I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

For example, this starry sky is actually fake; the gap is just a bug in the system.

The lights gradually went out. There were two kinds of lights in the wasteland. The city's roads used a special kind of insect. This insect emitted light like a firefly, but it could not fly. As long as it was put into a jar, it could maintain the light. Every day, the city's administrators would add food to these insects to ensure their survival.

In the wilderness, at least in Utopia, glass appeared very early. What is not lacking here is all kinds of sand and soil. The glass made after being melted and cooled at high temperatures may not be of excellent quality, but it is at least transparent.

What ordinary households use is the secretion of another type of insect, which can be ignited and burns quietly all night long.

Life in the wilderness is inseparable from insects.

"This is the dilemma that the wasteland is facing now."

Lu Ban looked at the lit insect lamp in the room and said.

"Neither the Wildling Guard nor the Yellow Sand Brotherhood realized the most fundamental problem: the vast majority of the Wasteland's current resources are built on the swarm of insects."

Everything from food and daily necessities to fuel and clothing is infested with insects.

Humans have survived to this day thanks to insects and various derivatives.

Lu Ban noticed that although there were oases and water sources in the city, there was almost no agriculture. Of course, the area of ​​the oases was not large enough for large-scale agricultural planting. It was just conceivable that the people of Utopia probably did not know how to farm.

The barren natural conditions led the inhabitants of Utopia to become a nomadic people, who developed various uses for insects, which led to their current way of life.

After all, compared to crops that are difficult to grow and compete with humans for water, insects, which are inexhaustible, are much more convenient. You can eat them as long as you remove their heads; they taste like chicken and are crunchy.

But the residents of Utopia never imagined that the insects would eventually run out.

Now that the connection with the Old Ones has been severed, the number of insects in the wasteland will no longer increase.

Every one eaten is one less available.

The ecosystem related to insects will completely collapse, and after the storm arrives, the entire world's environment will undergo earth-shattering changes. If we cannot adapt to the changes that are about to happen and remain stagnant, then destruction will be the only path forward.

Thinking about this, Lu Ban also gained a general intuitive understanding of the "rules" of utopia.

Most of the rules of Utopia are for one purpose: to maintain the existence of Utopia. And in order to maintain the existence of this city, order is necessary.

Chaos and excessive freedom only breed corruption, while absolute justice can ensure the normal functioning of utopia. Therefore, utopia chooses the path of justice.

However, its rules cannot predict the future or react promptly to changes in the outside world. Therefore, even if abandoning exploration would cause Utopia to collapse in the tide of future times, this is something that the current Utopia cannot foresee.

After all, it was just a city with extraordinary power, not a god with life and consciousness.

"A storm is coming."

Feng Yu said.

She wasn't looking at the starry sky, but at the point where the night met the sand dunes in the distance. There was nothing there, but a kind of restlessness that transcended physics spread over her, like the faint sound of electricity echoing in her ears before a storm.

Lu Ban's mission also mentioned a storm. It seems that Utopia will definitely experience a thorough downpour, washing away all the old and dilapidated things.

Just then, Lu Ban, following Feng Yu's gaze, noticed a shadowy figure stirring in the darkness.

His True Vision told him that this was a human being, not a chosen one from some other realm.

He stepped outside and, upon seeing the figure, immediately tried to flee.

Without hesitation, Lu Ban materialized a silver revolver called "Last Words" in his right hand and fired it at himself.

He suddenly accelerated to the speed of a car traveling at high speed and crashed into the other party.

Snapped--

Lu Ban nearly crashed into the wall, startling the other person.

Holy crap!

The man sighed, unable to dodge in time.

Lu Ban discovered that the words he was expressing were not the language of the wasteland, but the language of Earth that he could understand.

The translation function of the Silent Land directly inputs the meaning of words and language into the brain, while the ears hear the locals speaking. Therefore, Lu Ban was able to tell that the other person was from the same place as him.

He looked at the other person, who was clearly startled by Lu Ban, but quickly assumed a fighting stance, ready to run away.

Lu Ban naturally didn't give the other party a chance to escape, and directly reached out and grabbed him.

The man tried to struggle and shake off Lu Ban's hand, but he suddenly found that Lu Ban's hand was as flexible as rubber and wrapped around his arm. The hand continued to coil around his body like a long snake, making him unable to move.

"Quick, quick, help me..."

The man uttered a few words, seemingly pleading for help from his companions.

