I've already reached the maximum level, and you guys are just starting out?

Chapter 170 Remnants of the Old Era, A Ship Without a Vessel in the New Era
[Level I Civilization Authority -]

Everyone for me

[Price: 500 million Civilization Points]

[Effect: For every player who has logged in and kills a player from another civilization, their civilization will receive 1 closed beta helmet]

[Maximum quantity: 1 million]

[Server Limitations: Galaxy Wasteland]

Purchase limit: 0/1

Yu Jin's eyes lit up.

This permission is perfectly suited to the current situation on Earth!
"purchase?"

"purchase!"

Without hesitation, Yu Jin chose to buy it.

【Civilization Origin - 500 Million】

You have unlocked Level I Civilization Permission – Everyone for Me

[Current Civilization Origin Point: 150 million]

【hint--】

[You have purchased at least two items with Level I Civilization Permissions. Once your accumulated Civilization Source Points exceed ten million, you can unlock Level II Civilization Permissions!]

[Continue to acquire more Civilization Points and lead your Earth civilization further in the Wasteland game!]

"Ok?"

"Level II Civilization Authority?"

The last few lines of prompts made Yu Jin pause slightly.

He had always believed that as a Class I civilization, Earth could only activate Class I civilization permissions at most.

But what does it look like now?
It seems that the classification of civilizations is not based solely on technological development, as Ember had previously thought?
after all……

If we take technological development as the standard, given the current state of Earth and its contamination by 'Oumuamua 2, it would be almost impossible to achieve another technological breakthrough, let alone restore its previous level of technology.

Swah——

Suddenly.

A flash of light appeared before Yu Jin's eyes.

A gray helmet appeared out of thin air.

"?"

Yu Jin was taken aback and brought up the Civilization Permissions panel.

Everyone for me—

[Internal testing helmets: 500/1 million]

[Internal testing helmets: 800/1 million]

【…】

The numbers on the panel kept changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the few seconds that Yu Jin was stunned, the number of seconds had already exceeded one thousand.

Good guy!
"Is there fighting again over there with Carol?"

"The war looks quite intense..."

According to the 'Everyone for Me' permission, the appearance of one thousand new beta helmets means that Earth players killed one thousand players from other civilizations.

Thinking of this, the initial joy of the rising embers faded, replaced by a sense of worry.

The galactic wasteland is different from the planetary wasteland; it contains evolved beings of the eighteenth and nineteenth orders.

Carol, who is the commander-in-chief, is only at the twelfth rank.

"Perhaps we should give Carol a boost in strength..."

"She is now protecting five million players who have traveled from Earth to the past."

Think about this.

With a thought, several illusory chains of cause and effect appeared out of thin air before Yu Jin's eyes.

Snapped--

One of the chains was severed by the embers.

[Remove the boost link target: Yu Limin]

[New Buff Link Object: Carol]

【…】

Despite maxing out the skill level and awakening, the maximum number of targets for 'Buff Link' is still only three.

They are: Cao Fang, Yu Limin, and Yin Yao.

Yu Jin did not sever the link with Yin Yao, not out of personal motives, but because she is now the deputy city lord of Dawn City.

When I log into Wasteland Online and am not in Dawn City, I need an Evolver above the ninth rank to take charge.

In contrast, Yu Limin, who had gained several pounds in the wasteland, didn't really need the protection of the buff link anymore—his own rank had already reached the seventh rank.

Gain Ratio: 50%

Yu Jin looked at the proportions in front of him and silently did some calculations in his mind.

50 million * 5000% = 2500 million.

1000 + 2500 = 3500 million.

This is equivalent to Carol being promoted from rank 12 to rank 14.

"It's still unstable."

Even after receiving the results, Yu Jin still felt uneasy.

There are still nearly a hundred days before I am promoted to the wasteland of the star system.

During these 100 days, with the introduction of the helmet, more and more Earth players will participate in closed beta testing and log into the galactic wasteland.

At that time, hundreds of millions of players on Earth will rely on Carol's protection.

At the fourteenth rank, one is invincible on Planet A3, but in the wasteland of the star system, one might just be a slightly larger ant.

"If people can't get through, just send more airdrops."

"The rules of Planet A3 are now completely obedient, and it's highly unlikely they'll encounter any more extraterrestrial enemies in the future..."

"If you want air-invested resources, you still have to fleece those high-dimensional players in Wasteland Online."

Yu Jin had an idea in his mind.

Twenty days have passed since Mars Online ended.

