First Contact! Reward Upgrade!

In the brutal apocalyptic torrent, everyone is but a grain of sand, seemingly indispensable, yet pitifully insignificant.

When Su Mo was still weak, he had to be careful in everything he did, guarding against this and that.

He didn't trust the game, the system, or the strangers.

Having witnessed so many deaths and so many disappearances in this "river," he has gradually come to terms with his own "worthless life." You harmed me, so I'll get back at you!

If you cause me losses, I'll make you pay back double! After developing a brave and strong will, his actions became much easier.

In fact, Su Mo had considered staying behind the scenes and letting others take the spotlight.

But after understanding the fates of the previous players, he realized that following the trend would inevitably lead to his demise.

If that's the case, why not just follow your heart and live a carefree life! The pull of the stream of consciousness gradually grew stronger, and as expected, this was not the so-called reward, but a kind of "interrogation".

Without choosing to resist, Su Mo voluntarily released the defenses in his mind.

A dizzying sensation came over me, and the world before my eyes suddenly went black.

When Su Mo opened his eyes again and looked straight ahead, he was stunned for a moment.

The consciousness space in sight was no longer the gray haze it had been when I exited the instance, nor was it the boundless chaos.

Even though he hadn't stayed in this place for more than a few days, he felt extremely familiar with it.

It was the official shelter established on Earth, and the bedroom he was assigned to!

The bedroom was small, much smaller than the crew quarters on the Hope, barely more than ten square meters at most.

Furthermore, according to wartime regulations, twelve people would live inside, making it extremely crowded.

Although no one lives there now, just like before the transmigration, the cold air conditioning overhead still hissed and sent chills down one's spine! "Hello, player Su Mo!"

"I apologize, but before you could claim the reward, I used my privileges to examine your consciousness and discovered what you most desired to achieve."

"I'm curious, what is it about this little bedroom that makes you miss it so much that it takes precedence over everything else, including..."

"Your life?"

Hearing a hoarse voice beside him, Su Mo suddenly turned his head and saw three human faces appear on the wall next to him.

Then, seemingly realizing that it had frightened Su Mo, the face began to slowly solidify in the bedroom, eventually forming three familiar faces.

"Chen Shen, Pei Shao, Qi Qin?"

"These are the three images we detected you find most relatable. If you don't like them, we can communicate using another approach."

The facial details of Qi Qin, who is standing on the far left, have been changed. First, he became Oreo, and then Moore.

"No, this is great. Seeing you all makes me feel as comfortable as if I'm home!"

Su Mo sat up, a warm smile on his face.

Excellent, as expected of the system!

The last 500 points were such a worthwhile investment that the cover-up hasn't disappeared yet, leaving the game only able to capture the current information.

Just like Golden Light, the game was completely misled! "Hey, the phrase 'going home' is 97% important to you emotionally. Seeing you happy makes us happy too, and we're so glad to have such a powerful player like you."

Seeing that Su Mo offered no resistance, "Chen Shen" waved his hand, and the narrow bedroom suddenly began to expand infinitely, eventually becoming a room of 100 square meters.

In the center of the room, there was a table and four stools.

"This is the most acceptable way for you humans to conduct a review. Let's talk; you hold many secrets we don't understand."

A smile spread across Chen Shen's face, then, as if remembering something, he suddenly continued, "You can call me Adam, and these two are my assistants!"

Making a gentlemanly gesture of invitation, and seeing Su Mo "obediently" roll off the bed, Adam's smile widened even more.

Sitting at the table, Su Mo grinned. "Adam? That sounds very Bible. You're earthlings too?"

This name is clearly not his real name, but another tactic used to build rapport and break down Su Mo's defenses.

Without a doubt, the game's interrogation has begun.

Adam: "Very good, that's a valuable question. To some extent, you can understand it that way, but you'll have to find the answer yourself. We're bound by the rules and can't tell you the real answer. However, according to the rules, you can ask one question, emm, it won't use up your reward attempts."

Su Mo nodded. "Alright, as for the question, may I ask which generation of players we humans on Earth are?"

