Li Yao was about to ask further when the shuttle slowly landed. Ling Xiaole looked back and smiled. "We have arrived at the center of 'Civilization', the largest center of the Uranian Ring Sector!"
As far as their eyes could reach, the entire world up ahead was occupied by a glittering silver ball. The surface of the silver ball had been divided into almost a hundred light beams that were playing the glamorous, bloodthirsty pictures. They were the dramas where thousands of starships were fighting, burning, exploding, fleeing, and chasing in the bloodstained galaxy.
The intimidating sound and visual effects covered the dozens of square kilometers nearby. Before they entered the center, they already felt that they were soaked in a burning universe. The silver ball almost turned into a tiny black hole that was about to swallow the entire world and Li Yao and the rest of them!
On the upper right corner of every enormous light beam was a tiny symbol that looked like the 'Trident Lightning Flag' of the Imperium of True Human Beings, except that it was even more hideous and terrifying than the flag of the Imperium. It was filled with the air of killing and destruction.
Ling Xiaole told Li Yao that they had come at the right time. The latest version of 'Imperium's Retaliation', the war DLC of 'Civilization', would be released in the seven Sectors at the same time today. There would be an enormous press conference in this place, too. The experts of the game, even those from the core worlds, were congregating. The tourists from the resource planets nearby had heard the news, too. It was sort of an unprecedented festival.
As she expected, Li Yao saw that the density of shuttles in this place was more than five times higher than in the downtown area. There was a rare congestion. A lot of young people wearing colorful 'flying fins' were shuttling agilely in the middle of the traffic. Both the sky and the ground were decorated with lanterns and decorations. The loudspeakers carved with anti-gravity rune arrays and broadcast rune arrays were revolving crazily everywhere. The bloodthirsty, vigorous voices were mixed together, making it even more exciting than the battles on the light beams!
Li Yao knew about 'The Imperium's Counterattack', which was a war DLC that they had been thinking about since a hundred years ago. It mainly focused on the military aspect and how to resist the invasion of the Imperium, especially the content of starship combat.
According to Ling Xiaole's introduction, after a hundred years of rapid development, countless iterations, and data updates, and especially after the battle to save Firefly ten years ago where tremendous soldiers and even warships of the Imperium were captured, the brand-new 'Imperium's Retaliation' had been developed into a highly professional war simulation game. With a hundred percent realism, it was not a 'game' at all but a deduction system that could be directly used by the military.
To this day, 'Civilization' had spawned tens of thousands of different DLCs and quest packages, from the minor ones such as' SimFarm ',' SimCity ',' Transport Commander ', and other unimportant ones such as' Candidate for the Speaker 'and' The Next Ten Thousand Years'. They were enough to satisfy any player's interest.
However, war was always the primary factor in the development of a civilization. Therefore, 'The Imperium's Retaliation', which focused on military affairs, was the most popular of all the DLCs.
It was said that the government of the Federation had decrypted the data of the claw fleet of the Imperium that they captured ten years ago. In the latest version, more than ten 100% simulated starships and Crystal Suits of the Imperium were updated for the players to manipulate freely. It was one of the more critical version upgrades in recent years. No wonder it was such a carnival!
"This is really …"
Li Yao, Heiye Lan, and Ling Xiaole got off the shuttle. Looking at the sea of people in front of them, both the dominator of three Sectors from the 'old Federation' and the elite female warriors from the Imperium of True Human Beings were dazzled and overwhelmed.
They knew very well that the 'world' they were in was only a 'layer' of the ring-shaped world. The sky above their heads and the ground below their feet were all the same — a frenzied ocean!
"The Secret Sword Bureau has arranged a special channel for the two honorable guests. A thousand Secret Sword Agents are around to ensure your safety. There's no need to worry."
Ling Xiaole said with a smile, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
"I'm not worried about our safety."
Li Yao took a deep breath and mumbled, "I just didn't expect that so many people would come here to play … a game."
"In fact, most people of the Federation have immersive game cabins at home, often more than one. Right. In the Federation, we no longer call them 'game cabins'. Everybody calls them 'future cabins'. They are furniture that is as popular as' beds' in the past."
Ling Xiaole said, "Although they can play it at home, many people still prefer to gather in the 'game centers' that are available in every city and community. How should I put it? It is a social demand. Humans are social animals after all! For the new-generation people of the Federation, the game centers are like the 'civic squares' or 'banquets' from a long time ago. They are the most important social occasions.
"In the game centers large and small, not only do they boast mainframe crystal processors with higher computational ability and the 'future cabins' of the latest model, which allow them to enjoy a better game experience and a faster connection speed on the Spiritual Nexus, the experts of 'Civilization' nowadays are like the hybrids of stars and heroes from a long time ago. They are very popular!"
Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "I can understand that they are stars, but where does' hero 'come from?"
"It's very simple. Every wise decision made by these experts in the virtual world could be applied in reality. Many brand-new tactics and operational concepts were first created in the virtual world. In the end, hundreds of millions of funds were saved and thousands of lives were saved."
Ling Xiaole said, "Are the people who make such decisions not qualified to be called 'heroes'?"
"It does make sense."
Rationally, Li Yao knew that Ling Xiaole was not wrong, but the visually shocking pictures in front of his eyes were still too much for him to accept emotionally. He suddenly thought of something and asked, "Right. If the general public is all dwelling in the world of 'Civilization', will there be fewer and fewer people who train themselves hard?"
"How can that be? Stimulating one's brain power and wisdom in 'Civilization' is a kind of training, too. Also, it is the most advanced training!"
Ling Xiaole smiled again. "In the age of the old Federation more than a hundred years ago, our parents already had the technology to train the Spiritual Actualization Quotient and improve the intensity of the brain through the Grand Illusionary Land. There should be corresponding technologies on Firefly, right? 'Civilization', as a unified platform, will only improve the brain development of the ordinary people faster and faster, and the odds of them awakening their spiritual roots will be higher and higher!
"According to the statistics of the specialists, ever since 'Civilization' became popular, the odds of the people of the Federation awakening their spiritual roots have been more than five times higher than a hundred years ago. Of course, the 'strengthening plans' are part of the reason, but the contribution of 'Civilization' is obvious, too.
"According to the analysis of many brain doctors, Meditation Healers, and psychic wave specialists, it is a mechanism similar to … resonance. Because the process of being immersed in 'Civilization' is a process of integrating one's brainwaves into the Spiritual Nexus and colliding and vibrating with other people's brainwaves, when the brainwaves of billions of people merge and resonate, it will be the best training!
"Such a way of training is something that even the Yuanying experts a hundred years ago could not enjoy. Think about it. Even the most awesome Yuanying couldn't have been extravagant enough to train themselves with the brainwaves of billions of people, could they?
"Training leads to new technology, and the new technology changes the old way of training and even living. This is the great age of the Spiritual Nexus that we are in right now!
"It is true that a lot of people have raised a lot of opinions and concerns about 'Civilization' like you did. Many diehards have even completely denied the obvious benefits of 'Civilization' and believed that mankind should not completely integrate themselves into the unpredictable Spiritual Nexus. They claim that the technology will eventually drag the Xing Yao Federation and even the entire civilization of mankind into destruction. The most extreme of them consider 'Civilization' to be a hidden problem that is even more dreadful than the Imperium and the Holy League!
"However, no matter how they deny and stop it, 'Civilization' has developed uncontrollably. The great age of the Spiritual Nexus has come. Nobody can stop it. Whether we like it or not, we cannot go back to the age without the Spiritual Nexus."
Li Yao smiled. "You seem to be a firm supporter of the 'great age of the Spiritual Nexus'."
"Of course. Without 'Civilization', there would be no unified Spiritual Nexus, and there would be no New Federation today!"
Ling Xiaole winked at Li Yao and said with a smile, "Let's go. Didn't you say that you wanted to experience the daily life of the ordinary people of the Federation? I'll show you the most important ritual for the ordinary people of the Federation before they play 'Civilization'!"
Ling Xiaole bounced and led Li Yao into the bustling crowd.
Li Yao's tour route had been arranged in advance and was not an impromptu decision. Therefore, a lot of special agents of the Secret Sword Bureau had arranged an unimpeded path for them in the first place to ensure their safety, allowing them to reach a magnificent bronze statue almost five meters tall in front of the center of 'Civilization' without any hindrance.
The statue was a man who was wearing a portable helmet of mystic rays. He was playing a game wholeheartedly, while the glamorous, colorful mystic rays outlined a bustling city, a blood-boiling war, an enormous fleet, and dozens of different scenes around him.
It was not unusual for a statue to be standing there. What was unusual was that countless people were surrounding the statue solemnly and murmuring to themselves. They were worshipping the statue!
How uncanny!
Li Yao knew that the Federation was an atheist country. When the Cultivators went crazy, they would slay any god or Buddha that stood in their way. Now that everybody was training, who would be silly enough to believe in gods or Buddhas?
What kind of god was the guy who was playing a game? Why were so many people worshipping him? Judging from their solemn expressions, they were all rather pious!
Is a certain cult rising in the Federation? Is this guy the leader of the cult who is bewitching people?
Li Yao thought to himself. Wherever he went, something happened. It seemed that this time was no exception!
"Do you want to worship me? It's very efficacious!"
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