Post-Apocalyptic Survival Modpack

Chapter 58: Insect Plague?

The natural disaster struck unexpectedly; neither the community nor the empire anticipated the arrival of this world-class earthquake.

The difference is that the ideal community had everything arranged almost perfectly on the day of the earthquake, and even took the opportunity to hold a meeting to formulate a magic network coverage plan.

And on the other side…

imperial capital.

The scribe Giovanni rushed to the palace, requesting another audience with the emperor.

"What's wrong, my clerk? I can tell you've been missing the master of this country a lot lately."

"His Majesty."

Giovanni knelt on one knee and said, "I have prepared the report you requested. Please take a look."

"Ah."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction and casually asked, "Is there any noteworthy news?"

Giovanni immediately began to recount the disaster situation in the capital, but he was interrupted by the emperor before he could finish speaking.

“I know all of this. The intelligence officer told me, and I will handle it myself.”

Giovanni felt a lump in his throat.

What happened to the agreement that everyone should perform their own duties and not interfere in other areas?

Taking a deep breath, Giovanni paused for a moment before changing the subject: "Your Majesty, there is also news about the southern territories."

"At the same time as the earthquake, a huge, bottomless rift appeared at the southern tip of the world. Its scale was unprecedented and almost tore the entire southern continent apart."

"Oh, there's such a thing?"

The emperor finally became interested. He reached out his hand, and Giovanni immediately handed over the report.

The above is a detailed account of the situation in the South. The various statements and numerical estimates are all in line with reality, which clearly shows that a great deal of effort was put into it.

The emperor casually flipped through two pages, glancing at the report and then at Giovanni, his brow furrowed.

Giovanni bowed his head respectfully, his mood slightly uplifted.

'Excellent! His Majesty has finally realized the gravity of the situation.'

"Tsk."

Seeing Giovanni's expression, the emperor suddenly threw the report to the ground.

"I've read it. Also, your report is poorly written. Throw it away; I don't want to see it again."

Giovanni was taken aback, opened his mouth as if to say something, but based on his years of experience in the court, upon seeing the emperor's expression, he immediately reacted instinctively and quickly agreed:

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He didn't say a single other unnecessary word.

'Is it poorly written...'

Back at his residence, Giovanni sighed, disposed of the old report, and decided to draft a new one that was more detailed and easier to understand.

However, before he had written much, the head of the guards suddenly came to visit.

"Your Excellency, His Majesty summons you to the palace."

Giovanni immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed to the palace again.

This time, however, there was an extra person in the hall. That person stood beside the emperor, showing no respect whatsoever as a subordinate, nor did he seem to follow any court etiquette. He appeared very casual and natural.

Giovanni recognized the man.

She was one of the few high-ranking magic users in the empire.

These people are high above others and rarely seen in normal times; even within the palace, a considerable number of people are unfamiliar with their faces.

But as the royal scribe, Giovanni had to get to know him.

At that moment, the high-ranking magician was talking to the emperor. As soon as he saw the scribe arrive, he immediately turned his gaze over, glanced at the emperor, and gave him a meaningful look.

"You came."

The emperor asked, "Where is the document from earlier? Bring it here so I can take another look."

Giovanni's eyelids twitched, and he said, "Your Majesty, as you instructed, it has been lost."

The high-level magician looked at the emperor and frowned.

The emperor was also somewhat displeased, and he questioned Giovanni:

Why did you throw away the file I told you to throw away?

what?
Upon hearing this, Giovanni felt a lump in his throat, and he couldn't help but look up, his mouth agape.

"Ah... Ah Ba..."

With his blood and qi flowing backward, the imperial scribe simply fainted.

A moment later, the head guard silently carried him out of the palace, his eyes filled with pity.

Hopeless.

In every sense.

...

When the ideal community was declared established, Wang Ji was nine years old.

In the fourth year since the establishment of the Ideal Community, this year, a major earthquake occurred, and the Magic Network Coverage Plan was launched, with various regions continuously making progress.

With the issuance of this order, various minerals, such as magic stones and various metals, were consumed in large quantities as if they were free, all for the purpose of building one magic matrix and magic projector after another.

The former is an integrated tool that can be used to store and compute information as well as serve as a signal base station, but it is quite expensive and complex.

The latter is a specialized tool designed to extend and expand the coverage of the magic network, and it is relatively low-cost.

That being said, producing hundreds of thousands of them would consume a massive amount of resources.

But it's okay.

Backed by a mineral-rich mountain range that stretches across the northern continent, Wang Ji has never experienced what 'resource scarcity' means.

We can afford to build as many as we want.

The network coverage went smoothly.

At the same time, something called the 'Type I Magic Terminal' also began to be mass-produced.