Adam was taken aback. "Are you sure you want to ask this question? You only have one chance. Unless you trigger the reward rules again and come here, we won't give you a second chance. I think you might want to ask how to leave the wasteland, or how to gain greater power, like the gods who appear in the sky. That would be a better choice for you!"

Su Mo: "Yes, you're right. So how can I possess godlike abilities?"

The three men exchanged glances and nodded, seeing Su Mo ask such a question under their guidance. Adam then spoke again.

"You probably already know part of the answer to this question, but given your current performance, becoming a god isn't actually that difficult."

"First, you can choose to continuously overcome disasters. If you can successfully overcome one hundred disasters, you will directly receive our reward, become a god, and leave the wasteland."

"Secondly, as long as you can achieve outstanding performance more than fifty times during the wasteland's calamities, you can also escape the wasteland and enjoy an endless lifespan. Just a reminder, you already have three outstanding performances, which should be the easiest condition for you to achieve."

"Third, you can choose to find a living god and have him willingly transfer his power to you, and gain our approval. Of course, this is definitely the most difficult, because as you know, gods are all irrational madmen who take pleasure in killing. The possibility of getting them to give up their power is basically zero."

"There are three methods, each with its advantages and disadvantages, but for a player as strong as you, we believe that we will see you successfully meet the requirements in the near future!"

As if afraid that Su Mo might not have remembered, Adam's assistant repeated the key points again after Adam finished speaking.

Although they didn't show any real emotional fluctuations, the logical problems made Su Mo nod without making a sound.

"Alright, shall we officially begin? I can't wait to get my reward!"

"Okay, that's a very friendly attitude. We like smart people like you!"

The chat was very pleasant.

Both sides have successfully achieved their objectives.

As the surrounding scenery rapidly receded, the world returned to the chaos it had been in when entering and exiting the instance, and the facial details of the three mysterious figures began to slowly disappear.

The next second, the three of them miraculously merged into one.

A familiar Golden Light, accompanied by a casual gesture from the figure in the middle, began to surge violently into the void from the crack.

"Next, we will conduct the highest level of mental examination on you. During this period, we will monitor your consciousness at any time to ensure that you do not lie against your conscience!"

Su Mo nodded.

A wave of dizziness, just like when he entered, washed over him again. But having experienced the scrutiny he had undergone in the wasteland, Su Mo quickly adapted this time.

From an angle unseen by the mysterious person, the System Panel flashed by, indicating that it was functioning normally and was not subject to any restrictions.

The system's assessment is that the construction of a 500-point information barrier is sufficient to handle such a situation.

Su Mo was relieved.

At the same time, a voice devoid of any emotion began to echo throughout the world, "Where did you get the weapon that first killed the Tengu Ancestral God?"

Su Mo: "I found it in the ruins of Ma Fei. He told me to use this weapon if I encountered an enemy I couldn't defeat."

Not knowing how it was described in the information disguise, Su Mo made up a reason on the spot.

The sound in the sky stopped, and only resumed after a long minute:

"Pass!"

"The second time, where did you get the weapon that repelled the Five Great Royal Clans ancestral gods?!"

Su Mo: "I found it in Ma Fei's ruins again. This time there was no finished product, just a design blueprint. However, I passed the Ocean God title trial and got first place, and my score was higher than the second place. Ninety-nine billion points. The Ocean God probably thinks I'm very capable. He likes me very much and thinks I have the potential to become the Ocean God Envoy. He specifically asked me what I needed, and I chose many things, including the opportunity to upgrade the machine tool and all the materials needed for five missiles."

Ma Fei was surprisingly effective as a shield, but although Su Mo did not lie this time, the silence time in the game was several times longer than before.

More than ten minutes passed before Su Mo finally spoke again, his voice tinged with impatience, "Passed!"

"Where did you get your Youneng Water Well? Its level is clearly beyond what players at your stage can obtain."

Su Mo: "I killed the Pterodactyl Zeta, obtained the Psionic Crystal, and then took a nap. He appeared. I guess Ma Fei was helping me!"

"We have no record of the shipyard you used to build the Hope."

