world, and opened Pandora's box."
The logic behind this is worth pondering. Upon closer inspection, it suggests a sense of impending doom. Yang Jia paused for a moment, then said, "If the hero refers to the player, then the sentence before this is a record, and the sentence after this is a prophecy. What does 'Pandora's Box' refer to?"
In Greek mythology, Zeus combined the power of the gods to create the perfect human Pandora, and gave her a box to give to the man who would marry her. Pandora eventually succumbed to temptation and opened the box, which was then filled with disease, disaster, sin, jealousy, fear, and other negative things that flew out and spread across the world.
How similar was this myth to the situation Yang Jia faced? The players, too, had descended from another dimension, onto this gaming continent. And according to the prophecy, would they bring disaster?
Yang Jia felt a chill run down her spine, but this prophecy wasn't all that different from her initial speculation. While she didn't believe players could only bring disaster, she also felt that players becoming the masters of this land wouldn't be a good thing for the indigenous NPCs. So, upon realizing this expected outcome, she quickly came to her senses.
In fact, what is important is not what language is written on it, but the meaning of the existence of this parchment.
This was a game world, where everything was controlled by a system, so useless items couldn't possibly appear. Furthermore, it was such a coincidence that all eight scrolls were gathered at this very moment. If this were a traditional online game, it would undoubtedly become a crucial quest item.
Of course, they cannot get any game hints now, but the appearance of this parchment may not be a hint.
"Pandora's Box represents disaster and misfortune, but here, I think it should be more inclined towards disaster." Li Bai thought for a moment and said, "Remember what I told you? This game is actually just a testing ground."
Of course I remember. Yang Jia nodded. "Simulate the dual environments of Earth and the new planet. Through a series of methods, control and promote ecological development, and ultimately create an environment similar to the outside world. In this environment, cultivate bacteria and viruses that already exist in reality but cannot be conquered, and then find ways to control them."
If one looks at it from any perspective, this is a brilliant idea. By pooling the wisdom of countless humans, coupled with the aid of intelligent computers, research progress will be countless times faster than in reality. Furthermore, the cost is only the initial investment. Once the game world stabilizes, all that's left is to maintain its operation.
Of course, such a project would require enormous initial investment. However, since it was also being run as an online game, it was naturally profitable. This meant that, at a minimal cost, they had a reusable simulation testing ground.
But Yang Jia couldn't abandon her position after all. She stood in the perspective of all the NPCs created in this game world and hated this predetermined "fate" very much.
However, Yang Jia also knew very well that there was no so-called savior in this world. Be it humans, bacteria and viruses, or the NPCs in this world, nothing could escape the eight words "survival of the fittest".
No matter how much injustice and suffering you endure, no one will come to uphold justice for you. If you cannot become strong yourself, you can only passively accept all arrangements.
So she hated it but did not complain. Instead, she quietly accumulated strength in the hope that one day she would be able to stand in a higher position and be qualified to reject this fate that was inexplicably imposed on her.
She quickly regained her composure and asked, "You mean, has it come to this?"
The game is barely three months old.
Although the various processes in the game are faster than in the real world, it is still a bit surprising. However, since the eight major factions have already begun to emerge, it is not surprising to see new developments.
Thinking of this, Yang Jia couldn't help but smile bitterly. It was she who had really pushed the game forward a significant step. Although there had been many twists and turns, Yang Jia, looking at the parchment scroll before her, had an inexplicable feeling that everything was always under the system's control.
However, considering that the system has such powerful computing power, it is not surprising that even if there are some accidents and changes in the middle, it can be adjusted in time and achieve "no omissions in the plan".
Now is not the time to think about these things. Yang Jia's thoughts only paused for a moment, and then he sighed, "After knowing this, I have begun to adjust our development direction, but now it seems that it is not enough." In the real world, there are many difficult problems that all the top technical personnel have not been able to solve. How can it be possible to overcome them immediately in the game?
Before this, she had always speculated that the general direction of the game's development would enter a period of separatist and chaotic fighting in the future. Therefore, although Yang Jia had attached more importance to the development of this aspect than other forces, he had still done very little.
If a virus or plague were to break out in this land now, she really didn't know if she would be able to find a solution.