Its main function is communication; it can initiate voice communication or transmit text by recording other people's information.

Those with the corresponding permissions on the Magic Network can also send group messages in batches.

To put it simply, it combines voice call and text messaging functions.

The hardware issue has been resolved, but one problem remains: identity registration and locking. This can't be used without restrictions. And for this problem, Morin gave Wang Ji a pleasant surprise.

Just as Wang Ji was pondering how to create something similar to a 'phone card', Mo Lin suddenly came over, showing off what he had in his hand and excitedly saying:
"Look what this is!"

"This... hiss—"

Wang Ji turned his head and gasped.

"Soul contract?"

What are you doing with that thing?

"Contracts are meant to be signed, of course!"

"what?"

Wang Ji was genuinely startled by Mo Lin.

This soul contract is no good.

But Morin's words soon changed his understanding of soul contracts.

"Signing a soul contract doesn't necessarily mean you have to die."

"I drew inspiration from these ancient contracts," Morin said.

"The soul is unique and cannot be forged."

“In the past, when people mentioned soul contracts, they would think of words like ‘cruel’ and ‘enslavement,’ but that was just a misuse of the term.”

"It doesn't necessarily have to be deadly; it can also be used to restrain some simple behaviors."

“We could distribute a Soul Agreement along with the terminals, signing a symbolic contract to bind and verify the identity of the Magic Network user.”

"Only those who agree to sign the contract can access and use the Magic Network. Those who do not agree or violate the contract afterward will be punished by losing their eligibility to use the Magic Network."

"How about it!"

Morin excitedly shared his ideas.

Wang Ji's jaw almost dropped.

He finally understood how others felt about Morin; his methods were indeed unconventional, far too unconventional.

"You really are a genius!"

This is just a network protocol, and it even comes with one-click authentication!

No, it should be called the "Magic Network Protocol".

It is far superior to any other identity verification method in Wang Ji's knowledge; it is practically impeccable.

"Just do it!"

Wang Ji approved of this method and immediately drafted and signed a soul contract to try it out.

"Ah, wait..."

Mo Lin tried to call out to Wang Ji with worried eyes, but it was too late.

Signing successful, identity verification complete.

"Login information, permissions: lv. administrator".

Mo Lin was stunned as he watched Wang Ji successfully sign the soul contract and complete the registration of his identity and the setting of his permissions.

Wang Ji's actions overturned some of his previous understanding and also forced him to retract a verification method he had prepared in advance that was not based on the soul.

'What? You actually have that?'

Mo Lin stared at Wang Ji's body, feeling a sense of surprise, or rather, shock.

But that's the truth, and there's no denying it. He couldn't say anything, but he also signed a "Magic Network Usage Agreement" drafted by Wang Ji.

The fifth year since the establishment of the community is a year belonging to the Magic Network.

That year, driven by no expense, millions of magic projectors and matrices were completed, and the magic network initially achieved coverage within the territory.

The information age has arrived.

That year, Wang Ji was thirteen years old. His magic output level reached 9, surpassing Morin and only one step away from the high-level.

To others, this speed was nothing short of miraculous, unprecedented... no, it should be said to be the second fastest after the Archmage.

But Wang Ji always felt something was missing.

"Why does this module feel a bit underwhelming? It's progressing so slowly. Am I using it wrong?"

Unable to come up with anything, Wang Ji could only sigh and look at something else.

[Cognitive Points: 1]

In fact, with the development of various technologies, the corresponding progress bar has long been completed, and cognitive points have been obtained.

Even now, the second round has reached 79%, and it looks like they can reach the maximum with some new features.

However, Wang Ji was somewhat troubled because this understanding was not very useful.

It contains 'technology and magic' and can manifest any module corresponding to either of the two elements. However, after considering all the corresponding modules, Wang Ji found himself somewhat stumped...

Just as he was still somewhat troubled, a message suddenly came from the magic network—a report.

Since the completion of the Magic Network coverage and the advent of the information age, all work, from initiation to processing results, will be recorded for easy reference at any time.

Nowadays, Wang Ji no longer needs to handle many routine matters himself.

Those things that reach him must be relatively big or serious.

Wang Ji didn't delay and immediately began to examine it.

"Report on the Southern Region"

Southern Continent...

Wang Ji was thinking about that place.

The southern continent lies behind the capital and has not yet been liberated, so many things are unclear.

This report also came from the regions on both the eastern and western fronts that are close to the southern continent.

“A type of insect has appeared in the area near the southern border. There are many of them, and they are generally quite large. Some residents have witnessed that some of them are as big as cattle or sheep.”

Upon seeing these messages, Wang Ji's brows furrowed deeply.

Not right.

Something is very wrong.

(End of this chapter)