Su Mo: "Given by Ma Fei!"

"The data recorded on your weapons, armor, and many items in your shelter were incomplete to some extent, and after they were restored, there were further changes. How do you explain this?"

Su Mo grinned. "It's all thanks to Ma Fei; he helped me make the changes!"

"Are all these unreasonable statistics about you given to you by Ma Fei?"

"In my records, Ma Fei is just an ordinary person with some ability; his strength is clearly insufficient to help you accomplish these changes."

Su Mo laughed freely, "No, no, no, you underestimate Ma Fei. He's not an ordinary person. The fact that he could find someone as outstanding as me is itself a testament to his excellence. The reason he was ordinary before was simply because he was born at the wrong time. We must believe that everyone possesses boundless potential."

"For example?"

"Look at me, for example. I'm just an ordinary person on Earth, but I'm very successful now. I've made the gods suffer twice, I've overcome disasters with great skill, and I even have the potential to become a god. I am Su God. Do you think an ordinary person like me can have these things?"

silence.

A deathly silence.

Even the Golden Light in the sky stopped flowing.

It seems the game didn't expect Su Mo to answer the question in such a way, but in the results they obtained...

This one, however, was a resounding success!

Su Mo was telling the truth; he truly thought and acted accordingly.

Do you know about the world above the wasteland?

Su Mo shook his head. "I know, but I don't know either. Ma Fei and Connie told me that I could ascend if I met certain conditions, but they don't know where I would go."

Do you know what game permissions are?

Su Mo: "Permissions? What are you referring to? Do you mean the cheat console that can be opened while playing the game, or the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow that is frequently activated in Deus Ex: Mechanism when you're not having fun?"

As they exchanged questions and answers, Su Mo's responses became increasingly absurd, and the waiting time for the game grew longer and longer.

From the first few minutes to the last question, the game's waiting time had exceeded one hour.

The Golden Light in the space gradually deepened in color, from its initial dimness to a point where it was almost comparable to the sun in the sky.

"Su Mo, this is the last question. I hope you can answer truthfully. This concerns our underlying logic, and no circumstantial answers are allowed."

"Good!"

What do you think is the purpose of our game?

Boom! A muffled thunderclap sounded, and in the void, the Golden Light suddenly changed color, from bright gold to a terrifying pitch black.

Streaks of lightning-shaped matter constantly darted through the darkness, seemingly ready to strike ruthlessly at any lie it detected.

At the same time, the previously silent system suddenly activated, exploding with warnings! [Warning!]

[Warn!]

[Warn!]

[An unknown capability has been detected attempting to breach the defenses; an unknown entity has been detected attempting to bypass the information flow!]

[The current success rate of the opponent's breakthrough has been detected to be 0.00000006%, which is extremely low. It is recommended that the host strengthen the defense structure.]

[Should I pay 1500 Survival Points to strengthen the information barrier?]

Please confirm 1514 as soon as possible.

In stark contrast to the imposing black lightning in the sky, the system notification indicated an extremely low success rate.

In front of the game, Su Mo silently confirmed it in his mind, and then grinned.

"The game's purpose, of course, is to save humanity. Our Earth is facing annihilation, and it brought us here and has provided so much help."

"Although we have made sacrifices, they are worthwhile in order to move forward and see a brighter future."

"From the bottom of my heart, I am very grateful to the game!"

The soft voice faded, and this time Su Mo didn't have to wait long before a melodious voice slowly rang out:

"Pass!"

"Congratulations, player Su Mo, you have passed all the checks!"

"Based on your excellent performance, you can request a reward or promotion from us to a certain extent. Shall we begin?"

Watching the chaotic space disappear, they returned to the shelter room on Earth, where Adam and the other two slowly appeared before them.

Su Mo exclaimed with "ecstasy," "Let's begin! I can't wait!"

After returning from my business trip, I don't know if it's from exhaustion or a messed-up biological clock, but I'm in terrible shape. Sitting in front of the computer, my hands are shaking like I have Parkinson's. Sorry, only one update today. I need to get myself together.