Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
If Big Bliss played the role of the family member who was the deepest concern in Shu Xun’s heart, then Ye Qian was the link that, by a fortunate coincidence, guided Shu Xun into this world. He took root bit by bit in Shu Xun’s heart. Shu Xun’s warm gaze turned towards the fiercely burning flames. After a long time, his voice remained as clear as ever. “It seems that not much time has passed in the game world. Any discoveries?”
Before Ye Qian could speak, the talkative Meng Muyu finally found an opportunity to speak and immediately entered talkative mode. “Only twenty game days have passed. Although I’m a game developer, my knowledge of this world is not much more than yours. I’ve been checking the world background, confirming the development potential, organizing the connection to create the game system, and performing operations such as material distribution and establishing nutrient chamber teleportation points. Interfering too much could potentially lead to a system-wide collapse before the game even starts…”
Ye Qian snapped a thick branch in his hand as Meng Muyu glanced over. “Ye Qian, the fire is still strong. We can add more firewood when it’s time to sleep. Where did we leave off? Right, because of the previous system glitch, there might be some butterfly effects. So, I’ll stay in the game world until we clear it. How about we form a small team? My survival skills are quite good. As for the detailed information about this world, it has already been disclosed in the promotional video before the game started…”
In the quiet forest, only Meng Muyu’s voice continued without pause.
After a full half-hour, Meng Muyu finally stopped his incessant talk. “What do you guys think?”
Ye Qian snapped several dry branches, maintaining his poker face without reacting. Shu Xun’s ink-black eyes seemed to flicker with contemplation or perhaps nothing at all. “Teaming up is fine. I still have a few questions. You can choose to answer or remain silent.”
Meng Muyu’s expression appeared indifferent. “Sure, I’ll tell you anything that can be said. But my knowledge about this world is really limited, as I’ve explained before.”
Seeing that Meng Muyu was about to launch into another lengthy discourse, Shu Xun’s faint smile, honed over by twenty years, stiffened slightly. “I want to know why StarPlay Entertainment suddenly moved up the public beta of ‘Deep Blue Sea.’ According to the initial announcement, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ was supposed to be officially beta-tested at least a month later. Is StarPlay Entertainment really the only developer for ‘Deep Blue Sea’? Is the holographic video message from Di Lan Shu the only information available? Was the decision to advance the public beta time made by another development force?”
Meng Muyu’s incessant chatter suddenly fell silent, staring somewhat horrified at Shu Xun for a moment. “Indeed, StarPlay Entertainment is not the sole developer of ‘Deep Blue Sea.'” After saying this, he fell into contemplation for a moment before continuing, “Because the military conducted a detailed analysis of Di Lan Shu’s holographic video message. Apart from the disclosed information, there’s an emotional wave-pop analysis. Along with the holographic video recorder, there’s also an intense, almost overwhelming sense of despair and urgency. It seems like if it had been a second later, it would have been too late. I can’t describe it more precisely, but the entire merchant warship that directly encountered the holographic video recorder is undergoing treatment at the mental healing center. Can you imagine how intense that sense of despair and urgency is?”
“In fact, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ is not my ideal development project. Many years ago, StarPlay Entertainment explored this liquid planet, but all the explorers disappeared, just like Di Lan Shu, without a trace. ‘Deep Blue Sea’ was classified as a highly dangerous planet. It wasn’t until the perfection of the SSS-grade nutrient chamber, capable of perfectly protecting players’ mental powers, that the game could be explored. Although the nutrient chamber was initially created for entertainment, its application scope couldn’t be limited to just entertainment. Many areas unreachable by physical bodies could be explored under the protection of the nutrient chamber. That’s how the concept of real-life gaming emerged. As for ‘Deep Blue Sea’ obtaining the influence records from before Di Lan Shu’s disappearance, do you really think this is within my personal capabilities?”
Shu Xun’s eyes showed little fluctuation, indicating that most of what Meng Muyu said was within his expectations. Indeed, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ could perfectly overlap with the gaming time of ‘Winter’s End’, maximizing profits. This was the choice a businessman should make. The sudden conflict in the public beta time with ‘Winter’s End’ implied player loss, which was undoubtedly not the outcome Meng Muyu wanted to see. “So, the military is involved in the development of ‘Deep Blue Sea.’ No wonder the entry requirements for the game are so strict.”
Meng Muyu helplessly spread his hands. “Yes, not only humans, but various major races have been paying attention to this water-blue starfield for a long time. It’s just that there hasn’t been precise information until now. Di Lan Shu’s holographic video is an opportunity. This game is far more complex than ‘Winter’s End’, and military personnel from various major races are undoubtedly involved. The missing soldiers on this planet are not only humans like Di Lan Shu. Do you understand what I mean? Whether it’s for rescue or exploration, no one is willing to wait. So, as soon as the game system was confirmed to be perfected, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ was immediately launched.”
“Is that the only reason?” Shu Xun’s eyes held hidden sharpness and contemplation. Do the military forces of various major races possess information that ordinary players don’t have? Perhaps even information that Meng Muyu, the game developer, is unaware of? Shu Xun turned his gaze towards Ye Qian.