Once the ten days on Earth are over and we return to Planet A3, the 30-day cooling-off period for the high-dimensional helmet will also be complete.

At that time, Ember will be able to log back into Wasteland Online.

……

……

The Great Xia Dynasty, its capital.

Inside a courtyard house.

The void trembled slightly as Yu Jin and Yin Yao walked out side by side.

"right here?"

Yu Jin turned his head and looked at Yin Yao.

"Ah."

Yin Yao nodded and responded softly.

only……

She looked up and saw no familiar figure in the deserted courtyard.

Father, Mother, Grandfather...

Yin Yao's heart clenched instantly.

"Cough-cough-"

"came back?"

Not a moment later.

From deep within the courtyard came a hoarse and weak voice.

"grandfather!"

Yin Yao's beautiful eyes widened in surprise. She let out a soft cry and rushed towards the depths of the courtyard.

Not long after.

Yin Yao and Yu Jin looked at the old man in front of them, whose body was hunched over and who looked so much older and weaker than before, and fell into silence.

The old man's eyes grew increasingly cloudy, to the point that he could no longer clearly see the two people in front of him.

This is a side effect of pollution.

Even though the embers purified the pollution when they returned to Earth, for an elderly person like this, it was already incredibly lucky that they didn't become infected by the pollution.

More often than not, things cannot be forced.

hum-

Yu Jin raised his hand and sent a purifying light to the old man.

but……

No effect.

Ember was taken aback, and then activated Eye of Insight.

【Yin Shanhai】

【…】

[Evaluation: Having suffered from pollution and erosion, although purified, its vitality has been exhausted, its lifespan is nearing its end, and there is no way to save it.]

Ember fell silent.

Yin Yao, seeing that the purifying light was ineffective, seemed to realize what was happening.

She bit her lip, and her eyes reddened.

"grandfather……"

Yin Yao held the old man's wrinkled hand and called out softly.

"Yao Yao."

The old man's cloudy eyes looked at the air in front of him and nodded slightly in response.

"Old Master Yin."

Yu Jin took a deep breath, stepped forward, and addressed him solemnly.

"It's Ember who's back."

"Ha ha……"

"I've waited for this day, and it's finally here."

The old man spoke with a smile, his tone tinged with a touch of wistful regret.

After the pollution arrived, the original order of the blue planet was shattered.

As survivor bases sprang up across this land, this old man became a true remnant of the old era.

The remnants of the old era have no vessel to carry them in the new era.

The old man's choice was... to accept it calmly.

The old man stayed behind because he wanted to do something for the remaining people.

And now?
When the old man realized that they didn't need him, he didn't feel disappointed. Instead, he felt a little relieved.

In front of the stone table in the courtyard.

The old man pulled Yu Jin and Yin Yao aside and softly recounted what he had heard over the past two months. At this moment, his tone and demeanor were no different from those of the kind and amiable old man next door.

"Humans are just strange like that."

"When the cataclysm first struck, everyone united to organize their efforts to protect the people and fight against the monsters."

"But everything changed after you returned to Earth and cleaned up the pollution..."

"Many of my old friends still can't let go of some things from the past..."

“I advised them to stay in their courtyards like me and become old men, but…”

"Ugh--"

"You can't really blame them; everyone has their own choices."

"I heard that those old friends have also established survivor bases of all sizes in the capital area, which may be a good thing."

"But my old bones can't take any more of this."

"Fortunately, I managed to hold on until you all came back..."

"..."

The old man spoke in an incredibly calm tone, softly recounting the changes that have taken place on this land over the ages.

Yin Yao and Yu Jin fell into a long silence.

a long time.

The two could only sigh heavily.

"Where's grandma?"

"Where are mom and dad?"

Yin Yao asked the question nervously, her voice lowered.

The old man remained silent, then let out a long sigh.

"Your grandmother couldn't survive the first wave of contamination and became infected."

The old man's first words almost brought tears to Yin Yao's eyes.

"Even after she became infected, she wouldn't hurt me..."

The old man spoke softly, a smile on his face that was hard to describe as either bitter or happy.

He shook his head and continued:
"Your father and mother have both traveled through time."

"They received the internal testing helmets one after another. This time, they chose to wear the helmets to pave the way for the remaining compatriots on Earth."

"Counting the days, it's been over a month since the two of them traveled through time..."

The old man's voice trembled slightly.

How could he not miss his children?

The resolute look on Yin Zhenzhong's face when he put on his helmet was exactly the same as his decision to stay on Earth in the early hours of September 9th.