Feng Yu, who had chased after them, saw another figure appear behind Lu Ban.

The figure seemed to emerge from the shadows of the house, blending seamlessly into the night.

Just as Feng Yu was about to do something, he noticed that the human figure formed by the shadow was very small, like a young girl.

It came to Lu Ban's side, and the starlight and the light from the insect lamp illuminated its appearance.

She was a girl with stunning beauty; her mere presence was enough to make one forget to breathe.

She looked at Lu Ban, then at the person Lu Ban had grabbed, and spoke.

"What a coincidence, you're here too?"

"?"

Lu Ban looked at Leopard, who was dressed in revealing clothes like a dancer, and a question mark appeared above his head.

Chapter 865 Hello, Senior

"Do you know?"

Ke Cheng then realized that the other person was speaking the same language as him.

"Of course I know him! He's... well, a really impressive guy!"

Leopard almost let it slip, but thankfully he managed to catch himself in time.

Upon seeing Leopard, Lu Ban quickly understood why she was there.

It's obvious that some of the players Lu Ban released haven't returned from the alien realm.

It seems this one is one of them.

Since he hasn't returned to Earth yet, Lu Ban doesn't have any information about his mission.

After glancing at Leopard and then at Lu Ban, Ke Cheng felt that this person looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before.

However, Ke Cheng quickly realized that this person must also be a chosen one like himself!

He may also be suffering from a terminal illness, completing his mission in a foreign land. Judging from his appearance, his body has already changed, and he may have already gone through several missions. He is a senior!

Ke Cheng was well aware of the importance of currying favor with powerful figures. Since Leopard knew the other party, he had no reason not to befriend him.

"Hello, senior."

Ke Cheng immediately greeted Lu Ban and then saw Feng Yu behind him.

Is the other person a duo? Or is this woman, like herself, also some kind of extraordinary being?

Ke Cheng's mind started working.

"senior……"

Lu Ban thought about it and rounded it up; he was indeed the other party's senior.

He just didn't expect to encounter the player he sent out on a mission during the mission; it felt like something was going on.

What is your mission?

Lu Ban then asked, out of humanitarian considerations, that it would be better to send the player back first, otherwise if he encountered some Great Old Ones in this [Glorious] difficulty, the unfortunate player would probably have his brain explode and be left as nothing but a writhing mass of flesh and blood.

"...survive until the storm ends."

Ke Cheng replied.

"...That's a bit difficult."

Lu Ban couldn't help but say.

When the storm arrives, the city will surely be pushed to the brink by the conflicts between various forces. At that time, it will probably be beyond Lu Ban's ability to protect him.

Is it difficult?

Ke Cheng assumed that Lu Ban had completed a similar task before, so he spoke again.

“I’ve been here for two weeks now. During that time, I would go out and gather information during the day and sleep here at night. So far, I haven’t encountered any danger. This city, how should I put it, is very safe, but it also gives people a sense of unease.”

"Terrifying?"

Lu Ban asked curiously.

"Yes, that's right. Everyone seems very friendly, and the transactions are quite fair. There's no bullying or fighting. You don't even need to lock your door at night. No one picks up lost items on the road, and doors are left unlocked at night. It feels too perfect."

Ke Cheng spoke from his own perspective.

Why would this be terrifying?

Lu Ban thought about it and realized that this was the kind of life everyone dreamed of.

"When everyone behaves quite well, it creates a sense of pressure, as if something is chasing you."

Ke Cheng said.

He recalled his days working at an internet company, where he worked more than ten hours a day and had few days off a month. He felt a sense of oppression and suffocation.

Of course, Ke Cheng later developed cancer and no longer needed to work, which made things much easier for him.

"You're afraid of making mistakes, afraid of unexpected events, afraid of the unknown."

Ke Cheng continued, his expression somewhat bewildered.

"That's normal. When no one makes any mistakes, it naturally creates a lot of pressure."

Leopard said it very casually.

Having seen far more humans than Lu Ban, Leopard must have her own unique understanding of human behavior.

"Just like when you're playing a game, if you make a mistake, everyone's attention will be focused on you, making you nervous. And if you apply this to reality, it's precisely because no one breaks the rules that people feel even more uncertain, wondering if their every move conforms to the rules of utopia."

Leopard explained simply.

"This sense of oppression will subtly influence people's thoughts, ultimately making everyone afraid to try, afraid to explore, and afraid to pursue the unknown."