"It's just a prophecy." Li Bai patted Yang Jia's shoulder and whispered, "Opening Pandora's Box. Although this sentence is a metaphor, it shouldn't be written casually. We must 'open' something before it will explode. Before that, there is still time."
"I hope so." Yang Jia took a deep breath and quickly got rid of his frustration. "At least we are prepared in advance. When the time comes, we can only fight against the enemy with our own troops and block the water with earth."
For her, she had to fight even if she didn't want to. Perhaps if this game world failed, the system would reset the data and start over. For the player, it would just be the beginning of a new game, but she probably wouldn't exist anymore. Perhaps an identical version of her would appear, but would it still be her?
And Li Bai, will she continue to reminisce about the past, or accept the new self?
Although she was thinking too much, in order to avoid falling into such a situation, Yang Jia felt that she should still use all her strength to fight and strive, so that she and Li Bai would have a future!
Li Bai thought for a moment and added, "Even if a virus grows, there are traces to follow. It's impossible for a powerful virus to appear out of thin air. I think this process will be repeated here. I will try to find information on this and try to avoid further losses."
This was Li Bai. When faced with a problem, she wouldn't offer pale words of comfort, but instead expressed her attitude directly through her actions. She always stood firm, like a mountain, seemingly shielding herself from all storms. That's why everyone around her admired her and followed her wholeheartedly. But Yang Jia knew full well that Li Bai was merely a little more capable than an ordinary person, not a god, and naturally, she couldn't be omnipotent.
"That's one way, but it's not very efficient, right?" Yang Jia said.
Finding this kind of information wasn't difficult, especially since Li Bai was looking for outdated data. Furthermore, this was the outcome District 3's leadership had been hoping for, so they naturally offered their full support. The challenge lay in how to incorporate this information into the game.
Players log into the game through their minds, so they can't bring anything physical. Li Bai wanted to bring this information in, so she had only one way: memorize it by rote and then write it down once she was in the game. But she wasn't a professional in this field, so memorizing so many complex technical terms without making any mistakes was extremely difficult.
Yang Jia quickly added, "But this might also be an opportunity for us."
Li Bai turned his head and looked at her with a slightly puzzled look.
Yang Jia couldn't help but smile at her. "Didn't I say before that you cultivate your own team in the game, and then use that to influence reality? This might be a good starting point. The players participating in this research are all geniuses, but not everyone can display their talents in real life. If you gather them together in real life, study the information you find first, and then conduct experiments in the game, I think the results will be much better."
According to statistics, in the 22nd century, Earth's population was less than 10 billion. Back then, Earth's environment was still favorable, with more habitable land, but it only accounted for about 5% of the Earth's total surface area. However, after the war, Earth's habitable area shrank to less than 1%, while the population doubled to 20 billion!
In the 29th century, great attention was paid to the cultivation of talents, but there was no way around it because the population on the earth was simply too large.
Since humanity entered the technological age, machines have replaced labor in many areas, leaving few jobs truly requiring human labor. However, to maintain a population for space exploration, the need for childbirth has necessitated a strong population growth. Furthermore, class barriers have become far more rigid than they were a few centuries ago. Beyond the positions reserved for large and small families, there are naturally fewer jobs left for ordinary people to compete for. Even exceptionally talented individuals sometimes struggle to find platforms for advancement.
Fortunately, the price of machines was very cheap at that time, and as long as you bought all the tools, you could do many small research projects at home. Many people with nothing to do would cultivate one or two hobbies to pass the time.
The vast majority of players in the game are ordinary people who cultivate various research projects as a hobby. Only a few researchers are truly involved in the core work. After all, they can't all rely on the network, the success of which is uncertain. Real-world research is extremely important and cannot be relaxed.
Of course, even for ordinary people, their talent is unquestionable.
Yang Jia's method of selecting talent was straightforward: they looked for titles. For talents like Zhang Zitao and Feng Qingxuan, the special attributes of their titles enhanced certain areas within their expertise. For example, Feng Qingxuan's title attribute increased the power of explosive devices by 1%.
This is the judgment given by the system, which is more intuitive than any position or halo.
If Li Bai could gather these people together and solve the problems in the game, wouldn't that be a disguised way of cultivating a great helper for her?
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