The old man did not stop them, nor could he have stopped them.

"Since we're on the topic, let me tell you about their closed beta test..."

"I've memorized all this information day and night, just waiting for you to return..."

"They went to a place called 'Galactic Wasteland,' a place with vast starry skies and desolate planets..."

……

……

The capital city, the outer ring road.

Tongzhou Survivor Base.

Wu Yufei's figure slowly descended from the sky.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back."

Yufei's voice echoed softly throughout the base.

He lacked the ability to probe other classes, so he could only resort to such an 'ostentatious' method.

Not long after.

Inside the base, a middle-aged man and woman rushed out.

The man's face was covered in dust, as if he had been busy with some kind of hard labor.

The woman was wearing an apron, and her hands were stained with oil.

"son!"

"Yufei!"

Even though Yu Fei had remained unfazed when facing a ninth-tier Eureka since his transmigration to the wasteland, his body trembled slightly at this moment.

"I'm back……"

Yufei rushed forward and hugged his parents, repeating his words over and over again.

……

……

Zhejiang Province.

Old Cui knelt in front of the small hill.

Beside him, his girlfriend Zhao Yanyan was crying her eyes out.

"Dad, mom."

"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law."

"Your son is unfilial; he's come home late."

Old Cui repeated it over and over again.

He wandered around planet A3 for so long, searching every refuge city, but he couldn't find his parents.

However, upon his return, he learned of their deaths from his girlfriend, Zhao Yanyan.

she says--

After the catastrophe struck, the family hid inside the house.

However, the supplies in the house were ultimately limited, so the two elderly couples left Zhao Yanyan behind and went outside to search, only to be targeted by the infected.

The supplies were brought back, but the old man also breathed his last in front of Zhao Yanyan.

……

……

Bijie, your province.

Electricity kept crackling from Chen Gang's body.

The crackling electricity spoke of the turmoil in his heart.

"elder brother……"

"Before Dad passed away, he asked me to tell you that he actually loved you very much."

“When you had a fight with him during college and didn’t go home for winter and summer breaks, he was actually very upset. I saw him smoking one cigarette after another at night…”

"Waaah, brother..."

"I...I'm so sad too..."

"I don't have a father anymore, not one..."

……

……

Jiangcheng.

Following his memory, Yu Wenbo found his old neighborhood.

In just over two months, the community has been reduced to ruins.

Yu Wenbo silently walked through the alley and climbed the stairs.

He walked to his house, only to find that the door had been forcibly pried open.

Inside the house, various odds and ends were scattered all over the floor, giving the impression that it had been thoroughly ransacked.

Food, drinks, clothes...

Yu Wenbo took a deep breath and walked to the innermost room.

He pushed open the door, and cobwebs and dust fell down.

Inside the room, the computer screen was covered with a thick layer of dust.

The computer case under the table also had a withered, black color.

clatter--

Yu Wenbo reached out and pressed the power button.

The computer doesn't have it, and it's unlikely to respond.

Kaka-

Yu Wenbo reached out and clicked the mouse.

The mouse made a crisp sound.

Yu Wenbo sat cross-legged on the ground, recalling the countless nights he had spent battling in the canyon in this very room.

He is now a formal citizen of Dawn City and a sixth-order limit evolver.

He has the 'Blood Axe' attribute, and can almost cosplay a real-life Draven.

but……

His beloved Draven will never come back.

……

……

Jiangxi Province, county seat.

A shy fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy excitedly displays his abilities.

"Hey ha—!"

He gave a soft shout, and flames rose in his palm.

"Dad, mom."

"Look, I can now really control flames and step into the extraordinary realm, just like those protagonists in online novels!"

The boy's name was Ye Ye.

Before he transmigrated, he had a dream of becoming the protagonist.

After transmigrating, he failed to become the protagonist, but unexpectedly saved Yu Jin in Lacey City.

Although Ember later threw himself into the final battle of Naya City upon waking up, he also bestowed upon the boy a well-deserved kindness.

It is worth mentioning that.

Ye Ye's talent certainly gives him the makings of a protagonist.

He started late, but in a short period of time, he broke through to the fifth level limit by consuming crystals, and was not far from the sixth level.

It was precisely because of this that he broke into the top 500,000 rankings and was able to return to Earth.

In a small base in the county town.

The middle-aged couple looked at Ye Ye with relieved smiles on their faces.

"Okay, okay..."

"My Ye Ye is the best..."

"Tell Mom and Dad about the Lord Yu of Dawn City that you saved..."

　Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)