Ye Qian naturally understood what Shu Xun was thinking and shook his head, indicating that he hadn’t received any relevant data or information. However, he shared his discoveries in the game world over the past few days. “This planet has extremely high gravity, and the oxygen level is significantly higher, leading to the gigantification of organisms. The ocean glows at night, and the source of the light cannot be determined at the moment, but it is likely from the deep sea, for unknown reasons. There is a diverse range of species on land, dominated by mammals and arthropods. So far, there are no traces of the existence of advanced life forms. If I were to describe it, this planet gives the impression of undergoing an intense and urgent evolution under overload.”
In the live broadcast room, as Ye Qian summarized, the audience suddenly felt enlightened. Indeed, this planet, with its explosion of life, gave them a subtle sense of unease. After adding the term “overload,” the situation seemed to make much more sense. All life on this planet appeared to be operating at an extremely high pace, struggling for survival every minute and second. Any slack could lead not only to the death of individuals but possibly the extinction of an entire species. This high-intensity evolution almost seemed to be running in overload. How was such a strange state caused?
“God Ye remains as God Ye, seemingly seeing through the essence of things at a glance.”
“Doesn’t what Ye Qian and Shu Xun did count as cheating? After all, Meng Muyu is a game developer, and the information he just mentioned is not public, making it unfair to other players!”
“Upstairs, don’t forget that if it weren’t for Shu Xun’s speculation and inquiries, Meng Muyu would probably still be chattering about his limited knowledge of this world! I think even if Meng Muyu didn’t say it, Shu Xun seems to have guessed it. Didn’t you see Shu Xun’s emotionless reaction after Meng Muyu finished speaking?”
“Agreed. I’ve noticed that this Meng Muyu is not only talkative but also cunning. He declared his limited knowledge of this world before Shu Xun spoke, only to be contradicted by Shu Xun later. I think Meng Muyu is not as simple as he appears. Did you guys notice that almost all the information he provided was what Shu Xun had guessed? In other words, he practically said nothing. It’s quite alarming. Dealing with someone like him, only Shu Xun can handle it!”
“Indeed, watching his live broadcast is more enjoyable. In twenty days, most players are still struggling and have minimal gains. However, as soon as Shu Xun returns to the game world, he throws out so much information. I’ll wait until someone clears the game besides Shu Xun. Until then, I won’t believe anyone else!”
In the live broadcast room, there was obvious excitement among the audience regarding the slight progress in the game. In these twenty days, they had witnessed various peculiar creatures, experiencing the wonders of life in a state of explosive growth. Every day, they watched the beautiful life-and-death struggles unfolding on this fantasy planet. They also witnessed numerous players being forced to log out of the game, and even a few players risking their lives by deliberately interrupting the automatic logout signal from the nutrient chamber and dying.
Some understood this behavior, while others did not. The intelligent detection function of the nutrient chamber could maximize its effectiveness when real bodies enter the game. Once the nutrient chamber determined that a player’s life was threatened, it would send a forced logout signal within a split second. Despite this, some still chose to take risks, with varying outcomes – some succeeded, and some failed. The cost was life itself. Some enjoyed pursuing such life-and-death situations to break through their limits, while others felt content with the protection of the nutrient chamber. The differences in race, upbringing, environment, and goals led to vastly different choices.
By the campfire, Shu Xun subtly stiffened upon hearing the mention of arthropods. His gaze wandered momentarily, a faint disturbance crossing his eyes. Quickly regaining composure, he continued with his inquiry, “Is there any connection between ‘Winter’s End’ and ‘Deep Blue Sea’?”
A trace of confusion flashed in Meng Muyu’s eyes as if he didn’t understand why Shu Xun had such a question. “If there’s any connection, it’s probably that both were developed by our StarPlay Entertainment, does that count? ‘Winter’s End’ was independently developed by StarPlay Entertainment, and ‘Deep Blue Sea’ had military assistance. However, both are classified under the category of End-of-the-Line planets, and there seems to be no other connection beyond that.”
Shu Xun looked at Meng Muyu, his lips curving into a gentle, knowing smile. “As expected. Mr. Meng Muyu seems to know the reasons behind the downfall of these two planets.”
Meng Muyu froze for a moment, the confusion in his eyes deepening, as if he couldn’t comprehend what Shu Xun was talking about.
Shu Xun continued to smile. “I advise you to spill the beans quickly, or else…”
Under Shu Xun’s gentle gaze, Meng Muyu’s forehead began to bead with cold sweat, and his breathing gradually became erratic. He felt like he had done something wrong. The threat he should be wary of wasn’t a beating from Ye Qian but rather the clear yet sharp eyes of the youth in front of him. “Alright, alright, even if I don’t say it, you should be able to figure it out. Both ‘Winter’s End’ and ‘Deep Blue Sea’ have been invaded by some mysterious force. The difference is that ‘Winter’s End’ was invaded recently, while ‘Deep Blue Sea’ was invaded a long time ago. You’ve seen this mysterious force in ‘Winter’s End’ too, it’s one of the types seen in the micro-market surveillance footage. Apart from this, I really don’t have any more information. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have developed them into games for exploration; we would have taken direct action.”
Shu Xun nodded. “So you really do know! I was just asking casually.”
Meng Muyu: “…” Hehe, do you think I’ll believe that?
