Wasteland's Only King-Chapter 54: History

Dormitory 618.

After Old Cui finished speaking, the atmosphere grew quiet.

A long time passed.

Yu Fei finally spoke softly, breaking the silence.

"But getting the helmet isn’t entirely a bad thing for us."

As he spoke, Yu Fei looked at Yu Jin, then at the unopened square box containing the game helmet on Yu Jin’s desk.

"Right now, the ’Wasteland’ game is only in beta."

"And according to the memories I got from that old man on Alpha Star—"

"If the crossing happens, the beta save file will be retained afterward."

"In other words, the helmet signifies a 100% chance of crossing, but it also brings a much higher starting point and opportunity compared to the ordinary people who are forcibly crossed over..."

At the end, Yu Fei looked at Yu Jin.

"Old Yu."

"Me, Brother Gang, Old Cui, none of us blame you for giving us the helmet."

"We put on the helmet ourselves. This is all our own choice."

"On the contrary, if we hadn’t received the helmet but were forcibly crossed over later, maybe we really wouldn’t even have the slightest chance to survive."

"After all... the Wasteland World is just too brutal!"

Yu Fei spoke softly, and his tone was calm.

He had seen many things in the shattered memories from the old man on Alpha Star, including countless ordinary Alpha Star People who crossed into the Wasteland in confusion, only to die miserably without surviving even a single day.

On the other hand, those Alpha Star People who got the helmet and had beta save files, not only survived, but many went further and further along the path of the Extraordinary.

But...

Even so.

For the three of them, Yu Fei, only 21 and not yet out of university, the revelation was still too cruel.

It’s like two choices—

One is a 100% crossing, but you can accumulate advantages and develop early.

The other is maybe you’ll cross, maybe not, with completely different possible endings: the first likely to die tragically in the crisis-ridden Wasteland World, and the second to spend a peaceful old age in civilized society.

In fact.

Even the most clear-headed Yu Fei, deep inside, was already 90% convinced of what the old man from Alpha Star said.

He had even booked a ticket this weekend to fly from Jiang City to Yanjing...

If crossing was inevitable, he’d say goodbye to his family before that day came.

Whoosh—

Yu Jin exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

Yu Fei’s unexpected discovery also left him unable to calm his heart.

After all, compared to Yu Fei, who only ’ninety percent’ believed in the coming of the Wasteland, Yu Jin was already completely certain that scene would eventually happen.

"Any other discoveries?"

Yu Jin temporarily suppressed all sorts of thoughts, looking at Yu Fei.

"Yes!"

Yu Fei’s answer was unequivocal.

Old Cui and Brother Gang immediately sat up straighter, faces turning serious.

"The second discovery also comes from my awakened ’Knowledge’ attribute..."

"My attribute is special; it upgrades by absorbing knowledge, and leveling up unlocks new knowledge..."

"That old man from Alpha Star was a Tier Three Evolver. He sacrificed not just the ’Knowledge’ attribute to me, but also his Tier Three Level. Though, I still need time to digest that level."

"Today, during the day, I broke through to Tier Two."

"And it was only after Tier Two that I unlocked parts of the old man’s memory, and discovered the connection between the helmet and the crossing mechanism."

"Also, when I stepped into Alpha Shelter City, the ’Knowledge’ attribute brought me some information about Refuge City..."

Here, Yu Fei paused, pondering for a moment, as if to organize his thoughts.

The three of them, Yu Jin, stayed silent, quietly waiting.

A while later.

Yu Fei spoke again.

"First, Refuge City wasn’t built by human hands."

"It’s like it was born alongside Wasteland World. It naturally stands there, only the City Lord and residents inside have changed from generation to generation..."

Old Cui scratched his head after hearing that: "That sounds kind of like a building facility in a game?"

Yu Fei nodded affirmatively: "Exactly, it’s a game facility!"

He added, "Because the size and functions of Refuge City aren’t the same. Some can hold millions, others only get tens of thousands, and it depends on the City’s Level!"

Yu Jin was a bit surprised.

Refuge City Level?

Before Yu Fei revealed this, he really didn’t know. The system had never mentioned anything about it either.

This made Yu Jin’s heart skip a beat!

Before now, he truly didn’t realize Refuge Cities had levels.

On the other side.

Yu Fei continued speaking:

"Besides that, I’ve got a third discovery."

"In Alpha City, I came across a refugee with the ’Minstrel’ attribute."

"In the ballads he sang, Alpha Shelter City was embroiled in a massive war fifty years ago."

"That war dragged on for days, and the sides weren’t humans against Mutant Beasts and Infected Bodies, but Refuge City against Refuge City!"

"City Lords led their people—either attacking cities, or defending them..."

"I don’t know if this is true Wasteland history, but the ’Knowledge’ attribute reacted, meaning at least part of it matches reality."

...

...

After Wu Yufei finished.

Old Cui and Brother Gang also gave brief accounts of their own rewards from the past two days in ’Wasteland’ game.

"I awakened the ’Wandering’ attribute."

When Old Cui said it, his expression was complicated.

"My starting identity was a refugee who got thrown out of Refuge City..."

"After that, I followed an other refugee group, wandering the wilds of the Wasteland."

"It didn’t take long before we got attacked by a Tier One Mutant Beast. Dozens of refugees died horribly. But thanks to the beta letting me ’resurrect and restart’ endlessly, I wore it down by exchanging my life for wounds, and finally killed that Tier One Mutant Beast."

"The beast dropped a Crystal, oh, Old Yu, since you don’t pay much attention to the ’Wasteland’ game forum, let me explain—those are items for awakening extraordinary powers."

"I used the Crystal; succeeded on the first try, but got ’Wandering’ as my attribute..."

"I must keep wandering across Wasteland World. Each time I reach a new Refuge City, my ability gets boosted."

"But the ’Wandering’ attribute restricts me. I can’t stay in any Refuge City for more than a day, or else I’ll lose levels..."

Speaking thus, Old Cui sighed, his face troubled.

Next to him, Brother Gang muttered, adding, "You’re only telling the downside, not the upside. Why not say how strong your ’Wandering’ attribute is? You just arrived at a Refuge City and awakened the ability ’Rune Imprisonment,’ and you can even single-handedly take on a Tier One Mutant Beast outside!"

"Rune Imprisonment?"

Yu Jin heard the name of this ability, and it sounded oddly familiar.

After teasing Old Cui, Brother Gang briefly shared his game experience.

"After I awakened the ’Electric Current’ attribute, I went out to hunt monsters and level up. I’m just at Tier Two now."

"I’ll keep leveling up, see if I can get into the official forces of Refuge City."

He didn’t mention meeting Yin Yao, because he didn’t want Yu Jin to know that on the first day he logged into ’Wasteland,’ he accidentally sold out his buddy in front of her by talking too much.

Brother Gang finished.

The dorm fell into silence again.

After a long time.

Old Cui, Yu Fei, Brother Gang, all looked at Yu Jin.

"Old Yu."

"Are you considering putting on the helmet and logging into ’Wasteland’?"

"If the crossing really happens, at least you’d have some experience and could deal with it..."

"Or—"

"Would you rather let go of the beta chance and wait for God to roll the dice to decide whether you cross over?"